Demonstar: Das Erwachen

Prologue

Long ago, God created the heavens and the earth. The archangel Michael, the angel of war, was the first brought into existence. Gabriel, the messenger of God, was next, followed by Lucifer, the bringer of light, and finally Raphael, the angel of the trumpet. Each angel had a purpose in God's kingdom. They were sexless entities floating through Heaven. Soon after creating the residence of Heaven, God placed black collars on them.

These collars made the angels immortal and followers of God's will. It helped the angels see their existence as beautiful, putting them into blind bliss. God looked at the Earth, with its animals and nature: Something was missing in this new world.

Michael stood to God's side, intrigued by the creations God had brought to life and eager to see what new wonders would be created.

God looked to Michael and informed him, "I will create these creatures in my ideal image, and they will be known as humans, for they will be my pride and joy. I will depend on you to watch over them."

Michael bowed to God, honored to be given such an important task.

God first created a human male named Adam. Michael was fascinated by the human but noticed he seemed somewhat lonely. Michael relayed this to God. Thus, God chose to create a partner for Adam: a woman named Eve.

Michael thought she was beautiful and unique from her counterpart. Michael asked God if the angels could take the bodies of the humans as well, instead of remaining bodiless. God granted this request.

God bestowed different bodies on the lesser angels. The four archangels were given the ability to pick their own. Lucifer chose to be a young teen, with shaggy, brown hair with black tips. His eyes shined a rich hazel, and he smiled to God, pleased with the body presented to him.

Raphael chose a strong, adult, male body, his black hair cropped to his head. His irises reflected gold when light passed through his chocolate-colored eyes. Gabriel chose a skinny, male body with short, black hair and bright, violet eyes. Michael asked to be made into a female, one as beautiful as Eve. She had long, blonde hair with black tips, and her eyes were a strong green.

Michael enjoyed watching the humans. One day, Lucifer approached her. He told her God had a message for her, and he would watch over the humans while she was gone. God had no message for Michael that day. Heaven began to quake as Lucifer made his way to the humans, taking the form of a serpent. Michael and her brothers watched as Lucifer tricked the humans into eating the forbidden fruit.

Chaos broke out in Heaven, splitting the angels into a war. Michael stopped the fighting, casting aside all those who chose Lucifer so they may never escape eternal damnation. Heaven restored peace, but now hate and death were spreading on Earth. God informed Michael that she, Gabriel, and some other chosen angels would be sent to Earth to eliminate Lucifer and his followers.

It was a heart-wrenching task that hit Michael when she was informed that the only way for her and her fellow angels to leave Heaven was to spill the blood of one of her brothers. Michael had to kill Raphael. She cried as his blood dripped to Heaven's ground.

The angels were sent to Earth—and sent along with them were a special breed God had made to assist in the warring times ahead. This species was known as werewolves. The leaders of these creatures were Galina and Boris, considered the alphas of the pack, and three children were born to them.

The werewolves were only able to exist in a beast-like form. The first child, a gray male, resembled the rest of the werewolf pack. The second, a black female, looked like a regular wolf. However, the third was Rashel, and she looked human. Unlike the other wolves, she was able to change from wolf to human form, making her a bridge between the two species. Michael chose to raise the young girl so she could learn their way of things.

One of Lucifer's followers came to Michael, offering to give up Lucifer's location in exchange for a swift death at Michael's hands. It was thanks to this information that Michael was able to capture Lucifer. She gave him a trial by combat, with her as his opponent.

"You don't get it. You don't understand!" he yelled to her.

"What do I not understand?" she pleaded with him.

"You give God what is wanted; I gave God what was needed."

She plunged her sword into his chest, not understanding his words. Still, though Lucifer was gone, Michael and her angels were not taken back to Heaven. They continued to live on Earth, and Michael watched families and the wolf she raised grow. Michael watched as Rashel became the alpha of her mother's pack.

Then came the day that God split the languages. The clans began to fight one another, no longer able to understand each other. Michael was able to stop the warring by helping them learn a single language so they could communicate. Harmony was once again granted to her people. Michael, however, was angry with God for changing their tongues. Lucifer's words came back to her. It was on that day she decided to remove her collar, and she had Rashel use her powerful teeth to rip the collar away from Michael's neck.

For the first time, Michael could see the world for what it was. The collar had brightened the colors and given a sense of safety; Michael was now able to see and feel the darkness of the world. Gabriel was not happy with Michael's choice, and neither was God.

Michael learned soon after that she was pregnant with Gabriel's children. She gave birth to me and my two siblings. I am Demonstar, the second child born that day. My sister, Nightwish, was the firstborn, and Sakura, my brother, was the last. Gabriel prided himself in raising his son, while Michael raised us two girls. She focused much of her attention on Nightwish, as she was chosen to be Michael's successor in the case of Michael's reign ending, while I spent a lot of time with Rashel.

The older I got, the more I began to fall in love with Rashel. One day, I pulled her into a closet with me. Sakura found us and informed Gabriel of this. Gabriel was enraged, as he had always hated the wolves. He demanded Michael have Rashel executed, but she refused. Michael knew the wolves would never be safe for as long as they remained within the walls of the Dragon Clan, so she had them exiled.

Gabriel would not overlook her decision, becoming even more enraged by her choice. Sakura fed on Gabriel's anger, encouraging his acting out against her. That evening, Gabriel came to me, expressing the need to show me something. Your father is supposed to love and care for you. It never crossed my mind he had ill intent. What a fool I was.

He gagged and chained me in the basement. He began to torture me in hopes Michael would follow the sounds of my cries, which she did. I think she knew it was a trap, but Michael loved her children more than herself, so she followed that cry. Gabriel emerged from the darkness and plunged a dagger into her spine. She crumpled to the ground, unable to speak or move. He stabbed her, then he left—left so I could watch as my mother slowly bled to death. Michael's reign ended that day, thus throwing our world into chaos.

With the fall of Michael, the Dragon Clan split into four separate clans: The Dragon Clan was ruled by Nightwish, the Lion Clan was ruled by Sakura, the Pegasus Clan was ruled by Gabriel, and the Wolf Clan was ruled by me. The Dragon and Pegasus Clans warred over who was more powerful; the Wolf and Lion Clans warred over vengeance. I wanted vengeance for what Sakura had tried to do to Rashel and for his actions leading to Michael's death. Sakura wanted me dead, his malice toward me driven by a sick obsession he just couldn't shake.

If I were able to go back in time, I wouldn't let my anger control me. All those drawn into my fight have lost so much. Rashel: You have stuck by me, loved me, and protected me. You've lost more than anyone. When you wake and find me gone, please know that you wouldn't have been able to save me. The lightning I protected Kyo from could not find an exit point; I've been slowly dying. For whoever is listening, this is the story of how I die.