Defiance: Perfect by Nature

Chapter Seven: On the Edge of Eternity

Chapter Seven: On the Edge of Eternity

James stood on a precipice. Behind him was where he had come from, the old world and old beliefs that had been shattered in a single week by one they had considered their brother. Ahead of him was his destiny, their destiny, as they would charge into battle and set right the wrong that had been done. His brothers and sisters stood by his side on this razors edge, their weapons and lives pledged, not to him, but to setting things right. Their sole purpose, their reason for existing had been to protect what their creators had made, to defeat the hordes of evil that looked to raze all of creation and leave nothing but smouldering ash in their wake. It had been their eldest brother Ares who let this plague reach its black tendrils onto their world, and in his madness he had conspired to set about the destruction of all living things. They would stop him at all costs.

The small group of immortals stood on the roof of the second observatory of the Tokyo Sky Tree, the largest structure in Tokyo; standing at two thousand and eighty feet at the very tip with the observation point at one thousand four hundred and seventy six feet, giving them a great view of the entire city. Erin, the second eldest of the remaining immortals stood by his side, her long bronze coloured hair dancing in the wind as her eyes looked over the river before them to where the Nexus stood. A wide beam of crackling red energy connected to both the sky and the ground vomited vile demons onto their land as black roiling clouds blocked out the sun.

James’s real life as Gabriel had been filled with the tale of the prophecy, where the seals would be shattered and the darkness would spread across the world extinguishing all light in existence. They would be the one light in the night that couldn’t be dimmed, the force of good that would push the demons back into their shattered world and end the shadow; but as James stood there looking out over a single Nexus point he realized how foolish they had been. Even Catherine, with her gift of sight, wouldn’t have been able to see this coming. And how could she? Betrayed and hunted they had hid like cowards, while the demons made quick work of the resistance man had been able to put up. This wasn’t Ares' doing, it was theirs for being too afraid to face their brother and deliver justice when they had the chance. Even James should have stood up to him but on the one chance he had to make things right; but instead he sat quietly as Aglea had been torn apart and he was stripped of his youth and cast aside like a runt. Perhaps he was a runt. Maybe this was actually all his fault.

He still relived that day in his dreams, tortured by the events that he had brought down. He wasn’t the only one that suffered for his actions though; Erin’s husband Baal had paid the price for his younger brother’s crimes, and his name would always be a scar on his brain; a brand that would always remind him of his cowardice. Today he would put his fear behind him and face his brother in combat, let fate and the Gods decide what would happen. If he could do one thing right in his life it would happen now, and he wouldn’t let anything stop him from finishing it for good.

“I will only offer this one last time,” he spoke loudly, two golden swords appearing in his hands, “No one else has to risk their life today.”

“But it’s such a good day to die, brother,” Apollo laughed.

“We are with you Gabriel, in life and in death,” Erin said softly, and in less time than it took him to breath all his brothers and sisters were by his side, their golden weapons shining in the shadow before them.