Journey to Heaven or Hell

The days of twilight and Dawn had come and gone with the passage of the winds, leaving only the setting of the stars in the amber skies.

Covered in a bit of perspiration Aurelia, waved towards the gatemen on horseback, "Open the Gate; it's only us." She shouted, unable to hide the excitement in her tone. The young fallen removed her cloak, revealing who she was.

'Aurelia!" Many shouted from high above the gate that stood over forty meters tall. Suddenly the rumbling of a heavy object began to send tremors through the ground as the entrance gate lifted into the air.

"You are brave leaving during the cold! A blizzard is on its way. A few more hours, and you may have frozen to death!" Shouted Lenard, a retired soldier who held a vicious scar over his left eye. He was a bit slender and dark, carrying a great ax upon his back. "Get in before the storm hits."

Glancing back at the shadow of Zariel moving slowly, Aurelia and the other trotted in.

"How was the ride?" Lenard shouted.

Leaping off their horse, Aurelia handed the leather rails to Lenard, towering over her like the child she was, The Fallen replied."Perfect! Dumb-Dumb is letting us break through. He said we are ready."

"Finally! If you wait any longer, the other kids will surpass you!"

"Please, we can still kick their ass!" Sionn cried confidently, slapping his arm that was missing the large muscles he thought he held. "It matters not if they are Arcane Warriors. We will still win!"

"Don't I know it. You defeated me." The retired soldier bitterly muttered, casting his gaze low.

"Bearly!" Sionn hastily explained, noticing the shameful grimace. "Even now, I still struggle to beat you. You have far more experience than I."

Lenard shook his head, "Do not lower your accomplishment, young man. A defeat is a defeat. Hold your head high, and be lucky you have such a master like the Devil of the North. He may be a vicious demon, but his skills are terrifying no matter how he may look."

"Talking about me so openly, are we?" Zariel approached. Sliding off his steed skillfully, he handed the reins to Lenard. "Send the bill to my Estate. The mounts ran for almost a week straight."

"Of course, Duke Blackwater."

"Come on, let's go; everything should be in place. Ella and Sionn, you two will have to take a medical bath first, but you should feel a significant difference in your bodies afterward." Zariel explained, heading north in the city of Yrinas to his Estate.

Pushing through the piercing winds, stinging their flesh like cold knives, none dallied, making their way at a quick pace along the stone roads towards Zariel's mansion that overlooked the village that had become a city over the years.

Yrinas had quite the recent gain in power, with Zariel claiming it as his domain. Many nobles seeking change and status under a Duke had begun to flock to the streets of Yrinas. In the coming months, the village had transformed into a blissful town, and within years, it became one of Ferrum's most promising cities to date.

Approaching his mansion that towered over the city of Yrinas, a warming heat pressed against the chill gnawing at their bones.

"Sionn, Ella, The bath is ready." Zariel calmly explained as the gates of his Estate opened."Head there first. Aurelia, remove your cloak, jerkin, and Trousers. We will be outside, as I do not wish to dirty my mansion."

Tossing her clothing away, the chilling winds nibbled at her tender flesh. Her expression grew white as snow.

"Good Luck. See you on the other side." Ella muttered bitterly, studying her sister's small body, trembling uncontrollably. A look of anxiety could be seen, as she alongside Sionn, withdrew from sight.

"Get in the lotus position," Zariel commanded, unsheathing the blade that rested silently upon his back. He stared in stillness, watching with indifference as Aurelia fell to her knees and crossed them over one another.

"Heaven and Earth are what many use to describe QI. But I say screw that, for all that should exist within you is Heaven and Hell. Think only in black and white, right and wrong, good and evil." Zariel whispered like a soft lullaby the seemed to enchant the air. He circled her with this sword trailing behind in the snow." Death and Life, all things are separate. And you, Aurelia, stand between them."

His words were that of a bewitching siren calling sailors to their death. Melding his song into Aurelia's core. Her mind had become clear, her heart empty, and her will clear of all intent. All there was within the Young Fallen was a Black and Gold radiance that shone deeper than the brightest Dawn.

Finishing his circle, Zariel came to a halt making five jesters with his fingers skillfully, and without pause, he spoke with a calming allure, "See not the will of man, nor the sin of all. "He whispered, his voice slowly etching towards a dark fiendish calling, "For it is endless, like the River of Styx."

Quivering with each word, The Silver Devil whispered into her mind and soul, while five runes sprung from his fingertips surrounded Aurelia, causing the air to churn and the lands to quake. Crackles of booming arches of lightning rang like thunder, sending cracks throughout Zariels estate, but he did not halt but rather proceeded.

"Heaven, Hell, Earth, Soul, and Body," Zariel recorded the five runes written in the ancient language of Illuthat hovering north, south, east, and west around Aurelia's head. "By my Blessing, I grant thee, by my authority, I recognize thee, and as my partner! I dub thee Aurelia Morningstar, my chosen!"

Chanting till screams began to ring from his lips, blood-red like fire, exploded from Aurelia's mouth, staining her red. Her body began to tremble, and her skin began to twist and sear into that of an abomination curling into a glob of wet meat. Cracking bones and tendons were all but screaming as a devilish radiance of Golden Black stormed the skies.

Casting a deep stare, devoid of humanity, Zariel gazed upon the abomination that was Aurelia oozing a river of blood. He did not speak nor move but instead stared calmly and patiently.

"Ritual Of Damnation - Hellish Ascension," He chanted, sheathing his blade swiftly.