see Heaven dragged from the sky.
The Archangel Michael and his soldiers stood at the Garden’s edge, entranced by the transformation before them but seemingly unaware of the scene transpiring behind them.
Simeon looked at Remy then and smiled; the cruel creature that the years of immortality had forged returned. “And so it begins,” he said, laughing, enjoying the nightmare that was about to unfold.
Remy released him then, tossing the man away from him as if repulsed. The forever man spun through the air, drifting toward the center, which was the Kingdom of Heaven.
The Shaitan had launched themselves into the air above the Garden of Eden, a swarm of the abominable, intent only on evil forged from God’s rejection.
Remy knew what he must do. From his pocket, he removed the rings of Solomon and without a moment’s hesitation slid the rings upon his fingers.
Countless millennia hidden beneath the soil of the Garden had twisted the Shaitan, who were once considered as the Almighty’s messengers and servants, before the creation of the angels. No longer were they divine in nature.
But demonic.
And it was time that Remy informed them of this.
“Hold, demon spawn!” he announced, feeling the power of Solomon’s ring flow through him.
The Shaitan shuddered en masse, their pale forms in flight above the Garden beginning to fly in a circular motion, creating a kind of demonic cyclone.
“You will do no harm this day.”
The Shaitan fought him, screaming and attempting to break from their spiral configuration, but they were held in place by the power of the ring.
Remy then turned his attention to the Archangel Michael and his troops, still blissfully standing at attention, totally unaware of the evil that had arisen behind them.
“Michael,” Remy called as he hovered above the archangels.
He saw Michael’s eyes clear, realization gradually turning to fury.
“Remiel,” he spat in recognition.
Again, Remy felt the power of the rings, this time allowing him to command his own kind.
“Archangels of Heaven, behind you is a threat that must be disposed of if Unification is to be carried out.”
Michael and the others spun around, truly amazed at the sight of the Shaitan behind them, swirling above the Garden.
“What madness is this?” Michael asked, turning his angry stare to Remy.
“A madness that has been allowed to go on for far too long,” Remy told him. “Dispose of it and be done.”
It looked as though the archangel commander might argue with him, but he had no choice, and spread his powerful wings. The others did as their commander did, swords of fire igniting in their grasps. Michael let out an ululating cry before leading a flock of angels toward the maelstrom.
To at last purge a festering evil from Eden.
And allow it to return, pristine, to Heaven.
• • •
Remy turned from the massacre of evil to the spectacle before him as the Golden City and Hell’s Pandemonium came together to create a thing of awe and beauty.
He flew toward the new city, a fascinating yet strange mixture of ornate citadels and spires that appeared to be forged from crystal, gold, and the rays of the sun, and towers and buildings that seemed as if they were chiseled from obsidian, marble, and arctic ice. It would be called simply “the Kingdom,” and it would be breathtaking in its awesomeness.
Flying toward the center of the shifting and changing city, Remy was suddenly bathed in an unearthly light, and everything before him seemed to fade from view, revealing two figures standing upon a platform of gold that hovered in the air. He was compelled to go to it and touch down before the two figures.
“Hello, Remy,” the Almighty said, wearing the guise of the old gentleman as he had before.
“Remy,” Lucifer Morningstar said, a sly smirk upon his perfect features.
Remy furled his wings as he landed upon the platform, bowing his head and dropping to one knee.
“That’s quite enough of that,” the Almighty said, stepping forward to gently take Remy by the arm and force him to rise.
“I got here as soon as I could,” Remy told him. His eyes then darted about nervously, catching Lucifer’s attention.
“Lose something?” the Morningstar asked.
“Simeon,” Remy answered. “I tossed him in this direction, but . . .”
“The forever man,” Lucifer said, glancing to the Almighty beside him. “Your Son truly had no idea what He’d created in that one.”
The Almighty smiled sadly and nodded his head. “To some it would have been a gift to truly experience everything that life had to offer as well as to use the knowledge acquired with