It wasn't until half a year later that something went horribly wrong again. She was working on her new practice techniques at using a spear, much to Imperius's past urgings, when she doubled over in pain. Gurzick was going through his bag, as usual, when he saw her slump down. He screeched and raised a fuss until Lilaurael ran out of the cottage to her side.
"Anaurael?!" she gasped. Then she gaped at the wound that impaled through her side. There was only one word she screamed next. "ILERAEL!"
"What?!" he shouted and ran out from behind the cottage. At the state of their daughter, he seethed and looked around, but saw nothing.
"Her mark..." his wife trembled. It seemed to tremble in pain and pulsed weakly.
"Imperius..." he breathed. Now he noticed that the angelic warriors were gone. They were called back to Heaven. Something bad had definitely happened. "Take her to bed! We have to treat this wound! I...it goes straight through?!"
"I can't tell if it pierced her vitals," Lilaurael fretted. He lifted his unconscious daughter up and laid her in down in her bedroom. Her tunic was pulled up, and the wound was carefully examined. It seemed to be closing on both sides. Whatever happened to Imperius was not fatal.
"Something struck Imperius. The wound is closing now. See? His mark on her is a link to his bodily health, too," he grimaced. "He'll need to know."
"Izarius is gone with the others. Oh, Ilerael! What happened?!" his wife asked.
"I don't know," he frowned. "but we'd better be prepared."
"Okay," she nodded. They gathered up their weapons, dressed in their regal, angelic armors and cloth and waited silently. They were patient hunters, if they had to be. Several hours crawled by. When he looked up at the sky, his jaw dropped. The sky was on fire.
"Heaven's under attack," he whispered.
"And, Imperius became injured from it?" she frowned.
"Only reason. I don't know what all can be done. If there's a demon invasion, then so be it. I'll not let them take Anaurael from us!" he growled. She nodded and went to check on their daughter. Her wound had vastly improved, but she was still unconscious. Gurzick had soon appeared to sit next to her on the bed. Even he looked worried.
"Imperius was hurt," Lilaurael said. "Since he got hurt, she showed where and how bad."
"No!" the goblin gasped. Then he jumped up and vanished. He appeared in the High Heavens a touch nervously. Massive demons were everywhere. Statues that once stood tall were being destroyed swiftly. He panted, as he ran about aimlessly. When he thought he saw Imperius, he paused at the sight of another looking down at him. It was a Nephalem with a rather roguish person following behind.
"It's a goblin! We need to kill it! I want that gold!" the rogue said.
"No time!" the Nephalem said and ran off.
"Damn it!" the man scowled and ran after his friend. Gurzick was only happy that he lived through that! Now he gathered up his bag and searched again. He found Imperius fighting off a demon Overseer expertly. After it was killed, he turned to raise his spear at the goblin.
"Friend!" Gurzick whimpered. Imperius looked around quickly and nodded to show that he was recognized. No other warriors were around right now.
"I can't talk!" he muttered. "We are being invaded!"
"Hurt! She hurt!" the goblin said quickly.
"What?!" Imperius asked.
"You hurt! She hurt!" he said and pointed to his own side.
"So...when I got hurt...she..." he sighed and scowled to himself.
"Help!" he said.
"I can't! Diablo is invading the Crystal Arch! Keep her safe for me!" Imperius scowled, and he was forced to kick the goblin away and out of sight. At first, he thought it was a form of attack. Then he realized that Imperius kicked him away to keep from being seen. The goblin winced, but teleported back to the cottage. He had to try and let them know what was going on.
"Did you find him?" Ilerael asked.
"Diablo. Invade. Heaven," Gurzick said very slowly and carefully to make sure he got the words right. At the look on the faces in front of him, he knew they understood him.
"Oh...my word..." Lilaurael whispered.
"Thank you. Imperius told you?" Ilerael asked.
"Yes. Fight. He does," he nodded. "She hurt. I tell."
"Thank you," Ilerael said again. He offered him an item in thanks, but the goblin shook his head.
"You. Not me," he nodded. Then he thought and said, "I back!"
Then he vanished away. As the two mortal angels could only worry and pray that all would go well in Heaven, Gurzick went to his home. In this world, the sky was sapphire blue, the paths were made of gold, and heaps of treasures and items were all over the place. Many would think that it would be an underground cave, but the scenery tended to vary on the god that ruled here. Today, he wanted to see clear sky. Other Greed Goblins were emptying their sacks in a constant motion of appearing and disappearing. Gurzick went straight up to where a massive pile of treasure was in the form of a throne. It was here that his god, Greed, sat and watched everything.
"What did you learn?" he asked in his deep tone.
"Diablo invades Heaven," Gurzick said.
"Not good. Not good at all," Greed frowned. A massive crown sat on his head. All of the goblins were made in his image, aside from the crown. Those that did have the crown were more like his spies and generals. "And the girl you like? The one that you want to protect?"
"Wounded. Archangel Imperius has his life bound to hers. I was able to let him know."
"I see."
"What are we to do, My Greatness of Greats?"
"As much as many of my followers are gaining new alliances to improve my treasures in the form of rings being worn, I will further appoint you to do what you can. The trades you do are good. Keep doing them. If others wish to trade with you, do it. But, only with the girl in your presence. You can give over any item you think will work. But, give her anything she needs. Not all at once, though. Only when asked. I still like my treasures," Greed grinned a fanged grin of his own.
"Yes!" Gurzick nodded. At this, his jaw seemed to go slack at the crown that now appeared on his head. The hood he wore was moved down slightly to accommodate it. I am being rewarded for all eternity! His body even got larger to give off a purplish glow, but it was a bit larger than the others to show his vast importance.
"This crown is like my own. It will show you are special and cannot be touched by many. It also houses a special power. That will be revealed in time, if it is needed. Now go! But, take that glowing spear with you, too. It will help her," Greed commanded. The spear, Empyrean Messenger, was quickly found and claimed. It would be given to her to help her train with. "It was found long ago by me. After a big battle. It will go to her."
"Yes, My Greatness of Greats!" Gurzick nodded and vanished away. Greed sat back on his throne and looked at the other goblins. At his nod, they all vanished. Spoils of war were soon to be had. With the angels in turmoil, it would be easy to raid what they wanted. At least, to a certain point. He was still a bit of an anomaly of what he truly was, but he did like to give the odd thought that he was a demon. Besides, he preferred to pick on both sides. As half of his goblins went to the High Heavens, the other half went to the burning Hells. That made him happy.
He was rather fond of the girl with gold hair. She was something special to him. She didn't attack my follower at first sight. And she gives over the neatest items, too. He liked the broken shovel. It was easy to smack his followers on the head with it, if they got out of line. He called it his new 'bopping stick', and it was feared rather greatly. He was also very concerned with the war. Any war brought concern to him. He took up a small mirror to look into and watched his newest general make his way back to the cottage that he came to protect.
"What happened to you?" Ilerael asked at the sight of the new crown.
"I help! Always!" Gurzick grinned. "Made better. I stay."
"Very good," Lilaurael smiled. She was still very worried. Anaurael didn't move at all, though her wound was healing well. At the sight of the new spear, her jaw dropped. She remembered the spear from countless years ago. And the Greed Goblins had it?! How could she not be surprised?
"Gift! For her!" Gurzick nodded.
"She will use it," Ilerael smiled and set it aside. An hour seemed to go by in silence. Then the mark on his daughter's forehead seemed to sputter and die out.
"NO!" Lilaurael shouted.
"Wait!" Ilerael said quickly. "It's almost gone! Look. It's still there, if faintly."
"If Imperius dies and takes her with him..." she trembled. Gurzick had to find out what happened. He vanished back to the High Heavens. This time, he saw that most of the fighting was over, but that the area was dark. A sick corruption had spread all over. It actually scared him. He ran through everywhere and ignored the other goblins that were busy looting. He had a mission.
He found himself staring in awe at the base of the Crystal Arch. Tyrael was there in his mortal form and waiting at the base of the steps. At the sight of Gurzick, he seemed to glare. The goblin gave a small wave and moved up to Imperius. Noticing that the Archangel was alive, just on the ground in an immobile form, he seemed to panic. He also saw how his wings were simply the armored parts of his back. That worried him.
"What are you doing to him?" Tyrael finally asked. He wore various angelic pieces of armor that looked like they were touched with gold. Heavy cloth went over most of it, much like Ilereal's and Lilaurael's did, save a single brooch that seemed to bind it down together that was over his right breast.
"Hurt?" the goblin asked and pointed to him.
"You can speak?" Tyrael frowned and tilted his bald head. His glowing sword, El'druin, did not seem to sense any malice from this one at all. At the small frown the goblin gave now, he saw that the small demon was referring to Imperius. "He's not actually hurt. The Light of Anu is being corrupted by Diablo. The Nephalem and Lyndon, a scoundrel, in a sense, have gone up to help assist in Diablo's destruction. Two other mercenaries are also waiting to help, if they must. Hopefully, with the Prime Evil gone, the angels will be well again. When the corruption of Anu's Light started, they lost their wings. It...weakened them all. Why do you ask?"
"Girl hurt," Gurzick frowned. "She hurt."
"A girl? What girl?" Tyrael frowned. At the question, Gurzick's crown glowed, and a voice emanated from it. This had the powerful man stare with surprise.
"Greetings! I am Greed. No, I will not do this all the time. I'm just here to clear up a loose end or two," the deep voice chuckled. "The girl that Gurzick is referring to is the ward of Imperius. Don't stare at me like that! She's special. She didn't harm Gurzick. She gave him things. So, I took a liking to her and encouraged Gurzick to keep close. As to who she is and where she is...you're on your own!"
"Imperius has a ward?!" Tyrael gaped. The crown went silent. Now he had more questions than answers. Gurzick gave a careful poke at Imperius to watch him twitch. He was making sure that the powerful Archangel was still alive. Imperius knew this. As much as he wanted to backhand the nosy goblin, he couldn't move. Now Tyrael moved to kneel down to Imperius's immobile form. "I will want to know everything! You had best answer all of my questions should you pull through!"
Imperius wanted to argue. He wanted to brush him off. Instead, his thoughts went to Anaurael. He was exceptionally worried about her. He didn't expect her body to go through the pain his went through. How badly was she hurting? He had to find out.
When he felt strength return to him from the way his wings flared back out, he was standing tall. He ignored Tyrael for now. His first action was to remove Diablo's corpse from Heaven. After that was done, he vanished away. He needed to see Anaurael.
"He will be back," Auriel said to Tyrael when she floated by him.
"I was told that there was a girl. A ward of Imperius," Tyrael said.
"Yes. She is the Light that Imperius was missing," Itherael said when he appeared. "You will find out more. We cannot say much of anything else. You must discover this information on your own."
"I see," Tyrael frowned.
"Head one hundred miles west of Kingsport for your answers," Izarius said when he walked over. "I need to return to my duty to guard the girl. Thankfully, Darius, Mithus, and Azarius survived. She will be relieved to see us. We shall see you soon, Tyrael. Thank you for being here."
"Wait!" Tyrael said, but the angels were gone.
"When Imperius returns, we need to make a few decisions," Itherael sighed.
"Very well," Tyrael said. He was about to leave, but he paused at a sound that reached him. He was being called to the Angiris Council chamber. He heard the Song of the Arch. He was to become the Aspect of Wisdom. He would do so with pride.