He walked. The rain poured. The wind blew. The cloak rustled. The people gawked. He was a demon, walking late at night on Houston Street of Lower Manhattan, New York. It wasn't just the dark sunglasses that gave away that he was "out of place", but it was also his large stature, his flowing cloak and the fact that he had no aura. In short, he smelled fishy. Some assumed he was taking a break from an action-movie shoot. Some assumed he was some kind of mob lord. In either case, people crossed to the other side of the street as he walked towards them. Paranoia after all, is a thing that pceople in this city have been living with for a long time now. Locan noticed four things. One, yes, everyone was gawking at him. Two, there are these large billboards that have pictures of people wearing underwear and others which show things called: cigarettes, which you are asked to buy, but apparently killed you. Three, at four different points around him, there was a man or woman standing still, wearing all white and giving him nasty looks and four, that “jaguar” parked in the middle of the cross-walk, the red license plate read: "KROME".

He smiled. "And I was just getting used to the pollution."

"Locan." The firm voice was unmistakably of one man. One angel. His job is to look over human beings. His job title is Herald of the Devic Kingdom. His name is Aryel - The Lion of God.

Locan sighed, as he turned around towards the voice four consecutive hollow thuds slammed against his body. He found himself sprawling across the air, breaking steeply to a 90-degree angle. Now this was something his human form wasn't used to: Lack of atmospheric pressure. And it was decreasing, fast. He winced as his human-body eardrums suffered with the break-neck increasing altitude, and he felt like they were going to burst.

The flight stopped. He was now high up in the air. About 20,000 feet. Four air sprites grabbed a hold of each of his limbs. He looked around and snickered. "Whups, can we go down for a second? I think I lost my cloak."

He looked up and saw hordes of angels descending in the horizon, a hundred in every degree that he turned.

Aryel glided towards him. "You mean this?" He held the cloak with his hand. "Pretty impressive, demon; a cloak that reaches into the abyss of hell; specifically into your demonic workshop. Where you’ve built your arsenal of equipment and weaponry of evil."

"Hey I was bored. You wanted me to spend all my time playing checkers like all the other demons?" Locan replied defiantly.

"You're lucky I'm a no-nonsense angel, Locan so I'll ignore your insolence. Now you don't belong here. And I'm obliged to pass two judgments, one for illegal crossing your boundaries set by God and the other for... The murder, of a spirit of light." Aryel said; his anger was water suppressed under an oily-layer of calm bitterness.

"Of your two judgments I presage this: That the first you will overlook because of the preordination of an old mutual friend, and the second you will overturn because of the reasons of the reasoned." Locan said.

Aryel raised his eyebrows and nodded in surprise. "A servant of chaos seeking the discourses of order? You speak in a tongue famed only by the Judges of the Old Testament. That is very interesting. But I will play along in your game, but only because that we are under the laws of God, which govern fairness. Now speak. What is your case?"

Locan: "Reasons of the reasoned, because I killed her in self defense. She was about to say the four words of banishment and I had to… Stop her."

Aryel's wings drooped, and for a second he was going to lose his balance. Quickly his memory recalled the moment where he was concentrating on Enoch. He caught by the side of his eye Diana trying to get up after her crash and moments after Locan got up and started walking away. He had said something. Whispering. He had said... "Figures. You're not going to listen. That's ok then, I'll go find him myself. Heh. I guess if he doesn't listen I'm screwed." The demon was right. He never intended to kill Diana. Aryel looked up at Locan, his eyes were watery, all of his being demanded to know what the hell was going on.

"Go on." Aryel said. His voice half crackling.

"Preordination of an old mutual friend." Locan said, and he raised his head towards Aryel, and looked around him. Countless of thousands of angels were watching. Listening. A cloud of confusion filled the atmosphere.

He reached towards his sunglasses, and slowly lowered them. An instinct inside Aryel gave him the instant flash of the evil glow from Locan's right eye when Diana started shooting her arrows at him. Aryel screamed: "STOP!" and raised his hand towards Locan, but another instinct kicked in, this one more powerful, and made him pause. No, it made him freeze.

Locan opened his eyes.

Aryel's whole body trembled. "No... That’s... IMPOSSIBLE!! It's..." Aryel choked.
The thirty six thousand angels gasped. And they all bowed.

For out of Locan's right eye, a light sparkled, shone to every corner in the sky. And proclaimed to all the most ancient thing that was in fact, the opposite of all evil.

For inscribed deep into his eye was none other...
Than the divine name of God. Which none may pronounce. And all has forgotten.

Aryel bowed.

Locan put the glasses back on. The angels straightened up. Aryel motioned for them to leave. The skies opened and the host ascended.

Locan and Aryel were now on the ground. It was an unprecedented notion; for it was the first time that an Angel and a Demon walked side by side. It was still raining. The four air spirits summoned by Aryel were now uncast.

"You've earned my attention. Now you'd better make it good. Start from the beginning." Aryel had said, he also handed him back his cloak as Locan claimed that it harbored his life support systems. But Aryel made Locan swear an oath of truthfulness. And so he trusted him.

"When the universe was first built. Two races were created." Locan narrated. "The race of light and the race of darkness. There was nothing called Good and Evil back then. Just Angels and Demons. We all worshipped God, we all made the perfect balance of nature. We lived like that for years without number."

Krome nodded. "As a later-generation angel myself I wasn't around back then, but I know of all the stories. Demons and Angels shared creation together before the elements existed. And then..." "And then." Locan interrupted. "God had a plan. He decided to separate night from day. He wanted to see if the absence of his light would make us demons stop worshipping him. It was a test."

Locan: "The test proved its worthiness because as soon as we were separated from light, our connection with the divine left with it, and we forgot. So God called us Evil, and called light Good. And thus..."

"Time began. But you must also realize that at this pace, I'll be bored fast." Krome ended Locan's sentence.

Locan nodded. "Anyway, fast forward a few million years into the future. With the separation of light from darkness, our powers were limited to the realm of dreams, the unconsciousness, the Black. But because of our immense sizes and unlimited powers, we took control of the cosmos, throned by the kingdom of Hades with the arrival of the first fallen angel, Beelzebub. We were all living there happy, yet full of hatred towards that race of beings -next dimension over- that God created and made rulers of the Red, The Realm of Reality: the race of man. Because of all the gifts they were given which we didn't have. Their abilities, their power to will and most of all: Their SOULS. " Locan said that as he clutched his fist tightly.

Krome looked on.

Locan continued: "Several thousand years ago, the son of David -Solomon- took the throne of Israel and ruled. He built a temple dedicated to God. But the King noticed that his best worker, a young boy was growing thin by the day, so he asked him about it and the boy complained of an evil spirit, which visited him every night, stole his food and sucked on his soul. King Solomon consulted his ancient books and read about our world and us. He prayed to God and asked him to grant him power over demons."

Krome remembered. "Back then, I was in the charge of the Healing Host alongside Raphael. His Eminence, under the direct orders from God, was instructed to forge a ring that will subdue any demon. And thus it became: The token of the King of Diamonds worn by the King of the Earth. Solomon wore it, and with it, he was able to subdue the demons that dared cross the dimensional boundaries, moreover, he'd send demonic messengers INTO Hades to bring demons up to him. For each demon that was recalled into Solomon's presence, it was asked what evils it afflicted man, what star or constellation it represented and what angel it despised. Each corresponding angel was thus summoned to be the steers of the demons under Solomon's service. In fact, Uriel, Raphael, even myself were amongst the many angels that were summoned. Solomon's wisdom intrigued me, and every time he saw me, asked me to send his personal gratitude to God. It is amazing how a powerful human like that remained modest for all those years that he was. "

Locan frowned as he remembered. "Yes, the ring. That's how our former master Beelzebub was caught by Ornias the traitor, son of Uriel. Beelzebub was reduced to be a slave for the humans. His majesty was shattered forever. Not only that, but Ornias also gave away all of our secrets. How we whispered into the ears of fortune tellers the happenings of the future and how we went to the ceilings of the skies and listened into what was written of the affairs of man. Listen that is, until we are struck down by angels or we tire from our travels, and we fall back into earth. We fall with streaks in the sky which humans used to think were falling stars then years later with the advancement of science, they were confused with meteorites. "

Krome looked at Locan: "Cut the story short, Locan. What's this got to do with you and me?"

Locan opened a gate and stepped into a cemetery. The rain stopped. Krome followed Locan with his eyes.

He was about to walk in when he realized that what Locan just did was that he made an amazing analogy. The cemetry's gate represented the hypothetical doorway between the Planes of Earth and Hades. It was a perfect analogy, after all, cemeteries separated the world of the living from the world of the dead.

Krome slowly walked in. "This remind you of home?"

Locan snickered. "Hell, the repository for souls empty of light? The aqueduct that receives vessels proven not worthy for heaven? The domain for souls which we can skewer, spit on with our sulfuric saliva and cook with our fiery breaths?"

Locan kneeled next to a wreath. "Once, I used to get drunk with pagans' blood offerings, used to cross oceans of galactic dust and drew the canvas of space with my breath. Until I, too, became enslaved in Solomon's court. The ring was talked about throughout Hades, and we feared it so. So when the ring was pointed at me. I had to surrender. I didn't dare look at it because I've heard of the suffering of those who did. I gave in, the "brave" demon Locan. And for years, I carried blocks and had to find gemstones from the four corners of the earth to adorn Solomon's temple."

Krome said: "Until...?"

"For years we longed for our freedom, our days of glory and bliss. But it never came. EVEN when a demonic prince, Asmodean from Edom took over the palace and banished Solomon... You know the story very well. Even though he had thrown the ring to the sea, he never set us free. Until one day, Solomon was fated to find the ring in the belly of a fish and used it to return to the palace and overthrow the false king."

Krome: "But unfortunately for you demons, he didn't set you free then either, the temple wasn't ready yet."

Locan shook his head. "Yeah tell me about it. About a year had passed since his return, and one of the demons looked at me and said: For a million years Locan, you were known as The Brave. You reached stars that no one else dared to stretch to. Why don't you show us, Locan, show us the bravery that set you apart from a lot of us." "I pondered about that challenge for months. Then one day, I made my decision...

I planned to steal the ring and throw it away into the farthest ocean on earth.
We all knew that King Solomon took off his ring before he went to bed after his nightly prayer. He always placed it next to his bed-post. So with the help of a human boy whom I threatened to kill, my bonds made of iron were unlocked. I sneaked in through the king's bedroom, and there it was: on the bed-post.

I walked towards it, careful not to wake the king. I reached for it, and touched it with my human form. All of my senses told me not to look at it, but the curiosity overtook me and I. Looked.

The ring was so beautiful it captivated me;
It was a stone with a pentagram inscribe in it. I strained to see with my human eyes at those inscriptions in the middle of the lines. And as soon as I realized what it was. It was too late.

The divine inscriptions shone with light that penetrated my human eyes and made a permanent imprint on my right eye (the slowest to close)..."
"And that's how you got the Divine Name of God imprinted into your right eye." Aryel nodded. The puzzle-pieces started falling into place.
"...As I screamed in sheer pain," Locan continued "the King awoke, grabbed the ring that fell from my hands and wore it.
The guards ran into the room and started beating me with their rods and spears. As I sat there, crying like a baby, the king motioned the guards to leave. Then he looked at me.
He walked upto me and raised my head.

"You wretched old thing." He had said." Locan turned to look at Krome.

Krome's eyes were not in focus, he was picturing the story in his head. He was blending with this ancient tale.

Locan knew he didn't have forever to tell his story so he continued. "He was about to bind me again when he paused and raised my chin. He looked into my eye, and saw the inscription, then sat down.

And for the first time, Lord, I felt a human trait that I never understood until then."
"Compassion." Krome and Locan said together.
"...The king smiled at me with sad eyes. "An evil spirit engraved with the most divine of names. Praise be to God. Which one be you, demon?"
I sobbed, overcome by the human form's emotional frenzy. "My... Name... My Lord... Is.. Lo... Locan."

The king touched my cheek. I have never felt a human's touch before. It felt. Warm. And that reminded me of something... From a long time ago. Suddenly, this being which we feared and loathed... Was a friend. He took me close to his side, and gave me the most valuable gift I could've ever dreamed."

Krome wondered. And looked at Locan. "A gift... What?"

Locan: "He taught me how to read."

Krome raised his eyebrows. "A demon... Read?" Krome wanted to laugh, but he stopped once he saw the look on Locan's face: For the first time in his long life, the angel Aryel sees a demon smiling. Sincerely. Affectionately. Thankfully.

Krome understood. The old mutual friend Locan was talking about. Was indeed Solomon.

"What's the preordination that you were talking about, Locan?" Krome asked.
"In due time, lord, if thouest would grant me time."
Krome paused then nodded: "Ok, go on."

Locan continued. "It was his last months before his death. He was ailing. Every night, he'd call me into his chambers before he went to sleep and taught me of his wisdom, and showed me his immense library of books. And as he fell asleep, he'd let me finish reading the books myself. Though I had one eye blind, it was the eye that lit the pages which I turned. And so I read with my left. And that's how I pulled it off in hell too. The name of God was the only white light in all of Hades.

I read books of Babylon, books of the Greeks and books of the Egyptians. I grew attached to my human form. For it had the memory in which I stored all the things I learned. In fact, I didn't want to return to Hades because I knew that as soon as I reverted into the ethereal, all that I've studied will dissipate like salt in water."

"The days passed. I came to the King once to tell him about my predicament, but he didn't answer. He was sitting on his throne and lay with his chin on his staff. I didn't want to wake him so I stood there. Silently. The sun set and rose again, time and time again. And still he lay. I dared not wake him up, for we all fear his temper. So he lay there."

"Until one day a worm gnawed on his staff, and the king fell. And when he didn't wake up, we knew he had been dead all along. He tricked us to think he was still alive so we'd keep on working. In any case, the ring disappeared through a crack in the ground and the demons dispersed onto the earth."

"One day, I discovered the secret of staying alive even if I shifted into the world of the dead. It was called Necromancy. Not only did that allow me to return to earth in this same body, brain and all, but it also allowed me to WALK into Hades. And in effect, study and build in there with material that I stole from earth. This proved a smart move especially when the Key of Clubs locked the gate that separated Earth from Hades - with the spell of the last prophet. So I stayed in my workshop in hell and worked. They called me the Lurking Shadow because the light I read with cast a shadow within the shadowness. I merged reality's technology with unreality's power of the shadow, with it I created my weaponry of darkness, and my most amazing invention."

Krome was now skeptic again. "I was about to get to that."

They were now standing on the ledge of a building, the wind whistled.
This is the Tower of Spades. For Krome, this is a large business and communications hub for V.I.P.s that's high security around the clock.
For Aryel, this is the head of his base in the United States, with a direct satellite link to his Headquarters in Canada.
This is his window to detect demons daring enough to cross into Earth... With which he took no time in finding the whereabouts of Locan.

Locan motioned with his cloak like a magician. And beneath the cloak, a hulk of shadow metal and inanimate serpents was revealed. It looked just like an everyday earth bomb, only its metal was the color of the shadows and instead of "FROM USA WITH LOVE" written all over it, it was inscribed with latin words. It said: "Potius Mori Quam Foedari".

Krome thought aloud: "Rather Die than be Dishonored. Huh, life support systems he said. Yet, it wasn't a lie."
Locan was silent.
"I don't like being threatened." Krome said.
"I call it, proof of my sincerity. If I have come this far to be given a second chance. Might as well show how serious I am."
"Second chance for what? What is it you're looking for on Earth? Gold? Terrorizing humans?"

"I am beyond materialism, Lord. You sadden me. And humans I've come to learn to love. For if the greatest man of all can befriend a demon, so can that demon befriend men. I am over the jealousy. I humble myself beneath humans even when the greatest leader of the demons couldn't. And I ask to be given a second chance. God is ever merciful, is he not? But yes, today you're the judge. And it's your judgment to pass."

"What judgment can a judge pass if he has a gun pointed into his face?"
Locan sighed. "Here goes."

He uttered ancient words, and suddenly the lifeless serpents awoke and slithered down the bomb, as soon as they touched the cement they shattered. For the unreal cannot survive in reality.

Locan then reached into his coat and took out a long sword -also forged in the shadows- he held it up high and slashed the device, instead of metal striking metal, the bomb sliced in two halves, as if he was slicing through a large black fruit. The slices weaned and withered then shattered into a billion pieces.

Locan turned to Aryel then knelt. Another Analogy; either kill, or knight me. "The last words that the noble King told me were: "I have one last story to tell you, Locan... A story of an angel, for he's an angel like no other. He rebelled against God once with many others. But as the others walked into the darkness, he realized, that it is not God that needed him, but it is he that needed God. As he stood there in the thin space between darkness and light, he thought.
And discovered the meaning of life...
Then he roared loud and strong. He spat into the darkness and proclaimed that his side will forever be the side of light and will stand in the face of all that choose the path of darkness.
From then on, that angel became known as Aryel - the Lion of God ." "

Krome was smiling. Again, one of the few times that he did. Yes, that day was indeed glorious for him. He chose his faith. And now... He understood why Solomon advised Locan to come to him, for Krome was once, for a moment in time, a demon himself. So if there was an angel that could understand, it would be him. And Solomon was right. His preordination has become true.

"Another chance you have earned. But I will always be next to you watching, if you fail me, I WILL banish you, and show no mercy." Krome decided. Locan nodded. "I would've accepted no better a judgment. Thank you, lord. No I will not fail you."

So they stood there on the ledge and looked at the streets of Brooklyn.

"Lord. Neria's convinced many demons of her plans. They ache to use their villainous and nether powers against humanity. But would Neria succeed? Would she prove too powerful for the angels guarding the gates?" Locan asked.
"We need to find Neria and stop her before she gathers humans to wield the nether tokens for her. Without the tokens, she has no chance in getting to Hades." Krome explained. He continued: "That's why we need to gather our own army. Ascended humans shall obtain tokens and guard the four kingdoms against the threat of darkness."

Krome explained to him about Righteousness and Responsibility and why it was important that those who passed the twenty two levels of life from The Fool to The World would be the only ones allowed to wield the Tokens.

As the wind rustled. Locan asked. "Lord, you've heard of the saying Ubi Bene, Ibi Patria. Where you feel good, there is your home?"

Krome nodded. "Yes, Locan."

"Well, this is the first time I ever feel good. So this makes it my home."

[NEXT CHAPTER]