The City of Angels

Ein sat up in his bed, beads of sweat forming on his face. He reached under his pillow to find that Einherjar was still in its place.

'Just a dream.' He thought. 'Still, what does it mean? I don't usually have unexplained nightmares…' Well, the truth was that nightmares were a regular occurrence for him. Except they were always the same, depicting the day he lost his wings in exchange for his Diviner. They never depicted his death before. He shoved the thought aside and lay down, waiting for sleep to come. Which, it grudgingly did.

Ein walked into the colossuses audience chamber, stopping in the middle. Of the seven seats that ringed the centre of the room, only one held its occupant. Hector, one of the Seven Magi. Hector wore the blue robes customary of the Seven Magi, which hid his face from Ein. Regardless, Ein showed some respect by bowing towards Hector.

"So you desire to become a Grim Angel, despite the sacrifices that must be made." Hector said softly. Ein nodded.

"It's my choice to make, I will make the sacrifice." Ein always regretted that statement.

"Very well." Hector said softly. Before Ein knew what was happening, Hector had teleported behind him and kicked his knees. The surprised Ein fell to his knees. Hector sighed.

"You value your wings more than anything else. That will be your sacrifice."

Ein's eyes widened. Hector reached down to Ein's back, grabbed hold of his left wing and ripped it out of the boy's back. Ein screamed in pain, yelling even louder when Hector repeated the action on Ein's right wing. Hector watched as blood started streaming down Ein's back and onto the marble floor. The boy's wings glowed white before combining into a yellow sword with a blade shaped similar to a lightning bolt. Hector dropped the Diviner next to the whimpering Ein.

"Your Diviner, Grim Angel. The Einherjar or rather your wings." Hector muttered, turning and leaving the chamber. Ein struggled back to his feet, ignoring the blood that streamed off of his back and picked up his new weapon, cradling it to his chest.

"My sacrifice…"

When Ein next awoke, it was past daybreak. In fact, his cat familiar, Rose, was watching him rather intently.

"You took your sweet time, Ein." The black cat growled at him. Ein rubbed his eyes and sat up.

"What time is it?" Ein asked. This made Rose angrier.

"Almost ten, you lazy little…" Rose growled, trailing off and mumbling under her breath.

Ein jumped to his feet and opened his closet, looking for some clothes.

"Damn, I'm late!" He grabbed a black shirt and matching pants, a blue coat and lastly a white scarf, rather hurriedly putting them on. Rose sighed.

"I don't know why you always insist on wearing your Grim Angel attire." She muttered just loud enough for Ein to hear her. Ein grabbed his Diviner and hid it under his coat.

"To remind me of what I lost when I became a Grim Angel." He answered.

"That wasn't a question."

"It would have become one." Ein said as he ran out the door of his house. Rose sighed before running after him.

Ein stopped before the Colossus Audience chamber to compose himself. He smoothed the creases out of his shirt and waited for Rose to catch up.

"This wouldn't have happened, Ein, if you didn't sleep in." The cat familiar noted.

Ein ignored her, looking at the floor in disgust.

"I hate this place. The sooner we get this done, the better." He muttered before pushing open the doors and walking in. He walked to the centre of the room and bowed before checking how many of the Seven Magi were actually present. Only three seats were occupied, but thanks to their robes it was impossible to tell who was present. One sat just to the right of Ein, while the other two sat behind him, next to the door. He decided to face the one to the left of the door so that he could see all the Magi in the room.

"Why have I been summoned?" Ein asked, getting straight to the point. The Magi in front of him stood up.

"You have been summoned because we have deemed it necessary to add another objective to your mission tomorrow." The Magi called. Ein noted that the voice was female.

"And that objective is?" Ein asked. The Magi in front of him sat down and the one to his right rose.

"There are four warriors who oppose us in Riviera. It is not known if they are demons or not but if they are allowed to live they will cause problems. You are to eliminate them in the name of the Gods." The Magi replied, taking a seat. The last Magi stood up.

"Also, if it is possible to recruit these warriors, do so. And if Ursula intervenes, kill her."

Ein nodded, a feeling of dread growing in his stomach.

"Very well." He said, before walking out of the room.

Rose sat outside of the Audience chamber, patiently waiting for Ein. After about ten minutes the door opened and Ein walked out, his face reflecting past grief. Rose jumped onto the boy's shoulder and curled around his neck.

"How'd it go?" Rose asked.

"Same as always, either you get reprimanded or more work." Ein replied. He continued his walk out of the colossus and stopped in the square, letting himself be absorbed by the sights. Several angels had set up stalls and were selling their wares. A group of children flew past, playing a game of tag. Several more were engaged in conversation. Across the square a group of Grim Angels were enjoying the little spare time they had. And sitting down in front of the inn was the only person Ein could truly call a friend, Ledah. Ledah wore a black shirt and matching pants, covered by a red cloak, and a pair of black wings sprouted out of his shoulder blades. He kept his Diviner, the red spear Lorelai, in clear view, just in case somebody got a rash idea, which, unsurprisingly, never happened. Ein walked over and sat beside his friend in silence. Unlike most of the Grim Angels, Ledah was one of the eight original Grim Angels, being one of the grand generals who had fought in the Ragnarok. After a period of time Ledah decided to talk.

"Ready for tomorrow?" He asked, his face not changing a bit.

"Yeah." Ein replied. Ledah sighed.

"First rule of fighting, you are never truly ready." Both of them said at the same time. The pair chuckled.

"At least your learning. You're only ever ready to a point." Ledah muttered.

The two Grim Angels sat in silence for the rest of the day, both leaving for their homes at sundown.

On the way home Rose yawned.

"How is it that you two sat in almost complete silence all day?" She asked.

"Rose, tomorrow we may very well change history. It's harder to come to terms with that then everyone thinks." Ein said sadly.

"What do you mean?"

"Even if we succeed, thousands may very well die. Ledah saw this kind of thing during the Ragnarok, and I don't think he wants to see it again." Ein replied, stopping at the door of his house and reaching for his key.

"Looking for this?" Rose said holding the key in her paw. Ein took it and muttered a thank you. He unlocked the door and walked inside, locking it behind him. He set about making dinner, and then went to bed.

Ein stood facing Ledah, who was standing on the edge of a rocky outcropping of a cliff. Both had their Diviners drawn. Ein realised that there were four figures behind him and tried to get a look, but his body didn't respond. Ledah stretched his wings slightly before closing them.

"So you survived, Ein." Ledah growled, but as usual his face showed no emotion.

"Why are you doing this, Ledah? Are thousands of lives really worth destroying to save Asgard?" Ein shouted.

"So, Ursula's filled your head with ideals of heroism. You couldn't even fulfil your personal objectives, and they were simple to complete." Ledah accused.

"Ledah, it's not our place to choose wether Riviera should be destroyed. What's the point in destroying it?"

"If Riviera is destroyed, so is Utgard." Ledah responded. "And if Utgard is destroyed, so are the demons."

"So you would damn thousands of souls to death? I don't believe you! This can't be the will of the Gods!" Ein shouted, tears forming in his eyes. "You're not the Ledah I once knew. He might not have been very emotional, but he wasn't this heartless!"

Ledah raised the Lorelai into a fighting stance.

"Then let us find out who is stronger. The Wingless Angel or the Lost Seraph!" Ledah took to the skies on his wings and dived at Ein.

Ein woke from his nightmare with a start.