ExoSaint – Chapter 12: "The Fire Between Us
The silence after the alarm was unbearable.
Saral gripped her blade tightly, her heartbeat thudding louder than the sirens now fading into nothing. The chapel's torches had all gone out at once. It wasn't just darkness. It was like the *absence* of God.
She looked back.
Abraham's eyes glowed faint gold, not with anger, not even fear. He looked… peaceful. As if he had accepted something terrifying.
Saral ran forward, grabbing his shoulder. "Snap out of it! What's happening?"
He turned slowly, the ancient mark on his chest still burning faintly beneath the skin.
> "They know I've awakened," he said. "And now, the First Seal is broken."
"What seal?" she snapped. "You're not making any sense!"
Then the **walls cracked**.
From above the sanctuary, black, insectoid shapes began slithering down like demonic shadows. Six limbs. Bladed arms. Unholy.
The creatures didn't make a sound—but Saral *felt* them. Like memories of nightmares she never had.
Abraham stepped forward, calm as a sleeping storm.
She raised her blade. "We fight together."
"No," he said quietly. "I need you to trust me. Don't use your weapon. *Pray.*"
Saral hesitated. "Pray? In the middle of a—"
"Just do it."
Abraham lifted both hands. His veins lit up gold. A voice filled the chapel, not from him, but *through* him.
> "He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His wings shalt thou trust…"
> —Psalm 91:4
Saral dropped to her knees. Not in fear. In faith.
The creatures leapt. Blades raised.
**A blinding wall of light erupted** from Abraham's body, slamming into the enemies with force like thunder. The chapel didn't collapse. The darkness did.
One by one, the monsters shattered mid-air—black ash swirling like burnt paper.
Saral blinked, trying to adjust.
The light faded.
Abraham fell to one knee, coughing blood. His body wasn't built to channel that much divine force yet. His training wasn't complete. But the moment had passed.
Saral knelt beside him. "You… could've died."
"I still might," he rasped, smiling faintly.
"You should've let me fight."
He looked into her eyes. "You don't understand. If *you* had used your weapon… the darkness would've remembered *you.*"
Saral froze. "What are you saying?"
"There's something inside you, too. That's why I never attacked you back then. That's why I stayed in your unit."
Her breath caught. "You're saying… I have something like you?"
"No," Abraham whispered. "Something greater. But it's *asleep.* For now."
---
### **Elsewhere…**
In a deep chamber beneath the ExoSaint HQ, far from the chapel, **Arch-Lieutenant Reuel** watched the incident replay on twelve holoscreens.
"He activated the First Flame," a scientist mumbled.
Reuel sipped black tea, unfazed.
"He's no longer fully human, is he?" another asked.
"No," Reuel said coldly. "But he's also not fully divine. Which makes him *useful.* For now."
Another monitor blinked red.
**New Subject Detected – Designation: Saral – Bloodtype: Enochian-Rare.**
Reuel smirked. "Interesting…"
---
### **Back at the Chapel…**
As the emergency power flickered back on, Saral looked at Abraham. "Why are they after you?"
"They're not after *me,*" he said softly. "They're after the Ark."
Saral's eyes widened. "The Ark of the Covenant? That's not real—"
"It's not a thing," Abraham said, looking upward. "It's a person. A living vessel."
"You?"
"No. I carry its echo. The real one… is still hidden. But now that I've awakened, they'll come faster. They'll come for all of us."
Saral stood slowly. "Then we train harder. We fight together. I'm not letting you face this alone."
For the first time in days, Abraham smiled. A real, warm smile. "Thank you… Saral."
She looked away quickly. "It's not for you. It's for Zion."
They walked out together—past the shattered doors, past the burnt floor, past the ashes of darkness.
And somewhere far away… something stirred beneath a mountain, whispering in a language older than time:
"ExoSaint.
Genesis Flame.
Let the Second Seal… break."
---
End of Chapter 12