Noah left the cathedral with the lantern strapped to his belt loop and the scythe floating beside him like a silent sentinel. The doors of the holy structure groaned as they opened behind him, spilling radiant light onto the platform of existence beyond. And there they stood—waiting for him.
The Cardinals.
Seven figures, each radiating with a divine principle, stood in patient stillness. They had felt it—the ignition of the Lumen Divinitatis, the sacred archive of creation itself. They could feel the weight of the Spiral embedded in Noah's soul, the divine energy humming from his very presence.
Noah stopped before them, gaze flicking between the living manifestations of celestial law. His voice trembled.
"I saw it... I saw it all. The Spiral. Every world, every dimension, every parallel thread."
He took a breath, barely able to steady himself.
"Is this my fate?"
Michael stepped forward.
"Yes," he said, voice as resolute as forged truth. "But not yet. A fate far in the future."
Michael regarded Noah with piercing gold eyes, his presence like a pillar of clarity cutting through the infinite.
Raphael approached next. Gentle eyes reflected stars long healed.
"You saw beyond what mortal frames are meant to hold. Let the Spiral settle within you like breath in the lungs. You are not broken by the vision, only reshaped."
His voice soothed without dulling the weight Noah bore.
Gabriel's voice followed—a soft, layered tone that spoke across dimensions at once.
"Revelation precedes transformation. You did not merely see the Spiral... it saw you."
Gabriel shimmered in and out of phase. Words spoken by them weren't sound—they were intent. A single sentence could realign fate.
Then came Uriel, his presence bright with a fire that burned without flame.
"The Spiral is truth, and truth is fire. Let it consume what cannot stand. From its ashes, understanding will rise."
Uriel stripped lies from the soul like husks.
Selaphiel remained still. She did not speak. Yet her silence spoke deeper than words. Her eyes—calm and infinite—offered sacred quietude.
Jegudiel, massive and scarred, crossed his arms and gave a nod.
"It begins now. And it will not end soon. But you will endure. That's the shape of labor. That's the shape of bearing light."
Finally, Azazel stepped forward, shadow trailing like forgotten hymns.
Noah flinched—not from fear, but recognition.
Azazel's voice was a hush between beats.
"You've touched sacrifice. You carry what must be carried. That is why the Scythe returned to you. Not for war. For ending. For passage."
Noah lowered his gaze, overwhelmed by the breadth of their presence. Yet within him, something solidified. He had been seen. Measured. And not found lacking.
The wind stirred in that impossible place, though there was no sky above nor ground below. Just the radiant platform of light stretching out into infinite directions, fractal patterns weaving beneath Noah's feet like the veins of fate.
He stepped forward, looking to Michael.
"What am I supposed to do now?"
Michael stepped forward once more.
"The Spiral knows you. You've been grafted to it. The Lumen will respond in time. For now, carry it. Let it learn you."
"You will travel," Raphael added gently. "To places not yet broken, and those already undone. You will not fix them—not yet. But you will see. You must learn what is before you act."
Gabriel's gaze shimmered.
"Your path is not prophecy. It is response. The Spiral does not bind—it listens. What it becomes will answer what you become."
Noah clenched his fists. "And what if I'm not enough? What if I lose myself in all this?"
Uriel stepped beside him, resting a hand over his heart.
"Then lose what must be lost. That is the way of fire."
Selaphiel bowed her head slightly. The air grew still, sacred and silent.
Jegudiel gave a rare, faint smile.
"You'll learn by building. Walk among the ruins. Touch the dust of what once was. And when you are ready, your hands will know what to create."
Azazel remained still. Then, at last, he spoke.
"Your burden is not punishment. It is invitation. Every world that ends leaves behind a truth worth bearing. Carry it. Until you must lay it down."
Noah nodded slowly.
His shoulders no longer slumped with fear—they straightened with weight. Not a crushing one, but the kind meant to be borne.
The Cardinals turned, their forms slowly dissolving into veils of purpose and power, each returning to their domain within the Spiral.
Noah stood alone again, though not truly alone.
Behind him, the Cathedral. At his side, the Scythe. On his hip, the Lumen.
Before him—Light.
And within him, the Spiral turned.
Michael spoke once again "Now that you have obtained the Lantern you will return to your world, due to the time dilation when you return approximately 4 months have past."
"Yes, we wish you luck in the future we will be overseeing your growth from here" Raphiel said
Before Noah could respond he was transported back to his world in a blinding flash of light.