ExoSaint – Chapter 13: “The Second Seal
The skies over Zion's Edge burned with an unnatural red. Not fire. Not sunset. A sign.
In the upper sanctum of the ExoSaint Tower, Archbishop Lior of the High Ecclesia knelt before a great golden altar shaped like an open book. Its pages glowed—revealing lines of ancient Scripture only the chosen few could read.
He read silently:
> "When the Second Seal is broken, and the winds grow still,
> The beast shall rise from the Pit once sealed.
> And seven eyes shall open in flesh."
He stood. "It has begun."
---
### **Three Days After the Chapel Attack**
Abraham sat on the edge of the infirmary bed, bandages around his ribs, sweat lining his forehead. Across from him sat a visitor he never expected to see again.
**Captain Ezra Cain.**
The ExoSaint who once trained Abraham. The one who vanished five years ago during the Jericho Collapse Mission. Presumed dead.
Ezra still wore his ragged ExoSaint coat, but his eyes were different now—haunted, like a man who saw Heaven… and came back through Hell.
"Still alive, I see," he said.
Abraham narrowed his eyes. "How are you here?"
Ezra threw a small crystal onto the table. "Because the seals you're breaking… are waking the Watchers."
"The Watchers?" Saral's voice came from behind. She entered the room with a datapad in hand.
Ezra nodded grimly. "Long ago, the Genesis Saints weren't just fighters. They were **guardians** of seven divine artifacts. Each one sealed a fragment of a fallen angel."
Abraham froze. "You're talking about—"
"Yes. The original Rebellion. Lucifer's kind. And you…" Ezra pointed at Abraham, "…are tied to one of them."
Saral frowned. "Why would Heaven place pieces of evil in humans?"
Ezra looked at her with respect. "Because only humans have the right to *choose.* Power without choice is just slavery."
Abraham stood slowly. "So what happens if I break more seals?"
Ezra hesitated. Then: "They'll come faster. The Beasts. The Old Ones. The Seven Eyes."
Saral scoffed. "And I suppose you know how to stop them?"
Ezra turned serious. "No. But I know *who* can."
He placed a relic on the table.
A **silver ring** with flame symbols and a glowing red thread around its center.
Abraham's fingers trembled as he picked it up. The moment he touched it, his vision blurred.
---
### **\[Vision Begins]**
He stood on a mountain. Blackened skies. Rivers of ash. A figure kneeled in chains—**himself**, but older, with burning wings chained to the ground.
A woman stood before him. She looked like Saral, but… *more.*
Eyes shining like morning stars. Voice like thunder and honey.
"You were never meant to be the hero, Abraham," she said. "You are the **gate.**"
He gasped. "Gate to what?"
Her voice echoed:
> "To the last war."
---
**\[Vision Ends]**
He fell to the floor, gasping. Saral rushed to help him.
Ezra knelt beside him. "It's starting, isn't it?"
Abraham nodded weakly. "I saw the mountain… the chained version of me… and *her.*"
Ezra whispered, "That's the Flame of Rebekah. The one who bore the Ark once before. She's calling out to you. Through Saral's blood."
Saral stared at them both. "What do you mean *my* blood?"
Ezra slowly turned to her. "Your father isn't just a scientist. He was one of the original Keybearers of the Church. You're his *final vessel.*"
Saral backed away, heart pounding. "No. No one ever told me this."
"That's because they were afraid of what you'd become if you knew."
---
**That Night…**
In an unlit chamber beneath Sector Delta, something broke through the containment wall. Slime. Claws. Eyes. Teeth.
A voice rang in the dark:
> "I smell… the gatekeeper."
> "And the flame…"
---
**Elsewhere…**
Inside the data vaults of the Arch-Ecclesia, Reuel observed Saral's DNA scan. The screen displayed ancient glyphs matching only one name in the restricted Genesis files:
> "Bloodline: Rebekah. Designation: Arkborn."
Reuel smiled. "Two flames in one generation. This war might be more fun than I thought."
---
### **Back in Abraham's Room…**
He stared out the window. Zion's towers sparkled, but above them, the red skies glowed like a wound that wouldn't heal.
Saral joined him.
"You okay?" she asked.
"No," he admitted. "But I don't think I ever was."
She smiled faintly. "Then let's be not okay together. Until we figure this out."
He looked at her hand, and slowly placed the silver flame ring between them.
"Wear it," he said. "If anything happens to me, this might help you remember."
Saral raised an eyebrow. "Remember what?"
He looked at her—eyes fierce, soft, and scared all at once.
"That we were never just soldiers. We were chosen. Not to fight for the Church. Not for power. But to protect something sacred."
"And what's that?" she whispered.
Abraham smiled sadly.
"Each other."
---
End of Chapter 13