Chapter 1

A few days earlier, a figure was seen kneeling before the altar of the gods in a great marble temple. The great hall leading to the altar stationed numerous statues of renowned Grim Angels that fought valiantly in the war of Ragnarok. Behind the altar itself stood a monolithic mural of the gods themselves, with bodies of immovable mountains. Among them, the great god in the middle held the famous lance, Longius, and pointed its three-pronged end downward at the altar.

One window from the side allowed strong sunlight to shine through, revealing the humbled visitor. He had long, spiky blonde hair with weary red eyes, and wore religious cream robes. On his back were white wings with streaks of pale scarlet.

For a long time, the great temple remained in solemn silence until a few slow steps announced yet another presence. Eventually, the steps stopped right behind the solemn blonde youth.

"Once again I find the great Master Ledah paying his respects to the gods..." a semi-taunting voice called out.

The blonde youth slowly turned his head to see Yuan standing behind him with a cheerful grin.

"Hello again, dear friend..." Yuan said in a sincere tone.

Ledah sighed deeply before putting his attention to the altar again.

"So, how often am I going to see you around here until you're... better?" Yuan asked curiously.

Ledah paused for a moment. Then he lowered his head. "I've always come here... even before that time..." he answered seriously.

Yuan laughed nervously. "Right. You've been very devoted to this kind of thing more than anyone of us. Although I guess I'm not really one to speak of such things, huh?"

Ledah barely reacted. He kept his body sternly knelt before the altar in prayer.

Yuan groaned. Although he acknowledged the might that the gods once had, he could not see any reason to become a devoted follower of their will. In his mind, the time of the gods passed ages ago. Even with the appointed proxies, the Great Magi, watching over Asgard, Yuan had doubts that the gods' will was truly that influential. He had seen a few injustices take place without divine intervention, and he was unsure if the Magi themselves were truly acting as the gods had instructed them. Still, young Yuan was not one to carelessly disrespect the sacred ways of his kind.

"I've noticed in these past few weeks, that you've been working much harder in training lately. Are you doing this... for her?" he asked.

Again, Ledah did not answer.

Without a proper response to satisfy him, Yuan's body started to tremble, and his left hand was balled into a fist as frustration filled his body.

"Is this what she would've wanted from you?" he cried.

Without turning to face his conversation partner, Ledah took in a deep breath before speaking again.

"It is all the will of the gods... I feel that they are in dire need of my strength... so I must not let them down." he uttered.

"That's your explanation for all of this?" Yuan cried in disbelief. "It was the gods that let Lorelei die like that, just so you can fight for them?"

Upon hearing that, Ledah knelt down even further and started to tremble himself.

"N-no... t-that... that was my fault..." he uttered in deep regret. Tears started running down his cheeks as a painful memory started to haunt him.

Yuan inhaled one deep breath to calm himself. He then unclenched his left hand as he brought it up to his forehead.

"Ledah... please listen... that was not your fault. It was 1000 years ago since Asgard faced its last threat! None of us expected to see demons hanging out near Heaven's Gate! You just wanted... to show Lorelei what was beyond our realm. This was not a sin committed by your hand. You have to forgive yourself..." Yuan pleaded.

"I should have never disregarded the taboo about leaving Asgard, but I was far too curious... too overjoyed... to allow proper judgment to sink in. If we had actually made it to Riviera, we both might've been---"

Ledah swallowed upon the next thought and tried to halt his tears.

Yuan was well aware of the incident that alerted the Magi to the Demons manifesting in Riviera, of the one secret kept between himself and Ledah, and of the life that was taken back then.

Before the incident, Ledah was still a serious, level-headed Angel, but there was once someone in his life that was able to bring him a smile. That person was his beloved Angel, Lorelei.

She had long, flowing crimson hair, and sapphire eyes that scintillated with grace and maturity. She always wore a warm smile, and had a strong, elegant presence about her. Most striking of all were her pure white wings, which radiated with the purity of her own soul.

Back then, Ledah and Lorelei slowly enjoyed their days together. There were times where they would sit side by side, awaiting the hour that light was finally brought to their sacred realm. There were times where the both of them would take relaxing strolls through the gardens of Asgard, which were said to be blessed with the most wonderfully fragrant flowers. There were times when they would study together in the Great Library, where their knowledge of history increased everyday.

But there were only few, precious moments where Ledah swore to be at her side. And for a while, both truly believed that this promise would be kept.

Unfortunately, it took only a single error of judgment in order for that promise to be broken.

It was started out as a normal day. Ledah was tutoring his longtime friend, the enthusiastic Ein, while Yuan patiently awaited his chance to spar. It didn't take much time for the serious Angel to be done with his task, but he had to inform his respected Rival that he made previous arrangements with a special friend.

Sure enough, it was Lorelei who approached the young men, ready to share another happy day with Ledah. It was that day when the couple planned to explore the memorable remains of Heaven's Gate, and eventually descent upon the Promised Land itself. Although there have been no known threats by the demons for a millennium, it was rumored that the lands beyond inhabitable Asgard were perilous. Despite this, the noble pair was still eager go.

In their travels, Ledah and Lorelei were able to enjoy the history that remained from the destruction of Ragnarok. Despite its war torn look, the curious pair found it both fascinating and beautiful. However, it did not take long for rabid Hell Hounds to arrive and surround the Angels. Without a weapon in hand, Ledah was merely helpless, and he could only use his own body to defend himself.

Somehow, Yuan sensed their danger and rushed towards Heaven's Gate with a sword in hand and spear on his back. Thanks an innate spiritual sense, he was able to work quickly towards Ledah and Lorelei's position. Through his efforts, he made it just in time... to see Lorelei get mauled to death by the hell hounds, and an injured Ledah bleeding and crying. A shocked and sickend Yuan had to move onward to slay the vicious pack single handedly with the remaining Angel too distraught to fight. It was a difficult fight, but with his fighting ability, he barely managed to end it all with only a few wounds.

With the battle done, Yuan was left to bring back a beautiful corpse, and a broken spirit. On his way back, a somber Ledah could only utter a few words over and over:

"I... killed her...I..."

Feeling upset over the gruesome scene himself, Yuan felt his blood boil.

"It's a demon's sadistic nature to destroy the purest of souls first. But to kill Lorelei like that in cold blood after overwhelming a defenseless Ledah..."

Yuan's body shook violently as he let out a savage growl. Upon realizing his anger, the ruby-eyed angel forced himself to calm down again. He then focused his attention on the Angel kneeling before him.

"It was an unfortunate sequence of events... "He uttered somberly."Ein and I are also suffering over this. If we had tried to convince you otherwise... or at least prepared you for the worst..."

"It doesn't matter now. Lorelei and I made that choice together, without your input, and she died because of our decision..." Ledah stated.

"...Lorelei was a great friend to all of us. Lazuli, Ein, and I... we miss her very much, but it would still be nice to speak to the one that was closest to her. I'm seriously worried. You've been isolating yourself from everybody after mourning. Why can't you talk to us?" Yuan asked.

"...I'm merely a liability as I am now... it will be difficult to face anyone until I obtain the proper strength... until I conquer these troublesome emotions..." Ledah answered.

"...W-what? No way! First of all, there's no way anyone in Asgard would ever consider calling you weak! Unless that person happened to be Malice, but that's another story! Anyway, you're one of the top fighters-in-training, and the rival I respect! Not only that, but Ein looks up to you as if you were a Master! Second of all, I know you're depressed and everything, but emotions aren't a liability! In fact, I've been guided by emotions for the longest time, and I've still managed to keep a decent head on my soldiers! Besides, what exactly is it that lead you to Lorelei in the first place? Even if it hurts, Lorelei still holds a special place in your heart. Don't just throw away everything she meant to you!" Yuan reprimanded.

Ledah groaned in vague disgust as he wiped away his tears. "Tell me this then: How would you handle loosing someone very precious to you?" he asked.

Yuan narrowed his eyes as he thought back to his significant other. "The sad truth is... part of me is prepared for that day..." he said with a quiver.

For a while, the two renowned Angel Trainees looked up at the mural of the imposing gods. They found their thoughts wandering from the past and into an uncertain future.

Ledah felt he had little left to loose, while Yuan felt he still had so much to hold on to.

But what was unanimously clear to both was that they had a lot to take care of.

"Listen, I don't know what the Magi expect of us once these trials are over, but I'm starting to feel uneasy here. Just... please come to us when you're ready to talk again." Yuan told his friend before leaving the temple.

Just as the ruby-eyed Angel turned himself completely around, Ledah spoke once more. "Yuan...don't endanger Lazuli... ever... even if the risk seems slim..."

Yuan nodded. "I'll keep that in mind." he assured Ledah.

And so, the black-haired angel finally made his departure while the blonde angel remained deep in thought with the gods watching over him.

"Anger, Sorrow, Regret, and Fear... I cannot allow these feelings to distract me any longer. Not even happiness is a worthy distraction to me anymore. In order to fulfill my duties properly, I must purge myself of these bothersome feelings..." he thought to himself.

Upon feeling his heart skip a beat, the solitary Angel was fraught with inner shame. "My Beloved Lorelei... I'm truly sorry for what must be done..."

Preview

Chapter 2: Wrath and Vengeance

"I SWEAR THAT I'LL RESTORE MY FAMILY NAME! EVEN IF I HAVE TO CLAIM YOUR HEAD TO DO IT!"