Redemption and Rebirth

Wistful Desire

The darkness of the night heightened its depth as the moon came to hide behind the veils of white. The confines of the room made its shades lighten with the host of candles surrounding it. The cloth ornaments of silk and linen surround areas of the walls as it flowed gracefully. The new moon gave its turn, letting its dark side veil its countenance. The tongues of fire continued to bathe the room with its dim light, wax trailed in drops. A maiden rested on the silken bed, curled soundly in her sleep. The white nightgown clothed her petite frame; the radiance of her beauty was complemented by the dim light of the candles. Golden strands trailed her face slightly, crossing her fair visage.

This serene figure was a beauty to behold, such peace marked to inspire the beholder with a piece of art. The still form might remain, if only the pale hand didn't stir to caress her cheek. The warmth of the touch gave its hold, making her groan to awake. She slightly turned, opening her eyes slowly. Welcomed with random hues of colors blurred to her sight, she blinked to clear her vision. The clarity came to focus as she noticed the surroundings of the room. Noticing the silhouette that was there on her bedside, she rubbed her eyes to see who it was.

"So you're awake now, Malice." A familiar voice came to echo her ears. The shadowy figure that sat beside her reached out his hand and laid it on her cheek. He brushed a strand to the back of her ear, setting a glimpse of her beautiful profile.

The young lady gasped slightly, slowly turning her head to see a defined glimpse of the stranger's face. She took notice of the short blond hair that reached his shoulders, the fine features of his visage, and the look in his eyes. She noticed the black shirt, the embroidered buttons that bound the garment, and the black trousers along with it. It made her whisper his name as she turned to look at his face again.

"Ledah?" she whispered almost inaudibly, her hand clasped within his palm as she weaved her fingers to his. "What are you doing here in this dead of night?"

"I came to see you, Malice." He answered in the same faint tone as she did, leaning a bit closer to her. "I heard you never woke up for three days. Good thing you woke up. You had me worried."

She smiled at him, finding it intriguing and humorous at one point. "I won't give in that easily. You're forgetting who I am and how tenacious I can get."

"Is that so?" he asked, his voice maintaining the soft modulation.

She brought her hand to his arm, her fingers clasping the sleeve along with it. And with one quick tug, she pulled the young man down to the soft surface of the bed. But along in his descent, he was cushioned by both the soft bed and the softness of something else distinct. It gave him a sudden coloring to his face, knowing what situation took him. There were things that made it point in his mind. One, he was alone with a woman. Two, she's dressed with only a nightgown. Three, that woman is Malice. And four, that was too close for them.

Malice gazed at Ledah's handsome face, noticing the blushing countenance up close. But she couldn't help it as well, finding it too close for her to behold. The manner of his body pressing to hers was enough to silence, knowing that if not for the layer of clothing on their bodies, it will drive them to something beyond the limit. The heart began to beat with its noticeable pulse. Everything came in silence, only the heartbeat echoed within their ears. Ledah was speechless, mind racing to numerous questions that he couldn't make sense of placing an answer or bring distinction. Something was drawing him close, pulling him inch by inch to her face and making his lips impart its caress to her. His mind made its scream, holding him back and letting him see what's going to transpire yet his heart stated otherwise to follow. Malice began to close her eyes, her heart racing at the distance being closed in. The gap was lessened and only a single moment will stir.

The heart began to pulse, thoughts made distinct. A second carried a thought.

"Should I…?"

"This can't be…I must be dreaming."

"Wait…what am I doing? This can't be right…"

"If this is a dream, I don't want to wake up…"

"But…It must be…what I…"

"I hope it remains like this…"

"Malice…"

"Ledah…"

A gasp of air echoed within the halls of the abandoned chapel. The young blond maiden shot her eyes open as she stirred from slumber, her hands remained in its grasp on her azure Diviner. Her back was leaning on the marble wall, her black pinions made its wrapping form around her body. Raising a hand to her head to ease her consciousness, a voice came to startle her.

"And so the Grim Angel awakes…" a male voice came to speak with a tone of mock jubilation.

Malice turned her eyes to the stranger. A figure sat among the pews, his arms propped on the back in leisure while his legs were crossed in an elegant form. The coat of black that covered his crimson shirt and black trousers made its smooth trail, matching the manner of his long platinum hair bound on his back. A rising distrust came to her as she stood while letting her wings fold its place on her back. She raised her halberd, pointing its tip on the figure's direction.

"Who are you? And what business do you have here?" she asked boldly.

The man gave a chuckle, not shifting any posture in his seat. "Well, I'm no one but a traveler, passing by this divine place for repose." He turned his head to the ceiling, gazing at the rays of sunlight peering through the broken stone and glass as he shifted his eyes to follow its trail towards the ground. "And if you're asking for my name, you can call me Siegel. And you?"

The woman made no answer as she walked her way past the stranger, leaving him without any answer. She halted in the middle of the aisle when she spoke. "Malice…"

Siegel brought his legs into its straight form before rising from his seat. Placing his gloved hands within the pockets of his coat, he ambled a few steps to the aisle as well as he stood idle. The name somehow amused him. "Interesting name, but why that? Any reason behind it, Malice?"

Malice gave no answer to the question. She stared at the broken stained-glass window, reminded of the events from last night. Siegel dropped the question and changed his thoughts once more.

"Well, looks like that's beyond me now." he said pleasantly.

"Why are you here?" she butted in with a question before ending the sentence.

He sighed as he heard the question. "You should be asking that question to yourself. What business does a Grim Angel have in Midgard, especially here in Vera?"

A pause came to fill its gap. Malice began to ponder what reason she was brought here. The question itself gave its doubts. Matters about her even being alive or not, along with Ledah's sudden appearance. This moment of brooding came to take its toll until the silence was broken again.

"No need to answer that now, Malice." Siegel stated to her. "Seems to me you're thinking about someone special."

Malice turned to face him, grimacing. "What made you so sure of that possibility?"

"It's easy." Siegel replied with a mischievous smirk. "You see, when I came here, I noticed you were sleeping. And along with that, I saw you smile, in your sleep. You must be having a good dream then. The catch is, you're whispering someone's name…was it Ledah? That must be it."

Malice began to grit her teeth, hiding the guilty blush in her face. She dreamt of him alright, but never had she dreamt of an intimate moment as such. Reminded once more of the strange recollections, it made her shake away the thought aside for later. She sauntered forward, making her way towards the door.

"Hold it right there." Siegel barked.

"Are you going to go through with this nonsense?" Malice responded.

"No," he made his way ahead of her, sauntering his way to the door. "There's an army of demons who sensed us here. I must tell you something about this city before we dart out of here."

Interest enthused, Malice considered the information. It was what she would need. "Tell me what you know."

Siegel took a moment to collect his thoughts, his countenance made serious as he narrated. "Vera is a city of a human kingdom. It was teeming with humans before, a prosperous capital. But since the Retribution was stirred, the influx of demons came to destroy everything. They emerged and slaughtered everything in their path. Along with other cities and kingdoms, Vera was overrun with demons and soon, it was declared a Red Zone by the Union of Olin, a union of the kingdoms of Midgard."

The young man reached for the inner side of his coat. From its concealment, he drew out a sword. Its blade had a partly broad shape at the hilt point, narrowing its way towards the very tip as its shape is likened to a spearhead halved lengthwise. The handle was wrapped with black leather while one part of the blade protruding from the hilt seemingly acted as a makeshift sword guard in its design. The verdant aura surrounded the weapon with brilliance that seemed familiar to Malice's eyes. Only one kind of material could give such presence.

"That sword," Malice stirred, gazing at the weapon. "Is that made of Orichalcon?"

Siegel smiled in response, finding the moment amusing. "Yes, it's made of Orichalcon. And what does your instinct tell you?"

"If that sword is a Diviner, you could be also a Grim Angel. If you only have black wings, it answers my doubt." she answered.

"Your guesses are right." Siegel replied, shaking his head upon laying his foot on the door. "But sadly, I'm no longer what you say I am."

Malice stood puzzled. Siegel exerted force to his foot as he propped the door open. What welcomed them was a number of feral beasts, bears and wolves driven into bloodlust. Siegel smirked at them upon sensing what caused it.

"Why does it have to be animals affected by the cursed wave?" he asked with mock concern.

Malice walked past him, clasping her Diviner as she assessed what to do with these adversaries. "Doesn't matter to me now, they're good for warm-up."

"Yeah, point made." Siegel chuckled with laughter as he charged forward.

Rushing his way towards the bear, he charged his energy to his body as he took a step in his dash. Driving his force on that single step, he propelled his body to high speed as he hovered from the ground in his lunging state. The sword with its point aimed straight forward, he sped towards the beast and thrust his blade into its flesh. The vacuum that swirled around his form made its momentum and damage as it caused a drilling effect, making Siegel pierce through the body as it left a bleeding hole on the beast's body. A wolf came with its leaping attack, its fangs and claws poised to injure him. Taking momentum, he took a step on the ground and propelled his form to the air to meet the target. Hoisting the blade above his head, he made a somersault maneuver, making his body circle with the sword in its assailing spin. The wolf was split in half upon passing upon the whirling figure, landing to the ground as a lifeless carcass.

Malice came to see Siegel's moves, recognizing each of them by memory. But even before she could mull over these things, she was interrupted by a growl. Turning to where it was, a feral bear came to smite her with its paw. By reflex, she moved aside and swayed from the blow as it struck nothing but air. She smirked as she swung her halberd upward, dismembering the limb from its body. A howl of pain came to leave the jaws of the beast. Malice wasted no time for such, bringing the weapon to its momentum as she swung the halberd and decapitated its head. Now that this opponent has been rendered to its demise, Malice jumped in the air and brought her wings to its sudden flap. Putting her form airborne, she noted the sudden appearance of harpies as they circled their way to her. She snickered at them as she charged forward after an incoming harpy. She brandished her Diviner as it gave its cerulean aura, the light and the frost mist mingled at the edge of her weapon. The blade came forth and cut through the harpy with the horizontal stroke, dividing it into halves. The two pieces began to coat itself with frost as it descended, breaking into pieces as it crashed to the ground. Two others came above her and made their dive with their talons. Malice flapped her wings as she quickly trailed to the side, evading one harpy. As the other came, she brought her halberd to a thrust as it skewered the monster. The frost was making its gradual crystallization on the impaled beast. With a maniacal move, she clasped the weapon with both hands and whisked it downwards, hurling the beast to the bell tower. The frozen harpy came to a collision course, shattering on the face of the tower. Averting her gaze to the other harpy as it rushed towards Siegel, she simply watched the beast head for the young stranger.

Siegel dashed towards the bear and slashed its arm with a diagonal swing. As it sent its other paw to pounce at him, he hopped and landed on the other arm and charged his energy to the sword. The blade gave its evident gleam as he propelled himself airborne. The harpy darted its way from the air, its talon ready to strike him. He winced at the foe as he swung his blade downward, a powerful flash of energy burst forth from that arcing weapon. The geyser of energy pierced the avian, felling it to the ground. The bear, however, was brutally divided whilst sent to a distance with the powerful blow. Landing on the ground with bended knee, he watched the hordes retreat to the shadows knowing their defeat. But even before a few could make their escape, a hail of icicles made its volley upon the beasts, impaling them to their deaths. Siegel smirked at what he saw.

"Elemental Magic, and from the Diviner." he mused, shifting his gaze from the fallen fray to where it came from. Seeing the Grim Angel hover above him, he simply shook his head. "That is a Grim Angel's power alright. It's been a while since I've seen such."

Malice made her descent, her foot touching the ground as her wings made its final stroke for her to land softly. Setting her poise upright once more, she dispelled her Diviner as she hailed a remark to Siegel.

"Those movements and that swordsmanship," she remarked. "Only a few Grim Angels could initiate such quick and powerful blows. You're a Grim Angel as well, admit it."

Siegel sighed and shook his head. Laying his blade down, he gazed at the sky to behold its clear form. "I no longer am one. You noticed I don't have wings correct? I never had them for a sacrifice. It is punishment."

The last word echoed in Malice's mind. Punishment that seemed to be beyond redemption is for a Grim Angel to be a Fallen Angel. Under the act of defiance to the Gods or to the Magi could instill such a punishment. But to what state did this soul come to that he was branded as a Fallen Angel is still beyond her reach in knowing. Siegel began to take ample steps, walking through the streets in search of something. He halted halfway, noticing the distance made with the azure Grim Angel.

"So, are you coming or not?" Siegel yelled. "We're going to find the reason for this. That's a Grim Angel's task, right?"

Malice made no utterance as she followed him, shaking her head in disbelief. But within the trail of thought made in her mind, she found this much efficient to her bidding.

The pair arrived at the plaza, reaching the fountain that stood in the middle of the rotunda. Siegel took a seat on the edge of the dried fountain, gazing at Malice with a tilted head. Malice turned her eyes to the surroundings, scanning it to and fro as she noted its characteristics. The buildings were ruined and the taint of blood has faded slightly. The streets were marred with ruined vehicles, pieces of metal and bones from human remains. It was reminding her of a memory, a sin that she once knew.

"A horrible scene to behold, am I right Malice?" Siegel spoke, breaking the silence that plagued both of them in a while since they walked.

Malice never said a word. The images that kept appearing in her head were in its horrid nightmare. The screams echoed in her head, seeing the agonized faces of the fallen. The black wings of leather of these beings, mingling with the fountain of blood and the choir of screams kept resurfacing in her thoughts. These flashes of thought came to haunt, causing her to gasp for air for a moment.

"Are you alright?" Siegel's voice snapped her from the memoirs; her eyes suddenly come to focus to the man.

"Yes, it's nothing." she replied, setting aside the horrid vision. "That reminds me, what sacrifice did you give for your Diviner?"

Siegel winced at the thought, trying to recall every moment. "I gave as a sacrifice, my memories of a tragedy in my life. I want to give it as a symbol of my penance to myself."

"But what made you a Fallen Angel then?" Malice asked.

"I fell in love with a mortal woman. But that was forbidden in the Divine Law. I was tried and banished here in Midgard. They must have seen mercy in me why they banished me here. But the price was to loose my wings."

Malice came to mull over the events. Siegel averted his gaze to a nearby machine, a motorbike parked nearby a ruined car. Seeing it in good shape, he snickered as he noted the black paint scheme of the parts and the studs on the tires. It would be what he'd need. Turning to Malice, he came to ask her this time.

"Malice, looks like we're going to search for that person," he stated as he rose from his seat and made his saunter to the vehicle. "It seems that he may no longer be here."

"There might be nothing in this city but death. Very well then." she replied.

He hoisted himself on the bike, assessing the controls. Seeing them in good shape, he turned the ignition switch. A sound of a revving engine echoed as it sparked to life. He looked at the Grim Angel and an idea sparked his mind.

"Malice, can you still fly?" he asked.

"Yes, I still can. Why'd you ask?"

Siegel tilted the throttle, making the motorbike move forward in a slow approach. Stopping in front of her, he explained to her the scheme.

"Since you can fly, can you manage to follow me? We'll search for him around Midgard. For you, it'll be efficient to fly. And in my case, it's efficient if I ride. Is that a good deal?" Siegel stated.

Malice nodded without any ado. Siegel gestured his hand to her, signaling her to go airborne. Malice flapped her wings, sending her form to hover higher in the air. Siegel twisted the throttle and made a turn, letting the motorbike cruise its way through the road. Malice followed its path through the air, seeing that their journey has begun.

Ledah, I'll find you. And I'll find the answers. She gave her thought as she soared and followed the cruising trail of Siegel.

(End of Chapter)

Ah, new character in the journey. A new memory and a new reason, what more could await the Grim Angel in her search? The Fallen Angel follows her in her journey, searching for a new reason. A note for all of you, this Midgard is in the modern setting, so you know. It's post-Ragnarok after all.

Notes about the Fallen Angel: According to some articles that I read, angels are capable of committing the sin of pride and defiance. That's the premise for them to be thrown away from Heaven's grace, deeming them to be Fallen Angels. I used this premise as part of the law; defiance could mean being thrown out of Asgard. But since the Grim Angels are both divine and mortal, it could suffice that they commit mistakes as mortals do.

Please review. Your suggestions, comments, requests, and reactions are appreciated and entertained. See you next time with the next chapter.

Sydney Grise