Original Sin

Chapter 29

In the beginning...

God's wrath was insufferable. His fury was incomparable. The anger emanating from His throne on high could level mountains and dry up the oceans. All who knew Him shuddered at His name.

Yet though He was a force to be reckoned with, something unimaginable to any other creature, He created from the soil human beings so fragile and delicate, intricately woven as though they were patterns on lace doilies, that walked the earth for a time before surrendering to it and becoming dust once again. They were His precious creations, men and women with hopes and dreams and aspirations of their own. 

But even God could not account for the sheer strength of willpower that chose to show itself in opposition to His decrees. He could not make them bend to His will so easily as He could angels. They were not at His every beck and call. They would never serve Him unconditionally. 

And then, unbeknownst to Him, a flurry of ancient angels fed from this human strength. The fled Heaven and the safety God provided there. They carried their remaining power with them to earth, seeking refuge from oppression, freedom from bondage, hiding in the throes of mankind. They had not the strength to stand against Him alone, but if their power was crushed together and wielded correctly...

It seemed that humanity, His creations, might be the force that undoes the universe and God along with it. When that time comes, it will begin a new era of Divinity. 

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Present Day

A large part of her wanted to run out of the cave, scream at the top of her lungs, and dive head-first into her husband's safe, loving arms. A piece of Hailey's soul wished they had never started on this ridiculous journey, not when she and Alex could, in fact, have been very happy letting the rest of the world slip by, doing nothing, living forever, just the two of them against the world. 

But that last remaining portion of ethics and moral righteousness pushed Hailey forward into the room that wasn't really a "room". Time was different here, spliced together to form some alternate dimension that replayed Hailey and Alex's lives over and over again, unending, perpetual. Her memories were, quite literally, flashing before her eyes, the good, the bad, and the ugly. Was this space meant for self-reflection, or personal condemnation?

There was a dark power at work in this room, something that kept her from touching the Rock of Ages. Hailey understood that after she allowed the power to become one wit her body and soul, there would be no going back. She was going to change, but into what? Did she have the strength to assure the world that she would not become the next Michael? The next plague upon humanity? 

Hailey breathed deeply, trying to process her thoughts into a logical order, but she found it increasingly difficult the longer she stayed in that place.

Humanity was depending upon her ability to wield a power that had never been touched by human hands. How typical of mankind, to put all their hopes and beliefs on something entirely untested and unresearched! It was a fool's hope. 

She sighed deeply. "We really are such simple creatures in these regards," Hailey stated to no one in particular. 

Her heart raced, threatening to beat out of her chest. Every nerve stood on end. She carefully extended her hand and her fingers gently grazed the cold stone. It zapped her immediately, but at the same time cooled the throbbing sting. It was the polarities of everything, the very definition of Ying Yang. This was Hailey's tumultuous life manifested in physical form.