'While some people fear demons, or attempt to exorcise them, others willfully attempt to summon them for knowledge, assistance, or power. The ceremonial magician usually consults a grimoire, which gives the names and abilities of demons as well as detailed instructions for conjuring and controlling them. Grimoires aren't limited to demons - some give the names of angels or spirits which can be called, a process called theurgy.
~Wikipedia
Chapter Nine: Summoning The Omnipotent One
Pope Benedict the First before he became the Holy Pope was once the cardinal of Franglen City. As primus inter pares among the cardinals and a major figure on the Vatican stage for half of a century, he carried the spiritual burden of the Vatican City more than the other cardinals do. It was with this reason that he consulted a ceremonial magician to call on the assistance of the angels of the heavenly realm.
It was in his native birthplace, Gutlavia, where the theurgy or the ceremonial rite of summoning an angel was performed. Sizouze and Barrattiel, the Angel of Prayer and the Angel of Support, respectively were supposed to be the heavenly beings that he wanted to summon. However, another being had surfaced during the call. It was the Archangel of Death, having a very potent name, a very powerful name, the name of Samael — an archangel and demon at the same time.
The conjurer, a middle-aged man wearing thick-framed glasses and a white klobuk, immediately fell prostrate in utter awe as he behold the glaring golden eyes of the owner.
He had beautiful flowing silver and red hair as long as his outstretched glorious two-layer black wings would be if adjoined. The platinum armor pants shined brightly like a thousand diamonds in the moonlight; its drapes covered the entire length of his feet as he stood towering in their front, in a megalithic stone structure in the center of a dense forest. His bare chest showed the thick hard slabs of his abdomen — sinews after sinews of brazen masculine virility — yes, an embodiment of unadulterated manliness.
He had no weapon in hand, but he could spawn a weapon of his choice from his bare hands if he required it at anytime.
A thick white smoke evaporated from his lustrous white porcelain skin, immediately sending the conjurer chills down to his bone when he realized that the Eternal Being was as tangible as the soil in his shaking hands. He was in the boundary of running out of fear, trembling uncontrollably all over his mortal body, but Cardinal Benedict stood unfazed by the Being's intimidation.
"Who dare summon me," Samael questioned in a deep, rich voice. It had an echo of a loud grumble, unearthly in fact that the conjurer thought that it was a thunder in the sky.
"Your Omnipotent One, it is I, a mere servant of God, Cardinal Simon Benedict," he said in the most humble of timbre he could produce.
Samael disappeared from the boulder faster than a flash of lightning and suddenly stood beside the Cardinal, his luminous face only inches away from his ear.
"You do know why I am called the Archangel of Death, right? Do you have a death wish Cardinal?" he whispered, touching his fingertips lightly on the Cardinal's scarlet watered silk ferraiolo. The venom in his celestial fingertips immediately disintegrated the wool.
"No, oh Most Gracious One," he quickly answered, this time with a noticeable spasm in his jaw.
"Spare me the flattery human. You have the guts in summoning me from the bowels of hell. May I ask why?"
"With all due respect, Your Grace, I didn't intend on summoning you. I do wish to attain the help of the other angels in your realm."
"OH?" Samael cocked an eyebrow, "So...it seems this is just a mere...mistake?" His words were intently sluggish.
"I believe so, Your Grace," the Cardinal stated eyeing his poor companion still prostrating in fear, not daring to lift his face out of sheer terror.
"I see," was the Archangel of Death's response. He suddenly vanished from the Cardinal's front, and then resurfaced again on top the boulder.
"Ahhh yes! It has been a while since I have set foot in the human world," he remarked, turning in circles as he examined the immensity of the forest. "Do confess, I would like to know why you need the presence of the lesser angels when I am here, Cardinal."
The old man kept his composure intact, but did clear a lump in his throat. "It is as you say, Your Grace. A human's problem is so insignificant that you need not bother yourself with it."
Samael smirked a little. "True enough. However, do pray tell. I am...waiting."
Cardinal Benedict knew that the archangel was an insistent creature, so to avoid his demonic side emerging, he faithfully replied in all honesty, "I merely wanted to gain assistance in the leadership of the Vatican community. It has become unbearable in my status right now, Your Grace."
"Hmf, of course. As expected of a human being such as yourself," Samael discriminated intentionally. "No wonder you have invoked the Angel of Prayer and the Angel of Support for it."
The Cardinal's mouth dropped open. So, the archangel knew who he was summoning. Why the questioning then?
"I wonder... why I am the one transported here instead," he whispered mostly to himself while looking at the night sky with great depth.
Oh, so it seems that he doesn't know why he appeared instead of the other angels, the thought crossed the Cardinal's mind.
Millions and millions of stars lit up the sky forming into breathtaking constellations. Samael once told himself that naming the constellations was a pathetic excuse for a human's remarkably sardined imagination. Standing in this angle however... being in this perspective... he, for once, admitted that the stars were indeed a breathtaking beauty. Truly worthy of a name.
But watching longingly at it didn't last long. An immense flow of electricity suddenly covered his body - a signal that his celestial presence was in chaos. In fact, beings such as himself weren't created to dwell in the human world for long. It was a natural rule to keep peace and a way to balance everything. A powerful divine electricity made sure of it; erasing the existence of demons if they so much as thread out of the rule.
This, Samael knows quite already, and has expected for the worst. However, it wasn't his intention to appear in the human realm at all. If he could, he would have used all his power to return to Hell, but the conjurer had control over him. He was the one who supposedly heard the call in the first place, so he was bound to that invisible pact.
Being summoned however was good, but as a downside of it, he must now need a vessel to host his divinity in order to avoid being wiped out.
Samael transported himself back on the ground and there he writhed in pain as the generated current quickly subdued his supernaturality.
"Your Grace, I sense that you are in need of my help," Cardinal Benedict muttered, eyeing him with worry.
"Obviously human!" Samael shrilled.
The latter approached the conjurer and pulled him to stand.
The man was still astonished with the phenomenon, but seeing the Cardinal's creased brows, he immediately came to awareness.
"What is it that we must do?" the Cardinal asked frantically.
"I—I don't know Father. Maybe...maybe the same as usual, we need to find him a vessel, but I haven't encountered a being such as him before. He is...he is the—"
"I know what he is! But as demonic as he could be, we still must help him. There must be a reason why God had sent him to us."
"Then we need a fresh new life, Father," he stated grimly, remembering what his predecessor had once taught him. His face lightened and he announced again, this time with a louder voice, "We need a babe Father! It is the only way!"
*
*
*
The ritual of spirit transfer went about with ease. A newborn babe fresh from his mother's womb, the wife of the conjurer, was the obvious choice. It was the only choice as they were in the middle of the forest of Bavaria. The only close structure that they could find was the conjurer's own home and the only baby they could find in time was the man's son.
Talk about fate.
Cardinal Benedict held the babe in his arms. It looked so innocent, so pure with beautiful cerulean eyes beaming back at him. It almost looked like human though, except for the obvious streaks of gold and red revealing itself.
For now, only for now, the babe would live like a human, eat like a human, act like a human. He would grow under the Cardinal's supervision. But sooner, sooner... the other side of him will come to surface, and during that time, of course, the Cardinal would need his help — his precious divine help.
"I shall call you Azrael as you are human. It is your name in the heavens anyway, synonymous with your name in hell. Right, Cirrus Samael?"
He didn't expect for the babe to answer at all; well, not in a straight conversation anyway, but he cooed and then began to cry as it was typical for a baby.
"Yes, Azrael... Azrael Traugott which means trau 'trust' and gott 'God'. Yes little one, that is your name now. Your human name. Shhhhh... shhh..." he lulled and gave the babe back to his mother.
Archbishop Palace
Present
The brown mark in Aurora's neck was shaped like a spear in the bottom. It had an arch with spikes on top and it had a hole in the center. It was the universal sign for light and dark, but in Father Azrael's case, he knew where he had seen that mark before. It was the insignia of a powerful high class demon in Hell. A very ancient demon named Khronus - the keeper of time and space.
Dangerous. Immensely dangerous. She doesn't even know what she had housed in her own body.
What could be her history? Why does she have that specific mark in her neck? Does she know what it means? Or is she even innocent in the first place?
A river of questions flooded his mind as he contemplated each and every bit of it in the Palace library. He had kept himself in there for over seven hours just to ensure that he had a quiet time of his own.
Surely, there must be an answer. There must be a reason why she had the mark. Knowing it as soon as possible would be advantageous and confronting her would be the only way for him to find out.
Stopping his investigation would be the proper thing to do. He knew it was a wild goose chase anyway when the answer was right in front of him all this time. Demons, if they knew, would love to target her just because of it, and it was highly possible considering most of the attacks came from the charity house where she resides.
With all the puzzle fitting into place, there was no wasting time now. He needed to know everything and badly.
*
*
*
A knock on the main door of the house was continuous as Sister Rhea got up from her bed. She opened an eyehole to see Father Azrael's profile caught up in the sole electric post of the courtyard.
"Father? Why are you here? It is already nine in the evening," she stated after opening the door.
"Good evening Sister Rhea. I do apologize for coming here so late. I wasn't able to inform Sister Cene that I will be investigating the house tonight," Father Azrael politely spoke, standing at the entrance doorway.
"Oh, I see, then do please come in Father before you get a cold," she replied whilst rubbing her elbows that was draped with a thick knitted shawl.
He stepped inside the living room with a small bag in hand - the contents of which housed his personal necessities. "Thank you Sister," he said.
"Sister Cene is still awake. I will notify her that you are here," informed the nun as she shut and locked the door.
"Yes, please do Sister," he replied, "And also do tell her that I plan on staying here for the remainder of the night."
The nun fell confused at first, but remembering what Bishop Elliot had told them yesterday, she gently nodded.
"Uh, well, uhm, sure Father."
*
*
*
"Bishop Elliot had already told me about your intent investigation in here Father. I would like you to know that our door is always open for you be it at a late night or early morning," Sister Cene stated whilst standing in front of her doorway.
Father Azrael stood a few feet away from her, near the door to Aurora's room. He indeed felt grateful enough for their ready acceptance amidst the suddenness of his visit.
"Thank you Sister Cene. Well, if you allow me, I would like to continue my investigation in the house now. Don't worry, I will not disturb the children. I just need to roam around and feel for any demonic residual presence," he said in an orderly fashion.
"Yes you may Father. Please do so as you wish."
"Thank you again Sister."
The Mother Superior was about to head back inside her room when she quickly pivoted, remembering an important matter to discuss with him.
"Uhm, Father?" she said catching the priest's attention again. "We may have a slight predicament on the sleeping arrangement tonight."
"Why so?" Father Azrael creased his forehead.
"You were informed by Bishop Elliot about our limited space right?
"Yes," he curtly nodded.
"Well, you see... is it fine with you that you will use Aurora's room tonight? She will be sleeping here with me so you would have the whole room for yourself."
Father Azrael turned to look at the moss green door behind him. It was as if he was boring a hole through it. After a long, unsure sigh, he replied, "Is that so?"
"Yes Father, and I'm sure Aurora would be kind enough to help you out with the sleeping arrangement. Although..." she paused, looking down the floor, "I haven't told her this yet."
"Why? Where is she?" His curiosity suddenly peaked.
"Oh, she is still in her part-time job Father. She works as a caregiver for Mrs. Winston who lives two blocks away from here. She will be back by ten thirty in the evening."
"Ah, I see."
"Can you tell her of the sleeping changes tonight Father?" Sister Cene suggested. "I'm afraid I need a shut-eye now. I wouldn't be able to talk to her when she comes back. And with the peak of the feast of St. Therese tomorrow, I really do need to rest."
"Of course Sister, I will do that," Father Azrael timely answered amidst the sudden uneasiness that spiked inside him.
"Oh, thank you Father," Sister Cene replied in relief and with that she retreated to her room leaving the priest releasing a long, deep sigh.