The darker influences were growing stronger by the day. The full moon was bright over the land, and the lone sorcerer stood among the graves of the dead. To some this place was sacred ground. To others it was cursed. From the vantage point of Eliya, it was a battlefield waiting to be born.
He waited high above the clouds, unseen by mortal eyes. He and his brethren were always present, always watching, and a great deal more active than people realized. Even now, two of Eliya's fellow angels whispered to the man to stop what he was doing, whispering that the his aims were not worth the countless lives it would cost. If they couldn't stop him, though, it would be up to Eliya to intercept the monstrosity that was soon to be born. It was only a matter of time.
He waited high above the clouds, unseen by mortal eyes. He and his brethren were always present, always watching, and a great deal more active than people realized. Even now, two of Eliya's fellow angels whispered to the man to stop what he was doing, whispering that the his aims were not worth the countless lives it would cost. If they couldn't stop him, though, it would be up to Eliya to intercept the monstrosity that was soon to be born. It was only a matter of time.
The Sorcerer ignored the voices he was hearing, continuing his chanting. As the Sorcerer chanted the ground began to tremble and quake. The souls of the dead were being brought back, something Eliyah and his companions could feel.
Eventually a massive mound began to form at the center of the graveyard, before the ground tore as it rose up, towering over the Sorcerer. Rocks shifted, forming into several rows of jagged teeth as a maw formed. A set of four cavities formed above the mouth, before glowing sphere's suddenly formed in them, apparently forming the monster's eyes.
Eventually the mound of dirt and rocks broke free of the ground, forming a set of four thick, column like legs. A long powerful set of arms soon formed, coming up from the ground. The monster, now resembling a hunched over, thick six limbed and four-eyed lizard of sorts, let out a deep, echoing below.
Eventually a massive mound began to form at the center of the graveyard, before the ground tore as it rose up, towering over the Sorcerer. Rocks shifted, forming into several rows of jagged teeth as a maw formed. A set of four cavities formed above the mouth, before glowing sphere's suddenly formed in them, apparently forming the monster's eyes.
Eventually the mound of dirt and rocks broke free of the ground, forming a set of four thick, column like legs. A long powerful set of arms soon formed, coming up from the ground. The monster, now resembling a hunched over, thick six limbed and four-eyed lizard of sorts, let out a deep, echoing below.
The angel winced. He was going to have to fight that. So many souls there, all of them wrything in agony. They were supposed to remain asleep until judgement, but this was simply cruel.
He plucked a feather from his wing with one hand, and with the other he removed his entire other wing. The feather turned into a long, sharp arrow, and the wing into a large, shimmering bow. Eliya loaded the arrow into the bow and pulled back on the string, taking careful aim at the beast's head. This would likely be the only free shot he would get. He hoped it would make the battle short, but somehow he doubted it.
He let go of the arrow, letting it light up the sky like a bolt of lightning after the beast.
He plucked a feather from his wing with one hand, and with the other he removed his entire other wing. The feather turned into a long, sharp arrow, and the wing into a large, shimmering bow. Eliya loaded the arrow into the bow and pulled back on the string, taking careful aim at the beast's head. This would likely be the only free shot he would get. He hoped it would make the battle short, but somehow he doubted it.
He let go of the arrow, letting it light up the sky like a bolt of lightning after the beast.
The beast's head tilted up as the light from Eliyah's Arrow came into view. It let out a loud roar. Suddenly one of it's arms shot out at lightning speed, arking around and intercepting Eliyah's arrow before it hit. The monster soon looked forward, either not seeing Eliyah or not caring about his presence, as it began lumbering onwards.
"Oh great," the angel said to himself. "This is going to hurt a lot." He converted his bow into a gigantic net woven of shimmering chords and threw it over the beast. The shear size of the net made it look like a tidal wave of white light flooding over the target, lighting up the night sky, turning it to a near daylight blue for an instant.
Once the net was in place, Eliya removed the halo from over his head and held it out in front of him, it hovering just out of his hands' grasp. The halo expanded in size until its diameter was greater than the length of Eliya's while body.
"Just a bit longer," said the angel to himself, his halo's golden light shining brighter and brighter.
Once the net was in place, Eliya removed the halo from over his head and held it out in front of him, it hovering just out of his hands' grasp. The halo expanded in size until its diameter was greater than the length of Eliya's while body.
"Just a bit longer," said the angel to himself, his halo's golden light shining brighter and brighter.
The monster roared and pushed forward. Slowly but surely the loose composition of the dirt that made its body began to push through the gaps between the ropes of the net.
"Oh, that's not good!" cried Eliya. The net wasn't doing anything. That net wasn't holding it nearly as well as he hoped it would. He would just have to fire off that attack sooner rather than later.
So he did.
The halo let out a wide stream of golden light, scattering earth and burning through whatever forces were holding the creature together. That was the idea anyway. It would take a great deal of power to do that. Would this be enough?
So he did.
The halo let out a wide stream of golden light, scattering earth and burning through whatever forces were holding the creature together. That was the idea anyway. It would take a great deal of power to do that. Would this be enough?
The blast hit the monster. It let out an ear piercing shriek as the light cut it clean in half. The front half of the monster slammed into the ground being unable to stand without its legs. The monster roared and hissed as a pair of long column-like legs formed. The new legs pushed the front half of the monster back to its other end, reforming itself.
The angel's eyes widened. "Oh great. I'm just fighting mud." He snapped his fingers, and the glowing net dissipated, and his wing returned to his back. "Looks like I'm gonna have to change my tactics."
He blinked away over the ocean and pulled one of his wings off once more. This time he turned it into a large bowl. He and the bowl grew to and enormous size and dipped the bowl into the water, scooping up millions of gallons of seawater. He hefted the bowl on his shoulder and blinked back to the battlefield with the creature.
"Hey, Sheol!" he called. "Let's wash that dirt off!" He quickly turned the bowl over and slammed it on top of the beast, crushing its body under the weight of the bowl and the surging floods that came pouring down after it.
He blinked away over the ocean and pulled one of his wings off once more. This time he turned it into a large bowl. He and the bowl grew to and enormous size and dipped the bowl into the water, scooping up millions of gallons of seawater. He hefted the bowl on his shoulder and blinked back to the battlefield with the creature.
"Hey, Sheol!" he called. "Let's wash that dirt off!" He quickly turned the bowl over and slammed it on top of the beast, crushing its body under the weight of the bowl and the surging floods that came pouring down after it.
The monster roared as the water, and then the giant bowl, splashed down onto it. The water flowed out from under the bowl, with occasional bouts of mud flowing out as well.
Soon, the globs of mud began shifting, forming into smaller versions of the monster. All the miniature Sheols scattered, charging off in various directions.
Soon, the globs of mud began shifting, forming into smaller versions of the monster. All the miniature Sheols scattered, charging off in various directions.
These newly formed creatures did not go unnoticed. Eliya plucked out a handful of feathers from his wings, and each one turned into a copy of himself, and each one went out to follow one of the copies of the monsters.
The original found the biggest clump of Sheol and made himself grow to the size of a colossus, hovering just overhead. "I'm not letting you get away with those souls, mud-ball!" He reached down with his hand and scooped up the beast in his fingers. "Hmm, you're too soft to crush, so let's heat you up instead."
He raised the beast to his halo, the light from the ring shining brighter and brighter, giving off overwhelming, fiery heat.
The original found the biggest clump of Sheol and made himself grow to the size of a colossus, hovering just overhead. "I'm not letting you get away with those souls, mud-ball!" He reached down with his hand and scooped up the beast in his fingers. "Hmm, you're too soft to crush, so let's heat you up instead."
He raised the beast to his halo, the light from the ring shining brighter and brighter, giving off overwhelming, fiery heat.
Sheol hissed and roared as the heat increased. Suddenly, several ethereal humanoids emerged from Sheol. They grabbed at Eliyah's fingers and began to pull and tug at them, trying to free Sheol.
"What? Hey! Stop that!" It wasn't long before the mud monster broke from the angel's fingers and crashed back down to the earth. "Oh no! No, no no no! I gotta put you back together!"
The other copies of Elia were having varying degrees of luck dealing with their respective Sheol chunk, and all employed different strategies to try and find any weaknesses. What seemed to be the most effective was intense heat.
The angel zipped into the air, shrank himself in size and snapped his fingers. All at once, the other Eliyas transformed into long, claw-like mechanisms that restrained their respective Sheol, all connecting back to the original Eliya via long, white chords. With all of the chords in hand, the angel flew into the air, lifting the full total weight of the beast's parts higher and higher. "You're all in one place again," he said. After that, the chords all vanished, returning as white feathers into Eliya's wings, causing the beasts to plummet. While they were still in the air, however, he removed one of his wings and converted it into a colossal hammer, ornately decorated with gold and pearl, and slammed down onto the wriggling mass as the Sheols landed back on earth.
The other copies of Elia were having varying degrees of luck dealing with their respective Sheol chunk, and all employed different strategies to try and find any weaknesses. What seemed to be the most effective was intense heat.
The angel zipped into the air, shrank himself in size and snapped his fingers. All at once, the other Eliyas transformed into long, claw-like mechanisms that restrained their respective Sheol, all connecting back to the original Eliya via long, white chords. With all of the chords in hand, the angel flew into the air, lifting the full total weight of the beast's parts higher and higher. "You're all in one place again," he said. After that, the chords all vanished, returning as white feathers into Eliya's wings, causing the beasts to plummet. While they were still in the air, however, he removed one of his wings and converted it into a colossal hammer, ornately decorated with gold and pearl, and slammed down onto the wriggling mass as the Sheols landed back on earth.
The hammer slammed down on the mass of Sheols before they could reform. After a few moments the hammer began to shake, before Sheol's mass poured out from under it, ccreeping up the sides of the hammer and reforming at the top. Sheol let out a loud deep roar, before launching a large ball shaped limb into the air and slamming it into Eliyah, launching him into the ground.
Eliya blinked back into the air, his fists clenched to his sides, his hammer now a wing on his back once more. "That's it! Now I'm mad!"
He grabbed his halo from his head once more and threw it into the beast's body, where it sank deep into the mud. From there it began to expand and burn from the inside.
"I'll dry you out until you're a crumbling mess!"
He grabbed his halo from his head once more and threw it into the beast's body, where it sank deep into the mud. From there it began to expand and burn from the inside.
"I'll dry you out until you're a crumbling mess!"
Sheol roared and hissed as it was burned from the inside. Suddenly, Sheol's neck began to widen, before its head did as well. It jaws flung open as hundreds of souls within Sheol launched Eliyah's halo out, sending it rocketing towards the angel.
Eliya easily grabbed his halo out form the air and fixed it back over his head. "Well then, looks like attacking your body really is futile. Looks like I'll just have to take this fight to your source!"
He pulled both wings off of his back, forming them both into long, curved swords, ornately designed with feathery engravings on both the hilts and blades. He wouldn't pull any more punches now. He darted rabidly into the beast's body, bypassing its physical being and menefesting himself among the spiritual forces controlling it.
There her hundreds of lost souls, perhaps even more. Eliya's eyes scanned over all of them. He had seen most of them in life, quickly recalling them by name. Seeing them like this was like looking into a nightmare, but the angel's resolve remained strong, and he lifted his swords, ready to do battle with whatever was controlling them. The sooner he could free these souls, the sooner the battle would be over.
He pulled both wings off of his back, forming them both into long, curved swords, ornately designed with feathery engravings on both the hilts and blades. He wouldn't pull any more punches now. He darted rabidly into the beast's body, bypassing its physical being and menefesting himself among the spiritual forces controlling it.
There her hundreds of lost souls, perhaps even more. Eliya's eyes scanned over all of them. He had seen most of them in life, quickly recalling them by name. Seeing them like this was like looking into a nightmare, but the angel's resolve remained strong, and he lifted his swords, ready to do battle with whatever was controlling them. The sooner he could free these souls, the sooner the battle would be over.
Deeper within Sheol, was what could only be assumed was Sheol's soul. Unlike the various human soul's surrounding it, Sheol's soul was simply a mass of black goo. At times it moved and shaped into what faintly resembled a mouth, but it didn't do much else.
It looked as though it was made of the same kind of material as the human souls, but its behavior betrayed its true nature, an unclean spirit lacking even in true self awareness. It was amorphous, but not invulnerable here.
"Your time is at an end," said Eliya, speaking to test if it would respond. "In the name of the holy palace of the Lord and his kingdom, I hereby rid the world of your evil!" He readied his swords and lunged after the mass, spinning and slashing with both blades, one at either side.
"Your time is at an end," said Eliya, speaking to test if it would respond. "In the name of the holy palace of the Lord and his kingdom, I hereby rid the world of your evil!" He readied his swords and lunged after the mass, spinning and slashing with both blades, one at either side.
A loud, shrill scream escaped Sheol's Soul. Despite the obvious pain caused by Eliyah's attack, he would need to strike again. Before he could though, several souls suddenly moved between Eliyah and Sheol's Soul, forming a wall.