Chapter 15: CHAPTER 15: THE EMPEROR'S REACTION
THE EMPEROR'S REACTION
Do you feel what I feel?
Coming to a home feeling all alone
The pain inside of me
Eating me away
Chaining me to my past each day
Do you know that I cry?
Winding corridors behind those closed doors
Burdens carried tonight,
Weighing me down, telling me it's my last fight.
Healing virtue is flowing
Flowing through my brain
Healing virtue is flowing
Flowing through my brain
Flowing through my vein
Welcome to my world
Do you see what I see?
Pictures on a wall, pages on the floor
Tear stains from a silent prayer
Pieces of a soul, tales of a close call
What am I to find,
Blasphemies of mind, leading of the blind?
But I know I try
Save me from this lie,
Jesus, to you I cry
Healing virtue is flowing
Flowing through my brain
Healing virtue is flowing
Flowing through my brain
Flowing through my vein
Welcome to my world
I don't know what to say
I don't know where to start
Leave all my past behind
Lord, take my heart and mind
I must be strong
I must go on
Leave all my pain behind
Lord, take my heart and mind
Fireflood, "My World"
Far above the clouds, the incense of prayers filled the room. A million angels sang their song, and all of Blue primus was full of light. Children ran everywhere with laughter and games. The atmosphere was jubilant until suddenly, the sky was overcast.
In the throne room, there was silence. The seat was not facing the room. The Emperor sat in his long, blue robe with his back to the multitude of angels who had lined up. Tears flowed from his cheeks, and the big drops splashed onto the white, pearly floor.
The angels stood with faces downcast because they could feel the pain. Michael stood with tears welling up in his eyes.Gabriel stood still blinking his tears as he watched the heartbreak of the Emperor .
Fireball being in Blue primus and had become strong again he was in the throne room, but a couple of Guardian Angels held Fireball as he wept silently with his mouth muffled by his hands. His body had mostly healed, but he was broken emotionally because of Jay and because of the Pain of the Emperor.
The Elders, who always sat surrounding the Emperor's throne, bowed on the floor, weeping.
The Emperor wept in brokenness. As he stood up, the ends of his robe flew and upset a table decorated with marbles in the form of planets. They fell and bounced onto the white, pearly floor, scattering everywhere, and stirring up gold dust. Some marbles almost touched the feet of the angels. He pulled down the curtain drapes. He grabbed the ivory armrests of his throne. His voice shook as he spoke. "My daughter, why did you listen to the deceiver? Why, oh, why? Why have you caused me so much pain from losing you?"
The angels broke down seeing the Emperor. In him, they could see the Prince and the Wise One.
"My children," the Emperor said, "I love you all, but please let us alone. Everyone, please."
All the angels left the throne room, one by one. Even the Elders and the Living Creatures, who constantly attended his throne, left until no one remained but the Trinity. Fireball stood outside the throne room, watching through the window.
Outside the musician angels took position as they began to play in the orchestra according to the Emperors emotion it was a thoughtful tribute as many angels outside turned to listen.The long haired Angel in blue robes played the lead the tunes he played contributing so powerfully to the emotion in the throne room.The Angel in orange robes with brown dreadlocks supported him with his bass guitar just as he played the diamonds on the floor began to vibrate.
The green robed angel on the drums hit the high hats and cymbals playing the Toms gently filling up the background.The Trumpeter in Golden robes held his notes his tension was felt as he held it.The angel in firey bright yellow robes played ambient tunes .The lead singer angel in Purple and Blue sang as the morning starts joined tears streaming from their eyes.
Inside the throne room the Emperor fell on his knees weeping. He clutched his chest as his heart was pained. The angels watched through the stained glass windows, weeping till they were pulled away in concern by the other angels, who were weeping too.
The Emperor took a framed photo of Jay and Lana, saying, "Why, Lana, my daughter, Why? Why did you betray your soul to the enemy? I had a plan for both of you. I've cared for you and brought you together for a great calling and a great life, but you threw it all away for money, power, and human security. Why, my child? Why did you do this? Why didn't you wait for me to move? Why didn't you ask me before you made your move?" As the Emperor wept, He raised his voice until the decibels made Blue primus feel the vibrations.
When the children heard the Emperor, they stopped playing. The angels tried to distract them as they held back their own tears, but they all felt the pain of the Emperor—the pain when a soul is lost or gone away. The same pain when Adam fell and the countless after him.
The Emperor continued, "I sent you to meet Jay to give you a purpose. I sent you so that you would become one with him and love him." The Emperor looked at the photo of Lana and Jay. "Jay, my son, your heart is broken. Your heartstrings are torn. I know the pain you are going through, my dear son. This is not what I willed for you."
He walked barefoot, but suddenly he transformed into the Prince. His feet were nail-pierced, and he wore a crown of thorns, bleeding. He looked out of the window at the lush, green plains of Blue primus that were teeming with life. He still had wounds on his wrists, and the red blood flowed from them. Suddenly, there was another metamorphosis, and now his Spirit, the Wise One, was standing and weeping as he looked out the window. Then he manifested again in the form of the Emperor. His tears streamed from his eyes and fell like pearls, creating a pool on the floor. For a long time, his lips shook. Not a word came out of the Emperor's lips. Not a word.
He would not interfere with the will of a man or a woman. He never would; he respected choice. Lana chose to leave Jay. The Emperor did not stop her. He allowed it because it was her choice, but it was a wrong choice, a choice against his perfect will. She could have chosen to follow the Emperor's will, but she didn't. Lana marrying her new lover ended it all.
The Wise One and the Prince appeared, comforting him. They huddled and wept together as they embraced each other.
Then the Emperor removed the photo of Lana and Jay from the frame and walked over to a massive trunk in a corner of the throne room. He opened up the trunk and placed the photo on top of a pile of millions of photos of the People like them he had wept over, including those who had fallen away from him, the heartbroken, and others who had taken their own lives.
He called for the Prince. "My Son, let's visit Jay. Even as I embrace you, you will embrace him, and so will my Spirit. He needs my love, my tender care, and my compassion. I want him to know that he's my precious, precious son, whom I will never forsake. I will be with him in his loneliness because I am his father.
Through the window, Fireball saw the Wise One say something softly to the Emperor, pointing to a crystal snowy globe but Fireball couldn't make out what was in there. Then he saw that the Emperor managed to smile through his tears as he shut the heavy lid of the trunk and looked into the crystal Globe he shifted his gaze to the teary eyed Prince who saw something in the Emperor's eyes and sighed and smiled.
CHANGE IS THE LEVELLER
Fireball quietly slipped through the angelic crowd without anyone noticing and went by himself to the Firmament. The Firmament was a realm somewhere between the sky realm and the Blue primus realm. It was a place where angels would often meet. There was something that looked like a crystal blue ocean that stretched as far as the eye could see, but it had a sandy edge that dropped off sharply like a waterfall, where angels would dive off to go down to the earth realm. The Firmament was a beautiful, serene, and quiet place, except for the very edges, where a loud, rumbling sound could be heard.
Fireball walked along the shore of the crystal blue ocean,Tears falling he was mumbling to himself. "I could have done much more. I should have fought better and protected him even more. I have let down the Trinity. I have let down Jay. I have let down my brothers." He lay down and sprawled on the sandy shore.
Suddenly, a bright but gentle light fell on Fireball's face. He opened his eyes, wiping away his tears. "Michael?"
Michael smiled as he spoke to Fireball. "What are you doing here?
" I just couldn't protect Jay" said fireball with a low voice.
You fought well. It's hard, I know, but you are his Guardian Angel. This is the price we have to pay. I have been sent by our father to strengthen you." Said Michael
Fireball's eyes widened at the Emperor's concern for him. Tears rolled down his cheeks.
Michael looked deep into Fireball's eyes, and Fireball's tears instantly dried up, and his irises reflected the color of the crystal blue ocean.
"Be strong, Raid. we will overcome."
Michael helped Fireball stand up. As Michael embraced him, Fireball felt strength flooding back into his heart.
Then Michael and Fireball walked together to the edge of the Firmament. They paused as Fireball meditated on all that Jay was going through and the pain of it all. But Fireball knew his call of duty. He turned around and looked at Michael.
Michael smiled at Fireball and shouted over the loud rumbling of the Firmament's edge. "Are you ready to go back?"
Fireball nodded. He looked up to Blue primus and shouted, "I am .For the trinity for my brothers and for Jay!" as he flung his arms wide open. In the next moment, with his arms still outstretched, he leaped off the Firmament's edge in a backwards swan dive down toward the earth. Michael's roars of laughter mixed with the roar of the Firmament. Just as Fireball was entering the earth's atmosphere, he felt a pair of hands grab his feet and then thrust him upwards into a somersault. He landed on his back in the arms of Angel Gabriel.
"Gabe! What are you doing here?" Fireball asked.
Gabriel smiled at him. "I have a message for you, little brother. The Trinity is very pleased that you didn't give up on Jay. Also, you need to go back to Blue primus before you return to continue your mission. The Trinity has summoned you for a conference in the throne room."
Fireball grinned. "Okay. Hey, let's race to Blue primus!"
Barely had the challenge left his mouth when the speedy Messenger Angel laughed and disappeared in the twinkling of an eye.
Back in the throne room, Fireball stood once again with millions of angels. The Emperor was sitting on the throne. The Prince sat on his right, and the Wise One was within him. The angels bowed before the Emperor, singing "Holy! Holy! Holy! Lord God Almighty!"
In the hearing of all in the throne room, the Emperor said to the Prince in a loud voice, "Visit my son Jay. Comfort him, protect him, and free him from all his pain."
The Prince felt the same beautiful desire of the Emperor's heart. "Yes, my father."
"We will be with you as you visit Jay," the Emperor said.
The Wise One nodded.
The Emperor said, "Today when he goes to Lorenzo's house, he will go to sleep on the chocolate brown couch. Angels, stand guard around him and make sure no one disturbs him."
Fireball and a company of angels nodded.
Then the Prince spoke. "It's all going to change as my father the Emperor has decided. Everything that happened in the past is to learn from, to purge and to make a man or woman have the highest worth. Jay, like many of my sons and daughters in this world I have created, has experienced the beauty of love, the sting of rejection, the pain of betrayal, and the waiting, which caused him to wither, but now will cause him to bloom. The beauty of all this is that seasons change, times change, topography changes, Blue primus and earth may change, but my word does not change. The word for this time and this hour is the beginning of a new era in Jay's life.
"The road he walked was a narrow road. It was a difficult road, a road less traveled. He could have given up, but he decided to stick on and fight, though his strength was small. He may not have had the strength to defeat the enemy, but he did have the faith to overcome."
Fireball covered his face as he wept.
The Prince continued, "I know how he hoped beyond hope, when darkness was all that there was. It reminded me of the time when I felt the pain of separation from my father for the sin of humankind. I let Jay go through that because without pain, there is no gain. A seed has to fall to the ground and die for it to live again.
"You all know we did not will this for his life, but now that it has happened, there is a change that is about to take place. His pain is going to turn into joy. No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what my father has prepared for all who trust him. Jay still trusts, he still hopes, he still loves, he still waits. I've seen his loneliness, but I am still working on him. We have not forgotten his desires and his taste. Jay is going to sing a new song, and new music is going to come out of him. It's coming. There is much more inside him that is treasure that has to come out.
"Sometimes you have to lose it all to gain new things, and Jay is going to gain something new in regard to his calling. Jay will meet a man who loves me, and he will be beside Jay to start a new project. I've seen his heart—he loves me and will stand with Jay. Their music will be a fire and a flood in this world, music that will sweep the lost into the kingdom of my father. I will confirm all things.
"Angels, go and make way for Jay to meet his new bandmates. Be with him, my messengers. Send the new music to him. Here are the scrolls."
Bowing low, the angels received the scrolls of music from the Prince's hands.
The Prince said, "Make way for him to write new music, new songs, and new albums. And soon, we must make way for him to meet his wife, but only in the perfect timing."
The Emperor looked at Raid.
Beloved Raid you are a mighty warrior .We are pleased with you .We want you to know son that we are with you to the ends of the earth.You did not give up your assignment so unto you we increase strength ,Increase of Joy and increase of favour.We love you "
The trinity Embraced Raid and each took turn to kiss his forehead.
The Angels applauded for Raid . as he wept because of the love he received.
Raid bowed down as an angel poured oil of joy over his head dripping down his collar.
He rose up refreshed with a fresh mandate.
Afterwards Raid and the company of angels was dispatched to the earth realm.
Sky patrol was on the way back to Blue primus
THE PRINCE VISITS JAY
Down in the earth realm, Cupid, General Deception, General Fear, and Eavesdropper moved around with Jay everywhere they could. Jay was going to Lorenzo's home, and the demons were following him in the air. A battle ensued, and the angels beat them off the skies ripping their batlike wings and hurled them down stopping them from following Jay. Then Fireball and a few angels stood guard at the house, creating a strong force field around it.
As Jay was riding his bike, the winds blew hard, and he kept seeing small tree branches falling around him, but he escaped without a scratch. He thought it was weird, but didn't think much of it.
He finally arrived at Lorenzo's home. He was tired and needed to take a few minutes' rest. He was unaware of the angels in the house, but he felt an unusual peace. He felt the Trinity's presence.
He lay his head on the chocolate brown couch. His eyelids became heavy as he gazed lazily across the room at the brown, wooden shelves with porcelain showpieces and books lined up. His vision began to blur as he became drowsy and his eyes shut tight slowly.
The next moment, he was still aware that he was in the room, but as he got off the couch, he realized he was dreaming. He walked toward the shelves and kept walking until he passed right through them and found himself in another place. He saw some of his friends randomly, including Dan and even Cristabelle. He wondered what they were all doing there. Suddenly, he was going down the steps of a spiral stairwell.
He reached the inside of a church with stained glass windows and empty pews. There was no one in the pews, and not a person behind the pulpit. He sat down .
All of a sudden, he heard his name being called from behind. The voice was so gentle but that of a man. Jay turned around and saw the Prince standing between the stained glass windows on the left and the pews on the right. The voice was a mix of tender compassion and love. It was personal,it was magnetic. When Jay saw the person of the Prince and heard his voice, he broke down.
"Lord, I've been walking a rough path." He bent over and sobbed like a baby.
The Prince never interrupted as he listened to Jay pour out his heart.
When Jay was done speaking, he was still sobbing.He felt the hot tears streaming down.
The Prince said just one thing, "I will restore everything."
Jay felt like the Prince's voice was a cloud of pure love, compassion, strength, and understanding. There was so much faith and trust in the Emperor coming through his voice that Jay suddenly began to feel light and started rising from the floor. Then he realized that the arms of the Prince were lifting him right off the floor. Jay did not feel ashamed, fearful, or surprised. He just felt like a baby cradled in the arms of his daddy. He felt peace that surpasses all understanding. He felt an embrace that was so full that it just drew out his pain, depression, heartbreak, and fear. The words of the Prince traveled through the air and went through his clothes, into his body, through his skin and into his organs,his heart, marrow, and blood. Jay felt he was cleansed from within, and he knew he was healed. He felt new.
Then Jay was back in the room. He saw Lucas staring at him and saying, "Hey, Lorenzo, I think he encountered the Prince." Then Jay stood in front of the couch. Much to his surprise, he saw his own sleeping body still lying there—he was still in the dream. He could see tears flowing from his eyes.
Suddenly, Jay woke up from the dream crying. His arms and legs were numb. He got up slowly he couldn't believe that was a normal dream.He walked into the next room, where Lorenzo was playing solitaire on his computer. Jay felt the presence of that dream the whole week. Weeks later he would Call Smich Aziza and tell her she believed him and told him something great and better was waiting for him.
JAY'S CONVERSATIONS WITH THE EMPEROR
The Emperor spoke to Jay over the following weeks. He revealed everything that had happened because nothing was hidden from his eyes.
One night, as Jay slept in his room, the Emperor took him to Blue primus, back to the brown, wooden table in the garden.
The Emperor sat and spoke to him. "I know you have a lot of questions, my son. It was my Spirit that prompted many of those people to randomly come and speak to you about the relationship. I saw your desires, and I crafted a plan so that Lana would come to Dubai to know the purpose of her life through you.
"Her brother Fred was the man who introduced you both, but he became just like Judas, the disciple who betrayed my son. In his heart, Fred harbored jealousy and fear of people's opinions. As time went on, he couldn't stand both of you being together. The devils corrupted him into thinking that you were going to steal the family away from him, though it was never intended in your heart. Every time you took her out, his heart burned with jealousy, as he had not treated his wife right. Then to see you take his sister out for dates while he would sit at home alone and without a female companion drove him to scheme against you.
"Lana's parents had a difficult parenthood with their two adopted boys. They began well with loving the brothers. But children are children—they sometimes are mischievous. However, they were rebuked and punished differently than Lana and Ryan, and they sensed the partiality and discrimination between the biological children and themselves. Fred felt the pain of rejection from childhood, and due to his evil ways as he grew up, he was sent to Dubai to work. He married a girl whom he abused the same way because he was demanding love and was suspicious of her for no reason, and she was vexed, till he physically assaulted her. This caused his marriage to break up. He used that pain against you both. He was jealous that you would have a good life with Lana, and he would be alone.
"As the days rolled by, I was also confirming to Lana about you, but she would at times listen to the remarks and false rumors spoken about you by Fred. I even gave her a specific dream of your life together in the future and the child you would have. But Fred managed to convince her mother into believing him. Their mother began to dislike you as time went by and began to brainwash Lana into believing that you were not the one.
"I had sent many prophets, and I even spoke through you to Lana to let go of the parties that glorified a lifestyle that does not please me. She did not please me as she partied with her friends who mocked me. She was rebellious. She wanted to do things her own way, and she would not have it any other way. Lana had a lovely heart, but her friends and her mother were poisoning her thoughts against you.
"Her dad loved you in the beginning, till he also succumbed to the poisoning. As time passed, even her biological brother Ryan supported her in moving out of the relationship with you and going into another.
"That's when I gave her the chance to come back to me and you, Jay, but she chose her path. She chose her destiny. She was as one wearing a blindfold, with her arm in her new lover's arm, but little did she know she was walking into a deep pit. I wanted to save you from it. She had crossed the boundaries with him even before they got married. She went after money because that's what her new lover had promised her. She moved away from me, she moved away from you, and finally she moved away from her home.
"That was when I blocked you from going back to her. I did not want you to go after a woman who did not take the idea of a life with you seriously. She cheated on you, and she never even repented about it. Son, when she wrote you that third, positive letter, the letter that gave you hope, it was the last chance I had given her to come back, but she didn't take it. She had flirted with sin, and soon sin caught her right where it wanted.
"It's over now. Cry one last time, my dear son, and let her go. She doesn't deserve you. She will know as her life goes on about the decision she has made when she sees where it leads. Then she will see that my plan of blessing has been removed from her family. And when they, too, experience the bitter water you drank, they will know. When you hear things about her someday, do not say a word; just forget and move on. I will heal her, too, but now, move on with your life, for I have good news for you.
"I make all things new, just like my Son promised when he said, 'I will restore everything.' In a few years from now, I will bring a maiden for you. I can see your desires, and when the time arrives, I will make sure this is a romance you will write and sing about. Jay, my beloved son, I have even kept in mind everything you had desired in a woman during the times you've said, 'I don't think I deserve her.' You will receive more than you can imagine.
"Just trust me. There will be many who say false things to you, but do not believe them. They will all see that I have been with you, that I, the Emperor have kept my word concerning you and that I have honored you. Your relationship with me births the desires in you, and I am the good father—when my child asks me for bread, I will not give a stone. When he asks me for fish, I won't give him a snake. I respect culture, I respect desire, I respect you and honor you. I trust you.
You will forget Lana and this terrible thing that has happened to you. Can you sense it? Look up to my Blue primus. Can you see what I have prepared for you? It is so beautiful! I can see how excited you are, how shy you are, how overwhelmed with love you are as you enter a new relationship with my chosen daughter who is coming for you. You will meet her. My promise is that she will not have slept with any man, and you will be her first man.
When you fall in love,Pray together, and I will make quick provisions and preparations for you to be together as a family. I myself will attend your wedding, my son. My beloved son when I bring her your heart will be filled with joy and with peace, you will see that I have kept my word. Every detail you've desired will be there. Can you see it? When I stitch you both together, it will be a masterpiece.Your Emperor has spoken"
Jay felt that the Emperor would continue to give him greater help to keep the commitment of staying pure . He knew that in a few years, he would get married.Little did he know that somewhere in the world, a young lady was taking the same vow that he took, to keep herself pure for him.
THE RELEASE
Tonight we come
Bring the rock to the town
Cross o'er the lines, step on the mines
See how you're not my kind, just say it so
Go with the flow
What in the world you gain, your soul in vain?
The price of fame
I don't feel like I'm coming back tonight
I don't feel like
Hey, turn or burn
Your mind it churns
Words I speak make you weak
Come to the fold like a straying sheep
You're safe in his keep
How far can you run?
Shots from the gun
Makes your feeble knees just cry for
I don't feel like I am coming back tonight
Trransipoint, "Coming Back"
It didn't happen in a day, but it did start somewhere. Jay began to concentrate again on what he was doing before he had met Lana—work and his band. It was time for Route No. 7 to release their album. He began to work hard on his songs again.
The album required a huge budget, which he did not have, but Blue primus had a strategy—Jay's friends and fans stood by him and supported him for the entire amount. It did not all come in immediately but at each step of the process of recording the instruments, recording the vocals, mixing, and mastering.
The development of the songs was a story in and of itself. It reflected the years of the band, and the music had matured. They remembered when they first started the band, the way the music had evolved, and how they worked on it bit by bit, conquering the clubs and universities. They remembered the persecutions of Cain and the bands who hated them, and how they overcame the other bands in the battles. They recalled how Jay single-handedly conquered the rap battles with Bite Force 13, as well as the opening for the band P.O.D. the Emperor had led them through every step.
Throughout the record-making process, Jay would ask for the Trinity's help. As Jay was writing lyrics, sometimes he received a direct download from Blue primus. When he was recording his vocals, the Wise One gave him the idea to layer his vocals in specific places in order to emphasize certain words. He also would receive inspiration on how to deliver his vocals with the right expression. The Wise One enabled Jay to quickly see many technical glitches and fix them.
Once a song's structure was established, Duke would record the guitar tracks. Then Stanley would record the bass, and Ashley would add drums. Finally, Jay would get behind the mic in the vocal recording booth, and with the lyrics on paper in front of him, ace through them.
Although Jay was in the studio at a difficult time of his life, when he was healing, every song had so much power in it. He sang fully into the twelve tracks. The entire project was sounding awesome.
They worked day and night for weeks and months. They never ate their meals on time, so they could get their recording sessions done without wasting time. Sometimes the band members would share just one sandwich for lunch because they didn't want to take the time to buy and eat a full meal. They worked day and night with red eyes and cups of coffee always nearby. It took them about four months to complete the recording.
When it came time to mix the recorded tracks, Jay gave them to a mixing engineer at another local studio. Then Jay started having dreams of the song mixes sounding bad. He wondered why he was having these dreams. To his surprise, when he heard the songs after mixing, they actually were completely spoiled. The Wise One had been showing Jay through the dreams where the glitches would be, and Jay would find them in the exact places he had seen in the dream. The band was devastated because after all the hard work they had put in, the songs sounded so bad. Jay even liked how the raw tracks sounded before the mixing work much better.
So finally, Jay asked people he knew to pray for the project.
Then a man who had prayed about it said to Jay, "I see the album getting mixed abroad."
A few days later, Jay remembered Marcos Curiel of P.O.D. After meeting at the big P.O.D. concert that Route No. 7 had opened for, they did not talk much in the years that followed. They were friends on Facebook, so Jay reached out to Marcos, and they started chatting. Marcos was a great guitarist, yet a humble man, and he actually heard Jay out. Marcos put him in touch with a personal contact, who connected him to a mixing engineer based in Nashville, USA.
The mixing engineer did his mojo on Route No. 7's songs and made them sound awesome. Once the mix was done properly, Jay and his band raced on Sheik Zayed Road and rode around town in a car, blasting the finished tracks. They were ecstatic that the album was finally done. They named the album Life.
The band still needed artwork for the album cover. Then Jay met an artist unexpectedly at a mosh fest where Route No. 7 played. The artist was so impressed by the band that he offered to do the album artwork at a largely discounted rate.
After the songs were recorded, Route No. 7 was using all their gigs as rehearsals for the album release concert. They were turning heads again with a much tighter sound. They played in open-air venues, and huge crowds drove in to see them. They were even called to play in a university. The crowd there became so crazy that they had to stop the show a few times to calm the crowd down, but it kept getting wilder by the song. The band had not lost its charisma at all.
After the recording was finished, almost a year passed without an album release concert because Duke, Stanley, and Ashley had been busy working at their day jobs. The band now wanted to release their album with a familiar crowd of fans at a famous venue. As soon as the CDs were ready and packed, Jay met with a few prospective venue owners, but they all turned him down because the band couldn't afford the rates. They were running out of options.
Demons were sent again to taunt Jay, this time through Mckenzie, an old friend of Cain. He stepped forward in the guise of a savior to the band, claiming to have huge influence over venues. He told them about a venue that could host their band, but they had to go through him. Mckenzie said he was planning a festival of bands where Route No. 7 would play as the featured headliner, so Jay accepted his offer.
But as time went, Mckenzie was trying to make Jay do all the work, from getting the press, getting the stage set up, to getting the crowds, while Mckenzie waited and did nothing. He even tried to get Jay to sell five hundred tickets without telling Jay until the end that he would take a majority of the cut, but Jay wouldn't do it.
Then came the last straw. Jay had requested a sound check of an hour for the band, which was initially agreed to. On the day of the event, Jay called Mckenzie to confirm the sound check time.
Mckenzie acted very bossy and said that Route No. 7 was only going to get about fifteen minutes. "Just plug in and play. We will see. If there is time, we will try to extend your sound check," Mckenzie said.
"Hey, wait a minute, this is not what we agreed to," Jay said.
Mckenzie didn't heed Jay. He did things the way he wanted. Then Jay knew he was playing dirty in order to accommodate more bands and fill his pockets, so Jay put his foot down. Ashley, Stanley, and Duke stood with him, and they did not go to the event.
That night, Mckenzie called Jay while drunk to yell, but Jay didn't budge. He told Mckenzie that he had broken his word. Mckenzie was high on alchohol and began to falsify the promised words, using foul language.
Then he said angrily, "You're never going to do your album release concert. I'm gonna ban you from playing in any of these places, and I wanna see what you're gonna do about this."
"You'll do nothing, Mckenzie!" Jay said. "In fact, you'll hear how Route No. 7 released their album in in one of the best venues in the city. Mark my words."
"Oh, shut up! We will see," Mckenzie said.
Finally, Jay ended the call by saying, "yep we will see!"
* * *
All the members of Route No. 7 were still busy with their own jobs and also felt they needed a break after running for over a decade with the band. During the last week of the band's rehearsals, they unanimously decided that the band would go on hiatus after their album release concert. They kept it a secret from everyone but their close friends and Scott Nelson.
Two weeks later, Jay bumped into Stephen Bakir, Belladina's husband, in a clothing store in the mall. As they talked, Stephen invited him home for tea. As Stephen and Jay were talking, Stephen proposed that Jay release the album with Belladina's event management company at the White Diamond Mall amphitheater. Jay was shocked. It was not easy to get the huge amphitheater, being the most expensive of places, but the Emperor had been working behind the scenes.
Jay met Belladina and Stephen a few more times, and then the contracts were signed for the band to play. In a month, all the necessary procedures were done. The band rehearsed and did a huge advertising campaign, which Belladina's company also helped with. Jay and his bandmates called all their friends and fans to come to the amphitheater.
Finally the day came for the album release concert. From the moment Route No. 7 began to do their sound check, the angels were present. So many people walked into the amphitheater. The people in the audience were mostly university students and friends of the band.
Friends had warned that a huge cyclone was coming from the sea and that there would be heavy storms, but Jay and his friends prayed, and the angels withheld the rains.
The band covered the songs from their debut album, Life, and played a few covers to entertain the crowd as a drone camera flew all over the place like a UFO. The high-power music of the band made customers in the nearby pubs and restaurants run into the arena to watch the band without paying for their food and left the managers angry.
The concert had been going on for more than an hour and was in full blast when Jay saw the silhouette of Belladina signaling to him from the music console. He needed to wrap up in fifteen minutes because people were coming in from everywhere, and the band was making lots of enemies.
After the concert, the band took pictures with fans, signed many CDs with their autographs. The night was great as a good number of CDs was sold, and many of the band's friends had a great time.
It was a great accomplishment for the band to put out their first full-length album and have a good crowd come to see them. It was more meaningful to Jay, though, that the concert had been a great reunion of many old friends who had supported him and the band from the beginning.
At the end of the night, the bandmates hugged each other and said their goodbyes. They wished each other a great journey ahead as they all had decided to move on in their lives.
Scott Nelson had a talk with them. "Well, who knows if you guys may come back or if you may start another journey? Whichever way it is, I am ready and available, so let's be in touch," he said.
Jay wasn't sure, either. He had a feeling deep inside that the band would never come back together again. His ultimate plan for his life had been changed, and now he had to see what the Trinity had in store for him. Jay felt that this was the closing curtain for one era in his life and the opening curtain for another.
It's five of us rocking out this beat
Trying to be his hands, his heart, his feet
Looking at the things, the way it's been
Things that he would, no eye has seen
Sorry if I hurt you along this way
Looking at our lives, it's us to blame
We are nothing in his eyes but a piece of clay
Gave our heart to God and now I pray
I am singing this song
The weak become strong
We'll stand up and fight
'Coz we see his light
We are the people, trials we made through
Worries are nothing, take it away
We are the people and we know we've come this far
We love you the way you are
We are the people and we know we're made for you
We love you the way you are
Love you the way you are
At the transit point now up this lane
Doing all I can to relieve your pain
Souls are dying every single day
I don't have the words, what could I say
It's my only chance, I say I should
Bearing your pain, I knew I would
Looking at the lost just makes me cry
Knowing you'll fall tears me inside
I am singing this song
The weak become strong
We'll stand up and fight
Coz we see his light
We are the people, trials we made through
Worries are nothing, take it away
We are the people and we know we've come this far
We love you the way you are
We are the people and we know we're made for you
We love you the way you are
Love you the way you are
Transitpoint, "Transitpoint"
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone