12000 years ago, Saudi Arabia
He was going to show the beaurocrats and holy men in Atlantis that they were fools to cast him out, fools to recognize his vision of ruling the world alongside titans of fire and shadow. Soon they would bow to his gods. The Atlantean sorcerer finished his arcane ritual, sprinkling his arcane reagents onto the sand. Dark clouds began to gather above, yet no rain fell. He began to utter a blasphemous hymn to the forces of chaos and darkness. The dark clouds thickened, blocking out the sun. A green flame began to burn on the sand.
The angel descended from the heavens with blistering speed, its armor glowing orange as it tore through the atmosphere. As the gases of the sphere's atmosphere thickened, it only increased its speed, and began to leave a wake of flames behind, resembling a shooting star. It tore a large hole through the black clouds through which a golden shaft of sunlight beamed down onto the desert, where the Atlantean sorcerer finished the portal opening. The angel watched, as a green flame erupted from the sands and formed a circle. It doubled down on its descent, deafening sonic booms rippling through the wake of burning gases.
"Father, am I too late?"
A massive rusty colored arm reached from within the circle and fell onto the sand, and pulled forth, and the manifestation of all evil stood, towering above the warlock, who fell to his knees, his head barely reaching the beast's ankles. Crooked horns jutted from a head with two red eyes, no nostrils, and a wide mouth full of sharp yellow teeth. Flames rippled along its muscular form and great leathery wings spread behind.
"So you want a reward, do you?" The beast spoke.
It stomped on the warlock, sending a spray of red in all directions as a host of lesser monstrosities began piling out behind it.
"The appropriate reward for the rat who betrays his own kind" the beast snorted derisively, wiping the sorcerer's remains from his clawed foot on the dry sand. He stood nearly forty feet tall to the top of his massive horns. He looked up to see a single hole in the dark clouds, and what appeared to be a star in the middle, growing brighter at an alarming rate., growing brighter at an alarming rate. "Shit" he growled, leaping away from the portal, ordering the others to get in front of him. His eyes grew wide, aflame with anger. How was there already one here? before any of the fun got started?
"six, seven, eight"
The lesser evils began leaping out in droves.
"twenty-seven, twenty eight"
Every white warden had a special two handed weapon capable of shifting its shape to suit the wielder, forged by the Allfather himself from the shards of a dying star. As the 31st exited the portal, the angel pointed his spear, Luminex, downward and impacted the ground with the force of a small meteor, destroying the portal and sending pieces of the last demon to emerge splattering over its allies.
It slowly stepped out of the glowing glass depression in the sand, the fiery glow of its cooling armor illuminating the intricate runes that covered every surface a few moments longer as it returned to its mirrored, silvery white luster. The runes resembled tattoos on a metal body, inorganic and alien. It stood tall, impossibly thin and long limbed, yet possessing of a terrifying power and purpose. Though it was double the height of a man, most of the monstrosities towered over its head. Its wings however, spread double its height either way, glowing and immaterial, and were covered with ice blue eyes, displaying various expressions - some hung in sorrow or disappointment, others bristled with holy wrath, others calmly stared forward with unshakeable faith. Its head was covered by a silvery helmet with only a single small hole in the center, emitting a pale golden light.
"thirty"
The demons paused, looking at each other and backing away slowly, some mewling, whining, wimpering, like a pack of frightened dogs looking for the bravest among them. Their red eyes grew wide with fear, glowing brightly. None of them wanted to fight this warrior of God.
"misguided and lost...I weep for their suffering. please forgive them my father"
"I am Talzael, warden fifth rank of the fourth order, you are prohibited from this sphere. You must return to our father's light and he will show you mercy.
Repent at once and be free of your blasphemous form." the angel spoke in a flanged, resonating, inhuman voice, soft and androgynous but carrying impossibly far.
The biggest demon, enraged at their cowardice, roared and the earth shook. The 29 lesser evils decided testing the mercy of the angels blade was far better than enduring their masters punishment for cowardice.
"i am so sorry, i will grant you peace"
They came from all directions, slashing, biting, whipping with bladed and spiked tails, spewing flames and lava that scalded the angels armor. The angel whirled in brutally graceful motion, its blade slicing through chitin, flesh, metal and bone with effortless precision. It beamed an intense ultraviolet beam from the sole opening in its metallic helm. the demons touched by it burned intensely, their screams carrying for miles through the empty desert. For every few that fell, one would get a little damage in, brightly glowing fluid dripping from the slashes that pierced the angel's armor, falling onto the ground and gradually losing its glow and crystallizing.
"eight...seven..six.."
The great evil one looked on as his thirty greatest lieutenants were butchered. By a single battle warden...his rage grew to infinite levels, his hate strengthening his massive form, flames smoldering from beneath his armor.
"three, two."
Before he could save the last of his comrades, the angel bisected the terrified demon vertically from the top of the head down with one savage strike of Luminex, its entrails spilling onto the sand and catching fire as the two legs hopped away from each other a few leaps, each half falling to the ground, the fiery glow in each eye finally going dark. It took a total of twelve seconds to slay the entire horde.
"Now for you, brother....."
A single massive claw grabbed the angel, pinching its weapon to its side with the beasts immense strength. The beast squeezed and the silvery glowing liquid flowed down, glowing on the sand as the shining metal shell around the angel crumpled and crushed inward with the beast's immense grip.
The beast grinned and spoke.
"Your efforts are impressive, warden. But he should have sent M-"
"father give me strength"
The angel pulled on its weapon and flailed its wings with everything it had, slicing a few of the beasts fingers off, and it launched up and toward the monster, slicing his chest wide open and cutting his jaw off, arcing through the air, landing with a metallic thud a hundred feet away. The sun was coming back out and the dark clouds dissipating. The beast's eyes were wide with disbelief as he looked down and saw his heart falling out of his open ribcage, corrupted blood pouring out. He tried in vain to push it back in with his undamaged hand. He tried to roar in agony but only a gurgling squelch sputtered out as he realized his jaw and tongue were no longer attached. For the first time ever, he felt afraid and alone and regretted his hubris that caused him to fall so far from his father's love. He tried to call out to his father for forgiveness but couldnt make a sound. His father heard him nonetheless. He crumpled to the ground, his great wings sagging and the flames that burned in his flesh went out...his rusty color turning black as the wind blew the ash away from his bones.
"father, i have done my best, fought well, and i cannot return. i shall rest in the warmth of the sun you placed here.....redeem their souls.....it is my final wish.."
The golden light began to gradually dim in the frontal opening of its helm and then went out completely.
After the sun set in the desert, thirty two new stars twinkled in the sky.
