Chapter 111: Light Eternal

Chapter 111: Light Eternal

Oh man, breathed Jason. Disciple 1! And I get to pick a brand-new Benediction.

The others murmured their agreement, but James dismissed the message from his vision and turned to the far throne.

Belanger had slumped down to the ground and lay still.

Be right back, said James and took off at a run. He crossed the cavern quickly and leaped up to land lightly beside the throne.

Belanger was dead.

James crouched and pressed his fingers to the mans neck.

No pulse.

Hope you found some peace, muttered James, then turned his attention to the blue gem.

The Light Eternal.

A test humanity was meant to fail. Would just touching it behind James to its power?

One way to find out.

James picked up the Light Eternal and studied it.

It was a raw hunk of sapphire, multifaceted and bound in golden wires, some of the gems faces cloudy, others polished to a clear gloss. Looking inside was like peering into a telescope aimed at the heart of the galaxy; James got a vertiginous sense of depth and immense space, saw thousands of sparkling motes like endless star fields.

You have acquired the Light Eternal.

Do you wish to become its Guardian?

James snorted. As always the system provided the barest amount of possible information. He looked over his shoulder to where the rest of Crimson Hydra were talking amongst themselves. Hey, everyone. They looked his way. Im going to accept the position of Guardian for the Light Eternal, all right? Might make me responsible for humanity and the apocalypse though.

Go for it! said Olaf, giving James two thumbs up.

My man, grinned Yadriel.

All yours, hon, agreed Serenity.

The others nodded, so James turned his attention to the message before his eyes and willed his acceptance.

You are now the Guardian of the Light Eternal.

You have gained the ability to use the Light Eternal.

You have gained your first Miracle: Resurrect (1/day).

You are now immune to Curses, Fear, Possession, and Illusions.

No locks, doors, or portals can bar your way.

The Light Eternal has already been Betrayed, all further powers are lost.

Huh, said James, trying to process the text. You seeing this, Jelly?

Yes. First Miracle. Holy shit.

Resurrect. That mean what I think it means?

Bringing back the dead. Yes. You could probably start your own religion now. Had the apocalypse not already begun.

Ha, yeah. A little late. Shit. You think I can bring back anybody?

Try it.

James felt his blood turn to ice. His chest locked up and he couldnt breathe. The enormity of the power hit him like a bullet train. Resurrection. Napoleon, Jesus Christ, Elvis, he could bring back anybody.

But his mind turned to one person and one person first: Laney.

Clutching the Light Eternal James clenched his jaw and willed his dead wife return to life.

The Guardian of the Light Eternal may only Resurrect someone who died

Within the last 24 hours.

James gasped, overbalanced, and sat. His heart was pounding, his whole body felt raw and wounded, his mind spun.

Denied.The original appearance of this chapter can be found at Ñøv€lß1n.

James hung his head and focused on not screaming. To have that hope dangled before him and then snatched away.

But of course. Otherwise Belanger would have brought the real Jane back. James had been an idiot to think otherwise.

You all right, hon? Serenity leaped up beside him and put a hand on his shoulder.

Yeah. Just freaked myself out. The gem gives me the ability to bring someone back from the dead. I thought for a second

Your wife?

Yeah. James exhaled. Fuck. But it only works on folks who died within the last twenty-four hours.

He felt frozen. Paralyzed. It wasnt even a question of whether he trusted the Monitor or not. It was that his most fervent wish from all his long years on the streets was being offered to him. The chance to bring Laney and the girls back. To see them again. To hold them, hold them tight, to feel his heart burst at knowing they were alive, alive god damn it, and able to enjoy all that the murderers had deprived them of.

No, he croaked. He felt dazed, ruined, drained. No. I dont want that.

But you do? Jessica seemed truly puzzled. I can sense it.

I Tears welled in Jamess eyes. Theyre dead. They died. I want all that for them. I always will. Their lives. But what youre offering its

He covered his face with both hands. Words failed him. He felt dizzy. Someone put their hand on his shoulder. Then someone else, then a third.

With all the strength that he could summon James sucked in a deep breath and raised his face to Jessica. No. Screw you. No.

Hmm. Jessica frowned. Very well. A five-year reprieve. Across the world. All demonic activity will end. All hives will close. All symbols will disappear. Five years will be added to the countdown for the opening of the Pits.

Oh shit, Yadriel hissed. James!

Five years? James stared at the demon, still numb from the gauntlet he had just survived.

Five years. After which we will resume where we left off. In an hour it will have been twenty-four hours since the Fourth Wave was released. Upon the passing of that mark, a universal countdown to Nemesis 4 is slated to begin. You may buy your planet and everyone on it five years to prepare.

James passed his hand over his brow. He felt tremulous and weak like an autumn leaf.

Shit, said Serenity. Thats a lot of time. We could get Blue Light ready.

Kerim stepped up beside James. My friend. It is tempting, yes, but ask yourself: why do they offer so much? What do they fear that were relinquishing to them?

We have all of eternity to enjoy your torment, said Jessica. Five years is nothing to us, though we understood it means much to you. Thus it is a small gift in exchange for the Light Eternal.

James felt an irrational desire to call the real Jessica, to consult with Star Boy, with Hackworth. How could he be entrusted with this decision alone?

The responsibility was breathtaking, overwhelming, terrible.

The gem allowed him to resurrect the dead. One person every twenty-four hours. Was that ability so powerful that the demons would stop the entire apocalypse? It didnt feel right. The gem also made him immune to illusions, fear, curses, and possession. Again, powerful, but he was just one man. Even if he reached the heights of power, that alone wasnt worth what the Monitor was offering.

And the final ability? To open all locks and portals?

No more thought, snapped Jessica. Decide, James Kelly. Save your people, give me that trifle -

James looked past her and up at the demonic symbol.

The Light Eternal has sensed a portal.

Do you wish to open it?

Again the text grew corrupted to illegibility, but James could sense a question there. Sense that this was not how the Light Eternal was meant to be used, but that his monstrous Arete rating was allowing it to perceive something, detect a possibility that should have been beyond its power.

Jessica appeared directly before James, her eyes burning bright, her blonde hair flowing about her face as if she were underwater. Cease! Take one step farther and I shall -

James couldnt understand the question posed by the gem, not exactly, but he knew it needed but his permission to act.

Why do they offer so much? What do they fear that were relinquishing to them?

James accepted the Light Eternals offer.

The Monitor shrieked with such hatred and fear that reality itself seemed to break; the gem lit up like a sun so that blue light streamed forth from between Jamess fingers, rays of such brilliance that they didnt illuminate so much as sear the rest of the world into darkness. New words appeared in Jamess vision, but words so utterly corrupted and glitchy that he couldnt make any sense of them. The text scrolled by, vanished, smeared back into existence, and then the Light Eternal blazed with heat, searing Jamess hand to the bone.

James screamed and dropped the gem. It shattered as it fell into a thousand glittering fragments.

The Monitors screams cut off as she disappeared.

All grew still, but the world was irrevocably changed.

The sky was broken. As if the air had been a pane of ice upon which a heel had come down with brutal force. Great shards were splintered and distorted. Larger shards grew more concentrated and smaller the closer they got to the symbol, twisting and gyring in upon themselves like spiral staircases made of nothing.

Jamess couldnt understand what he was seeing, but he ceased trying to process it and stared at the demonic symbol itself. The iron symbol had burst open, revealing a pulsing golden and crimson interior, the iron sides curling out like great ragged petals. Purple fire still burned from the broken shell, but it was clear that its interior was accessible now.

What? Kimmie stepped forward, hesitant, then reached out and touched one of the air shards. Her fingers pressed against a tangible surface.

James blinked, came back to himself, and saw that the spiral of broken facets spiraled in on the opened symbol.

The Light Eternal lay shattered at his feet, its blue light gone. Just a mass of broken fragments.

You have lost the Light Eternal.

You are no longer its Guardian.

You have lost your First Miracle and all associated Benedictions.

Guided by instinct, James placed a hand on a shard before him. It felt cool and smooth like plate glass, stronger than anything he could imagine yet broken by what hed done. With a grunt he heaved himself up and stood upon the shard.

At a forty-five-degree angle to the ground. Disoriented, he shook his head, fixed his gaze on the symbol, and began to climb toward it. From shard to fragment he went, some as easy to access as steps, others requiring him to leap or haul himself up.

Higher and higher he climbed. His stomach twisted and grew sour with acid, but he kept going. A hundred feet up, the world swaying this way and that as gravity pulled him toward the shards. Higher and higher, the pieces growing smaller and smaller till at last it felt like climbing a mad staircase.

The forest stretched toward distant mountains. Below the clearing and its homestead was small, childlike.

James inhaled deeply. The symbol lay right before him, massive and bewildering. The staircase of translucent shards led right into its burning heart. He couldnt see what lay within.

But with a final breath he placed his boot upon the symbols lip and stepped inside.