AN: Hello lovely people! This is my second Kuro fan fiction, and I am very excited about it, so please no flames of hate. My little heart can't handle it xD But feedback would be nice. Please read review if you like it! Thanks!
Also before I get right into it, I would like to thank Ai Chiyo for helping me with this story.
Disclaimer: With all my heart, I wish I did own Kuroshitsuji, but I don't.
Anyways, without further delay, here is Chapter One of Promise to the Empty Sky!
Chapter One: Damned
If angels are supposed to protect the weak from losing what is most important to them, then why was I unable to protect what is most important to me?
Once upon a time, long before time was considered a substance, angels dominated the sky with their ethereal presence. Dressed in flowing white robes that fluttered behind them even as they stood still, these beautiful creatures happily danced on top of the clouds. Their grand feathery wings of equal radiance trailed gracefully behind them, constantly outstretched; each set of wings unique to every individual. They soared through the heavens, looking down on earth and watching over humans, guarding them from any immediate harm. As the purest beings of all creation, they were constantly surrounded by bright lights of utter perfection.
When man was cast out of Eden, the human body was created, and with it, more imperfections. As punishment for their sins, humans were made mortal, living short lives before being reborn. They lived blissfully ignorant of their past sins, having to repeat their mistakes for all of eternity. Because of this, angels were assigned jobs to help humans through their lives. Some were made messengers or watchers, while others, the more powerful ones, became Guardians. Guardians were assigned a soul to guide until the body's time on earth was through.
When the body passed, other entities called Reapers collected the soul, escorting it to heaven to be assessed. If the soul was deemed ready to move on, it stayed in heaven and moulded itself into the form of a new angel. However, if the soul had not finished its mission on earth, committed a sin, or needed more time to grow, then it was sent back into a new body and placed under another angel's care. Since the previous angel was not able to help the soul reach its full potential, it merely meant that they were needed elsewhere. Rightfully so, the angel would be given a different soul to take care of, and together, they would start anew.
Centuries passed, the cycle completing itself successfully, forming a sense of order in the universe. Angels, flawless beings as they were, continued to do their tedious jobs without a single complaint, and never questioned the unspoken rules set upon them. They placed all else above themselves, and were free from any sin. Any feelings they were given were returned to their creator, in love and devotion towards his divinity. Life for these creatures went on in splendid harmony without being tainted by evil, for it did not yet truly exist. Until...
"Promise you'll never leave me?"
While everyone else was content with their life, there was one angel who longingly watched the guardians, wanting to become one. This angel was a messenger of God, whose job was to inform reapers when to collect the soul after the body died. Although he was more powerful than the majority of guardians, he was bored of his daily routine. He had grown tired of going back and forth between realms, and having little contact with anybody else. Each day, he finished his duties and was left to wander around, looking for something to entertain him. With this, he pondered his existence, feeling as if there was something missing. He wasn't content with going on aimlessly; he wanted more out of his life.
He wanted to feel what all humans felt, and to break free from the destiny assigned to him. So, he dutifully completed his job day after endless day, hoping that someone would notice his need to do more.
Finally, after a millennium of working obediently, he was granted his wish. He became a Guardian, and a soul was chosen for him.
On that night, when the sky was free of any cloud, he watched in awe as a little, trembling soul slipped into a woman's womb. After a few weeks, the woman's stomach grew larger and larger. Then, within a few months, it was finally time to meet the soul's body that the angel had been yearning to see. Using all of her strength in one final push, the woman cried in agony. There was a silent pause, and then another, softer cry cut through the air as a blood soaked baby was wrapped in warm linen blankets.
Yet, despite the unpleasantness of the scene, the only thing he thought when he gazed at the creature was how beautiful it was.
The mother's cobalt eyes twinkled with glee as she smiled lovingly at the baby in her arms. It would have been a heartwarming meeting, except in that very moment, its mother's hands stiffened and turned cold. A nurse quickly took the infant as the angel watched in sadness. The babe would never know the warmth of its mother. Its cries mixed with the sobs of its father, who wept in his hands and brushed away the straggling hair from his wife's face.
The baby grew into a child who, with its cerulean eyes and gentle smile, resembled its mother. Upon noticing the similarities, the father was struck by a turmoil of emotions. Torn between grief and anger, he refused to be near the child, and blamed it for his wife's death.
"Filthy monster," he called it.
Despite his cruel treatment, the child loved its father. It mourned the loss of its mother, craved for its father's affection, and wallowed in guilt for causing his unhappiness. Yet regardless of the doleful memories plaguing its birth, it held its head up high and smiled at the world. The angel watched the soul tentatively, reveling at its innocence. It puzzled him how it was able to love through all the pain it bore.
When the body aged five years old, and other children were maliciously throwing stones at it, he swooped down from heaven to stop its tormentors. The child curled itself into a ball, bracing for the impact that never came, for each stone was deflected with the same amount of force, and the children ran away in fear. When the soul realized it was unharmed, it stood up, dusted its clothes off, and flashed a brilliant smile. Looking up at the sky, it whispered a hushed "thank you".
The angel had never received such earnest gratitude. His heart elated with joy, and he found himself smiling along with it. From then on, he knew he could never part with the child. Yes, the angel was very much drawn to this soul. And soon, his life revolved around it. Using his powers, he looked after it, making sure that no one would grieve its heart with any more sorrow. He felt the unfathomable desire to protect this little soul, to remove all the burdens that life seemed to give it.
He decided to stay on earth to watch over the soul, vowing never to let anything hurt it again. Eventually, the soul was able to sense the presence of something looking after it. Although it could not see its savior, it was grateful to him, and became accustomed to talking to the angel. No, it did not know if it was speaking to the empty sky, but that did not stop it from imagining the angel's reply.
The angel found the little soul amusing and was surprised by his growing attachment to it. If he were forced to leave the soul for too long, he became anxious. While it seemed strange to the other angels, the angel felt happiest when he was with the soul. He spent as much time as he could with it, but even then, he knew it was not enough.
"Promise you will never leave me?" it asked the angel one day. They were sitting quietly under a large oak tree, the summery breeze making the leaves rustle. On most days, the soul was left to do what it wanted, since no one paid it any mind.
"I was awfully lonely before you came…" it continued as it picked up a fallen leaf and rubbed the stem on the tips of its forefingers, making it twirl.
"I have you now, but if you were ever to go, I know I would be lonely again so…" its voiced trailed at the end, as if trying to suppress the urge to say something unnecessary. All of a sudden it became more interested in the leaf then whoever it was talking to.
"Promise me you'll never leave, okay?"
The angel gave the soul a wistful glanced. Even if I wanted to, I don't think I could, he thought, cocking his head to the side as if to say it should know this fact by now. A minute passed before the child abruptly picked itself up and grinned.
"Good. I never want you to leave, either," it sang before skipping home. The angel watched the child before deciding to join it. As much as the soul was pleased to have someone who loved it, the angel was just as glad to have found someone who needed him.
The soul became the most important thing to the angel, surpassing everything on the hierarchy of things he cared for. Without realizing it, he fell in love with it in a way that exceeded any feelings he had ever felt before. This love transcended everything, its pureness never fading. He adored every part of the beautiful soul, and learned to love every inch of the body which it resided in. Knowing his time with it was limited, he basked in the moments they shared together.
He felt comfort in knowing that the soul would one day join him, but even that was not enough to ease the doubt in his mind. What if he were not successful in helping the soul? What if it were passed on to another angel who was not worthy of taking his place?
Many years passed and soon death loomed over the soul's body. The angel knew that the time they had left was running out, and he mourned the day, months before it came. He dreaded the thought of losing the soul, knowing that he would be nothing without it.
So, on the day the body was scheduled to die, he followed his daily routine and walked by its side, hoping they wouldn't have to say goodbye. Defying fate was difficult, and there are some things you cannot evade. There were rules against tampering with destiny, and the angel was aware that he would be severely punished for trying. But to extend his time with the soul for even the briefest second was enough to convince him to do so.
That day, the father sent the soul off to town to buy something at the market. He told it to be quick or else he wouldn't let it back in the house. The soul ran eagerly to town, hoping to finally please its father. It took a shortcut through the woods, following an overgrown pathway. The angel braced himself for an attack that was bound to come. He guided the soul and made sure it stayed on the trail where it was safe. But destiny has a strange way of binding you, entangling you in the threads of every decision you make. This change was not enough to stop death's plans; in fact, it tightened loose ends and turned the wheel, prompting death to take it sooner. Without a single warning, a pack of hungry wild dogs found them, and attacked the unsuspecting soul.
Without hesitating, the angel wrapped his arms around the soul, embracing it with his celestial glow. The dogs lunged forward, fangs bared. But, as they were ready to rip the soul apart, they were thrown aside by a thrust of the angel's mighty wings. Astonished by the mysterious force, the dogs cowered in fear, sensing the burning anger that emitted from the angel. They backed away slowly, wanting to flee from their vicious attack.
By now however, the angel was blinded by rage. The thought of its body being tarnished by these vile animals was too much for him to bear. If he were to let the beasts free, he was sure they would only come back to harm the little soul again.
No, he thought. He would not let that happen again. He promised to protect it. Unthinkingly he raised a hand, and, with unwavering strength, killed the dogs in a single strike. The dogs fell, jerking about in an ungraceful fashion.
After committing his first violent act, he turned to the soul. It was time to say goodbye.
Wiping his bloody hands on his gown, he placed them on either side of its face, holding it. He knew it would be hard to part, but he didn't expect how afraid he was to let it go. Oh, how happy he was that it came out unscathed, but oh, how he lamented the end of their lives with one another.
"Thank you," the soul beamed, "thank you for saving me again."
The angel was surprised when he noticed it was smiling back at him. Of course, he thought. The soul was not afraid because it knew he would always keep it safe. It had an unbelievable amount of faith in something it could not see. But what it couldn't possibly know was that he would not be able to stay with it anymore.
"Shall we head home now?" It waited a moment for a reply that would never come, before cheerfully heading home with the thought that the angel was following behind. In that instant, his heart broke. The soul's radiant smile was the final memory etched into his mind, as he watched it walk away.
"Goodbye my precious little soul. Perhaps we'll meet again someday," he murmured, feeling his own tears fall down.
A flash of blinding light surrounded the angel, forcefully lifting him to the sky. Standing before the pearly Gates of Heaven, he paused for a moment, thinking about something the soul made him promise many years ago.
"Promise you will never leave me?"
I'm sorry, my love, but I must.
He bowed down before his creator who sat upon his throne, and other subjects of heaven who floated on the stands, beseeching pardon for his actions. His betrayal was too great to be simply forgiven, and God's fury was one never before seen.
The angels who gathered jeered, their screams echoing through the sky. "Traitor! Who do you think you are, trying to change the course of a life that God has created?"
The chorus of their voices blended into one, as God raised his hand to silence them. But just as judgment was passed on the angel, a swarm of other angels flew in. The beat of their wings overpowered everything as they flew towards the Throne. Circling the sky, the new arrivals waited patiently as they watched their leader, Lucifer, land in front of the Creator. One by one, they did the same. Lucifer walked towards the throne, his followers kneeling as he passed by.
There was something different between these angels and the ones in the stands. While most angels had shimmering auras above them, these ones were dulled by a cloudy light. Their wispy wings lost their brilliance, looking almost tattered in the glistening sun. God looked down on the all the angels and in his booming voice proclaimed,
"Lucifer, it appears you have decided upon something. Tell me, do you plan to overthrow me?" Lucifer smirked, bowed at him, and walked closer towards the throne without answering. When he reached the top, he stood beside God, and turned to all the angels present. The angels in the stands looked at him with questioning stares, but he paid no attention to them.
"Come, my fellow beloveds. Follow me. I will create a new world where He cannot make you do anything, where we can live our lives freely," he spoke with authoritative ease. There was persuasiveness in his tone that lured the angels in, forcing them to listen to what he had to say, even if they did not want to. A unified gasp from the angels sounded, and the once silent sky erupted in chatter.
"A new world? What was wrong with this one?"
"Should we go?" They whispered terrified, "Will it be okay?"
"I promise that in this new world where I will rule, you will never be forced to do something you do not want to do. You will be able to feel the things that humans also feel... emotions like love and hate. If you wish to leave, please step forward," Lucifer called, extending his arms towards the crowed. At first, no one dared to move. Then, with some hesitation, a few made their way to him. Some looked with disgust at even the thought of betraying God, regarding the others who quickly changed sides with disapprovingly glares. There was more hustle of movements until both sides of those staying and going were almost even. A hush fell over heaven, as God looked at the faces of all his angels.
"If this is what you want, then you are forbidden to enter Heaven again," He replied angrily. Suddenly, He conjured a thick black mist that circled around Lucifer's angels. The tense air was filled with panic as the wind began to pick up, creating a black swirl underneath the standing angels. Without warning, it doubled in size and turned into a gaping hole in the cloud. A bolt of lightning flashed before their eyes as the angels fell through the hole into a seemingly never ending abyss of darkness. They were stripped of their angel wings, and trapped in a free fall of God's scorn. The cloud eventually opened up above the earth, and angels fell from the sky like rain, landing all across the world. They collided with the earth with such a force that left them unable to move for days. When they awoke from the fall, they knew that they were no longer angels. Their hatred made them turn their backs on God, and with that, a new entity formed its existence. Demons were born.
Unable to escape from the chaos, our angel was mistakenly swept away by the crowd of fallen angels. Into the obscurity he fell, unable to save himself from the wrath of God. Like others, he woke up to see that the ground had shaped around his body upon impact of his fall. His new form felt heavy, as if he had been fast asleep for a very long time. Grunting, he sat upright, only to find that his mind was still clouded with the violet fog of sleep.
He tried to remember simple things, like who he was and how he had arrived here, but for the life of him, he could hardly recall anything. Yet, a faint, lingering memory nagged him when he closed his eyes. While he was confused about many things, there was one question that he was most desperate to answer. In fact, the moment he regained consciousness, the very first thought that crossed his mind was: where was it?