Arcos turned his head slightly once he stood in front of the gates which led into the city of Westmarch, speaking his mind aloud when he witnessed that Auriel had not left his side.

"Perhaps you should return to the High Heavens, I will-", he was silenced the moment she returned his gaze, not allowing him to speak any further. And before Arcos could even try to voice his protest, a glowing sword suddenly materialized within her hand, emitting a bright glow of pure light once it was in full shape.

"No. I have promised that I will not leave your side, and I will fight at your side. No matter what may happen.", a gasp escaped him as he regarded her for a long moment, her voice making it clear that she would not accept an ounce of protest from him. She meant it… his heart was racing, and for a brief moment, he could feel his grasp on his bow loosening almost.

Not one single day before, he had believed that the Angels would never care about his kind. That they would always remain an abomination in their eyes. And perhaps they really would never care…

… and yet, Auriel stayed here on his behalf, and even now, even when she knew that her actions would be frowned upon by her own kind, she refused to leave him alone…

Suddenly, he turned his head away from her hopeful gaze, a barely audible whisper escaping his mouth.

"... fine…"

And even though he couldn't witness it, Auriel began to smile from ear to ear.

The city was devoid of any life, houses were burning and the only beings who walked along the streets were undead creatures, causing Arcos to narrow his eyes, for regardless where he looked, he could not find a single trace of a survivor, only corpses were littered on the ground. And with each moment that passed, a few of them began to rise once more, joining the undead creatures who were roaming around.

"My homeland… how could something such as this happen…?"

Auriel eyed the undead beings with disdain, and it wasn't long until their presence was noticed. Letting her wings flow outward, she began to emanate a pure glow, almost tearing Arcos's attention away from the approaching undead as he couldn't help but stare at her.

And still, Auriel returned his gaze before she stood readily at his side.

"We will cleanse this place from the darkness that has taken a hold of it. Remember… we fight together.", nodding towards each other in an unspoken understanding, they returned their attention towards the undead before they raised their weapons almost simultaneously and charged ahead.

Auriel moved with a grace that was unmatched as she struck down any of the undead that were unlucky enough to cross her path, her light shining brightly even in the face of death, illuminating their dark souls to which they scattered away in fright. And yet, even when a few of them tried to resist and approach her with malicious intent, they, too, succumbed to the ground with a pained outcry when they were pierced by several arrows.

Arcos lowered his bow slightly when he shot the last of the undead who tried to attack the Archangel while she was still occupied, heaving a small sigh once every last one of them was laying still on the ground. He had witnessed the way they were rising from the ground… the lost souls that had been stolen from the innocent people once they were slaughtered, they were used to resurrect them once again, to arise once more as a will-less being, existing only for one single purpose.

To find even more victims, and to repeat this process again. If it continued like this, there would be no end to it, and if there were any survivors left, then it would be a never ending nightmare. They had to find the source of this, the one who was responsible. And he would make sure that they would experience an even worse fate for everything they had done.

However, when Auriel turned her head back towards him, his eyes widened slightly as she suddenly appeared beside him in a flash, his instincts almost causing him to back away in fright-

-until she brushed past and in front of him, blocking an incoming strike that he hadn't even witnessed. Swiftly turning around, he witnessed as Auriel repelled the aggressor, pushing them further back and away from him.

However, the moment he had the chance to lay eyes upon the being who tried to take his life, he immediately froze in place. Its face was hidden beneath a darkened hood, and their skin, which was visible beneath certain parts of armor, was emitting a dark and bluish glow, being almost transparent. And the wings upon their back…

… an… Angel…?

Yet, Auriel didn't even once hesitate before she moved once more, cutting her angelic blade through their body before the Angel began to fade away with a pained outcry.

Landing a short distance away on the ground, Auriel watched until only the last parts of their armor remained on the ground before she shifted her attention back towards Arcos, witnessing the way he was staring at the fallen Angel with almost empty eyes. And she could immediately connect the dots.

Rushing to his side, he remained unresponsive when she gently placed her hands upon his shoulder as she stood in front of him. Fearing that all she had done until now could be crushed, she carefully placed her hands against his cheeks before she reached out her mind to brush against his own, and not a moment later, she could witness the pictures and images that were coursing through his mind.

Memories of his home, and the night where he had lost everything… the cries of his family as they were slaughtered by demon kind… his inability to do anything to rescue his sister as she perished in the flames of his burning home, all in front of his eyes…

… and now his homeland was threatened once more, and this time, it was Angels who were roaming through the streets, killing anything that crossed their path…

As his inner fear and sorrow began to spread, Auriel watched no longer before she emitted a golden glow, her forehead leaning against his own before all of these images were banished from his mind, stopping them from haunting him any longer. And his eyes began to focus once more, seeing as she held him within the embrace of her wings.

"I promise to you that they are not acting upon the will of the High Heavens… these Angels, they belong to one of our kind who has long fallen into madness, I promise that something like this will never happen through our decision!", each moment his eyes merely stared back at her, almost as if he was looking through her, her inner dread began to increase, and she leaned her head against his own once more, her voice almost reduced to a pleading whisper.

"... please… believe me…"

It was then that another set of images began to course through his mind, appearing in front of his mental eye. And for the briefest of moments, he felt as if he was back within his home, and…

A gentle humming, a sweet lullaby was all that he could hear as it brought forth a feeling of peace and joy… slowly but surely, his tears ceased to be, and the only thing he could witness was the chorus of her voice… for just this once, he felt… safe…

"Sleep… I will watch over you. Nothing can harm you as long as I am with you…"

He could feel her wings embracing him as she whispered these words into his mind, his body having long ceased to tremble as he laid still in her arms… and she continued to hum once more, her sweet melody slowly beginning to lull him into sleep, his vision starting to fade until all that he could witness was her voice… and his eyes fell shut entirely, allowing sleep to overcome him.

"Sleep well… I will not leave you, I promise…"

Auriel watched with renewed hope as his eyes started to focus upon her, the images fading away in front of his mental eye until his gaze settled back upon her once more. And they were filled with remorse.

"... I… I believe you… forgive me for-", even before he could speak the last of his words, Auriel had slowly placed a finger against his lips, gently shushing him before he could lose himself in sorrow once again. For all that mattered to her was his eyes as they looked back at her with the same innocence that she had longed to see, and she hugged him against herself.

"Hush now… do not lose another thought upon this, your happiness is all that I wish to see.", for a long moment, they remained within their embrace until Auriel broke the silence once more.

"We will stop them from harming the innocent. Even if the Heavens have not yet realized this, I will stand with you. For all of your struggles are now mine to bear as well, and we will face them, together.", she knew of his bitterness, for even now, as Angels began to kill humans at their will, even if it was not through the will of the council, the Heavens remained idle, and the rest of her kind did not interfere.

But she was different, and that was all she needed him to know. Even if the day had not yet come where her kind would aid humanity in their time of need, she would. For him.

However, both of them raised their head towards the towering cathedral in the heart of the town when suddenly, a giant shadow was cast over the building, seeping into its confines.

"We must see if there are any survivors left, these creatures must be drawn towards the living.", Arcos muttered aloud to which Auriel nodded in agreement, gently helping him up from the ground. Still, even as he slowly began to take a step forward, he suddenly stopped once more, his voice hesitantly breaking the silence again.

"Auriel…?", she halted as well once she witnessed his hesitation, looking back at him with a slight tilt of her head, signalling to him that he had her full attention. He struggled to speak further, the words seemingly evading him until he couldn't return her gaze anymore, opting to glance at the ground beside her instead before an almost silent mutter escaped him.

"Thank you…"

And even though she didn't reply with words, a hidden smile grew upon her lips, her wings beginning to flutter slightly before she reached her hand out, motioning for him to go alongside her.

And thus, with renewed vigor, they moved quickly to reach the darkened cathedral in the distance.

Terrified screams sounded from within the confines of the cathedral once Auriel and Arcos finally arrived at their destination, but the sight of a raging battle in front of the towering building caused the both of them to stop for a moment, especially once they recognized one of the figures who was fighting against the groups of undead who were trying to swarm into the cathedral.

"Tyrael!", Arcos didn't waste a moment and fired at the nearest undead, piercing them with a barrage of arrows as he imbued them with lightning, causing electricity to jump between them. Auriel didn't remain idle and cut her blade through the nearest undead as well, killing those who tried to get close to him.

Thus, it wasn't long until Tyrael took note of their arrival, and the moment the last of the undead fell at their attacks, his voice called out for them in a mixture of relief and tension.

"Auriel? You have been gone for a long while, what has happened?", his eyes shifted between them until they remained on Arcos for a moment, and before Auriel could reply, he continued, recalling a certain conversation.

"... I see you have gone after the Nephalem.", his tone was contemplative, pondering about something. Arcos was uncertain as he kept silent, his expression revealing nothing as he glanced at Auriel out of the corner of his eyes, and yet, she remained entirely calm.

"I needed to. It is… something that I cannot yet explain with words.", Tyrael raised his eyebrows in surprise, but after a long moment of contemplation, he suddenly lifted his hand as he stared at it.

"Normally our laws would forbid you from interfering with humanity's affairs. Have you changed your mind as well…?", his tone was almost hopeful as he regarded Auriel once more.

"I have never agreed with our laws. Yet, I have remained idle for far too long… your choice to become a mortal may have been frowned upon by the rest, but it does not mean that it was the wrong one.", she regarded Tyrael in return before she shifted her head ever so slightly into Arcos's direction, glancing at him out of the corner of her vision which did not go past Tyrael.

"... I have my own reasons as well."

"Even though I doubt that Imperius will share the same sentiment, I'm glad. The only way I could see to understand humanity was to become a mortal myself, but if you are able to do so with the help of the Nephalem, then I know that one day, Imperius might begin to see reason as well.", it was then that Tyrael shifted his eyes back towards Arcos, his expression turning more serious.

"But I'm afraid the situation is dire. Malthael has stolen the Black Soulstone and has begun to lay siege on the city of Westmarch as soon as he had disappeared. We had believed that it would be the best solution to send the Death Maidens out to retrieve him… but they have abandoned our side to join their former master."

"Malthael?", witnessing the slight confusion in his eyes, Auriel used the opportunity to speak up once more, fully turning her head towards him now.

"Malthael was once the leader of our council. As the Aspect of Wisdom, it was him who has been holding the council together for many generations. But he has long fallen into madness… he disappeared a long while ago, until now."

"Even as we speak, his reapers are claiming the souls of the innocent, and every lost soul is only making him stronger. Along with the remains of the guard, I have tried to evacuate the remaining survivors inside of the cathedral towards the hidden enclave beneath the town, but I was too late…", Tyrael glanced at the fallen survivors who were now scattered on the ground, regret filling his eyes.

"What can we do to stop him? I will hunt down every last one of them if it has to be to avenge those who have lost their lives.", Arcos clenched his hands as he narrowed his eyes with determination, however, even as he could feel his hatred filling him with the same power that he had always used to exact vengeance upon his enemies, he suddenly tensed the moment he could feel Auriel carefully placing her hand upon his own, gazing at him with a hidden concern from beneath her hood.

But even before he could question it, she suddenly took a step closer towards him before the cords which were reaching down from her hood slowly but surely wrapped around his chest. And suddenly, any and all hatred and confliction that he had felt a mere moment ago simply began to vanish… being replaced with feelings of pure clarity.

Tyrael watched the scene with slightly widened eyes as Auriel gently held Arcos, muttering to himself.

"Al'maiesh…", the cord of Hope, Auriel's preferred weapon of choice, had always had the ability to heal and soothe those it touched, filling them with a pure feeling of positivity. As devastating as they could be in battle, where they could burn their foes when they were used as a whip, Auriel had many times used its healing ability to grant both him and Imperius clarity during one of their many heated debates.

And yet, as he watched the scene in front of them, as Auriel slowly but surely released Arcos of her cord, all the while keeping his hands within her own…

… it seemed to be different, but as much as he tried to understand it in his head, he couldn't truly grasp it.

Was there something he was not yet aware of…?

AngelicWisdom: I'm very happy you're excited! As of right now, there are not many new stories within the fandom anymore, which is why I very much enjoy making a small space where I can hopefully create a little bit of liveliness.

The Brutal Legend: Likewise, I very much appreciate your efforts to always take the time to share your thoughts, regardless on which story I am working on. It gives me especially a lot of motivation to create more for the fandoms I actively enjoy, even if they might be a lot smaller. For that, I'm very thankful!