The Queen's Shadow

The Universe

~~~Apollos

As soon as I saw him I forgot everything. I forgot about the Battle, I saw my main focus. I send a punch directly to his face, I keep punching him. I give him my entire focus, laying into him. This is the man I haven't seen in years, this is the man that took my wife from me this is the man that threw me into hell. I met those cold eyes and WWII those cold blue eyes that had no problem killing my brothers and arms. The man who had no problem ripping my entire platoon apart just to find me.

He impales me in my stomach going straight through me. I cough up blood, but I don't stop punching him. It's then that I get shot in my back several times. his arm was still in my stomach he was trying to pull something out, he was trying to disembowel me. I lock my right hand with his hand, I then wrap my left arm with one of my intestines. I kept him from pulling it out and then in one swift motion I ripped his arm off.

I could see the shock in his eyes when he realized how little I cared about my own safety. I had been running for 7 years, I spent two years tearing everything he had down. I spent months learning everything I could about him, he holds his wound as he begins to run. His body getting smaller and smaller, and I also see people covering his tracks.

I pull the arm from my stomach, and I cough up blood. The world starts getting darker, as I collapse to my knees. The vampires were closing in, but I had backup from all sides. Jeáne, Anton, and Blake are close and keeping them away from me. I'm fighting to stay conscious as I pull out my vampire killer. I put it in my heart, I refuse to blackout here and now, I refuse to lose when I am so close. I didn't feel any stronger, that's when I did it the only thing I knew. I shoved it deeper inside to the point where I couldn't pull it out.

I feel myself standing back up. I see vampires in the field attacking others. Our men were slowly pushing them back, I found myself walking deeper into the battlefield. I then found myself letting out a laugh, why was I laughing? I was out of ammo, I could make more ammo for this gun but I knew it would cost too much. 'What are you about to do?' I hear Zamiel's voice in the back of my mind. "No ammo," I said as I handed it to her.

I look at her, I know the question I've been wanting to ask her for a while. she's been watching over me since before I knew she was here. She's been waiting for me since before she introduced herself. I find myself asking a question that I didn't think I would want to ask, even while in my limit break State I could still keep my mind. I realize how much I look like her and I shudder at the idea. I pull it out and revert to my normal self. I didn't feel like passing out maybe it was because she was here.

It was then that I opened my mouth. "What is your connection to Hans?" I say to her. It was an obvious truth, I don't know how long I have been ignoring it but the fact that she always conveniently comes while I'm in distress tells me she knows more than what others want to believe. If anything she may or may not have orchestrated everything. She then smiles and says, 'What makes you think I am connected to Hans?' "Don't play stupid, I know you are capable of killing me. I know you have something on my mother. In fact, I know a lot more than you think,"

She then sits on that disturbing chair as she smiles, 'Fine. I'll tell you everything. It's not going to impact me in any way' I then put my finger up, I know she could tell me something that could anger me but I want to get to the disturbing parts first. "Did you have Hans kill my family?" It's then that Zamiel puts her hands up, 'No,' she says as fast as possible. 'I would've never done that to you, I want you to serve the angels. I want you to serve God's purpose,' she continues. 'Killing your family is something that I would have never done nor did I set Hans onto you though his choice was a major factor in what I would do.'

I look at her as I tighten my grip on my fist, "What do you mean?" She smiled as she said, 'He could have happened to anyone, he just chose to do it to you. You did know his first intended target before you was Priscilla, right?' I was taken aback, almost insulted by what she said. Then the insult quickly left, the bastard couldn't even handle Priscilla. With all of his strength, he knew that she would find him and kill him. Priscilla was the type of woman who didn't care how many people she had to kill to get something done. That's probably why I don't like when she kills and why I don't let her do it.

"Why is he immortal?" I say to her. 'He made a deal with the angels. His immortality is a product of me more specifically,' I was so angry at that moment but I forced myself to stay composed. "You gave that madman immortality?" She smiles and says, 'You weren't even a thought 600 years ago.' that long I think to myself. I couldn't blame her but she shared responsibility in me putting him down. "So how do I kill him?"

Would she give me a weapon to put him down? 'Use your left arm to crush his heart.' My eyebrow raised, my left arm? I look at all the tattoos and rotate my arm. Its glowing aura, "This would be the thing that would kill him." I said to her sarcastically. She smiles and says, 'I know irony can be quite surprising.' I find myself laughing, I keep laughing until I'm on my knees.

My clothes were torn asunder, my body was broken, and everyone I love was at risk, yet laughing at this moment was all I could do. 'What's so funny?' I look at her baffled face as I say, "Time is frozen I can kill him just like this. I saw the direction he took off and, all I have to do was go right to him and rip his heart out." I said pointing in that direction.

'It's not as simple as that,' I heard her say the words, and yet I still couldn't understand. "What do you mean it's not that simple?" She sighs almost as if she has to tell me there is no Santa Claus. 'You can't kill him like that.' Did I hear her correctly? Was I insane? "I can't do it like that?" I say to her pointing out the obvious flaws in this madness.

"He is a murderer a monster he is forcing people to die for him, I then point my finger at her. and you're telling me he gets some divine privilege?" She raises both her hands and says 'No if you kill him while time is stopped he'll just regenerate.' I was confused, I killed everyone with that damn gun while time was frozen. Why can't I do it now? All of these thoughts shot in my head. 'Remember he has immortality gifted through divinity, that immortality still works while time is frozen. If you kill him while it's still going forward, he'll die. If you do it while it's frozen he'll just regenerate because his divinity protects him against all forms of permanent death.' I could just blitz him the moment time unfrozen but something told me she wouldn't approve of such a dirty method.

She then says, 'All you have to do is crush his heart, you did all of this to win.' I felt my rage overflowing, to the point where it was a sweltering pit in my stomach. "There isn't any winning if innocent people have to die." It was then that she walked beside me as she said 'If you can't handle doing this, I can just dispatch you.' She was tired of hearing me talk about it, she wanted me to go on about my business.

"You just can't answer me can you?" The defiance in my voice let her know I wasn't going to back down. 'It's not just Divinity that stops this,' she says with a deep sigh. 'It's destiny, if you don't fight this battle as intended the universe we'll find a way to punish you and those around you.' She then gestured towards the other people in battle. 'These people will still die whether it be by your hand or by the universe's, though the universe can be crueler.'

I want to stand my ground so desperately, but what ground do I have to stand on? no matter what I do these people still die and I still fail to do anything right by them. Is that the only thing I'm capable of? Is that what this universe is telling me that war is the only thing I'm good at? 'Follow the battle as intended follow your role as intended. If you do it this way, I'll make it up to you.' I heard her words, and no matter how much I wanted to block them out they were true.

She then reaches into her chest and pulls out her still-beating heart. 'This is on my life as an angel,' I heard her words but I focused on that damned "'heart"'. If you could even call it a heart. I have seen hearts, and that look nothing like one. It looked like a swirling black abyss, it also had a white light pouring from it. just looking at it you could tell it distorted space around it, all the space at the store it around it, and yet her hands were completely fine. After the shock wore I hear a faint heartbeat, it's then that I make eye contact with her. 'I'll make it up to you after the battle.'

I find myself enraged at the answer but I then call myself I had the battle to fight, and I wasn't about to stop fighting. Even now the universe fights against me, and even now I realize how little control I have over my life.

End Of Chapter: The Universe