~ Chapter 16: Final moments ~

[Michael’s point of view]

“Where are we?” I asked as fear rushed through every cell in my body.

I was afraid of the demon who appeared before me, I was afraid of what he might do to me. Unlike Syliar, there was something different about him, something scary.

“Outside.” Severus replied with a smirk on the tip of his lips.

As the dark fog cleared up around us, I found myself standing outside of the old apartment building. We were far away from the entrance, on the other side of the street, near the crossroads. Behind us and all around us were countless men dressed either in army suits, elegant black suits, or priest garbs. A tank passed by us, then I heard the loud helicopter flying above my head. I looked up and followed the roaring machine with a confused look in my eyes. I never saw a helicopter or a tank before. But all those men and women who passed by us ignored us completely. The demon Severus was most likely to blame for this strange wonder, just like it happened with me and Syliar at the Metro.

“Who are these people? What are they doing here?” I asked, but for some reason, I was afraid to hear the answer.

“To kill Syliar Heartbreaker. That’s why.” he replied nonchalantly.

My heart froze.

They were here to kill her?

Lowering my eyes, I looked at the dirt in front of me and clenched my fists. I didn’t want such a thing to happen to me. I did not want Syliar to die... My heart throbbed and hurt just thinking about it.

“Why?” I asked.

“Because it’s fun!” he replied calmly.

His words confused me. I didn’t see the reason in employing such actions for fun.

“You won’t be able to do it! Syliar will win! She’s strong!” I declared with a confident tone of voice, but he could tell I was faking it.

There was nothing to tell me she could win against this combined army. There were so many people who wanted to kill her, and all of them were being controlled or acting under that demon’s orders.

He looked back at me from the corner of his eyes, but I could see his smirk rising up on his lips.

“Oh, really?” he asked sarcastically.

The demon vanished.

I blinked surprised and then looked around, but I could not see him. Did he leave?

Suddenly, I felt something grabbing and lifting me up by the neck.

“AAA!” I screamed, but no one reacted.

Usually, they just turned their heads towards me and tried to see what was wrong. When they saw me, they would either laugh or try to make matters worse, but this time, there was absolutely no reaction from them.

“You are such a pathetic being, you don’t even realize this whole thing is your mess!” he told me.

“W-What do y-you mean?” I asked with a trembling voice.

His fingers tightened around my neck and for a moment I believed he would snap it in half, but he didn’t. The demon kept me between fear and death, unknowing how and when he would finish me off.

“A fallen angel... What do you think it is?” he asked as he spread his wings and flew up in the air, taking me with him and stopping in a spot from which I could see this entire battlefield.

As much as I was afraid of being left to fall to my death, I somehow knew and also hoped that this wasn’t going to be his big plan. Looking down, I saw those powerful tanks and fearless soldiers open fire at the entrance of the abandoned apartment building from which I was brought. There was a lot of dust and smoke rising to the sky, so no one could see clearly in who or what they were shooting, but I had a good guess. I just hoped, deep down in my heart, that she hid well and was spared of their unleash madness.

The demon’s words, however, I was unable to answer them. In the Bible, the Fallen Angel was the other name for a Demon. All angels unwilling to follow God’s commands were cast out of Heaven and dropped into Hell to remain forever as demons, hence the name ‘Fallen’. But I had a feeling that wasn’t it.

“A fallen angel...” he started, and I listened to his words carefully “is an angelion who is unable to choose between either good or evil. These indecisive beings are cast out of Heaven and sent to Earth or any other suitable planet to live through various mortal lives where the balance of duality shifts constantly. Each step they take is meant to push them either towards good or towards evil. Basically... you were a coward who didn’t want to choose his own destiny and thus, you were sent here to suffer until you would make up your mind.” whispered the demon, but he did so in such a way that sent shivers of fear down my spine.

Unable to choose between good and evil. That thought, that sort of existence, they didn’t seem plausible to me. How could one even move around in such an unstable realm? Of course, at this time, I was still unaware of the true laws of good and evil, of the fates an angelion could choose between. I was merely a human teenager with a messed-up life who only desired to live a normal life like everyone else around him did. As for these complicated matters of life and death, of good and evil, of a duality war that spanned across who knew how many eons? Such things were beyond me.

“But do you know why Syliar is so desperate to get her hands on you?” asked Severus.

My memories went through the filter of the new information I received. The only thing I could see was that she wanted me to make a choice and become like her, a demon, but was that really it?

“No...” I replied.

“That’s good... Keep thinking about it. Although, let me give you a hint. No matter your choice, your end will be the same... death.” he laughed.

I flinched, and my heart started to beat faster while my mind thought chaotically about what his words could mean. From what I was given to understand, I had some sort of choice, some sort of opinion in this whole thing, but in the end, it would not matter. Whatever I would do, Syliar was going to kill me.

But would she? Or is this just some sort of mental game? I thought.

I could not figure it out, and I considered myself too much of a weak human to do anything about it. In the end, all I could do was watch. If Syliar wanted to kill me, there was nothing stopping her, and I was certain it was the outcome the demon called Severus desired as well. Then again, probably all the humans there desired my death.

In my entire life, the only being who showed me any sort of love was none other than a demoness. I was certain that in all the religious texts that could be found on this planet, the demons have been portrayed as nothing more than merciless beings unable to love or care for anything else but themselves. In the end, all those who got tangled up in a demon’s web could only end up suffering.

Even so, what if all those texts, what if all those stories, what if everything mankind knew about them was only a part of the whole truth? What if these demons could actually love, but the only one to love was their Soul Mates?

My mind wandered around that idea as I watched helplessly how mankind tried to kill the demoness named Syliar Heartbreaker. They fired tank shells, napalm grenades, missiles, and a rain of bullets at the building. The structure barely withstood those merciless attacks, but that was only because they targeted a single area of the entire thing. A single tank shell to the left or right would have been enough to make the whole thing crumble to the ground.

In my heart, I prayed for Syliar’s wellbeing and hoped she did not get hurt. Maybe in the end, I rooted for the idea of a demon being able to love only and only their Soul Mate because if that was true, then the one Syliar loved was none other than me.

The humans appeared to be winning, but then, out of those purging fires, something came out. It jumped on the first soldier and ripped his head right off his shoulders. A helicopter exploded somewhere above me, and then I saw that thing kill the next soldier and simply obliterate another group.

Although everyone began to fear this monstrous entity, I was probably the only one who didn’t. That entity, whatever it was, had a strong connection with me. I could feel it, deep down, inside my heart and then I realized why that was so. I was not looking at some monster or some apparition, but at Syliar, who simply took another form.

Unconsciously, I smiled, showing that I was relieved to see her alive and sort of safe.

“Where are you Severus?! Get your lousy ass out here! I command you by the order of the Demon Queen ruling over this Kingdom!” she shouted loud enough for everyone in this area to hear her.

“SYLIAR! OVER HERE!” I shouted, but she didn’t look my way.

“No point in screaming after her, she can’t hear you, Michael.” said Severus as he brought me down to the ground.

Letting me go, he stepped in front of me and smirked.

“Why are you doing this?” I asked.

“Oh, you’ll see.” he said.

A shiver ran down my spine when I heard him. I feared whatever sinister plans he had for me and Syliar.

“My, my! Aren’t you a delightful queen? With what may I be of service?” asked Severus as he flew up towards her.

He acted nonchalantly as if nothing was wrong, and everything went according to his plan. I wanted to say something, to shout at Syliar and tell her to be careful, but I knew the demon was keeping me silent. Thus, I suffered alone, trapped in that magical cage, which kept me separated from my… beloved.

“What is the meaning of this, Severus?” she asked as she pointed at all the humans around us who were aiming their weapons at her.

Speaking of which, none of them opened fire. It was as if they were waiting for the two of them to have their talk first. At that point, I did not doubt the possibility of the demon controlling all of them through some sort of weird magic.

“Nothing. I just merely wish to remind you of something.” he said and vanished before my eyes. I blinked surprised, but then I saw him appearing behind Syliar. “You are weak.” he said.

My eyes grew big, and my jaw dropped as I watched horrified when he stabbed her. The blade pushed through her chest, popping out on the other side. The dreaded scene showed me Syliar’s end or at least what I thought it was. What else could it have been? Now, the only being who ever showed me love was about to vanish right before my very eyes, while I… while I remained powerless to stop it.

“MUHAHAHA!” Severus laughed as he continued to attack the injured Syliar.

Attack after attack, the demon was relentless and did not show any desire of stopping soon. Meanwhile, all I could do was watch that horrifying battle between two powerful demons, but in which, Syliar was holding to the losing end.

“No... please stop...” I said with a weak tone of voice, but neither could hear my calls.

Even if they did, for what reason would they stop to listen to me? Compared to them, I was nothing and from what I had been told so far, the only reason they were fighting, the only reason Syliar was suffering was because of me. I was to blame for absolutely everything.

Thinking about those things, my heart felt heavy. It was hard to breath. It hurt, it hurt so bad to feel that way, but what could I do?

Tears rolled down my cheeks and fell on the ground. I felt trapped in an echo of sadness and despair, an invisible cage from which the key to escape was the very end of my existence.

“DIE!” shouted Severus.

I looked up and saw the demon about to land the finishing blow on Syliar.

“No... please...” I whispered, trying to beg a merciless entity of absolute evil from committing the deed.

“Syliar... don’t leave me alone.” I said.

Severus lowered his sword, stabbing the demoness. It was the final blow. I was certain she died. Was there any doubt?

“Syliar... no...” I whimpered.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake, pebbles and rocks were lifted up in the air by some unknown force. All the humans around me dropped on their knees screaming and shivering as if struck down by their worst nightmares. I blinked surprised as I looked around. I wasn’t feeling any of those things.

Looking over at Severus, I saw the demon stepping back with his hands raised as if trying to protect himself from something. Fear was not something I ever expected to see from that demon. But what could have possibly caused all of this?

Out of nowhere, the humans around me started to laugh like maniacs. As if possessed by some unscrupulous demon, they started to rip each other apart. They attacked one another using their teeth, knives, and weapons to inflict as much damage as they could upon their former comrades. Some killed themselves, while others worked in groups to torture only one of them, who acted as though he enjoyed every moment of it.

“GRAAAH!”

The horrifying growl was quickly followed by a powerful shock wave. It broke the windows of all the buildings and cars in the area, but I had the feeling it went even farther than that. Alarms and horrified screams quickly followed as the lights flickered and then went out. Fires broke loose far away from where I stood. Two helicopters flew too close to each other and collided in midair. The impact force turned them into a ball of fire and twisted metal hurled down towards the ground, but instead of crashing on an empty street, it hit an inhabited apartment building across the street. Screams spread faster than the fires did.

“SEVERUS!” screamed Syliar as she jumped out of the crater in which he pummeled her to near death.

I did not even realize what happened. I did not see the two demons anymore, but all of a sudden, a powerful explosion was heard to my left and countless buildings were turned to rubble in the blink of an eye. A powerful blast of dark-red energy flew across the sky, and another building was destroyed to my left.

“What’s happening?” I asked, but who could answer?

Among all the humans here, I was the only one still holding on to his sanity, or maybe I was the insane one by imagining the hellish world I lived in so far?

“You sure have guts, Severus!” shouted Syliar.

It sounded like it came from above, so I looked up. They were floating at about ten meters or so above the ground in front of the old apartment building.

“Your highness... I did it for you!” he begged.

The demon was a mess. His wings, arms, and legs were broken and covered in his own blood. There was a hole in his chest, and his face looked like it met the punches of a furious boxer. On the other hand, Syliar’s demonic body had changed greatly. Her wings were bigger and covered with a red glowing energy. The same could be said about her hands and feet, but now the sharp lines of her claws, spikes, and armor plates covering them were even more accentuated. Her eyes turned completely black and felt like they could rip your soul out and drag it into the depths of an unending ocean of darkness. Her hair had changed colors from a pure fiery red to one mixed with strands of charcoal black, but it was also longer.

In my eyes, at least, Syliar remained beautiful and appealing. The pressure, fear, and aura of darkness everyone around me felt, they did not exist for me. Maybe it was the effect of being her Soul Mate because when I looked and focused on Severus, those sensations returned. I was afraid of that demon and although his aura of darkness was significantly smaller because Syliar’s was stronger, I could still feel the pressure of his presence.

I gulped and chose to focus my attention on Syliar alone. Even in the middle of this chaos, she still remained the only one upon whom I could gaze normally. Seeing her safe and well made me feel much better, and not even for a single moment did I care to ask myself what was going to happen to her.

“Syliar...” I whispered softly.

The demoness looked back at me and showed me a soft smile.

My first intent was to try to reach her, so I got up on my feet, however, in that exact moment, Syliar and Severus vanished.

I blinked surprised. She was not there anymore.

Frightened by the prospect of being alone once more in that cold, dark world, I called out to her.

“Syliar! Where are you?! Syliar!”

My heart raced, fearing that sudden separation. What if that was it? What if that was the end of our short relationship?

Thinking about those things, I found myself shivering and crying. It pained me to believe they were true, so I forced myself not to.

“Syliar!” I called out to her one last time.

“She can’t hear you. Now die.” whispered Severus.

I looked back, and in that moment, I felt a sharp pain in my chest. Looking down, I saw the reason for that. I got stabbed by a long sword made out of a dark-red crystallized energy. My heart stopped, and blood dripped from the corners of my mouth as I felt my body slowly succumbing to the cold embrace of death. There were no thoughts going through my head at this point. I was in a state of shock.

The demon pulled his sword out, and I fell on my knees. I couldn’t stand up, and I felt my weak body losing all of its strength.

That was it... my moment of death.

There were so many things I wanted to try to do, but in a world filled with unreasonable hate towards me, were those things even possible? What choice, what purpose did I have?

Was I only meant to suffer?

No...

In my life, there was but one being capable of loving me... she was a beautiful demoness called Syliar. If she was a demon or not, I couldn’t care less. In the end, wasn’t love supposed to ignore everything and just be? Wasn’t love supposed to forgive all evil, never succumb to darkness, and exist as a link and bridge of intense emotions between two entities sharing the same feelings?

I once read how love could change everything, how unconditioned love could be offered towards anyone and anything no matter the damage and pain they had previously caused you.

Maybe that unconditioned love was the only thing I didn’t offer to this world even if it hated and despised me. That’s why, before I died, I wanted to offer my unconditional love towards everyone and everything, but most of all towards Syliar.

Syliar... One last kiss was all I desired from her, one last kiss of love...

“Michael... I love you...”