Chapter 18: Are You Willing?

"Don't make me wait no longer, fools!"

—••••••••••—

BEYOND THE

VEIL: THE

GREAT SHIFT

CHAPTER 18:

ARE YOU

WILLING?

—••••••••••—

Suddenly, two dozen Sentinel Wardens jumped into the sky and lunged at the Angel of Time while still bowing arrogantly.

They all remained unmoving in the air as Arthur fully stood up - smirking he said two words: "Dearest Adam!"

Coming down faster than light and imagination, a golden-colored lightning bolt struck the Angel of Time. He didn't seem surprised as it struck his body, after the ashes cleared, Arthur was still there undamaged with the lightning bolt in his hands.

Jumping up, he pulled back his right arm and released the lightning bolt within his right hand - its direction heading towards the hopeless, frozen 24 copies. But it passed them and headed downward towards the 10 originals.

This was so seamless as it struck one of the clueless originals, its body was filled with lightning bolts as the black abyss where its heart should be exploded. As the lightning ravaged their bodies, it spread to two others and they exploded as well. The surviving 7 backed away as the lightning dissipated.

The Angel of Time let his control over the 24 copies, they fell to the ground immobilized. Walking on them and towards the remaining seven prey, suddenly, the gray, unmoving world created by the Angel of Time, dissipated along with six out of the seven originals and 16 copies - oddly enough, the 24 copies that Arthur immobilized remained.

The Sentinel Warden that battled Daemon and nearly lost remained. Within the empty eye sockets of the Sentinel Warden - a pair of red ethereal eyes appeared, the pupils were scarlet red with extremely paralyzing black surrounding the pupils.

A wave of energy was produced from these eyes as it traveled through the instantaneous tunnels of the spirit realm as they were directed at Arthur Seraphim; The Deceiver Cloaked in The Divine Veil of Time, the Angel of Time under the Tantamount Order.

Arthur frowned as it seemed at any moment, he would cry in disappointment. He backhanded the wave of energy as it was redirected towards the sky, then he quickly grabbed the flying ethereal energy and directed it back at the Sentinel Warden.

It managed to dodge away as thin illusory lines protruded from his fingertips, it quickly moved the thin lines. To Daemon who could barely watch this spectacular performance, nothing happened. However, Arthur - a man who transcended reality, saw the Knitting Veil of Fate and Destiny shift in the favor of the Sentinel Warden.

Arthur chuckled, this turned to laughter. This made Daemon feel a tingle in his spin. This laughter made Daemon Eggers realize something.

Although he was nice towards him and his companions, at the end of the day, "he" is an Angel - such power that can explode the human psyche and body. "His" powers shall not be tested, "his" might shall be known, "his" authority and mercy will be given if necessary.

"He" is a "man" beyond reality, "he" is beyond human comprehension, "he" is beyond moral authority, "he" is beyond the point of life and death, and "he" is beyond the veil.

Suddenly, "he" spoke out: "Ah… if Verisius was here, she would've joined the dance. Damn shame she's slumbering," Arthur said, a hint of disappointment and sadness in his voice.

Without reaction, Arthur watched as the Knitting Veil of Fate and Destiny wrapped around "his" body. The Sentinel Warden appeared in front of Arthur who was completely covered by the white colored Knitted Veil.

"By Mother Verisius. And Father Azeroth.

I declare your Fate. And. Destiny. To be my. And my alone."

In the suffocating silence after the declaration formed by the Sentinel Warden, the Knitting Veil of Fate and Destiny ensnared Arthur, the Angel of Time, weaving threads of temporal confinement around "him". The air pulsated with the weight of inevitability as the Sentinel Warden reveled in its triumph.

Yet, the atmosphere quivered with an unexpected disturbance. A whisper of malice lingered as the Warden turned, only to be met with a grotesque revelation. Behind it, the 24 copies the Angel of Time had once obliterated - each resurrected, "their" hair now a cascade of ghastly golden blonde, eyes gleaming with an otherworldly hue that transcended the boundaries of sanity.

In eerie unison, "they" donned golden sunglasses, shrouding "their" eyes with an unnatural glint. A collective, twisted smile etched across "their" faces, each expression mirrored unsettlingly across the spectral faces. The air thickened with a palpable malevolence as the Sentinel Warden found itself encircled by the very echoes of its past destruction.

The symphony of twisted laughter echoed through the ethereal expanse, creating an unsettling harmony that reverberated through the Warden's being. The once-ominous figures, now transformed into ghastly reflections of "their" former selves, embodied an unnatural fusion of horror and mockery.

With each step, the golden-eyed apparitions closed in, the golden glow of "their" sunglasses casting an eerie radiance upon the Warden's realization—that the abyss of death had birthed an inexplicable nightmare, a legion of echoes haunting the present, "their" grins an unholy reflection of the Sentinel Warden's malevolence returned.

In eerie unison, an energy that resembled death released from the glint from their golden sunglasses - directly landing on the Sentinel Warden. Its body began to be bloated as it exploded - instantly killing it. "They" all began to chuckle uncontrollably. The Sentinel Warden was killed. It was killed with the very same technique it so desperately tried to use on Arthur - "Death Gaze".

The gray, unmoving world came to an end as color invaded the world once again. Multiple white illusory doors opened from space-time as all 24 copies turned puppets of Arthur entered.

The Kitting Veil of Fate and Destiny was shattered as the cloth disappeared instantly, releasing the Angel of Time - Arthur Seperhim.

He descended from the sky and landed right in front of Daemon Eggers, the bronze-colored gentleman with long, soft black hair that had his mouth agape. Arthur looked down on him, a glint of disapproval.

"He" scoffed with a slight smirk gracing "his" lips - "You're weak, Eggers. A were nothing but a puppet tangled in strings by some fool!" Arthur insulted Daemon as he chuckled.

Narrowing his eyes, Daemon grumbled: "Weakness, 'sir', is a perspective only the blind and foolish believe in. I've danced with all my might with death and lost the battle."

Arthur smirked while hearing Daemon speak, however, the last sentence made the Angel of Time laugh coldly. "Danced, perhaps. But your steps lack the grace of pure power. Your past is stained with blood as a soldier should tell you that!" Scoffing more, he muttered in disapproval: "You just reek of pure desperation!"

Laughing more, the Angel of Time was unaware of Daemon's grin hidden with some threat of madness and anger. "Desperation is a tool, Seraphim! Wielded by those who understand sacrifice, your sanctimonious posturing won't mask the emptiness behind "those" eyes!" Stopping "his" laughter, Arthur bent down to meet eye-to-eye with Daemon Eggers as "his" eyes narrowed.

He leaned in closer and held Daemon's nape from behind his neck, "Emptiness, you say? I've shed my humanity willingly, and embraced the void. What have you gained, Eggers?! Anything except a hollow victory, perhaps?!" Daemon Eggers did nothing, not an expression, not a sound.

He simply opened his mouth and whispered - "In this world, victory is often a solitary journey. Yours is nothing more than a hollow echo delusion. Tell me, Seperhim, what price have you paid for your Godhood?"

Arthur paused for a second before grimacing: "Price? The cost is irrelevant. Power demands sacrifice. Are you willing to sacrifice yourself? For your wife?! For your child?!" Daemon was frozen in place by this revelation as Arthur leaned in closer.

"That power - the power needed to kill the Old God of War, Azeroth, the power to secure a happy existence with Aryanna and your children! So once again, I must repeat myself." Arthur whispered closely within Daemon's ear.

"Are. You. Willingly?!" Daemon was broken from the revelation he received as he turned to meet eyes with the Angel of Time. Muttering with his lips and eyes shaking, "I am."

Pulling away, Daemon saw Arthur Seraphim; The Deceiver Cloaked in The Divine Veil of Time, the Angel of Time under the Tantamount Order smirk as he muttered.

"Good."