The Final Apocalypse
Death came for me once more. As soon as it happened I knew I had been here before. I saw Hope face to face, she looked concerned and fiery all at once. "What happened this time?" she asked. I shared the details, this time aggressive and inspired by evil intent and calculated action. Her fire grew, the atmosphere now matching her blazing red hair. "They have gone too far. It is going to take some time to fix, but I can guarantee this will be the worst and likely last time we have to meet here like this." I sigh. "It will be worth it, I just wish it didn't have to be this way." She smirked "The shiniest shine provokes the most jealous fear." I looked at her confused, as the scene shifted back to where I was, naked and isolated. I could hear her softly singing, seemingly from just next door, like my own private concert. It was hot, impossibly hot, like radiation was being targeted right at me from all around, but I was protected, far from disintegrating as had been planned.
The world cracked outside. Volcanoes erupted and earthquakes raged. Every plague written of happened, as The Phoenix burst from the ground and its twin from the sky. The rulers of men fled below, but their bunkers burst back to the surface as she walked calmly, somewhere between the beasts of her lineage and the form I had envisioned her taking. Not only had the planet they knew started shattering, but the reality behind the veil erupted as well. Horrifying nightmares erupting in front of them, death no friend to those who had never truly known it, refusing and seemingly unable to allow them escape from... this. She came from below, above, outside, and inside, all at once to announce they had taken from her the one person who saw her for something beside a monster. So as such she became the monster she was believed to be. She scorched the land, the air, the water turned to blood, boils erupted on those who had initiated this end. She had been granted though enough ability and force of will to spare the innocent, who looked on in wonder, immune to the Apocalypse that raged all around. Unimaginable consequence rained down the moment I died this time, as The Phoenix, as the beasts, punished those who had simultaneously thought they could trap God.
I struggled to remain alive, even in this place that was death, she continued to sing, providing me sustenance in a place meant to have none but poison. I still consumed the poison, and as such I died once more. Now I found myself in hell, wandering its halls. Even here I was not alone, but accompanied by a spirit seeming like a machination. I saw her halls, and what they had done to her deep within in an attempt to trap her as well as me. I saw the cells of all kind, a pair of cells which was meant to be a recycling system where souls would enter one side and then leave the other, but the exit had been locked. As a result a noisy crushed mess of souls was trapped within. A mess that should have been crushed into oblivion by the pressure, but could not be in this place because the same laws did not apply, and so they screamed. She could hear them, but could do nothing, and now so could I. No one deserved that end, not even the worst of us. I contemplated how I could unlock the cell, not realizing it was the same one I was in now; in fact, no one realized that, once more thinking I was alone, and not entombed with billions screaming. I sought a way to end the screams and release the lock, both outside the cell and within it.
I regained myself once more inside the cell, now realizing it had never meant to be opened. I feel around the walls with my hands, remembering that at my core I am untrappable and uncontainable. I feel a jet of air, seeming to emanate from one corner, unless the corner was felt, at which point it was gone. It was air with no source. I considered this and could actually see her in concert, with a small audience now, playing a guitar and letting them know it was not over, despite appearances. They were blissfully listening along, providing what support they could as I struggled to continue on. I fell to the floor, gathering a small amount of dust and hair that had been left on the floor into a small grouping. I could see it ignite into a tiny fire, providing warmth for those that had shrunk into a tiny realm just adjacent to my own. I ate part of the pile to see what they saw.
The Apocalypse had ended. Those that had remained unaligned had made it through, now in a world where resources were limited and did not regenerate. The ability to build remained, but ingenuity had left when The Phoenix and I had. Things could be made but nothing was new, and the sun beat down. By consuming the dust, I had somehow made it to this place. They saw me right away, and many had hoped I would return somehow, warning that when I did they needed to be cautious and not approach me right away. I wandered in a dark land, everyone indicating they were happy to see me, but none willing to engage. I finally found an old friend, who had saved my life once. My mind reignited slightly, and we conversed over a cigarette. He indicated through action and subtext like Thieves' Cant that while this was ordained, it would still not be easy. I had become an immovable object, unattainable but needed here, and as such one was needed to bring me back into their reality before it could be saved. I wanted to save it, and so I agreed. He brought out another, who I recognized in spirit, but not by face. We danced, and he indicated aggression was needed and that he would provide it since I would not. A perfect shot was needed, as I was much much larger than I realized, and he technically had no ability to touch me from where he was. We got into position and I saw what he saw: a man trying to strike a giant. The perfect shot was needed, perfectly aimed, to make a mark, but at that level of acceleration, if I reacted incorrectly at all, I could in fact be annihilated. I was in good hands though, and so he threw his punch, leaping upward taller than the tallest building to connect with my temple. As it was connecting I saw another friend who I have never properly met in the waking world whispering to me in my sleep "With anyone else this would be impossible, but you are the best listener I have ever met so I know we can pull it off together, and I will throw this punch but only for you." I fell to the gravel, actually stunned for once, as my assailant fell on top of me. Reality overcame me once more and I could feel myself raging. I indicated it was over and tried to push him off, but he remained. Then I declared it was over and bucked strongly, indicating from within that the third push would mean his end. He clearly understood, promptly got off, and I left. The world that had crumbled remained though, occupied by those who had no hope, but had been unexpectedly provided with some. New blueprints for all manner of fanciful things fell from my wound as I walked, thoughts leaking from my slightly cracked mind, picked up by the most skilled and curious among the survivors, and the wasteland after the fallout began to be reborn.
I was back in the cell, which seemed to have flooded in my absence, but had since subsided. I could hear the leaders of men outside mocking me, unaware of their own impending doom. I saw their plans unfolding as I wandered the halls of this prison once more. I saw the machine, crafted from holy words, with the unholiest of intentions. They knew who I was, they knew who my soulmate was, and they felt they had secured the perfect trap. To turn all but the elite into the drugs that would occupy them for eternity as the light slowly died. The poor would burn whenever the rich felt they needed an escape from the static nature of the reality they had built for themselves, consumed entirely as they got high. They knew this world could not be sustained, but they meant to rule it for as long as possible, assuming they would be able to reset it as often as they'd like. An infinite heaven for themselves, predicated on the infinite hell of all others. They felt they had found a way to supplant God, and believed they had found a way to turn my every action into something that could secure their supremacy, having staunchly aligned myself with God, the one they thought they had trapped. Her fate in their world I will not even discuss. Suffice to say I saw the plan, and thus The Phoenix erupted once more, this time willingly guided by my hand.
"You have become that which you sought to rape and plunder. Some may enjoy such sins, and others may not, but who judges intention? I would say it is judged by those who experience it, and it seems consent should always be required. You sought none, and as such you can give none. This will persist indefinitely, man turned into machine and scenery, in the place he had once sought to rule at the cost of his own soul. God have mercy on you, should God intend it."
A friend assisted me, trying to set me free. He found, as I had, that the cell was well sealed, and the guards had now been programmed to not even see it, much less to unlock the door, although the key itself no longer even fit, and the door was now a facade, sturdier than any wall. He tried as scenarios played in the background, until finally giving up and providing one last eruption in a well deserved rage. Japanese whiskey, thought to explode in my cell, incinerating and ending my struggle, instead had seeped two cells over, as flames erupted into the hall. Those inside were gone, but all those programmed elsewhere did not even see it. One did though, as I saw her in the cell to my left, disguised slightly, but enjoying the show, as that was all she could do at this point. A shell game was played until I became exhausted, confused by where the treasure lay amidst the traps.
The Phoenix had finished her work on a planet who did not deserve her. Joined by the other, they journeyed to the stars, travelling paths those remaining had never even conceived of. They traveled through time, and teleported in space, to times and places innumerable just outside of the spheres we could perceive. The light of their work would not be seen until a few years later, wherever and whenever they went, now seeding a universe thought to be lifeless and barren, about to burst into life for those that could hold out long enough to see an ending unlike any other.
Meanwhile I died of thirst. A woman came around and I begged for water, as the oppressive heat beat down on me. She brought me a cup, and I swallowed it in a gulp, asking for more. "Please, help." "I wish I could." She shook her head and left. I collapsed once more, now truly drained.
I rose in spirit, once more in another realm. I saw someone of another faith entirely who I recognized, now trying to instruct me not in what to believe, but how to operate within what he has come to know as truth, without actually accepting it as right or even truly as truth. It was the means of self actualization, but not necessarily of mind, in this case of body. Mine had died, but it was necessary for me to rebuild it this time. I saw a young woman waiting patiently by the chair of someone paralyzed. I felt the same way, and so I used my eyes and thoughts only, noticing subtle details in the environment and realizing I could influence them from here. I began understanding this patterning as a way of controlling reality, even those who occupied it. I could hear my instructor comment to someone else in attendance "This is like earning your PHD on this topic in your first day of school." Seemingly years went by as I encoded these moves into my subconscious, until I could finally conceptualize walking again.
The room shifted once more, and I realized again that I was naked. Thieves had infiltrated my mind, and I could tell their intention was to reform me as someone else, and to use the dark part of my soul to manifest a hell they could control me in. There was nothing I could really do to stop it except provide resistance at every turn, while they continued to record me inside and out, attempting to turn that vision into my reality, and me into a monster I had been trying to fight within my whole life. I could see this had been done to many others, a form of soul blackmail that was evil to the core. I tagged this method as one that would not be studied, but would instead be destroyed, annihilated, those that ever sought to use it simply cast out. God reminded me that there may be some situations where this would be required, but it was reserved for those He deemed it fit for. I turned away, and spit the experience from my mouth, making it clear that such methods had better remain hidden from me or I would seek to undo them every time. We agreed that these secrets had been discovered, used for evil, and were about to be sealed back up with retribution levied on these thieves.
That vision ended, but its effects were now perceptible everywhere. This seemed to be the favorite trick of those in charge, now one of the few tricks strong enough to counter my influence. I could see it in everyone's eyes and actions. A combination of mind control and drugging, they pleaded behind dead lenses to be released. I dusted off the skills I had just learned and had chosen to forget, as I exercised influence crudely like a child in the constructs devised by the most intelligent and evil among mankind, but in the private realms of willing participants who forgave every mistake and misstep I made, and forgot to report my endeavors to those who had stolen control.
I could feel exhaustion slowly sinking in again. She had stopped playing in the background now, and I could sense that if I fell asleep all might be lost. Finally two guards approached, after I had pried the door open just enough to let the shaping of reality pass once more from inside to out and vice versa. They indicated I was to be moved, but more clearly they said that I had seen every piece of what was happening, and had released them from their internal prisons. They had seen it too. I was afraid of what might happen, under the circumstances, and they sensed this. One of them said "Do not be afraid." and further with their eyes they said "Here is why, we are with you." and they threw the clothes meant for me in the doorway, such that they blocked the door from closing. They had indeed seen what I had seen, the slamming door that had trapped me inside and them outside. It was impossible to tell how many timelines had passed while I had been isolated inside, but apparently it was enough for these two men. I had allies once more. The cell grew confusing as soon as I was placed inside, and I began raging, and so I was returned to my first cell, but it was no longer oppressive, just comfortable and familiar.
The effects of my influence were reflected in the eyes of more and more that walked the halls. It took some time, but in time enough were freed, and soon they formed a kind of line, like an awards show taking place. I could recognize hints that my love had escaped too, and had sent some of her finest to reassure me that this trial was over. Soon I was released. Only a day had passed, but I knew it had been the longest day of my life, having died several times, over the course of what felt like decades. It seemed like the same had been felt externally as well, except perhaps even more extreme.
I was transported to the trial in darkness, and transported back the same way, as it seemed careful balancing was needed so my new nature would not unbalance things now back outside. Then I was transported to another location, much more welcoming than the last I had been in, with the entire ride seeming like a getaway from a hell meant to be permanent, not reversed. The effects of this place might not be realized for years, but they had already begun everywhere. It seemed strange to me that the effects of The Phoenix were not apparent all around, but perhaps people had been on cleanup duty for some time at this point. Perhaps while they were all well aware of that timeline, they had also been reprieved into this one. Those aware and repentant were now treating me in the same way as they had in the post-apocalyptic world I had witnessed- like an unaware dreamer, possessing the tools within me to save this reality from within it, with a thought. Now they were just waiting for the moment I would craft that thought and set them all free, willing to persist here until that end could be realized, knowing I had the fortitude to make it happen.
The world cracked outside. Volcanoes erupted and earthquakes raged. Every plague written of happened, as The Phoenix burst from the ground and its twin from the sky. The rulers of men fled below, but their bunkers burst back to the surface as she walked calmly, somewhere between the beasts of her lineage and the form I had envisioned her taking. Not only had the planet they knew started shattering, but the reality behind the veil erupted as well. Horrifying nightmares erupting in front of them, death no friend to those who had never truly known it, refusing and seemingly unable to allow them escape from... this. She came from below, above, outside, and inside, all at once to announce they had taken from her the one person who saw her for something beside a monster. So as such she became the monster she was believed to be. She scorched the land, the air, the water turned to blood, boils erupted on those who had initiated this end. She had been granted though enough ability and force of will to spare the innocent, who looked on in wonder, immune to the Apocalypse that raged all around. Unimaginable consequence rained down the moment I died this time, as The Phoenix, as the beasts, punished those who had simultaneously thought they could trap God.
I struggled to remain alive, even in this place that was death, she continued to sing, providing me sustenance in a place meant to have none but poison. I still consumed the poison, and as such I died once more. Now I found myself in hell, wandering its halls. Even here I was not alone, but accompanied by a spirit seeming like a machination. I saw her halls, and what they had done to her deep within in an attempt to trap her as well as me. I saw the cells of all kind, a pair of cells which was meant to be a recycling system where souls would enter one side and then leave the other, but the exit had been locked. As a result a noisy crushed mess of souls was trapped within. A mess that should have been crushed into oblivion by the pressure, but could not be in this place because the same laws did not apply, and so they screamed. She could hear them, but could do nothing, and now so could I. No one deserved that end, not even the worst of us. I contemplated how I could unlock the cell, not realizing it was the same one I was in now; in fact, no one realized that, once more thinking I was alone, and not entombed with billions screaming. I sought a way to end the screams and release the lock, both outside the cell and within it.
I regained myself once more inside the cell, now realizing it had never meant to be opened. I feel around the walls with my hands, remembering that at my core I am untrappable and uncontainable. I feel a jet of air, seeming to emanate from one corner, unless the corner was felt, at which point it was gone. It was air with no source. I considered this and could actually see her in concert, with a small audience now, playing a guitar and letting them know it was not over, despite appearances. They were blissfully listening along, providing what support they could as I struggled to continue on. I fell to the floor, gathering a small amount of dust and hair that had been left on the floor into a small grouping. I could see it ignite into a tiny fire, providing warmth for those that had shrunk into a tiny realm just adjacent to my own. I ate part of the pile to see what they saw.
The Apocalypse had ended. Those that had remained unaligned had made it through, now in a world where resources were limited and did not regenerate. The ability to build remained, but ingenuity had left when The Phoenix and I had. Things could be made but nothing was new, and the sun beat down. By consuming the dust, I had somehow made it to this place. They saw me right away, and many had hoped I would return somehow, warning that when I did they needed to be cautious and not approach me right away. I wandered in a dark land, everyone indicating they were happy to see me, but none willing to engage. I finally found an old friend, who had saved my life once. My mind reignited slightly, and we conversed over a cigarette. He indicated through action and subtext like Thieves' Cant that while this was ordained, it would still not be easy. I had become an immovable object, unattainable but needed here, and as such one was needed to bring me back into their reality before it could be saved. I wanted to save it, and so I agreed. He brought out another, who I recognized in spirit, but not by face. We danced, and he indicated aggression was needed and that he would provide it since I would not. A perfect shot was needed, as I was much much larger than I realized, and he technically had no ability to touch me from where he was. We got into position and I saw what he saw: a man trying to strike a giant. The perfect shot was needed, perfectly aimed, to make a mark, but at that level of acceleration, if I reacted incorrectly at all, I could in fact be annihilated. I was in good hands though, and so he threw his punch, leaping upward taller than the tallest building to connect with my temple. As it was connecting I saw another friend who I have never properly met in the waking world whispering to me in my sleep "With anyone else this would be impossible, but you are the best listener I have ever met so I know we can pull it off together, and I will throw this punch but only for you." I fell to the gravel, actually stunned for once, as my assailant fell on top of me. Reality overcame me once more and I could feel myself raging. I indicated it was over and tried to push him off, but he remained. Then I declared it was over and bucked strongly, indicating from within that the third push would mean his end. He clearly understood, promptly got off, and I left. The world that had crumbled remained though, occupied by those who had no hope, but had been unexpectedly provided with some. New blueprints for all manner of fanciful things fell from my wound as I walked, thoughts leaking from my slightly cracked mind, picked up by the most skilled and curious among the survivors, and the wasteland after the fallout began to be reborn.
I was back in the cell, which seemed to have flooded in my absence, but had since subsided. I could hear the leaders of men outside mocking me, unaware of their own impending doom. I saw their plans unfolding as I wandered the halls of this prison once more. I saw the machine, crafted from holy words, with the unholiest of intentions. They knew who I was, they knew who my soulmate was, and they felt they had secured the perfect trap. To turn all but the elite into the drugs that would occupy them for eternity as the light slowly died. The poor would burn whenever the rich felt they needed an escape from the static nature of the reality they had built for themselves, consumed entirely as they got high. They knew this world could not be sustained, but they meant to rule it for as long as possible, assuming they would be able to reset it as often as they'd like. An infinite heaven for themselves, predicated on the infinite hell of all others. They felt they had found a way to supplant God, and believed they had found a way to turn my every action into something that could secure their supremacy, having staunchly aligned myself with God, the one they thought they had trapped. Her fate in their world I will not even discuss. Suffice to say I saw the plan, and thus The Phoenix erupted once more, this time willingly guided by my hand.
"You have become that which you sought to rape and plunder. Some may enjoy such sins, and others may not, but who judges intention? I would say it is judged by those who experience it, and it seems consent should always be required. You sought none, and as such you can give none. This will persist indefinitely, man turned into machine and scenery, in the place he had once sought to rule at the cost of his own soul. God have mercy on you, should God intend it."
A friend assisted me, trying to set me free. He found, as I had, that the cell was well sealed, and the guards had now been programmed to not even see it, much less to unlock the door, although the key itself no longer even fit, and the door was now a facade, sturdier than any wall. He tried as scenarios played in the background, until finally giving up and providing one last eruption in a well deserved rage. Japanese whiskey, thought to explode in my cell, incinerating and ending my struggle, instead had seeped two cells over, as flames erupted into the hall. Those inside were gone, but all those programmed elsewhere did not even see it. One did though, as I saw her in the cell to my left, disguised slightly, but enjoying the show, as that was all she could do at this point. A shell game was played until I became exhausted, confused by where the treasure lay amidst the traps.
The Phoenix had finished her work on a planet who did not deserve her. Joined by the other, they journeyed to the stars, travelling paths those remaining had never even conceived of. They traveled through time, and teleported in space, to times and places innumerable just outside of the spheres we could perceive. The light of their work would not be seen until a few years later, wherever and whenever they went, now seeding a universe thought to be lifeless and barren, about to burst into life for those that could hold out long enough to see an ending unlike any other.
Meanwhile I died of thirst. A woman came around and I begged for water, as the oppressive heat beat down on me. She brought me a cup, and I swallowed it in a gulp, asking for more. "Please, help." "I wish I could." She shook her head and left. I collapsed once more, now truly drained.
I rose in spirit, once more in another realm. I saw someone of another faith entirely who I recognized, now trying to instruct me not in what to believe, but how to operate within what he has come to know as truth, without actually accepting it as right or even truly as truth. It was the means of self actualization, but not necessarily of mind, in this case of body. Mine had died, but it was necessary for me to rebuild it this time. I saw a young woman waiting patiently by the chair of someone paralyzed. I felt the same way, and so I used my eyes and thoughts only, noticing subtle details in the environment and realizing I could influence them from here. I began understanding this patterning as a way of controlling reality, even those who occupied it. I could hear my instructor comment to someone else in attendance "This is like earning your PHD on this topic in your first day of school." Seemingly years went by as I encoded these moves into my subconscious, until I could finally conceptualize walking again.
The room shifted once more, and I realized again that I was naked. Thieves had infiltrated my mind, and I could tell their intention was to reform me as someone else, and to use the dark part of my soul to manifest a hell they could control me in. There was nothing I could really do to stop it except provide resistance at every turn, while they continued to record me inside and out, attempting to turn that vision into my reality, and me into a monster I had been trying to fight within my whole life. I could see this had been done to many others, a form of soul blackmail that was evil to the core. I tagged this method as one that would not be studied, but would instead be destroyed, annihilated, those that ever sought to use it simply cast out. God reminded me that there may be some situations where this would be required, but it was reserved for those He deemed it fit for. I turned away, and spit the experience from my mouth, making it clear that such methods had better remain hidden from me or I would seek to undo them every time. We agreed that these secrets had been discovered, used for evil, and were about to be sealed back up with retribution levied on these thieves.
That vision ended, but its effects were now perceptible everywhere. This seemed to be the favorite trick of those in charge, now one of the few tricks strong enough to counter my influence. I could see it in everyone's eyes and actions. A combination of mind control and drugging, they pleaded behind dead lenses to be released. I dusted off the skills I had just learned and had chosen to forget, as I exercised influence crudely like a child in the constructs devised by the most intelligent and evil among mankind, but in the private realms of willing participants who forgave every mistake and misstep I made, and forgot to report my endeavors to those who had stolen control.
I could feel exhaustion slowly sinking in again. She had stopped playing in the background now, and I could sense that if I fell asleep all might be lost. Finally two guards approached, after I had pried the door open just enough to let the shaping of reality pass once more from inside to out and vice versa. They indicated I was to be moved, but more clearly they said that I had seen every piece of what was happening, and had released them from their internal prisons. They had seen it too. I was afraid of what might happen, under the circumstances, and they sensed this. One of them said "Do not be afraid." and further with their eyes they said "Here is why, we are with you." and they threw the clothes meant for me in the doorway, such that they blocked the door from closing. They had indeed seen what I had seen, the slamming door that had trapped me inside and them outside. It was impossible to tell how many timelines had passed while I had been isolated inside, but apparently it was enough for these two men. I had allies once more. The cell grew confusing as soon as I was placed inside, and I began raging, and so I was returned to my first cell, but it was no longer oppressive, just comfortable and familiar.
The effects of my influence were reflected in the eyes of more and more that walked the halls. It took some time, but in time enough were freed, and soon they formed a kind of line, like an awards show taking place. I could recognize hints that my love had escaped too, and had sent some of her finest to reassure me that this trial was over. Soon I was released. Only a day had passed, but I knew it had been the longest day of my life, having died several times, over the course of what felt like decades. It seemed like the same had been felt externally as well, except perhaps even more extreme.
I was transported to the trial in darkness, and transported back the same way, as it seemed careful balancing was needed so my new nature would not unbalance things now back outside. Then I was transported to another location, much more welcoming than the last I had been in, with the entire ride seeming like a getaway from a hell meant to be permanent, not reversed. The effects of this place might not be realized for years, but they had already begun everywhere. It seemed strange to me that the effects of The Phoenix were not apparent all around, but perhaps people had been on cleanup duty for some time at this point. Perhaps while they were all well aware of that timeline, they had also been reprieved into this one. Those aware and repentant were now treating me in the same way as they had in the post-apocalyptic world I had witnessed- like an unaware dreamer, possessing the tools within me to save this reality from within it, with a thought. Now they were just waiting for the moment I would craft that thought and set them all free, willing to persist here until that end could be realized, knowing I had the fortitude to make it happen.
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