Light Of Hellfire

“Are you here to fight or not?!” Baltoh demanded with his halo between his wings, already gyrating to the point where it had turned into a sphere of light. “No, we are just here for the show,” one of them hollered as he cleaned his talons without a care in the world. “What show?” Selene asked. “I’m guessing you don’t know the date. I shouldn’t be surprised, being down here in the darkness. Do you know what happened exactly one month ago?” Everyone paled, realizing that the end time had come. The search for the Throne of Cinereo had drowned in the ocean of violence, and everyone had been too preoccupied with just staying alive to figure out a way to end the madness. “The fireworks should start in three… two… one.” Upon his countdown, the fence of Hellfire around New York flared upwards like a gas explosion, illuminating the city and shooting upwards as it began to shake wildly. Back on Earth, the dome of black smoke around where New York had been, the last barrier keeping the forces of Hell back, began to open up while the Hell flames surged up the shaft carved into the planet like a chimney fire. A hole opened up in the very top of the dome, and like a vacuum, the air and Hellfire was dragged out with an ear-splitting hiss, almost like a giant steam jet. A curtain of burning clouds began to expand outwards from above the state of New York, encompassing the globe with black lightning crackling and writhing like enraged snakes. Watching the sky, everyone on Earth simultaneously fell to their knees, tears streaming down their faces as they realized that the end had come. No one disappeared and teleported to Heaven, for this was not the Day of Judgment prophesized in the Book of Revelations. This was merely the end of the world, brought on by the forces of darkness. In every country across the globe, people began praying desperately to every deity they could think of to save their souls as the wall between Earth and Hell opened up. As the dome up on Earth opened up like a blossoming flower, the city of New York began to crumble away into oblivion as it entered the universe of Hell, being burned away like a meteor passing through Earth’s atmosphere. Out in the outskirts, buildings and city blocks were falling away into Hell with tidal waves of bloody fire surging upwards in their place. The city itself was being consumed by the inferno as the gateway was permanently carved out. Michael and all the other Archangels fell to their knees, cursing themselves and fate. “We failed, the forces of Hell have bested us and brought about the end of the world. We were supposed to protect the universe and all life on every planet, but we couldn’t even protect one city. This is the end for us all, there is no stopping it or reversing it,” he said with bitter tears streaming down his face. His whole body numb, Baltoh looked over to Selene, who was crying with her face in her hands. Molly was holding her tightly, and she too had tears running down her face. The sound of Selene’s tearful sobs pierced his heart like a rusty blade, hurting him more than any physical injury could. He had failed her. He had failed the world in getting rid of the forces of hell. How did this happen? How come he never saw this coming?