Mountain of Zion

Finally seeing freedom beyond a golden door on a wall, Kodesh leapt inside and the door shut behind him. A split second late, he couldn't been skewered by an arrow. But instead the arrow struck the closing door and an explosion blasted in the wall. Some of the shockwaves followed Kodesh through the shutting door but not nearly enough to harm him.

The wall too didn't react to the explosion. It stood tall and majestic like the explosion was just an impact from an insignificant fly.

Finding himself half a kilometer outside the wall, Kodesh took a heavy sigh of relief. Taking one last emotional look at the tall walls, he pelted towards the north. He didn't know where he was going but something deep within him told him that he would be safe there. One leg after another, he ran through the tall grasses. They didn't even slow him a bit. He was powering through them like a runaway train.

At the heat of day, he was still running and running. His lungs were burning with hot air but his will to live burned even more. His golden yellow eyes were full of focus and resolve. He had only one hand so he didn't want to lose a leg. He focused on each of his steps, careful to not trip over the tall grasses.

By the long shadows of the afternoon he was running still. He didn't know the place he was going to feel somewhat safe but where he was at that moment was not in any way safe or remotely close. He was still in the lion's mouth as far as he knew.

Exhausted and weak, his feet tripped and he unceremoniously fell face down to the ground. It was as if his left leg tripped his right on purpose to make him stop running because the poor things were just too weak. His small muscles were taut to the point of tearing off his bones. He had a really productive leg day. Maybe overproductive.

Spitting out a mouth full of grass and dirt, he tried to pick himself up but instead his hand buckled and he ate another mouthful of grass and dirt. He was hungry yes, but he didn't eat that on purpose.he had no strength left in him.

'I should keep moving, there is no time to waste.'

With that, he mustered strength yet again and with the help of his worn out legs acting as pivots, he somehow managed to lift himself up. This time he didn't run. It was already a miracle that he could stand.

In any case, he trarversed the wilderness. He even found some figs along the way and greedily devoured them in record time. As the sun was descending in the horizon, he saw a white oak tree and fell to its shade. He had severe sun burns and his body was in a sorry state. Blood had dried in his dirt covered, mangled and maimed body.

Dragging his worn out body to the bark of the large white oak tree, he pondered about the future, if he had any. The next moment he was taking out some figs. They were not ripe but they were somewhat edible. They replenished his strength a bit and he looked more rejuvenated.

As he was chewing the last bite of the fig fruit, his eyes began closing and his consciousness began to blur, before he knew it, he was asleep with the fig still in his mouth.

His body needed a good sleep and sleeping early was the best choice he made. It might have not been his choice but still, it was for the best considering what was to come.

Wrapped under a leather coat, Kodesh was snoring, enjoying a well needed respite. The cool air permeated the wilderness, breezing through his body as if it was giving him new strength. Immediately he choked on the fig that had been in his mouth the entire time he was asleep. Panicking and abruptly waking up, he spat out the chunk of fruit. For a moment he thought the blind lieutenant was choking him in his sleep but it was a stupid fig doing his bidding.

With that thought, he cursed, wondering why the stupid thing had to interrupt his sleep. But he soon learnt why. In the distant south, there were barks of hounds echoing in the calm wilderness. The sound drawing nearer and nearer.

'Trackers!'

Slowly gathering back his sentience, Kodesh rose up. He could feel that his eyes were still heavy and his body still painful. He needed more rest. But time was just like his right arm. He didn't have it. He could tell that he had rested for maybe 8 to 10 hours which mearnt that it was about 4 in the morning.

Putting on his coat, he trarvesed the wild. He wanted to run as fast as he could but it was pitch black. But that mearnt the trackers were also not running.

'Unless they can see through the darkness.'

'That's a terrifying power.'

With that he continued his journey and the barks grew louder and louder still. In the wild, voices travel long distances because it's eerily quiet out there and it's just trees so the barks were still a long distance away, nonetheless, every single bark gave him chills. But no matter how deadly the threat tracking him was, Kodesh was most wary of what laid ahead. He now knew why his deep instincts had led him north.

A few kilometers ahead were the mountains of Zion. He have heard tales about this forbidden mountain. The stories seemed to have been made to terrify people from coming near the mountains but he felt there was some truth to them just like the stories involving the chosen.

His new plan was simple. He wanted to die with the man tracking him. He wanted to take them to the grave with him. So coming to this mountain was a ploy to have the things guarding this mountains to kill all of them.

At day break, the distance between him and the trackers had diminished considerably and so was the distance to the mountain. A few more hours later, he was at the monument built by his ancestors. The monument served as a borderline to the sacred mountain.

He stood there for a few moments questioning his life choices. This was by far the wildest and dangerous thing he had ever planned. Without a second to waste he trarvesed the perilous mountain. It wasn't a steep climb so it was easier to ascend up the mountain. Before long, he could see the trackers at the monument from above.

Lieutenant was there in person. The blind middle aged man didn't know when to give up. And he was more incensed and volatile than ever. Expected, since Kodesh had a hand in his blindness.

It looked like the men were in some kind of argument.

'There are wild rumors about this mountain." One of the men said.

'I hear people never return once they ascend.'

"I have heard that the mountain is haunted." The other replied in a hushed voice..

"I personally don't think it would be wise to follow him." Robert said in apprehension.

"I don't want to follow a warthog into its hole.

A few more men said their peace. In short they were all saying that Kodesh was good as dead. And that they should just go back home but lieutenant was not buying that.

"That's what they tell anyone who could listen."

"The stories are not true."

"We are going to ascend the mountain and kill that boy."

"I'm going to spill his blood all over this mountain so that whoever guards it may know of my terror." The lieutenant said furiously. He was acting purely out of emotions and vengeance. It had blinded him more than the brilliant light.

And with that the rest of the men followed their blind guide up the mountain.

A few hours later of traversing the mountain, they were still alive and well.

"You see? I told you nothing would happen." The blind lieutenant said with a smirk to his face.

Unbeknownst to him, Kodesh had stumbled upon a cave. Taking out his pendant and holding it in his hand, a familiar radiance illuminated the hollow cave. He held the pendant forward like a lamp and explored the dark cave.

Carefully and cautiously finding his way around the pitch black cave, his pendant shone with pale intruding light. Wary of the mountain creatures known to dwell in caves, he went deep and the deeper he went, the more he understood what the cave was. But it was only after he discovered human remains that he was certain.

Deep within the impenetrable darkness of the cave, there were remains of an old man preserved perfectly in the cruel destruction of time. It was the kind of discovery that would make an archaeologist an overnight sensation. The old man was non other than Moses. The man who brought seven plaques on the land of Egypt, destroying everything dear to them. The oceans obeyed him and the earth trembled at the sight of him. He was the only man to ever talk with the Most High face to face. Not only once but on several occasions.

It is written that even the devil searched for the remains of Moses to impart himself but couldn't find any trace of him. Kodesh had inadvertently stumbled on the greatest discovery in human history.

The well preserved remains of Moses were starting to glow with white light as he was getting closer. Kodesh thought his eyes were playing tricks on him but the more he looked at the glowing light shimmering from the body of Moses, the more he knew it was as real as the barks reverberating outside the cave.

Out of instinct he held the arm of Moses and immediately a powerful spirit in a form of wind blew him with enough force to throw him a thousand kilometers away but the hand of Moses kept him from even moving slightly. As energy was transferring from Moses, a piece of cloth covering his severed arm fell to the ground and immediately a bright light flashed. In the next second, strings of white light were weaving cell after cell, tissue after tissue and bone after bone. Radius and ulna bones formed out of light and then the carpals followed by metacarpals and phalanges. When the bones had formed, muscles, ligaments, veins, arteries and everything in between were weaved into existence. The whole arm was then covered with smooth pure white skin.

After a minute had passed, the white light illuminating on Moses dimmed and the wind also became lighter like a gentle breeze. In the next moment the last of the power left Moses's hands and transferred to Kodesh. Immediately a soft voice whispered in Kodesh's ear.

"You have awakened a [CHERUBIM SYSTEM]. [Accept] [decline]