Chapter 08 -- The End
With the portal completed, Lexington realized he quickly needed to get rid of Esther. As the two dressed, Esther seemed uncomfortable with Lexington's quietness.
"What are your intentions, truly?" Esther asked.
"They're as I told Shadohinus. The current state of this realm is no long appealing."
"We still require the aid of Shadowmen to lead us to Phobus's location."
"Get on with it."
Esther gave Lexington a look of reprieve as if she didn't expect his sudden coldness, but he didn't care. Esther crouched low to the ground and placed her hands on nearby Blight.
So this is how they communicate, Lexington thought to himself. He wondered how long it would take Shadowmen to answer Esther's call, but before he could finish the thought, a small group of Shadowmen erupted from the ground around them. There were a couple of male Shadowmen, and three female Shadowmen.
"Interesting," Lexington said aloud.
"What is?" Esther asked.
"That's how you entrapped the women of Shantei after you betrayed them."
Esther laughed. "Betray? Humans are below us, Lexington. They're mere toys for our master."
"If summoning Shadowmen on Blight is so simple, why didn't Shadohinus use this tactic when my army waited in the cove beyond the Black Citadel?"
"He didn't need to. I told him your plans. Once the distraction failed, it was simple."
Lexington felt anger grip him, but he shook it off.
"And what of Mara? How did she play into all this?"
"You."
Lexington remained silent, waiting for her explanation.
"The human fool loved you. You didn't feel the same. These humans are so fragile. Driven by emotion. Reckless. Irrational."
"How did she betray us?"
"A man named Hangoot is how."
Lexington quickly recalled the traveller that was fucking Mara those few years ago in Shantei. He remembered being mesmerized by Mara's adept skill in pleasure. He also remembered that Hangoot was the man that killed all the livestock in Shantei and had something to do with Thraxa's attack on Shantei. He wanted to ask more, but he remained quiet.
"Hangoot... a man?" Lexington pressed innocently. Esther could not have known that Lexington was familiar with Hangoot, Lexington thought.
"Men, even more easily manipulated than women. We promised Hangoot pleasure and riches beyond his wildest dreams and in return a few favors. He was the one who heralded Thraxa's army to destroy Shantei. He was the one who arrived in Shahemein before you and found Mara after you two had gone your separate ways."
Lexington then found himself remembering a question he had once asked himself -- how did Thraxa even know Lexington was in Shantei to begin with?
"Enough talk," one of the Shadowwomen said.
Lexington glared at the Shadowwoman for a moment. "Let's move out," he then commanded.
The seven turned towards the portal with Lexington going through first and the following six after.
As Lexington stepped through, he suddenly felt ill. He had never before been in Avariceal. The surrounding area was drenched in a dark purple hue. He wondered how anyone or anything could see in this place. He had to use his Celestial abilities to focus and with it his armor was summoned.
Now, he said to himself, is the time.
As the Shadowmen stepped in after him, Lexington summoned Aequitas. The Shadowmen and Shadowwomen stepped in one by one and one by one Lexington proceeded to decapitate each of them until Esther was the last to step through.
Lexington watched as Esther's face went pale almost instantly coupled with a horrified look.
Esther opened her mouth to speak, but Lexington sliced her head off before she could voice a single sound.
As her body slumped to the ground, Aequitas faded from Lexington's grasp though his armor remained. The surrounding area was filled with dead trees, draped in some oozing black material. He wondered if this material was related to the Blight back on earth. He began to start his way out of Avariceal. He could see the end of the realm as he looked up at what was the realm's sky. There was a tear starting from the top of the sky and ended to where Lexington figured was the entrance to Immobul.
Almost home, Lexington thought to himself.
Though Lexington had no way of telling how long he had been in Avariceal, his journey to the entrance to the realm of Immobul seemed to last longer than he had anticipated. He noticed that Avariceal was just as abandoned he remembered Immobul was. As a Celestial, Lexington spent very little time in Immobul himself. The only time he would venture into the middle realm was to subdue any Shadowmen uprising against the Celestial Outposts.
He took one last look at Avariceal before stepping into Immobul. The simplicity of traversing between Avariceal and Immobul worried Lexington. Lexington wondered why they never inspected as to how Shadowmen entered Immobul in such great numbers.
There were many questions Lexington had regarding his time as a Celestial. The will of the Omnipotent was Lexington's law and questioning it was never a possibility. But that was long ago.
The serenity of Immobul was as pleasant as it was unsettling. The flat stone ground still had it's thousand upon thousand minute cracks and in every direction you felt as if you were constantly surrounded by the spherical boulders. The ever-still grey environment continued to unsettle him. He tried to calm himself, unsure of the cause for his discomfort. He soon realized that he was lost.
Though time seemed to stand still, he soon found himself in the middle of nothingness surrounded by the usual grey, smooth stone spheres jutting out of the ground around him. He realized that he could not even find his way back to Avariceal, not that he wanted to. Panic began to set in. Lexington could feel its grip tightening, but he couldn't allow it to continue. He began to quicken his pace in the direction he was going until suddenly a deafening roar of something thundered through the area. Lexington collapsed to his knees and covered his ears. He used what Celestial strength he could summon to try to ease the noise and though it didn't help as much as he hoped, the sound seemed to be a horn. The thunderous sound of the horn was enough to rumble the ground around him. Lexington felt paralyzed. He couldn't see. He couldn't move. He couldn't think. All he wanted was for the noise to stop and just like that, it ceased.
From his knees, Lexington looked up and found himself surrounded by giants. Each of the giants was probably twice Lexington's own height and was enshrouded in a blinding golden light. He could not make out their faces. Fear had gripped him. He knew that he could not take on what ever this foe was.
Finally, he willed himself to speak.
"My name is Lexington," he shouted out. He wondered if these light giants had the ability to communicate.
A thundering noise came from the tallest of the giants again forcing Lexington to cover his ears. Lexington felt a large hand on his arm and it gently tugging his arm away.
The thundering voice of the giant began to soften and Lexington realized that he could understand them.
"L-L-Lexington..." said the tallest of the giants.
Lexington opened his eyes once again and removed his hands from his ears. He looked up into the giant's face and saw that this was no giant.
It was Gavreel, the High Seraph of Cielos.
Lexington quickly bowed his head. "Sir, I have come because I required your aid."
Though Lexington could see Gavreel's mouth move, Lexington could not understand what he was saying. His words sounded like the deafening thunder that he first heard when he encountered the Celestials.
"I... I can't understand you," Lexington said.
Suddenly, Lexington felt himself lift off the ground as if he were flying, yet he wasn't intentionally doing anything. He could see Gavreel's hand lifted towards him. Gavreel was doing this, but why?
A bright flash forced Lexington to shut his eyes and they once again he was on his feet. He opened his eyes to see only Gavreel and him. They were at the rift between the realms of Avariceal and Immobul. Gavreel seemed to have shrunken yet he was still much larger than Lexington.
"Can you hear my words, Lex?" Gavreel asked.
Lexington nodded, "What is happening to me?"
"It has already happened to you, Lexington. You are no longer a Celestial thus you can no longer live among us."
"How is it possible that I can understand you now?"
"Simple. I am merely whispering. You must understand by now that realms bend their occupants to their own rules. Being in Avariceal weakens Celestials, which is why we've never ventured close before."
"I require your aid to defeat Shadohinus."
Gavreel gave Lexington a solemn glance and replied remorsefully, "Celestials cannot help you. Without the Omnipotent, we cannot venture into the Earthen Realm."
"You can, through Avariceal!" Lexington exclaimed.
"If we went through Avariceal, we'd be greatly weakened. We may become Ehemaligs -- Fallen as you call yourselves. Greatly weaker than you once were, yet still greater than humans."
"What then?" Lexington asked desperately.
"All you can do... is fight. And you must."
Lexington turned his gaze to the ground in defeat. "If the Fallen fight unaided, we will fail."
"Lexington. Earth is your realm now. Serve it as you once did Cielos."
Lexington gazed up at who was once his brother yet now stood as a god to him.
