‘Our whole lives should be pointed onward and upward, always climbing, always growing… if you’re not doing that, you are either turning stagnant and useless, like a dying swamp, or you are going backwards, and that is never a very good option…’

-President Aldevri of the Emahra

If Nell hadn’t been concerned before… he was absolutely terrified now. ‘You can’t be serious?’ he asked.

‘The Emahra and their allies did indeed defeat the Olden Soul, Ishkaluuad,’ the fifteen explained, ‘but they never knew why he and his minions escaped in the first place, or how. At the end of the Shatter Wars, we employed many secret agents to do their part and help destroy the Hell Gate. Our agents succeeded, though sacrificing their lives in the process.

‘We thought it was over forever, but once again, our pride was our downfall. We never suspected that the Regol would create another Hell Gate… We see now, despite our misgivings, there is only one thing we can do now… We must find the Hell Gate, and the final pieces that are missing, activate it, and then… not release Hell, but instead draw the Regol into Hell and lock them away with the rest… then the Hell Gate will be destroyed, and then, finally it will be over.’

‘Or?’ Nell asked.

‘Or, we fail, and the Regol release who they always intended to.’

‘And who is that?’

‘The Devil of Devils... Myklor himself.’

Nell’s head was spinning. ‘You want me to try and stop these Dark Spirits from releasing the Devil on the Universe?’ he asked incredulously. ‘I don’t even know how to fly a space ship!’

‘You will be helped and guided along the way… we have everything prepared,’ the fifteen explained. ‘But again, we must call upon you to help us… we need from you, a willing heart, the touch of your hand, and to picture in your mind an image of the Heir of the Emahra Throne.’

Nell blinked. ‘Alathor Iminalia?’ he asked.

‘Yes... hers is the image... You have a great feeling toward her, and it is the right person, the right face, the right… everything… It will allow Genesis to take upon her the form she should have had, were we not so selfish in our lost realm.’

‘Genesis?’ Nell asked.

The smaller orb bobbed up and down.

‘In a very true way, she has been preparing for this all of her life… She is ready… Already she has aided you, guiding you to the door, and to us.’

Nell stared at the smaller dimmer orb, he felt himself smile a little. ‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘Genesis,’ he nodded to the orb. ‘Pleased to meet you.’

‘This will take all of our powers,’ the fifteen told Nell, drawing his attention, ‘we are willing to make the sacrifice for the good of our people, but when we are done, and your guide is given to you, we will be no more, and your quest will be before you. Only you can complete it, only you can stop the beginning of the Hell War.’

‘Why me?’ Nell demanded, frustration in his voice. ‘What makes me so important!’

There was a long moment of silence.

‘The great power of your family line… the Sorrow blood…’ the fifteen began. ‘You will not have noticed anything yet, for you have not been trained, and only with training are the powers truly manifest. Therefore many have lived and died not knowing what they were capable of… You will be trained.’

Nell felt very uncomfortable, and he asked, ‘What powers?’

‘Both blessing and curse, you are granted dominion over the creations in the Universe, save only those beings who have the knowledge of discerning between good and evil, and who understand choice and consequences, and the truth of freedom and liberty. With your power, when you know how to use it, you’ll be able to command beasts to do your will, command stones and dirt, or the winds and the rain. Any secret hidden in the worlds can be revealed to you… The natural world will heal you if you are wounded… and only those things that are evil and unnatural can harm you.’

Nell felt a little weak in the knees and he looked around, seeing if there was some place he could sit. Seeing nothing, he dropped to the floor and buried his face in his hands.

‘I’m still dreaming,’ he mumbled to himself, ‘this is a dream. Fingold woke me up and I fell back to sleep, there was no Dauntilis, no smoky monsters, no crazy talking glowing orbs!’

‘Even if that were true,’ the fifteen offered, ‘you saw Genesis before you went to sleep.’

Nell looked up, his eyes drawn to the soft blue orb, and she let off a gentle tone that filled Nell with encouragement.

‘Genesis will teach you, and you will find the last missing pieces of the Hell Gate. The Regol are seeking them now. Three pieces remain. You must get them before the Regol. You must get to the Hell Gate first, and you must spring the trap and drag those Demons to Hell. Only you, with your powers, Nell, will be able to command the worlds to give up their secrets. Only you will be able to get to the pieces before their masters… do this, and you will save the Universe… you will give it another chance at life.’

Nell carefully thought over all that had been said, it seemed impossible, but then again… he felt nothing deceiving from the orbs. He felt they spoke the truth, but if that was so… could Nell possibly do what was being asked of him?

Then again, if what they said was true? Could he not?

‘How long do we have?’ Nell asked.

‘Not long… the Regol have found the last Keeper.’

‘Keeper?’ Nell asked.

‘Beings who hid the pieces. The Keeper was recently found and taken, and thus he will be leading them to the final pieces. When we are done here, you and Genesis will immediately leave. Your training will begin, and you will seek what is lost as quickly as you can. Everything depends on it… You will do it?’

There was actually a note of hope in the voice.

Nell forced himself not to hesitate, and said, ‘Yeah… I mean, I don’t really have a lot of choice, do I.’

‘No,’ the fifteen replied.

Genesis descended and floated in front of Nell’s face.

‘Willingly, Nell Gray Sorrow, reach your hand out and touch Genesis,’ the fifteen encouraged.

Nell held his hand forward, but stopped before touching Genesis. He looked up at the fifteen. ‘So, I’m not going to see you guys again?’ he asked, a note of sadness in his voice.

‘Farewell,’ the fifteen boomed.

Nell looked at Genesis, hesitated only one moment, and then touched the glowing orb. There was a fantastic blast of light high above Nell’s head, and the whole chamber shook. Nell’s body jerked and he felt almost as though something had been drawn out of him.

Then he felt as though he were in thick mud, as if it were all around him, and in his mind too. Everything seemed slow, oppressive, and dark.

Nell collapsed to the floor and into unconsciousness once more.

END OF PART I