Pursuit of the Zodiacs (82 page)

A mysterious masked man, clad fully in black leather, wearing a red cape with bizarre symbols entered the room. He sat down and rotated his chair away from her view. He pushed a button on his suit and disappeared right before her eyes.

Virgo responded, “Invisibility? No one is capable of that.”

Bishop quoted, “I assure you, we will be capable of a lot of things. He goes by the name the Astrologer. He has broken your little Zodiac Code, and soon all the Zodiacs will be under my rule.”

Virgo yelled, “You bastards! You will not get away with this!”

Bishop retaliated, “Bitch, I already have. You will obey me, or you will share the Sun with my enemies.” He motioned to some soldiers. “Take this Zodiac out of here.”

They covered her head and took her to a holding cell in a discreet location of the craft.

The Astrologer noticed a gathering of the stars and said, “Look ahead.”

They stared at a mosquito constellation forming light-years away. The Earth dwelled in the core of the mosquito. Bishop decoded it instantly. “God sends his message. I’ll personally see to it that these so-called Pursuers are destroyed by my Sun. I will bring forth interstellar deaths to all those that oppose me. The Kingdom of Heaven will be crushed, stirred, and set out amongst star dust.”

Chapter 35

THE BURNING THRONE, ENGINEERS, AND THE KON INCIDENT

“There’s a solution for everything.”

— R
ACHEL

B
ishop dispatched Nancia and David, two Master Archangels. Their mission was to lead a group of soldiers into the depths of Hell to recruit and terminate all those loyal to Lucifer.

A Demon Master Archangel named Elijah, mindful of the Underworld, led them. He led Bishop’s army to all corners of Lucifer’s Kingdom while the inhabitants soaked in the devastation over the loss of their leader. Confusion and infighting concerning the Burning Throne supervened. Traitors and cowards came in all different forms, opportunists took their opportunities, and the damned sided with the Mover of Suns. They knew Heaven’s Gate would forever be far from reach, so why wouldn’t they join Bishop and avoid eternal torment. Highly motivated, receivers sought revenge on their torturers and towards God for casting them there. Bishop’s army had increased by millions.

Spies lived up to their reputation from a safe distance. It was Rachel and a few other Master Archangels from God’s Kingdom. Rachel remarked, “I cannot believe this. It is true. The Dark Prince has fallen. We must report this at once.”

She and her small group set out to convey the news. As they approached their craft, it exploded in front of them. Detected, enemy lasers fell upon them, and they took to ground for cover.

“Damn! How is this possible?” Rachel shouted.

One of her men moved towards the enemy fire. The enemy did not fire upon him, allowing the cowardly traitor to approach unscathed.

Immediately, Rachel aimed a single laser shot to the back of his head. She shouted, “Is there anyone else who cares to join him?” No one did.

Their enemy numbers increased by the minute. Demons and Archangels united with cruel intentions. Her men initiated covering fire. She opened a Gateway not too far away with a special container that carried secret technology. They escaped through the Dimension, and Rachel closed the Gateway behind them.

“That was close,” one of her soldiers said.

They saw a strange hybrid man walking a dinosaur. He stopped to look at them. They stumbled across another Galaxy where uncommon things were quite common. However, these Archangels grew accustomed to many foreign things during countless campaigns. In this land, gravity was challenged as cities stayed vertical and horizontal to each other. Cruising Dimensions to get to other domiciles were the norm. The people spoke in a weird dialect, and had very strange practices. Some ruled it as highly Demonized behavior, while others believed them to be victims of genetic manipulation. But most importantly, they wondered what these beings thought of them. They appeared just as strange to them as they did to the group. No one was in any position to judge.

They had been influenced by Fallen Angel technology due to the structure of their buildings and the devices they possessed.

“Great. We’ve encountered another one of Lucifer’s counterfeit civilizations,” one of the soldiers murmured.

“That’s enough,” Rachel commanded as they walked among the hybrids.

Tourists in a strange land, they had no knowledge whether they engaged the future or past. Someone whose curiosity got the better of them communicated with the Archangels.

Rachel equipped another strange device that unlocked the hybrid’s language. “There’s a solution to everything,” she observed.

The curious hybrid spoke, “Welcome to our Planet, travelers. You have arrived on Kon. We are a proud, peaceful Super-Race of beings, and we encourage you to stay and make yourselves at home.”

One of Rachel’s men said, “Something isn’t right. Send out a rescue signal to our coordinates, and let’s depart from this place at once.”

Rachel responded, “I sent one the minute we entered this place. I have yet to receive a reply. If we are in another time, I’m afraid we’re on our own.”

Rachel replied to the welcoming hybrid, “I am sorry to deliver grave news. The Universe is at the brink of war. Are you and your people aware of this?”

The hybrid answered, “War? We’ve heard of this thing, but we are shut off from the outside Universe. Every traveler has mentioned this word War.”

If not intrigued enough, they discovered it had an odd atmosphere that rained a different class of physical matter: diamonds. On this Planet, no one required wealth, which explained why these people were strangers to war. No need of coveting a neighbor’s goods or land, for they had all the wealth and land they needed.

Judging by the constellations, the formation of their neighboring stars and Planets, their engineer created this World under a million years ago. Certainly, the Planet had its fair share of intruding comets that might have wiped out other civilizations before them. But, to their knowledge, those were the only encumbrances this Planet had ever perceived.

Rachel spoke to her soldiers. “Something is telling me we need to investigate this Planet further.”

“But, what about the report?” one of her soldiers reminded her.

Rachel said, “You stay here and wait for the ship.”

The soldier warned them to be cautious while the natives escorted them throughout the metropolis. Eventually they arrived at a special section of the city, a Museum. They saw a large sign in weird writing above the entrance. Rachel translated. It read:

“The Thirteen Zodiacs”

“What does it say?” one of the soldiers inquired.

Rachel replied, “It says there are thirteen Zodiacs.”

The soldier said, “Thirteen Zodiacs?”

They walked further down the lengthy Museum hall and saw thirteen statues lined up against the walls opposite one another. Soaring high like Nephilim Giants, their faces carried masks representing the Signs and beasts assigned to them. In disbelief, they saw a statue of Natenal, the leader of the Pursuit of the Zodiacs, standing as the thirteenth Zodiac.

“My God by the Heavens. What does this mean?” Rachel said to herself.

The group’s eyes widened as they approached closer to the statuary. To some, it did not register. They continued analyzing the Master Archangel. Natenal, the thirteenth Zodiac, bore the mark of a different kind of beast, impressed by God himself, well-known in their Immortal tongue as “Mosqidou” or “The Pursuers”. It was a Mosquito with its Ruling Planet Earth in its Abdomen. There were broken timepieces in his hands, indicating that the last Zodiac was the destroyer of time, and the bearer of Eternity.

Motivated by the thirst for more knowledge, the Archangels strode down the hall.

They found the Astrologer’s statue, not too far from the Zodiacs. He was known as the former strategist in God’s Kingdom, and mentor of the Zodiacs before Lucifer’s expulsion. They saw the statues of other “Cast Aways” who shared differences with both God and Lucifer. They had their own subdivision against the great walls of the Museum.

The people of Kon revealed to them their Creator. They were not surprised to see Lucifer, the Prince of Darkness, himself. The group gazed upon a statue and monument built in Lucifer’s honor. Part of the statue displayed Lucifer’s Burning Throne.

Her soldier whispered to her in secret. “Rachel, fate has brought us here. Thank God. These people must be destroyed.”

Rachel replied, “They know nothing of the history behind the Devil. He has deceived them as much as he has deceived others. No one deserves death because they’ve been tricked by Lucifer.”

One of the soldiers asked, “So, Rachel … what now?”

Rachel thought about this while walking the hall of the Museum. “We must go back and report more unfortunate news to God,” Rachel replied.

One of the hybrids overheard them talking and interrupted Rachel. “That name is illegal in all languages here.”

Confused, Rachel replied, “You mean, God?”

Some of the People of Kon covered their ears. Some even revealed their identity. Serpent-like, their tongues slithered from their mouths.

Rachel and her soldiers drew their weapons and slowly backed away as the hybrids followed. One soldier remarked, “It seems all that’s missing here are the flames.”

The People of Kon chanted in obscenities in foul Demonic languages. It didn’t require a translator to decode its meaning.

“Yes, I agree, Brother. All those diamonds falling from the skies were only gifts. Payments, as it were … reward for following their Prince of Darkness,” another soldier concluded.

Rachel spoke, “My apologies, but you were all right. Let’s make our way back to the pick-up zone. If they bring contest, we’ll show them the consequences.”

“WE DID NOT HAVE TO INTERVENE AFTER ALL. LUCIFER IS DEAD.”

After observing the trials of the Earth and its Universe, The Watchers talked amongst themselves. They gathered once again in secrecy at a location known to neither man nor supernatural beings. They discussed what they had witnessed and what must be appended to their records.

One of The Watchers remarked, “Yes, but Bishop poses a whole new threat. His army is growing by the millions as we speak.”

A Watcher responded, “Indeed, he’s already dispatched an army of fresh recruits into all corners of Hell. He has given the damned retribution against their tormentors. A gift no silver, diamond, nor gold could outweigh. What use are those things in the Afterlife anyhow?”

A Watcher added, “Yes, security during Immortality will be the new currency. Even after death, Immortals need to be ruled. They need someone who can guarantee their welfare during their Immortal years.”

Another Watcher spoke, “No, you’re not getting the point. Souls are the greatest currency.”

A Watcher remarked, “God currency?”

Another Watcher answered, “If you want to put it in those terms.”

A Watcher said, “So, it’s settled. There will be war amongst the gods to acquire souls. Same game, different players.”

A Watcher replied, “War between the gods? There is only one true God, and that is the Almighty Himself, and no other army can match his.”

The Watcher added, “You could be right. Nonetheless, I’ve seen countless Worlds previously undiscovered. These civilizations have learned from the mistakes of their cosmic neighbors. They’ve come to terms in understanding that war will only mask a problem for so long before it completely becomes a necessity again.”

A Watcher argued, “However, we all must admit war has removed a Tyrant that has been tormenting this Universe since its genesis, so we cannot completely disregard its accomplishments.”

A Watcher agreed, “You have an argument there. But there will always be a pursuer of power, and that entity will believe war is the only option to gain it. And there will always be a pursuer of the Burning Throne, one who thinks himself worthy of the obligations.”

The Watcher asked, “Will there ever be peace?”

The Watcher replied, “There is a possibility, but far from our time, Watchers. It has been an honor working with you over the decades, but I must announce my retirement.”