A New Angel (Destiel AU)

Chapter 2: The Truth is Out There... And It Hurts

There are sets of symbols set out in front of him. Spirals of symbols, dizzying amounts of information in too many languages to count. Images, warnings, they all fly through Eric's mind, each individual word impossible to process. However, Eric can feel it in his bones, the undeniable dull roar that fills his ears. Everything about the location of the Akashic Records had screamed, leave before you get too close. Leave before you hurt yourself. Eric had heard all these warnings. He could fe them. Yet, he found himself disregarding them, passing them with little thought.

The Akashic Records were different from what he had thought. They existed on a plane of consciousness, opposite of the mortal dimension. This different dimension existed in between worlds. Apparently Eric was right on top of one of these cracks between worlds, although he wasn't sure what a crack between dimensions was doing in the 100-Mile Wilderness in Maine. But here he was, nevertheless, as he muddled through images and numbers and letters.

Suddenly, faces flashed through his mind. They were fast, too fast to study them. Some though, they lingered behind his eyes for just a second, such as a tired looking bearded man, and an even worse looking Asian kid. The faces grew in his mind, from childhood to adulthood. He watched them grow older, he watched their faces as they fell in love, he watched every moment of their births, and he watched every moment of their deaths. Each face lasted for less than a second, and each face made Eric weep, the faces growing sadder, the wrinkles deepening.

And then he saw two faces in particular. The first face was his own. He saw himself, when he had broken his finger as a child, when he had seen his father almost dead. Then, shortly after, something changed about Eric. His face grew solemn, his eyes were a deeper, wiser blue. Eric saw light flash in his own eyes, a power that only existed outside of this world. He shuddered visibly, spasms shaking his body, his lungs gasped for oxygen. Suddenly, the otherworldly eyes dimmed. Suddenly, he saw himself smile. His eyes brightened, for less than a blink of his eye, he saw himself laugh. He saw love in his own eyes. He saw hope. He watched an entire life live and die in his own face, and it all ended in a blinding flash of light.

Suddenly, he saw the faces of strangers again. And it happened again. He saw another face. And time slowed down. He watched this man grow. His eyebrows creased as the boy suddenly lost the happiness in his eyes. His face stopped glowing. Now, Eric watched as this boy grew, his face hardening as he aged. He seemed to have a deep sadness in his eyes even before he turned six years old. His eyes were so sad, looking into them felt even worse than watching himself lose his own humanity. Slowly, this man's face hardened, giving way to high cheekbones and a creased forehead. His eyes were a gorgeous shade of green, and Eric found himself staring into them, entranced. They remained large through his more youthful years, giving the man's face a young, pretty look. Yet as he aged, the sadness in his eyes was unbearable. And suddenly, he saw the man wracked in pain, his eyes went black and his face was ripped to shreds, over and over, and Eric felt the air escape from his lungs in a whoosh. And then he saw that light again, the light that had lit up his own eyes. Reflected in this man's sad green eyes. And in the first time in the eternity that Eric felt he knew this man, he saw hope. He saw the hope blossom into love. And he saw it all end, once again, in a blinding flash of light.

Eric felt himself gasp for air. He felt his body clench and unclench, and as the man passed from his vision he felt a wet sob escape from his mouth. He watched humanity die. He watched people fall in love, he had watched the deaths of millions. But suddenly this man was more important than anything. Suddenly, nothing mattered more than the man he had watched fall apart and get put back together, the man who saw the same light that Eric saw.

As Eric watched the last dredges of humanity flicker out, he felt something near him. He could feel it shining, he could feel the pulse of this thing's life force.