Ascension: Shattered...

  Bang!

  That memory is seared into his mind. He failed.

  "I want... my... mo..."

  That traumatic recollection is burned into his psyche...

  Otis snapping Private Jackson's neck...

  A constant reminder of his flaws.

  "I do not kill mortals; their sins do."

  Her words won't leave his mind...

  "Eve, the Traitor; I will have your head..."

  His voice echoes in his mind. Abaddon should be voiceless...

  Then, was that Abyss Knight...

  Was that A-

  BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

  NOAH LURCHES AWAKE!

  "Ah!" the young man awakens in a cold sweat and mild delirium, but quickly regains himself. He cradles his unmarred face in a hand for a moment, gathering his sanity before those mythical eyes dart around his cozy, simple-furnished bedroom; no different from a hotel room in most aspects. It still feels like he's in a dream being back home after everything. The only thing stopping him from relapsing into the depths of his fresh trauma is the annoying and incessant alarm clock on the nightstand near his simple cot.

  He eyes it for a long time with a solemn expression before quietly turning it off.

  Noah eventually gets out of bed and goes to the dresser mirror to look himself over, and it's like looking at an entirely new man. A once always calm and in humble control face is now a sad, gloomy shell of itself, especially in his eyes; the comforting fire is gone, replaced with a hollow, nearly dead-eyed gaze. His once fair and glowing skin looks noticeably duller, almost sickly, and there's a prominent stab wound overlaid by a caustic burn at the center of his solar plexus —the scars of Sacrificial Ascension and Phoenix Rebirth. His toned, lean, and healthy physique now bears the scars of battle, but his mental state is far worse.

  Bzzzt!

  A smartphone rings on the dresser top, where a fresh pair of clothes and a new overcoat lie.

  Noah hesitates; he doesn't want to talk. But, he eventually reaches out and picks up the slender, shiny phone and taps the screen to see his mentor's name: Judas. The call ends before the Replicant can pick up, though, and a text follows within moments, flashing across the screen.

  When you are ready, I await you in the main hall.

  Noah fights tearing up; his eyes are quickly watering before he wipes them away. He didn't say anything when he returned last night and went to his room; his mentor is aware of what happened by now. The Replicant stays tantalizingly silent, looking in the mirror at his changed disposition once more before fixating on that chest scar and burn. His fingers clench, nails scraping across the polished wood of the dresser when he lowers his head and lets tears fall toward one half of a pair of dog tags directly beneath his weeping eyes. Jaden's dog tags; that soldier's death hit him the hardest. He kept it as a reminder of his failure.

  "Have faith in me, huh?"

  Noah cackles in silent sorrow and slowly slumps. Hysteria is creeping in...

  "What a fucking joke."

  Yes... You are...

  Those whispers echo so sweetly in his psyche. Her sweet, sensual voice is as enticing as Heaven itself.

  Noah's golden eyes twitch with a flare of power, and he jumps to his feet like a frightened animal.

  Abyssal Fractures fester in the hearts of every mortal...

  Even the Divine...

  The Replicant quickly focuses his thoughts on resisting his despair; a near-impossible feat for a mortal with emotions. His eyes scan the room for his pendant lying on the windowsill, and he quickly rushes over to it. His hands snatch the necklace like a thief snatching diamonds, and those dreadful feelings all cease in an instant, for a time. A temporary comfort that gives him enough sanity to push toward his next objective: meeting his Mentor. Noah quickly gets dressed, donning the same all black get up and tossing his overcoat poncho on, and heading out into the hallway toward the main hall of the massive Church nestled in the heart of Apocrypha: one of the last bastions of Humanity.

  And the only existence he's ever known of until now.

  The main hall doors quietly swing open, and Noah quietly walks down the center line toward the large stadium where a humble man, cloaked in a simple black cassock, silently prays to the MASSIVE statue of a cross intertwined with a scythe as its backbone; it's a bizarre sight to newcomers, but ordinary to them. It's a well-lit, but gloomy atmosphere. The church's mansion-sized estate is empty save for these two.

  The priest is an older gentleman of tall, average build with cool-toned skin, neatly kept, grey-hued hair, and attention-demanding, steel-toned eyes. He emanates intensity in his prayer, and his overall aesthetic is sharp, well-maintained, and striking. The spitting image of the ideal god-fearing soldier of the Church. Those hardened eyes open with a nonchalance upon hearing footsteps, and the priest only speaks when Noah's halfway toward him, rising to his feet and turning to greet his disciple with a calm, robust baritone. He immediately notices Noah's broken aura with the quickest appraisal.

  "You look shattered, son." The man speaks, and his words are blunt and direct.

  Noah wipes away creeping tears while keeping it together when he responds; he's not about to cry again if he can help it.

  "You raised and trained me for the day another Abyssal Rift opened, and I failed in every aspect to succeed..." The man's broken words match his taped-together facade of sanity; he's traumatized. Noah's dulled golden gaze turns toward the ground near the polished wood chairs surrounding them in this massive ceremony hall, a shaky exhale following when he looks at his mentor again, nearly breaking when he says...

  "An entire squad died because of my incompetence and poor choices," Noah's expression of guilt weighs down the room; the air's heavy with his despair when those eyes look up at the slightly taller man again. "I can't believe that I'm the miracle you think I am anymore. I was the strongest person on that mission and simultaneously the most fucking use-"

  "Noah." The Priest's tone is firm and potent. Watch your language.

  Noah falls quiet, and his mentor carries on.

  "You are short-sighted, and thus you are unable to see God's greater plan," the man turns and gazes at the apocryphal statue of a cross intertwined with a reaping scythe while speaking; his tone stays calm, nuanced, and almost apathetic toward death. "Your divinity gives you the capacity for further insight than what's immediately in front of you, child. Short-sightedness is a flaw that leads to Abyssal Fractures festering," a potent response that effectively makes Noah's brow furrow; he's never seen this coldness before in his mentor.

  "... Are you saying that those people dying is a part of God's plan!?" Noah's eyes flicker with a rush of intensity; his emotions are stirring again. He quickly catches himself and bows his head, apologizing. "Forgive me, father. I did not mean to criticize Him..." he quickly says, but his words are swiftly disregarded by his mentor with an apathetic handwave.

  "Do not apologize for asking questions to a man capable of answering them, for that is what I am here for," he turns and greets his student's conflicted gaze with a stalwart visage of calm reassurance. "God's plan may seem cold at times to many, but many do not under that a plan is simply that: a plan," he turns and gazes at the statue again, and lets silence settle for a few seconds. He wants Noah to truly digest his words before continuing, which he swiftly does.

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  "A plan requires correct actions and faith. Human free will means that they can go against God's plan, whether through their own volition, accidental ignorance, or manipulation by others. Do you understand where I am going with this?" he pauses and looks over his shoulder at Noah, who softly shakes his head after some time, and his mentor calmly sighs. However, he never berates his disciple and instead approaches and rests a hand on his shoulder, asking a simple question that'll simplify everything.

  "Do you believe that you did everything in your power to save those soldiers?" He asks, and Noah immediately shakes his head and responds.

  "No. I ignored my Hunter's Instinct and got the APC destroyed and every soldier killed..." he nearly breaks again into tears, saying that, but stands strong. His mentor squeezes his shoulder and, in the sharpest tone, replies...

  "Then don't ignore it again. One cannot grow without the experience of suffering and mistakes."

  Noah's expression changes again. He still can't agree with this sentiment; he needs to suffer to grow?

  "So, people dying is God giving me personal growth?" a respectful inquiry in tone, but the man's expression hints he's wrestling with the logic. The priest responds without issue.

  "No, those people died because of your mistake; God blessed you with a body capable of using corruption-based powers like Hunter Instinct, and you chose to ignore it."

  A cold reminder stuns Noah into shattering silence, and the Priest turns to the statue again.

  "It is easy to look at suffering and blame God for allowing it while ignoring the proxies that allow such suffering." The Priest locks his hands behind his back while talking, and those hardened eyes fixate on the stone blade of the statue's spine. "Suffering is not an aspect of God's creation, but a byproduct of Humanity's sin. For suffering did not exist until Eve devoured the fruit that gave her the power to discern causality, and caused the First Descension," he pauses once again and faces Noah, but his next statement carries a far heavier tone.

  "Sin is what allows us to know the difference between good and bad, not God. Our Lord only ever showed us the good until a mortal's curiosity opened her eyes to a reality she was never meant to see. Eve's treachery forced their banishment, and out of mercy, God let them keep their knowledge of sin. For HE will never deny the wishes of one that seeks to distance themself from him as SHE did, but HE is also not so foolish to be blindingly merciful," his words strike a deep cord in Noah's psyche. The priest closes his eyes and gives Noah another moment to digest his words before finishing off with a final reminder.

  "Noah, we are judged on our deathbeds, not while we are living."

  "And only God can judge us. Be glad that HE is merciful."

  That last word forces Abaddon's image into Noah's mind, and his face falters.

  There's something he needs to ask.

  "... was that them?"

  The priest freezes in place and vaguely tenses his interlocked hands.

  "Yes," he turns and speaks with confidence.

  "You fought against the first Humans and Demigods, as well as your direct ancestors..."

  "Adam, the Savior, and Eve, the Traitor."

  Noah swallows a lump in his throat that settles in the deepest pit of his chest. The vivid memories of his titanic battle with the First Man are as fresh as the deaths of the soldiers. A fallen Demigod capable of contesting God's Executioner is something he'd never believe if he hadn't experienced it firsthand. His expression softens into solemn thought while he gently clutches the pendant dangling around his neck.

  "So, the power I possess i..." he's interrupted.

  "Your own and yours alone," the priest quickly answers, his words are sincere and weighted. "The Immortal Phoenix is but one of many of our Lord's all-powerful conceptual familiars: tools given to Humanity during the First Descension at Adam's behest to keep God and Humanity intertwined after Eve's betrayal. A concept the common populace knows as summons," he starts, turns, and paces past Noah to look at the magnificently painted glass panel window above the main doors, the depiction of that scythe-embedded cross appearing once again. It is time for a lesson, then assurance.

  "To create a pact with a summon, one must have the strength to bring the beast to heel while simultaneously being worthy in the beast's eyes." The priest turns and settles that steel-eyed gaze on Noah once more and points with his head. "Only three people in humanity's history have earned the right to Ra's power, and all three were deemed worthy the moment they were born."

  The priest approaches a silent Noah and rests a hand on his shoulder again, locking eyes with his disciple.

  "The Phoenix of Rebirth is also the Bringer of Destruction. To be granted Divine Authority over Ra's power means that you are Chosen by God Himself as Humanity's final Savior. The Third Descension will be the final one, and Humanity's fate will depend on the choices you make up until the Final Hour," he calmly informs, and Noah suddenly pulls away; this is too much for him.

  "It feels like my life was never mine to begin with..." the Replicant says in a shaky voice, his divine eyes looking into his palm. "I didn't think much about my identity before because the Church and you were all I ever knew..." he pauses again as those traumatic memories resurface, and tears well in his eyes. He's breaking again.

  "Then I witnessed the Abyss, and what I'm up against..." A shaky voice fills with creeping terror. "If God's plan requires competence like you say, then what happens if I make a mistake and prematurely die?" he can't hide what's been scratching at the back of his mind anymore, and he snaps when he yells.

  "EVE SPARED MY LIFE SO I COULD WATCH JADEN KILL HIMSELF!"

  Noah falls to his knees and starts crying while the priest silently watches with an almost apathetic expression.

  Noah punches the ground so hard he cracks the stonework.

  "SHE VERY CLEARLY SHOWED ME I DIDN'T DESERVE MY POWER!"

  "I couldn't even kill Adam and save him from his fate..."

  The priest speaks.

  "God has no use for self-pity, and neither do you."

  Noah freezes. The priest orders.

  "You will learn from your failures and overcome your weaknesses to prevent future tragedies, or you will succumb to Abyssal Fracturing and become a Demon."

  "Only you are in control of your future. So, will you rise and work to save Humanity, or will you turn your back and condemn them?"

  "The choice is yours."

  ... ... ...

  Is it wrong to doubt myself?

  Noah stays prostrated. Seconds are hours to him. His mentor doesn't rush him, but he will decide for him soon if Noah doesn't.

  Those teary, amber-hued eyes stare at his shadow over the ground; his expression a sea of conflicting questions and inner emotions.

  A question to decide his answer.

  "... If I chose to save myself, would God abandon humanity?" Noah's question is almost instantly answered.

  "Yes, because God wouldn't be abandoning Humanity. You would, as you are His gift to Humanity."

  "God will accept you into His Kingdom because you are His Final Reckoning."

  "You will save Humanity. Or you will damn it."

  "That is why you wield Ra and Abaddon's strength in unison while also bearing a body capable of wielding Abyssal Corruption."

  "The first and last mortal in history to do so."

  ... ... ...

  I'm only human...

  Noah stands up.

  "... I need to learn more about the Abyss if I'm going to encounter them again. Is there anything you can tell me about it, Father Judas?" he asks, and Judas quietly shakes his head. There's a gloomy intensity to his voice when he starts talking about the Abyss in God's building. A taboo topic only spoken out of necessity. He despises it.

  "No. The Abyss is a dreamworld of corruption hidden within Eve's mindscape," Father Judas explains, approaching the cross again in hopes it cleanses his soul while he elaborates. "It is a place where Humanity's sins congregate and fester before expelling into the hearts of mortals. A condition known as Abyssal Fracturing, and every living mortal suffers from this, even the divine," he pauses and crosses his chest in repentance of a sin that never originated from him.

  "Such is Her transgression. A wretched curse for us all."

  Noah stays silent, and Judas eventually carries on.

  "Our only direct interactions with the Abyss are through Abyssal Rifts, which are only detected when a Descension is imminent. This means that the Third and Final Descension is upon us, and it's where Eve will make her final stand against humanity and the divine as a whole..." Judas trails and turns his eyes on Noah. "And where you will either cut her down with Humanity, or save Humanity from her original sin. You and Eve are Gods among Gods playing chess with Humanity. The simple endgame question is which human emotion will be stronger? Faith, or Hatred?” A potent question.

  "It'll end in bloodshed and death one way or another..." Noah says with an air of sadness and disgust in his tone when he walks away. "Peace can't be comprehended without the knowledge of suffering, right?" The man exits the church with a final comment, heading into the city.

  "Ignorance really is fucking bliss."

  The door shuts, and Judas chuckles before looking at the statue again.

  "We can agree to that."

  "Even you, Evelyn."

  Next chapter: A Strange Encounter...