Binding Darkness

Nevaeh watched him stare amusedly at her cloak and said, 'It is the Cloak of—'

'The Cloak of Reflection' whispered Loki, tilting his head to look at her with an amused frown over his face. 'How in the universe did you possess it?' he hushed while narrowing his eyes so thinly that they appeared as mere slits.

'Well, it's not mine—'

'Meaning you borrowed it from someone? Who? Who gave it to you?' Loki asked sharply.

'My parents told me they bewitched some ordinary cloth by a reflecting spell for meditation purposes. Why are you acting weird?' Nevaeh said, watching a heavily-breathing Loki, still clutching the cloak in his hands and hurriedly analysing it.

'No' hushed Loki.

'No what—'

'No – no – no,' hushed Loki, now running the Cloak over the back of his hands and staring at it with unblinking eyes. Nevaeh anxiously stared at a stunned Loki and she was running out of patience.

'How do you know what it is called?' asked Nevaeh. Loki slowly turned to look at her. He finally took his hands off the Cloak only to rub his face with them.

'Everyone knows what it is called! Even Thor would've recognized it!' Loki said with a twinkle in his eyes.

'How? No one usually –'

'Has your mother not read you any tales when you were little?' Loki asked.

Nevaeh frowned. 'Of course, they did! Cinderella, Rapunzel –'

She stopped mid-sentence when an impatient Loki twirled his wrist and a rustic-looking, golden coloured book appeared in Loki's hand. The hard cover of the book was embossed with bronze at its sides, giving it an ancient look. The title of the book cover read "The Tales of the Almighty Gods"

'What does my cloak have to do with a children's book?' Nevaeh asked, glancing into it as Loki neatly shuffled through pages, many of which had beautiful pictures depicting vivid scenarios.

'You will see. Yes, this – is – it,' Loki said excitedly, pausing at a page which bore the title "Binding Darkness" For the first time in their entire time together, Nevaeh saw a hint of nostalgia reflect into Loki's green eyes.

'Sounds dark,' Nevaeh said chirpily.

'My mother read this to me as a child and it is my absolute favourite,' Loki said, touching the page gently. Nevaeh shifted a little closer to him. Loki cleared his throat as Nevaeh rested her head on his shoulder, closing her eyes as though it were bedtime.

'Far above our sun, on a heavenly plane high up in the sky, there existed the City of Paradise, blossoming under the warmth of the Aurora Sun. God Emmanuel was preparing his angels to mend a fallen star, which was moments ago attacked by an atrocious monster. In the due time, Goddess Gabriel was intending on quilting a cloak according to her husband's desires, and she promised him that she shall sew it by the time he returns their blessed home.

Up in their sky, the enormous fire stone, The Aurora, was glowing as bright as the sun and providing light all about. Emmanuel and his angels vanished, leaving behind them a hint of gold as they disappeared in thin air. Gabriel prepared herself for her most awaited time; when she could weave the magnificent cloak that her husband very much wanted.

After gathering her needles and her cane, she set inside to find the perfect cloth that would fulfil her God's desires when she was taken aback by a sinister booming in the sky. Gabriel glided in the air, towards her portico and she was enraged by what she saw.

High up in her sky, there was a pitch-black demon, looming against the bright light emerging from the stone-like sun. The monster was attempting on freezing the sun, making it lifeless and the Goddess turned indignant.

'How dare anyone attack my heavenly kingdom? I shall show this filthy creature its place!' fumed the Goddess. She soared out of her palace, gliding straight towards the raging monster up near the sun stone.

'Stand back, Creature!' bellowed the Goddess. The gigantic demon turned its black, empty eyes on her, baring its rotten teeth.'

The creature laughed mirthlessly, spreading its dark, looming shadows. Soon the skies began turning black.

'I – am – the – Unilluminated! And I shall bring eternal darkness!' growled the creature, sneering at her.

Goddess Gabriel roared in fury, sensing his aura and recognizing him at once. 'You are the creature who threatened one of our stars! And now you dare attack our heavenly home? You will suffer the wrath of my blessed hands!' roared the Goddess. She spread her arms like wings, her last words echoing loudly in the darkness which was binding on her beloved City of Paradise.

'Blessed hands – blessed hands – BLESSED HANDS'

Nevaeh shuddered, making an audible little shriek as Loki made his voice echo scarily inside their bubble as he continued the story with a thin smile on his face.

'In her utmost fury, Goddess Gabriel revealed her true self, her body setting aflame by heavenly gold light and her blessed hands started vibrating by the sheer power raging within her. The creature growled in anger and the almighty Gabriel opened her eyes which had turned flaming gold. She screeched in anger and stretched her arms towards the creature, cursing his very body by bright gold light.

'AAAARRRRGGGGHHHHH!' grunted the demon in pain as the darkness started leaving the skies and along with it, the demon's very body, but the victory did not bring Goddess Gabriel the peace she wished to attain. Gabriel soared mightily towards the demon and halted in front of its grunting nose, watching the shadows filled with darkness slowly leave his body as pure light took its place. The Goddess stretched out her hands and started pulling the demon's looming shadows by her very fingertips, compelling the darkness to obey her command.

She moved her blessed hands in circular motions while hovering in mid-air with a thin smile spreading on her face. The darkness oozing out of the demon's body started binding itself in tight little knots, entangling within each other according to the Goddess' wishes. The demon watched through dim, tired eyes as she hovered and hummed as though performing a mere chore while binding his sinister darkness into a shimmering piece of cloth by the sheer power of her purest reflection. Soon the demon was left pale, his lifeless looking skin burning and etching.

The Goddess threw him in a cage forever which was right in front of the Almighty Aurora Stone; the Unilluminated being damned for an eternity to never avert his gaze from the source of the light that forever stole his darkness.

By the fall of twilight, God Emmanuel returned to the City of Paradise and soon heard the whispers of the binding darkness that tried to take over. He went home to find his Goddess sitting next to the fireplace and she told him all about the attack while placing the Cloak on his hands.

'Sinister darkness took over and my Goddess managed to bind the binding darkness into a Cloak wreaking of such purity. How?' whispered the God, rubbing his fingers over the achievement of his Goddess' powerful hands.

'It is the reflection of the sheer power of our luminosity. For if we give in to the darkness, who shall maintain the radiance? Who shall carry on our Grace?' asked Gabriel as the Cloak soared itself on top of Emmanuel and he smiled warmly at his wife's words.

'Fret not, my beloved. We have centuries to worry about the enlightenment we shall bring forth,' said the God, putting Gabriel's long hair behind her ear.

Their lips met under the dazzling light of the sky and they named the Goddess' compassionate creation as 'The Cloak of Reflection'' finished Loki closing the book and watching Nevaeh who had her mouth slightly open.

'It was a beautiful story,' hushed Nevaeh.

'Indeed' said Loki as he watched her blink at him.

There was a long silence in which they just stared at each other; Nevaeh blinking at a Loki who had his eyebrows slightly raised.

'What – what other stories did your mother read to you?' Nevaeh asked after a long silence. Loki made an annoyingly exasperated clicking sound by his tongue.

'That was not the point of the story!' snapped Loki.

'It was a fairy-tale –'

'No, better,' said Loki in a suddenly serious yet excited voice. 'It's a Myth.'