[center][b][u]The Flashback: Removal of the Apostate and the Glorious uprising: Part three[/b][/u][/center] At first there was the sound of a spear pulling out of flesh, and finally, the pained scream of man. There was no red, it had retreated back into its depths and the darkness that had enshrouded the throne room lifted and all that there was to be see was a broken man on his knees. His eyes blurry with newly forming tears as he watched everything he fought for bleed and be put down like a dying pathetic animal. He felt his chest, where was the giant spear wound that had defiled him just moments ago? He looked up at the victor, standing there solemnly, waiting patiently for the fallen King to come to terms with his defeat. “Have I... been bested?” he asked with a whimper. The Champion looked down on the man with pity and sadness, he dropped his spear and before it even reached the ground it had turned to dust. He wouldn't be needing it any longer. He slowly walked over to the King and towered over the man. In comparison, the King seemed to grow smaller and smaller. [b][i]“Yes, you have been bested. Your armies have been routed, your country lays in ruin and your people revile you. You are King Blackhawke no longer.”[/b][/i] The man blinked, seemingly having trouble processing what had just been said to him. Instead he looks around the ruins of his throne room. He does not get up, but crawls towards a rubble pile and inspects it and then looks out the window, where foxholes, trenches and bodies lay strewn about. He shirks away from the sight of the carnage quickly and turns away, facing a wall and staring at the Champion, though to the Champion it seemed as if the King was simply looking through him to some other horrifying revelation that seemed all too real and physical. “This-This isn't what I wanted” he pleaded desperately. The Champion listening with pain in his heart. “No no, this wasn't supposed to happen. Why is no one smiling? Why is no one smiling in my mind?” He scampers over to the torn down doorway entrance to the throne room. Clutching his forehead in aggravation. “I remember once, I was surrounded by people with smiles. And now I can't remember what they look like? I need to find them. I need to find those people.” He points an accusatory figure towards the Champion, as if he would repudiate the King's thoughts. “I need to find those people and ask them to smile. So that I can capture it in my head” He collapses on his hands and knees and shivers all over, and with a choked up and shaky voice, says; “Because I've forgotten what they look like! And it's so scary, because a world without smiles is such a terrifying place. Where are they! Where are they!” [center]“WHERE ARE MY SMILES!”[/center] The Champion runs over to the man on the brink of an emotional breakdown and lowers himself to the King's level and wraps his arms around him in comfort. [b][i]“sshhhh”[/b][/i] He said to the man, who proceeded to cling and begin gasping for air. [center]“Where did they go!”[/center] [b][i]“sshhhh,”[/b][/i] [center]“Oh Gods..”[/center] [center]“Oh Gods!”[/center] “I did it didn't I? I killed all the smiles. They're all gone!” “I butchered them! Why? Why did I do that!? He clings tighter to the Champion, his eyes filled with an insane terror as the first pangs of guilt took hold. “I didn't know. I swear I didn't know. Please forgive me” [center][i]Please...[/center][/i] ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Julian entered through the White door and out the other end he enters of a closet, stumbling over the garbage that had been strewn about the dusty floorboards. He looks around the two story building. It was his summer home as a young boy, where he spent his days playing in the sand and swimming in the ocean. He remembered he would lick his lips and taste the salt when his parents called him back for Dinner. Happy memories he thought. Now the house was decrepit, it had been abandoned for years. Luckily, the house had run on its own generator which was down in the basement. He would have to hook all that up again and probably fix the generator if he could. But right now, he didn't care about any of that, he just wanted to see the ocean one more time, and get out of this house. It was too depressing to look at in its current state. He opened the front door, it made an annoying creaking sound and the wood had been rotting. Amazing, just another thing he would have to fix. He walked over to Mary, who was sleeping on the beach. He decided to let her be and continued walking towards the ocean, the sound of its waves crashing onto the beach had a hypnotic drawing power to it. He took off his boots and socks and threw them to the side. He grabbed his sword and unbuckled the sheathe around his waist and with as much strength as he could muster, chucked the cursed thing; wanting to be away from it for at least a little while. He then shook off his peacoat and threw off his shirt. He unbuckled his pants and finally threw aside his underwear as he walked into the ocean. It was cold, very cold. The water merely touching his feet sent a painful chill throughout his entire body. But he kept walking into it, he could taste the salt in the air and feeling the tiny droplets catch onto his thick black beard. He shivered horribly as the water reached his genitals and finally his belly button, where he simply stood and waited form the waves to crash into him. And they did. He buried his feet into the soft dirt below him and embraced the cold pain that came as each breath stealing wave thrashed itself onto his scarred and built body. His matted hair on his head and chest became wet and heavy as the salt water began to untangle themselves with the force of each wave, and soon his hair and beard hung low and somewhat cumbersome as it became sculpted by the ocean. He stretched out his arms and lifted his head up to look up at the sky. Embracing the unbearable numbness he now felt from the cold. “...Welcome home” he mumbled tiredly to himself __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ [b][i] “Thats right! Skitter away like the rats you are!”[/b][/i] He sneered mockingly before the black bile began to wrap itself around the sword and the air became heavy, almost impossible to breathe indicated by the remaining Angels and Demons panting and wheezing horribly. [b][i]“I can feel it... the Essence in this blade. With this salvation is at hand! Mankind... will have a future.”[/b][/i] A crazed high pitch laugh began to emit throughout the city, almost orgasmic in its sound, disturbing and frightening. With the very buildings vibrating and rumbling with this sick chuckle. To the remaining citizens of Loom, it looked like the Apocalypse; red fog ascending from Hell, crazed laughter and the buildings falling apart. Who would have thought that this was no Demon that caused this chaos, but a Human. Different from all the rest sure, but still a Human. The black sludge rose to the heights of several stories to overlook the city, and with one mighty swing an entire building practically disintegrated due to its force. It looked down on the remaining Angels and Demons who had assaulted the three Angels, and with one final mental bombardment, their minds snapped and they all fell over, dead. The sludge roared: [b][i] “This is your only purpose. To be used as meat shields and thrown away. Your corpses are stepping stones to the Gods, and it is humanity's birthright to climb those stones and attain divinity with our creators! We are not merely masters of the Surface. We are Masters of the world![/b][/i] Suddenly down below, a voice countered back, loud and strong. [i]“A little cocky today aren't we?”[/i] The behemoth of bile looked below to see a single man, carrying a spear. With one swift motion, Judas slammed down his entire mass on the tiny spec of a man. Only to shrink back and yelp in pain as is gargantuan size crumbled back unto its normal size. The man had not moved a foot. He had just simply stuck out his spear which apparently had been enough to drive back the bile's attack and weaken it. His hairline was receding, but still refined, his face was clean-shaven and his facial structure was strong, with a powerful jaw and cheekbone. His body was wrapped around in a simple gray robe. Though the one thing that Judas noticed was his essence, even to one such as himself. It was almost overpowering... and very familiar he knew this man- [b][i]“JESU!”[/b][/i] he cried out in a voice that was a combination of joy, fear and rage. The man simply nodded; [i]“Indeed my old friend"[/i] the ancient king responded taciturnly. Twice now, twice now had Judas wrecked the world of the surface for his own demented vision of the future. And now twice he had to stop him. Which was when Judas noticed the spear in his hand and yelped in shock. [b][i]“IT WAS YOU!? You defeated Blackhawke. But... I killed you!”[/b][/i] it screamed in vain. [i]“And you killed yourself, that didn't seem to stop you.”[/i] [b][i]“Thats because the Angels stopped me from... oh they didn't”[/b][/i] [i]“Indeed they did. The Council at the time made a special exception for me and prevented my soul from entering the void. Staying in Heaven”[/i] [b][i] “So the great King of Kings gets to party in heaven while the dirty Heretic and traitor gets to rot in Hell for all eternity. A nice feel good story for everybody right?”[/b][/i] [i]“Judas...”[/i] Jesu said, regret and pain filled his voice and made it hollow. [b][i]“THEY HAVE GROWN SO CORRUPT THAT THEY CAN NOW DECIDE WHEN A MAN SHOULD DIE OR NOT! And you lived with these arrogant cretins for how long? You watched as our kin were crushed and oppressed by that Council and their heathen Angels! You watched as Humanity's life was sucked away by these parasites and you did nothing. They've brainwashed you into thinking they deserve to live.”[/b][/i] Jesu sighed [i]“I find it ironic how you accuse me of being manipulated. Despite what you've been up to these past few years.”[/i] Judas snickered and made a low gurgling noise from the bile that was now swirling itself around Jesu, no use trying to mentally break him. He knew It wouldn't work. [b][i]“I revealed the truth, that is all. I came to Blackhawke and gave him an epiphany. I told him how his country was nothing more than a puppet to the Council. How his grand little Kingdom wasn't as grand as it seemed. And I was right!”[/b][/i] Jesu in a sudden anger, swung his spear and the swirling bile jumped back in fright and reflex as Jesu's blue eyes became hard and unforgiving. [i]“You threw a country into war in an attempt to affirm your own sick paranoia! You broke a Man who was nothing short of honorable-[/i] [b][i]“AHAHA! Blackhawke? He broke himself when he couldn't defeat you with the power I gave him.”[/b][/i] [i]“You seem to be having trouble yourself”[/i] Jesu said with a shit-eating grin. The infuriating roar that came forth from the bile was deafening. Heard loud and clear for miles around the City of Loom, all the remaining survivors of the City suddenly had blood slowly dripping out of their ears as they winced and tried their best to block out the noise. Only Jesu Cristo seemed unaffected and unimpressed by it. [i]“Is this what you've become? Throwing temper tantrums like a child? You were so much better than this. Even at the final moments of my life, I saw you as an articulate and wise man. It's a shame you've degenerated to this.” [/i] The Bile roared as it charged towards Jesu. He readied his spear and mumbled a little saying to himself. [i]“Even now though. You are still my friend.”[/i] The bile hit the spear directly, but instead of shirking back as before. It kept pressing and pushing Jesu back until he found himself slammed into a wall, which for a moment left him stunned, just enough time for the Bile to slam itself into Jesu right through the brick wall. Jesu emerged from the rubble with a stagger and looked up as the entire building was ripped away under the grasp of the bile. Now ginormous once again, it towered over Jesu as it glared down at him as the red essence begin to swirl and fuse itself into the fluid. Forming a red sticky mass that seemed to leek a pinkish pus. Sliding and crawling through it gelatinous innards, the sword pierces the mass at the very top and is taken hold of and swung in the air. Producing a powerful wind that pushed Jesu back slightly. [b][i]“WITH THIS BLADE I WILL BLOT OUR YOUR EXISTENCE! AND THEN SALVATION FOR ALL MANKIND!”[/b][/i] Jesu readied his spear in a defensive stance. Just before the final swing was made, Judas made one last statement: [b][i]“and I'm sorry you will not live to see mankind prosper...”[/b][/i] * Throughout the world outside of Loom, all seemed rather quiet. Especially when compared to the chaos that had taken hold of the city and was bleeding it dry. The peaceful nature of a small house on Mount Jigger overlooking Loom. All seemed serene and peaceful. But in one sword swing, that chaos would spill out and spread throughout the land. All could see it, the sudden, blinding white light and the ear shredding explosion that followed right in the center of the City. Even on the highest peak of Mount Jigger, the sheer sound it made was an incredible display of power and violence. Then as the explosion plumed into a giant smoke cloud that covered the entire city. The shockwave came and the force behind it was incredible: trees were ripped from their roots. Doors in nearby towns were torn from their hinges and cars were thrown about in the streets. From far away, the City of Loom looked like Dominoes with building after building collapsing without stop. With only a few in the entire city located on its outskirts managing to stay at least partly intact. The Urban center of the City however, was just rubble now, rubble and cracked pavement. Twisted metal that were once cars laid scattered and there were no bodies. They had all disintegrated without a trace of their existence. Angel, Demon, Human, it didn't matter. All that was left was a red haze and a black bile that had returned to normal. Whatever its definition of normal was. [b][i]“Thats right! Run away like those Angels taught you! Some King you turned out to be.”[/b][/i] With those last, curt, unimpressive words spoken. The Red fog retreated and the bile merely evaporated, leaving no trace that it was even there in the first place. And any mental hold Judas had on [i]any[/i] survivors was now broken. And the residents could look at in stunned silence at what their city had become. * Hell was in a panic. The Lords were trying to assess what had happen in the last few hours and their subjects were running amok; panicking and thinking deranged thoughts like the end times were here. Though in Judas's mind, they were perfectly right. It was here, but only for them. For Humanity, the construction of the eternal Golden age would begin implementation. The sword now laid in his hand. With a distasteful smirk, he licks his lips and begins to slowly slide the blade down his throat, feeling the steel slice the innards of his throat but become submissive to his own essence, adjusting to its new master and his will. He detected some other Essences as well. Archangels. Looks like this blade had captured a few of them... as well as... The FleshShaper. They would come in handy. And would be slaves to the dominant race. For a Human was a God in comparison to an Angel or a Demon. Once the blade had been completely engorged inside him. With a hobbled walk he began to walk towards the Gate. It was a long walk sure, but he wanted time to enjoy this moment of victory. And to plan ahead for the future, to plan for Mankind to rise above the Heathens. And most important of all, he wanted to understand this sword, and as it laid imprisoned inside him, he would become adjusted to its power, its potential. And then, he would crush that gate once and for all. [b][i]“Oh Melody”[/b][/i] he cackled in a wheezed and pain voice as he hobbled along in Hell like an Old man [b][i]“Lets Get to work on that Mountain shall we.”[/b][/i] [center][b][i]The End?[/b][/i][/center]