Paradise was finally silent.
Not completely motionless — because the entire creation was still vibrating from the consequences of the battle — but the cosmic storm that had nearly shattered everything had calmed down.
In the Hall of Convergences, the celestial projections now showed a universe slowly repairing itself.
The lines of causality were rebuilding themselves.
Galaxies were resuming their rotation.
Newborn universes began breathing again.
At the center of the hall, the hologram of the Foundation appeared again.
The voice was neutral and mechanical as usual.
[The threat identified as SCP-682 has been recovered.]
A silence moved through the hall.
The angels watched the projection.
The hologram continued.
[The SCP Foundation acknowledges the assistance provided by the entities present in this universe.]
[In accordance with our diplomatic protocols, rewards and compensations will be determined for each participant.]
[This procedure requires thorough analysis.]
A pause.
[This will take time.]
The projection flickered slightly.
[A later communication will be established. Unfortunately, the time of appearance of the next anomaly is indeterminate.]
Then the hologram disappeared.
Silence fell again in the hall.
Two days later
Paradise was calmer.
In a meeting room much smaller than the Council Hall, several figures were sitting around a circular table.
Sera.
Hamiel.
Michael.
And Jeanne.
Facing them sat a calm man.
Job.
Celestial light filled the room.
But the atmosphere was heavy.
Jeanne, not being a pure angel, had not been overwhelmed with visions, but she had still been invited to the meeting and previously informed of the events given her status. Unfortunately Adam had been punished by Sera and imprisoned in the Garden of Eden because of his nonsense.
As for Michael, after learning that Sera had requested the help of the Leviathan with the approval of the other members of the council, he was not pleased, which caused occasional disputes with Sera, but it quickly ended with a reconciliation between the brother and his sister.
Job himself had finally been summoned today, even though he had already been aware that the pure angels had a certain desire to question him some time ago, but it seemed that today would be the day when he would have to give some answers.
Sera spoke first.
— I will make a summary of the different actions that have been undertaken.
Sera gathered a small pile of files which she read.
— Thanks to the help of several of our brothers and sisters we were able to stabilize creation. At this moment the main universe continues its expansion and has created other bubble universes.
— After the defeat of 682 the sharing of the Foundation's rewards has not been done and we still do not know when the next anomaly will appear. As for the Leviathan, he has reunited with his brother who had to sign a non-aggression contract with creation. They seem to have kept their word, at least I hope so.
— We had to infiltrate television media on Earth to spread false information concerning the disasters that occurred and modify the memory of certain people.
A silence passed.
Then Sera looked at Job.
For a long time.
A very long time.
Finally she spoke.
— Now there is one thing we must clarify.
Job looked at her calmly.
— I am listening.
Sera joined her hands in front of her.
— When you pronounced those words…
Her voice became deeper.
— It was a prophecy.
No one spoke.
Sera continued.
— You knew that we were going to free the Leviathan. Have you, since all this time, even since your lifetime, seen that all these events were going to happen?
Job remained silent for a few seconds.
Then he answered simply:
— Yes.
A slight shiver passed through the room.
Hamiel frowned.
— How much of the future did you see? I mean, did Father show it to you in its entirety?
Job answered with a smile.
— Unfortunately no. The future that God showed me is not so vast. I can say that for now I know the continuation of events, but at some point I will be just as lost as you, and at that moment another prophet will continue since the rest of the future will belong to him.
Jeanne spoke.
— So Mister Job, you mean that other prophets have a part of the future that they have seen from God?
Then he simply replied:
— Yes.
Sera leaned slightly toward him.
— Then tell us.
— What will happen?
But Job gently shook his head.
— Everything unfolds according to the will of God.
His voice was peaceful.
— You do not need to worry.
Sera's hands tightened.
— No need to worry?
Her voice rose.
— The world almost got destroyed!
A tense silence filled the room.
She stared at Job with anger.
— And you tell me everything is fine?
Job remained calm.
— Yes.
— Because all of this is part of God's plan.
Sera clenched her teeth.
— Then show us.
— Show us the future.
Hamiel spoke.
— Yes.
— We must know.
But Michael shook his head.
— No.
Jeanne spoke softly.
— I agree with Mister Michael.
Sera looked at them.
— What?
Michael answered calmly.
— If it is God's will…
— then we must not try to force it.
Jeanne nodded.
— Knowing the future could change the path that leads to it.
Hamiel crossed his arms.
— Or allow us to avoid a catastrophe.
Sera looked at Job.
— We will examine your memory.
— And see what God showed you.
Silence fell.
Michael spoke.
— I vote against.
Jeanne replied.
— Me too.
Hamiel.
— I vote for.
Sera declared.
— Me too.
The verdict was clear.
Two votes against.
Two votes for.
A tie.
A heavy silence filled the room.
Sera closed her eyes.
Then she declared coldly.
— As the leader of Heaven I decide without your agreement that...
But suddenly…
the light in the room changed.
A presence appeared.
A presence so ancient that even the entities in the room immediately fell silent.
A voice echoed.
Soft.
But absolute.
— That is enough.
Metatron.
The Voice of God.
Light filled the room.
Metatron looked at the table.
— The decision is made.
Her voice was calm.
— I support the position of Michael and Jeanne.
Sera remained motionless.
Metatron continued.
— This meeting is dissolved.
Hamiel sighed and stood up.
Jeanne stood up.
Michael looked for a long time at Metatron and Sera and stood up.
Job stood up as well.
Metatron added.
— Sera.
She raised her eyes.
— Stay.
The others left the room.
The door closed.
And silence returned.
Sera remained motionless in silence, then her breathing seemed irregular.
And then something broke.
— If God knows the future…
Her voice trembled.
— then He already knows that I am not good enough.
Metatron did not answer.
Sera continued.
— He knows that I will fail.
Her breathing became irregular.
— Things are becoming uncontrollable…
Her hands trembled.
— SCP-682…
— the anomalies…
— the Foundation…
— the Angel of Many…
Her vision became blurred.
— Principalities have died…
Her voice broke.
— Under my responsibility.
She placed a hand on her head.
Her breathing became fast.
Short.
— I…
— I didn't even have the time to mourn my brothers and sisters… Ophéliel, Midiel, Eratiel, Pomekiel...
She felt as if she could hear them and see them smiling at her.
The words came out with difficulty.
As if the air was missing.
— That without warning another anomaly could have destroyed everything God entrusted to me… and all the people who are dear to me.
Her vision trembled.
The world seemed to spin.
Her chest tightened.
— God knows all the mistakes I will make…
Her voice broke completely.
— He knows how imperfect I am…
Her legs gave way…
But before she could fall—
Metatron caught her.
And gently pulled her against her.
Like a mother catching a child who is about to fall.
Sera was trembling.
Her breathing was disordered.
Metatron placed a hand on her head.
Her voice was soft.
— Sera.
She was sobbing now.
— God did not entrust you with the reins of creation because you are perfect.
She spoke slowly.
— He entrusted them to you because you are you.
Sera cried silently.
— But we almost lost everything…
Her voice was muffled.
— Creation…
Metatron held her a little tighter.
— And yet it is still there.
She continued softly.
— You see your mistakes.
— God sees what you truly are.
Tears continued to fall but she tried to hide them.
Metatron whispered again:
— God does not love you because you succeed.
— He loves you because you continue.
A long silence followed.
Then she added softly:
— Even when you think you can no longer do it.
Sera stayed against her.
Trembling.
But slowly…
And for the first time in a long time…
she allowed herself to cry without holding back, without hiding. She simply decided to cry…
Meanwhile in Hell
Circle of Pride
Vox decided to pause his plan. Before acting again, he took time to assess his current situation.
First, he had to acknowledge that the colossal number of demons with whom he had made pacts now granted him immense power — perhaps even slightly greater than Alastor's.
In addition, he had created a large number of sleeper agents scattered throughout Hell.
But one major problem remained: he had greatly underestimated the power of the angels. They were incredibly powerful, far more than he had imagined.
Vox realized the magnitude of his mistake. He had sincerely believed that his plan would one day allow him to take control of both Hell and Heaven. But now, that idea seemed almost ridiculous.
At best, controlling Hell would already be an ambitious objective.
And even that remained uncertain. Lucifer and the other deadly sins represented a colossal threat.
Even worse, despite the relentless efforts of his subordinates, they had never managed to hack Heaven's computer system. It was as if their defenses were absolutely impenetrable.
(I must admit that when Baster told Charlie that the agents of Vox's company had managed to hack Heaven's computer system and that it was easy, it really made me laugh. So entities that have existed since the dawn of time, that created the concepts, all the fundamental states of matter, the metals, minerals, life!! all the laws of physics!! They created human beings and their brains, are technologically inferior to their own creations? Okay now let's say that all angels are stupid and don't know how to use a phone. Now are all the scientific minds of Earth in Hell and have they all decided to work for Vox? Plato, Einstein, Newton, Tesla, etc... Didn't all these men have a place in Heaven? Didn't they help scientific development there? Honestly I don't even know why this dialogue was included in the series.)
Faced with this unfavorable situation, Vox considered a multitude of different plans. But the more he analyzed the possibilities, the more he understood that the moment was not yet right to act.
Finally, he made a cautious decision.
He would remain in the shadows.
Rather than attempting a direct confrontation, he would focus on a more discreet objective: slowly manipulating the demonic people… until Hell truly belonged to him.
Later, the scene shifted elsewhere.
Constantine was sitting in a bedroom — judging by the decoration it was that of a little girl. Books were piled on a table, among them several worn Bibles covered with notes and bookmarks.
Facing him was a child sitting on a chair that was too big for her. She held a notebook in her hands and seemed to be thinking about something for a while.
Finally she raised her eyes toward him.
— Uncle… can you explain a passage of the Bible to me?
Constantine sighed slightly, but a tired smile appeared on his face.
— Depends which one, kid.
She hesitated for a moment before saying:
— The one that says… thou shalt not kill.
Constantine remained silent for a few seconds. His gaze fell on the table, as if this simple verse awakened far too many memories.
He wanted to light a cigarette but was stopped by his niece who looked at him angrily and warned him about the dangers of tobacco.
He smiled at her and decided to answer.
— People think it means you must never kill… under any circumstances.
— But reality is rarely that simple.
The little girl frowned slightly.
— What do you mean uncle?
Constantine.
— Imagine a soldier who is a believer. How can he deal with the fact that he is literally killing people? Well the answer is simple: this commandment mainly speaks about murder without reason… taking a life out of hatred, cruelty, or selfishness. Life is supposed to be sacred.
But the soldier in his case does it to protect, for example his life or that of his country, but it is even more complicated for him.
The little girl looked at Constantine with concentration, clearly wanting to know more.
— Well this believing soldier, despite the fact that his enemies threaten his country, despite the fact that his enemies threaten his life, despite the fact that his enemies may have killed many of his comrades, must not develop hatred toward them, because if he no longer kills to protect but because of hatred, revenge or sadism, then it becomes a sin.
The little girl seemed delighted.
— Thank you Uncle, thanks to you I learned something new. Would you like to do it four times a week? You could come and explain biblical passages and inconsistencies to me.
Constantine's face showed pain.
— Four times… uh… shouldn't you ask your mother those questions?
She seemed to be pouting.
— Mom gives explanations that are too complicated, please Uncle.
Constantine defeated.
— Ok.
The little girl seemed overjoyed.
— Yay!!!!