====== The Fall ======
You are consumed by a conflagration of light, a torrent of blinding energy envelops you and the figure in front of you.  You know that it is The Enemy - it's dark silhouette the only shadow in your all-consuming field of light.  It is raw evil - more evil than all the devils and demons you have spent your entire life combating.  It is Sen'Umirahk - a name you do not bring into your mind lightly; rather you keep it tucked in the corners of your consciousness as you concentrate on the task at hand - to destroy it.  You know that you must kill it.  If you do not, you are certain that it will kill your family; it will kill your friends; it will even tear down the heavens in its unending ravenous hunger.  You, Michael, as a servant of heaven, have led the greatest army the world has ever known into battle against it and those swayed by its covetous ways.

Suddenly you feel a small wavering of your power - your outstretched hand from which the shining storm originates begins to shake as you feel yourself reach the limit of your endurance.  In the midst of the raging light you see the creature's shadow remain. His low grumbling laughter pierces your spirit worse than all the blasphemies you have heard in your long life combined.  You redouble yourself towards ending its existence, but you know at this point you have reached the peak of your abilities.

As your body falters you begin to use your raw willpower to make up for your fatigue, but it is not enough.  Sen'Umirahk's darkness expands rapidly from his body, his mad cackling increasing until it reaches a mighty roar.  The void laps and crashes against the light as waves against a cliffside; your light quickly fades until your power is but a candle flickering in an unending night.  All around you hear defeaning cracks, as if the world itself is being ripped asunder.  Soon the ground, though you can not see it, falls away - your opponent and you begin floating where you once stood by the raw strength of your spiritual energies.

You realize now that you are at your end.  Your only option left is to consume your body for energy.  Though you may be considered immortal you know that sacrificing your body in such a manner will mean your death.  Your god will not re-incarnate you - he is currently being possessed by Sen'Umirahk and his power is being used against you. No, this death will be final; but you find that at this moment you do not fear it.  For ages you have longed to be allowed that one thing that gods envied mortals for - the ability to move beyond The Veil; to have closure to one's life.

You try to steel yourself for the journey to come, but find your mind wandering to things that you once rebuked mortals for asking.  What happens after I die?  Will I be rewarded with a paradise?  Will I still be myself?  Will I change?  Will I even exist at all!?

You make your decision, overcoming your innumerable doubts just as The Enemy tries to deliver his killing blow. But you are no longer there. Your body, mind, and soul are focused on Sen'Umirahk; on reaching him; on ending him.  Though you have no eyes to see, you imagine yourself as a ray of light bringing dawn to the land for all you hold dear.  The moment lapses into another and doubt begins to creep in again.  What if you fail? 

Then it happens. The silence is unending - yet now you hear and see all.  You are the weapon of creation, hand of eternity, protector of all things - and you thrust your absolute resolve deep into The Great Evil's heart.  You feel no hatred as he cries out in pain - only a warmth and gratitude unrivaled emanating from beyond.  You begin moving towards your eternal destination as Sen'Umirahk falls into The Pit, screaming for his life and begging for mercy.  You see as you near The Veil your patron god Chronos emerge from his prison within the creature.  In his gratitude he does not interfere, granting your wish to move on.  He then goes to the mortal realm to proclaim his return and begin the work necessary after your deeds.  The Enemy at the edge of The Void draws his final breath and speaks to you.

"You tricked me!  You never intended for a fair fight, you coward!  How does the most holy angel commit such vile transgressions and be rewarded?  Is The One not righteous!?  I demand justice for the wrongs you have committed!!!"

You laugh softly as you continue towards your inexorable goal.  The greatest Evil the world had ever known is now reduced to the petty insults and rambling lies that only the lowest demons resort to.  But as you consider this your guard is lowered.  The Enemy takes full advantage, reaching at you with his shadowy grasp and hurling you back to the mortal realm.  You cry out as you descend back into blackness.  You try to claw with all your might to keep from falling, but with no body left you cannot stop yourself.  You land, crashing down on where Chronos and the other gods had gathered.  Reaching out to them, they offer you their outstretched hands to pick you up and return you to where you want desperately to be.  Before they can, though, they seem to fade before you.  Soon they have left; you do not know why.  Though you have no body, your soul still floats over the broken ground of the battlefield, and somehow you are still alive.  You soon feel all the other spiritual beings leave too: the angels, the spirits of the land, all of them.  They all have left.  You are alone. Your soul begin to weep.  All around you, you see nothing but desolation; and as much as it hurts knowing you are the only one left of your kind, when your thoughts wander to the never ending rest that has been taken from you, you feel something you have never felt before in your life: hatred.  Suddenly an epiphany strikes you.  There is only one reason you could feel rage.  You know now why only you remain.  You have lost your divinity. You had wished for your afterlife so badly that when you were thrown back it had caused you to covet - and no angel may remain holy after sinning in such a way.  

You are astounded.  Had it always been this easy to fall?  With nothing but a thought you had lost what you had maintained perfectly for millennium.  You are jolted from your introspection by a man roaming the battlefield; he approaches you with fright evident on his face.  But the hatred inside of you grows at his sight - what purpose does he have to approach you other than to gloat about your fall from grace!?  Without thinking you lash out at the man, piercing his heart much like you had Sen'Umirahk's.  The man is dead - you are a murderer.  Realizing what you have done you feel guilt wash into your already over-brimming cauldron of grief, anger, and envy.  You cannot bear the weight of your sins any longer - you wish only to die.  Even The Void seems comforting to you now.  But your chance to pass on is seemingly over. You know not why, but you know that you will never die due simply to time.

For the next few months you try to kill yourself.  But being nothing but a floating point of light does not present many options for suicide.  You try falling from cliffs, descending to the depths of the ocean; even the deepest volcanoes do nothing to bring an end to your pain.  People you meet are only afraid - there is no comfort they can offer to the fallen angel.  After a while you come again to where it began - the battlefield where you fought The Enemy.  You are tired, so very exhausted.  You decide to close yourself off - to shut out this cruel world that you so desperately want to leave.  You soon drift off to sleep, and you hope it will last forever.