Veil Of Eden

I...did not know that we have a tunnel underneath Ange.

It was very medieval...ish. Apparently, a button somewhere near the stairs opened the wall. It led to a maze of passages, which I can't seem to remember. There were torch holders with cobwebs and other insects. The stench of age could be smelled from the stagnant air.

Who did Fiel kill for such architecture?

"Are we there yet?" I asked after thirty minutes of twists and turns.

With our flashlights at hand, I was still creeped out by the darkness. They say to never fear the darkness but the creatures in them. Fiel's probably one of those creatures.

Raph gave me a look and stopped at a torch holder. He smiled and pointed his torch at the edge of the metal frame.

"See these glyphs, kitten?" He asked.

I peered down and scrunched my eyes. I added my flashlight and examined the symbol. I looked at Raph and my brothers, saying, "It looks like a..." I examined it again, "wings...crown with a cross and a spread wing with one folded down."

"God's Messenger," Jibrel smiled. "It's the symbol our family wore since time in memorial. Although," he chuckled, "Lucifer's became a sword."

Ah...

Uriel pulled that torch holder, and a shaking of the building occurred. The wall where the torch holder was slid to reveal a chamber worse for wear, which stank more than it should.

When I entered, I knew why.

"Hold that breakfast in, don't you?" Raph grinned.

There was one light bulb hanging over the center of the room. The man who attacked me was strapped to a chair. Parts of his body were missing, specifically the fingers. Gashes were all over him with small chunks of his face missing. Surrounding him were pliers and whatnot devices used for tortures.

"We're back, honey~" Fiel called out.

At his voice, the man started throttling in his chair.

I turned to Mike. "I thought he was released?"

I was ignored, the guy continuing his trashing uselessly.

Raph rolled his eyes and shot his hand towards the cowering man. A light of gentle purple erupted from his hand as he whispered, "The pain will completely disappear if you tell us what happened."

"The blood of the Darkest Innocence," he stammered.

"What?" Mike hissed in anger.

I rubbed his back to sooth him as the man went on in fear, "Blood of the Darkest Innocence, he said. I swear man, I was only doing what I was told! Harvest this guy, he says to me and get that girl beside you!!!"

Mike hissed angrily, "Take her upstairs."

Jibrel didn't hesitate and brought me with him. Oh, he was still disappointed, but, he hid it pretty well.

The moment we arrived at the main office, Jibrel turned to me with a serious expression. "I'm sure you're wondering what the Veil of Eden is."

"Honestly? Yes," I replied.

Jibrel took me towards his room. It was the one between Uriel and Raph, coated in dark blue. When we entered, it was a room filled with papers and misplaced pages lying around the floor. Books of different information wee stacked up messily on the wooden floor.

He walked towards the one with a thick black book and took it out. He scanned through this book until he reached the page he was looking for. Giving it to me, he pointed at an image of a sword. It was flaming, casting a shadow at two figures that resembled a man and a woman.

"It's the sword," he explained. "The sword that Uriel threw with God's might as he vanished Adam and Eve from Eden. When God did so, he locked up the demon that started it all, yet, the sword did more than that."

I looked up at Jibrel questioningly. "What else did it do?"

"It created the Veil that separated Heaven and Earth from Hell," and then he looked at me, "and it created a key."

I didn't say anything, giving him a sign to continue his story.

"During that time, you were tasked to be the guardian, the Watcher, the very first Gregori, of the Veil.

"There was a fight," he said with a heavy tone, his expression grieving. "You were trying to push Sariel from releasing the demons who pledged their allegiance to Lucifer's cause. Uriel, who was close to the vicinity, instantly rushed to your side. Being the only Archangel who could channel the Heavenly fire without the Ore of Nirvana, an ore made when the triumph of His seven day creation was filled with the stumping of Michael's fiery excitement that merged with the earth,  he was your sole chance in winning.

"Did you ever wonder why Uriel kept his distance from you, putting a cold facade of indifference?"

I nodded. "He was always like that, even when we were alone. He was so tight-lipped about it." There was surely a frown that marred my expression.

Jibrel explained softly, almost tearfully, "Uriel struck Sariel, but, in his defense, you jumped, your feelings for him still lingering."

Dumbfounded was the word that graced my entire being at that.

I saved Sariel? Mary Jane on crackers, I must have been high on those when I fell for that guy years ago!

"He blamed himself for your suffering. To save you from the Heavenly fire he had wielded, he fused the Veil into your body. That was not enough to save you, though. Still, God had a higher plan for you, and, in that plan came His search for a loophole. Your reincarnation was that loophole. As long as your spirit lives, never dying, the Veil will forever remained sealed."

As long as I live...

"Does that mean," I chimed, "that Sariel did not know that side of the bargain Father has on my soul?"

Jibrel shook his head.

"There are other existing methods," Jibrel amended slowly, "but the texts have been heavily guarded by the Vatican, safe underneath its vaults, kept away from prying eyes since the time of the Dark Ages."

"Can we separate the Veil from me?" I asked, not liking how I was connected to it.

"Too dangerous."

"Hello to you, too, Mike," I said.

Mike plopped down beside me, muttering about how he disapproved if Fiel's barbaric methods, follows by dusting off the small specks of dirt that stained his otherwise neat attire.

"Anyway," he sighed, "removing the Veil equates to you needing to be in hibernation for a century while six Seraphim surrounded you as they slowly dematerialize the Veil to make the pain of the segregation less..." he thought of a word and settled slowly on one, "excruciating."

I flinched, "That bad?"

"Very," Mike nodded.

"This means only one thing," Jibrel confirmed with a reluctance. "We have to fight against Sariel."