Justice for the Fallen
20.2 Sannarah

All sounds and sights flooded me in one massive wave. The rumble of thunders and howl of the vicious wind. Clash of steal. Screams of wounded and dying. The stench of blood and burning flesh. The ground itself was shaking every time the gods clashed.

The end of the world.

At that moment, I only cared about one thing.

“Melkyal!” I cried and cradled his face in my hands. “I’m here! Please, please wake up!”

But he didn’t. No matter how I begged and pleaded, his eyes remained glassy and unseeing, his chest unmoving. I had all the power mortals could only dream of, yet I could not save him. I was a tool of destruction and nothing else.

“Somebody, help!” I screamed, my throat hoarse. “Please, somebody, help him!” Tears blurred my vision as I pressed my forehead to his. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I couldn’t save you.”

My whole body shook with a sob I could no longer keep inside. My voice turned into a wail of a wounded animal. I didn’t care about the world now. It was no longer worth saving. Not without him.

I failed.

When a gentle hand touched my shoulder, I bolted upright. Anauel kneeled next to me, her face deathly pale and smeared with blood. One of her grey wings hung unmoving, shredded, and torn.

“What happened?” she asked, and somehow, surrounded by death and destruction, her voice still sounded kind and comforting.

“S-she…” I stuttered. “No. I killed him.” My voice broke into a sob. “I killed him, and I can’t fix it.”

The Angel approached Melkyal and looked over his body with knitted brows. “His injuries are severe. I don’t know if I─”

The spark of hope ignited in me again. I grabbed her elbow stronger than I wanted. “Can you still help him? Please, I beg you. I’d do anything.” I knew those words were unwise. She could ask for any favour, and I would be obliged to do her bidding without a protest. But at this moment, I didn’t care. If there were a chance to save Malkyal, I would pay any price.

Anauel gently peeled my hand off her. “I can try, though I can’t promise anything. My power is almost spent, and his state is grave.”

“Please, try at least! Is there any way I can help?”

The angel hovered her hand over Melkyal’s body, her fingers radiating pale light. “It will take time. It would help if you could keep the fighting away from us.”

“I can do that,” I confirmed eagerly, getting back to my feet. “Take all the time you need. I’ll make sure no one will bother you.”

“Thank you.” She closed her eyes, focusing solely on her task.

My heart pulled me towards them, demanding I stay there and hold Melkyal’s hand even if it would do no good. I gritted my teeth, turned my back to them, and for the first time since I was back in control of my body, I let myself take in all the carnage around me.

The city had turned into smoking ruins. Once well-cared-for houses were now mere rubble, streets were full of holes and craters, and the bodies were piled everywhere. In the end, angels, demons, and humans rest together in perfect silent harmony.

My chest constricted, and I could barely breathe while I slowly acknowledged every tragedy and atrocity we were pushed to commit. Angels and demons were locked in never-ending battles, humans running for their lives and trembling in their hidings, praying for mercy.

But no mercy would come because gods were here, destroying our world.

It wasn’t hard to locate two battling avatars. Wherever they went, destruction followed. Every time their weapon clashed, the impact sent excess energy in waves, shattering everything around them. Neither god cared. Their bodies were torn and bloodied, but they still fought, stubbornly believing the next blow would be decisive.

Still, they were not all-powerful here. Not while they used mortal vessels.

The idea formed in my mind. It was risky, and the possibility of success was low, but at the same time, it was the only way we could stop this madness. But to give it a chance, I first had to make sure the gods were busy and wouldn’t stop me.

I ran.

I ran fast as never before, jumping over burning rubbles and dodging the lightning arrows fired by angels. I dashed towards fighting deities.

“Wrath, I need you now.”

Shall we wreak more havoc?

“Yes. Now it’s time to let it all out.”

Wrath hummed, contented.

I stopped a few hundred feet away from the clashing gods. They were a sight to behold. Their power leaked out of their mortal vessels, manifesting as light and darkness. The Mighty One was blazing like the sun, and even just looking at him stung my eyes. His brother was the total opposite─he oozed darkness coiling around them like snakes. If I rested my eyes too long on him, the blackness pulled me in like a vortex. Every time a flaming sword and obsidian spear met, the ground under their feet trembled, and nearby structures crumbled.

They moved towards the untouched part of the city, where nobles had their fancy palaces. I smirked. That was what I hoped for. In slums, all the buildings barely held together, while in the merchant district, houses were sturdier but still made from easily obtained and relatively cheap materials like wood and sandstone. That was not the case in the wealthiest parts of the city.

Monumental buildings were made of lots of heavy stones.

I fell to one knee and pressed my hands to the ground, closing my eyes.

“I need all your hatred and fury,” I whispered. “The gods are to blame for all the bad things that ever happen to us. It’s high time to pay them back.”

The Wrath stirred inside me, and my body burned as if engulfed in flames. I focused on the suffering, pain, fear, and resentment I had held inside me for so long.

And then I released it.

The ground shook, and the surface started to crack and split, spreading forward towards the gods. The loud rumble filled the air, and the avatars swayed on their feet, turning to me in surprise.

“HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND, SERVANT?” the Fallen God roared. “CEASE THIS FOOLISHNESS NOW, OR I WILL DESTROY YOU!”

I gritted my teeth and sent more power toward the buildings looming over the gods, and the structures shook but held. I screamed and pushed with all my might, with all I had.

The walls finally cracked, raining jagged stones down at surprised avatars. The looming palaces fell before they could step away, burying them under tonnes of rubble.

I gasped, my chest heaving from effort. Gods were incapacitated, but only for a short moment. I had to make the most of it while I could.

I searched for a good vantage point and quickly spotted the half-collapsed building, with part of the first floor still standing. I ran, unfurling my whip on the way and throwing it at a broken support beam that stuck out from the collapsed ceiling. I swung and scaled the remnant of a wall and perched at the top of the ruins.

I could see most of the battlefield from here. Angels and demons still fought. No one seemed to pay any attention that their gods were temporarily out of play. They were too lost in the never-ending cycle of violence to notice that. It was time to get their attention.

I pressed my hands together and closed my eyes, letting my mind reach outwards. I tapped into dark energy hanging in the air since the Fallen God entered our world. As his servant, I could easily manipulate it and use it to command lower species depending on the same power. “Creatures of the night, heed my call. Join the fight, but do not kill. Break the fights. Keep angels and demons apart.”

I watched as shadows around me moved, sprouting all sorts of creatures, big and small. I focused my gaze on the glowing dark portal. There were all sorts of beings there, I pushed my will on them, and though they fought back, I still overpowered them and pushed them to do my bidding.

Surprised screams echoed through the battlefield as opponents realised a new power came to play. The Shadow Creatures were intimidating and a force to be reckoned with, but they obeyed my will and didn’t try to harm angels or demons. If it was going to work, I had to do it now.

I raised my hand towards the sky, where winds raged furiously. I used the remaining power still around me to redirect them, not to destroy them but to carry my voice over to distant parts of the city.

“Cease the fight!” I commanded, lacing my voice with as much power as I could. “Lower your weapons and look around you! Look at all the destruction we’ve caused. We must stop this frenzy right now!”

Angels and demons looked confused at each other but did not lower their guard. But I wasn’t done yet.

“I know we were always taught to hate each other. Since the beginning of time, we have been mortal enemies created to keep each other in check. But is it all that we are? Are we just mindless tools in the hands of gods?”

The uncertain murmurs spread through the gathered warriors.

I pointed in the direction of buried gods. “You saw your gods’ real faces now. They may have once been wise and fair rulers. But now? They got drunk with power, and all the faith mortals and their servants gave them. We lived according to their rules. We always obeyed, believing that this would grant us a peaceful life in paradise or all the power we could wish for. But what did we get?” I waved my hand around me. “Destruction and ruins. Because whatever we do, it will never be enough to satiate them. No matter how many pledges their life to serve, it will never be enough!”

My voice was breaking, so I paused to steel myself. Now all eyes were on me. Angels and demons alike lowered their weapons, and instead of keeping an eye on their opponents, they looked at me. I straightened my back and raised my chin.

“I refuse to be a tool! I refuse to follow the god who can only serve false promises. I defy the Fallen One and am no longer his servant!”

The thunder rumbled, and something inside me snapped, leaving a hole that made my power slowly trickle away.

“NO!” the Fallen God roared. The rubble of collapsed buildings trembled and moved.

For one scary moment, I was convinced my voice was not enough. That I was the only one feeling this way. But then, in the sudden silence, a loud clang of a spear thrown at the ground echoed like another thunder.

I looked at the blue feathered angel I recognised as the one who caught me on the crime scene when it all started.

“I defy the Mighty One,” Amitiel said in a clear, proud voice. “We lost our way. Our virtues got twisted to fit the plans of a lunatic.”

And just like that, one by one, angels and demons dropped their weapons and said the words in perfect harmony for the first time. There was a shift in the air as the power given by gods started to leave servants’ bodies.

But the gods were not done yet. The rubble exploded as both avatars got free, energy crackling at their fingers.

“YOU FOOLS. HOW DARE YOU DEFY YOUR GODS! YOU WERE CREATED FOR ONE PURPOSE. TO SERVE! YOU DO NOT HAVE A CHOICE IN THAT MATTER!” the Mighty One bellowed.

“No, you are wrong,” I objected. “You need believers to sustain you. Without them, you have no reason to exist. You are powerless without us. You both failed your people, and now, you will pay the price.”

I reached my hands toward the glowing portal and hit it with all the remaining power. The dark fire hit the gate, which hummed and stretched but did not start closing as I had hoped. The darkness kept swirling inside, mocking me. With a sinking heart, I realised I no longer had enough power to reverse the summon.

“YOU ARE FOOLS IF YOU THINK YOU CAN DEFY YOUR GODS!” the Fallen God roared, trudging towards me through the ruins. “AND NOW YOU WILL ALL BE OBLITERATED FOR YOUR INSOLENCE.”

“Wrath, I need more strength!” I screamed helplessly.

It’s all I’ve got, the faint voice replied. By withdrawing power, she was disappearing too. I cursed. I was so close, and yet I failed again. I should have started closing the gate before rejecting god and the dark blessing he provided.

But then, another beam of energy hit the portal. The dark surface stretched and crackled, buzzing louder like a hive of furious insects. I looked up in surprise and found Zurgrun aiding me. And then more demons joined their remaining power to close the gate.

The dark energy coiled franticly like a wild animal and then suddenly froze for half a breath.

And then it imploded with a mighty crack.

A violent tug pulled me towards a fast-shrinking gate, and I grabbed the closest beam for support.

“NO!” the gods screeched in unison as the portal started sucking them in.

I inverted the summoning, so now every energy not belonging to this world was pulled back towards the other plane of existence. And gods, no longer anchored here by the faith of believers, couldn’t resist the tug.

“YOU CAN’T DO THIS! I AM YOUR GOD! YOUR CREATOR! YOU CAN’T─” the Mighty One’s tirade was cut short when his weakened vessel could not resist the pull and flew straight into the crackling portal.

“YOU WILL PAY FOR THIS!” the Fallen God howled, trying and failing to replace purchase among the ruins. “IF I’M GOING BACK THERE, ALL OF YOU TRAITORS ARE COMING WITH ME!” He raised his hand, which cost him losing his purchase and sailing faster towards the portal.

But then all the Fallen screamed in unison. It felt as if I was torn apart. The power slowly trickled out of me and was now wrenched with the strength of a hurricane. I cried out as the beam I was holding on to broke, and I was pulled, flying toward the portal, with nothing to stop me.

A hand grasped at my ankle, and I screamed in pain.

“YOU ARE COMING WITH ME, LITTLE WRATH!” the Fallen God howled triumphantly, Khaneus’ face twisted in the grimace of mad rage.

The cold emanating from the portal was almost upon us when someone grabbed my hand.

I looked up to replace brilliant golden wings beating furiously to slow the mighty pull.

“Melkyal!” I yelled, my heart singing with elation despite the fact we were still a breath away from impending doom.

“I’ve got you!”

But even Melkyal, with his powerful wings, could not stop us. We slowly but surely floated towards the portal.

“I’LL MAKE EVERY SECOND OF YOUR EXISTENCE HELL ON THE OTHER SIDE. YOU WILL CURSE THE DAY YOU DARED TO STAND AGAINST ME!” the Fallen God roared as the gate slowly devoured him. “YOU WILL─”

“Oh, just shut up, already. No one needs you anymore!”

I only caught a flash of steel as Zurgrun dived from above and slashed his sword across the Khaneus’ wrist, holding my ankle and cutting it off.

The painful howl was gone as the Fallen God disappeared into the portal.

Without extra weight and with Zurgrun’s help, Melkyal pulled me away from the closing threshold. When it finally closed with an ear-splitting pop and the opposing force disappeared, we all crashed to the ground in a tangle of limbs.

Once I finally got my bearings, I looked around. Everyone, demons and angels alike, were bunched together, just like us. They must have stuck together to save each other from the deadly vacuum.

Even though we were sitting amongst smoking ruins, I was ecstatic. We survived, and the gods were gone. I turned and jumped at Melkyal, wrapping my arms around him with my remaining strength. “You’re alive! I can’t believe you’re alive!”

Surprised, Melkyal caught me but lost his balance, and we both fell to the ground again. He groaned. “Ugh, Sanna. I love you too, but please, my ribs still hurt….”

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” I laughed like mad and kissed him. “I’m just so glad to see you!”

“Ugh, get a hold of yourself, you lovestruck idiots,” Zurgrun moaned.

I ignored him and kissed Melkyal again. Once I was satisfied that he was alive and well, we strolled to join a slowly congregating crowd of survivors. Everyone looked equally battered, and once the fighting stopped, humans started to come out of hiding.

I looked around us at the ruined and smouldering city. “So, what are we doing now?” I asked no one in particular.

Anauel smiled at me, her eyes bright as stars in her dirty and exhausted face. “Now we clean this mess up and start over.” She stepped closer and took my hand. “Together.”