Heaven, Hell, and Everything in Between

Chapter 4: Heaven's Light

CH.4 Heaven's Light

"So this is the Armory," I said with awe, "I never thought there could be so many different kinds of weapons." And so there were, in fact, the Armory consisted of three separate areas that each contained hundreds of weapons of different styles. The closest section held nothing but bows of every shape and size. As we continued down the line, the next area was used to hold all of the pole arms and mace-like weapons that were usable to people and angels alike. The final racks held every kind of blade imaginable, some huge broadswords, while others were simple daggers. We walked through a door to the next building, and I immediately saw that this was the armor room as well as the forge. The room was cleanly divided by a glass wall, most likely to protect the already made shields and helmets from the sparks and heat of the forge. There was a row of helmets that ranged from simple caps to full helms. The next row was for the body armor, and again was everything from hard leather to plate mail. The final row was easy to spot, the shields sometimes stood taller than a full-grown man and were in sizes from dinner plates to poster board. They also were in shapes that ranged from simple circles to complex designs that defied the imagination.

One such shield caught my eye, and I asked Shikia, "What's that shield for? It looks like it was designed to chew the incoming sword to bits instead of block it." The shield was about the size of a small desk, but had metal jaws built into it that had so many crushing and cutting tools, it looked like the equivalent of a shark's mouth.

"Indeed it is," she said, "and with good reason. Some of the weapons that the devil uses are so powerful, that the only way to defeat them is to destroy their sword. Otherwise, the sword would drain the life right out of you, until you simply rolled over and died."

I could safely say that I would never be getting mixed up against one of them, but you can never be too careful, so I asked, "I hope you aren't going to send me up against them on my first, or even twentieth mission. I like being alive thank you very much."

Shikia rolled her eyes, "Even angels are sometimes forbidden to fight such monsters, so you can rest assured that you will never face one of them while fighting the devil."

"Thank goodness," I said, "I thought that I was disposable and you would send me on missions until I died, then got another young boy to fight, etcetera, etcetera."

Shikia looked at me with one of her rare smiles, "Don't be so sure, we could still do that, but right now you are more use to us alive."

I couldn't tell if she was joking or not, so I let it drop, for fear of if she was telling the truth. I quickly changed the subject to more pressing matters. "How do we let the weapon choose me?" I asked, "Do we just stand in the middle of the room?"

"Even simpler than that," she said, "you just walk along the rows, and hold your hand out to the weapons. Whichever one chooses you will let you know somehow."

"Okay, and if none of them choose me," I asked, "what then?"

"Then that simply means that the weapon that is right for you has not been made yet." she replied, "But new ones are made round the clock, so you would not have to wait long to try the fresh ones the next day."

"Can we start right now?" I wanted to know, "I can't wait to see what I'll get."

"All right," she said, "I can see that I will get no rest until you get your weapon. Follow me." Shikia led me back to the weapon room and simply pointed to the first rack in the bow section to show me were to start. I walked along the row, pausing at the more elaborate weapons to give them more interest, hoping one of them would select me. That row, and the rest of the bow section, did absolutely nothing. I was not surprised, I was horrible at archery. We proceeded on to the pole arms and maces, but still got nothing other than my arm getting tired. I was starting to get discouraged, and hoped beyond hope that one of the blades would select me.

I really didn't want one of the really big swords, and the daggers would not have enough range. I didn't realize until much later that I was already weighing my strengths and weaknesses. As I was nearing the end of the last rack for the blades, I was already prepared to wait until tomorrow to try again. I had just pasted the third to last blade, and expected nothing from the last two. As I neared the last blade though, I started to feel a sensation begin at my hand and slowly work its way up my arm. I stopped immediately and, feeling that the sensation had stopped with me. Realizing that the last blade had chosen me, I wondered how I was going to get it. If I got any closer, I wouldn't be able to move because of the electricity going up and down my arm. I noticed that no matter how hard I tried to lower my arm or move away, neither my legs nor arm could break the connection. Shikia, who had been looking at some of the other weapons, realized I was frozen in that position and casually walked over to where I was trapped. "Are you stuck, or are you just sitting in that silly position?" she asked with a small smile on her smug face.

"Does it look like I want to stand around like this?" I said indignantly, "My arm is already falling asleep."

"Then the only way you can go is to the blade." she said calmly, "The blade is testing you, as I feared it would. Some weapons choose to test their matches to see if they are worthy of their power. It will not let you go unless you give up on the blade, or you can manage to control its power."

"And how, pray tell, am I s'pose to do that?" I said, "If I get any closer the charge going through me will stop my moving at all!"

"Simple," she said with that matter-of-fact voice I had grown to hate, "your will must be stronger than the blade's. If you can do that, then you will have earned the blade's respect, and it will give its full power for you to use."

I didn't like the sound of what she wanted me to do, but it must mean that I have to want the blade more than the blade doesn't want me. I thought of this for a minute, all the while my arm getting zapped with whatever power the sword had over it. I quickly decided that I wanted this blade, no matter what. I gathered my thoughts, and removed everything but the will to forge ahead. I took one step and immediately felt the power double from its previous idle. I thought, "I must be stronger than the blade. I am the more powerful will."

The blade, as if sensing my new resolve, doubled its power again. I took another step, then another, all the while feeling the force gaining power. I was within inches of the handle when the power switched from immobilize to repel and I was immediately pushed back a foot. I knew that the blade didn't want me, but that was not going to stop me from getting it. I pushed against the power with new strength, and felt the power giving way. I pushed with all of my might, and with a sudden Pop! the force disappeared. I careened forwards, and caught myself with the handle of the sword and the rack it was on. As soon as the blade's metal touched my flesh, I was supercharged with the true power of the sword, far more powerful than any force on Earth. Even the mighty Hydrogen bomb would have paled in comparison to even this simple Angelic weapon. As the pain lessened, I found that I could move again, and I slowly got to my feet, raising the sword out of the rack as I did so. Shikia looked at me with a look I had thought she would never show, surprise.

"I am amazed to see you win the battle of wills that you just endured." she said with another thing I thought I would never here, respect. "Even some of our higher-ranked sergeants could not win their weapons' test. It shows that you have one of the strongest wills in both of our worlds." I was shocked by what I was hearing, Shikia was actually giving me praise for a task, instead of her usual criticism. There was something I still needed to know though.

"How am I s'pose to use this, I don't know how to fight with a sword." I said, "And how am I going to carry this with me, weapons aren't allowed at school you know."

Shikia looked at me with her more familiar look of 'doesn't this kid know anything', "First, we will train you to use your weapon, and second, the sword will stay in a hidden form until you summon it with its name, Harica, which means 'Heavens Light' in our language."

"What will it look like while it is in its 'hidden form' as you called it?" I asked.

"That depends on the nature of both the user and the weapon," she said, "It could be anything from a pen to an iPod, so don't be surprised if it takes a weird shape."

"Don't worry," I assured her, "nothing surprises me any more after all the stuff you put me through."

"Let us hope so," she said ominously, "If you aren't prepared, you may not survive to make the same mistake twice."