Seraphic Theory: Chapter 1 – Sleeping Beauty

Note: This is the final draft, but it is still unedited, so it’s rife with grammatical errors or misspellings. Seraphic Theory is the working title of my book. Seraphic Theory by Charles Ravndal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

In the twilight of darkness

An angel is born

Somewhere in Northern Africa around the borders of Egypt, there was a sudden excitement in an archaeological excavation of a recently discovered ruins dating back three thousand years ago. The diggers discovered a door with strange inscriptions all over it, buried under the ruin they just excavated. So they immediately called one of their superiors to investigate it.

“Dr. Carmichael!” said a dark middle-aged man, who came running, and went inside the tent. He stopped momentarily to gasp some air while staring at a red haired man, whose skin was tanned due to prolonged exposure to the sun, and he looked no more than thirty years old.

“What is it Abdul? What’s with the rush?” Dr. Carmichael asked Abdul, who was still panting. He was looking at him in a puzzling manner.

“Doctor, we ‘ave found something in the ruins…hahah..let me breathe…ahh..a door with strange inscriptions,” Abdul replied in his heavy accent while trying to catch some air as well.

“Really? Bring me there now!” said Dr. Carmichael without any hesitation, rushing outside from the tent with Abdul.

They ran as fast as they could towards the said area fighting off the swirl of dusts and not to mention the scorching heat. It took them ten minutes to reach there.

“Let me see!” said Dr. Carmichael, wading through the crowd of fascinated onlookers, forming already in front of an ancient looking door.

“Hmmmm… this is quite peculiar,” he said, examining the strange inscriptions on the door.

“What does it say?” said Abdul.

“I don’t know,” said Dr. Carmichael, scratching his head. “It’s rather strange since the writings doesn’t seem to exist in any books about ancient languages and such.”

Inspecting every part of the inscription without touching it, he added, “Also the design of the door seems out of place. It doesn’t look like from the era of ancient Egypt but older…”

Dr. Carmichael paused while staring at the door.

“This is a great discovery!” he said finally, gleaming with enthusiasm. “We will try to open this door!”

“No!” someone shouted behind the crowd. Everyone turned and saw that it was just an old man. He spoke in Arabic.

“Abdul! What is he saying?” said Dr. Carmichael in a demanding tone while intently listening to the old man, even though he didn’t understand what the old man was trying to say.

“This man said that we must not open it…and disturb what lies on the other side,” said Abdul anxiously, translating everything he heard. “There’s such a legend in this area about a fierce demon locked up by an angel-”

“Oh, please! It’s just a superstitious crackpot,” said Dr. Carmichael, interrupting Abdul. “There’s no such thing as demons and angels in science…You tell him that!” he said, requesting Abdul to translate what he said while dismissing the old man, who retorted quickly.

“He said it’s better to be safe than sorry,” said Abdul, who appeared worried while interpreting the last words of the old man before walking away from the crowd, “and lastly, he said that don’t tell me that I didn’t warn you!”

“Hmph!” Dr. Carmichael scoffed on the old man’s comment and resumed to touch the surface of the door. The moment he laid his fingers on one of the symbols it pricked him, smearing a drop of blood that escaped on one of his fingers on the door’s surface.

“Ouch!” he said, shoving his injured finger into his mouth.

Suddenly, the door glowed starting from the point where he dropped his blood. The light spread throughout the door, illuminating it. Then it flashed brightly as the earth vibrated.

Dr. Carmichael fell off on his back in a bit of a shock. The rest of the crowding folk started to back off as the door started to open. It was pitch black inside. Dr. Carmichael stood from where he fell and motioned Abdul to move closer to him. “Can I please have some light?”

“H-here you go doc,” said Abdul, his voice faltering while directing a ray of light to the opened door. His hand with the flashlight was shaking despite the effort to steady it.

“Can you please make it steady?” Dr. Carmichael asked Abdul politely.

The poor assistant, who was visibly scared, gathered enough courage and forced himself to finally stay motionless.

“Better,” said Dr. Carmichael approvingly, resuming with his investigation.

Light from Abdul’s flashlight revealed a flight of stairs.

“I can see that it’s leading underground,” said Dr. Carmichael, following the trail of stairs with his eyes. He thought this might lead them to an unexplored area containing treasures and relics from an unknown past. He already envisioned himself winning a Nobel prize and living a luxurious life.

“Ar-are y-you going down there?” said Abdul reluctantly. His body was still shaking slightly.

“Of course! What else are we going to do?” said Dr. Carmichael, whose thoughts were still stuck in his dreams of grandiosity and prestige.

“But you heard the old man and he-”

“I don’t give a damn on what that old geezer said,” Dr. Carmichael snarled at Abdul as greed clouded his thoughts to think straight. “This is a great discovery, but if you people won’t join then I’ll just go by myself.”

He grabbed Abdul’s flashlight and went inside.

Despite of being afraid, Abdul was worried about his employer’s well-being, so he grabbed another flashlight and bravely entered the ancient door while motioning the other workers to follow him.

“I hope there won’t be any danger,” said Abdul under his breath, tagging behind Dr. Carmichael, who heard him.

“There will be no danger and if there is we will just go back immediately,” said Dr. Carmichael, sneering at his assistant. He was feeling confident. “And can you please ask the other workers to leave some trail or light. So we don’t get lost when we go back later,”

Abdul then gave instructions to the workers in Arabic. They began placing some markers, which were visible and easily noticed. One in every ten stairs they passed as they spirally went down deeper.

“How long these stairs go?” Dr. Carmichael asked himself. He was greatly perturbed by the seemingly endless flight of stairs. He could feel his legs were already tired, and all he wanted to do now was flopped on a nice sofa while reading a nice book. But he was curious on what lies beneath, and not to mention the greedy part of him was burning with the desire to continue.

They went along for almost an hour in this long, narrow and dark spiral staircase. Only the light from their torches and flashlights illuminated their way. The workers were already uneasy as they felt the stairs seemed to be endless.

Two hours had passed and everyone were on the verge of exhaustion. Some were already complaining and Dr. Carmichael couldn’t help it as he gave Abdul a wary look. They couldn’t go back now and the only thing they needed to do was to push further. As they moved ahead, the doctor saw something. There was a faint glow at the end, and it meant one thing- exit!

“I saw some light! Let’s hurry!” said Dr. Carmichael, running forth and gesturing the others to do the same.

They ran as fast as their weary legs could carry them as they descended to the source of the light Dr. Carmichael saw until they reached a huge cavern. They were struck in awe as the subterranean area was full of large violet crystals that resembled an amethyst. The crystals were giving a faint glow that brightened the entire area.

The whole cavern wall was surrounded by it, and they came in different shapes and sizes. It was a sight to behold. Everyone was still mesmerised by its beauty and probably the price it will fetch. Dr. Carmichael took no time to dawdle and inspected the crystals immediately.

“Hmmm…these are not amethysts but something else,” he mumbled, scraping the surface of the glowing crystals. Small shards glittered on his palm and he was simply delighted. He couldn’t help but think about the crystal’s cost and value while checking the shards against the small flashlight he was carrying. His concentration was distracted when Abdul made some noise.

Abdul pointed north while he perched from the stairs for a better view. “Hey everyone! I think I saw something over there.”

“What is it?” Dr. Carmichael wondered.

“Er, em-I can’t make it out from this distance,” said Abdul, squinting his eyes while struggling to get a better view from where he stood. “The shape looks like something I have seen before,” he added upon further scrutiny.

“We should check it out then,” said Dr. Carmichael, who strode forward to area of interest without realising the distance was long from where they were.

As they marched ahead, some noticed the feeling of solemness akin to a mosque or church in this well-lit cavern. It was easier to see and manoeuvre thanks to the crystals, which provided them a source of light. The purple coloured light casted by the crystals added a mystical feeling in the area.

They finally reached the said area and was surprised with the effigy, which stood there dignified. It was a life size statue of an angel, clad in a majestic armour, overwhelming a demon with a large sword. Dr. Carmichael gaped, and was simply bewildered with this seemingly familiar sight.

“How in the world-” he gasped, moving closer to it. “-did this thing manage to be here?”

“I’ve seen that kind of image inside a Christian church,” Abdul spoke. “That’s why the outline looked familiar from afar.”

“This is impossible,” said Dr. Carmichael, who was staring at the statue in incredulity. “This statue-the statue of Archangel Michael- has the Renaissance structure to it but it looks more than four thousand years old.” he added, continuing to examine the whole statue.

The rest of the workers were just mere audience as they watched the two looked for more clues about this statue’s existence. When Abdul saw they were standing there idly and looking bored, he ordered them immediately to gather some of those glowing crystals scattered around. They complied sheepishly and began working with the tools they brought with them.

Dr. Carmichael touched the sword of Archangel Michael and there he discovered that it was a lever, and pulled it without further contemplation. The ground shook and everyone panicked as they huddled together for safety. Dr. Carmichael didn’t move as he stood there in his place, seeing the statue slid backwards. In its place emerged a floating clear crystal, and it surprised everyone.

“Oh my,” Abdul said, falling on his knees.

Dr. Carmichael and the rest of the workers did the same as their eyes were transfixed on the being inside the crystal. It was a young dark-haired male whose appearance were around early twenties. He was stark naked while beautiful in every aspect. His features were beyond mortal comprehension as his beauty enchanted everyone inside the cavern. For them he looked like an angel sleeping or a slumbering god for a better description.

Dr. Carmichael snapped out from his trance when he heard a voice inside his head.

“Take me out.”

Without further questions, he ordered everyone to lift the crystal with the unknown young man in it, bringing it with them back to the surface. No one contested the command as they obediently approached it. When they lifted the crystal they were surprised to notice how light it was. As soon as they finished securing it they marched back on there way to the surface.

They didn’t seem to care that it will be another long expedition back. There was only one thing in their minds – to take this crystal outside as they were ordered to do so. They were all aware on what they were doing. But under the impression that their own will was being manipulated by an outside force they couldn’t simply comprehend.

It felt like eternity had passed when a slight breeze coming up from above wafted through their faces. A few more steps and they were finally out, and inhaled the outside air deeply.

It was already dark but the sky was clear, the stars were twinkling and the moon was full and bright. A group of twenty men with lamps and torches converged to see what they were carrying. They were also workers who were left in the surface to continue working on some diggings. They offered some assistance, but Dr. Carmichael and his group disregarded their help despite the obvious exhaustion their faces couldn’t stifle.

They set the crystal immediately in an upright position on the sandy ground as Dr. Carmichael came forward to touch it. As his hand caressed the crystalline surface, he suddenly saw that the young man caged in the crystal opened his eyes. It was piercing blue and in an instance it turned red, and the crystal flashed brightly. It exploded and sent a shock wave that hurled everyone on the ground. A slew of crystal fragments flew in all directions.

It was a complete bedlam as people scurried around screaming and panicking while others helped those who were injured. Dr. Carmichael was unharmed when he stood from where he fell. He rushed to Abdul’s side, who was nearby and bleeding profusely; his right rib was hit by a large shard from the exploding crystal.

Dr. Carmichael tore a piece of cloth from his shirt and applied a pressure on the top of the bleeding wound. When he looked up, he saw Abdul with a horrified face while pointing on something.

There amidst the chaos stood the young man from the crystal; he was levitating a few feet from the ground and appeared to be amused with the pain and suffering around him. His fiery red eyes were glowing faintly while glancing around. His divine beauty couldn’t hide the evil that reeked from his mere existence.

The rest of the people were running away as soon as they saw him, leaving the injured to fend for themselves. He glared at them and all of a sudden, the escaping people froze from their tracks. They were completely terrified as they screamed and prayed while trying to get free from the invisible force that held them.

“Tsk-tsk!” said the young man. “It is rude to leave a party when it is about to start.”

His voice was gentle and warm, contrasting the diabolical smile written on his face. He raised his right hand forward with his palm opened wide and all of a sudden, one of the workers was sucked in. He held the worker by the neck while the latter was fighting hard to be freed from his tight grip. Suddenly, the worker writhed in pain as the others witnessed his life being drained away. His skin started to turn blue and eyes blanked out.

“What have I done?” said Dr. Carmichael in between sobs, remembering the warning he got from the old man earlier. He glanced back at Abdul who was already dead in his arms due to blood loss.

“I should’ve listen to the warning. I am so sorry Abdul,” he said as fear paralysed his body. Tears trickled from his eyes, watching the beautiful monster flung a worker’s lifeless body on the side like trash. There was no hope in escaping and their demise was inevitable at the hands of this powerful entity.

“Next,” said the young man loudly. There was a smug on the his beautiful face as he chose another victim. “You!”

He pointed at Dr. Carmichael, who was already in stupor due to terror.

Dr. Carmichael felt his body being pulled by an invisible force like a magnet attracting metals, but it was no magnet instead his lovely executioner. He felt a warm and tender touch as the glorious fiend grabbed his neck followed by a sudden jolt, and he noticed that he was slowly weakening. Life ebbing away into the monster’s hand.

He thought that his life ended when he sensed that he was falling on an endless darkness, but there was an abrupt thud. It wasn’t painful probably because he was already numbed like morphine was administered in his body. He checked himself. He was still alive. He peeked to see what was happening.

He saw there were now two figures near him. Both were floating on air but there was a distance between them. The stranger was wearing a dark robe, face hidden under a hood. He glanced back to the workers to see if they were fine. To his relief they were, but were cowering in fear.

“It’s not proper to play with your food,” said the stranger melodramatically. A female voice resonated in the area.

“Who are you?” said the young man, who appeared to be agitated. His eyes glowed, releasing a sort of pressure, which affected those around him as they choked and gasped for air, but the drifter stood there unaffected. The young man immediately stopped when he saw that.

“I see,” said the young man gently. A smirk appeared on his face. “You can withstand my aura thrust…good, you might be strong, but you’re still no match for me,” he added in sheer confidence.

“I’m not here to fight you my Lord Xaphan Accidia.” said the hooded stranger.

“Nonsense!” said Xaphan as a sword that was wrapped in thorny vines materialised in front of him. “Punish her severely, Nymphadora!”

The sword glowed with a dark halo as small black holes appeared out of nowhere, surrounding her. Thorny vines suddenly emerged from the darkness to strangle her, but she managed to create a force field that nullified the attack.

+ Sketch of Xaphan and Aphrodite

Xaphan looked surprised when she abruptly disappeared from where she stood and appeared an inch from his face. She wrapped her arms around his naked body and whispered something to his ear. It was something she mumbled to him that brought an unforeseen calmness on his face as the sword Nymphadora and her thorny vines vanished.

The hapless and helpless victims on the ground were amazed with the brief showdown despite their impending doom. They were wondering what it was all about, but there was a sign of hope in their eyes. They thought that she might be their saviour, but they were all wrong.

“I’m Aphrodite and here to be your gracious servant,” she purred, letting go of him and at the same time, she took off the dark robe she wore and handed it over to him. Everyone in the area saw how she looked like.

Her hair was straight and dark as the night, which flowed gently over her shoulders. She was sporting some bangs and it looked good on her. She had an olive complexion and her skin was flawless. Her face was exquisite with a sparkling set of deep golden eyes matched with a perfectly shaped eyebrows. Her lips were slightly full and red, creating a sinister appeal whenever she smiled. The clothes she wore was a gorgeous red skirtsuit in silk tulle and puffed sleeves with a matching pair of stilettos; overall, she was as radiant as Xaphan.

“Hmph!” said Xaphan, accepting the robe from her hands with a slight disgusted look on his face. “I don’t need to be working with someone who belongs to an inferior race!”

“That’s harsh!” Aphrodite retorted, raising her right brow. “Don’t be such a racist! I don’t really tolerate that kind of attitude,” she added and looked somewhat irritated with the way Xaphan behaved.

“Whatever,” said Xaphan, descending back to continue on his feast, which was interrupted by Aphrodite’s sudden intrusion.

She followed him, and there Dr. Carmichael managed to take a good look at her. He was surprised because he recognised her.

“You!” said Dr. Carmichael with a strong accusation in his voice, even though he was trembling with fear. “You set us up!”

“What if I did?” said Aphrodite, chortling. She looked more baleful than ever despite her blinding beauty.

“Why?” said Dr. Carmichael with fresh tears coming from his eyes. “We only did what you told us to do!”

“I need pawns to do my work,” said Aphrodite nonchalantly. “Do you think this gorgeous body-” she touched her own body from the breasts down to the waist. “-will be digging and working under this harsh temperature? Uh uh no way!” she placed both her hands on her hips.

Dr. Carmichael was utterly speechless on how beautiful people like them could be so evil. The saying wolf in sheep’s clothing suddenly came into his mind. Finally, he came up with a courage to talk back.

“Yes, you’re gorgeous in every way but that is just a façade” said Dr. Carmichael, spitting on the ground. “You’re ugly as a hag inside!”

Aphrodite cringed upon hearing that and changed the topic, turning her back away from the doctor. Her eyes sparkled.

“Xaphan, dear, I have a faster way to feed you,” she said, grinning wide, which showed her perfect set of teeth.

“Excuse me, I think you forgot something,” said Xaphan, who appeared to be insulted.

“Oh, my bad!” said Aphrodite, looking a bit embarrassed as her face blushed.

“Lord Xaphan,” she repeated what she said earlier while emphasizing on the word ‘lord’ and her voice suddenly sounded sweet rather than melodramatic. “I have a faster way to feed you”

“That’s better,” said Xaphan with a faint smile on his diabolically beautiful face.

Aphrodite smiled and turned to Dr. Carmichael, who moved back when she started to approach him. She touched his left cheek with her right hand. It felt gentle but he was confused with this gesture.

Dr. Carmichael was looking straight into her eyes. There was no sign of malice, but just purity, which made him more astonished. She looked back at him with those sparkling golden eyes, moving closer to his face. He could feel her breath, and it smelled so sweet.

“Don’t worry, this will be quick,” said Aphrodite, her voice deeper and her face turned serious all of a sudden.

She moved closer to his left ear and whispered, “You shouldn’t have called me ugly.”

She stood and raised her right hand, her index finger was pointing upwards. At that moment, a golden circular seal with strange inscriptions appeared on the dark sky, blanketing the entire area.

Upon completion, it created a vacuum of full force, sucking the doctor and his workers as they screamed and tried to grasp on something, but escape was futile. It was a powerful force that consumed everyone in a matter of seconds.

There were only two left, who stood there as if nothing happened as the golden circular seal closed, and a small golden orb-roughly the size of a marble- appeared in its stead. It landed softly on Aphrodite’s left palm. She gazed at it somewhat amazed and satisfied with the feat she pulled off. She immediately tossed it off to Xaphan, who caught it without any trouble.

“Quite an impressive show,” said Xaphan with a yawn. “I see that you’re an adept with etherology, but it’s not really a big deal,” he added while examining the golden orb, which glowed faintly.

“You could just say thanks rather than being a jerk!” said Aphrodite, frowning. “By the way, just swallow that orb and you will feel a high concentration of life force.”

Xaphan swallowed the golden orb and was satisfied due to a smile on his lips. “Thanks”

“You’re welcome,” said Aphrodite, giggling. “At least we don’t need to worry about leaving some evidence.”

She scanned the area for people she might had missed. Just to be sure.

“Why is that so?” said Xaphan apathetically.

“You see, the others are constantly watching this primitive dimension,” said Aphrodite, pouting her lips. “It really gets on my nerves that I have to be extra careful with my extracurricular activities!”

“When you said others did you mean that your kind is also here?”

“Bingo! Every survivor from the war including Michael and your dear younger brother,” said Aphrodite in high spirits.

Xaphan didn’t react.

“Lord Xaphan, is there something wrong?” she asked him with a concerned voice, noticing Xaphan was suddenly quiet.

“Nothing,” said Xaphan while eyeing her suspiciously.
“So how come you know all about these?”

“Simple. I did my research!” said Aphrodite with openness.

“Fine,” said Xaphan, his blue eyes piercing on her. “Now I’m just wondering what is in it for you?”

“I have my own reason,” Aphrodite replied quickly. “Do you really need to know about that?”

“Of course or do you want me to just kill you now?” said Xaphan coldly.

Aphrodite rolled her eyes.

“Okay, I know that by serving you I will achieve some of my goals in which I’ll tell you eventually…” she said, pleading for him to reconsider.

“All right,” said Xaphan with a sigh.

Aphrodite jumped with glee. “You won’t regret it my Lord, having me as your servant. I’ll-”

Xaphan’s face turned menacingly towards Aphrodite, who froze from her jubilation.

“But if you ever get in my way I’ll obliterate you without a second thought,” he said coolly, but it was already a threat one should take seriously.

“Don’t worry. I will not get in your way,” said Aphrodite with a grin. “I promise!”

Xaphan didn’t answer, he was still staring at her ominously.

“So do you want the latest updates since you’ve been cooped in that crystal cage for so long?” said Aphrodite, pretending to check her shoes to avoid his stares.

“Yes, I would love that,” said Xaphan, who now appeared interested.

“This will certainly interest you my lord…” said Aphrodite, her eyes were twinkling with glee.

To Chapter 2