Chapter 3

Author's Note: This is a short interlude chapter that is key to future events. Next chapter is already 1k words written. Please review as I need your feedback on what I can be doing better and to know what you do and don't like.

Beautiful.

Those were his first thoughts as he heard the gentle singing of the woman in front of him. No matter how many times he had heard it before, the voice of the Angel before him never could grow stale.

He remembers the first time that he had ever heard her sing, her voice comforting him in his darkest moments, a wondrous sound that filled him with hope and vigor.

Approaching the altar where she gently tended to the fires, he could not help but be awestruck by the gentle and confidant demeanor that she exuded. A peerless beauty capable of making even the most capricious of goddesses envious, her long blonde hair shone with the radiance of the sun and was the same shade as honey. Her voluptuous figure was as close to perfection as he had ever seen, as eyes the color of the azure sky stared at him with happiness. Her face though was marred by a fake smile, and once more he felt his heart break at the sight before him. His entire being cried out for him to please her, to bring her happiness no matter the cost.

She was his rock.

The calm eye in the center of the storm, the safety of the port, and the wreckage a drowning man clings to for safety.

She was all that and more.

Slowly approaching her, the leather clad wood of his heels muffling the sound to a slight clack, clack. With a flourish he removed the heavy woolen outer cloak that he wore, settling it in his arms before hanging it on a peg to the side. Rather than approach her directly he began to walk the perimeter of the vestibule, his fingers lightly tracing the golden filigree that was inlayed into the wall, depicting a romanticized scene of Eden. Dexterous digits lingered on the Tree of knowledge, his fingers running over the depiction of the snake. Jeweled eyes stared at him malevolently, and if he closed his eyes he could imagine the venom dripping from those sharp fangs, as honeyed words rolled off its serpentine tongue. What had they been thinking?

What silver words and plaudits could it have spoken that made the first humans dare to disobey their Creator, their God, and their Benevolent Father?

And when their eyes were opened to the truth of the World, that their instigator was none other than the malevolent foe of their Lord, that their very actions had doomed them to a mortal life, devoid of His Light.

"He was once the brightest of all the stars in Heaven." The woman said striding towards him. "Father's favorite son, his most treasured child. His crime was that he refused to bend his knee to any but his Father, after all how could you ever compare? The Lord, my Father, was perfect, an omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent being responsible for creating everything you see before you." She spread her arms wide, emphasizing her point, "every stone, every animal, every single soul answers to him. Yet Father expected us to bend our knee to you." Taking his hand she led him to another painting, depicting a triumphant angel at the head of a mighty Host. "Look at him, arrogant and proud, so secure in his own invincibility that he refused the advice of his equals." Rich sable tresses framed an aristocratic face, one that could only be described as perfection, as he raised his lance up high, flames surrounding the weapon as it was poised to deliver a killing blow to his foe. Like Michael he wore armor, a polished golden breastplate that shone with the radiance of the sun, greaves and bracers of the same divinely forged metal, each inscribed with wards of protection and litanies of devotion. Adorning his head was a Halo, the symbol of his fidelity to his Father, and behind him 12 wings of pure gold, rays of Holy Light radiating from them so brightly that even in a picture he was forced to squint lest he be blinded.

"I don't recognize this." He said reverently. He could feel the emotion that the painter had imbued into the painting, the sadness with every brush stroke as they outlined every face. No one angel was the same, just as none of God's Creations are the same. Each one had their own personalities, their own feelings, and emotions, yet to look upon those faces in war, to see their hands stained with the black blood of their enemy as they smote them with righteous devotion, it was easy to miss the underlying feelings. They were depicted as triumphant victors, but a single brush stroke highlighted their weariness. Clenched jaws, hands gripping lances tightly as they stabbed them into the backs of their foe, eyes full of anger and dare he say it? Hate. His hands longed to touch the painting, faces depicted so realistically that it was if they were right there in front of him and he longed to comfort them.

"I would be surprised if you did." She responded. "My father had all traces of this battle destroyed, and had most depictions of my brother were lost with time." Taking his hand in hers, she squeezed it comfortingly. "This is the Last battle between the Darkness and the Light. Shortly after my sister, the first of God's Angels, Celeste battled the nameless Void and vanished at the end. I painted this as a reminder of that day, of the stories that my Father told, of the sister that I never knew. Would you like to hear the story?"

He nodded mutely, as she guided him to a pew in which they could still see the painting.

"In the beginning my Father created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep and the Spirit of God was hovering over the water.

And God said, "Let there be light", and there was light. God saw the light was good and he separated the light from the darkness.

And God said, "Let there be a vault between the water to separate water from water." So God made the vault and separated the water under the vault from the water above it. And is was so. God called the vault "Sky." And there was evening and there was morning the – the second day.

And God said, "Let the water under the sky be gathered to one place, and let dry ground appear." And it was so. God called the dry ground "land," and the gathered waters he called "seas." And God saw that it was good.

Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds." And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.

And God said, "Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth." And it was so. God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night. He also made the stars. God set them in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth, to govern the day and the night, and to separate light from darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the fourth day.

And God said, "Let the water teem with living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the vault of the sky." So God createdthe great creatures of the sea and every living thing with which the water teems and that moves about in it, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the water in the seas, and let the birds increase on the earth." And there was evening, and there was morning—the fifth day.

And God said, "Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind." And it was so. God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

But then God, while preparing to bring about the next of his creations found the slumbering Darkness.

To God and all he created it was an amoral and destructive primordial force. It was the primeval soup that He had used to bring forth his creations. The Darkness was the Void, everything and nothing all at once, a thing that shouldn't exist yet it did. The Darkness wished to return everything to the nothingness that came before. Where God raised the Light to prominence and called it Good, the Darkness was left to fade away, or so the Lord hoped. As if sensing the power of its other half, that which the Lord had sundered to create the World, the Darkness began to stir.

God seeing the way the darkness corrupted and devastated his creations was troubled. He could not risk bringing forth anything else, only for it to be devoured by that ancient force. Slowly a plan formed in his mind and taking the Primordial Light that he had separated, he shaped it to bring forth the first of the Heavenly Host. To his first child he bestowed great beauty and wisdom, granting it powers only surpassed by his own, and when the child emerged he smiled.

Later when he brought forth his mortal children he would base their form on hers. Possessing great beauty and power, the first of his creations to be armed with the notion of Free Will, he made sure to nurture her as if he was his own. To her he gave the name Celeste, the First and Brightest of his children. While she grew the Darkness continued to spread taking in more and more, undoing centuries of planning and work as it sought to accomplish its own mission. When at last he was satisfied with her growth, that her Light would eclipse the Darkness they took to the battlefield clad in great armor and with blazing weapons.

What the Lord did not realize was his Daughter and the Darkness were closer than he thought.

For every strength Celeste gained so too did the Darkness gain a counter, for every weakness it had Celeste was cursed to bear. The Darkness and the Light, one could not have one without the other, two halves of the same force, and as their titanic struggles grew even the Lord found himself struggling to keep up.

Darkness and Light, both drew upon the Primordial Void to fuel themselves, granting them inexhaustible energy and stamina, until finally they were the only two combatants left on the devastated field that had been the beginning of God's creations.

No one knows what was said on that ruined husk of a planet, as Celeste confronted the Darkness, arms laid low as she approached her other half. The Darkness surged around her in rapturous joy willingly inviting her deeper into itself. Days turned into nights, into months and into years until time itself had no more meaning, and still Celeste traversed deeper, knowing yet not knowing exactly where she was going. Even the Lord grew dismayed at her absence, and whilst he waited the return on his Daughter, he set about fixing everything that had been destroyed. In the wake of the war everything that had he had created had either been destroyed or corrupted, animals horribly mutated by the chaotic energies preyed on others and spread their disease, water once pure and now little more than sulfuric lakes that bubbled and hissed ominously.

Rather than work to fix everything and undo the taint the Lord separated the ruined creations, creating a mirror of the world, one untouched by war and the other smoldering with brimstone, death, and destruction To the untouched world he began to bring forth all his creations, and to speed up the process began to create more children. These angels were based on his Daughter, a sliver of her very essence being imbued within each one of them, each blessed by his own divine might and wielding Heaven's power against any enemy that they might encounter.

Lucifer

Michael

Gabriel

Penemue

Azazel

Sahariel

Shemhazai

Uriel

Amaros

Baraquiel

Kokabiel

Raphael

Tamiel

The First Sons and Daughters he created following the War of Creation. With their help he set about rebuilding everything that was lost. And after everything was rebuilt my Father created you. 'Filthy mongrels, crawling around in your own feces', my brother called you, and at the time he was right."

He was silent as she continued to talk, finally coming to stand in front of him. She was almost the same height as his 6'2" frame, her hand reached up to cup his chin, as she smiled forlornly. "But I saw what he couldn't. I saw the capacity for good within you, the hope, the love, and the regret that Adam bore when he realized he turned his back on Father's Love." Her eyes hardened, "but at the same time I saw the wickedness that had infected you. I saw the horrors that you would commit, the atrocities that could make even the Ancient Devils shudder in disgust, and I was intrigued."

She removed her hand and turned her back on him, walking up the aisle to stand before a magnificent golden cross. He followed at her side, quiet and contrite, as he kneeled before the Divine Presence he could feel emanating from the Sacred Symbol. "Here were my Father's new children, my new brothers and sisters, and I took it upon myself to teach you, to protect you as best I could."

Her chin fell as tears began to pool around her eyes. "Any yet it was not enough. Not nearly enough."

Wordlessly he got up from his position and embraced her, her head resting on his shoulder, uncaring of the tears that began to stain his dark blazer. Strong fingers began to caress her back over the thin vestments she wore, her sobbing growing quieter and quieter as he softly mewled reassurances and absolutions into her ear. "It's not your fault."

"Yes it is." She countered. "For every one I saved another 2 would be tempted away from Father's Light. It was a futile struggle in protecting you, and yet I was bound against interfering with you directly. If I had-"

"Then your Father would've had no choice but to censure you." He countered. "With the gift of free will he also made us accountable for our own actions, and limited you so that we could grow and develop on our own."

"Still I can't help but think what might have happened if I were more proactive. What if I had not shown any mercy to Lucifer and those that Fell? What if I had struck them with righteous fury as my Sister and I originally intended."

He pressed her firmly against his chest. "Don't compare yourself to her. The two of you are different people, and while you may have been created to serve the same purpose your methods cannot be any more different. Where you were kind and gentle she was harsh and unforgiving. When you sought to soothe the pain and guide us to His Light, she smote us with zealous fury, raining plagues, and fire, and death upon us. Be proud of your accomplishments, of the things that you've done that she can only dream of achieving."

Laying a hand on his chest, she gently pushed him away. "Pride is a sin you know."

"We're all allowed to indulge just a bit. Is a painter damning his soul to purgatory when he feels pride in his masterpiece? A parent upon seeing their child succeed? Pride and envy, together they drive forth progress. The beggar is envious of the rich, and the rich envious of the richer. What many call sin is nothing more than a fundamental quality of man, in and by itself pride is not bad but when it becomes arrogance…" He paused letting his words sink in. "Arrogance has led to the ruin of empires, the fall of civilization, and even the death of Gods."

"Pride also stops you from bending your knee when your Father tells you to, and you think you know better." She opposed.

"The Arrogance of the First Fallen is what led us to be cursed as we are." He said sadly. "Cast out from Heaven, abandoned by the Father to whom he held in highest regard. With

"You aren't an unfeeling automaton." He gently chided. "Rather you're simply unused to situations where you can freely express yourself. The fear of Falling stops you from acting out."

"You're right." She sighed. "When Father was around he could at least properly judge our actions, but the System only deals in absolutes."

"There is no such thing as absolutes." He countered. "You're a person, a living, thinking sentient, and the world is not black and white. Life is a precious commodity, and you should embrace it whilst you still can."

She scoffed, unable to comprehend his statement. For as caring as loving and human-like she was mortality was still an alien concept to her. She was immortal so long as no blade pierced her heart or spell wiped her utterly from existence. "I have a dut-"

"A duty?" He interrupted her. "You've done your duty. Sheltered us, taught us what we know, and now it is the time to step back, to test how much progress we have made." Pausing, he gently lifted her chin so that they were staring into each other's eyes. "You've given us so much happiness, touched so many people with your kindness, and been the light that guided me from my darkest places. Your duty is complete. Freedom is at your fingertips. Now it is time that you lived your life as you see fit."

"And if I choose to continue with this?" She challenged.

"Then let it be your choice, not one forced upon you by the commandments of your Creator." He explained.

"Do not fight what your heart is telling you to do. Laugh when you want to laugh, cry when you want to cry, love when you want to love, for at the end of the day that might be the last thing you do. Live with no regrets, no tears, no anxieties, just go forward in all your beliefs and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine." Taking a step back he knelt before her. Staring at him for a moment she offered her hand as he gently grasped it and brushed his lips against her knuckles. "However know that no matter what you choose I will always be there by your side just as you stood by mine. You deserve your own happiness and I will be the one that makes it so."

"Pretentious much?" She teased with a challenging smirk.

"Merely confident." He countered with a smile.

They were quiet once more, the two reveling in the intimacy of the moment. At that moment all of their burdens and anxieties washed away as they let down their barriers and bared their souls to one another.

Bending from her waist she placed a kiss on his brow. "Then go forth my child."

Feeling the burden that lay across his shoulders lessen at her words, he stood, a smirk on his lips as he faced the altar. "Let the world tremble at my word, and the masses quake at my passing. No sinner spared, for the time of judgment has come." And from the depths of his pocket he summoned a fruit basket, and placed his offering on the altar before him. Turning around he proudly strode out of the church, his cloak flying to his outstretched hand. As soon as he stepped foot outside his the blonde hair and blue eyed may distorted like static on a TV, and in its place silky sable hair framing cursed green eyes took over. Reaching into his pocket he unfolded a pair of half rim glasses, taking a moment to clean the glass before pushing them up with a single finger. Touching the side of the frame the lenses instantly darkened, protecting him from the harsh light that greeted him. "Everything is going just…as…planned." He drawled before snapping his fingers, a tear in the very fabric of the world opening in front of him as he strode forth.

In his wake the grandiose cathedral, floating on the clouds overlooking the Third Heaven, stood sentinel over the souls of those deemed worthy of entering Heaven's Gates.