Different Yet The Same

Chapter Thirty-Eight

-Caleb-

It's scary how five weeks can change your life eternally. After the battle you could describe the outcome as completely unpredictable with a tinge of chaos. The armies all followed Ember, but with her persuasiveness and power I'm not surprised. There were of course a few stragglers from both sides that vowed to work against the two groups for a long as they live, but no real threat was seen. I followed the Angels back to Heaven and helped reconstruct our broken system. No one really knew what to do. Michael was dead, he had no living heirs and none of the full Angels felt they could take his position. So it was to be decided that one of us half Angels would ascend, become a full angel and take his place. Practically everyone wanted that position, except me. Why I got chosen I don't know, but I was chosen nonetheless.

The process was brought together quickly and the pain was unimaginable. It was like a searing hot knife was tearing through my body, ripping me apart. I woke renewed and more powerful than I had ever thought imaginable. I had become a full Angel.

In the weeks that followed I was in charge of repairing the broken civilization that was once known as the glorious Heaven. It was nice. It distracted me from...Spark.

She's dead. She's dead. She's dead. Became the sad words replaying over and over in my head. She's dead. She's dead. She's dead. I couldn't stop the pain and suffering. Ember had looked like her soul had split in two, and my heart had done just that.

It was like slowly tearing my heart apart with my own hands. The sensation was numbing. I'd been preparing to finish off a demonic warrior when her cry had shaken the battle field. I glanced over and saw Spark's bloodied and broken body being cradled in Ember's arms. Time froze then. It was as if I was stuck in that moment forever.

Her midnight black hair was stuck together with a coating of blood. Her emerald eyes were open but glazed over, lacking the warmth and laughter they once held. Her limbs were limp and lifeless. She looked dead. She was dead.

Although I guess that's how it would be to see your true love die. I had spent so long not loving her for what? For some stupid game? A battle that only lead to her death? I caused this. If I hadn't shown her Heaven if I hadn't driven Ember into the arms of evil we wouldn't be here. Spark would be alive and happy. Ember wouldn't be broken and torn. I would see the light in her eyes, the red in her cheeks, the flow of her hair. But now, I would never see her alive again. She had died in a battle not her own, part of a team that just wanted to use her. Some would say she died a warriors death, but Spark wasn't a warrior. She was a lost puppy sitting out in the rain, cold and alone. She made you want to pick her up, hold her and never let go. She was my spark of sanity.

She wasn't mine. I knew we could never be more than friends, deep down I knew it. I just couldn't accept it. I loved her with a burning fire so strong that it scared me. I had been caught in a love triangle where I stood no chance.
Not everyone knew Spark, but those who did loved her deeply. Her parents are dead, she is dead. That leaves Ember.

I never loved Ember. I had appreciated her appearance that's for sure but my heart never yearned for her as it had for Spark. She's alone now. True she has Coal but, who knows where that will end? She's a demon. Demons don't get a happily ever after. What will become of her, I don't know. Do I care? I don't know.

I've always been a pawn in someone else's game. A small expendable warrior, no purpose, no life, no reason. Spark gave me a reason. She gave me a purpose, she helped me get through my life. How can you live when the soul provider of your sustainability is ripped from your grasp?

You die, well that's what I would assume would happen. So I'm left here, sitting quietly in an office that once belonged to the mightiest warrior of Heaven. Thinking, ever thinking. My true love dead. My old life gone. Some would say I have nothing left. That is only semi true. I have unlimited power. I have friends on the battle field. I'm still alive, still going strong. So much has happened, shaping me into who I am now.

My life as of now, is combined with all the inhabitants of Heaven. I'm in charge of their lives. I control everything. I have all the power. Putting that much pressure on someone is tough. I can only imagine how Spark felt. I'll always miss her, I'll always love her.

Underneath it all, I'm not an Angel, I'm not a warrior, I'm not a powerful being. No, I'm just Caleb. Just Caleb.