Where had it all gone wrong? What wrong turn had he taken in life that landed him at a table in the middle of Los Angeles, sitting across from the leader of the Greek pantheon while his own personal group of dragons and devils sat by his side? How bad had he rolled on the dice that determined his luck in life?
"Look, I'm sorry for all the confusion and misconceptions, man."
The baritone voice forced his focus back into the reality of the moment. Zeus, in all of his mighty glory, sat at the opposite end of the table, his fingers covered in BBQ sauce while the bones of several chicken wings sat on neatly on a porcelain plate.
"I get a pretty bad rep nowadays. Lesson to you kids, your past mistakes and infidelities will follow you for the rest of your life, even if that life goes on for thousands of years."
The man let out a laugh at his own words, unknowingly sending bits of the sauce spilling from his mouth onto his pristine toga. Before the sauce could stain, it was lifted from the white sheets as if by magic, leaving them as pure as they had been moments before.
"Now, I'm putting that all behind me. I'm moving forward with life. And to move forward, I need to get rid of some things from my past."
The man unceremoniously dropped the wing he was holding before he began to dig into his robe. The group of four watched him blindly search through his robes for a few moments before a pleased look announced that he had found his treasure.
"Here we go!"
With a loud bang, the object came clattering onto the table. Every single eye at the table gravitated toward the object; It was hard for them not to. The thing was large, brassy, shining and immaculate. Not to mention that it was covered from top to bottom with jewels.
"What was that?"
From a glance the identity of the object was pretty clear despite his questioning. The thing was a crown, its shining surface and the jewels embedded in it made that very clear to them all. The sinking feeling in his stomach was only beginning to confirm the words that would undoubtedly come out of the god's mouth.
"It's the crown of Olympus!"
Those were the words. Naruto sunk down in his seat with a sigh, his plate of fries untouched. By his side Lilith and Ophis didn't seem the least bothered by the man's words while they collectively munched on a plate of nachos. Koneko seemed to be the only one who felt his misfortune as she scooted closer to his left.
"Well, to be fair, it's just a crown." The god scooped the object back up into his hands then placed it on his head. "There's nothing special about it. You don't put it on and become the chief god or anything like that."
Another laugh escaped the god's mouth as he set the crown back down and with it, Naruto's confusion began to grow. The situation itself was extremely baffling and the god's flippant attitude wasn't helping a bit when it came to him coping.
Koneko, on the other hand, seemed perfectly fine with the situation. She made that very clear to everyone at the table when she reached across it and grabbed the crown off the table. With a level of frivolous that shouldn't be possible when holding the crown to the pantheon, the girl plopped then plopped the crown on her head.
"The crown looks good on ya!"
Zeus barked out the words along with a laugh. The sight of his girlfriend wearing the crown left Naruto, once again, speechless. His eyes met with hers before a brief instant before a tug at his arm made him look away.
"I think it's looks nice."
Lilith's words and earnest gaze made him nearly fall out of his chair. Yet, he managed to keep himself up right.
"I don't like it. It messes with my ears."
And, just like that, his sense of togetherness came crashing down. Because as those words were leaving her mouth, Koneko decided to place the crown on top of his head. And, unlike with her, a reaction took place.
"The crown really likes you!"
The god had to say his statement while shielding his eyes because of the bright light the crown flashed from atop of Naruto's head. Where the thing had looked like a well-made knock-off when it was on the table, it now looked like a star on the blond's head. Koneko, Lilith and Ophis were even forced to look away from him as the intensity of the crown filled the air. The only one who wasn't affected by the light was the dismayed Uzumaki.
"No, no, no. I'm not doing this again!"
In a mad scramble, he reached up to his head, snatched the crown off of his golden locks and threw it towards Zeus. He refused to deal with the glowing crown or the Greeks anymore.
He had had enough.
The futility of that refusal became clear to him when the crown did a sharp u-turn in midair back toward him. He ducked his head in a dodge attempt, an attempt that was met with failure when the crown made a hard stop over the top of his head before falling onto his head.
"It really really likes you." The god mumbled to himself while watching the blond continuously rip the crown off his head and throw it only for it to come flying back to its original position. The scene managed to keep him entertained for a solid minute before he decided it was time to make his exit. With the crown ditched, and all of his responsibility with it, it was now time to start his well-deserved millenium long vacation.
While stealth wasn't exactly his forte, he felt that he did a good job getting up from his seat and sneaking toward the restaurant's exit without being noticed. He was proven wrong when a golden arm wrapped around his midsection before dragging him back to the table, bringing him face to face with a sage-cloaked and highly irritated Naruto.
"You're not leaving without this thing." He growled in the god's before reaching up and attempting to rip the damned thing off of his head. Attempted was the optimal word because this attempt ended in failure. The crown stayed put on his head no matter how hard he tried to pull it off. The irritation on his face morphed into utter dread as his incessant tugging won him no progress.
"I like you, Naruto."
His attention from torn from the crown and dragged to the god he still held in his chakra arm. The man was flashing him an infuriating smile despite the construct of energy wrapped around his body.
"I respect two things: power and beautiful women. You seem to have a good grasp on both, so I'll hand you a bit of advice."
Without warning, Zeus exploded into a flash of lightning strong enough to send the blond reeling backward. The god reappeared near the door, his toga untouched and his smile still in place.
"Some bald guy told me this a while back. You can't fight this stuff so you might as well embrace it. It took me a couple of millenniums to figure out one loophole out of this crap."
The god offered his agitated counterpart a hearty salute before disappearing in a crack of thunder, leaving Naruto alone with his group and his new crown.
"That bastard!" He screeched. The trio of dragon and devil watched as the blond rolled across the ground, his hands glued to the golden crown in an attempt to tear it off his head. The spectacle continued for a whole minute before Lilith approached the boy.
"Father…"
The dragon's words went ignored while the blond focused on his crown. A frown marred the girl's face as she watched her parent figure freak out. The frown turned into an outright scowl after several moments before the girl reached down and snatched the ornament off his head.
"Please calm yourself, Father."
It was hard not to feel like an idiot when a girl, who was technically less than a year old, was standing over him with the object of his frustration held in her hands as if he hadn't been freaking about it only moments before. He felt a bit humiliated, admittedly, but at this point in his life humiliation was a norm. So, he sucked up the last broken bits of his pride and climbed back up to his feet.
With his attention not on the leech-like crown on top of his head, he took the chance to observe the object. Honestly, in Lilith's hands hands, it looked harmless, even fake. It had a cheap plastic look to it that made it seem like something you would get from a convenience store rather than the crown to a pantheon of gods.
"I guess I'm stuck with this cro-"
Before he could get the full word out of his mouth, the crown leapt out of the dragon's hands. The group of four watched as it flew over his head. In an instinct, the blond had both of his arms covering his scalp in some attempt to stop the thing from landing on his head. He soon found out how useless his efforts were when instead of swooping down onto his head like an arctic owl onto to a bare, the crown stood in place and began to glow. Like a shooting star, it held all of their attention as it vomited out an egregious amount of light. At one point the thing got so bright that the blond was forced to squint in order to keep his attention on the thing.
The dazzling light lasted for several moments before dying away in an instant, revealing the crown's new form. Gone were the expensive jewels and the nearly luminescent golden surface. In its place remained an ebony surface, one dark enough to disguise itself in the dark of the night. The pointed tips of the crown were now rounded into a trio of tight spirals that were strung together by an even darker string.
The object remained in the air for several moments before descending down toward Naruto. This time he didn't bother trying to dodge the object, allowing it to approach his neck without hesitation. The necklace attached itself around his collar, the string melding with his skin as if it was water. Its presence would have been unnoticeable to him if he wasn't looking at the three spirals hanging beneath his adam's apple.
"That looks much more appealing than that gaudy crown."
Ophis was right. He didn't want to admit that she was because that meant admitting that he found the stupid thing appealing in any way, but he knew that her words were true. The spirals reminded him of the magmata that surrounded his neck during his stents in sage mode. The nearly naked feeling of the accessory didn't help in his mind either.
"I think our vacation is over."
The moment he had took a step on that beach his vacation had been over. He could try as much as he could but there was no getting away from this wreck of a life.
"I call sitting next to father on the ride home."
Their trip home, to the blond's joy, had been completely lackluster. He had grown numb to the odd looks he received when traveling with his odd gang of creatures, so the only thing he had to worry about was a god meddling in his business. Nothing of the sort happened, leaving him as a happy shinobi.
"Hold my bag while I grab my keys."
Without a second thought, his bulky bags containing his clothes for the week was lifted from his arms by Ophis, an act that was a far cry from how she would have treated him weeks prior. He still sometimes found it hard to believe the dragon's attitude adjustment but couldn't find it within himself to question it much. After all, it made his hectic life just a little bit more manageable. What else could he even ask for?
With his hands now free, he dug into his pants' pockets and pulled out the metal key to his room. He slid the key into the lock and turned, unlocking the door and pushing it open. He made it a whole two steps into the building before he took notice of something peculiar.
"Naruto! You're home … finally."
Getting greeted by Kuroka wasn't odd by any stretch of his imagination. The woman lived in his living room which made it pretty difficult for him to avoid her.
No, it was the way she greeted him that captured his attention. She was tense, her normal smile strained to a point that looked uncomfortable on her face. Her back was straightened to a near perfect line, a far cry from how he usually found her reclined on his couch. Her folded hands were the last straw on the pile of hints that something was not right.
"Welcome back from your vacation, Naruto."
It didn't take long to find the source of Kuroka's discomfort. The man who had invaded his house sat directly across from the distressed devil.
"Hello, Michael."
The angel gave him a nod before rising up from his love seat. The blond's eyes followed him as the leader of heaven walked around the living room's couch toward him.
"I hope you don't mind me coming into your house unannounced."
That innocent little smile on the Seraph's face may have worked on other people but Naruto knew better. The angel knew he would be annoyed by someone breaking into his house, ally or not.
"What do you want?"
At that moment, he was filled with regret. With an angel standing in front of him, the decision to cut his vacation short didn't seem like such a good one anymore. Though, it seems that no matter where he went the trouble would follow him.
"I would like for you to come to Heaven."
"Why?"
A week or two ago, he would have immediately belted out a no and kicked the angel out of his house. Now though, after the fight had beaten the fight out of him, he stood willing enough to at least hear Michael's argument.
"I would like to test something that is only possible in my domain."
His first thought: this sounded like an obvious trapped. He had been to Heaven once and that still remained as one of his least pleasant memories in this world. Nothing in him wanted to return to the city atop of the clouds.
"What do you want to test out? Find a new type of rope that drains my powers?"
Michael didn't seem the least bothered by the obvious mistrust in his voice. The angel took it in stride, nodding and laughing at his comment while holding his hands up in a pacifying manner.
"I promise it's nothing like that. We are allies, after all."
He was right. They were allies. After that debacle of a treaty signing that he had been dragged in to, there was no denying that he was a part of the angel-devil-fallen trifecta. Some even labelled him as the cornerstone of the entire thing.
"Why don't you just tell me what you want then? No needs for secrets between allies, right?."
The words came out a lot more childish and biting than he would have liked but he couldn't help himself. This guy didn't know what type of chaos he had been thrown into during the last couple of days. He had left his home with intentions on relaxing and returned with the relics of two Olympians, bringing his current collection to a unnecessarily high of three.
"Well…" The angel swept his eyes over toward Ophis and Lilith, a clear sign of how he felt about the duo. The gesture sent Naruto's eyes rolling, though he could understand the angel's hesitation.
To him, Lilith and even Ophis were harmless. He regularly forgot about the fact that the duo held enough power to put him on the ropes and destroy the world. Any rational person would be hesitant to give the set of dragons any more power than they already had.
"Are you afraid of two little girls?" Little they may have been, them actually being girls was questionable all together, the blond knew how absolutely ridiculous and inflammatory is statement was. He was just hoping that the angel couldn't see the same.
"I'm afraid of a being who had the potential to destroy the world with its strength."
"They aren't going to do anything like that. I promise."
His statement earned him a queer look from the chaste angel. The look lasted for a moment before the man switched his attention over to Lilith and Ophis. He stared at the duo for a similar duration before cutting his attention back to Naruto. He repeated the process again and again and again, his eyes narrowing with each switch.
"You've become rather attached to Ophis and her spawn since the last time I've interacted with you."
That truth smacked him hard across the face. Harsh and undeniable, it sunk into his skin and assaulted his nerves, forcing him to turn and face the mentioned dragon. He was met with two faces, one void of emotion and the other seemingly waiting on his next words.
"I don't see what's the point of you bringing that up." The blond turned back to the angel only to be met with an accusatory stare. The look was as confusing as it was off-putting, it nearly managing to send the blond reeling backward.
"No reason." And, just like that, the look disappeared from the angel's face. "You're right. I have nothing to fear with you restraining the duo.
If he hadn't already been living in a state of perpetual confusion prior to this interaction, Michael's behavior may have left him in a bit of a loop.
"I wish to text the extent of your powers using a system located in Heaven. Its existence is hidden from all excluding a select few individuals. With it, we would have an accurate measure of the full extent of your abilities and be able to accurately call upon you when needed. "
The angel's matter-of-fact tone put a smile on Naruto's face. Honesty. It was something he rarely got nowadays. He may have had to force it out a little bit but getting it, in the end, was good enough for him.
"You should have just said that to begin with." He exclaimed with a bright smile on his face. "That actually sounds interesting."
"Wonderful." The angel flashed his own smile before snapping his fingers. In a flash of blinding light, Naruto and his group, including Kuroka, found themselves standing somewhere very different from the blond's living room.
For the shinobi, the two dragons and Koneko, who were only a couple hours separated from encountering two greek gods, the sudden transition into the well-lit garden area was nothing to their steeled-nerves. Kuroka, however, was somewhat virgin to the eccentric abnormalities that followed her housemate. She only managed to catch a glimpse of his adventures while manning his store in his steed.
That was why the sight that greeted her was so shocking. The couchladden room she had uncomfortably sat in with one of Heaven's angel's had been replaced by an expansive garden, one filled with enough vegetation to feed an army. White marble lined the stone walkway that split the garden in two leading to a singular domed building that was surrounded by a golden gate. Above her sat a blue sky, uncovered and untarnished by a single cloud.
"So beautiful." The devil muttered to herself before taking notice that everyone in the group had started to move on without her. In a quick dash, she managed to reconnect with the party and catch on to Michael's words.
"We're in the seventh level of Heaven, the one you managed to stumble upon during your first visit here." The sarcastic tone layering Michael's words and the bashful look on Naruto's face told Kuroka all she needed to know about the situation. The shinobi's increasingly wild reputation concerning the supernatural leaders only made things more clear for her.
"Sorry about that."
Naruto's apology was met with a small smile and silence, causing his already uneasy smile to waver in strength. Michael's smile did the opposite, growing where its counterpart shrunk. The small exchange lasted for a few moments before the two men broke eye contact.
"Behind these gates lay something that very few beings have seen in the history of the world. It is one of Heaven's most guarded secrets, so much so that it is completely separate from the other levels of Heaven."
The angel stopped in front of the golden gate, prompting the rest of the group to follow suit. Instead of procuring a key, the man instead raised his hand up to the barrier. He pressed his palm against the gate's keyhole. The area beneath his hand lit up when his hand touched the gate before a loud click rang through the guard. Within a moment of the second, the gate slowly drifted open, flooding the group with a rush air.
"The gate is just for show."
The angel's backhanded comment was lost on the group. Their attention was stolen from the man by the awe emitting from the building. It was an unexplainable sensation, one Michael was even captured by. It was only because of his prior experience that he had the presence of mind to turn and observe the awe-filled faces of Naruto's group.
"I had a very similar reaction when Father first brought me here. It is indescribable, isn't it?"
He didn't wait for a response, instead opting to work toward the building. Unlike the gate, the doors to the structure needed no prompting from the angel, opening on their own as the angel approached. The group quickly followed the angel through the door, their eyes immediately soaking in all the building had to offer.
To Naruto, the building's interior was spartan, even when comparing it to some of the standards set by shinobi he knew. The place was obviously not for living in as there wasn't a single sort of amenity to be seen. The curved walls were white and barren. The only thing that decorated them was a sprinkle of light emitting from the center of the room.
What stood as the only attraction in the room wasn't remarkable by any measure. A white pedestal brought it to about waist level for the angel and shinobi. Just like the surrounding walls, its curved surface were white and barren. A thin light, one Naruto had serious doubts could fill the entire room like it did, sat in the mouth of the object. Two leads, both leather-bound and worn, dangled from the object.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?"
A shadow fell over the group before their mind could catch up with their thoughts. Instinctually, their collective attention turned upward. The will to fight flooded nearly every one them as their minds screamed ambush until they laid eyes on the owner of the voice.
"I thought we agreed that you wouldn't be here during the process."
To the group, it was very clear that Michael was annoyed with his sister. Even as the angelic woman floated down from the ceiling, her flight aided by the use of her wings, the Seraph was sending her a glare. The look didn't seem to ruffle any of her feathers if the smile on her face was anything to go by. Instead, she smiled, beaming her naturally white teeth at the group of devils, dragons, and ninja.
"I couldn't wait, Michael. I couldn't possibly wait for this."
The words left her mouth as her feet met with the ground. The golden wings supporting her during her descent shimmered for a brief moment before disappearing from view.
"This moment could renew us. It could truly bring the world together just like he always wa-"
Her talking came to an abrupt in when she sucked in a deep breath. With her cheeks puffed outward, the angel held the breath for several moments before slowly letting it loose. Once finished, her previous smile returned to her face as she turned to Michael.
"I'm sorry, brother. Please continue."
She offered the angel a bow of her head before taking a step backward toward the wall. Michael looked at her for a brief moment, a sigh leaving his mouth during the time, before switching his attention over to Naruto.
"I apologize for that. We can start now. All you have to do is grab one of the leads."
To say he was a bit freaked out would have been a massive understatement for Naruto. He had been, albeit a tiny bit skeptical about Michael's intention all the way up to the point where Gabriel had come swooping down from the ceiling of the building and started rambling about uniting the world. His trepidation must have shown on his face, making Michael grunt before shooting his sister a pointed look.
"Please ignore my sister. I assure you that nothing is amiss here."
To reassure him, Michael reached out and grabbed onto one of the leather leads. For several moments silence dominated the building's interior before the angel released his hold.
"See? Nothing strange. Just do as I did and we can move on."
His eyes cut over to the lead, staying there for a few moments before moving over to Michael. He stared at the angel's face for several moments, attempting to find any sign of deceit.
"I'll check for you, father."
Because of his intense observation of Michael's face, Naruto got a first-hand view of the angel's expression descending into shocked horror at Lilith's words. In an instant, the angel placed himself between the pedestal and the dragon, halting her outstretched hand from touching one of the leads.
"That being cannot touch the Holy system! There's no telling what could happen if the system reads her energy." The angel looked frantic as the words left his mouth. Lilith's neutral face descended into a frown at the angel. Her outstretched hand began to glow an inky purple, prompting both Michael and Gabriel to flare out their wings in defense.
"Lilith!" And, just like that, the girl's arm dropped down to her side, any side of the built of energy gone. She looked back at her father and, seeing the stern look on his face, dropped her head before taking a step away from Michael and the pedestal.
"I'll grab the thing, Michael." The angel's attention was dragged away from Lilith when Naruto spoke."If anything goes wrong, though, know that I won't be able here to calm her down."
With those words, Naruto took a step toward the pedestal. Michael remained standing in front of the object, his own hesitation showing as he looked between the blond and the dragon. It was only after a muffled cry from Gabriel that the angel decided to move away from the pedestal.
With Michael out of the way, Naruto stared down into the small bowel containing the light. From up close, it didn't look any more unique than before. The light from within was bright enough to blind him from seeing any intricacies inside the bowl.
"Here it goes."
A paused preceded his actions before he reached down and took a single reign into each of his hands.
There was no hesitation. The reaction was immediate. As the lengths of leather laid in the blond's weathered hands, the light within the bowl leaped outward, finding refuge in the eyes of the surrounding creatures. Their pupils dilated to a fraction of their previous size moments before their hands came up to shield their faces. The action proved pointless, however, as the group has been collectively blinded, including the two angels.
"...Father…I love you… Please watch over mommy and daddy."
A voice, childish and demure in nature, reached him. The light had stolen his vision away, leaving him with a view of nothing but white. The remainder of his senses were still with him, allowing him to hear the melodious call of the child.
"I hope that she gets better soon. I don't know what I would do without her."
Demure faded into desperateness and the childish tone dropped to that a grown man. Even without his sight, Naruto could sense the tired lines on the man's face, the darkened skin that rested beneath his eyes and the residual marks on his cheeks that marked his tears.
"I needed this! I knew you were listening. Thank you, lord."
The man's face melted into that of a woman, a teen by his estimate. Her black tresses moved along with her bouncing form. Clothed in a pair of striped pajamas, a single piece of paper was captured in her grip as her bouncing carried her through the kitchen. The tile floor did little in absorbing the force of her bounces, making the wooden dining table jump along with her movements. Her breakfast, a half-empty plate that contained a sole sausage link, half of a pancake and a small hill of eggs laid forgotten. The second hand of an analog clock ticked away silently as her squeals resonated through kitchen flooded with an early morning light.
"Look, God-"
The light within the kitchen bled black. He was helpless, unable to move, as the darkness overcame his form and, eventually, the entirety of his vision, leaving him blind once more.
"I don't believe in you. I never have-"
A soft beeping was the first to reach his ears. The noise was familiar. It pounded away at his memory, each beep a nail that brought the solidified thought closer to the surface of his mind. But as the nostalgic memory was about to burst into the forefront of his consciousness, his sight returned to him, stealing away his attention.
"I know you can't save me. I know you won't. But, if you exist … if you've been watching me all of my life-"
A soft moonlight bled through the curtained windows of the room. With his vision restored, Naruto was able to easily tell that they were located in a hospital room. The repetitive beeping came from a heart monitor that sat near a hospital bed. Immaculate white sheets had been tossed to the ground, leaving the bed's owner bare to the room's elements.
"-Give me this. I don't want to burn. I wasn't the best but I don't deserve hell. Isn't this bad enough? You can't kill me early on earth then send me to hell?"
The man's sunken chest rose and fell with each word. His eyes were closed yet Naruto saw traces of tears leaking past his eyelids. The liquid sorrow fell from his face and wetted the thin hospital gown that covered his frame.
"I hope you're listening. You better be listening. After doing this to me, you damn better be listening."
The man's eyes shot up and swept across the room. For a brief moment, his vision fell over Naruto, paralyzing the blond. Those brown eyes were crack-filled dams of emotion, his tears serving as the torrent of water battering against the interior.
"You brought everything to m-
"It's time for you to make a choice."
A voice flooded through the room and drowned out the man's rambling. Naruto did a quick sweep of the area around him but found nothing that could correlate to the new voice.
"Michael Irvin Sairon. 33 years old. Cause of death will be terminal lung cancer in approximately two hours-"
"Who are you?"
"Michael's primary sin was greed. He never sought repentance for his sin, making him ineligible for entrance into any level of heaven. You must banish him to hell." The blond's shout went ignored as the voice continued one. Booming and stern, the voice lacked emotion as sentenced the man to hell.
"I'm not going to send a guy I don't know to hell!"
"Michael spent his early twenties stealing money from the people who offered him his first job when he was fourteen. At the age of eighteen, he pressured his then-girlfriend into getting an abortion, threatening to denounce her and their relationship if she went through with the pregnancy. The last five years of his life have been spent running away from his cancer diagnostic while blaming others for it despite its origins being the aggressive amount of smoking he did during his youth."
Silenced. The words had been stolen from his mouth. With each word spoken by the voice, his will to argue was stolen away from him. He felt numb in the presence of the man's past even as the said man continued to angrily ramble in his bed, ignorant to the conversation taking place a few feet away from him.
"Heaven is not purely for the righteous. Its gates are not locked to those who have sinned. But, it is locked to those who refuse to repent unless faced with the hands of death. Hell is an appropriate place for this man. He spent his mortal life enraptured in greed. His eternal life, the one true life, should be spent in damnation, separated from the grace of the Lor-"
"Shut the hell up!" For once, the voice actually showed signs of hearing the blond, silencing itself on his command. "Who the hell are you to sit back and judge this man's life?"
"I am the presence of the Lord. I am the father, the son and the holy spirit. I am the One True God."
"A father is supposed to protect their kids! How can you call yourself a father when you're trying to damn your kids to hell."
"I gave him life. He wasted it thus he sh-"
"I can see why people don't believe in gods." Once again, Naruto's words cut a hot line through God's words. "You're supposed to be all-powerful and all-knowing yet us simple humans owe you guys something? Y'know what? You're just a selfish asshole. Michael didn't owe you anything. He may have been an ass but he lived his life the best way he knew how. And he's asking for forgiveness now and you want to send him to hell? You're no god. You're no better than a bratty little kid!"
In the moments after his tirade, the only thing that could be heard was his heavy breathing as his chest rose and fell. With no face to aim his anger at, the blond let it loose in all directions, unrestrained and wild. The silence-a telling sort of silence-accompanied him, serving to only make him more agitated.
"Naruto Uzumaki. 18 years of age-"
"Don't you fucking do tha-"
"Cause of death is unknown. Primary sin is gluttony. Labelled Child of Destiny and Boy of Miracles." The voice rattled off, silencing Naruto. Confusion etched its way onto his face as the words hit him. "You say this man doesn't deserve hell. You question my will and call me a coward. You question my love for my children, the beings I created in my own image and gifted the gift of life."
The voice broke away into a small chuckle, the first sign of actual emotion from the unseen presence. Then, suddenly, the walls surrounding the blond broke away and with them, Michael. Naruto's last sight of the man was of him with tears streaming down his cheeks, his hospital gown balled up in his clenched fists.
"Do you think you're worthy of being a god? Do you think you're worthy of judging a man's life by his actions?"
"No." Despite the fact that he found himself floating in a black void, surrounded by nothing for what seemed to be miles, the answer flew out of his mouth immediately. The experiences he had been dragged through in the past few months had solidified his answer long before this voice had asked him.
"Perfect."
With a single word, the world around Naruto exploded into light. His hands came up to shield his eyes as the light encompassed him.
"Naruto Uzumaki. I am gone from the world. My grace has long since left its plane. The war I foolishly fueled has taken its toll on earth. But, it will survive. You will make it survive."
Shock melded into a fierce trepidation as the meaning behind God's words became clear to the blond.
"No, no, no, no, no!" The protest leaped out of his mouth in a rushed jumble of words.
"With my will, you will do what even my son has yet to accomplish. The Longinus Spear will be the symbol that you are the world's One and True-"
"Don't you say it!"
"-God. The world is in your hands, Naruto Uzumaki."
With those words, the light surrounded him died away, restoring his vision. He was met with the sight of an aged man with an uncountable amount of wrinkles on his face. Beneath the wrinkles, Naruto could spot the tell-tale signs of a smile. The face stared back at him for a few moments before it melted, revealing the face of a small female child. The barest hints of her grin were caught by the blond before the face left him. A dark-skinned male took her place only to be replaced by the face o a tanned woman. Woman turned to male and dark turned to light as the cycle continued, each interval between the faces growing shorter and shorter until he was left staring at an indistinguishable blur of faces.
"I have faith in you."
The world around him descended into black for a brief moment before he found himself standing back in the 7th level of Heaven, directly in front of the bowl Michael had led him to. Only now, the light was no longer present within the structure.
"Father!"
He heard a squeal come from his left before a weight hit him in the side. He stumbled briefly before catching himself. He looked down at his waist, fully expecting to see Lilith clinging to him only to be stunned when he was met with Gabriel's golden hair splayed across his lower body.
"I was right, Michael. He's back."
Though her voice came out as muffled, he could hear the nearly silent sobs that contorted her voice into a nearly unrecognizable garble. He looked toward Michael for answers only to be met with the teary-eyed gaze from the Seraph.
"Welcome back, Father. Welcome back."
AN: This has officially jumped off the cliff to crack-fic levels of ridiculousness.
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P.P.S I'm a lot more active on the discord.