fulfilled the destiny forced upon you by angels and man. Is that the end of your legacy?” Fire sparked within the dark depths of Belphegor’s helm, momentarily making his eyes glow crimson. “You can be more than that.”
“I’ve seen what happens to people who enter the Origin.”
“Adam became insane because he was greedy and entered the Origin twice. Hardly an inevitability.” His lipless mouth seemed to smile. “Also, we will have each other. Previous pantheons have done best when they formed strong bonds with each other.”
The only kind of bond Elise could imagine forming with Belphegor was the bond between her sword’s blade in his chest and her hand on the hilt.
“How do you know about previous pantheons?” Elise asked.
“This wasn’t my first genesis. I’m the last of the ancients. I have done all of this before. I have seen gods rise and fall, and I know what it will take to make the next one last.”
“Genesis. You keep saying that.”
“With every new group of gods comes an entirely new universe,” Belphegor said. He waved a hand at the desert. “I flex my godly muscles with this destruction merely as entertainment. Once I have you as the third, we’ll be able to make everything from the beginning. Again.”
Belphegor continued walking. Elise picked up her pace to walk alongside him.
The desert melted away. They walked through a mountain range filled with crystalline temples and waterfalls.
She’d seen engravings of Zebul, the Heavenly dimension where angels used to craft all of their finest work. It was no longer the idyllic utopia that she had read about. The waterfalls ran with fire. The trees burned. The sky was filled with glimpses of Earth.
The plumes of smoke didn’t move, just as the river of magma hadn’t moved. Time continued to hold still.
Belphegor walked on the long bridge between two temples. It was just wide enough that she could fit at his side. Elise wasn’t exactly short, but her chin was only level with his elbow.
“So you want me to enter the Origin,” Elise said slowly. “In the garden.”
“Ideally.”
In order to do that, he would have to let her inside the garden where his real body waited. She could kill him and prevent anyone else from entering the Origin. She could prevent this genesis thing.
“Okay,” she said. “I’ll do it.”
The instant she said it, his amusement grew. He wasn’t stupid enough to think she’d just changed her mind. “You’ll have to take care of something first.”
“Name it.”
“Find Nathaniel. He’s become a problem. He’ll need to be contained.”
“You want me to kill him,” Elise said.
“No, having a useless angel in Eden suits me. His weakness will render those ethereal fools impotent. I said that we’ll contain him, and we will. However, I will only contain him if you cooperate. Surrender him to me and I will let you into Eden.”
So Belphegor would only let Elise into Eden if she gave him a hostage first.
She missed when her enemies were stupid.
They crossed the bridge to the next temple in Zebul. The instant their feet crossed the threshold, the ethereal dimension melted into New York.
The American northeast had been largely untouched by the Breaking, but now the city was suffering like the rest of the world. People fled buildings frozen in mid-collapse. Fire scaled the walls of skyscrapers.
Elise glanced down a set of stairs leading to the subway and found the tunnel flooded with Belphegor’s magma.
His fist was clenching around the entire Earth.
And the sky was worst of all. The Palace of Dis hung inverted above the clouds, taunting her with the sight of where she had left behind Neuma, Jerica, and her loyal dog, Ace.
“What if I agreed to cooperate with you without hostages?” Elise asked. “What if I gave up now?”
“No. No, I don’t think that will do.” Belphegor slipped between two people trying to climb over a car that had been crushed by rubble. The woman’s mouth
“I’ve seen what happens to people who enter the Origin.”
“Adam became insane because he was greedy and entered the Origin twice. Hardly an inevitability.” His lipless mouth seemed to smile. “Also, we will have each other. Previous pantheons have done best when they formed strong bonds with each other.”
The only kind of bond Elise could imagine forming with Belphegor was the bond between her sword’s blade in his chest and her hand on the hilt.
“How do you know about previous pantheons?” Elise asked.
“This wasn’t my first genesis. I’m the last of the ancients. I have done all of this before. I have seen gods rise and fall, and I know what it will take to make the next one last.”
“Genesis. You keep saying that.”
“With every new group of gods comes an entirely new universe,” Belphegor said. He waved a hand at the desert. “I flex my godly muscles with this destruction merely as entertainment. Once I have you as the third, we’ll be able to make everything from the beginning. Again.”
Belphegor continued walking. Elise picked up her pace to walk alongside him.
The desert melted away. They walked through a mountain range filled with crystalline temples and waterfalls.
She’d seen engravings of Zebul, the Heavenly dimension where angels used to craft all of their finest work. It was no longer the idyllic utopia that she had read about. The waterfalls ran with fire. The trees burned. The sky was filled with glimpses of Earth.
The plumes of smoke didn’t move, just as the river of magma hadn’t moved. Time continued to hold still.
Belphegor walked on the long bridge between two temples. It was just wide enough that she could fit at his side. Elise wasn’t exactly short, but her chin was only level with his elbow.
“So you want me to enter the Origin,” Elise said slowly. “In the garden.”
“Ideally.”
In order to do that, he would have to let her inside the garden where his real body waited. She could kill him and prevent anyone else from entering the Origin. She could prevent this genesis thing.
“Okay,” she said. “I’ll do it.”
The instant she said it, his amusement grew. He wasn’t stupid enough to think she’d just changed her mind. “You’ll have to take care of something first.”
“Name it.”
“Find Nathaniel. He’s become a problem. He’ll need to be contained.”
“You want me to kill him,” Elise said.
“No, having a useless angel in Eden suits me. His weakness will render those ethereal fools impotent. I said that we’ll contain him, and we will. However, I will only contain him if you cooperate. Surrender him to me and I will let you into Eden.”
So Belphegor would only let Elise into Eden if she gave him a hostage first.
She missed when her enemies were stupid.
They crossed the bridge to the next temple in Zebul. The instant their feet crossed the threshold, the ethereal dimension melted into New York.
The American northeast had been largely untouched by the Breaking, but now the city was suffering like the rest of the world. People fled buildings frozen in mid-collapse. Fire scaled the walls of skyscrapers.
Elise glanced down a set of stairs leading to the subway and found the tunnel flooded with Belphegor’s magma.
His fist was clenching around the entire Earth.
And the sky was worst of all. The Palace of Dis hung inverted above the clouds, taunting her with the sight of where she had left behind Neuma, Jerica, and her loyal dog, Ace.
“What if I agreed to cooperate with you without hostages?” Elise asked. “What if I gave up now?”
“No. No, I don’t think that will do.” Belphegor slipped between two people trying to climb over a car that had been crushed by rubble. The woman’s mouth
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