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Chapter 1
'~The most inaccessible plains of heaven, above and beyond number seven~~~!
~~I'll lead you to rainbows' ends most peerless, forever in bliss, never again cheerless~!
~~The furthest futures are naught but bright, our people will bring you all to the Heavenliest heights~~~!'
-Quote/Song Lyrics by FS Nancinaeku and attributed to the nature of all FS Supremest Omnidonae.
God's tragic demise betokened the end of a golden age, one many naively believed would last forever. None could be certain of what the future held for the three major factions of the Supernatural world now, be it the fall of entire civilizations, the deaths of millions upon millions of believers, and the immutable paradigm shift in the balance of power between every Religion and Mythology throughout the world and beyond. To say the future looked uncertain for many who knew the truth would be a vast understatement; though there were still those who clung to hope even in the wake of this cataclysmic event.
At least, that's what Michael would like to believe, and what his sister Gabriel did believe wholeheartedly, even despite God's death hitting her the hardest out of all of them.
God had conjured the Archangel Michael and his fellow Seraphs for a definite purpose, to ensure the safety and sanctity of God's chosen people, the humans of Earth... to protect their futures and help them build upon them, make them better. As an Archangel, this was Michael's most all-Important duty. Of this, he was certain.
Over time, as the world continued to change and evolve in ways none of them could've anticipated, God charged Michael with the monumental task of protecting the entire human race for all of time; creating more angels like him to assist him in this endeavor. The fact that the Archangels could live upwards of 1 googol years- the supposed amount of time it would take for the last supermassive black holes in the universe to evaporate completely due to Hawking Radiation- meant that Michael and the rest of his kind could in fact ensure humanity's survival right up until the collapse of reality itself, maybe even beyond it if such was possible. Of course, it was already proving to be difficult to do even now. Michael honestly didn't know if he could keep doing this for another 1000-years, let alone a googol.
And despite him and his fellow Angels doing their absolute damnedest to keep evil at bay, all their success in the past up till this point had only been possible through God's guidance and teachings.
So, when God finally met his match against the sealed Trihexa and the four Great Devil Kings over 1000-years-ago, many of his most devout followers and angels, Michael, and the other Archangels amongst them, feared for the future of their kin and the integrity of the fruits of their labor. They feared that this was the beginning of the end. And among those existential terrors, they also feared for themselves, for Heaven, and for the mortal souls who had found everlasting peace in paradise.
Thankfully, the metaphysical and Sacred Gear systems God had created and left behind proved far more resilient than Michael had first believed. Not only was Heaven untouched by the corrupting influences of her supernatural adversaries, but over the last few centuries following God's death the number of believers in the holy scripture had increased by leaps and bounds. That Jesus was still alive was a ray of hope for some as well; though in light of recent events not many were willing to pin their hopes on God's firstborn.
Michael stood in the uppermost level of heaven, marveling once again at their father's ingenious brainchild.
The highest level, Seventh Heaven, was distinctly different from the levels below. There were no buildings, furniture, trees, darkness, gardens, or Utopian cities like in the lower levels either. There was nothing all around them except for a never-ending blue space, a Celestial blue curtain cut into innumerable pieces by rows upon rows upon columns of raw data.
A nigh omniscient database filled to the rim with endless information about trillions upon trillions of worlds and centuries worth of knowledge; every name, place, event, whisper, and prayer alike from every civilized planet across the universe... all streaming into this place and all at Michael's own fingertips, just as it was at his father's. Seventh Heaven was the largest hub of information across the entire cosmos, with enough data coming in every Planck instant to put the entire supply of data in the Library of Congress, the World Wild Web, and all others like them to complete and utter shame. It was without a doubt the closest anyone could come to being truly omniscient and was where the concept of God's inherent omniscience originated from.
God was an extremely powerful Celestial being and an inventor and genius beyond compare, these traits further compounded by his Divine physiology, but contrary to popular belief he was neither omnipotent nor omniscient; not truly. If there were any beings in all the known Cosmos who were truly infinite, truly transcendental, and ineffable, it was Great Red and Ophis the Infinite Dragon God, or Goddess he supposed he should say. The popular opinion was that he, or she was genderless, though perhaps gender fluid was a more apt description.
Michael allowed the mortals to think otherwise of him though, his father deserved at least some false belief in his fabricated, ever vaunted omnipotence after what became of him. It was dishonest, yes, but Michael ran with the notion to further head off anybody who managed to figure out the truth. The structural integrity of the System and the belief God's followers had in his teachings and philosophies was crucial; if the secret of his demise got out it could jeopardize that faith and everything, they'd worked so hard to build. Faith in the Word of God was all that remained to preserve; without it, all of their Father's work would fall apart.
That God had made a system capable of outlasting even himself was astonishing; that it was easy enough for any of his angels to use was miraculous. If not Michael, then another such as his sister Gabriel could take his place managing this system in God's stead, even if none of them could work it quite like their Father had. Jesus could, but Michael doubted anyone would be able to convince him to come home at this point. Last he checked his eldest brother was still on Earth, staying out of trouble like he promised. Michael still kept tabs on him from time to time, though things were running fairly smoothly without him for the time being.
Perhaps the biggest benefit of all that the system prized was the ability to continue performing miracles. While they could not be realized anywhere near as frequently as when God had been alive, miracles were still very much a staple of Heaven's metaphysical system. And while the system wasn't faultless and without its problems, the Earth was presently enjoying a much-deserved golden age of peace and prosperity after global conflicts took place in the 20th century.
It did Michael a world of good to know that people were living more happily than ever before. Of course, this was at least partly due to human ingenuity; a trait God always loved about them given his own penchant for accomplishing wonders with his own cosmic genius. He would've been grinning like a madman if he was able to see how far they've come, no doubt.
As Michael started losing himself in his train of thought, the System suddenly and without warning began to shriek, alarms blaring all throughout all of Seventh Heaven and the Heavens below; alerting everyone to what was happening. The Archangel's eyes widened at the searing, blinding red letters that sprawled across the entirety of the infinite room where God once ruled from, watching in horror as they became the only thing visible in the whole place.
[System Error! System Error! Danger! SEVENTH HEAVEN HAS BEEN BREACHED!]
The message stole all the warmth from Michael's blood as he witnessed the unthinkable happening right before his very eyes. Someone, or something... had somehow broken into the highest, most secure level of Heaven. It was unprecedented. It was terrifying on an existential level. Yet, even as the blinding red letters receded as quickly as they formed, and he cast his gaze all around him for any sign of the breach; there was nothing but Celestial blue and the columns of raw data stretching infinitely in all directions. Everything appeared as it should in Seventh Heaven, but Michael knew better than most that appearances could be deceiving.
The only passage in or out of Seventh Heaven suddenly opened in front of him as his younger sister quickly flew in, having been the only Seraph in Sixth Heaven at this time as the others were out on Earth now.
"What happened?!" Gabriel asked with worry written all over her face.
"I'm... not sure. The System said that Seventh Heaven has been breached." Michael answered her.
She tilted her head in an adorably perplexed manner. "I didn't even know that was possible! I was spending time down in Zebel when I got the alert! All of Heaven is in an uproar currently! This is crazy!"
Despite the seriousness of the situation, Michael couldn't help but smile at his sister's enthusiasm. It was a good thing only Seraphs could come up here; the last thing Michael needed was a bevy of Angels too curious for their own good. That did not mean however, that he wasn't planning on filling them in on what happened after the fact.
"It's not supposed to be possible. God designed Seventh Heaven to be unbreachable, or as close to it as any security system can be." He informed her diligently.
"I guess that would make sense. So, then, who, or what could've done this?" She intoned in a curious manner, more in awe of the prospect than she was afraid for whatever reason. Michael was saved the trouble of articulating a response when a stairway of endlessly kaleidoscopic light appeared before them, leading higher above Seventh Heaven than even the largest column of data.
"Do you think that... big brother had a change of heart?" The timidity in Gabriel's voice as she asked this and the vulnerability in her expression tore at Michael's heart. Sometimes, he hated having to dash her hopes like this, but he needed to be realistic.
"No, Jesus made it pretty clear he wants nothing to do with taking Father's place. I want to believe he'd reconsider more than anyone Gabriel, as he's just as good at utilizing the System as Father was, but Father's death changed him at the core. He's only a shell of the man he was." Michael replied in a somber tone as Gabriel looked down at her feet with sadness. The topic of Jesus was a bit of a sore spot amongst Heaven's Hosts, the popular opinion amongst the angels was that he was a coward who shirked his literally God-Given right, his all-important responsibility to manage Heaven in their Father's stead.
As God's firstborn and literal flesh and blood; Jesus was the ideal replacement. Sadly, he had zero desire to spend the rest of eternity bound to Heaven as dear old dad's replacement. The pressure of protecting the future of Heaven, the Angels, and humanity without their Father's guidance had been too much for the Son of God to handle. There have been numerous attempts to change his mind, sadly; he wouldn't budge, and Michael honestly couldn't blame him. Jesus wasn't coming home.
Gabriel loved him almost as completely as she'd loved their Father, and honestly just wanted her brother home with her. Second to Lucifer, Jesus had always been her favorite brother, and with Lucifer's death during the Great War her family grew increasingly small. She didn't care if he took up management of Heaven or not, she missed her mild-mannered, sweet, and immeasurably kind older brother and wanted him to come home. She'd often visit Mary's home down in Third Heaven to make sure Jesus' mortal mother was doing alright as they both reflected on times long since passed.
Gabriel seldom showed anyone just how deeply affected she was by all of the stuff her eternal family went through, but she often thought about how it all went wrong, always thought about her complicated father, always thought about her favorite older brother who not only was dead... but whom she never stopped loving even while being forced to witness his fall from grace. He practically raised her, cared for her, loved her in a way that mortals would honestly never understand.
And now he was gone, the Father she loved more than anything and everything in creation was gone, the one person she would've gone to any lengths for no matter how extreme, the one person she would've died 1000 deaths for, was gone. She was not okay, she questioned whether she would ever truly be happy ever again. But she survived, and she owed it to everyone who died to make the best of her situation.
Michael bought her bubbly façade hook, line, and sinker; she was not nearly as innocent as he believed. Nor was she anywhere near as ditsy as he believed. She knew what he'd done for the sake of maintaining the system and was the last person in a position to judge him for it. Considering she'd committed far worse atrocities under direct orders from her Father without losing a wink of sleep over it, that was kind of a given. In fairness, a fair amount of her happiness was still genuine, and there was once a time when the sheer positive energy she radiated every day came without effort. But it slowly got harder and harder to maintain this façade. The only thing she could say made her happy these days was the peaceful relations between the three Supernatural Factions. The smaller the likelihood of war, the smaller her chances of losing anybody else.
The stairway beckoned them as they returned their attention to it, curiosity written on their features as they tentatively tested the bottom step. "It seems sturdy enough, come on Michael! Let's go investigate!" Gabriel excitedly twittered, recovering her usual bubbly personality so fast that Michael couldn't help but give her mad props. She really was the best of them. She still held some of her innocence despite all the wars and bloodshed, despite everything that's happened to them over the course of thousands of years.
She'd never been forced to do the things Michael had done just to ensure their survival, and she never would, not if he could help it. Still, he couldn't help but wonder if it was partially a farce. At times, Gabriel seemed bubbly and peppy to the point of absurdity, and at others it seemed more forced. He supposed the wars and the losses of their family had affected all of them in a myriad of ways. He wouldn't begrudge Gabriel not being able to keep it together on occasion, especially considering how well she held out compared to the rest of them.
"Gabriel, wait!" Michael called after her as she drew all 12 of her perfect white wings and took off up the impossibly tall stairway, her halo shining with a radiant golden light and joy and excitement shining in her beautiful blue eyes. Shaking his head inwardly at his sister's impetuous, excitable nature, he quickly flew after her to make sure she didn't land herself in a heap of trouble. Only the Seraphs were allowed up here or in Zebel, so it was just him and Gabriel now against whatever had managed to breach Heaven's highest floor.
As the Archangel of Heaven and the leader of the Four Great Seraphs; Michael was the only Angel with golden wings instead of white, signifying his rank as he and his sister flew side by side further and further up the polychromatic stairs. A Seraph could easily achieve massively hypersonic flight speeds, but even with that feature it still took them several minutes of constant flying to reach the top of this staircase.
When they finally got there, they were surprised to see what appeared to be a wooden door standing at the edge of a small platform on the very top of the staircase. The door appeared completely unremarkable, yet also completely out of place as it just hung there unsupported by any walls, door frames, and the like. Behind it was nothing other than a huge drop off the ledge into 7th Heaven below, though one had to wonder what would happen if it were to open.
Despite its unremarkable appearance, Michael knew that was deceptive as he and Gabriel saw writing etched on the center. Their hearts pounded in their rib cages, whether from excitement or fear was anyone's guess. Michael would be lying if he said he wasn't at least somewhat curious, but as Heaven's leader it was his duty to address this massive breach in the safety and sanctity of his home, even if it scared him out of his wits. He didn't really like having Gabriel here with him and resolved to protect her if shots were fired by whatever or whoever was waiting for them on the other side of this door.
"Hmm, let's see, it says Abstrusest Ultra Sof Cardinal Heaven! What a weird name for a door!" Was Gabriel's endearingly airheaded reading of the words etched on the door. Michael sweatdropped.
"Um, Gabriel, I'm fairly certain that's an acronym. It's in all caps so it would be spelled out as SOF, not pronounced as Sof." He corrected her with a slight twinge of humor despite his fear and uncertainty.
"Oh." Gabriel said, giggling sheepishly. She quickly adopted a more pensive expression as she contemplated their admittedly limited options. In fairness, there were times when her ditsy nature was not an act.
"So, um... What do we do? Do we just open it and see what's on the other side?"
Instead of answering her with words, Michael tried the doorknob only to pause as it appeared to be locked. "Strange, it won't let me in." He hummed in thought.
Gabriel startled him when she balled her hand into a fist and suddenly began to bang on the door in a rather boisterous manner. "Hello?! Anybody in there?! Your door just kind of appeared in our home with no warning and it's causing quite the commotion!" She hammered at the door several times, her petite yet exaggerated, full-figured frame belying her inhuman strength as a Seraph.
"Somehow, I don't think it's as easy as knocking on the door to get them to..." Michael broke off with surprise as the door opened of its own accord around the 16th or so knock from Gabriel. An ultraluminous light of swirling, spiraling kaleidoscope burst from the sudden opening with boundaryless brilliance and nearly blinded them in the process, forcing them to fall back a little bit as they shielded their eyes with their wings. In the back of their minds, they swore they could've heard singing, by far the most beautiful song and voice either of them had ever heard, but they weren't altogether too sure.
Considering they were Angels and Gabriel herself had one of the most beautiful voices in all of Heaven, that was truly saying something. Unbeknownst to them, they weren't the only ones who heard it. Everyone in the Highschool DxD Universe was able to hear this superlatively beautiful singing voice that very moment. The mortals, thankfully, didn't seem to remember hearing it after the fact, but the Supernatural Factions remembered and would eventually seek out the source.
Both the light and the song died down just as quickly as they came, and despite quite literally seeing stars, Gabriel gloated at him in a very superior manner with her hands on her hips. "You were saying?" She grinned teasingly, her vision recovering almost right away. Michael sweatdropped a second time.
"Well, I stand corrected. Lead the way, but stay close to me, okay?" Michael instructed her in a tone that brokered no arguments. Gabriel nodded and was just about to make her way through the door when someone stumbled out the other side of it first. Gabriel let out an eep of surprise and quickly recoiled backwards from the person suddenly standing way too close to her, her blue eyes narrowing imperceptibly at the sudden intrusion into her personal space. Michael moved just as fast to defend her in case the intruder harbored any ill intent. That he was protective of Gabriel would be a vast understatement, and in this case, he couldn't take any chances. Little did he know that his sister was perfectly capable of looking after herself.
One thing caused him to hit pause in his attempts to shield her from their surprise visitor, or trespasser he should probably say. The being in front of them looked like he'd just come out the other side of the worst apocalypse imaginable, and barely survived if the hellish state he was currently in was any indicator. There was a massive hole punctured through his entire chest and abdomen letting one see clear out the other side. His left arm was missing, and a boundlessly oversaturated gold Ichor poured ceaselessly from the absent appendage, more than should've been physically possible.
One could tell that his hair had once been perfectly quaffed and was still darker than the blackest black holes even while matted with tufts of caked on blood. A strange, purplish miasmic substance was splattered on certain exposed parts of his flesh, attempting to eat away at the flesh that remained. The one part of his body that remained unmarred, and struck the most imposing pose, was the 20 angel-like wings extending from his body and stretching on seemingly forever. They pierced holes of distortion in the dimensionality of Seventh Heaven itself, which only should've been possible if they were truly infinitely long.
That their feathers were also glowing in more colors than they had a name for and seemed to render infinite wavelengths of light completely visible to the naked eye, was something worth noting as well. Even their Father had only had 14-wings, all of them gold much like Michael's. Both Michael and Gabriel knew that the number of wings an Angel or Seraph had indicated their rank and stature in Heaven. For this Entity before them to have 20 was unheard of. For some odd reason, neither one of them was able to look this man directly in the eyes. Every time they tried every instinct in their bodies screamed at them to look away lest they end up permanently blinded or worse, and they were made to heed those instincts by some strange, invisible force.
He had three swords, one strapped to his back in a pink diamond encrusted scabbard, and the other two clipped to his sides over his hips. The one clipped to his left was just a cylindrical hilt with no discernible blade, possibly having been broken off during his battle against... whatever nightmarish creature he'd faced. The parts of his outfit that were still intact and not torn to shreds made it clear that he'd been wearing a one-piece bodysuit the most oversaturated, metallic gold color they'd ever seen, one matched only by his blood.
Curiously, his Ichor seemed to be caught between wanting to bleed him out and retract back inside his body which was brutalized beyond almost anything they'd ever seen. Despite this however, he managed to offer them both a tired smile, and began to collapse. Gabriel's heart overflowed with compassion, and she immediately flew forward and caught him in her arms to break his fall, being careful to avoid the spots on his body where the miasma was seemingly eating away at him as his wings retracted into his broken body of their own accord. Gabriel supported his full body weight with ease, her strength as a Seraph availing her without fail as he smiled up at her, the love that shone out from his face during those moments more eternal than even she could fathom. "My Seraphic sentinel." He chuckled lowly, his voice an Infinity-Fold Totality that carried through the whole of 7th Heaven and beyond. Gabriel blushed, but she smiled back at him despite her fluster.
"Shh, it's okay, we're going to get you help. You'll be back to your old self in no time." She assured him. It was definitely not beyond their ability to do so; Gabriel's own healing power and light was on par with the Phenex Clan's Phoenix Tears on the Devils' side and could regenerate lost limbs and heal any wound no matter how grievous. This man was still alive despite how badly he was hurt, and she would be damned if she didn't do everything in her power to save him. As long as he was alive, there was still hope.
Picking him up in a bridal carry in her arms, Gabriel turned around to level a piercing stare at Michael as if daring him to try and tell her that Heaven's safety was their main concern. Michael's only response was to give a noncommittal jerk of his head as if to say, 'well, if you must.' She beamed at him with eternal gratitude and proceeded to unfold her wings and take off down the flight of stairs before disappearing through the door to 7th Heaven to take her charge somewhere where she could heal him properly.
Michael remained behind in 7th Heaven to keep watch over everything. Today had been a bit of a crazy day, and he questioned where the strange being had come from and why he was here. No doubt his Father would've remained cautious about letting a complete stranger into Heaven without knowing whether or not he'd corrupt it's evil-free environment. Him being able to bypass their security in such a manner would've only further compounded God's paranoia, and the Archangel was tempted to argue his point further, but his sister would never forgive him if he let someone die on her watch while knowing she could save them. He knew Gabriel would do her best to heal him as she was one of Heaven's best healers save Jesus himself. He also knew pandemonium would doubtlessly ensue amongst the ranks of the Angels once it became apparent, he was the one who breached Heaven's top floor, but that could wait for now and he trusted Gabriel's discretion on such matters. It was a risky play but a calculated one, and when all was said and done Michael had every intention of getting some answers.
He only hoped they didn't live to regret his decision.
But if anyone could save that poor god's soul, it was her. Taking a moment to collect his jumbled thoughts, Michael couldn't help but wonder if this man breaching Seventh Heaven of all things was what their Father had somehow wanted. Perhaps this was meant to be, maybe there was a grand scheme to all this, or maybe it was random happenstance that no one could've predicted happening. He supposed they'd all find out, sooner or later. For now, he resolved to keep an eye on the man while Gabriel cared for him and asked him some questions when he came to.
1000-years dead, and God still worked in mysterious ways.
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As a Seraph, Gabriel had her own private residence in Zebel, separate from the ones her Queen, Griselda Quarta, and the rest of her Brave Saints lived in down in Heaven's first level. One could not reside with her in Zebel without her express permission, and in her charge's case, he had her permission, even if he wasn't conscious. He laid comfortably splayed out over the bed in one of the many guest rooms scattered throughout her own personal heavenly castle; his massive 7-foot-frame just barely dangling off the edge of the king-sized mattress feet-first.
Gabriel herself was 180 centimeters or 5'11 which was actually really tall by female standards, but her charge easily and vastly dwarfed her. It was perhaps the first time she'd ever had a boy home alone with her that wasn't Lucifer, Jesus, or her Father, and if she wasn't the paragon of chastity and purity that she was renowned for being her wings may have flickered just ever so slightly.
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Heaven knows her wings have flickered to a white light grey color before in the past, but even with someone as sinfully tempting as Lucifer or her loving God far, far more than a daughter should love her father, she'd never truly fallen for anyone as of yet either literally or figuratively. No man had seen her naked before or managed to be blessed enough to catch her in any sort of compromising position. Now though, she had to wonder sometimes if there was even a point to remaining pure anymore. With the truce between the three factions more or less holding true, a part of her dared to wonder if becoming a Fallen Angel was really such a bad thing.
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Upholding God's teachings was one of her most important tasks as the leading female Seraph of Heaven, and back when he'd been alive, and she could literally live and thrive off of his love and light it hadn't ever been an issue for her. Now though, he no longer existed, and more angels than ever looked for meaning to their existences elsewhere. There were only a precious few who truly held true to her Father's values in today's world, and while many people believed in God, they often twisted those beliefs to fit into whatever horrible values justified their sadistic urges.
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There were just as many monsters in their own faction now as there ever was amongst their Fallen brethren and the Devils themselves. There were also more people than ever in the world now who were agnostic at the very least and hardcore atheist beyond that. Nihilistic psychopaths who surrendered to their baser instincts and decreed that there was no absolute standard for morality in the universe were more dangerously influential on the non-believers than they ever were in the past. The existential mind games they played with their victims were so convincingly profound as the world grew more awake to the fact that it was quite literally Godless.
The true believers who still clung to the dying embers of hope and prayed every day for the Second Coming of Christ and God, they got lost in a sea of nihility and unholiness on a scale never before imagined. Gabriel believed in the Second Coming with every fiber of her being. She had to, not only concerning Jesus's supposed role in it but also the underlying idea that God was not truly dead… that he could've foreseen his death at the hands of Trihexa and the Four Great Devil Kings somehow and made plans to reincarnate all as parts of his never-ending master plan. That had never been considered a part of the Second Coming prophecy back when it'd first been conceptualized, but it certainly was part of the equation now.
Gabriel could ill afford to lose hope at this point. It was in times of unimaginable peril that hope shone brightest and undying faith reaped the most rewards. Throughout history, things always got worse before they got better, and these were some of the worst times that had ever befallen them as far as the state of the world was concerned. So, Gabriel had every confidence that that was how much better things were going to get as a result.
The universe wasn't all give and take, and even in these uncertain times the fact Heaven's System endured to an extent was a final hope for their futures they could not ever lose. Gabriel protected this system almost as religiously as she'd once served her Father, in the hopes that she may one day serve him again. And it seemed her charge had a part to play in all of this as well and based on the wonders he'd shown her thus far she could instantly tell that part would be a really big one.
"What are you?" She caught herself whispering her inquisition aloud instead of in her head like she originally intended, a smile of wonderment etched on her impossibly gorgeous face as she studied her charge momentarily while manifesting her golden holy light to help heal him. Not that she needed to have done so, for she quickly discovered that his natural healing factor was unlike anything she'd ever seen. The hole in his gut had already closed in the time it took for her to bring him here, now it was completely mended with not even a scar left in its place. His arm had regrown now, and all traces of his goldest golden Ichor had vanished without a trace, including the gobs Gabriel had gotten on herself. Perhaps it had all reabsorbed back into his body somehow. Even his equally as gold, metallic bodysuit had mended itself now as well somehow, and what a gorgeous suit it was.
The purplish miasmic substance was still there though, clinging on for dear life and attempting to consume the body of an unknown Deity with regeneration abilities beyond anything Gabriel had ever seen. Seriously, not even the Phoenix tears could've done a better job. She might as well not have been wasting her holy powers at this point, but those purplish gobs unnerved her something awful and she had the gut feeling it'd be a bad idea to let them stick around.
She could also somehow sense that touching them to physically remove them would've been suicide of the worst sort. Unfortunately, her attempts to purify them didn't avail her in the slightest, even as she manifested all of her holy power, they somehow remained, feeding on her energies, and adding her power to their own. Realizing this, Gabriel immediately cut off her part of their food supply; relief flooding her veins that she hadn't been completely drained.
Eyes widening in amazement and slight horror, she studied her charge with even greater fascination than before. Marveling at her complete powerlessness to rid him of that accursed purple stuff; she was equally as floored by his ability to withstand direct exposure to them for as long as he had. Given how easily they fed on her own energies and how quickly they would've rendered her weaker than the most crippled mortal; he must have possessed enormous power to be able to maintain enough of his power to regenerate his body even while those horriblest gobs were immovably glued to his skin like some sort of permanent sticking charm.
She was interrupted from her largely unnecessary efforts to nurse him back to health by the unmistakable sound of an incoming audio-visual communication message ringing beside her, the caller ID displaying a queen of hearts for her to see. It was her queen, Griselda, obviously calling her out of concern for her wellbeing and the state of Heaven. Everyone though all 7 levels of Heaven had unquestionably heard about the breach on the uppermost floor by now, and they were in a right state of panic.
Understandably so, however, Gabriel didn't think her charge presented a threat to their survival. Call it an act of pure and groundless faith not based on anything, but she believed he didn't come here as a conqueror or a destroyer. Perhaps a messenger or maybe even a savior on some level. Maybe- she dared to hope- he was even her Father himself reborn. Regardless of the man's intentions, she knew her Brave Saints would probably be prostrate with worry on her behalf unless she assuaged their concerns.
So, she answered the incoming call, resisting the urge to smile as Griselda's signature intimidating smirk greeted her from the other side. The communication relay functioned a lot like it's equivalent in the Devils' magical spell system with how it generated a full on, 3-dimensional holographic image of both her queen and her immediate surroundings all around her for her to see. "My king, it gives me great joy to see you're alright. You had a lot of us worried, you know." She said in a sickeningly sweet voice that ever so slightly unnerved the blonde. But despite her Queen's intimidating visage, Gabriel could see the worry that had been festering behind Griselda's eyes. Though she hid it better than most, Gabriel also knew how-to see-through facades by people pretending they were okay.
"Thanks, a mill, Grissy, and sorry for worrying you all! Seriously though, I'm A-Okay up here! Though I'd imagine things are getting quite noisy down there, am I right?!" The impossibly beautiful female Seraph exclaimed with the sweetest of smiles, offering Griselda a thumb up to further accentuate her point. A tick mark grew on Griselda's head at the use of the old nickname, but out of respect for her King she didn't say anything to express her annoyance towards it. Gabriel knew she was the only person in all of Heaven who could get away with giving her Brave Saints pet names like that. So, instead of wasting time being annoyed by that, she focused on answering the not-so-subtle inquiry in Gabriel's statement.
"The situation down here is pretty stable for the most part, actually. Mirana is using her popularity as Heaven's most famous female reincarnated angel to run damage control with the masses down here in First Heaven. The rest of us are just waiting for Dulio to get back to us with news on the situation from Michael. We've been coordinating with him and the rest of Michael's Brave Saints to help prevent the spread of unnecessary panic, but don't really know what we're preventing the spread of panic about. Everything's okay up there in Zebel and the 7th level, right? I'd come investigate for myself but… well, you know the rules better than anyone. Even if I wanted to break the rules of Heaven I couldn't, not even if it's to confirm you're alive and well in person, with my own eyes." Griselda explained in length as Gabriel's giggle made her blush.
"Such extreme measures aren't necessary Grissy. Because as you can see, I'm perfectly fine with nary a scratch on me. Michael's routine checkup of 7th Heaven's status was just more exciting than usual today, that's all." Gabriel replied vaguely, knowing it would drive her Brave Saints nuts but also knowing that she should wait until Michael could give a formal announcement that everything was okay. She could sense the third and currently final member of her Brave Saints eavesdropping on their conversation, and her smile widened.
Griselda had noticed as well but didn't try too hard to stop her. "Even Lubby finds this situation interesting." She noted idly. Lubrava Alabaster was Gabriel's third and final Brave Saint and her secret Joker card; one only she and her Queen knew about, which was really for the best for now.
"Really?! I'm glad she's finally making her presence known to us more!" She exclaimed in an excited timber. It was as she said this that Griselda's projection became aware of the other person in the guest bedroom of Gabriel's heavenly palace.
Gabriel noticed the way her queen's eyebrows arched dangerously high and hastened to explain, thankful the imposing woman hadn't seen her charge while he was still injured, and his outfit shredded. "He's my guest for now. And I promise in the name of our Heavenly Lord, and Father I'll elaborate further later, for right now; wait for Dulio to get back to you guys with news from Michael because I would rather not go into the intimate details of everything that just happened without him." The blonde beauty promised, making the most solemn and sacred oath she could in order to set it in stone. After several drawn out moments of holding each other's gazes Griselda sighed and hesitantly nodded in acceptance.
"I won't pry for further details for now. However, I can't guarantee I'll be able to stop Mirana or even Lubby from asking questions. And I will be holding you to that promise Gabriel." Griselda insisted, only for her holographic projection to rear back in obvious terror as Gabriel's beautiful blue eyes narrowed very dangerously.
"Careful Grissy. Your position as my queen affords you a level of protection and leniency, but there are limits to that protection. You know as well as anyone that I would happily die a thousand deaths before I so much as even entertain the briefest idea of breaking a promise I made in Father's name. I would strongly advise you to remember that going forward and to measure your words concerning my promises with great care." Gabriel warned her in a ferocious tone as Griselda immediately bowed, the once intimidating woman backing down as she was given one of the really rare reminders of why Gabriel was still her King. Gabriel was one of the sweetest, kindest beings in all of Heaven, but if one were to get her angry then she grew more terrifying than all of Heaven's hosts combined as well.
"Forgive me. I'm sorry for speaking out of turn." Griselda apologized most sincerely. Gabriel's hair-raisingly intense glare immediately softened and gave way to an Anime-perfect smile only Heaven's mightiest and most powerful woman could manage.
"All is forgiven Griselda. Trust me, I know you didn't mean anything by it." Gabriel accepted her queen's apology without hesitation. God's teachings stressed the importance of forgiveness above all else, and she would be damned to a cruel fate indeed if she ever lost sight of that. Because despite all of his wrathful vengeance, righteous sense of justice, and his literal self-given right to judge the souls of the living and the dead; God's greatest quality by a long shot was his love, his warmth, and his light. Thinking about her deceased Heavenly Father brought a sad smile to both Gabriel and Griselda's faces. Griselda was one of the few Queens among the Angels, Devils, and Fallen Angels who knew the truth about God's awful fate, and Gabriel was happy she knew. It gave the two of them a common bond of loss and hopeless longing for the return of Heaven's true King of kings.
"Do you think there's hope of him ever… you know…" Griselda voiced in a hesitant, unsure tone, not sure how her King would take it but genuinely wanting to know Gabriel's thoughts on the matter.
Gabriel shrugged more airily than she was feeling. "I'm… not sure. But regardless, the work doesn't stop; just because he's gone. Our Father's work and the teachings of his Word are all we have left to preserve, and in his memory, I will do everything in my power to carry on his legacy; whatever the personal cost." She replied, regaining her usual bright and peppy attitude as Griselda nodded in accordance.
"We're here as well, every time you'll ever need us for the rest of time." She promised her, and Gabriel's smile widened, her gratitude as eternal as Heaven's light.
"I should probably get back to maintaining vigil over my guest with my undivided attention though Grissy. Keep me posted on the status of the lower levels of Heaven and what Michael thinks. I'm sure he'll be along to check in on me and our mysterious, unexpected guest as well." Gabriel instructed her as Griselda bowed and prepared to disconnect the visual-audio communication message, but not before voicing one final parting statement.
"I can't help wondering though. Is he a guest… or an intruder?"
Gabriel's eyes fell on the golden-suited man as Griselda's holographic projection disappeared. Her expression was unreadable as she scrutinized him, wondering the same thing. "I suppose… we'll just have to wait and see.