Chapter Twenty-Two

The Dying Flame

When there is a will, when there is hope, a miracle is always around the corner

Elisium

The Fifth Loop, Year 491, 5th February (5L/491/2/5)

"These were the most gruesome scenes I have ever seen in my life," Commander Simon, the commanding officer of the reinforcement party, said reporting to HighCommander Christopher inside the headquarters of the Tenebra base. "Many bodies were blown to pieces. Others were charred beyond recognition. I am sure they have some dangerous Star-Rock weapons. They killed every single soldier."

"How many men did we lose?" Christopher asked.

"One hundred and twenty,"

"And twelve trucks?"

"Yes sir," Simon confirmed. "Two of the trucks were in an absolute mess. I just can't imagine how they managed to topple them and rip them open."

"Did you bring back the bodies?"

"No. If we had lingered there any longer we would have become easy targets for another ambush. Hence I decided to return to the base as quickly as possible."

Commander Darren slammed his fist on the table. "These insects have suddenly started to sting. Let us ride out and crush them under our feet."

Christopher shook his head. "That is exactly what they want. They want us to come out of our fortified defenses and fight them in territories they know better than us. They want to lure us into a trap."

Darren sneered. "So you want to hide behind our walls, whereas they go on killing our men?"

"Our men won't be killed anymore as no one will now go out of the secured perimeter. Simon, seal the boundaries and increase the number of soldiers patrolling the outposts. If our enemy wants to make a move they must come to us and then we will show them our strength."

***

There must have been an atmosphere of festivities in the Elisian camp since they had comprehensively won the first battle but there was only gloom and despair because they knew they were on track to lose the war.

The dead bodies of the martyrs were ready for the funeral. They were draped in the gold and white flag of David's army. The funeral procession started from the headquarters of David's army and proceeded towards the House of Almighty. Thousands of people joined the funeral procession despite unseasonal rains. The gloomy weather was in perfect sync with the dampening spirits. Even the elements wept for the lost hero who never realized his destiny.

The coffins were placed on the altar inside the House of Almighty. Everyone in the large hall closed their eyes and started to pray.

Inside a brightly lit room, Jacob was alone with a stately old man wearing lavish silky clothes. The old man was tall, well built, had a radiant face with a long flowing white beard, and a very imposing personality. There were heavy golden chains around his neck and precious rings on all of his fingers.

"You have grown old, Jacob," the old man said.

"Well, I am in my seventies and, although you have maintained yourself very well, I guess you are older than me."

"Yes, I am. I am five Loops old. Let me introduce myself, I am Adam, the first Transitioner, the person who started the line of kings, and of course your great-grandfather."

Jacob narrowed his eyes. "Is this a dream?"

"I will not call it a dream because dreams are fragments of imagination and this is real. We generally call it a conference, but since I am alone here we can call it an urgent meeting happening inside your head."

Jacob looked around, scanning his surroundings. They were in his room but that small dingy room had got a facelift with lavish interiors. "What is this meeting all about?"

"This a desperate measure. Generally, I only hold meetings with the Bearers of the Amulet, but since that Bearer has already joined me in the afterworld I had to reach out to you."

Jacob remembered Moses's dead body and his eyes welled up with tears.

"I know Jacob you have invested your whole life preparing for this war, you must not let go of your hopes. Remember when there is a will there is a way."

"There never was a way," Jacob shouted. "We had built our dreams of salvation around some legends. We kept dreaming that someday these stories would come to life. Moses gave wings to our dreams but destiny turned into a butcher to clip those wings."

"No one can crush a dream which millions have seen together with open eyes. Son, the real power doesn't lie in any amulet, it lies in people's hope. It lies in their will to fight their oppressors and their desire to get freedom—the Amulet and its Bearer are mere instruments. Even without them, the succor will always reach them at the time of their need. They must not give up and you have to stop them from falling into the abyss of despair."

"I am not sure myself whether it is worth fighting anymore, how will I convince others?"

"When you were banished from Aden had you ever thought that you would find some purpose in your life? This world gave you a reason to live. Don't let their dream die so easily."

Jacob paused for a moment and then audibly cleared his throat. "Grandpa, tell me honestly, do you believe we can win this war without the amulet? Do you seriously think that the Transition can happen without the Transitioner?"

"When I forged that amulet, I was told that one day the line of kings would end. A time will come when the people of these two worlds will have to live without any supernatural interventions. I guess the time has come for this Dance of Two Worlds to reach its conclusion."

"Well, do you think this is heading towards the desired conclusion?"

Adam smiled again. His smiles were as cryptic as his words—extremely difficult to decipher. "You and Elisians will decide how this dance ends. I know that after all the unfortunate events that have happened in this Loop, this is not the most opportune time to leave these worlds without the Amulet and its powers. But believe me, with every passing Loop the situation will keep getting worse."

Jacob stood up and walked to the tiny window in his room. "If there is no amulet, there will be no more Transitions in the future. The status quo at the turn of this Loop will remain forever."

Adam nodded. "That is why Elisians have to ensure that at the turn of this Loop, both worlds are in equilibrium. If that doesn't happen now it will never happen in the future. If Aden gets on top, it will remain so forever. Elisium has to fight to restore the balance."

"Fight and get slaughtered," Jacob smirked.

"What other options do they have, Jacob? If they don't fight their lives will get more and more miserable with every passing day. Yes, they don't have advanced weapons or fortified walls, but they have the numbers. They have the will. They know this world better than their enemies. And they have the prayers of millions on their side—and don't underestimate the power of prayers. Jacob, you have to first believe in this yourself and then let the others believe. You have to somehow reignite this dying flame of revolution."

Jacob kept looking out of the window. He wasn't fully convinced, but Adam was right. Fighting their enemies was the only option. "Okay, I will do what I can and then hope for the best."

"Hope is a lethal weapon and an impenetrable shield," Adam said placing a hand on Jacob's shoulder. "And you have to do one more thing for me. With the Bearer gone, that Amulet must reach its designated place. It must become a part of the whole."

Jacob gave him a blank look. Adam grinned. "I will tell you how to dismantle it. The rest we must leave it to the Almighty." Adam then told Jacob what he must do with the Amulet.

"Now I must take your leave and you must hurry or else you will miss the funeral." Adam placed his right hand on Jacob's head and Jacob felt a surge of energy course through him. "Almighty bless you. Before departing I will leave you with some words of inspiration. Always remember, when there is a will when there is hope, a miracle is always around the corner."

With those golden words, Adam vanished from Jacob's room.

Jacob woke up drenched in sweat, his heart still pounding. He quickly got off his bed and rushed towards the House of Almighty.

Melodious sounds of a musical hymn were echoing in the large prayer hall. Everyone present was immersed in the soothing effects of the soulful hymn. Most eyes were brimming with tears. People barely knew Moses, but they all felt as if they had lost someone very dear. They hadn't just lost a person, they had lost their hopes, their dreams, and maybe their future.

Jacob walked towards Moses's coffin. His face looked calm and peaceful. His gunshot wound had been cleared and a small flower had been placed on his forehead to cover it. Jacob then came near George who was chanting the hymn with his eyes closed.

"Where is the amulet?".

George removed it from his pocket and gave it to Jacob. "Is this of any use now?"

"This must return to its roots."

Argus was standing behind Jacob. He whispered something in his ears.

"Are you sure about this?" Argus asked.

"Yes, do as I say."

"As you wish," Argus took the amulet and went out of the hall.

George gave Jacob an inquisitive look. Jacob signaled him to relax.

Argus returned a few minutes later with the dismantled Amulet. He was holding the flawless sparkling ruby that once adorned the center of that amulet in his right hand, while the locket removed from its golden chain was in his left.

George gasped when he saw the condition of the Amulet. "What the hell have you done?"

Jacob took the pieces from Argus and mumbled. "It must reach its designated place."

"Have you gone nuts? Have you completely lost it?" George asked with wide eyes.

Jacob ignored George and moved towards Moses. He removed the flower from his forehead and replaced it with that sparkling ruby. It completely covered the wound of the gunshot. He then placed the locket, with its fifty diamonds, over Moses's heart. It was now time for the final prayers.

As per Elisian tradition, the wives of the three martyrs, the women closest to the deceased, came near the coffins and placed their right hand over the hearts of their husbands. Since Moses had no immediate family in this world, George's daughter Jennifer, who was Moses's distant cousin and his birthday twin, carried out this custom.

"Put your right hand on the locket over Moses's heart and your left hand on the ruby over his forehead," Jacob whispered to Jennifer

The HighPriest started reciting the final prayers. His voice echoed around the House of Almighty.

"O, the Almighty Creator of these worlds, O the Supreme Lords of Nature who look after all of us, bless these souls who seek abode in your eternal lights. Let the clouds of your blessings shower them with your mercies. Let them reside in the realms of your boundless bounties." The priest went on and on with his generous prayers for the martyrs.

Once the priest was done, Jacob walked near the coffins. It was time to reignite that dying flame.

"People of Elisium, look at these martyrs who died fighting for you. Well, they died, but they died with hope. The hope of a better future for their families and their children. And we must not let that hope die with their deaths.

'I know hope has started to fade with Moses's death. The chances of us winning this war have diminished. But just tell me one thing, do we have any other option? If we don't fight, our lives, which are already in dire conditions, will become a living hell.

'Look at me, I am in the last stages of my life. I don't have many reasons to fight, but I still want to fight. I want to drive away these looters because you know I think it is better to die fighting once than to die of suffering every other day.

'Well, they are just a few thousand who don't even want to fight us because they know that they are wrong. We are millions and each one of us wants to fight because we are fighting for our rights. They have weapons but we have the numbers. And this fight is not just for our freedom, but this fight is to save our paradise and the futures of our children.

'We tell stories of the past saviors who performed miracles, but you know how those miracles happened? They occurred when people wished for it. Those miracles were born out of hope and this Amulet and its Bearers were mere instruments. Those instruments have been snatched away from us but that doesn't mean we should stop wishing for miracles. When there is a will, when there is hope, a miracle is just around the corner.

'O the people of this beautiful world, just don't let an unfortunate incident crush our spirits and shatter our dreams. Come on, let us take a vow over the bodies of these martyrs that we will keep this flame of rebellion alive. We will fight for the sake of those who passed away under this exploitation and never saw the light of freedom. We will fight for these martyrs who gave up their lives to live this dream. And we will fight for our children so that they don't have to suffer the pain that we all had to endure. Let us take a vow that we will fight for all the oppressed of the past, martyrs of the present, and our generations of the future."

Jacob scanned the faces in the prayer hall. That glimmer of hope had returned in their eyes. Sense of purpose had lightened up their faces. Invisible divine energy flowed into the room and lifted their spirits.

George felt that energy build up in him. He roared like a lion, "Yes we will fight. Come on, let us fight for our freedom."

"For our freedom," everyone shouted back in unison.

"Let us fight for our children."

"For our children," everyone replied in one voice.

"Let us fight for our future,"

"For our future." That thunderous roar of thousands of people drowned the rumble of the thunderstorm.

A tremendous bolt of lightning lit up the night sky.

Jennifer, who was still standing near Moses's coffin, shrieked and fell to the floor. People looked at each other with a puzzled expression. George and Jacob rushed towards Jennifer who was lying on the floor. George tried shaking her. She didn't respond. Jacob checked her pulse and there was none.

Jennifer had suddenly dropped dead.

"No!!" George screamed. "No... no... no... my dear girl, open your eyes. Look at your father. Wake up."

Jacob's eyes fell at Moses's coffin and he gasped and stepped back. Moses's body was there, but the ruby and the locket had disappeared. Jacob felt dizzy. He held onto a table for support. He had done what Adam had told him to do, but he hadn't expected the events to take such a nasty turn.

Despite the hopeless situation Adam's words kept ringing in his brain. "Always remember my son, when there is a will, when there is hope, a miracle is always around the corner."

He didn't know why those words were echoing in his mind, but he knew one thing for sure, that they desperately needed a miracle. Right then. Right there.