The journey to Jerusalem was long and restless. The three traveled in silence, each lost in thought, each shadowed by the weight of what lay ahead. For Anthony, it was a return to holy ground — but one tainted now by the promise of desecration. For Gabby, it was a battlefield, a place where Heaven's armies once clashed with the fallen. For Maxwell, it was a summons, a tether pulling him toward the truth he feared most.
They arrived at nightfall. The city glowed with lights, modern and ancient colliding in narrow streets and sacred walls. But beneath its hum, Maxwell felt something else — a vibration, a wrongness thrumming beneath the earth. The shard's whispers had grown fainter, replaced by something deeper, heavier. A call from the Abyss itself.
Anthony led them through twisting alleys and past shrines, until they reached the outskirts of an abandoned quarter. A ruin lay hidden there, half-buried in dust — an ancient gate sealed with stone, older than the city itself. Its arch was covered in inscriptions, languages so old even Anthony could not name them.
Gabby's wings rustled as she approached, her fingers brushing the markings. They burned faintly under her touch. "This is no mortal gate. This is a wound in the world."
Anthony opened the Codex, and the script flared with furious light. He read, voice shaking:
Here lies the threshold where chains meet fire.
Here the seraphs fell, and here they were bound.
Pass not, lest you be unmade.
The ground trembled. Maxwell stepped closer, his storm-gray eyes locked on the sealed stone. He could hear it — faint, distant, but unmistakable. The sound of chains rattling in the dark. And beneath it… his father's voice, broken and raw.
Maxwell…
He froze, his breath catching. "He's there. I can hear him."
Gabby gripped his arm, her golden eyes fierce. "No. This is Samael's snare. Every step closer, the chains will tighten."
Maxwell wrenched his arm free, his voice rising. "It's not a snare. It's him. My father's alive, and I'm not leaving him to rot in the dark."
The air shifted suddenly. Cold, heavy, oppressive. Shadows thickened across the ruins, rising like smoke, coiling into shapes with burning eyes. A dozen forms materialized, clad in armor of blackened steel, their blades jagged and dripping ash. Fallen sentinels — guardians of the gate.
Anthony clutched his crucifix, whispering prayers, the Codex glowing brighter in his grasp. "They were once angels. Now they are wardens of exile."
The lead sentinel stepped forward, its voice like grinding stone. "None may pass. The chains must remain. The Abyss must never be unbound."
Maxwell's blade flashed free, silver runes blazing in the night. His storm-gray eyes glimmered with defiance. "Then try and stop me."
The sentinels surged forward.
Gabby's wings burst open, her golden sword igniting as she met the first strike with a clash that split the night air. Sparks showered, shadows screamed, and the ruin shook under the weight of battle.
Anthony stood at the gate, chanting in Latin, the Codex blazing brighter than ever. Holy fire streamed from his crucifix, burning the shadows that drew too close.
Maxwell fought with a fury that bordered on reckless. His blade cleaved through sentinels, each strike ringing with light — but with every cut, the whispers in his head grew louder. Closer. Just a little closer. The chains can break. He is waiting for you.
Blood dripped from his lip, his body battered, but he pressed on, driving toward the gate. One sentinel lunged, its blade piercing his side. He roared in pain but cut the creature down in a blaze of light. His knees buckled, but still he pushed forward, until his hand touched the cold stone of the gate itself.
The inscriptions flared red, glowing like fresh wounds. The earth shook. The air filled with the sound of rattling chains.
Anthony shouted, his voice breaking. "Maxwell, stop! You'll tear the veil apart!"
But Maxwell's eyes glowed crimson now, his veins alight with the shard's lingering corruption. He pressed both palms against the gate, trembling as he whispered:
"Father… I'm here."
And from the Abyss, the reply came — not as a whisper this time, but as a roar that shook the world.
Maxwell!
The gate cracked. Light and shadow burst outward in violent waves. The sentinels shrieked as they were torn apart, their forms unraveling into smoke. Anthony was thrown back, the Codex ripping from his hands. Gabby's wings wrapped around her body as she braced against the storm.
Maxwell fell to his knees before the gate, his sword clattering beside him. His father's voice thundered in his skull. Free me, my son. Break these chains.
And behind that voice, Samael's laughter rolled like thunder.