his location. Michael hesitated for a moment, allowing some distressing ideas to trouble his pursuit.
“They have docked. We will keep them in their craft until you arrive.” The words in his ear suppressed his worries. He vacated the detainment room and began through Heaven’s barren winding corridors.
Many entities he passed by stopped to gesture a greeting or salute to the male, many out of respect for his status, others for knowledge of his honours upon their home world, some simply for seeing a revered face walking amongst them.
It did not take long to reach the depot within Heaven’s hull, in which the stray ophanim had come to rest. Michael stared at the crew as they stepped down from the craft, six individuals, each covered from head to foot in their people’s bronze suits.
His gaze remained fixed whilst the crew’s suits fell away from their oval skulls, one after the other until the final entity was revealed. Samyaza is not here. Surrounded by Heaven’s malakhim the Eden crew stood in silence, they appeared confused and disorientated.
“Where is your commander?” The high-malakhim’s calm voice filled the depot however none spoke up. “We know she lives, she has already made contact. With your help we can return to Eden to ensure any survivors are returned safely to Heaven.” The confusion strewn upon the crew’s faces changed, they looked upon each other as though to find comfort.
“Michael, the population of Heaven will soon be ready.”
“Have Samyaza’s crew escorted to the sick bay, have them looked over for signs of contamination.”
“Contamination?” At last he heard one of the crewmates speak up yet the high-malakhim’s concentration had already moved on. He now focused upon the living quarters. Its entirety was soon to be filled with malakhim and watchers so Yahweh could address the entire mother ship. Their plan was about to be executed, and perhaps, freedom for the malakhim would be achieved. The very idea was thrilling.
“Michael,” Gabriel’s voice filtered into his headset. “Heylel-” the malakhim fell quiet for a moment. “He is gone.”
“Then it is too late, go to the living quarters, malakhim, present the humanoid, have it in full view of the crowds. He will turn up, with or against him we will convince Heaven, we will soon be free from this hell.”
8.
It was not until Samyaza gazed down upon the living quarters that she realised why Heaven had been empty, her fears of being caught whilst making way to the sick bay had been rampant in her mind and still were. She had been projected into Heaven from her ophanim, entering through the gate below the watcher’s halls, and from there traversed through its bowels to avoid being apprehended. Should these revelations unveiled upon Eden hold any truth she knew her presence would be unwanted.
With troubled efforts she dragged Heylel’s lifeless body through the mother ship’s empty gangways but abruptly paused at sight of a death probe, fixed to the outer shell of Heaven. What is happening here? Her confusion only spurred her movement. She frantically hauled the seraphim’s colossal frame along with her in efforts to return to the watcher’s halls. She sought to show him Eden from observatory four and let him hear for himself through Azazel’s logs what had been done upon it.
“Yaza?” The seraphim’s deep voice caught Samyaza’s attention, her bright eyes shifted to look upon her leader.
“Heylel?” She stopped again, laying him down against a black metallic wall, they were not far from their destination.
“Where am I?” The gigantic being rest slouched, he leered up at the commander, his irises were pale. “You have returned so soon, how was your journey? What did you learn, Yaza?”
“We crash landed, Heylel. We found a malakhim in Mount Hermon, she said...” She knelt beside the enormous seraphim leaning to his ear, with hushed tones she spoke. “She said Yahweh ordered the destruction of the garden, that he had murdered Azazel’s subjects and that Azazel had died protecting it.”
“No. He would not.” The entity’s breathing became rigid, his flat facial features scrunched with the pain of his breaths. Samyaza immediately reached out, laying a small webbed hand upon his chest.
“I struggle to believe it too,” she whispered, “but I saw with my own eyes the subjects’ remains. The ark’s data is in observatory four. You must see for yourself, and listen to Azazel’s words. Rafaela said we have all been deceived, Heylel, I fear our descent was sabotaged.” With a struggle the seraphim stretched out for Samayaza, she lifted him back to his feet and together they went on through the empty obsidian halls until observatory four was reached. Within, the commander helped Heylel to Zebub’s chair and rest him down.
At once Samyaza programmed Heaven’s grand lens to produce images of Eden, starting at the barren ground upon which the garden once flourished, she retraced the abandoned settlements Zebub had shown her before returning to Eden.
“Now listen, Heylel.” The commander relayed Azazel’s voice through the room, shuffling between the cube’s records to expose the important details she had found. How the experiments within the garden had been a success, how Azazel had produced the nephilim and how the humanoids outside the garden had abused their strengths until their kin turned upon them, driving them underground.
“Those who lived outside of the garden were no different to the cherubim of our world, Heylel, Azazel succeeded.”
“Then why,” Heylel wheezed his words, he paused for a moment to catch his breath. “Why would someone seek to destroy them?” The logs went on, detailing the rise of the children of Eve, and their ultimate fall as the nephilim encroached ever closer to the garden’s boundaries.
“The malakhim said herself she was ordered to lure the nephilim to the garden, Heylel. The experiments were destroyed. Two thousand of Eden’s years have passed, what we could have achieved in that time...” The commander sighed, looking upon her leader’s faded eyes. “Such a waste.” The seraphim was silent, he appeared hypnotised by the images around him and the sound of Azazel’s voice.
“It is good to hear him again.” Samyaza nodded though Heylel was distant.
“What will we do?” The enormous entity shook his head.
“I don’t know, Yaza, all appears lost, and this talk of conspiracy, I struggle to accept it.”
All sets of Heaven report to living quarters. The words erupted within observatory four silencing Azazel’s voice. All sets report to living quarters. Again the message thundered throughout Heaven. Heylel turned with trouble.
“Help me, Yaza, let us learn what is happening here.” The commander nodded, darting to her leader, with her best efforts she hauled the giant around her and together they exited observatory four. Outside they were met by the single burning glare of an enormous Malakhim. Michael stood alone staring at the two as Samyaza struggled to carry her leader.
“Aid us, Michael!” She stumbled to a halt feeling Heylel dip out of consciousness, he collapsed against the commander wheezing.
“I will not assist him, Samyaza, I cannot. If you knew more you would understand.” All sets of Heaven report to living quarters. Again the message blared out through the ship’s walkways.
“What’s happening, Michael?”
“Seraphim Yahweh announces our departure from Eden.” Samyaza looked bewildered.
“What? Why would he? Our future is here, our survival depends upon it. Do you know what has happened upon Eden, Michael? Azazel’s logs explain it all, the experiment can be resurrected if we remain.” The entity shook his head, his single eye shifting between the commander and Heylel.
“If you have listened to his logs you must know of the nature of these humanoids, of what will occur should we pursue this programme beneath the seraphim.”
“Azazel spoke of them, Michael, yes, but with our guidance they can learn -”
“It will not be our guidance, Samyaza, but that of the seraphim. These humanoids will be nothing but an entire species bred to be slaves, just as we malakhim were. The seraphim are all the same, their set seeks only t
o dominate and manipulate all other life.”
“He lies, Yaza.” Heylel whispered to the commander, holding onto her body for support.
“Heylel is different, Michael, it is Yahweh that seeks to leave Eden, who had the experiments sabotaged. We came across a surviving malakhim within Hermon who asked of you, Michael, she confirmed Azazel’s logs.” Michael’s eye stilled upon Samyaza.
“Rafaela?” Samyaza nodded. “She still lives?” The lightness of his voice was all too familiar to the commander.
“No,” she sighed, “she was of significance to you?” At her words Samyaza watched the giant shudder, he looked briefly at the floor before his burning iris returned to her, the weakness in his tone vanished.
“I once lived blindly, Samyaza, I existed only to serve. I hoped you would have understood our fate yourself by now. Without your brilliance this intervention upon Eden would never have succeeded, and without the seraphim perhaps it would have thrived. I know you hold him dearly, Samyaza, know that I am not the enemy.” The towering malakhim stepped forward reaching up and behind his shoulder but paused at a commotion filling the walkway behind the commander.
“Samyaza!” Their discourse became interrupted as Zebub clambered into the black corridor followed by a vast crowd of watchers. The bulging male panted heavily. “Yahweh gathers Heaven’s population in the living quarters, I fear he will force us from