Chapter Three: Azrael Not Isaiah

From the cracks in the stone floor, moss began to form. Slow at first, just a hint of color, then faster, spreading like a time lapsed footage of spring. 

Tiny white flowers pushed through dust. A dead patch of earth at the altar's base blossomed with soft grass and curling vines. 

Gasps filled the silence, one of the followers dropped their candle, another began to weep. 

Theron dropped to his knees. 

"The first revelation, we knew it! The realm never forgot your presence."

Isaiah stumbled back a step. "No…no, that wasn't me. That couldn't be me."

But it was. 

He felt it, the power hadn't just come from the void, it had come through him. The words, the details, the terrifying realization that what he said had changed this place.

His throat was dry, he sat back on the altar, hands trembling slightly. The medallion at his chest throbbed faintly like a heartbeat.

"What is happening to me?"

Was this what Azrael could do? Say and make things happen? He definitely was hallucinating.

"I knew it my lord, the new order bears witness to your presence." 

There was no way this was real, he must have lost it. 

Suddenly he felt this strange sensation inside his head, like there was something trying to break free.

Isaiah fell down writhing in pain but none of them looked fazed.

"He's coming, this time he'll take back power and restore normality."

"My head…" Isaiah yelled out. His face lifted up to the skies and there was a mighty gust of wind blowing, the ground began shaking and his body started changing.

"Kneel before the new order!" Isaiah heard a voice and he was so sure it came from him. 

The wind blew and he could feel himself slipping, almost like a new entity was manifesting through him.

Theron and the other robed men knelt and watched him. 

"Let go Isaiah, become one with me and receive the power of Elixus." This time he wasn't wrong, he heard the voice loud and clear but it felt so familiar.

"Stop fighting it…this is your destiny." The grounds started cracking and green lights were sprouting from the gaps. 

A dark wind escaped the cracks from the pantheon and entered his mouth. Immediately, the wind stopped and the ground stopped shaking. 

Everywhere was as quiet as a graveyard. Nobody moved, they all stared in terror and wonder at the occurrence that was taking place.

His eyes opened and the once brown pupil became green. His body had changed, he was taller but muscular. His skin was smoother but pale, almost like a corpse.

There was this intoxicating feeling that clouded his mind, he knew what it was. 

This primal sensation was the taste of power. He could feel it surging all over his body. It wasn't Isaiah any more, now it was Azrael, in the flesh. 

The two had become one as the prophecy stated. 

He turned and looked at the men before him, kneeling and cowering. 

"Finally, it has been so many years I had forgotten what it felt like to be living." He started walking towards them, slowly moving like he was floating.

"My lord, we have been waiting for your return. Just as you wanted years ago, when the full moon surges on the horizon, almost a hundred years later, we should gather together and await your return and here we are now." 

He looked at them for a long moment before he spoke…

"It has indeed been such a long time, but I can't regret that I took so long to come back. The rest was indeed required especially after the war."

"Of course my lord, but permit me to reinforce your humility, it was truly a tough time but we, your followers, know the retreat was necessary after the prophecy." 

Azrael looked around, as if taking in the familiar sight of his shrine. It was exactly like it used to be, nothing much had changed except for his blood lust.

"It's time to fulfill the prophecy then but I do not have my tools. As unfortunate as it is to acknowledge, I'm not in the best of shape to make any moves. Theron, where you able to secure any of my tools?" 

Theron bowed his head in shame. "We couldn't, my lord, Chronos, the night elf, has them in his possession. We did try to get them back but we barely made it out alive." 

Azrael had a long list of powers that transcended time and space including the Dream Eaters Veil. He was blessed by the light and so he could easily call forth his desires and take down enemies.

When the great battle took place, he was betrayed by the one woman he loved most and even then, he couldn't let the enemy take her life. 

He gave up the ring of Tratos which held the power to easily enter and exit the afterlife just so he could save her life but he forgot that no one could challenge prophecy. 

When he came back from the afterlife, he had nothing else aside from his essence. That was when he knew that no matter how much he tried to fight it, he was and still exists because of prophecy. 

Some of his followers liked to believe that he was a living prophecy for he had the power to say things and they would be brought to life. 

His followers had greatly reduced and so did his power, he as an entity was powerful but to unlock his full potential, he needed absolute control of his people but they were no longer his.

His face contoured into a frown at the thought of his arch enemy; the Gremlin. 

"Very well then, let's pay our old friend Chronos a visit. Rise my faithful stooges" 

They rose from their feet and immediately a mighty gust of wind serenaded their numbers and they disappeared.

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"Finally, he's back." An evil laughter erupted from a distant lair.