The End: Raphael (Part 2)

RAPHAEL 1

That infidel! That...that...that... 2

It's moments like this that I wish angels could swear. 3

But that's not the point. That fool Raziel took a team of mine and transformed them into a Nightmare. 4

Blasphemer and heretic! Now I must not only avenge Michael, the mightiest of us, but I must free my fallen comrades from the Nightmare. 5

I look around me as I strike earth, reverting to angelic form only moments before impact. Drawing my long sword and igniting the blade, I see Raziel slicing down humans screaming for mercy. I see his minions destroying and ravaging the land. 6

It is time I took matters into my own hands. 7

(No, Raphael) booms in my mind. (You must not.) 8

(I don't care,) I reply. (If you won't let me, I'll use my own power to do it anyway.) 9

(Raphael, you know what that means...you have taken the first steps to joining your brother Raziel.) 10

(He is NOT my brother!) I reply. (He is a fallen who was once proud and strong, but is now weak. He is an angel who has given his essence to the darkness. He is a spirit without purpose. I am none of these things.) And with that, I close off the link in my mind, sealing my fate. 11

I am not a fallen, nor am I a true angel anymore. I am now an angel fallen from glory, a Repentant. Never before has an Archangel become a Repentant. Three have Fallen and become the hell-crazed demons like Raziel. 12

This means I also have a limited amount of holy energy. 13

Searching the minds of those around me, I locate the best and brightest of them, reach into their essences, and tweak them very slightly. Instantly humans around me begin sprouting wings and shining light. They are Repentants, like me. But being a Repentant is not enough. So I tweak the air around them as well, and it forms into weapons and armor that will be effective against the demons. To one named Sunrhykhanti I give a special gift: a sword that will cleave Nightmares to the bone. With very little energy left, I surround him with a protective aura and instill in his mind the need to slay Nightmares. 14

It is not until then I notice my sword is not longer lit nor quite so luminescent. 'No matter,' I think. 'I have relied on holy powers for far too long anyway.' With that, I take to the air and flash over to Sunrhykhanti.15