Sarthorael
No matter how many seconds I stared, I couldn't make heads or tails of his appearance.
In a dark location such as this, he might as well be camouflaged into the surroundings. Speaking off, I also realized why this place was so saturated in energy. It was a furnace. A massive, heavily contained, densely packed furnace. And its master was the incomprehensible Seraphim, whose words shook the foundations of this space.
My very human mind tried understanding it, but I think the result already made itself clear. I was either too weak for that right now, or his very existence is a concept beyond this universe's boundaries. A scary thought but not one without substance.
Upon hearing the inaudible vibrations, a confused tired look appeared on my face, still far too exhausted to act. I desperately needed healing, immediately at that. While blood didn't show itself on the outside, everything else on the opposite end felt like swimming in a pool of shattered glass without any protection.
Pure unadulterated pain broke from my wounds, the only thing keeping me from shouting was the never-ending abyss that filled me to the brim with curiosity, sucking in my attention for what felt like hours.
"Dumah? Could you be a dear and revert back into your concealed form? No offense to your appearance, you look stunning. It's just that, my partner over here doesn't seem all too fine. I'm sure you can notice just why that is from a glance." Did… Mastema just say that in a polite tone or am I going insane?
"V̼̩̝̏̆̚ë̻̰̥̣́̃̓͞r̢̟͚͋͘͡ý̛̝̞ ̢̯̈̓w͎̠͇̳̖͛̄̊̀̕e̡̡̙̳̾̍͊͝ll̫̐,if that's what he desires, then I shall comply with his wishes." The incorporeal being coalesced into a singular entity, one with shape and definition, just what was hap-
Moans of pain exited my lips as my body writhed and squirmed. My previous actions seemed to have finally caught up with me, a slight regret welling up.
"Need not weep, for I will cease your suffering," He stated, leaning me up against the wall. "Hmm, this is quite troubling indeed. At the rate you're going, it won't take long for you to die thanks to your ruptured organs. Say, can you tell me where it hurts the most?"
With the sudden inquiry, I shakily pointed to my liver, only for him to shove his entire hand inside of it!? What was going on!? A flurry of emotions hit me all at once. Dulling confusion, seething anger, and mounting despair. Everything had gone wrong in all but a split second.
Only for my worries to vanish like the wind when a soothing calm replaced all those reactions like a crashing tsunami. A yellow glow radiated off me as the man slowly removed his hand from my injury.
I felt… good as new… huh. So, this was the potential of healing magic? Silent casting, the swift reformation of my organs, and pain erasure. This was beyond even the specialized doctors at the hospital. A true miracle brought down by someone truly great. A Seraph no less.
"I would like to introduce myself again." The man spoke in a well-mannered octave. "My name is Dumah, the Angel of Dreams, and the blacksmith of this fine establishment. Though, from the look in your eyes, I'm guessing you already knew that."
Respect and reverence unconsciously filled my being upon the mention, a dream-like filter passing my eyes. It was weird for someone of my status to even meet one, let alone two of the strongest angels residing in heaven. Then again, this was my first time being so close to one.
"Y-yes!" I stuttered out, still reeling from the surprise. "You're the one who's making my armor, right?"
"Indeed, that is correct." He nodded, standing up and offering his hand to me. "Luckily for you, my powers will have a more profound effect compared to others… Consider yourself of the fortunate disposition. Angels lack the ability to dream, so for the most part, it is I who has to design them based on their core existence. You on the other hand."
Pulling on the appendage, I lifted myself off the ground, noticing the disparity in our height. He was at the very least a full head or two taller than me, well dressed as well. He was quite literally the man of my dreams, molded by my perception of what peak male physique looked like. If I thought his nose was a tad too big, it shrunk to conform with my new preferences.
It felt slightly disorienting, but something I just had to deal with.
"Couldn't help but notice the pun. Do the higher ups have more 'sentience' compared to anyone else." I sarcastically asked, only to be met with a slap on the back of the head courtesy of Mastema. "Hey! What was that for! It was a genuine question."
"And it makes you sound like an insensitive child. You can't just run your mouth off to anyone you come across. To be frank, your situation would have been so much worse without me there to help you out. "
"Now, now. Let's not forget why you two came here in the first place." Dumah defused the conversation before anything could go array. "Sarthorael, I need you to sit down at the center of the room and close your eyes. And as for you, Mastema, quietly wait in the corner. It matters not what else you decide to do, but it would be best to perform in my most optimal conditions."
They were simple demands, ones we both followed without a second thought. Though, I did hear the watcher grumble words under his breath upon hearing the command.
Moving past the dimly lit walls and under the endless cosmos that was the ceiling, I sat myself down, only to feel the immense amount of ambient energy around me. Previously, I would have been squashed like a pancake, the pressure pushing down on me like a hammer. But now, it felt surreal and weirdly enough, orderly. Law taken to an absolute extreme, still retaining its peaceful aspects, and discarding its will to dominate and control others.
Shutting my eyes, I was immediately taken into another world. One where reality and its physics held no rule. Where even the outlandish were given a place to thrive. Mind over matter, dream over reality. Excitement, wonder, and a sense of adventure broke through the innumerable thoughts that clouded my mind, crashing into the forefront as the world around me seemed even more mystical that heaven seemed bland in comparison.
"Welcome, I see that you've made yourself quite comfortable here. Mind if I join you?" A regal voice asked me from behind. "This, is a beautiful sight, you know? Very few of our kind have stood privy to such a magnificent sight. And you are the very first to have your own world."
"Why would that be?"
"Simple. Angels have no need for this kind of thing. We simply live life on a day to day basis with a singular goal in mind to accompany us throughout: to serve Father until our dying breath. You on the other hand, are flawed, and littered with imperfections. Down to your very core, it wouldn't take a scholar specialized in souls to figure out which kind you possessed. But, in that defective state, you still work hard to achieve perfection, to push yourself to the best of your abilities, to reach your own 'dream'. Or, that's how I see it from my limited understanding."
The lecture all but confirmed my theory. Not outright saying it mind you, but it did broaden my outlook.
"Now," He began, using the matter around us to literally fuel his forge. Crushing up the landscape and transforming them into the materials he would use to craft the armor I would inevitably wear. "this is a special favor, one I can only grant to you."
"For what it's worth, I'd be willing to fight off any number of demonic entities just to have another chance to talk to you. Let alone have a full-on conversation." I replied, a grin adorning my face.
"While I find your attempts at humor… amusing, nevertheless, I shall continue. What is your dream?"
"To gai-"
"That is a lie, Sarthorael. And we both know that." He interrupted, his face softening with a look of pity. "Your mouth says one thing, but your heart says another. Human emotions are filled to the brim with sin. No matter how much your people want to delude themselves in a fantasy, there is no escaping it. You all want something that exists not within your grasps. You are an example of that. The energy that kept pushing you out, the only ranks capable of passing through it are those with twelve wings and above. Yet, you, who stands at a meager four, managed to pass it through sheer tenacity and will power. Do you know why that is?"
"Because I didn't quit?"
"Indeed. That is because those incapable of entering simply resign from the challenge, due in part because they lack the motivation to continue on, chalking their failure as God's magnificent plan for them. Damnable as it is, pride can help those in hardship, pushing them to surpass far beyond their limits, and greed whispers sweet words of motivation to those downtrodden by circumstance."
"I see… So, this is the potential He gave to His gifts. In a world rife with threats from above and below, He gave them two abilities. The first was to actively shape the supernatural given enough 'faith'. And the second was the growth from the past, unlike the unchanging being around them." Thoughtlessly pondering on the topic, I managed to elicit a nod from the older gentleman. If anything, he did look a tad skeptical about something I couldn't put a finger on.
"Well said, wonderfully so even. Very few have managed to figure it out. But, you still dance around the topic. What is it that you plan to do with the power that you attain here? Your goal in the outside world, not that shallow nonsense you put up in a split-second decision. No, I want you to look deep within yourself. To search for your 'true' dream."
Ah, yes. Soul searching. An act that could very well take years if not decades of thinking. In my original life, I only ever lived by the orders and commands other people gave me. Honestly, I worked better when there was someone there guiding me in each and every step, failing when the directions stopped flowing and I was left to my own devices.
Going off on my own felt… scary. I was incompetent, useless, and afraid. Now, in a world such as this, where power was at the cusp of my fingertips and I could do practically anything, I still fell into the inability to make a choice. Still, no matter the power I held, it might as well have been for naught if me as a person didn't change from where I started.
In the end, I was still hiding under a veil of excuses. Side-lining my troubles onto someone else who might've had the slightest of involvement with my strife. That's it!
"I want to… I want to make my own decision, be brave enough to live life under my own rules, and help herd those who were just as clueless as me, so that they may tread farther than I ever could."
"Right, foolish of me to expect you to understand it in but mere minutes and under pressure such as this. Well, if this experience is any take-away, know that you are one step closer to understanding yourself." He sighed as the rest of the world around us fell apart, ripping away from my immersion and exiting out the other end, finding myself once more in the physical realm.
Damn it!
[A/N: Smalls steps are good, I guess? Anyways, if the chapter is any lower quality compared to the rest, then my dumbass is to blame. The next chapter should be around the time he gets dispatched for his next mission, so be on the lookout for that. I finally get to write some fun war scenes. Copy and paste text below for anyone that is interested.
Anyways, if you find anything wrong in the fic, let me know. I would love to hear your thoughts, opinions, and what I could have done in place of what is present.
Also, join discord server. I have one.: discord . gg / eTb2kPab4z
I also have a pa- tr eon at pa- t reon / balls1124 I'm not telling you to join it, but it would be nice.
With that being said, thank you for reading! Your words motivate me every single day.]
[A/N 2 Electric Boogaloo: It's been a day and I still don't understand what I wrote. But, hey, we have a non-canon omake featuring our boy in DxD proper instead of this jumbled mess of ideas strewn about by a novice seamstress.]
"God" of the New World
Sarthorael (future)
Five long years. That's how long it took to get out of that bastard's seal. All my comrades are dead, save for brother Ramiel who managed to get out intact. Still, he was no longer around to tarnish Father's eternal kingdom. And I think that should be enough cause to make anyone happy.
All until I saw what had surrounded me since I last walked the earth. Towering buildings that pierced the sky, metal machines that were run by humans, and a dense pollution permeated the air and entered my lungs.
The modern era… Just how long was I in that space? Was it really only half a decade?
Expanding my vision to encapsulate the entire world, I fell to my knees at the sight. More than a millennium had passed without my knowledge, and God, Almighty Father in heaven, had fallen in that time.
Sure, I expected it to happen in the coming years after He sealed that monstrosity. Hell, we even had various contingencies in case it did happen. And that was the issue, where were the backup plans I set up?
From even a mere glance at the world, it wouldn't be too hard to see that the heaven system was still a buggy mess of spaghetti code. The breaker glitch still persisted even after my tampering, and worse yet, devils managed to get their hands on it. What was going on!?
Problem after problem kept piling up. My teleportation arrays didn't work, I was somehow in the future, He was dead, and the devils had won in the end. An unfortunate set of circumstances I barely had the time to process let alone work through.
I wanted- no- needed to rectify the problem. As without them, the angel race was practically crippled in ways of reproduction. With a strong flap of my wings, I soared high up into the clouds, flying with the sole purpose of entering my home.
It didn't take long for me to return, however, something felt… weird. With a rudimentary scan, I was able to access that the population's general strength was weaker in comparison to before, way weaker, with the strongest signature only standing at the level of Throne, even then, it only reached the bare minimum.
Just what happened here?
It was no longer a matter of grief, but worrying concern. Was this a prank? It couldn't have been. Everyone has just sealed their power, that's right!
Walking past the pearly gates, everyone was awestruck by my appearance, muttering under their breath and praying to me. Weird, but it wasn't the first time it happened.
Only for people to start rejoicing in my return, thanking the heavens for "God's Return"… Oh no.
"What is all of this God nonsense all about!?" I urgently demanded, irked by their sudden actions. "I know I've been gone for the past one thousand years, but for all of you to act in such a manner is, frankly, insane! Look at yourselves! Regarding me as Father, preposterous! Did all of you forget what He looks like? Forgotten His holy presence?"
The cheers stop from there, silenced by my harsh words. Expressions of disbelief were shared amongst the crowd, all baffled to my plights. Then, four entities fell from the sky, each bowing their heads to me. The four "archangels". Finally, someone who could explain to them just how wrong they we-
"Congratulations on your return, Father!" They all said in unison. What. Did. They. Just. Say?
"For even my brothers in arms to not recognize me… Have you all gone senile? Has His loss really blinded you all? You dare even compare me to Him?" I sighed. It was far too early to be dealing with this kind of thing. An hour of rest is all I ask, maybe two if you were to be so kind?
Will Sarthorael realize the circumstances he's been put in? Will his increasing migraine stop hurting him? Find out next time in this crack omake. Balls' tired.