Everlight

Hey, look, it's a new fanfiction! I've been brainstorming ideas for Everlight for quite a while now, so this is one of the few stories I've ever written where I've got the whole thing planned out from start to finish, before I even start. … The only thing I haven't planned out that well is the title. Everlight is its temporary title, because it sounds cool, but has very little to do with anything other than "Ever" sounding like the main character's name, "Evra." If anyone has any ideas for a better title, please drop me a review to let me know.

A few words of warning- if you follow my other fanfiction, you've probably noticed how slow my updates are. Now that school is out, I've got more time on my hands, but I have quite a few other things to do. I'll do my best to update as quickly as possible, but it will probably still be kind of slow. Please try to be patient. Also, this fanfiction is OC-centric. As in, none of the canon characters show up until later on. So, um… If you came here looking for Sebastian and Ciel, you'll have to be REALLY patient.

Anyway. This fanfiction is set in modern times (perhaps a decade or two into the future, actually.) Because of this, none of the mortal canon characters will be showing up, because… well… they're long gone. The main character is an angel. Because there was only one angel in the original series, so I had very little information to work with, I pretty much just winged it with what their species is like. (Ehehe… Punny.) Also, settings in this story will include Earth, Heaven, and Hell. These are depicted the way they are solely for the purpose of the story. No offense is intended to any religion. And I think I'm done with my long intro now. NOTE- I do not own Kuroshitsuji or any of its characters.


Chapter One: Catalyst

Calm.

This feeling was part of the reason why she loved flight: the sensation of tranquility lulling her into a waking sleep as she drifted high above the ground. She spread her snowy white wings and allowed herself to be buoyed upward on a warm updraft, eyes comfortably closed, long blonde hair streaming behind her. She didn't need to see the brilliantly shining sky, the delicate clouds rolling slowly through the air around her. This was her home; it had always been the same, and it would always stay the same. It was unspeakably vast, larger than even she could comprehend, but she knew her own little segment of it very well. The wonders of Heaven had ceased to awe her; she took it all for granted, as did most of the other angels. The only thing she'd never taken for granted was her wings- she was immensely grateful for the beautiful power of flight that she possessed.

Now, as she soared high over the distant ground, she opened her ocean-blue eyes and took in her surroundings; she was close to her father's preferred meditation spot. Marael told Father that he would drop by and fill him in once he got back from his scouting trip to Earth, she reflected idly. I wonder if he's returned yet…? I suppose I could ask Father, while I'm here… She took a moment to shake herself into awareness before she tilted her wings and set off at a smooth glide towards the glimmering forest below.

And then she felt something… off.

She hesitated, a crease appearing between her eyebrows as she approached the forest. What was this sensation? She knew that she'd felt it before, but she couldn't quite place it now. It reminded her vaguely of one of the many times she'd visited Earth with her father, and had stood in a field just before a thunderstorm. It had been very quiet, but the skies were dark, and the atmosphere charged with tension, with power… The calm before the storm. This felt similar, and it made her strangely uneasy. What am I so worried about? She thought to herself scornfully as she skimmed along the ground, watching the treeline draw nearer. There's nothing dangerous here. This isn't Earth. Still, she found herself scanning the area warily as she landed lightly on her feet, just under the enormous trees, and began to walk.

The forest was quiet, but then, it was always quiet. The vegetation was lush and pretty, and the tree leaves shimmered faintly as though coated with dew. And yet, as she headed towards the small lake her father loved so much, she still couldn't shake the feeling that something was very wrong. She knew that she'd felt this before somewhere, somewhere other than a meadow before a storm. What was it? This atmosphere of power, of danger… This-

-aura…

The realization hit her when she was only a few steps away from the lakeside clearing. An aura… A demonic aura! That's where I've felt this before- that's what this is. She looked around, her face as pale as her wings. But, that's impossible! There's no way a demon could be here- demons can't get into Heaven. They don't know the way in, and even if they did, the holy barrier would prevent them from entering… After a moment, she took the last few steps into the clearing, troubled.

And there she stopped dead.

The once-beautiful, crystalline waters of the lake were stained a cloudy red, and streaks of crimson were smeared across the grass throughout the entire clearing. In the center of the tainted meadow, face-down on the grass, a bloody figure sprawled. One great ivory wing was sticking up, bent sharply in the middle at an unnatural angle, its pale feathers streaked with blood.

She stood frozen just inside the treeline, eyes wide with shock and horror. And then she was running, sprinting across the bloodied grass towards the prone form on the ground. "Father!" she cried in alarm, dropping to her knees beside him. She took hold of his shoulders and turned him over, and her next words stuck in her throat.

Her father's disheveled, pale gold hair was plastered to his forehead, which was covered in blood. Deep gashes and dark bruises were scattered across his visible skin, and his clothes were torn and, in places, burnt. His lavender eyes were half open, but they stared blindly and unblinkingly at the bright sky in a way that made her blood run cold.

She stared down at him in shocked silence for a long moment, still as stone. "F-… Father…?" The word escaped her lips in an unsteady whisper. Those horribly glassy eyes didn't move, didn't blink. Her father was as motionless as the still, clouded waters of the lake.

Impossible, she thought numbly, her mind refusing to accept what her eyes told her. This is completely impossible. There's no way that something like this could happen- Not here. So what's-

And then she noticed something else, something even more impossible.

Her father's lips were slightly parted, and a faint white mist hovered over his mouth. After a long moment of disbelieving silence, she reached out and put her finger into the mist. A vague tingle like electricity spread through her fingers and up her arm before she snatched her hand back, scrambling backwards to sit on the ground a few feet away, a strangled sound escaping her throat.

It was a tiny fragment of a soul. The kind of tiny fragment that demons leave behind when they feed on the souls of contractors. A fragment of her father's soul.

The angel screamed.

(~*~*-*~*~)

Her scream had attracted the attention of several other angels in the vicinity, and they'd hurried to the forest in alarm. They had all been just as shocked as she had, and even more horrified; while she had been unable to see past the loss of her father, they saw the ominous implications of this event. So not only had a demon found its way past the holy barrier and into Heaven, but that demon had also somehow found a way to eat the soul of an angel? It was unheard of, unprecedented, unbelievable. Demons were not supposed to be able to devour angelic souls- only human souls could fall prey to their appetites. But if one demon had done it, couldn't it share the secret with others? And where would the angels be then?

Later that day, an angelic counsel was called to order. The most powerful and influential angels in Heaven sat solemnly around a huge white marble table, their expressions grim. They had called in the dead angel's daughter to retell the story of what had happened. She slumped in her seat, her forearms resting on the table, staring vacantly at the polished white marble. She had told her tale in a dull monotone before falling silent and resting her head in her hands.

Now the angels murmured quietly amongst themselves, greatly troubled.

"This is preposterous," protested a male angel with shoulder-length brown hair. "There should be no way for anything demonic to pass through the barrier. There are no chinks in Heaven's holy armor!"

"Well, clearly there is at least one," replied another angel sourly. She gave the speaker a condescending glance before going on. "An angel is dead, his soul was eaten, and an area several miles across suddenly reeks of demonic aura. I would say that that evidence points to a breach in the barrier, wouldn't you, Kaifel?"

The brunette angel frowned and opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by an older-looking angel with long white hair. "Celira is correct. It's quite obvious that at least one demon has managed to enter this realm, which is upsetting enough on its own," he said solemnly, "but what is more disturbing still is the fact that it somehow found a way to devour an angelic soul. This is a grave situation indeed."

"He wasn't just any angel, either," brooded another, looking down with a grim expression. "That was Yuluen this demon killed. Yuluen, the demon slayer, one of heaven's most capable warriors! This creature must have been extraordinarily powerful to have defeated such a formidable opponent on his own turf…"

"I suppose I can see why Yuluen specifically was targeted," observed Kaifel doubtfully. "He was an expert at dealing with demonkind… He must have become a nuisance to the fiends of Hell with all of the trips to Earth he'd been taking, wiping out any demons he encountered along the way. Perhaps the demon was seeking revenge, or simply wanted him out of the picture. Of course, that doesn't get us any closer to learning which demon killed him- there must be countless monsters who'd wish to eliminate him…"

"I know who did it," a voice muttered quietly. All eyes turned to the dead angel's daughter, who was still staring vacantly at the table.

"What was that, girl? Speak up," commanded Celira.

"I said," she said in a louder tone, hands clenching into fists, "I know who did it." She looked up, and the council saw that her haunted sapphire eyes had hardened and grown cold. "It's true- there have been many demons my father had crossed. But only one is powerful and clever enough to have done this… Only one would be so fixated on revenge that even heaven's holy barrier would be only a temporary obstacle for its hatred." She gritted her teeth, looking back down at the table with blazing eyes. "It was… Laen. Demon Lord Laen did this."

Another unsettled murmur spread throughout the council table. "Laen?" Kaifel repeated incredulously. "The demon that's established a tainted empire in the pits of Hell?"

"That one's powers are rumored to be terrible indeed," the white-haired angel noted, looking at the girl with unreadable amber eyes. "And what could your father have done to provoke the wrath of such a powerful creature, child?"

She did not reply for a few moments. Then, in a tightly controlled voice- "a century and a half ago, he wiped out a quarter of Laen's growing army and half of his demonic court. Then he faced Laen one-on-one, and injured him so badly that he was forced to flee. Before he left, he told my father…" She stopped, a spasm of anger clenching her jaws and fists. "… 'Do not think that I will forget this, angel. From this day onward, there shall be no safe haven for you.' "

The angels of the council looked at each other with dread. "He must be the one, then," Celira said grimly. "So one of the most powerful and influential beasts in Hell has found a way to infiltrate Heaven…"

"Dear God," said Kaifel, horrified, "do you realize what this means? This demon is the ruler of an empire! If he were to use this knowledge to lay siege to Heaven…"

There was silence as this sunk in.

"We shall have to take action at once," the elder angel said at length, looking unsettled and grave. "We will need authorization to dispatch squads of warriors to hunt down this fiend-"

"Don't be a fool, Nuuleus," another angel spoke up bitterly. "Are you completely blind? We would be playing right into his filthy claws. I'm sure he would love us to send out all of our best warriors and leave Heaven undefended. Perhaps that's why he entered himself this time and killed Yuluen- to lure us into a trap."

"If we were to divide our forces now," Celira remarked, "there's a chance that Laen's army could overpower the remaining citizens of heaven and feast on their souls. He's right, Nuuleus- we can't afford to leave Heaven unguarded now. We shall just have to prepare for the imminent siege and keep our defenses strong."

The young blonde angel suddenly pushed back her chair and stood. All eyes again turned to her, their expressions ranging from surprise to outrage; lower-ranked angels were rarely allowed to sit in on councils, so getting up from the table while one was in session was considered the height of insolence. She did not appear to care, however. Her face was downturned, soft golden hair hanging down in a thick curtain so that her expression was invisible. Her fists were clenched at her sides, the knuckles bone-white with pressure. "I will not…" she murmured. "I… will… not…"

The angels watched in silence. After a moment, the one named Celira spoke up distastefully. "Sit down, you impudent child. Who do you think-?"

"I WILL NOT ALLOW HIM TO GO UNHARMED," the girl suddenly roared, her long hair blasting out in a shock wave as her wings snapped out to either side in rage. Her blue eyes were wild with fury and hatred. "THAT DEMONIC SCUM HAS STOLEN MY FATHER FROM ME!" At this, she visibly choked up, and tears welled in her eyes, but the hatred in them did not diminish. "My Father… My Father must be avenged! And if you sniveling cowards won't risk anything to do it, so be it! I will take vengeance myself! LAEN WILL DIE BY MY HAND!"

There was shocked silence at the table for several moments. During this time, the girl turned around and spread her wings for flight. "So stay here and cower behind your useless barrier," she spat furiously over her shoulder. "I will be your warrior… I will be my Father's avenging angel. I will-"

"You'll be dead within a week or two," Celira said dryly, resting her chin casually on one hand and eyeing the young angel with faint distaste. "One angel cannot stand against an army of demons… Particularly not a spoiled child such as yourself. I don't care how powerful your father was; you clearly lack his wisdom and inner strength. It would be impossible for someone like you to perform such a daunting task alone."

The girl turned and locked eyes with the older angel. "You clearly know nothing about me," she said flatly, eyes burning. "I said that I will avenge my father. And, whether you fools believe it or not… I will do exactly that." She turned her back on the council. "And say what you like about me, but know this…" She cast a final, scathing glance over her shoulder at them. "I have more courage than all of you put together," she finished acidly.

And then she leapt into flight and soared away, leaving the angel council staring after her. For a long time, no one spoke.

"… Should we send a few warriors to back her up?" Kaifel suggested at last, sounding rather doubtful.

Celira crossed her legs and folded her hands on the table. "No," she said frankly. "It would be a waste of perfectly good fighters… A whole squadron wouldn't be able to keep that imbecile alive."