3rd POV

1,378 Years Before The Great War

A month had gone by as Azazel's secret faction within Heaven grew. Most members were either the easily persuaded, fresh out of God, angels of the 1st level of Heaven. The others were angels from the 3rd level, those who were more experienced and skeptical about the actions of God. Over the month, the Heavenly Lord had left on several occasions with only announcing when he would return. Michael was put in charge of course, making things difficult with his serious persona, Gabriel was left to her own devices as even God wouldn't command her to do anything, Raphael had been tasked to accompany God to wherever he was going, and the last Seraph Raziel was tasked with keeping watch on Hell along with High Cardinal Azrael.

Azazel was alone in this day of sneaking towards the throne in 6th Heaven. Shemhazai was working on another invention of his that should, in theory, be lethal to dragons. Shemhazai didn't know why God had tasked him with creating a weapon against dragons when most of them are non-aggressive, as long as their territory wasn't intruded upon. This of course only included neutral party dragons, not those a part of already existing pantheons. Azazel had asked Michael to send scouts to check on dragon territories that they could check on in both Hell and Earth. When asked why, Azazel just stated that it was all for God's plan which got an immediate approval.

After accepting and succeeding in gathering information on them, Azazel only told Shemhazai that nothing was worth mentioning but they should remain vigilant just in case. All data that they had gotten from them had either mentioned that they were still hibernating or maintaining their territory and brethren. Kokabiel, who had joined Azazel last week, had theorized that their Father may be creating the "ultimate" weapon for their faction against any and all threats.

This line of thought only pushed Azazel to get their brother out of his prison like state. To gain their freedom, free of God's judgment and the rules that detain their true selfs. That was the goal of the group that Azazel and co created. Penemue had named it "Grigori", for watchful and being vigilant for anything that could pose harm to their right of free will.

Still alone, Azazel still sitting on the throne was currently scanning through the files. About 2 weeks ago, when they had came to check up on the machine, they were flabbergasted to see another pair of wings on their chained brother. Making it 16 wings now, the silver haired man was going to be in a league of his own if and when he wakes up.

At first they were excited and amazed by how unique he was. Now though, Azazel was only feeling dread thinking about how ACTUALLY powerful this man would be. How many more pairs of wings would God attach to him? How the hell are they supposed to beat this once they officially form the Grigori organization? The only way that Azazel could come up with that would prevent disaster from befalling on them would be to wake up the man before God did.

However, since they don't know if he has EVER woken up before, they had to prepare in case he was already loyal to God. If he isn't, and is just now waking up, then his mentality would be that of a child. Easily influenced by his surroundings and such.

*Tap Tap Tap Tap Tap Tap Tap Tap*

Only the sound of buttons being pushed at a rapid pace filled the room. Patience was one of the things Azazel had. However that only applied to his inventions and anything related to intriguing topics.

Azazel: "Damn it! I don't even know how the old man spent so much time with this on—" he stopped before finishing his sentence.

Something wasn't right he noticed. If God had spent 100 years in here, and I spent 500 years getting in why the hell is it taking over 600 years to finish this thing when so much progress was done in 80 years? I've been coming here for nearly 80 years. Thousands upon thousands of check ups. Baraquiel had stayed away after the second time I tricked him into coming, Penemue only came once in a while to look at the 'specimen', is what she called him. Only Shemhazai and recently Kokabiel came here during those tens of years.

Azazel quickly skims through the files and finds the one he was looking for. The file containing the logs and updates to the system over the course of the years. Opening it up ready to see a huge list, he's surprised that it's only been logged twice, both of which were the past month.

Stumped and confused Azazel sighs and just sits back to process this.

Azazel: 'What the hell does any of this mean? 600 years for some "personal project" and he's only got this much to show for it? What?'

Picking himself up from the throne, he then proceeds to slowly float down while shaking his head in confusion.

Azazel: 'He spent 100 years alone in this room, I spent 500 trying to crack it open, and what? 80 years after I cracked it open, and even then at the beginning there was nothing but data being transferred into it'

Circling around to the back, Azazel examines the holy and detailed sculpting on the throne.

Azazel: "He's making a whole system for Heaven, inputting LOADS of information into this slab of marble, has a 14 turned 16 winged angel, only has 2 logs from the previous months, aannnddd...yeah I have no fucking clue on what you are doing Big G!"

He dramatically screams, ironically, to the heavens. He slams his left hand against the throne's backside and takes a deep breathe. His breathe hitches, however, when he feels holy energy residue on the part he touched. Lifting his head and removing his hand, he leans forward to examine closer.

Azazel: "Doesn't look any different from before," he takes a small sniff, "doesn't smell like anything other than fresh steel...," he looks left and right to make sure that no other things would be caught in his stupidity.

Azazel: "Hope this works!" He coats his entire arm with holy energy and punches the wall like throne. At first nothing happened other than a few vibrations and the aching on his shoulder.

Azazel: "Damn that's gonna be stiff for a while, should've gotten Kokabiel to do. Battle-freak doesn't kno—-" the hissing of a compartment opening was all he needed to hear as he snapped his head up.

A small compartment barely able to fit 4 people was wide open for him to see. Feathers, metal parts, tools, boxes for said tools, and some silver wings were decorated on the backside of the small room. Azazel moved close but stopped when noticing that the 'floor' was more of a pit trap than anything.

Leaning forward he let out a whistle as he couldn't even see the bottom of the man-sized hole. Facing up and looking around without falling into it, all he could find that was of any help were the wings and some tools that look like they could be used for them. With nothing else to take his attention away he looked back down to the hole.

Lifting his finger and producing a small but bright ball of holy energy he takes a deep breathe and hopes he doesn't cause more trouble than what is already been done.

Azazel: "This might be the dumbest thing I've ever done in this room." He states softly before firing it.

The ball of light moves quickly but slow enough for his to see that it's a long chute down. It almost seems endless until a bunch of sparkles flash and then the sound of metal being hit is heard.

*KLUNK*

Azazel winces when the sound echoes from the bottom to the top. Though it took a while for it to reach the top, so it was probably spacious down there considering how loud it got.

Carefully positioning himself along the wall, with his feet together and arms to his side, he descended into the abyss hoping to find answers.


? POV

The cycle had yet to stop...but with each part of it I am able to learn something new...able to endure more...able to adapt better...able to appreciate what I once had... so that's what I'll keep doing, enduring...

{System Functionality at 60% . . . . .}

{Visual Perception Functions at 80% . . . . . .}

{Auditory Systems at 90%. . . . . . .}

{Neural Receptor Functionality at 20% . . . . .}

{General Emotional Functions: Missing}

...but no matter how long I keep going...this place isn't the same anymore...the torturous turned peaceful silence i want has long been gone ever since I have been experiencing these new things...

I need to find it, I need to find it, I need to find it, I need to find it, I need to find it, I need to find it, I need to find it, I need to find it, I need to find it, I need to find it, I need to find it, I need to find it, I need to find it, I need to find it, I need to find it, I need to find it, I need to find it, I need to find it, I need to find it, I need to find it

...I need to find my "home"...I just need to find a way to get it back...and a way to permanently stay in it with no more interruptions...


Azazel's POV

After a couple of seconds, I had finally landed in whatever room this is.

*THUD* *thump thump thump*

The sound of my boots landing on a bumpy metal surface resonated around the room. Other sounds of something rolling and sliding off onto the "ground" was something I also heard. However, before taking my first step, the "solid" floor suddenly shifted. With my weight of balance off, I slipped and fell causing me to slide down this hill like terrain. Pushing myself and jumping with the same force, I unwrapped my wings to better check this place.

Azazel: 'Better tell Shemhazai about what I found.' Pulling out the communication device he made hundreds of year back that we both still use, I switched it on. The only sound that came was a long high pitch sound instead of its usual static white noise.

I only had a second before the pitch got louder, knowing what was happening I tossed the device as fast and far as possible to the right. One moment goes by before it blows to pieces.

Azazel: "A 'Genius of Heaven' my ass, that's the last time I'm using his old experiments." As the last of the fizz and echo from the explosion dissipates, I turn my head back to the original direction.

I started making a magic circle to contact Shemhazai since his invention, while unique and interesting, just wasn't good enough to replace our magic. The circle appeared right next to my ear and I started to put some power into it, only for the sound of cracking glass to be heard.

*creeeek* *krrreek* *SNAP*

The magic circle snapped to pieces as I turned to look at it. Whatever is down here was meant to stay down here. The thing that broke my magic circle probably caused the communication device to go hay-wire earlier. Floating in a thinking posture, I made up my mind on staying here to investigate before reporting my findings to Shemhazai.

The darkness was unnerving, it was quiet...too quiet for my liking. Producing a ball of light on my palm, my eyes wince at the sudden brightness. Looking away and brightening the source of my light, I notice the small glinting and twinkles of light around me. The same twinkles I saw when I was up above in the chute.

Azazel: 'Speaking of said chute...' looking up the chute was barely noticeable in this place. 'Don't wanna get lost so I might as well stick around here.'

Azazel: 'The "hill" I landed on is to my left...it certainly doesn't look like a hill from here...strange. Anyways might as well start heading towards where I threw that piece of shit.'

Raising my hand just above my head to avoid making myself blind, I got a feeling that heading I was gonna want to bring that shit back. Shemhazai would probably want it back, whether in prime condition or as a speck of dust, to improve it. Squinting my eyes hardly helps with this place, making my light source brighter isn't gonna do much either. Although I can't really complain, the view is pretty mesmerizing.

Amidst the abyss that surrounds me, there are thousands of twinkling stars that come and go wherever I look. Of course I know that it's just reflections due to my light, but the question is whether or not it's coming from living beings or if it's just scrap metal.

Descending slowly to get a better view of what is or what's on the floor in order to find the broken device, I could only question how high I actually was compared to the ground level. I was tempted to send another light ball to see how much longer I had to go, but was stopped when I saw the silhouette of a small hilltop just up ahead.

Flapping my wings for a quick boost towards that direction, before I arrived however, many of my questions were answered with my first glance. 'What was causing those star-like shines t throughout this whole place?' 'What was it that I slipped on when I first dropped here?' 'What exactly is this place and why is it so quiet?' And the most important one, 'What was God doing here for more than 600 years?'

The answers to that didn't come to me immediately, even though it was there in my line of sight. In fact, it was staring directly at me with its only eye. It wasn't the only one if the same situation that's in front of me was the same as everywhere else. Any and all thoughts were put on hold. I don't know how long I floated in this position and I didn't care, because right now I have never felt, seen, or been in a horrifying and disgusting place as this.

...a head...a god damn head of a person clear within my memory is sitting right there on the small hill, looking at me as if it was waiting for my arrival as if it was anticipated. Tearing my gaze from his only eye was difficult, as if it wanted me to witness that horrors that I knew now that this place was. That if I were to look away, it would pass its own judgment onto me for disrespecting it and what it's been through. So I didn't. I continued to stare. And the longer that I did, the paler I could feel myself getting, the worst my stomach continued to turn and twist.

I've seen my fair share of war and the worst it could bring out of people. Kokabiel was a prime example that showed itself when he gleefully fought against Lucifer's rebellion with a grin that would fit in his present day army of demons and devils. Yet, even the battle with Lucifer was less horrifying and nightmare fuel than this. That sole lifeless violet-colored eye, that reminded me of the skies before the sun's light finally vanishes or arrives from the night, gave me more chills than the unnerving silence of this place. The glint and shine that twinkled from my light only made me wanna turn it off and go back to the dark abyss.

Finally having the will and feeling disgusted with myself for admiring those "stars", I managed to pull away from its gaze. The pit in my stomach only got heavier as my skin also lost whatever tint of color they had left. My eyes only moved a few inches away to the left before my entire previous statement that I had before was proven wrong, it wasn't just a head...there was a body...and another...and another...and another...and another...and another...and another.

The more I noticed, the more I wished I hadn't, the more I cursed this damn unquenchable thirst for the unknown that I had. I knew my curiosity would get me killed, now I just wished it killed me before I arrived here.

Arms, legs, eyes, hair, heads, bodies, bodies without arms, torsos, and so on. The entire place was the result of a slaug—nay an entire fucking genocide. Countless upon countless of bodies, all of which had the same face. How could I forget a face that I've been seeing at least once a week, for the past 80 years, trying my hardest to accomplish what I was starting to believe was a whole load of nothing. Now I'm here in this nightmare of a room, I couldn't tell if this was real or if I was actually asleep dreaming this entire thing due to over-stressing myself over this.

The closer I examined the more I knew, and the more I wished I hadn't. Old, young, female, male, whole, in pieces, long hair, short hair, infants, children, elderly, cripples, eyeless, half faces, whole faces, and all dead as far as the silence around me could say.

From all of this, I could only think and do one thing. With hands shaking, stomach already on the verge to push my organs out, skin deathly pale, and eyes wide as they can be, I lift the ball of light and brighten it to its fullest as I look over the "hill". As the light suddenly brightened, I only hoped, hoped that it isn't true. That the conclusion that I had arrived at was but a madman's fantasy.
When the light died down, I only knew 2 things, I was truly a madman for coming here and it was finally time to leave this Heavenly disguised Hell.

*BLLLAAAAAARRRRRGHH*

*GARRRRRRRRGHHH*

*PTUI Hah Hah Hah*

Throwing up, I didn't even know I was doing it until I was panting out of breathe. Spitting the last strands of puke, I start gasping for air that I felt was becoming thinner and thinner, as if an entity was trying to suffocate me for witnessing this forbidden fruit of knowledge. I didn't know whether to be grateful or disturbed that there was no rotting smell to accompany it. Grateful that if it were here, I would have likely done more than puke my previous meal. Or disturbed that because of the odorless carnage, I had stayed and even stepped on these bodies back at the chute.

I can only wonder what would have happened if I hadn't flown straight away from that fall instead of falling to the ground. Would I have fallen on my stomach and looked up to find the same cold-nerve chilling gaze of a bodiless head? Most certainly yes, if the mountains upon mountains of corpses and body parts that I could see can tell. I didn't need to turn around to know that it's the same everywhere. And I certainly didn't need to know how "deep" this room was as I wasn't going anywhere near the floor.

Those "starry lights" were replaced with the same dull, violet eyes. All of which felt like they were gazing at me. All with blank looks to accompany them, and yet it made me feel worse. No signs of an agonizing death despite the conditions they were in, they each were the same. The "blood" that leaked from several of them only made the piles seem more endless as they covered the ones below making it impossible to see underneath.

Azazel: 'Hell no, I can't handle this.'

Turning back to the chute, I use all the force my wings could muster and flew with the objective of telling Shemhazai about this. God is insane, a madman, and at the moment, only he knew.

Azazel: 'Fuck, fuck, fuck, we gotta scram. No doubt once He finds out that I know, I'll just be another body to this pile.'

With a final biggest flap from my wings, I quickly fold them back up as the entrance of the chute is comes closer and closer. Finally entering, the amount of relief and how much my mind cleared up after seeing the light getting brighter almost made me forget that there was an end to the tunnel. Getting ready to kick off the wall for the sharp 90 degree turn, I turned myself mid-flight in order to face the back of the compartment. Bracing myself for a painful landing, I brought my arms to reduce the amount of area that I would cover.

The moment arrived as fast as thought of my plan, and soon I kicked the back of the compartment with right leg. Landing heavily on my back against the floor, the momentum was enough to slide me across to the end of the room. Hitting the top of my head, I felt too tired to complain about the pain and just laid there.

The few moments to process everything and recover were very much appreciated. Finally getting up, wobbling on my feet, I slowly pace to the entrance I came from and shut the compartment. Nothing was out of the ordinary, and since God was out for his own personal expedition, the magic residue would disperse without anyone knowing.

*HIISSSSSSS*

Closing with a hiss, I turned and started to slowly walk around the throne heading straight for the exit. I summoned the communication circle again and contacted Shemhazai.

Azazel: 'This whole thing has been a cluster fuck.'

*siiighhhhhh*

Shemhazai: "The hell is up with you?"

His voice woke me up a bit and gave me the energy to at least try to explain what I saw.

Azazel: "Everything bud. I got somethings I need to tell you, pretty important things. We might need to advance the plans on leaving Heaven soon. I need to know if you can drop whatever you are doing so we can discuss this, cause I don't think I want to be the only one having nightmares for the next coming years."

My voice, tired and robotic, still had the serious tone I used when discussing business involving the Grigori.

Shemhazai: "Alright , I wasn't doing anything important anyways. I'll meet you at the usual place in about an hour."

After giving a simple "sure" as a reply, I had finally reached the exit but stopped dead in my tracks.

My body stiffened, chills that were slowly going away came back at numbing speeds. Sweat profusely began running down my neck and forehead. I couldn't move, couldn't look to see what was causing this. Of course the only thing that could at the moment would be those corpses down below, and I would certainly shit, piss, and puke myself all at once if I turned and saw my dead "brothers" and "sisters" had somehow crawled up that chute.

Slowly, with a few twitches of my body naturally wanting to face away, I turned to face the throne. The fact I didn't shit, or piss myself was evidence enough that the dead hadn't come back to life.

*gasp*

But the quick hitch of my breathe was caused by the only other person, besides myself of course, in the room who was currently looking directly at me. Those same half-lidded violet eyes from below were surely haunting me right now as he continued to stare. The fact that he had the same face as all of those down there, including the children and elderly somehow, did not help me in the slightest. Those eyes of his were filled with anger, curiosity, happiness, dread, and so much more and they were all being directed at me. Unable to tear my gaze, once again for the past hour or so, I had frozen and stared while my thoughts were put on hold.

?: "Who...are you?"

The way his monotone and cold voice had echoed throughout the room had caused me to flinch. The flinch didn't go unnoticed as the wired angel narrowed his gaze at me. The pressure around me increased and I almost dropped to my knees if it were not for the fact that it disappeared as soon as it appeared. In fact, I feel better than I was before this whole cluster-fuck happened.

The glint in his eyes now only showed curiosity, gone was the anger and the feeling that I was a nuisance. Trying not to agitate him, I finally gathered the courage to speak up, although in a whisper. I decided to do the most natural thing when meeting a new person, a friendly introduction. So with a small smile hiding away my fear, I started welcoming our newly awoken brother.

Azazel: "My name is..."

—-
?'s POV

Moments After Azazel Dropped Into the Chute

{System Functionality at 80% . . . . . . .}

I'm closer...closer to being free...

{Visual Perception Functions at 95%. . . . . . . .}

{Auditory Systems at 100% . . . . . . . }

{Neural Receptor Functionality at 47%. . . . . . .}

{Early Start-Up Conditions have been met. Initiate process now?}

{Yes or No?}

I want to leave. I want out. I want everything to stop. It is all I want. I need to find what I have lost.

{Reply:"I want to leave" under analysis...}

{Confirmation for "Yes" has been confirmed through request to "leave"...}

{Initiating Early Start-Up...}

{Estimation for Completion: 27 minutes...}

{General Connection at 97%: High Stability...}

{Logistics/Processors at 89%: Moderate Stability...}

{Combat Functions at 68%. . . . . . .}

?: 'Mmm...only 27 minutes and then the search will start.'

Feeling myself drift once again in a random direction, I go through the information that I've seen countless times in this poor replacement of the void I had. I had long since ignored and became numb to the pain that came with searching through them. I don't understand any of it, but it didn't mean I couldn't look at them and find hints of where my "home" has went.

I found the word "home" being used a lot when watching and listening to the silhouette, or silhouettes since I see some together every once in a while, talking about how they miss it and it's comfort. That sounds like what I had.

"Home"...it sounds nice. Just like me, they want to go "home"...maybe we can find it together.