Good fortune

An Angel blocked the sun with her red wings dripping blood. Not a single feather from her wings retained its original white color. The balance that remained in her left hand slowly tipped on the side of the heart. With the tick tock of the grandfather's clock, the angel slowly let the corruption consume her soul. Her wings, once majestic ,became the ugly wings of a bat. She lost the blindfold that saved her of her own beauty as her halo dispersed into the ugly horns of a ram. Her robes were quenched in a black ink now, and her soft skin, overtaken by bumps and warts mutating the soft tan color of her skin into a subtle dark purple. An Angel? No. No longer was she an Angel. The vile creature became one of God's darkest creations, a Demon. She clutched the fabric of reality in her hand, and snapped it, turning everything black. And within the darkness, a glowing green rock shimmered for him to touch it. Isaac reached out to it; seeing flashes of the shadows.

Gasping for breath, Isaac held his right hand over his throat where the metal collar still shackled him to the wall. A painful sensation revealed a hand print that was burnt into the side of his arm, a black hand. It wasn't the first time he had a dream like that. To be more specific, he had dreams and crazy marks ever since he was little. But now, the dreams seem to be stronger than before. And every once in a while he hears a whisper. He could never hear it clearly, but the knowledge of knowing it was there sent a cold shiver through his body.

"Prisoner 08, your time here is over." An officer stepped into his cell a few years too early.

"Over?" Isaac felt the cold metal around his neck release its grasp.

The officer didn't respond. He secured Isaac's hands with his cuffs, and walked him out of the cell. Isaac felt the barrel of a pistol in the arch of his back. Pushed into a room, a straw bag was quickly tightened around Isaac's head. Within the Darkness his senses seemed to slip away.

Not short after, Isaac was thrown into a truck face planting onto the bed of it. The sounds of tires squealing, being transported somewhere else, having a bag over his head, and the gun that was to his back earlier; it all left a lump in his throat. The truck came to a fast stop, the trip was rather long. Isaac tried to keep track of all the left and right turns like the protagonists did in movies, but over the long drive he lost track of their position.

He heard the mumbling between the officers, yet it was inaudible to him because they were speaking a different language. Despite that, he knew that they were still there, which made running out of the question. Isaac had no choice but to be quiet and follow their lead.

Two hands grabbed his shoulders and dragged him off the truck. Hitting solid ground felt refreshing for his knees; he was stuck in an uncomfortable position where his knees burdened the entire pressure of his weight crushing down on them. The sound of gears and clicks preluded the sound of a metal screeching sounding like an old bunker door opening. His footsteps went from dirt to a solid concrete, following a massive stairwell down that felt awkward without his sense of sight.

"Prisoner 08?" A voice called out that was different from the officers.

"Prisoner 08 as healthy as ever." An officer kicked at the back of Isaac's leg forcing him down on his knee.

"Begin the Protocol, We'll see the results when they come in." Right after the voice, Isaac fell into a deep unconsciousness from a drug inserted into his right arm. Choking on his own spit, the darkness turned into void.

"Get him on the table please." A scientist with a white lab coat directed others wearing similar attire. "Please abstract the serum carefully. We don't want this one to be a fluke." A glowing green vile was carefully secreted into the syringe. "Hold him steady." Stabbing Isaac right through the chest, they injected the mysterious substance in his body.

"The rift is open, Sir. There is not much time before it closes." An officer approached the scientists, who began to wrap things up rather quickly this time due to the time measures.

"Well then officers, Enact Mission:New . The microchip will determine the results of this one." The officers took Isaac's body away and threw it into a red cloud that flashed with blue lights.

"Sorry for this." The officer whispered underneath his breath before lunging the man into the otherworldly rift that no one exactly understood.

Isaac regained consciousness within the rift; no idea how long he was lost in the sight of the supernatural, yet he somehow could estimate that it had been roughly two hours. The red clouds gave a crackling sound of thunder, but no lightning followed its belligerent roars. With a sudden flash of white, color emerged from the end of the tunnel. The rift behind Isaac closed, and a beautiful valley immersed with greeneries and water were waiting for his arrival.

It was an entirely new world to Isaac. The black and white cities constantly covered in smoke, this realm was entirely new, almost out of his dreams. Isaac leaned over and kissed the ground, letting his tears dampen the soil.

"IM FREE!" He screamed in the valley, hearing his echo four times over. Then quietly he said, "I'm free." as if it was a sudden realization that he was no longer shackled to a wall.Isaac picked himself up, and looked at where he stood. The gorgeous prairie that spread as far as the eyes could see, roads even ran through it, which meant a clear sign of civilization to him. Should I follow a road? He thought. Despite his doubt, he followed the road regardless.

At the end of the road was a small town, gathered by rivers flowing with golden water and occasional trees reaching farther than the skies, the houses had a vanilla taste; they were made from simple stone and wood. It was clear that this society wasn't as technologized as his own.

A screech brought Isaac to the ground, holding his head in sheer pain. Images flooded his brain. The images were hardly recognizable, the pictures were almost like paintings splattered by back ink, and not a single one stuck around to be remembered.

Isaac's insane headache released itself. Gasping for his breath and attempting to fend off the dizziness, he kept himself up straight looking around at his surroundings. What was that? He thought. He ignored it, continuing on towards the village, but a minor headache still lingered.

"Hello?" His voice echoed off into the horizon. The eerie silence brought Isaac's anxiety to spiral upwards. He was acting cautiously in every action. It was like the time he had a nervous breakdown on stage during his middle school play, something felt terribly off. Almost like something, or someone was watching him.

"Hello?" Almost minutes later, his voice came back to haunt him. Isaac jumped into the air, looking all around to find the source of the mimicry.

"Who's there?"

A little girl's voice broke the silence. "Help me!" A scream followed shortly after. Isaac ran after the sound, tracking it down to a cavern just past the houses.

"Are you ok?" Isaac stepped into the cave with the urge to puke. The rancid smell of rotten meat shattered his senses. His feet squished in the dense liquid that covered the entire cavern floor making it hard to walk or tell what direction he was walking in. DODGE! A sudden urge to jump right came over his body. His internal voice seemed to be on caution. Fur skinned his face, making it obvious that something was inside of the cave.

"A human? Ha, what is the likes of that? A dinner far better than any of these Angelians. Now, be a good little human and stay still!." After his eyes grew used to the darkness, he saw a creature that had a human form, yet it almost resembled a hyena.

"What are you?" Isaac staggered a bit back into the darkness afraid of what the light had to show him.

"Why should I tell that to someone who's about to die?" The creature's eyes glowed green as he slowly crept up on Isaac.

"Well do I get any last words at least?" Isaac's back was against the wall. He only hoped he could find a way to live no matter the consequences.

The creature licked his nails, "Well it's not fun if you submit now.". Life or death? How do I escape this situation… Isaac closed his eyes and prayed one last time before staring death down face to face.

Dear God, I officially think I may deserve this. I killed righteous people for the sake of my family, would I take it back? No. I stand by my actions. I've asked for your forgiveness, I could only guess you led me to take the actions I did. But if my life ends here, I only ask for the image of my family one last time.

TO THE RIGHT! Isaac subconsciously dodged the swipe of the creature's claw from the right.

"CAN YOU STOP MOVING! ACCEPT YOUR DEATH!" The creature continued to swipe and attempt to tackle Isaac, but failed in every attempt.

"NO I CAN'T! I VERY MUCH TREASURE MY LIFE!" Isaac's back now faced the entrance to the cave. "And goodbye to you." Isaac turned around and ran for the prairie.

The creature stopped at the entrance and paused in fear as a deeper voice called out stopping the wind with just his mere pressure of existence. "Crocotta, you fail to kill a single human?" The voice called out behind Isaac, but within mere seconds the inhumane new creature pulled the heart of the other creature out with just his bare hands. "You don't deserve to live on this heavenly plane." The heart plopped on the ground.

"Thanks for saving me?" Isaac turned around and ran, bumping into the chest of the creature.

"And where do you think you're going?" The snout of a wolf leered over him. A little drool dripped from its mouth.

"Home?" Isaac backed up a bit.

"Home?" The creature repeated. "There is no home in Purgatory." His claw came scaling down at Isaac. Even with his ability to predict the creatures movements, he couldn't dodge the raw power and speed behind this attack. The claws caught his right eye, pushing Isaac into a spiritual plane. He looked down at his body and the creature paused over it. The leaves stopped mid air, and the lack of color in this section of the world was apparent.

Where am I? Isaac looked around, his body had no pigment to it, nor features that would make him more special than anyone else.

"Hello there, traveller. It must have been a long journey if you ended up here." Isaac looked behind him, astonished, for what he saw was unbelievable. A goddess, or what he perceived as a goddess. She was the only being who maintained color in this sorrowful gray world. Her light blue eyes shined off the light of her bright halo. And her green hair, it complimented her green dress made of leaves and vines.

Isaac called out to the Goddess, "Who are you?".

"Fortuna. Now, off of practicalities, would you like to discuss why we're here?" She grabbed some sort of paper from her pocket. It looked like ancient egyptians papyrus.

"What is 'here'?" Isaac said, which was followed with a weird look from Fortun. "Oh, I meant like what is this place?"

" this is the inner seed. One of your many powers, on top of the pesky premonition you have. I have no idea how you could even use both without a proper contract, but I can ensure that whatever flukes have been made will not happen again." She dropped the paper on the ground with an old fashioned pen. "Now please do sign. Make this easier for the both of us."

"Wait, I still have so many questions. I-" Isaac was cut off his speech rather quickly, looked offended.

"You don't have much time left. I'm sure if you don't sign, you'll die and I will just continue waiting here for another unlucky traveller like yourself." She talked with a 'Its so obvious' voice. It reminded Isaac of his highschool days.

"Fine... Isaac Eisenhower. It's signed now what…" He was thrusted back into his body, being thrown from the massive claw striking the side of his face. On the ground, Isaac held the right side of his face that now had a massive scar, but didn't emit blood. Instead, he opened his right eye and the symbol of Fortuna engulfed what used to be his pupil.

❉

Staring at the beast, it was easily identifiable as a Lycanthrope, a werewolf. He had no knowledge before, yet the new thoughts kindled the fire in his brain almost like they were always there.

"Let's play a game." Isaac summoned a magical circle in front of him. "There's a two thirds chance you win, and I will die at your hands. And to make things fair, there's a one thirds chance I win, and you will die at my hands. Whatcha say?" He smirked as he already knew the werewolf's answer.

"I'll just kill you right now!" He moved with incredible speed; Isaac seemed to move faster with his incredible powers. Instead of dodging, he found himself face to face with the creature shaking his hand.

"Fun! Let the game commence!" The wheel spun, ticking at every new marker. Tick. Tick. With time, it got slower and slower.

"Just Die Already!" The werewolf kept slashing at Isaac who dodged every attempt.

"Aren't you as curious as I, wolfie? Let's see who Fortuna favors more, a human or a wolf." Isaac broke out in an insidious laughter as the wheel came to a stop. "Well, I guess you played your best bet. It was a good attempt, and I do feel rather sorry for you, yet a deal is a deal. I would prefer to end this quickly so…" SNAP! With the snap of his fingers, the werewolf disintegrated into ash. Isaac stood there between the two dead bodies staring at his hands. Closing his left eye, to understand the power he had just gained.

"Who's that?" Isaac looked to his left.

"I'm like you!" A female held up his arms, the symbol of the Ankh shined light blue on her forehead. Her clothes were tight, but thankfully on.

Isaac examined her thoroughly, and nothing screamed enemy on him. "Why are you here?" Isaac released the tension in his shoulders.

Her golden lilac hair flew in the wind's light breeze. "That." She pointed at his eye. "Isis?" She stepped forward with open arms.

Isaac backed away. "What? What's your name?" It was quite obvious she was clueless when it came to uncomfortability.

"Claire… Claire Osiris." She smiled with her eyes, making them squint tightly. "How about you?"

"Isaac Eisenhower. Anyways, do you know where we are?" Isaac leaned over feeling a drawback from his right eye.

Claire ran over to him holding his torso up straight. "Are you ok?"

The searing pain was unbearable. He wanted to answer, yet he couldn't manage anything except for a gawk. Isaac exerted himself from Claire, and fell to the ground. The wheel of fortune slowly imprinted itself on his forehead, causing him to pass out.

"Welcome again, Isaac." Fortuna seemed distant into other matters as she picked apples from a tree.

"Hi… Uh…. What do I call you?" Isaac scratched his chin. Should I come up with a nickname? He thought.

"Call me whatever you wish. Just know, I am your guardian angel." An apple was placed into Isaac's hand. "Now, I can tell you're confused. Time will explain everything, but when there is time to give an introduction you might as well do it. So think, this apple is you, and this apple is me." She had a golden apple herself. "If I take this piece out of this apple, and replace it with this piece, as long as I'm careful with it, it will fit perfectly. Now, realize that this is an ordinary apple, and this is a golden apple. Now this apple retains some of the flavor of the golden apple. She then retracted a seed, and notice how the seeds never changed. Even if the entire outside of the red apple was replaced with the golden apple, the seeds are still the same. The red apple will give birth to more red apples, as the gold will to gold. Now, look at my right eye." Isaac looked up. It was his right eye in her socket.

"But how is that possible?" Isaac brought his right hand to his face astonished by the miracle.

"When you came to the inner-seed, your body was deconstructed and reconstructed. But to make the innerseed seem more of an idea graspable to you, it's the subconscious gathering of things you cannot normally perceive. Brains of humans, animals, and whatever more were not born to perceive God or his angels. He instead created a block to separate the two after the great flood." The angel looked at the ground almost in distress. She had a shimmer of light in her eyes, but the darkness that krept in the corner was ready to take over.

"I have so many more questions, but what exactly is happening out there?" Isaac stared at the black hole that he sensed was the portal back to reality. "Why was I pulled in here so soon?"

"Oh, simple. I sensed a friend. Osiris to be exact. And, I have another contract for you to sign. Nothing special or anything, this is just giving you the rights to use my name as your own. Fortuna, Isis, and there's more if you'd like to know."

"Isis? Like the Egyptian Goddess? And Osiris? I thought you were an Angel?"

"I very much am. Humans tend to forsake the supernatural like angels as gods. We're merely creations closer to God than your lineage." She smiled and patted Isaac's head. "It's about time for you to wake up. You remind me of…" She paused herself. "Nevermind."

"One more question, uh… Isis." Her name still seemed awkward to use. "I've asked, but I still haven't learned my answer. What exactly is purgatory?" Isaac was close to the black portal that swirled like ink.

"Purgatory? Ahhh, Yes! That's what the monsters refer to this place as. Well, this would more suitably be put as Elysium. The rich fields holding the gods and their heroes. It's its own world, far from the origin I would assume. You ask where you are, may I ask how you got here if you were not born from the fruit like the others?"

The question was obviously something he shouldn't force upon himself. These people knew nothing of outsiders yet, it would be stupid to blow his cover. "How did I get here? I don't remember anything except the moments before I arrived here.." His eyes, even if for a moment, really followed the act, dimming up. Isaac looked at Fortuna, playing his part as an Amnesiac.

"Well, please sign here." Fortuna laid out paper. Isaac signed the paper, and closed his eyes sensing time stretch itself.