The entire hall sprang to its feet. Elion stepped forward to the main table, joined by another guardian, his halo glowing. Moments later, a powerful angel descended through the opening in the ceiling, where the Light streamed in. Both lieutenants greeted him with a handshake. The room fell completely silent; Viktor had no idea what they were discussing.

  After a moment, the angel stepped forward, wearing dazzling armor that looked as if it were forged from gold, silver, and other precious metals. A helmet concealed his face. The plate armor was adorned with intricate patterns, and he carried a one-handed sword and a classic knight's shield, broad at the top and tapering to a point.

  The angel spoke in a clear, commanding voice: “Brothers and sisters, the forces of Hell are breaking through our defenses at the Fifth Gate. We still hold the last three strongholds: Golden East Fortress, Lone Gray Fortress, and the White Fortress. Your lieutenants will tell you where to go. We move out immediately!”

  Immediately? But where am I supposed to go? I have no idea what’s happening, and I have absolutely no combat experience.

  The other lieutenant headed for the wooden doors standing alone in the corner. He opened them carefully, muttered something, and the Light beyond the threshold dimmed. Before him stretched a vast courtyard, and he disappeared into it. The entrance closed quietly behind him.

  Only Elion remained in the center of the room. In a steady voice, he began issuing instructions: “You heard him! We’re needed at the Fifth Gate! We’re down to the last three fortresses. Our job is to slow the enemy’s advance and reinforce the White Fortress. It’s the closest to the Gate into the Silver City and the Lake of Resurrection at the range’s highest peak. Everyone, start moving there now!”

  He placed a hand on Artur’s shoulder and said, “Artur, have your people hold back.”

  When the room had emptied, only Viktor’s squad remained, with Elion standing before them.

  “Kneel, Viktor,” Elion commanded.

  Viktor dropped to one knee.

  “Normally, I’d do this differently, but these are extraordinary times and we need every sword,” the lieutenant declared. “Viktor, accept your armor and, with it, swear to defend the Silver City and the Kingdom of Heaven.

  Renounce all nine sins: sloth, gluttony, greed, lust, wrath, envy, deceit, betrayal, and pride. Swear that you will pursue none of the earthly desires here, and that you will commit to your training and to your brothers and sisters.

  Be the Light that does not fear the darkness! Be the blade that brings justice and purges the unholy! Be the might of the High Heavens! Be its Eternal Guardian! Let these words of our oath be forever engraved in your memory. Accept the Light.”

  As Viktor knelt, he extended his right hand.

  “Do you swear to accept this duty?” Elion asked.

  “I swear!” Viktor replied, his voice ringing out.

  A small Light shot down from above the table, and Viktor immediately recognized it as a Lumion. It hovered just in front of his face.

  “Then take the sacred Light!” Elion commanded, his voice booming.

  Viktor knew exactly what to do. He reached out and grasped the Light. Instantly, flames engulfed him, just as they had with Elion. Suddenly, he was holding a sword, a shield formed on his left arm, and instead of a white robe, he wore solid plate.

  “Rise, Eternal Guardian!” Elion ordered, and Viktor stood.

  Everyone else grabbed their Lumions and transformed, clad in gleaming armor.

  “To battle!” the lieutenant shouted, raising his sword high.

  “To battle!” Viktor’s squad echoed.

  To battle? How am I supposed to fight? There must be some mistake.

  He had just sworn an oath, was going straight into battle without training, his only combat experience from behind a computer screen. Purgatory or Hell were the only alternatives, so he knew he had no choice, yet he couldn’t shake those doubts.

  The lieutenant rushed to the door in the corner, and the others followed. When they reached it, Elion said, “Courtyard of the Fifth Gate!”

  The Light around them dimmed, then flared, and suddenly they were standing in a vast courtyard at the foot of a colossal wall, high as a cliff face, rising above them without end.

  Everyone slid their swords into leather scabbards strapped to their belts, and Viktor followed suit. As they passed through, the door closed behind them. The grounds were immaculate, dotted with fountains and lined with statues of angels and saints. Soldiers bristling with weapons hurried in every direction. Viktor ran with them, head swiveling, trying to take it all in.

  They marched through a vast arched Gate in the wall; it rose like a cathedral portal and was so wide that a small amphitheater could have fit inside. The blue Light of the tree flowed above him. Behind them, it ran through the city, clinging to stone like roots toward the Lake of Resurrection; ahead, at the great Gate, it lifted like branches and vanished from sight. Shoulders bumped into him as hundreds, of soldiers streamed through. Angels soared overhead.

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  Hans, a member of his squad from the Second World War, squeezed his shoulder. Their gazes met.

  “I know, it’s a lot to take in the first time, but stick with us. Don’t get lost, all right?” he said, his voice rough.

  Viktor nodded and hurried after the group, heading for the Gate. It was a long run, but to his surprise, he didn’t feel tired at all. The armor was unbelievably light. As he passed through the Gate, he was once again struck by the beauty around him. The ground beneath his feet was paved with gray granite cobblestones, moss growing between them. Before long, it gave way to winding trails leading into open country.

  All around were rocks, hills, and towering mountains capped with snow. Above, the sky was clear, streaked with Light pouring from the Gate across the heavens, like a blue aurora. The Light branched further, falling directly into distant fortresses. A gentle breeze brushed his face. This was a world unlike any he’d ever known.

  Viktor spotted a huge White Fortress perched atop one of the hills. To his right, the Light stretched toward a tiny fortress far in the distance; to his left, another, barely visible. All were ablaze and under siege. He saw nightmarish creatures of all sizes, some unimaginable, climbing the mountains and trying to breach the fortress walls. Above, bright explosions of Light flashed as angels fought fiercely against swarms of flying beasts. Some angels dove straight down, striking the climbers, who plummeted to their doom. Viktor was witnessing a battle his mind could hardly comprehend.

  Okay. I would really like to wake up now.

  “Let’s go!” Artur shouted. “After the lieutenant!”

  They ran along the cobblestone path toward a trail leading from the far end of the courtyard. Viktor’s breath quickened. He had no idea what was going on. He'd never held a sword in his life. Maybe a stick, when he'd played at sword fighting as a kid, or with his sons. Yesterday, he was a manager; today, a soldier? Was this even real? He knew he’d need to find a moment alone with Elion. He had no training at all.

  As they pressed on, the wind picked up, whipping at their faces.

  After a short stretch, a lone stone-framed wooden door stood by the path, tucked among the rocks; soldiers slipped through one after another, and they went in after them.

  Viktor stood atop the White Fortress. A broad square, planted with greenery, stretched before him. Its white curtain walls, crowned with high battlements, ringed the perimeter. At the far left, a sweeping, elegant staircase led down into the keep. To his right was a small Lake of Resurrection, a miniature version of the one in the capital, no more than a stone's throw across, glowing with blue Light.

  For one heartbeat, it looked peaceful.

  Then he heard the screams. The clang of iron echoed across the courtyard. Flames roared, explosions thundered. On the ramparts, defenders fought off nightmarish creatures: giant dogs wreathed in flame, caterpillars with human arms and legs, enormous demons with hooves and horns.

  Around him, soldiers were already forming up. Viktor had played enough strategy games to recognize a last stand when he saw one.

  “Form up!” Elion shouted. “Draw swords!”

  Viktor ran alongside his nine companions, who positioned him well away from the door, in the defensive line, with their backs to the lake. There was no time to reach Elion. So he just stood behind them, shaking, and helplessly watching. “Hold the White Fortress until the angels arrive! Keep the lake from corruption; keep them off the water!”

  As the defenders were gradually overwhelmed, the waves of demons surged down the stairs into the courtyard. “Hold them off! Stand fast, guardians! For the Eternal Light!” Screams echoed across the courtyard.

  He fixed three anchors in his mind: the mini-lake at his back; the main stair on his right; the doors leading to safety on his left. The defenders cleaved through them one after another. Suddenly, an angel dropped into their formation, the same one Viktor had seen in the Silver Horn Barracks.

  The angel shouted to Elion, “Azazel is here! The archangel Sandalphon has fallen, and no high angels or archangels will make it here in time!” He seized Elion and flew off with him.

  Wait, Azazel? What the heck is that? Did they really just leave us?

  Viktor saw another lieutenant on the left, trying to shepherd soldiers through the doors and retreat.

  “This can’t be good. I'm definitely going to die here. Again,” Viktor's voice sounded hollow even to himself as the defenders fell back toward the doors.

  “Yes, it's very bad,” Carlos replied.

  Everyone froze. An icy growl cut through the din, and a beast appeared, ascending the stair atop the tower. It towered like a two-story house, all corded muscle and hooves instead of feet. Black armor and heavy chains wrapped most of its body. Its left hand was free, ending in enormous claws. In its right hand, it wielded a massive morningstar, from which red and black flames burst. Its head resembled some carnivorous goat-thing from nightmares - a large, jutting jaw filled with rows of razor-sharp teeth, nostrils that snorted hot steam, and curved horns crowning its skull.

  What is that monstrosity?

  Around it, demons were cutting down the defenders. The stones shuddered under its weight, and heat rolled off it like a forge. When the beast appeared, the soldiers slammed the doors shut, trapping those still outside. Nothing else remained but to turn and fight. Wave after wave crashed against what remained of their front lines.

  They broke the right flank. Pushed through the center. The formation collapsed, and they drove all the way to the rear ranks. The first demon to reach Viktor was a giant, flaming hound with huge, fiery red eyes.

  Viktor tried to remain calm and recalled his stick fights from his past. He swung his sword wildly, somehow lodging it in the demon's skull. The creature dropped.

  They forgot to cover this during stress management training.

  Another lunged immediately. He yanked his sword free and held it in front of him on sheer instinct. The demon impaled itself on the blade, driving onto the steel by its own momentum, but that's when his luck ran out. It didn't die before biting Viktor, tearing a chunk of flesh from his neck. Artur, standing beside Viktor, finished off the demon and kept fighting.

  Viktor collapsed. Blood poured from his neck, pooling beneath him on the cobblestones while the battle raged on.

  What happens now? Will someone rescue us? Am I really going to die here? What comes after this?

  Through dimming vision, Viktor watched helplessly. The huge demon waded toward the lake, brushing aside defenders with its club as if they were flies. Artur charged at it with a shout, but the demon easily grabbed him with its left hand, brought him to its mouth, and bit off his head with a grin. Viktor heard the skull crack like hard candy before the demon tossed the body aside.

  When all the defenders had fallen, only the beast’s growl and the thud of demon footsteps remained. The great demon and its cohort gathered at the water. Then something strange happened. It bit into its own hand, knelt, and plunged its arm into the lake. The surface hissed to steam, a sulfur reek rising as the Light dimmed; high above, a single filament snapped. As it did, the demon noticed Viktor, half dead and gasping by the edge.

  The beast raised its other hand and, with tremendous force, brought its club down on Viktor's chest, crushing it completely. Almost nothing remained of his torso: just a greasy smear where his body had been, with only his head and limbs left intact.

  So this is how it ends.

  Darkness gradually overtook him, and the last thing he saw was a flash of green Light.