Free Web NovelChapter 33: Chapter 033: Aurora.
The darkness was pitch black. Absolute. The kind of emptiness that seemed to swallow even sound, granting silence a throne and dominion, and that pressed against his form like a physical entity. Merciless, timeless — like the abyss over which he had reigned in ages past!
His white hair fluttered in the mild breeze as he drifted endlessly, calm and collected, in the abyss. Yet his eyes seemed to burn with a fervor that threatened to raze the darkness to ashes if it dared to stand against him. He wouldn’t claim to be a Sovereign, albeit fallen from grace, if he couldn’t stand the nothingness. He scanned the darkness.
Mikael was sure he had gone up to the room up the tower, and had fallen asleep. And the much he could do, he somewhat felt his body was still there, in the mortal realm so he wasn’t dead or killed.
’Valerian would be so pleased to do it himself,’ Mikael joked, the knights grumpy face coming up in his consciousness.
He looked at his body, a silhouette of glowing light; a projection of himself.
Then, without warning, light tore through the abyss, radiant and white, suddenly scattering shadows like shards of broken glass!
It started with a single star—then another, and another, and another—until the abyss rippled, blooming with constellations that spun into vast patterns. The darkness and black now glittered, a canvas alive and beautifully painted and pulsed with starlight!
One thing was certain. Mikael was not in charge of this realm, nor could he control the events going on in it!
And despite there being monsters on the physical plane of existence, there should be no one strong enough to force a pseudo Celestial like him to project even in his weakened state. Mortals, that is.
That meant.....
She emerged slowly. A form taking shape from the tapestry of the light of the stars. Mikael turned slowly toward it, recognizing the form the moment it began manifesting, head first. It was one he’d slowly began to abhor as time passed, notwithstanding the fact that the memories of his time as celestial were fuzzy, blurry. That form he could never, for the life of him, forget it
A smirk that was both anxious and amused broke out across his face.
A veil of light shimmered across the face region and over her form while her hair streamed endlessly, woven from clusters of the galaxies, each strand threaded with countless stars.
When she opened her eyes, they glowed with the depth of eternity—warm and yet unfathomably distant, the fact that she was all stars clearly not an issue! Like he guessed, a Celestial. And not just any celestial being.
The Creation Goddess, Aurora!
Her voice followed, gentle yet commanding, every syllable resonating like a hymn as she gazed on her Sovereign.
"How long has it been, child?"
"Quite the honor, meeting you here, Goddess of Creation, Aurora," Mikael greeted, willing Ragnarok, his trusty celestial weapon to manifest.
He had been pleased to have found out once more that with the right amount of celestial essence, the scythe had the ability that allowed it to manifest on any plane of existence, and so naturally, it heeded Mikael’s call, pulsing with a abysmal, void energy.
While the outside environment couldn’t be controlled, he was also pleased and heaved a sigh of relief to be able to open the Gate from within him and channel whatever amount of essence he could bear into getting his weapon!
And so Mikael stood unflinching in the endless firmament, refusing to kneel or even bow before Her, meeting Her gaze directly!
"There is something you still fail to comprehend, Sovereign of the Abyss. And here I believed you were the wisest and most knowledgeable of the Seven." The goddess’s voice was sorrowful, almost as if she were disappointed. She heaved a sigh before continuing.
"If I had not sinned against thee, child; the stars themselves would have swallowed you whole, and oblivion would have been your eternal repose. Remember you stood no chance against them, yes? Ponder my words, child. Do you truly need to consider me your enemy, Mikael?"
Mikael scoffed, his gaze putting his disbelief and anger as it fell on the Goddess.
"Hmph. That’s a new kind of low for you, Goddess. What reasons have you for abandoning me, your very own child! I came from you! I am you! I was your greatest creation!" By now, tears dripped from his eyes.
" Look at these mortals you made! Haven’t they transgressed much more than I?! They digress from the path You set for them, and they do not get punished. I slip up once, in my childish ignorance. And all of sudden I’m hearing that my existence in itself was a mistake. Tch." He took notice of the tears.
He curled his lip into a smile at her. "Sorry, but... I’m not sure any conviction could change my mind. So make sure you’re prepared to entertain me well when we meet again. For I’ll most definitely return!"
In reality, Mikael was greatly shaken. The Goddess could have wiped him out of existence at any moment, yet here he was, still bickering with her. Was she trying to toy with him? What was her intention?!
Aurora smiled as she perceived his thoughts. "Mikael, how has the path of mortals treated you? Why is it that you still persist to return to Realm that did despise you once? Revenge?" She tilted her head as an amused smile slowly curbed the edge of her mouth. She didn’t even care to answer his barrage of questions from earlier. Not even an apology, so that he may consider forgiveness.
Just nothing.
"I let you into my world so you’d enjoy a slow and somewhat happy life before you return to me, an idea I was sure you’d appreciate. Children really do grow up to be sometimes ungrateful....."she sighed.
’She is toying with me, all right,’ he scoffed at her, distorting his expression from sadness into pure rage!
"I have no reply for you now, Goddess. Have just a little bit of patience, and we will talk face to face so I can knock some sense into you, okay? Until then, I have no interest in whatever you have to say to me. Leave."
A heavy silence pervaded then space, as they both stared each other down. Ragnarok pulsed in Mikael’s hand, ready to jump into action though its wielder wasn’t even sure they’d last if it came to force.
Moments later, however, the from slowly faded alongside the stars, her voice echoing, "Make sure to entertain me well, my wayward star."
Then she vanished completely.
Mikael stirred, awake though his eyes were droopy, showing that he was half-asleep. He stared at the ceiling for a while, noting every single pattern inscribed on it.
In his mind, he pondered the Goddess’ words.
’The stars themselves would have swallowed you whole if you returned.’
There was a message hidden behind the vision as the Creator of this reality, other than the fact that he came forth from her, had no reason to seek him out.
Nonetheless, it showed that his actions, every single one of them, was completely visible to Heaven. There was simply no way to hide it, and that realization was weakening, threatening even the resolve his desire had given him!
He rolled out of bed with the air of someone free from care, like one who had no regard for dignity. He strode across the room toward the large, lit doorway.
As he stared, he nodded in satisfaction. Finally, he focused on his golden eyes with patterns, a cross inscribed in a circle, glowing and pulsing. Evidence of his recent reconnection to the domain of the Divine.
"What color would probably be best?" He mused, stroking a beardless chin. Red? White? Black?"
He tilted his head, eyes closed. When he opened them again, the golden orbs were gone — in their place yawned a void — pure, infinite black, in place of them.
A knock sounded at the door, interrupting his little play.
Mikael blinked, the golden orbs fading back into their spots once again, before smiling easier so warmly at the sight.
"Luna," he spoke, with an infectious happiness. "It has been a while."
Luna bowed, trembling slightly, reduced. "It has been a while, my Lord... your..." Mikael placed a finger against her lip, shushing her up. Her expression turned serious, meeting Luna’s gaze.
"So, Luna? What brings you here?"
"His Grace, the Duke, has asked me to summon you to the garden," he pointed to the robe atop the bed. Luna quickly went in and retrieved it. She put it on him, though she couldn’t help but stifle a gasp as she came close to Mikael. To say he was a beauty seemed like an understatement.
"The Goddess must have taken quite some time to create him," she murmured in her mind, Mikael choosing to remain oblivious of her stares.
"Lead the way," he said, as she was done.
"Yes, sir!" They started down the stairs. "Pray tell, child, what time of the day is it?"
"It is high noon," Luna replied, completely wondering how easily the guest had switched from common speech to noble speech and back.
"And how long was I asleep?"
The servants bowed respectfully as Mikael passed through the hall leading to the garden. He acknowledged them with a small lift of his chin.
"It has been a day and a half, sir,"
Mikael sighed.
"And no one thought to wake me or even try to kill me while I slept. That’s... boring," he said, feigning annoyance.
The doors leading into the garden were swung open. At the other side stood the Duke, who nodded slightly at the duo.
Luna bowed and turned back into the house, while Mikael continued to the Duke.
"Quite the lovely afternoon, isn’t it, Mikael?" The Duke smiled, extending his hand which Mikael took.
"Indeed, Your Grace." They shook hands as the oak doors groaned, closing them off from the house.
