Rebirth in the Apocalypse: Third Time's a Charm



"You seem certain that this is your world," I said with a smirk as I watch the man in white come closer and closer to us.

"Of course it is our world, 'Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the Earth," said the man as he raised his hands up to the sky. The men and women around us lowered their heads at his words as if they were expecting the blessings of God to come down on them through this man.

Great, a cult.  I sighed as I fought not to roll my eyes. There was a saying that I was very familiar with, and it went: 'If you stand for nothing, you will fall for everything'. I wished that this was that type of situation. I wished that this was a group of people so weak that they would fall for whatever the man in white said, but it was the exact opposite. They were so strong in their conviction that not even death could convince them otherwise.

"Doesn't it also say: 'But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.' I don't see this abundance of peace, do you?" I replied. I mean, going quote for quote was not always the best way to try and convince people, but I always loved watching them stuttering over it. It was like they purposely didn't follow the passages that went contrary to their beliefs. 

"This is not the time for peace," said the man as he came to a stop in front of me. Two extremely large men were standing on either side of him, protecting him. "And we are the warriors that were called to bring about peace. We do not expect to be living during it. 'And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the LORD when I shall lay my vengeance upon them'."

The man then let out a smile of welcome as he reached his arms out towards me. "It is always nice to debate the scriptures with a non-believer. I am sure that, like my other brothers and sisters around us, you will change your mind and believe in the miracles of the Lord. Hello, I am Father Ezekiel," he continued as he took a step forward.

My men didn't appreciate that, and they formed a protective circle around me. 

"Ezekiel?" I asked with a raised eyebrow. This was the first time that I had ever heard of someone with that name in any of my lives.

"Hmmm," smiled the man before me. "I had another name long before this one, but this is the one that called to me the most," he admitted with another smile. And for some reason, that didn't surprise me. 

There was one book with the name Ezekiel in it, and he was also known for saying, 'And I will execute great vengeance upon them with furious rebukes; and they shall know that I am the Lord, when I shall lay my vengeance upon them.' Something told me that this was the role that 'Ezekiel' had chosen for himself, and the poor people around him were nothing more than scapegoats for his fantasy.

I smiled at the man from between Chen Zi Han's and Liu Wei's shoulders. There was another quote by the man that I really thought was appropriate right now; "Destruction cometh; and they shall seek peace, and there shall be none," I whispered to him and watched the smile fall off his face, and a brief look of hatred took its place.

The change took mere seconds, but I saw every aspect of it. 

"Take them to be inspected before being brought into the church," said Father Ezekiel with a wave of his hand. There was a mummer of, "Yes, My Lord," from the men and women around them before they tried to grab my boys by the arms and pull them away from me. 

I smirked as Chen Zi Han threw the first punch, knocking out the closest man. It was really too bad for them that they listened to someone that was only interested in leading them to their death.

I turned around and called up my ice ability to create a seat for myself. Unintentionally creating the same ice throne as the last two times. Walking over to it as soon as it was completed, I turned around and went to sit down.

"You dare sit on a throne in front of me?!" demanded Father Ezekiel, ready to storm up to me and rip me off of my seat. "Only the Lord shall sit on the throne."

"Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall," I said with a smile. "And I think that you have a lot of pride, don't you, Father?"

"Jezebel," he cursed at me, his eyes narrowing on my face as his two bodyguards strained against Wang Chao's and Liu Yu Zeng's hold. "For the wages of sin is death," he continued to hiss at me.

"You do like your scriptures, don't you, Father?" I asked with a sigh as I tapped my fingers against the armrest of my throne. "But the thing about scriptures is that you can't pick and choose which ones you follow. For anyone can bastardize anything only picking and choosing what they want to believe in."

"Jezebel, you will die," growled the man, and I could see his fists start clenching in anger. I couldn't suppress my grin as he literally started smoking out of his head.

"I will," I said with a nod. "But today is not my day." With a reassuring smile, I pointed to the steam coming off of his head. "However, what kind of demon are you that can call fire on command?"

His congregation gasped as they, too, saw the smoking coming from his head right before his fists caught fire. "Isn't there a version of some kind or other about people who are cast into the fiery pits of Hell?" I asked as I looked around at the men and women who had turned pale as they saw fire coming from their lord and savior.