CHAPTER ONE
Imperius casually floated through the silver city toward the center for the Angiris
Council meeting. Honestly, he was far from being in a mood of sitting and doing
politics, and he was running thinner on patience than usual. He almost laughed out
loud at the thought of the council getting anything done without Tyrael. The thought
of Tyrael made his wings flit uncomfortably, and he tried desperately to channel his
thoughts elsewhere. The attempt was in vain however, as his mind harshly betrayed
him.
"Imperius! Don't do it! You know if you kill him, he will regenerate later. But if we
captured him -" Imperius interrupted the archangel of justice by shaking off his grip
from him and driving the twin-bladed head of Solarion through the Prime Evil, Diablo's,
eye sockets and out the other side. He knew he should have listened to Tyrael, but he
was so consumed with rage that he couldn't accept reason. "Imperius," Tyrael began,
trailing inaudibly into what were undoubtedly petty worries and fears.
The scene shifted to something fairly recent – only 20 years ago.
Imperius stared at the pair of wings in front of him. There was no body attached – just
wing plates and faint tracings of light at the base. The lights were somehow speaking,
and even had the audacity to call themselves Tyrael. The fractured, faraway voice even
imitated Justice's voice, but it was impossible for the light before him to be Tyrael.
Tyrael's love for humanity killed him. Yet somehow, Imperius found himself trying to
believe it truly was the Aspect of Justice before him. "Imperius," the voice said,
seemingly scolding him. Before he even realized what had done, Imperius' gauntleted
fingers touched Tyrael's wing plates and he nearly staggered back from the rush of
memories. The Aspect of Valor watched hours of memories of Tyrael and himself in but
a moment. The memories ranged from relaxing in the Silver Spires, to fighting
alongside each other, to their pointless, and almost daily, bickering. "You are my
anchor to this world," Tyrael said almost inaudibly, when Imperius was released from
the visions. He was stunned, to say the least. The only thing his mind could conjure up
was "Why," yet he found he could not speak even that.