ELLIS CHRISTOPHER - MODERN WORLD SAINTS

Ellis Christopher is a loving father that teaches English abroad. He graduated from Temple University with a degree in religion and minor in philosophy. He enjoys making music with his guitar and piano. He enjoys spending time with his family, reading, watching movies and traveling.

MODERN WORLD SAINT
​A Tale of Jacob

 Jacob was an average healthy man in his thirties from the United States, working at a distribution center, making less than double the minimal wage. He stacked wooden pallets and loaded trucks until they were filled.  Then he would go home, worn down from the constant heavy lifting. It was monotonous and uninteresting, and he hoped that he was educating himself out of it. Three long years there while studying for his baccalaureate, which took eight.  Still, they did not promote him, and his family needed a home, so Geminy (a foreign tropical country where is wife, Ashly was from) started looking very nice.     
     He knew that moving to another country would not be easy.  In the United States, Jacob was financially unstable. However, before the baby came, Ashly and Jacob got married to obtain her permanent residency. This qualified her for health insurance and nutrient assistance. Once Samantha was born, Ashly seemed to go through postnatal depression.  She showed dissatisfaction while caring for the baby and a deep sadness for her life. There were no close family nor friends to confide in while living the United States. She felt alone and helpless and Jacob could not rely on his extended family, because of their own mental and physical shortcomings.  
     Jacob’s mother was going through medical and emotional distress.  About four years ago, she got a knee replacement and his sister, Lisa got involved with an abusive man named Mike. His mother became deeply depressed because Lisa with her two children was threatening to never see her.  His mother, out of desperation, allowed his sister and Mike to move in. Jacob feared that Mike would hurt his wife and child when he was at work, so they left his mother’s home. They moved to his aunt’s with the promise that they would leave in a few months.  
    Moreover, Jacob’s grandparents told him to leave, once they were told his wife was pregnant.  Also, his grandfather told him of a law that prohibited families of three from renting one bedroom apartments.  His father had too many people living with him and they did not speak much. Jacob felt stranded and perplexed. To him, moving to Geminy became the best option.  
     Before they left, their relationship swung between good to bad.  Jacob was trying to be a good husband. He would take Ashly to the doctors and wherever they could afford to go.  He bought her whatever he could and made her dinner when he got home from work. However, he got stressed and frustrated with all the complications: money, Ashly not driving because she feared and doubted herself and the responsibilities that were put on him.  He felt everything but being Samantha’s mother was up to him. He lashed out at Ashly whenever she talked about things being hard.  
    Within Jacob’s mind, he became a disappointment as a father, a husband and provider. He was made wicked and sinister by the preconditioning of the United States, and was to suffer for not living up to expectations. Furthermore, he was always destined to fail, no matter how hard he tried. Pessimism grew within him about being poor, scolded for his choices and pleading for a place to live. Consequently, he thought he would watch others gain security, independence and a home while he had none.  It felt like a hidden hell. 
    Occasionally, he conceived of being in a hell that stemmed from an event that happened when he was seven.  It was a hot summer day in July and this was the day that he thought he died. His uncle decided to take Jacob and his cousin to the beach.   When they got there, Jacob and his cousin ran straight into the water. Jacob felt the water swell up around his feet, breathing in the salty ocean air. He waded forwarded then a wave came and pulled him under.  The current took him and threw and turned him underwater like clothes spun in a washer machine. It surrounded him, giving him no sense of direction nor strength to fight back. He was rotating without an end, and felt dazed and powerless. There was no mercy within the ocean.      
    This was it, he thought to himself.  The day he would die.  Then all of a sudden, a wave birthed him onto land.  There he held onto the liquefied sand, gasping for air as another wave fell on him.  It carried him back into the ocean and put him through the same cycle. He appeared again on the beach and saw his cousin.  “Help, me!” Jacob cried. His cousin just stood there befuddled. Another wave came and took Jacob; however, he returned and his cousin grabbed him and pulled him out of the water. 
   His train of thought would forever be influenced by this event.  He ended up contemplating life and death for a determinant between the two.  He dwelled on the possibilities within the reality of his experiences. For example, he pondered experiences that seemed abysmal and full of suffering as unreal.  He was unable to fathom the stark contrasts of wealth and joy, he saw on TV. He analyzed the fighting and hatefulness between his parents that led to their divorce, the mental and physical struggles his mother went through, the hardships that his brother, sister and him dealt with, as incongruent and unfit.  Everything became unbalanced and inconsistent. To him, it was inappropriate to place insurmountable responsibilities on children that gave graceless results. One day, he concluded to practice the truth so he could better understand reality.    
   Jacob understood that to practice the truth, he had to dissolve his ego.  He found lies as means that impeded him from dealing with real life. He also began restricting actions that seem overly selfish. This made him more indecisive but it also made him reason with himself more.  Furthermore, he expanded his perspectives by examining alternatives to any approach he took. In time, the universe started opening up to him by revealing possibilities within existence. These possibilities came with feelings of being untethered and unbounded to the world.  In these moments of revelation, he felt free from the suffering and malevolence that surrounded him. He felt the scorches of failure could not touch him. 
             Once, they were in Ashly’s home country of Geminy, Jacob became optimistic.  The excitement of a new place where his talents, intelligence and skills were valued, filled his head.  He would finally prevail and get away from his past where so much misery existed. Contrary to his belief, he was wrong.  There was no easy escape from his hidden hell.  
   It started with taking a course on becoming an English as a Second Language teacher.  One of the courses main teachers acted callous towards Jacob.  He gave a few snide remarks and told him that he needed to greatly improve or he would fail.  Accordingly, Ashly began demanding that he spend all his time in the room. He was taking this course without her present and was staying in a dorm like complex.  She and the baby were staying with her family hours away. Each room only had one bed for sleeping, a full bathroom and an air conditioner. Jacob started feeling like the Earth itself was camouflage for a hell that meant to torment him.  The ideas of being dead started filling his head again. Jacob reasoned that things must have been manipulated to affect everything he tried so badly.  
     Jacob decided to fight back but he did not want to reveal his thoughts.  He still needed to understand this world. First, Jacob tried to figure out the people in this world.  He conceived that people either worked on being saved or chose to be drones, demons or hell-bent on pandemonium.  For the most part, people had a willful ignorance about them that was driven by sinister forces. Only a few people seemed to be aware of a nefarious reality that wished to condemn humanity.    
     Jacob then knew that confronting this evil without understanding it, would lead to death, imprisonment or some other harm.  He had to be there for Samantha and care for his family; he could not be careless. He chose to fight secretly so he could protect and hide his family from the malevolence he would fight.  
    After careful studies, Jacob discovered that his situation was similar to the Inferno by Dante Alighieri. In that, there were circles of hell that existed, and operated through deviant karmic forces which were intricately linked to the seven deadly sins.  Each person interacted with the circles obliviously, the Earth was an illusion. It was more of a cohesive stage for all human actions and the circles existed in a subdomain where the human psyche dwelled.  They functioned as mechanisms that drove iniquitous outcomes on the stage.     
     Each function of the circle was based on the sin that it correlated with.  The deviant karma that the person created was the energy for the corresponding circle.  It empowered it to either expand or reinforce its purpose of torment. A circle’s torment did not require the person who initiated the deviant karma to experience its result.  Each circle operated on a much grander scale. It was full of malicious intent that ensured its continuance beyond any individual.  
     One could not just escape a circle by being aware of it.  There were demons that governed each circle since their inception.  They managed each circle to ensure optimal effects that would plague humanity. They sought only people with certain skills, status or connections and tempted them out of a current hell within something that looked much like a class system.  However, once one was out of a circle, it did not mean that they were out of all circles and could not fall back into the one they left. The only true means of not powering a circle was to not abundantly and wholeheartedly sin and try to be virtuous. 
   The illusion was that this was just the world and our souls were not at stake.  There were no such things as demons that sought humanity’s demise. Belief in a religion, God or anything that said it would put you in heaven was a lie.  There was no escaping this universe. When someone died, there was just the unknown and eternity did not reward faith. If there was a heaven, it was protected from those here.  Jacob was not saved; he must save his daughter from the life that he experienced. The reward would come as knowledge that his daughter would not live worst or the same as him. She would rise out of hell and live a true life experience.
         Jacob begun studying about demons and how they operated within this world.  Jacob knew that there were many demons and their objective was to cause suffering.  This made Jacob believe that the more suffering he was willing to go through without falling into despair, the more the demons would be attracted to him.
     Jacob only feared the confusion and doubt that the circles created when one went into battle.  Confusion and doubt had been Jacob’s strongest adversaries, because they had caused so much chaos in his life.  He had to deal with the weakest demons first because he was not ready for everything at once.   
   Jacob studied four demons and the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.  The four demons were Beelzebub, Moloch, Satan and Legion. Jacob thought that one or all of them were activity interfering with his life.  To Jacob, he was not just in one of the circles but demons were involved. He had even wondered if his wife and daughter had been infected by them because of his knowledge.  
    Knowing that demons wished to cause suffering, Jacob was able to fend off a lot of their advances.  It took him a while but he figured out a way to get most of the suffering out of his home. He was able to defeat it with love.  He had to go through much suffering, loneliness, loss of freedoms and become docile. He had to sacrifice everything he was working towards and his liberty.  He gave up his passions and interests and allowed his wife, work and child to control him. He did this to display a larger belief. That his child was more important than him.  
     Inside, Jacob had been deeply sadden for all the things he gave up.  However, he got to love his family and put them before him and this was acceptable.  It was a greater good because he believed in putting the needs of children first. He accepted being an outsider because he lived in a system that promoted it.  He rejoiced in his daughter’s love for it was enough. He was thankful that no one was aggressively trying to take away his family. Jacob was not bitter because he knew the moment he became bitter the demons won.  
     Jacob had come to terms that souls picked sides out of desires or worldly possessions.  He saw how Ashly became corrupted by these very things. She displayed extreme amounts of self-interest by always talking about her work, the things she did and needed.  Simultaneously, she got agitated when Jacob spoke of things that were going on with him. Instead, she would pick things out in the house that were not done like the evil stepmom in Cinderella.  Jacob knew that demons affected her mind because she only saw the wrong that he had done to her. He was able to overcome this with patience, forethought and reassurance that he was there for the family they had together. After some time, she began to find peace and forgiveness with the life that they had together and they became closer.  
     This all had given him a greater understanding of the psychology that operated within the circles.  Each circle placed illusions within people’s lives so they were unaware of the hidden operations. A person became obsessed with fulfilling their desires and would blame everything that was viewed as obstructions.  This caused people to lash out at perceived divisions that in turn made them want to further divide. Consequently, they held on to anything that gave them what they wanted and used any suffering they encountered as excuses for entitlement towards their perceived future.  They became blinded by selfishness when they did not look at anyone else’s plight. Hence, they were enslaved by notions of a life they should have, and resentful towards everything when they did not have it.    
    The circles feed off these sins of selfishness and desires because they were the makings of the deviant karmic forces.  People blinded themselves by consuming all the materials they could find until they no longer recognize anything spiritual. They were absent of virtue and would move closer to the governing demon of a circle.  The demons eagerly waited for them because once they came to them. They were theirs, in that they just became part of one dominating ego. The ego of the demon that now controlled them so they could perpetuate human suffering. These souls became destined to die and do it all again.  In their own willful ignorance, they gave up their souls just for the ability to feel, because they were afraid of the unknown.   
     Jacob knew this and was able to free himself from the continuality of living and dying the same life again.  He knew that there was a way to give him a future away from being enslaved from the demons. Most people did not know that they were selling their souls to demons that could manipulate death.  That they were given some worldly comforts for the same experience again. Jacob was able to figure this out because he never stop believing that he might have died.  

Chapter 2
The Searching

     Jacob needed to understand the nature of Legion.  He first looked at the story behind this demon. The demon possessed a man that wandered a forest.  He came upon Jesus and was asked for its name. It stated, “I am Legion for we are many.” This was a prelude to the magnitude of selves that the demon could create.
     Once, Jesus learned its name he exorcised it into a group of pigs. The pigs ran off a nearby cliff into the water below, but the story did not end there.  The pigs drowned and became fish and plant food. Its very essence spread throughout the watery grave, and it started to possess again. 
    Jacob believed Legion could only infect those that were similar to the man it first possessed.  This similarity had to do with their propensity towards the seven sins. This inclination existed because of a weakness in self-discipline and taking a natural delight in discord.  Discord corresponded with strife, and strife was violence within ourselves and the cosmos, while self-discipline demanded regulation within ourselves for improvement. Making self-discipline and strife opposites.  
     Strife and discord produced chaos and strived for imbalances within the universe.  They dominated over functions of creation so that they could prohibit an organized coalescence.  Making destruction an inevitable consequence of strife and discord. Sins became tools with their arsenal of destruction.   
      Contrariwise, those with strong self-discipline sought harmony and looked to be virtuous.  They complemented harmony within a peaceful progression towards the future. They found peace through the synchronicity that was required in a creation that did not allow harm.  They were the healthy means within any aggregate.  
     Jacob depicted discord and harmony as universal forces that operated like opposing rivals. These rivals contained the seven sins and heavenly virtues. However, everything was partially understood by Jacob.  Instead, Jacob saw the entirety of these forces more like the Yin and Yang. The Yin was the discord that contained the sins but could have positive outcomes. While, the Yang was the harmony that contained the virtues but could have negative outcomes.  There were no absolute pure acts and no complete indecent acts. However, there was a balance within the intentions, emotions, thoughts and approaches that were attached to the consequences. These consequences determined the predominant force that drove the effects within the cosmos.  
    The human psyche full of all its particularities made its choices between wholeheartedly sinning and acting virtuously.  Therefore, a person’s being was the determinant between discordance and harmonization within the universe. Jacob had been trying to understand this within himself and others for a while.  He believed he could differentiate those that were soldiers of discord and those that were soldiers of harmony. This would help him find Legion because it could only possess soldiers of discord.
  To Jacob, Legion was one embodiment of discord within the cosmos.  Legion first possessed a man that had no control over himself. After some time, it adapted by inhibiting the conflicting emotions of humanity.  Emotions that conflicted and drove imbalances gave discord great influence, and allowed Legion to open doorways into the human world. Therefore, a host that became deviant to the point where havoc was entertaining to them was a prime factor in apprehending Legion. 
    Understanding Legion’s character was of immense importance to Jacob.  He knew Legion did not care about the universe and was not immensely strong.  It was impatience and unwilling to look further than what was in front of it. This demon was petty and absent-minded.  It lacked the intelligence to even perceive time.  
      It enticed people into committing foul acts by manipulating egos.  It influenced people so they would lose sight of virtue as being valuable.  For example, if a person gave into greed easily; it continuously tempted their ego with impulsive acts. It depended on the immediate within indecent acts to have catastrophic effects.  It relied on impatience as being a lack in virtue that gave impulse a power over outcomes. Meaning the vice of impatience was inherent through the stipulation that patience correlates with thought; therefore, patience refined actions and impatience marred actions.  
     Moreover, Legion’s selves were fashioned within the seven sins. Allowing it to latch onto desires and fueled the sense of instant gratification.  This got people addicted to Legion’s will easily. Once, someone was hooked to sinning; Legion searched for opportunities to push them further. For example, someone that fulfilled their lust for sex quickly; will in time, be lustful for other things.  Legion would then start to entice them into stealing, deceiving, murdering to fulfill their lust for other things.   
      However, when Legion multiplied itself, it became weaker.  This gave Jacob the belief that Legion wanted to be whole within one person, because it had deep affections for human desires.  It felt what the human felt and this would be its undoing. 
     Legion’s understanding of human feelings was construed in a way so it could manipulate.  This gave Jacob a plan in baiting Legion with more power over humans. He would need a subject that displayed the affections and attributes of a person that was about to conquer someone else.  This would entice Legion to bear its full power in possession. This would give Jacob the means to find Legion’s source.  
     Going back to the knowledge of when Legion first came to Earth, Jacob saw it only manifested itself in one single person.  This was evidence that Legion had a single core and it was within hell, because it was not able to divide itself until Jesus expelled it into a group of pigs. 
   Jacob concluded that Legion and the man actually plagued each other.  That it wished to be exorcised from the man into the group of pigs, because coming to this world induced it with insanity.  And Jacob hoped to use this to trick it.         
     To Jacob, this story described a new point in Armageddon.  Starting with the concept that Jesus came to bring people closer to heaven, and Satan wanted to bring hell to Earth.  If this was true, then Legion was sent by Satan to spread their agenda, because soldiers are always needed in war. Jacob hoped it would be spiteful towards Satan for causing its madness when it was sent to this world. Consequently, playing on its desires of being the ruler of hell.    
     First, Jacob needed a person that exhibited qualities that showed the possibility of taking over a superior’s position. Then he would have that person confess to wanting power, so they could rule like their superior. This should uncloak the corresponding desires that connect him to Legion.  Hence, Jacob would be able to draw Legion out through a cognitive interception. He would deceive Legion into thinking it was going to possess the corrupted individual but enter into Jacob instead.        
        The only thing Jacob feared was losing inability to comprehend anything. He feared it would be similar to the time he was in the ocean. There he had no control and no way of holding his ground.  It was like fighting an ocean of sin. There was only the entirety of hell and he was swallowed by it.   

Progress is like a river flowing into an ocean,
Constant and with direction.
Creativity is like a bee that collects the sweetest nectar,
Only to take it back to its hive to make the sweetest honey.
It is taken by its nature only to improve.
 
     Jacob looked at Richard and saw torn fragment ripped out of his face like jagged mountain tops.  These were the hints of Legion he was looking for. Richard’s bitterness and selfishness had consumed him to the point that possession from Legion was imminent.
   Richard was planning on taking over Nick’s position as manager of the English department. First, he told everyone that Nick was taking money from their paychecks, because he wanted to be paid for hiring them.  Then he started a nasty rumor about him coercing women into sleeping with him. Upper management was being pressured to fire Nick, and Richard played everyone so that he would be next in line. 
   All of this office politics was of no concern to Jacob.  He was only interested in Legion. No one paid him any mind, because he came across so average. He kept to himself and lived life honestly.  He was a loner that made people feel secure in opening, because they knew he was not a threat.  
    Jacob actually became friends with Richard.  It started with lunches and sharing taxis. Then they came to an understanding that they both were being exploited. That their family life was very similar and the conditioning of the world as the real culprit.   
    Jacob understood that people dealt with their experiences differently. He grew up with a brother and a sister that took to substance abuse to drown out the pain of the past. They did not overcome their adverse experiences through constructive means. Instead, they resented and despised their circumstances. 
    Jacob was the only person he knew that looked at his situations more objectively.  He reasoned things out to the point his emotions did not get caught up in adversity. Instead, Jacob sought the truth within each situation and looked for real answers. Thus, conforming to reality and preparing for a future outside hostile conditions.  
   Richard was not his enemy.  It was Legion and he had to draw the demon out of someone.  Richard was his opportunity. The demon did not fully occupy just anyone.  The person had to be consumed with a sin like lust for power that could be fulfilled, and Richard was showing all the signs. 
   All Jacob needed was Richard to display his lust fully and confess his purpose. To entice Legion’s affection for power and perform a complete possession. Thus, demanding that the demon forwent its routine operations within any circle of hell, and present its entire being within Richard and the deviant karmic cycle of lust. This would create a quantum fluctuation within Richard’s mind that Jacob could mirror to gain access to Legion and one cycle of hell.
    Jacob created countless quantum fluctuations through cognitive reattributions that reposition his mental energies from his limbic regions to his frontal lobe. He had meditated immensely about the afterlife and transmitting his mental state to interfere with a possession. He altered the cosmic and mental mechanics that transpired within the deviant karmic cycle and his mind. To transmit a mental wave that corresponded with the possession. It was like a quantum mirror that deceived the demon into entering Jacob’s mind.  At the same time, opening a portal to the circle that the demon was currently inhabiting.   


Hope can save us if we are open to it.
Hope can drown us if we make it into our desires.
Every cloud has a silver lining.
But it takes a trained eye to see it.

     Jacob and Richard were talking about work when Richard admitted that all he wanted was Nick’s job, so he could make people suffer as he did.  That was when his eyes became fully black, indicating that Legion took full possession. His face started distorting like a melting candle until there was no sign of Richard.  
    Jacob did not turn away in fear.  His mind was clear as he observed, sending out quantum interference as an observer.  Richard became a statue and Jacob reflected a similar state as he as he did. This confused Legion and created a path for them to meet.  That was when Legion stepped out of Richard’s body like walking through a door and everything went black around them. Jacob could feel the menacing force that was part of this circle of hell, and in that very moment, he took everything in and the reality solidified. 
   Legion came into Jacob’s view with its torso at eye level.  Jacob saw hands and faces pushing out behind its skin. As Jacob gazed deeper at Legion, the hands became claws and the faces were like vicious human piranhas that were snapping for food.  Its face was like broken glass that reflected different distorted faces as it breathed. The eyes changed places and colors and when its mouth opened the fangs would be like a tiger, then a snake, next a boar and finally human.
  Legion stepped forward and stated, “Who do you think you are?  We are Legion. Hell’s multitude. Its violence, carnage and madness.  Its decay, pain and filth. How can a nothing come here into a circle of hell and have us form?”
  Jacob just stood there without fear trying to make sense of everything around him.  He was not prepared for this. He did not know if they were even falling or standing.  He did not know if he saw this in his mind or that this was outside of him.
   He no longer saw Richard.  He just saw Legion and that was when he tried to look at himself.  He still saw his hands, legs and chest. He was wearing a glowing iridescent garment of valor that flowed and gain substance at will.  At first it was cloth, then it took on the form of chainmail. It responded to Jacob’s needs. If he needed protection, it would be chainmail.  If he needed movement, it would be cloth.
   Jacob looked up and Legion was in front of him. That was when it grabbed his neck. “We are speaking to you,” Jacob saw behind it and saw darkness, fire and ice everywhere. There were no signs of life nor souls in torment. It was a barren place that gave a sense chaos and its purpose.
  Legion brought Jacob to its face. “Look at me, you insolent piece of dung.”  Then it threw Jacob through the air. Jacob flew a few yards then stopped by trying to hold the ground with his feet. He felt nothing underneath him. “We asked you, WHY ARE YOU HERE?” Jacob felt a force of wind that threw him back further.  
    “I am Jacob, I have come here to defeat all you.”  “Defeat us? We cannot be defeated. We are eternal.  We belong to hell. You will feel our army’s wrath and coward before your oblivion,” Legion replied while laughing. 
   “I know Jesus casted you out of a man from Earth long ago. You are not all powerful.” Jacob yelled to Legion.  “That was only a moment ago for us. We feared the world of man then and Jesus was righteous and with great virtue. You are nothing like him.” Legion said with anger and started to charge.
   “I know you went mad within the man’s mind and now you pollute the world by dividing yourself.”  
   “What you know is nothing. You are not us and we are the very divide between heaven and man.  We are the beginning of hell.” Legion stated with false confidence. 
   Legion divided into three different groups of entities: the hounds of hell, the beasts of burdens, and serpents of suffering. 
   “You have no right to be here and no right to say such things to us. You should be begging us not to devour you.”  Legion wailed as the entities got closer. Jacob closed his eyes and thought of how he was going to protect himself.  At that very moment, a shield of virtue appeared in his hand. He looked at it for a moment then swung it forward to block the entities.  It was like a mountain forming in front of them. They all stopped in their tracks and Legion took form again. 
   “What is this?” Legion stated.  
    Jacob stood firm and interjected, “I know you cannot harm virtuous people; those that seek truth are protected from you. Now, tell me where Beelzebub is.”
   Legion begun to chuckle, “You think your virtue can keep you safe from us.” 
   Legion walked back and stared at Jacob.  Legion then entered Jacob’s mind and picked out his wrongs.  “You have stolen, lied, cheated, hurt and vandalized. You are not virtuous. You are foul and indecent.  You are confined to the vices of hell.” The shield began to crack and the entities charged again. The hounds hit his shield while the beast gnawed on his chainmail garments.  
  Jacob screamed, “You wish to be whole on Earth and experience complete power over humanity like Beelzebub gets, too!  You wish to be lord of the flies!” The entities fell back and Legion formed.
      “How do you know these things? You are not a god, an angel or anything of importance.” 
       “I know because I did indecent things and sensed you trying to overcome me.”  
   “And this gives you the right to come here and challenged me?” Legion questioned.  
    “My right is grounded in the fact that you’ve been intruding humanity.” Jacob answered as he gripped onto the shield to stand.  
     “We exist for a far greater purpose than any of you disgusting things could ever comprehend. DO NOT COME HERE WITH YOUR HIGH AND MGIHTY SELF.” Legion screamed and ran at Jacob.  It hit the shield with such force that Jacob had to use both arms to withstand it. It stopped with a look of confusion and surprise. “How…How were you able to withstand that?”
    “Because I am here to defeat you and gain the insight needed to defeat your masters. You have been causing too much harm within our world.” Jacob boasted.
   Legion looked right at Jacob and for the first time; its face became fully human.  Then without warning the face began to bleed from its eyes, nose and mouth. Its skin started to decay and the bones showed through.  “Your world does not deserve a defense. We are the division and hate within you that drives you to hell. You are despised by all. You will feel our rage for being so naïve.” Then without warning it drove a fist to the ground and rocked Jacob off balance.  As he fell, Legion morphed into the hounds and ran towards him.  
    Jacob caught himself and turned the shield to face the hounds.  Three of them hit the shield and two of them came at his legs, another at his left side. Before they could grab him with their jaws, Jacob lifted himself high above them and landed on a dark cliff.  
   “Where is Beelzebub?” Jacob demanded in a strong voice.  Then he looked at his hands and said, “I have a sword of righteousness and a sword of vengeance but I do not swing either one.”  Right after that, two swords appeared in his hands.  
   “What did you say?” asked Legion with fear on its face.
   “Tell me where Beelzebub is,” stated Jacob.  
    Legion looked at him and shrugged.  “Tell me, how did you get those?”   
  “I know who I am and why I am here. You are a weak entity that cannot even see tomorrow.  You are blinded by all that divides you.” Jacob said as he took steps forward.
   “We are soldiers of hell.  The spies, the officers of its will.  We are against the world of creation because we are part of its destruction.  You cannot harm us,” Legion said as it moved forward.  
    Jacob jumped down from the cliff and charged Legion, “I can and I will because you will no longer constrain us from a higher purpose.  We will evolve by defeating you and all that is like you.” 
   “How can you when you have no faith?” Legion questioned. 
     Jacob looked in its eyes as they became black as the abyss that Jacob attended to send it to.  “I can believe in the things I feel and experience. There is justification in my commitment to the harmony that is needed to make everything so. Faith is not needed to defeat you.” 
    Legion bellowed, “Jesus did not send us to the abyss, why do you get to do such a thing?” Jacob stopped and caught a breath. Then he blurted, “I don’t know why Jesus did the things he did; you would have to ask him.  I am able to do this and that is all I know.” Legion morphed into its three entities. Jacob knew he had to maintain his convictions to strengthen his weapons so he could defeat them.  
   The hell hounds ran towards Jacob as he manifested the shield in his left arm and kept the sword in his right hand.  First, he blocked the onslaught of the hounds with his shield. Then he swung his sword through the hounds like butter.  Within the screams of the hounds, he heard a distant whisper that stated. “Has a new era begun?”
   Next, the beasts of burdens came clawing furiously at his shield making dents like steel hitting aluminum.  Simultaneously, each hit gave Jacob flashbacks of his wrongs. First, he saw the times he stole, then lied and finally hurt others for the sheer joy of being rebellious.  As this happened, he saw cracks and pieces of his shield break off. 
    That was when he decided to steadfast and to find the forgiveness within himself to overcome his past wrongs.  He did not doubt that was truth and virtue within him and that forgiveness and compassion had a part in the process of progress.  He could not allow reasons within the pain and suffering he had to make excuses for his transgressions. He was committed to his volitions and the transcendence that was in relinquishing any power the ego had over him.  
   The shield started strengthening and mending itself while the sword glowed with an intense light.  Jacob took the sword and swiped it with a forward lunge. Pieces of the beasts flew around Jacob as the pack cowardly moved back.  
     Suddenly, Jacob looked at his feet and saw the serpents of suffering crawling up his legs.  As the serpent climbed up, he saw the pain and suffering that he had as a child. Flashes of his mother and father screaming and fighting with one another, the sense of failure and inability to achieve and finally a sense of worthlessness within life itself. He even saw the times he suffered from medical issues. In these flashes, Jacob felt a deep sorrow about his life and the serpents began to smother him.
  Then something within Jacob would not give in. He knew he had already accepted these things and that they were just a part of his life but they did not define it.  There was no blame, no resentment, no sorrow or spite. He did not want to escape these things. They were just experiences and for every pain 4or sense of suffering; there were experiences in joy and love.  He had to stop living in the past and learn to deal with the here and now. Once, this realization came through Jacob’s being the other sword appeared in his left hand. He looked around himself and noticed that his left hand was the only one free because the shield had left a gap between him and the serpents.  So, he took his left sword and jammed it towards his chest where the serpents were covering. He started lifting up, cutting through them up to his neck. Once, he sliced through the snakes that were binding him. He leaped over them to make space between them. After they shifted their movement towards Jacob, he started cutting through them with both swords like weak string.   
     As the pieces of flesh flew into the air, the rest of the slaughtered apparitions gathered together.  It formed a congealed glob of flesh and bones that were merging together to form Legion. Jacob ran towards it. He went to strike the final blow, but Legion formed too quickly and swung its arm to send Jacob back.  “You are strong; we will think about your proposal. It stated ominously. 
   “What are you talking about?” Jacob yelled in anger.  
  “You are in no position to defeat the upper demons.  We would be battling you for all eternity if we do not give in now.” 
“What do you mean? I can send you into the abyss if I wanted too.”  Jacob boasted with pride.
  “You could do no such thing. You lack the ability to wield such weapons yet you have been chosen for something,” it expounded with dissatisfaction.
   “What do you mean?  I defeated you, I can surely defeat others.” 
    “You did no such thing.  You merely held off my advances.  You did not even take on my true form,” It called out with insincerity.
    “Then let us continue.” Jacob stated in assurance.
    “As I told you, we would be locked in battle forever and we do not wish to continue a feeble venture.  However, we do see potential in you and will not attack you here or your world for now. We want to see the things you can do,” Legion laughed to itself. “Now go attend to your friend.  He will need your assistance if you do not want him consumed by us.” 
    A door opened where Richard stood motionless.  It was like Jacob was given a choice to fight or tend to Richard.  He chose Richard. He exited and said to Richard, “What are you going to do?”  
   “I will take his position and treat people the way he has been treating them.”  Richard relied.
   “Why will you do that?” Jacob questioned.
   “Because I want to feel the way he does: powerful, demanding and arrogant.” He answered.
    “Why do you want to feel that way if you hate those things so much?”   
    “I do not know.  I think it is because I want to know what it feels like to do it to other people.” He answered.
   “That sounds piety and non-progressive.  Like you are just trying to continue a circle of manipulation.”  Jacob probed.
  “You are right, I want to continue the circle because it looks fun and fulfilling.”  

   “Really, fun and fulfilling, how so?” 
   “I don’t know and I don’t care I just want the power first,” Richard replied in a childish manner.
   “And that makes it right or good?”  
   “No, it’s just I’m tired of feeling this way,” Richard answered despondently.
   “We all are. So why continue it?”  Jacob pressed the question.
   “I don’t want to continue it.  I just want to feel it. To feel the power so then I can get rid of it.” Richard replied in a misleading way.
    “How can you get rid of something you want?  It sounds like a lie to me.” Jacob answered apprehensively.
    “It is a lie and so what about it.  I want the power because I hate my life.”  Richard blurted spitefully.
   “To take something when there is hate in your life is to spoil the consequences of your actions.  Meaning if you take Nick’s job because your life is miserable and you want to continue making other people’s lives miserable. Your life will still be miserable.  You must first learn to be happy with yourself then to take power to continue that happiness for everyone.” Jacob answered Richard.
   “What about Nick being happy making other people’s lives miserable.” Richard intervened.  Here Jacob saw Legion reveal itself through Richard. He understood that its purpose was to have happiness through others’ misery.
   “If he is happy this way then there will have to be consequences to his actions because happiness through other people’s misery is a horrible way to conduct anything.” Jacob answered.

   “What consequences?  I don’t see anything bad happening to Nick.” Richard forcefully interjected.  
    “Those consequences can already be seen here.  No one is living up to their potential and their job is suffering for it.  The business is failing because the people here feel unvalued. The people that own this place cannot allow him to continue business his way, unless they want him to run it into the ground.  Either way things won’t last under his current approach,” Jacob answered.
  “You may be right, let time be the judge and not me. Otherwise, I will get caught in the same trap he is in.  Thanks Jacob.” Richard replied.
“You’re welcome.” Jacob replied as they separated and walked towards their offices.
The End…
For now.


​