God's Gone AWOL

[7] A Meaningless Encounter

[EPISODE 7: THE ETERNAL PROMISE]

Heaven...

Ten thousand years ago.

It goes without saying that the realm of Heaven was a massive place.

Unlike the other three realms, Heaven didn't operate in a single plane of existence. While Earth, Purgatory, and Hell were all just one singular body —one planet, one cave, one place that could be stepped on, looked at and properly mapped— Heaven was actually built up of seven different dimensional layers, overlapping with each other and coexisting in one physical space. Though the concept sounds a bit abstract, the logic was quite similar to a building with multiple floors —only those floors were all on the same floor, but were still mostly independent floors unto themselves.

Each of the levels of Heaven were massive in their own right, and each was used differently. One held the offices, library, and other civic structures. One was used for common-spaces and open magic and in later days: combat training grounds. One was dedicated to creation: with forges for weapons, Lucifer's amphitheatre, carving studios, the list went on and on. One level was made up entirely by the ever-blossoming Garden of Heaven, the pride and joy of the entire realm. The only level that wasn't commonly used was the level on top, which was reserved for only the most important and most powerful angels. Though the concept of so many planes of existence coexisting as one might be chaotic in theory, Heaven was impeccably clear and straight forward.

Long before the writing of the Quran, the Bible, or even the Old Testament, Heaven was a peaceful place. Long before Lucifer brought forth The Fall. Long before Hell was established and the war began. Back when there was still a distinct and undeniable presence of God amidst the angels... those were the days when Heaven was kinder to its subjects. And those were the days when things were easy.

Atticus stood on the eighty-fifth floor of Heaven's library, looking out from his perch on the gilded white balcony. Behind him, a set of open archways lead back into the tower of eternal knowledge. The hushed, sweet voices of his fellow angels occasionally drifted from within as they studied and spoke, but Atticus wasn't interested in associating with them. Delicately carved tables were placed here and there, each topped with a game that would one day be the ancestor of checkers, chess and Go. Atticus didn't care for that either. In fact, he cared for very little right now.

In front of him was a view so grand, it could almost compare with Heaven's End. Overlooking the fortress of golden buildings and columned walkways, beneath the rosy flush of the ever-shifting clouds, was the distant and beautiful Earth in all its glory. Surrounded by a billion different sparkling lights, gathered together to form that great, infinite cosmos, it was certainly something to stare at. Which was all Atticus wanted to do at that moment. Stare...

At this point in time, he was still very young, but his personality had already set in. Life had already begun, but he wasn't quite sure how to face it all. And now he was approaching the age where he would have to go through all the traditional rites of passage for angel. Soon there would be all sorts of different events which he, and everyone else of his generation, would have to attend. To anybody except for him, they might seem like small, trivial challenges presented as ordinary tradition. However, without any teachings from Ophaniel, he wasn't sure if he would be able to pass. He just felt so behind compared to all the other angels his age.

The first passage would probably be alright. It was nothing more than a baptism where all the young angels would descend down to Earth for a few hours, receive a blessing from their seniors, take a dip in a river, and officially be recognized as a fully-fledged individual —as opposed to just some random angel's offspring. Of course, Atticus was forced to become his own individual right from the very beginning, as Ophaniel had done nothing to gain any reputation as a parental figure. So Atticus felt as though he should focus on the more holy philosophies behind the traditional baptism.