The entire place was strange. It was as if the city's center was perfectly preserved as it fell into the water. Yet, while all the residents had died, for there was no way to move out of the cave physically, and attempts to tunnel out of place were made in futility, there was something mysterious about the entire place.
Zeraphine turned to where Alean claimed the First Beast was sealed and could see the perfectly cut monolith that stood. But there was something precise and perfect about the monolith that Zeraphine couldn't understand.
Alean, however, could see a strange power that the stone had. It was a stone that existed within all dimensions.
"It's far more perfect than a tesseract! No! It's not just four dimensions! It's a Hexeract of some sort! Whatever it is... it's a stone not cut by human hands!"
"Explain what you mean. You fled and took me away. What did the Progenitor tell you?" Zeraphine asked again.
Alean turned to Zeraphine.
"The origins of the Aragarians are from Earth. The one you call Primordial is the person called Nimrod in the Bible. The king of Babel and the leader of the kingdom rebelled against God. When God came to divide the tongues, he broke down the tower, but Nimrod used the powers of the Nefilus Beast to flee and move far away from this galaxy." Alean began.
"The Bible spoke of the origins of our two races. You are a Presider and a daughter of a Prime. With the powers you've seen, would it not be possible for beings like angels and devils to exist?" Alean asked.
Zeraphine nodded.
"I know that part. The Aragarian worshiped the Nefilus Beast as the source of all powers. So you're telling me that our god is Satan?"
"Well, no. Don't think too highly of yourself. Your god is Appolyon. Satan's busy accusing the saints, apparently. That's his Greek name. Abaddon is what he's called in Hebrew. A high-ranking demon who is sealed on Earth."
"Who's Abaddon?"
"..." Alean sighed.
"That's why Seeker broke up with you. You aren't reading the Bible." Alean shook her head.
Alean then began to explain the history of Apollyon.
Zeraphine listened to the tale of Alean. Yet no matter how strange and absurd the tale was, Zeraphine listened and did not argue.
"And that over there... is Appolyon?" Zeraphine asked.
"No. Something far worse than him. It seems that the sins of this demon are even greater than that of Apollyon."
"How sure are you that this one isn't Apollyon?"
"Appolyon appears during the Fifth Trumpet blast in Revelation. Specifically Revelation 9. But look. The markings on the stone."
Zeraphine turned her attention to the stone and found that there was a strange symbol on the stone.
The symbol at the monolith was feint and barely recognizable.
"What is that?"
"Your eyes can't see it because it's hidden beyond the three dimensions. The real marking includes a strange seven-headed serpent. It has numerous horns, but its features are very distinct. The face of a leopard, the mouth of a lion, and the feet of a bear. All according to Revelation 12!"
"You really believe this? The Bible says it, and it's true."
"Lion with eagle wings. Who describes that?"
"...Garenjazz."
"And who is coming here? He has a form that would be likened to a bear, correct? A gruesome creature with a strange jaw."
"...Yes. Principal Dormin is a creature if he assumes full power in the realms beyond."
"Those two are four beasts in the Book of Daniel."
"...Daniel chapter 8. I remember that chapter." Zeraphine recalled her time with Seeker discussing this.
"You read it with Seeker, didn't you? You didn't notice, but Seeker has been giving you hints all along. Those things you were reading were his subtle ways of giving you an idea. We have connected it to this verse since we saw the true form of Garenjazz as the lion with an eagle's wings. At that time, we were following Pastor Eagle's sermons with little faith. But see how true his prophecies are!"
"Garenjazz the Eagle, and Principal Dromin, the bear... What comes next?"
"This means that after the bear is another Principal... A leopard with four wings and four heads. It has ten horns and the eyes of a man."
"Wait! Those descriptions! Two leopards are known in Aragar! Principal Grecia and Prime Defiant!" Zeraphine was amazed.
"Who is that?"
"The four-headed Leopard, Principal Grecia. From what I can tell is one of Lanterk's four incarnations! As for Prime Defiant, he is the Prime that is said to be stronger than my father! The four-wing leopard with many horns! The Prime closest to becoming the Primordial! From what I heard, he is also the main body of the Presider Pridgeon killed!"
"Presider Crostfree. To think that Presider would be so strong..." Alean was amazed.
"The bible... knew?!" Zeraphine couldn't believe it.
"There you have it. That is the order of enemies we are to face! And Zeraphine, I believe that those two... is either one being all together, or will become one! I don't doubt that the Book of Daniel will be incorrect."
Zeraphine was shocked. She never entertained the possibility.
"Is it possible? Prime Defiant had found a way to make a Principal level incarnation?!" Zeraphine muttered, and then she realized something.
"Wait! Wasn't there something about a goat and a ram in Daniel?"
"Yes. We figured that out. A Ram with two giant horns and one greater than the other. This is Lanterk and Pridgeon's alliance. And then a goat will arise and challenge this ram and win over it."
"So, from being two allies, they will betray each other? If it's a goat, then it's definitely Lanterk! So Lanterk will win!" With the identification of Principal Grecia, Zeraphine became a believer in this prophecy.
"We're not sure yet. There are four possible contenders for this position. The first is, naturally, Lanterk. The second is Pridgeon. With his powers to devour Nefilus suits he could be that goat in Daniel 8. Then, there is the Bear."
"The bear can also be the goat?"
"If he chooses to. We don't exactly know what means of interpretation we would follow when it comes to the Bible. Right now, we are only going with what makes sense."
"This all doesn't make sense!"
"That is the problem..." Alean sighed.
"Who is the last one?"
"You don't get why people tried to stop me when I fled with you? Obviously, it's you!"
"Me?!" Zeraphine was startled.
"Your soul power! It can take over a human! If you have enough techs, and training and can develop that as a Path, you could practically possess people! Possessions have been confirmed to be true in the Bible. That is the greatest possibility of your power!"
Zeraphine frowned.
"I know the limitations of my powers. I don't think my soul can wrestle with another like that."
"Oh. You can. You even have a teacher. That one right there." Alean pointed to the monolith again.
"Tell me more about this First Beast."
"The Bible's mystery is that uneducated people wrote it. John the Beloved was a mere fisherman. And at the end of his life, he wrote revelation. I wonder if this fisherman of the 1st century knew that he was writing something of great foreshadowing. Did he know that the First Beast of Revelation encompasses all of the elements in Daniel? We don't know. But the first beast that rises after the trumpet blast has the elements of the lion from Garenjazz, the bear of Principal Dormin, and the leopard of this Principal Grecia. It's far more terrifying.
"Yes! And this place is actually a training ground for you!"
"How is this place a training ground?"
"They can't find us here. And you have a subject that you can train to possess. Me."
"You want me to practice possessing you?"
"Yes."
"...You're really putting your life on the line for this! Why are you doing this?"
"I don't know. That's the thing of my Path. Zone isn't a thing I can control. But this place provides us with enough ideas. You can further train in the soul, and with this monolith sealing the First Beast of Revelation, it is easier for you to see what the souls see!"
"This will take weeks or even months! How are we supposed to survive here?"
Alean smiled.
"I have several weaponized Paths of the Unlocked. This one is Eden's power. I can create a forest of vines here, which we could use as forage. I have another weapon. This is Meryl's weapon. We can use it to create sunlight to sustain and grow plants. Meryl's light is quite pure. And as for water, not only is the soil here extremely moist, but I also have a weaponized water bomb from the Lady of the Nile." Alean showed the items.
"I picked these weapons at random. Now I understand what they were for." Alean glanced at the weapons, still amazed at where her Path led her.
"But how can I become an Unlocked?"
"I believe your unique state has already given you the foundation that opens you to this possibility. As for the 'how,' I guess we have to do it the old fashion way." Alean smiled as her body was suddenly flashing. An Exoskeleton suit suddenly appeared and covered Alean.
"What are you... doing?" Zeraphine can't help but sense danger.
"Now that I think about it... We were lucky. Seeker wasn't even a Near-Overcomer when he did this to us back then..." Alean couldn't help but think back as her figure blurred.
POW!
A gruesome punch struck Zeraphine right in the stomach.
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