Ethan Keaton Pitney died without knowing what killed him.  But I, Raphael, knew.  I saw.  And I could do nothing about it.  I remembered the prophecies of the past as I saw the future crumble.  Those I loved made their sacrifice while I watched.

            When Ethan struck Donovan Reza with the sword, I saw the Beast in a frenzy of pain on the mystical plane, consumed in a lake of fire.  But on Earth, I saw Reza use his last moment of life to throw his ceremonial dagger, its razor edge flying through the air like a missile.  It sliced through Jason’s throat on the way by, spilling his blood to the roof as he stood to help Mara, finding some measure of courage at last.  As Jason died, I saw an evil spirit escape from his mouth, its possession over now that its host was dead. 

            His life’s blood sprayed in a torrent from his jugular, and spilled into the fiery pentangle.  But the blade soared past with the strength of Reza’s throw, and found its true target.  The knife buried itself to the hilt in Mara’s back as she tossed Simon Lamb over the edge of the tower, his body afire from the blazing circle. A spirit escaped from his body as the flames consumed it.  Mara tumbled after him, the dagger having pierced her heart.

            As Jason’s blood poured down, the circle of fire spread into the starred design in its centre, and then the pieces fell inwards, collapsing to the floor below.  Fire erupted upwards from within the tower, sending a plume of smoke and ash into the sky.  Simon Lamb and Mara were consumed in the flames as they fell through the air.  The ground began to shake, torn open by the fires of Hell, and the Citadel itself began to crack in the resulting quake.  Reza screamed, a third demon fleeing from his dying body.

            Ethan’s holy sword shone like a beacon and a pure beam of white light from Heaven sought it out, striking from above even as fire burst from below.  The tower buckled under the strain of these two colliding forces, and erupted in a blaze of brightness, killing everyone in a tremendous explosion.  Heaven and Hell opened to begin the last battle.

            And I wept, knowing that my daughter was dead.

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