Chapter 24: Preparing to confront the past
Both Batman, Red Tornado, Black Canary, and the team tried to hold the daggers, but they disappeared from their hands and appeared on Ethan's infirmary bed. It was somewhat disconcerting, so much so that he brought Giovani, who recognized that they were the Daggers and that a powerful force bound them to Ethan.
Ethan stood on a beach with dark sand, a distorted sky, and an old door.
"I haven't been in this place for a long time; the reverie where Morpheus created his dreams and nightmares," I said, walking to the large old door. I touched it to open, but it did not allow me to pass, which made me frown.
"In my name, Ethan Demiurgos, I order you to open and reveal the kingdom of Morpheus the Dream," I said, the door trembling and then opening to reveal a ruined castle and a gray wasteland without a hint of life.
I began walking toward the castle, and a crow stood on the railing of the bridge.
"Who are you?" the raven said.
"You're a visitor," I said quietly, watching a woman run across the bridge.
"Matthew the Raven," said the bird.
"Ethan?" said the woman.
"It's good to see you, Lucien, after seven long years," I said, smiling.
"I thought you were dead. The last time I saw you, you didn't have much time left," she said, surprised.
"No, I met Death, but I fully awakened my angelic side," I said, showing my ten large golden wings and all my armor.
Lucien was surprised by the power that emanated. "The Armor of God, but how?" he said.
"Because I am Ethan Asher Demiurges, Son of Lucifer Morningstar, and grandson of God," I said calmly.
"The son of Samael Demiurgos?" Lucien said, surprised.
"Let's fix this place for the arrival of the Dream King," I said, waving my hand and partially restoring the castle. My power brought a little life back to the dream.
"My master, did you find it in the mortal world? Is it all right?" Lucien said, hopefully.
"No, Death told me that Fate had a request to help him retrieve his helmet. He's in the underworld with a demon called Choronzon. You can't tell him," I said seriously. If Morpheus went as he was, he would die without even blinking.
"When your master returns, tell him I'm in Mount Justice, Rhode Island. But he can't reveal my father to my friends, and he has to get his sand, as it's his main weapon," I said, fading away. I opened my eyes and saw the infirmary of the cave. Time passed differently in the reverie; a few minutes could be hours.
My whole body ached, and I felt like I was burning alive. "Ethan, you've woken up. Avoid moving even though you're seriously injured," Red Tornado said, monitoring me.
"The team, did they manage to stop the fog like this?" I said, settling into bed. I didn't miss the feeling of pain when I returned from the reverie.
"Yes, Robin and Superboy managed to stop the League and their weapon," Tornado said, showing the screen.
"Well, I'm going to have a lot of work ahead of me," I said, lying back down.
"You won't rest for a few days until you recover. I want to hear what happened," Batman said as he entered the room.
"A demon called Calibraxis, a mere pawn in hell, possessed well-known assassins from the human world like Jack the Ripper or Caligula. The problem is that he was on Earth in physical form, which shouldn't be theoretically possible," I said slowly.
"But it was very real. According to Zatara, a very ancient summoning ritual was needed. He checked the area and found traces of demonic contamination," Batman said.
"Not only that, my uncle Azazel's bastard gave him 100 thousand human souls, elevating him to the level of an infernal prince. He was going to unleash a massacre on Earth. The worst part is, my father probably gave him the infernal daggers," I said, looking at the four blades next to the bed.
"How can you be sure it was him?" Batman said.
"He's the only one who has access to them since they can kill any demon, angel, or human being," I said, examining the daggers.
"Is there any way to destroy them?" Batman said, intrigued.
"By throwing them into the Demon forges," I said, looking at them.
"Then hide them. They're too dangerous. Good job, Ethan," Batman said, leaving.
In hell, hours before, Lucifer was bored on his throne when he suddenly felt a very familiar strength.
"Oh, whoever opened that little show-off used his power that way and in the human world," he said, intrigued when he felt the Demiurgic power. Something felt different, similar but different.
A woman with half her face eaten away arrived. "My lord, a demon was erased from existence," she said.
Lucifer looked at her. "That explains why he used the power. Maze, what the hell possessed the idiot to go against Michael?"
"Calibraxis. There are also four infernal daggers missing from the stolen forges," Maze said, startled, as Lucifer tapped the seat of his throne with his fingers.
"Investigate who stole them, but I have an idea. Azazel must have been involved and gave them to Calibraxis to kill Michael," he said angrily. Not because of the attempted murder of Michael; he didn't care much about that. It was the insubordination that bothered him. A few seconds later, he felt the power of another old acquaintance: Dream of the Endless. He smiled. It was going to be a fun week.
The next morning, he received a visit from the entire team. They were happy he had survived. Only Artemis remained, seemingly worried about something.
"I won't say anything if that's what's worrying you. We all have secrets, and you heard mine. Not all families are perfect, and I'm telling you from my own experience," I said, looking at her calmly. She seemed surprised.
"Ethan, thank you. I'm sorry about what happened. I know I shouldn't have let her escape, but I'm scared. You don't understand. It's not just her. My father is Sportsmaster, and my mother was a criminal known as Huntress," Artemis said, tears in her eyes.
"Artemis, my father is the Devil himself. Do you think I'll judge you for that? I'm not stupid. Besides, you're not them. You fight every day to be different from them. Remember that, Artemis," I said, comforting her as she cried.
"Thanks, Ethan," she said, walking away.
Several days later, I was finally able to get out of bed and walk normally. Conner and Kaldur were training on the platform. Conner managed to take Kaldur down with a move reminiscent of Black Canary's.
"Wow, I've missed a lot of things outside these days," I said, watching them train, especially Conner using new techniques.
"Ethan, you're finally up," Megan said, floating.
"Hey, old man, how do you feel?" Wally said.
"I think I'll have to look for a new liver, but well, the effects of the poisoning have passed," I said, laughing, as the alarm sounded.
"Acknowledged, Zatara," a voice said, and Giovanni Zatara appeared.
"Acknowledged, guest Zatanna," a young girl followed Zatara, freezing when she saw me. Her father patted her shoulder to reassure her.
Red Tornado came down from his room and greeted Giovanni. After their conversation, Giovanni left, leaving the girl named Zatanna.
Red Tornado accompanied her to where we were. "Team, this is Zatanna Zatara. She'll be with us today because her father and the League have a mission," Red Tornado said.
"Great! Hey, Tornado, do you have a mission for us?" Robin said excitedly.
"No, Batman is in charge of them, and he's on a mission. Although he might have something," Red Tornado said, displaying an image of Nelson and Dr. Fate on the screen.
"That's Nelson Kent, the current Doctor Fate," I said, looking at the image.
"More like Doctor Impostor. He only knows some science-based tricks to scare the bad guys," Wally said, looking at me.
"Wally, I'd avoid saying that in front of Nelson. The helmet belongs to a Lord of Order named Nabu. He's quite powerful, and Nelson is a true Homo Magi," I said.
"Wally, you don't believe in magic?" Megan asked, a little disappointed.
"Almost, and he doesn't believe in me, even after what happened a few days ago," I said, laughing.
"Come on, man, I'm sure that was just a failed experiment or something like that," he said, attempting to defend his skepticism.
"If it's an old friend, he's been missing for a week without contact. It's not unusual since he often gets lost for days without contacting the League. But his usual time of silence is over. I want you to look for him and see how he is," Red Tornado said.
"Okay, Zatanna, will you join us?" I asked the girl.
"Of course. It won't be fun if I don't. I'll have to ask my dad," she said happily, running off to ask him, although I suspected I was tricking her more than anything.
"Well, let's get ready and go. If I remember correctly, the Tower of Destiny is in Salem, Massachusetts. Do you have your Zatanna costume?" I asked her.
"No, but I can fix that. Cast otry tuo una kool wen," she said, and her clothes transformed into a wizard outfit.
"Great, it was clothing transmutation through words," Kid Flash said, interested.
"That was word magic. I haven't seen that in a long time," I said, impressed.
"You can imagine my surprise when I saw you. You're charged with pure energy," she said.
"Your father didn't tell you about me. Well, I'm an angel. That's why so much energy surrounds me," I said. When I said it, she was surprised.
"Aren't angels confined to heaven? You know, the whole St. Peter thing," she said.
"Confined? No. Angry with humans? Yes. But I'm half human, and Grandpa wanted me to live on Earth," I explained.
"So which angel is your father?" she asked, surprised.
"That's something private, miss," I said, going to put on my clothes with the other boys.
"Are you sure you're ready for the mission?" Conner asked.
"Yes, I'm fine. It hurts a bit, but I'm perfect," I said, putting on my shirt. When we were ready, we left and headed to the main room.
"Megan, link Zatanna for mind communication," I said, making sure she wasn't left out.
"Got it, Ethan," Megan said happily as she linked us up. Red Tornado arrived with a key bearing an inscription on it.
Both Zatanna and I sensed it – an entity was behind us, slipping through like sand.
"Morpheus of the Endless, come out. I know you're watching us," I said with a deep voice.
A man began to form from sand that appeared out of nowhere. He was pale with tousled black hair and wore a black leather jacket. On his shoulder, a raven perched.
"We'll meet again, Little Raven," I said, looking at the bird.
"My lord," said the raven, surprising the team, who got into positions ready to attack.
"Don't do it. He's one of the Endless, and he's not an enemy. I see, Morpheus, that you've escaped from wherever you were for a century," I said, looking at the man.
"Yes, Demiurge, I've come to collect the debt you owe me, to take you to the Underworld," Morpheus said calmly.
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