Chapter 17

A week passed by quickly with Damien's company. He was entertaining and considerate of my privacy.

After my breakdown he had made changes to the barrier surrounding my house. He had made it so any form of mental distress would immediately immobilize me until he could be reached. In such emergent situations he would be allowed access immediately, regardless of my consent in the matter.

Annoying but understandable, given the circumstances, and I did not begrudge him this change. I did wonder, however, if I would ever be trustworthy enough to be left on my own again.

Damien came to me on the promised morning with a beaming smile on his face.

"Today's the day." He nearly shouted in his excitement.

"So you have said." I chuckled.

"Put on your mask and let's venture into the unknown."

"I highly doubt anything is unknown to you." I smirk sardonically.

"There's an entire world of unknown." His smile widened. "There is more to learn than can ever be fathomed. I knew everything, once upon a time, but that knowledge was taken from me, so now we get to learn together. Isn't that exciting?"

"I wish I had your optimism." I shook my head affectionately, placing my mask firmly on my face.

"Centuries of pessimism got me nowhere." Damien shrugged. "I'd rather focus on what I can change. I can't get back everything I lost, but I CAN re-learn it."

"Did you honestly know everything?" I asked, raising my brow curiously.

"I did." He nodded, herding me out of the house. "I knew all there was to know. I was given omniscience by God in order to protect the tree of knowledge."

"You were an angel?" I asked, baffled.

"Yes." He smiled sadly. "My name was Jophiel and my only task was to guard the tree of knowledge. The humans were too young and couldn't handle such knowledge without becoming corrupted by it, so it was my job to keep them away.

"Obviously I failed." He spat bitterly.

"Was this your punishment?" I asked, gesturing to the ruined world around us.

"Funny enough, no." He shook his head. "My fall came much later, at the hands of a God I loved…over a battle I would fight again and again." He looked at me then, determination shone in his eyes. "I don't regret my fall."

"Why the name Damien?"

He looked away for a moment before answering. "It's a brand. The name is a chain meant to subdue me. He took my knowledge and branded me a traitor with this name."

"I would not worship such a god." I announced, head held high in undeserved pride.

"I appreciate the sentiment." He chuckled. "However, God is not meant to be worshiped."

"The Humans, Elves and Sylphs I came across all worshiped him. Loved an idea of God that had been etched into their very being from such a young age, they knew nothing else.

"They devoted land and money to this God that turned his back to their suffering, and you tell me he was never meant to be worshiped?"

"I mean…" Damien shrugged. "Yes?"

I stared at him, waiting for a better answer.

"Look" He said with a flare of his arms. "We were all created for one purpose, and worship wasn't it."

"Do you know why we were created?"

"I used to know." He said, tapping a finger to his temple. "But…you know. "

"Is God's plan something you are able to relearn?"

"I don't know." He admitted. "But it's worth a try."

The rest of our walk was done in companionable silence. We slowly made our way to the main castle.

The doors opened to a grand room. The floors were pale yellow and wooden in texture and a giant chandelier hung from the ceiling illuminating the barren entry way. There were two grand staircases on either end of the room which led to a second floor and many doors on the first floor which bid to be explored.

"This way." Damien said, catching my attention.

I followed him as he made his way towards a set of doors to the left of the entrance. I noticed, as he opened the doors, that we were the only people in this vast room. Not an attendant in sight.

The room we entered was blindingly white. There were tables, with items scattered upon them, and boxes in disarray all over the room. There was barely any place to maneuver without running into a table full of miscellaneous items. Some had glass vials, others had paper, these we passed until we reached one semi clean desk at the far end of the room.

"This place is a mess." I pointed out.

"Yep." He said, moving a stack of papers to uncover a small black object. "Your job as my assistant will also include helping me organize."

I looked over at the object on the desk and was immediately drawn in by it. It looked like a small fragment of a larger whole and it was sitting in a small pool of black liquid.

I felt Damien slap my hand and only then did I realize I had reached out to touch it.

"What is that?"

"You remember that orb I touched that destroyed the world?" I nodded. "This is one of its shards."

"Amazing." I whispered, looking at the item in awe.

"It draws you in." Damien explained, putting on gloves and grabbing the item. "Five of my attendants died touching this thing."

"What is that black liquid?" I asked, tilting my head and watching liquid trail down Damien's arm and fall to the ground in small drips, only to vanish as soon as they hit the ground.

"As far as I can tell, it's water."

"But…this is black." I noted.

"Yeah." He nodded. "And completely poisonous. No one who drank this, survived." He threw me a pair of gloves.

"So how is it water?" I placed the gloves on my hands and impatiently waited for him to transfer me the item.

Damien chuckled and dropped the shard onto my waiting palm and I was immediately baffled. The shard was decent sized yet had absolutely no weight to it. The water that accumulated in my hand had similar weightlessness.

"I've looked at its composition carefully." He said, turning to grab an odd device. "Every test I've run confirms this to be just water."

"But it's black." I reiterated.

"Fair point. Maybe with you and I working together, we'll find out why it's black."

And thus began my journey into becoming Damien's assistant.