System Administrative Dimension, Lake Stonecrest, DeKalb County, Georgia. Thursday, October 31th, 23:00

A girl still tried to find a way to avoid being gang-pressed into the role of Death. What she feared was not the role itself but the loss of agency and the fate reserved for Death in the scriptures.

And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

Bag of bones was Hades. Or the gatekeeper.

"Abby, help me!" She pleaded for an advocate. She needed someone to help, to aid, to offer succor in this time of her trial.

Abby, being the craven gaslighting traitor she was, didn't respond.

Sara groveled on the transparent floor. "Please forgive me! I'll do penitence, I'll pray, do charity, please! Please!" She begged and bawled.

Charon shook his head and raved like a lunatic, "This is no punishment and has nothing to do with sin, child. This is an honor. A path to freedom."

For the convict boatman, at least. She had no idea what crimes one should commit to end sentenced to ferrying people in the underworld for an eternity.

"This is your Duty assigned by the Lord," the Fourth Living Being added. "The Lord decided you shall play this part in the cosmic plan he has for the world. As the boatman says, this is not a punishment."

Fuck that, fuck all of them. She utterly rejected that notion. She knew two out of three Celestials she met to be consummated liars. Sara didn't go through all she did just to be a pawn in some cosmic theatrical play. In hindsight, she was one from day one. She hated the Apocalypse and everything related to it with ardent passion. All the suffering, all the pain.

"NO!" Sara screamed. Begging didn't work, she switched strategies, trying defiance. The second stage, anger? "I refuse! I won't! Spare me!"

The girl moved away from them but the System Dimension was only so big.

"It is not your choice to make. The Lord hath spoken. You shall be the Fourth Herald, Death. So, shall it be, as foretold by the prophets."

Almost at the edge of the System dimension, she tripped on the kayak, falling on her bottom. "No!" She shook her head as snot dripped down her nostrils, frantically waving her arms as if it would scare the cosmic entities. "No! I shall not! I refuse! Pick someone else!"

The two moved forward, one with bones rattling and the other by flapping their wings calmly.

"It's easier if you don't fight or we'll need to be a bit more aggressive," Charon threatened, bluffing. "I always regret when I have to ferry one of the young ones across. I was glad I had a month of vacation but now it is time to work again." The skeleton brandished his oar.

Heedless of the drama, the System Core's voice chimed in, in a peppy, informative, friendly, and light tone.

> "Twelve thousand humans already accepted the System's EULA and picked their Classes. You have a message from user 'Major Hainsworth'."

*

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System Administrative Dimension, Lake Stonecrest, DeKalb County, Georgia. Thursday, October 31st, 23:10

The impasse continued. The girl, not impassible but unwavering in her refusal, cried her woes and what was supposed to be her role. She called the parasite fairy again but Abby did not respond.

The feathered being hovered forward. A magic diagram sprung to life in front of its central eye, the circles and geometric shapes forming quickly as squiggly glyphs of golden light decorated the rim of the circle. Mana poured into the diagram, and a spell affected her.

"The Omen of Death shall be Yours!" The angry Fourth Living Being declared. "Stand, Herald! Embrace your Fate!"

Sara felt something tug at her muscles, like a puppeteer's strings. She flared her own mana, ice forming over invisible chains linking her to Fourth. Sara circulated more and more Mana, until the chains froze and shattered, ending the compulsion spell. "NO! I'll stay here on my knees until I die of starvation if I have to!"

She sucked in a big breath and summoned courage from deep inside her. If begging or negotiating wouldn't do, she could try defiance. Sara stared up and screamed at the top of her lungs. "I will not be a part of your shitty celestial apocalyptic drama, you hear that, God? I will not play the role of death just to be tossed and discarded in a lake of flame later on!"

"Nephilim child," the Fourth Living Being softened their tone, "this is not a curse but a blessing. You were born for this!"

"It is not certain that will happen and even if it does, we'll have a thousand years to play," Charon condescendingly tempted, then raved on his delusions, "Then sweet, sweet oblivion. I can't imagine how it would feel to be free of this burden. Of this curse...." Anger flared in the skeletal creature, green flames burst in his eye sockets, "You will not deny me that!"

"Bullshit!" She raged and climbed on her feet. A seething anger and indignation overpowered her terror and meekness. "I reject such fate!" She professed.

Appeals to divine will, negotiation, and even compulsion didn't work; the Fourth Living Being went back to being imperious, "We are out of time. You shall ride, Herald! Come forth!"

Another hole in reality opened. Through it came the Pale Horse.

Sara screamed in horror.

Its fur was a sickly pale green, like faded leaves or venomous moss. Its body was gaunt and emaciated, without a hint of fat on it as the skin and fur stretched over the bones. Upon its hooves flared ghostly bluish-white flames which shed utter cold and not warmth. Its mane was also made out of the same flames.

"Here's your steed. Once you climb on its back, we shall bind your will to it, and you'll become Death, Fourth Herald," The eagle-headed Cherub announced. They started to weave another grand magic circle to complete the ritual. This one seemed a bit more complicated than the compulsion spell. It seemed to take a while to complete as the Celestial's full attention went to it.

Horse eyes met the girl's and something snapped in place. Whether she wished it or not, that horse was hers. She felt like she knew the creature for a long time. It was Fated, meant to be. She could feel what the horse felt, see through its eyes, and understand its mind.

Sympathy.

But the binding ritual wasn't yet done. Heavenly glyphs spun and locked into place on the diagram above the floating ball of feathers. And she didn't feel any different, aside from this feeling, this bond, that was like an old limb that slept from being sat on. If anything, it seemed she was already bound to the horse. It was as familiar as it was unnerving. Something was not what it seemed. Sara closed her eyes and focused on this newly rediscovered lost piece of her.

*

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System Administrative Dimension, Lake Stonecrest, DeKalb County, Georgia. Thursday, October 31st, 23:20

Before the Fourth Living Being could finish its binding spell and seal Sara's fate, our last actor (perhaps the first) of the celestial drama made its presence known on the stage. Deep within the System core, they awakened and stirred.

"What is going on?" The creature clamored, then their attention focused on Sara's Personal Core. "This is not the agreed-upon time! This is too soon!"

From inside the System Core crystal, shielded by the light, eight majestic, feathered wings spread out of the golden light. Along all of their length, a myriad of eyes in all sizes opened and gazed upon everyone and everything. The newcomer shifted forward, crossing the golden boundary of the crystal. The System Core rippled as if it was water. Between the wings, a feathered body with a large eye in its center came out of the light. The feathers had a golden spine and barbs.

Sara couldn't believe. So that's what Abby said when she urged Sara to activate the System before they awakened.

The Fourth Living Being stopped their binding ritual and floated away from the Core, assuming a defensive position. The single eye in its eagle head stared at the newcomer with hatred.

Sara knew that newcomer well. The tales of their death were greatly exaggerated, indeed. The catalyst for the changes in her life. And she was mad for being deceived from the very start.

"I can't believe it! You, gaslighting ball of feathers!" Sara roared angrily at the Seraph floating next to the System Core. The pale horse glared and dug at the dimensional floor with a hoof, empathetic to the girl's emotions. "You did not die!" Verachiel, the Seraph, was impassible. Sara seethed with indignation, hatred at the betrayal. Then she punched her own solar plexus. "You knew this all along didn't you little conspirator parasite!" She bellowed in rage. Cold Mana erupted in her channels, free flowing from another dimension. A cloud of mist formed around her and drifted on the floor, spreading out like a cheap movie SFX.

"I thought we were partners! What have you done?" Verachiel asked the parasite.

Abby's voice echoed next to Sara.

Wait, again? Was that why she felt...

Charon and Cherub gave Sara some respite, wary of Verachiel's presence. The Pale horse clopped closer to her. Probably to shield her. The two stood by the kayak. Verachiel, however was fuming at Abby.

"You broke my contingency spell before its completion," Verachiel noticed with shock and horror, his myriad eyes swiveling like crazy.

The time bubble. Verachiel's contingency. "Was that his contingency? What was that spell supposed to do?" Sara wondered under her breath.

"Do not heed the words of the Fallen, Sara," Fourth warned. "Both of them are traitors to the Lord's Host."

"FALLEN?" She shouted, giving her mind time to remember what that meant. She widened her eyes in horror and shock, "Do you mean they are de-de-dem—" She tittered and stuttered, unable to finish the word.

Abby vehemently denied.

"The difference is negligible. They are the Fallen. They no longer heed our Lord's words. Traitors of the Celestial Order," Fourth declared. "They are to be hunted and brought before the Lord for judgment."

Verachiel, the eight-winged asshole, ignored his brethren to hover near Sara. He addressed Abby, though. "This is not what we agreed upon! She hasn't yet completely rejected the Seal! Right now, I see her bond to the Pale Horse! The risk is too big! What have you done?"

Abby finally said, her voice ringing next to Sara's mouth.

Wait, Abby was on her side? Or was Sara still an useful pawn? The girl was so confused. No. Everything was as it was for a reason. Just for their convenience, she was sure of that. But Sara was so desperate she was willing to let all the gaslighting Abby did so far slide. No. Not forgive. But she needed to find a way out of this, and maybe a compromise was the thing she needed. She had no idea what to do and did nothing. Was hesitation the right answer? Sara had no idea.

"Ha, ha," Charon chuckled as the skeleton mocked Verachiel, "So the betrayer has finally been betrayed! What a riot!"

"Betrayer?" Sara dreaded the word. If she recalled her Sundays well, the biblical betrayer was... The girl stared at Verachiel, "Oh, fuck, please no."

Abby rebutted her worries.

"My father, then..."

She could feel Abby rolling its metaphysical eyes.

Abby snickered.

The anger she felt at Abby dissing her father was enough fuel to stoke Sara's anger and burn those weak thoughts of submission or cooperation she was entertaining.

"You might know this entity by other names," Charon raised a skeletal finger and pointed at the Seraph. "Throughout the ages, that traitor you call Verachiel has taken many guises. In ancient times, he was Prometheus, bringing the Divine Fire and knowledge of metalworking to Pandora. Before that, he gave a certain woman a fruit she was not supposed to have."

If the skeleton had eyebrows, Charon would surely be wiggling them, by the tone of his voice.

"What?" Sara failed to comprehend the mythological mashup.

"That's Prometheus," Charon pointed. "Punished with imprisonment and eternal torture but he escaped, the lucky one. Then he became a Seraph, and hid among the Heavenly Host."

"Always the Betrayer and a woman," Fourth remarked, breaking their silence. Since Verachiel emerged, the Cherub was wary of the Seraph.

"And now I stole another gift from the heavens, the System Core. You lost, former brother," Verachiel bragged.

Fourth's eagle head made a sharp cry of anger and frustration.

"And it seems he fooled the bird-brained Celestials thoroughly," Charon cackled. Fourth tugged on invisible chains, bringing the skeletal boatman to his knees. Charon cackled and swiveled its skull on the spinal disks to face Sara. She felt as if he'd winked without eyelids, "totes' worth it," the skeletal boatman joked.

*

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System Administrative Dimension, Lake Stonecrest, DeKalb County, Georgia. Thursday, October 31st, 23:40

The Mexican Standoff lingered for a long while. With every actor on stage, tension rose to the point of breakdown. The weakest link, a scared mortal, tried her best to be ignored.

"Back off," Verachiel pushed against the other Celestial. "Now that it come to this, I will keep you away from Sara."

There's always a Princess, a Fairy, and a Hero, said the laws of the multiverse. Sara had difficulty telling who played each role in this drama.

The sight of the two Celestial beings was almost too much for her. Ordinary mortals would die of awe or from the Mana pressure they were putting out. Even Sara was at her limit. Her MP pool had already filled and she felt hot.

"It is as your little co-conspirator says, betrayer," the eagle-headed creature said. "We remember everything. In vain did you attempt, five times, to subvert at least one of the Heralds and forestall the Apocalypse as designed by the Lord. There shall not be a sixth time. This ends now."

The fight that was brewing up was beyond the girl's pay grade, System powers or not. She retreated behind the kayak, ignoring that the fiberglass canoe wouldn't protect shit. Sympathetic to her plight, the pale green horse clopped closer. The girl felt safer with her horse, yes, her horse, nearby. She reached out and caressed the Pale Horse's fur.

Then hell broke loose.

Fourth summoned mighty spears of flame. She was certain a single one of these would incinerate her, System powers or not.

Verachiel drew on what System energy he could. Veins of golden sparkles flowed from the crystal to his body. From each eye on the Seraph's bod and wings, a ray of light shot, searing tiny smoking marks on the Fourth Living Being as every tiny eye shot its own beam. At the same time, Fourth fired their fire spears at Verachiel. Golden blood dripped from both wounded Celestial.

Differently from Lakeside Apartments' rooftop, this time it was real and not an illusion.

The amount of Mana used was staggering. A battle between titans. Sara could only stare in awe.

"Damn, they are pulling no punches," Charon commented as he stepped aside, shaking his skull. "That's above my pay grade."

Magic circles, complete with concentric rings, geometric lines, and squiggly glyphs formed around the Fourth Living Being. A myriad of weapons of superb craftsmanship shot from these circles. Swords, mostly spears and javelins, daggers, and axes of gleaming metal flew toward the Seraph. Verachiel conjured shimmering barriers which stopped most of the weapons but he took dozens of cuts. More golden blood dripped on the floor.

Sara watched the titanic altercation of Biblical proportions and implication, dreading what the winner would do to her regardless of who won. One wanted her to basically commit suicide with extra steps (not martyrdom as the martyrs were to be rewarded in the fifth seal), the other would certainly try to take the System away from her and what... try again? How?

Lightning. Ice. Fire. More conjured weapons clattering to the ground, now a pile of them covered in golden blood. Light rays, thunderclaps. Both Celestials were wounded and weakened by the time one of them called a truce. Feathers floated down.

"Enough," Fourth clamored. "We are evenly matched, traitor. Further conflict might damage the Core."

Verachiel's maddening plethora of eyes glowered and glowed as the Titan disguised as a seraph drew twice as much Mana from the Core. A mandala of interlocked spell circles appeared. The Core cracked with hairline fractures.

"You are insane!" Fourth hastily erected barriers.

The mandala finished charging and light beams shot toward the eagle-headed creature. The barriers cracked then shattered in sequence as Verachiel used the power of an entire world to push his attack.

They impaled and burned the Celestial as it fell from the air. As a last act of defiance, Fourth shot its own light beam from its central eye, piercing a hole in Verachiel's body. Too busy with his all-out attack, he was defenseless against that. Mana rushed to Sara and to the Core.

> "You earned $132,500 System Dollars!" The friendly and soft System voice informed her as it absorbed the Mana left by the dying Celestial.

Sara regretted the loss. No matter how misguided Fourth was, the death of a Celestial, a real one this time, was a giant loss for the universe. She felt the sadness deep in her heart of hearts.

Verachiel was still alive but not much better.

*

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System Administrative Dimension, Lake Stonecrest, DeKalb County, Georgia. Friday, November 1st, 00:40

Bone struck bone as Charon clapped. "Well, well, did we vent all that aggression? Why don't you try your little time loop spell now, Verachiel? Or should I call you Prometheus? Serpent? Any other disguises I didn't know of?" He taunted.

"Boatman," Verachiel acknowledged the skeleton with an angry hiss.

"I must admit, your soft spot for humanity is only surpassed by your nearsightedness," Charon continued. "Even though all of humanity shall be granted paradise at the end of the millennium, you still try to shield them from a momentary suffering."

"Not all, not even most. Billions are to be discarded. I cannot allow that. Even for the few chosen ones, that's not a reward, that's slavery. The cost of that reward is their freedom."

"Bah! Freedom is overrated! Though I don't care about them. I only want to end my punishment, and now you went and killed my warden."

The boatman was dangerous. Anyone who was willing to die for a cause was dangerous. Especially when he had a vested interest in dragging Sara into the lake of fire.

"But now I am free of the suppression. And I won't be denied!" Charon clamored.

The wounded, bleeding Celestial moved back as Charon dominated everyone's attention. The skull inside the threadbare hood turned like some creepy doll to stare at the girl.

"Sara, here's a proposition. Climb on the damn horse, we'll have a thousand years of fun. Or I'll kill everyone in this region, force you to ride anyway, and you shall reign over nothing."

"What?" The girl did a double-take.

Charon was crazy.

"I'm going to destroy the city you call Atlanta. You surely have people you love in there, right? With the power of Death comes the discretion to kill but also to spare or judge. You can save them. Just ride the DAMN HORSE!"

The girl flinched at the shout. Charon was crazy *and* meant business.

Sara looked around. Verachiel was sagging, more wounded than when he pretended to fall from the sky. Abby was utterly useless. The System Core was damaged. Yet she would not cave in.

"No! I won't! You cannot force me!"

"I am not as soft in the head as those balls of feathers, girl!" The boatman raised his hands and used his magic. "I am the gatekeeper of Hades! No longer shackled by that floating clown! I alone decide what enters the Land of the Dead and who shall be spared. Heed my command!"

The stars vanished as a giant magic circle appeared over Stonecrest lake, stretching to a mile of diameter instantly and growing. A torrent of Mana, enough to make even Sara worry for her life gushed out of the boatman. Sara was so mesmerized by the glowing magic she missed the water of the lake disappearing underneath her.

She heard a sucking rushing sound of water crashing like a raging ocean and looked below her. The magic diagram above had created a black disk underneath and that disk was devouring everything. Air, water, earth. It grew with every moment, increasing the range of its destruction.

A black hole.

Sara was frozen with dread. How could she oppose such entities if she couldn't even defeat a pack of empowered wraiths? The necrosed wound on her arm still hadn't recovered. What would happen if she had stayed and fought those five wraiths back in Atlanta? She was powerless. She felt powerless and hopeless.

Soon, the circle reached the edge of the lake. Forest, farmland, and...

Sara gasped as her head snapped to the west, toward Panthersville. Mary, Bella, and Brutus as well as... Her mom's portrait! All were in the hotel. "Stop! Stop! I'll ride the horse!"

Charon glared with pity. His voice, however, was seething with old hatred, "No! Unruly children need to be taught a lesson. I won't endure a spoiled brat for a thousand years! Know despair, Nephilim child!"

With unblinking eyes glazed by tears, Sara watched as Panthersville and the Sky Pencil were devoured and cast into Hades. The penthouse light vanished, snuffed by Charon's evil magic.

Sara's (oh, *now* you are back) Mexican Standoff. - Part 1 of 2 (wait, there's MORE?)

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