From inside the ruins of the cathedral, now freed of any demon spawn save for the wild animals of the forest; did the team of four Nephalem decide to spend the night in the vast empty halls rather than in town, where the warmth of the inn would surely allow them a better night's rest.

Celesta, the armored Crusader of the group took the first watch that night, even though she knew well nothing would bother them among the ruins of the cathedral . While the others slept, the Crusader turned her attention to the fifth member of their party, observing quietly.

Sitting crossed legged against the wall with some dusted pillows against his back, was the former Archangel of Wisdom, turned Angel of Death, Malthael.

In silence he had sat there since they brought him, he'd oddly been very light despite the armor he wore. Yet from his labored breathing, she could tell he was still very much in great pain from his defeat and the souls ripping themselves out of him.

Before she, like the others, were determined to bring down the corrupted Archangel to save the millions of lives upon Sanctuary.

Each of the Nephalem had given their final blow to the Angel of Death, yet their sense of victory lasted for a fleeting moment. Seeing the Angel being ripped apart by the hundreds of souls, all seeking to take their revenge upon him was enough for the four to drop their weapons, rushing to his side when he collapsed.

'Perhaps the pain of losing Leah to Diablo...I don't think any of us wished to bear that suffering again' thought Celesta, as she drew herself over to the Angel's side. Lowing herself to her knees, she began to apply her own healing magic to bring him some relief.

The labored breathing soon came to an end, as Malthael seemed to lift his head to look at her, or at least that's what she believed. Even under the cowl of his ebony hood, his face and head were without any eyes or mouth, but she could feel him looking at her.

None of them had managed to get much of a word out of him, save for his pained groans. What was there to talk about with him, so she choose to keep her lips silent until she pulled her hands away.

Looking back up she saw he was still looking at her, and for a moment she almost didn't hear his voice, being somewhat horse.

"Why?"

A simple word that it was, but one that could be asking a hundred different things, and could have so many answers.

Celesta licked her lips, as she managed to find her own voice to respond.

"To be honest, we can't say for certain either. We'd had our fill of death and revenge when we slew Adria for her part in killing Leah... your defeat was to save our world, yet your death was unneeded."

Once again, silence swallowed up the void and lingered over like clouds before a storm, and the Crusader found herself unable to find other words to speak. So she returned to her watch, while the angel seemed to slip off into a quiet slumber, even as her words pondered upon his mind.

Was this the emotion of pity?

Did these Nephalem feel sorrow and misfortune for him? Did his brother understand these emotions, being a mortal himself?

Though the sense of darkness still lingered deep within his mind, he could feel the faint sense of hope and how it slowly made the darkness fade away.

Silently under his breath, words that belonged to his brother became his own "Because humanity is the only hope for this world...this place of Sanctuary."

This is based off a Diablo art piece art art/The-night-belongs-to-Malthael-440086838 (have to select and c/p it to view, it will be the first link) of which I really enjoyed, and wrote a wee short for it!

And...Malthael is one of my favorite characters from Diablo, next to Tyrael!

For my readers on the Transformers fic, the next chapter is coming slowly but its getting there! 3