Free Angel of the Apocalypse by Magnus Hansen Page A

of
Michael close to him. He extended one of Michael's hands with his
own, and danced in a circle with his dead body as a mockery to God.
He then tossed the corpse of the archangel to the ground, like
another discarded toy. He then turned and raised his arms to the
heavens. “Am I not forsaken from Heaven? Am I not greater than
God? Am I not Lord of this world?” he screamed, tears of joy
streaming from his amber cat-eyes.
    Rolling
thunder roared from darkened clouds. Lightning arced from the black
skies to the mountaintops. The sound of demonic laughter from all
corners of the world rang into the night. It was the darkest hour
that man had ever known.
    At
that moment, the clouds parted as a single figure descended on a beam
of golden light. For the first time in two thousand years, God
returned to Earth.

Chapter
8 – The Final Confrontation

    “ You
look older than the last time I saw you,” the Antichrist
commented dryly.
    God
did indeed look like an old man. Lines creased his face, as if from
thousands of years of sorrow. But despite his weathered countenance,
his eyes glowed with love and compassion, and his body was muscled
and strong. And when he spoke, it was with the authority of God. “You
were the greatest of my creations, and my greatest failure. I have
only myself to blame for the sorrow and destruction that you have
caused. And for that, I am the one who begs forgiveness from mankind.
I was a fool to think that I could create something as great as
myself, and have that creation love me unconditionally. But now it is
time to end this.” God paused, then sternly pointed his finger
at the Antichrist. “I challenge you, Father of Lies.”
    “ You
challenge me?” mocked the Antichrist. “Why not just blink
me out of existence?” The Devil paused, for dramatic effect.
“Hmm, you can't, can you? No, you always play by the rules, and
that is why you will ultimately fail. How can good possibly triumph
over evil? This isn't Heaven, old man. On Earth, you're playing
against a stacked deck.” He walked up to God and pointed a
finger in his face. “You know the rules. The one who is
challenged gets to set the rules for the final confrontation. I
propose this – three duels. A game of chess, a boxing match,
and a dance-off. Best two out of three wins.”
    “ This
isn't a game,” God replied. “This is for the fate of
mankind.”
    “ Oh,
indeed it is a game. Life was nothing but a game from the very
start. A game that an old man created out of boredom and loneliness.
But the rules remain the same, regardless.”
    God
shook his head slowly. “I knew you would make this difficult.
You have turned the final confrontation of Revelations into a
mockery. I should have known. But if that's the way it has to be,
then so be it.”
    The
Devil laughed. With a gesture, a table with two chairs appeared. On
the table was a chessboard. “I presume, you'll take white?”
he mocked.
    “ I'll
take black,” said God.
    “ Ha!
You think you'll throw me off my game? Not a chance, old man. Pick
whichever side you wish.”
    The
two deities sat at the table. God was sternly looking at the chess
pieces while the Antichrist slouched in his chair and whistled a
playful tune. He casually moved his white pawn to e4 then hit the
time clock. “Your turn, old man.”
    God
looked intently at the white pawn, then moved his black pawn to c5.
“You're move.”
    “ You
know what got me thinking? This whole trinity thing. You're a
singular entity that's separated into three parts - Father, Son, and
the Holy Ghost. It's just confusing, isn't it? Wouldn't it be easier
to understand, if you just called yourself God, and left it at that?
Instead, you seem like some kind of omnipotent schizophrenic.”
He casually moved a white pawn to c3.
    It
was clear that the devil's commentary was troubling God. “Just
concentrate on the game, son.” Black pawn to d5.
    Disregarding
God's advice, the Devil continued. “I mean, I suffer from the
same