I WATCHED AS Daniel’s body fell to a slump in the chamber. Then my chamber closed, and energy crackled around me. I found myself somewhere between reality and a dream; my body became numb, and everything went black. A rift into a black void opened above me, and I was pulled into it. Darkness was everywhere. A light, nigh and fast, formed before me and shot through the void, pulling me deeper. Perhaps I should have felt fear, yet I was at peace. I was a soldier, and it had always been my duty to face danger in the place of others, to fight in their stead to keep them safe. Darkness has always awaited me, and light has always carried me.
The void shaped itself around the light into a tunnel. A scene appeared at the end of the stream of light, and I heard the sounds of battle. A sinister laugh echoed through the void. I was not alone. The entity and I were heading into the same battle.
My instinct was to raise my hands to battle it now, but even as the thought formed, a bolt of energy struck it away.
The entity laughed. “Well done,” it said. It was a black cloud, a mass of shadow. The shadow and I traveled the rift and loomed over the battlefield. In the distance, deep in the forest, an army of mortals and angels fought fiercely against a massive army of demonic creatures. Below, Ahadiel stood over the bodies of the Warrior and the Destroyer. Ahadiel removed the sword from the Warrior’s body and placed it across the sword on the fallen man’s bloodied chest, folding the lifeless arms across the blade.
In an instant, I was thrust into the Warrior’s body. The wound healed as I entered. The shadow entity that had shared the rift entered the Destroyer’s body. The power I felt in my body was beyond my words, yet as powerful as he was, the Warrior was not able to achieve victory on his own. Only Jesus could do that.
“Fighting from victory.” At last I understood what that statement meant. Our victory was assured. All that was required was to sacrifice ourselves. The first warrior had opened the door for me. Standing quickly, I raised my sword. The Destroyer rose, too.
“My friend, we have been given a chance to partake in something grand,” the Destroyer said to me.
I remained steadfast and silent.
“The coming of darkness!” To my amazement, the Destroyer sheathed his sword. “Stand down, Warrior. We will not fight in this time and place. There is another battle coming for us, another time and place where you and I will match swords. But not before.” With that, he turned to enter the dark forest and faded from sight.