Key:
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"Speaking, or in-text quote"
'Thoughts'
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Year 16 AL, Sick Fantasies
The black-gloved hand of Alice raised the fork carefully, bringing it to eye-level. She inspected the small chuck of egg with squinted golden eyes, looking at it from all angles as she angled it around with the twisting of her wrist. Luka watched her nervously, holding a heavy breath in his lungs as the Monster judged the piece of cheesy egg.
Eventually, thankfully, she took the bite. Alice methodically chewed on the mixture of egg, cheese, and spices with a look of satisfaction growing with each movement. "I was worried that your wasting of all the salt would doom whatever meal you planned on making." She went for another bite, "But it seems that, somehow, you've outdone yourself even with the handicap. I don't know how, but this is even better than the salmon from yesterday."
Luka beamed, closing his eyes in happiness at her compliments.
"Now the only issue we have..." Her tone turned sour, "...Is the fact that your cooking skills far outmatch your fighting skills." Alice stabbed at her omlette to emphasize her point, the grating noise of the fork meeting plate causing Luka to cringe. He nervously wrung his hands together, "Eh, you saw all of that, then?" he asked.
Alice paused, her tired golden eyes boring into him silently. He looked away, grabbing at his purple hair anxiously. The Monster Lord slowly began, "To put it into perspective, your failure to even use your sword at all during that "fight" was one of the most embarrassing things I have ever seen." Luka's face fell, feeling a burning shame at the harsh words. She continued, "If it wasn't for your admittedly smart decision of using salt as a weapon, you'd still be on the ground here getting milked by a Slug."
Luka stared at the ground, knowing that her words were true. He had narrowly avoided catastrophe by dumb luck, as leaving the salt out was something he had only done by happenstance. "You're right about that..." He trailed off, trying to rid himself of the thoughts of his near failure. He had seen it in Melk's eyes, she was ready to take him right then and there.
The boy's journey had very nearly ended just like that. 'How sad must that seem? I'm sure she thinks I'm pathetic...'
"You're supposed to be a Hero, yet you handle your sword like a child flailing a stick. Who exactly taught you your technique?" The Lamia asked. Luka kept his head low, quietly replying, "Well, nobody did. I'm self-taught."
Alice fixed her puzzled eyes onto the downtrodden boy, not sure what to make of his answer. 'He's never been trained how to use a sword? How exactly did he get picked as Hero, then? Did he win some sort of Make-Me-A-Hero lottery?'
Alice couldn't understand it. Everything she knew about Heroes framed them as a sort of super-soldier. The best of the best Humans had to offer in the fields of physical and mental combat, the creme of Humanity's crop. This one, however, was an untrained orphan boy who didn't seem like he could even kill a fly, let alone a Monster Lord.
"You've never been taught swordplay? Never at all?" Alice asked, receiving a slow shake of the head from Luka, who still had his eyes averted to the ground. "No." He said bluntly, a heavy shame plaguing his tone. "I had tried in the past to get some of the adults in Ilias Village to teach me, but they always just shrugged me off."
She looked over the saddened boy, her mind formulating a plan. 'Well, like it or not, he is quite literally my only choice. He might not be a Hero now, but I can make him one.' It would be extra work that the Monster Lord wasn't very keen on having to do, but she would do it nonetheless. Alice took one final bite of omlette, placing her fork down onto the plate with a loud clatter, bringing Luka's attention to her.
"Well, that simply won't do. A Hero who cannot fight is hardly a Hero at all..." The poor purple-haired boy closed his eyes tightly, feeling her words cut like a knife. It was true, his lack of skill in fighting was a glaring issue that would make his journey a very difficult one. He had hoped that with practice along the way, he would eventually become better by himself, but Luka knew at the back of his mind that it would be a hindrance to his journey.
"...Which is why I must teach you how to properly wield that blade."
Luka blinked, surprised at Alice's words. He looked up at the Lamia, seeing that she had nearly finished her omlette. "You'd... you'd do that for me?" He asked softly, which quickly earned him a scoff from Alice. "With what you'll be up against on this journey of yours, it'd be cruel of me to let you continue like, eh..." She gestured to Luka, "...This."
Ignoring the slight, Luka gave Alice a wide smile. "Wow, thank you that, that means a lot to me." The Monster looked into his eyes, seeing a genuine warmth nearly radiating off the boy. It caused her to pause, not used to seeing a look of such adulation being put onto her.
'You're either very lucky or very unlucky to be that cute.' She thought offhandedly.
Luka continued, "Whenever you wish to start let me know!" Alice pointed towards Luka's lap, which held a plate of his own uneaten food. "First," she said, "Finish your food, you'll need the energy. After that, I suggest you start packing up all this stuff so that I can start teaching you some things."
Luka tilted his head in confusion, his hair spilling to the side in a manner Alice found strangely appealing. "What are you going to do until then?" Alice put her plate down, rising to full height.
"I, am going to take a nap while the sun is still somewhat low. I had an awful time sleeping last night." Luka nodded, watching her snake away to a large tree and climbing up to one of its branches. She shook it a bit, testing how much weight it would hold. The purple-haired boy watched her lay across the branch, her ridiculously long white hair spilling to the side. The Lamia's eyes quickly closed, her tail wrapping tightly around the tree's trunk this time instead of the branch itself.
The boy hummed, looking between where the Monster currently slept compared to where she was last night, eyeing the spot where the last tree's limb had broken. Putting two and two together, he figured what must've given her issue sleeping last night was an accident with her broken branch.
He hummed to himself as he thought about it, 'I wonder if there's a better way for her to go about doing that, I'd hate for her to have another accident.' He began eating his food, unaware that the broken branch was only half of the cause of her unrest.
In Heaven, a certain Goddess of Light was still asleep herself, also having had issues the night before with getting adequate rest.
Sitting back on her throne was Ilias, who calmly slept in her chair. The Goddess's face was finally unscarred, having been able to finally find a way to rid herself of the blemish successfully. However, this had only been doable through several hours of tedious concentration and meditation.
Because of this, the Goddess of Light's very generous sleeping schedule had been disrupted.
She breathed silently, as Heaven below her started to awaken. Ilias started to stir, her subconscious mind playing back the moments between her and Luka from last night's failed baptism. The jewel around her neck suddenly started to glow, an action that caused the Goddess to squirm in her seat. The low red light illuminated the Goddess's pale face as her dream started to become skewed, the events beginning to alter...
"Now, you may remove your clothes!" Ilias announced happily to the boy. The clouds around the two glowed dimly like candleflame in the dark, illuminating the area around the two. The Full Moon above shone brightly. Luka jumped a bit, something that caused the Goddess some amusement.
"E-E-Eh?" He stammered, his bright blue eyes looking up at her, reflecting the Moonlight beautifully. "I'm sorry, but I think I misheard? Did you say to... take my clothes off?"
Ilias felt her smile involuntarily widen, something about his question paired with his innocent nature caused her to feel gleeful. "You heard correctly, Luka. As I had said before, your baptism will be much different than that of my past Heroes. With them, I would only wash their hair. But you are to be my Prophet, so your Holy cleansing will be much more special."
Special was right, she wanted it to be something more important, more meaningful. She wanted Luka to remember this moment with her, to treasure it.
Ilias spun around, "Don't fret, I'll let you disrobe in peace. Call upon your Goddess when you are ready, and we will begin." She kept her word, looking away for a short while, the boy taking a while to adhere to the request. Ilias heard the soft thud of the boy's clothes falling to the ground sounding very loud in her ears.
She twitched upon hearing him say, "Okay Ilias, I'm ready." The Goddess gulped, spinning back around to look at Luka.
Thump Thump
Ilias twitched, the sight of the boy's pale, naked flesh stirring something in her heart. The Goddess kept the scowl off her face as she forced the odd sensation down.
"Wonderful! Now," Ilias gestured to the pool, ignoring the certain fuzzy feeling entering her head. "If you will now enter the pool, we can begin you cleansing." She noticed him shudder, prompting Ilias to wonder how he felt standing there so bare for her. Strangely enough, she hoped that he would get used to it.
She watched his smaller form climb into the pool. He fell into the water, reclining into the wall of cloud lining the pool's sides. The Goddess looked at him from behind, watching as the boy got settled into the water. She quietly stepped up to the pool behind him, hands lowering down to him, stopping centimeters away from him. Her hands shook, something about the idea of touching his unclothed skin made her grow anxious.
The Goddess didn't know why she felt such a thing, this was strictly just a matter of settling business. All she was doing right now was making up for what she was unable to do before.
But if that was so, then why did she not have the Archangels come to observe this like she would've before? Why be so private, so... intimate? Ilias ignored the betraying thought, laying her hands onto the boy's shoulders.
Thump Thump
Ilias jolted from the contact, feeling as though pure electricity shot through her arms once she touched him. She guided the boy down into the pool until only his face was unsubmerged. His face looked surprised, but he did not fight her touch, something that made her very pleased. She stopped, looking at his face intently.
His pale face shone wonderfully in the Moon's illuminating aura, and it seemed as if his pale blue eyes glowed. A large smile grew on her face as the image burned into her brain, if someone were to ask how he looked at that moment, she would say that he was-
"Perfect."
The word spilled from her mouth without her meaning too, causing the boy below her to utter a questioning grunt, "Huh?" The small sound was funny to her, causing Ilias to giggle lightly. She bent over palms carrying some of the purified water up out of the pool.
"You may want to close your eyes." Ilias said, Luka, doing so right before she started pouring the water down, gently wetting his face. She ran her hands over his face, freeing his sight of any excess water. She shivered at the touch, noting just how soft and smooth his skin was.
Ilias leaned down, her form shadowing his face from the Moon above as his eyes opened. Their blue eyes met, his paler ones looking up with a bit of shock as her half-lidded ones looked down at him lovingly. There he lay below Ilias, her Prophet looking up to her like the Goddess she was.
He was at her mercy, her will. Truly, she could do whatever she wanted with him at this moment, and he would probably go along with it. Something about the idea tempted her thoughts, whispering strange thoughts to her.
The idea made her shudder.
Ilias dipped her arms into the pool, pulling the boy up to sit. At this moment, she was technically done. She could have him stand from the pool so she could declare him her Prophet and send him back to the planet below...
...But she didn't want that. She wanted more from this moment, more of him. Ilias herself didn't comprehend what this meant but began to glide her nimble finger across his shoulders. She felt her chest grow warm, an unfamiliar feeling to the Goddess.
"Uh..." The boy starts, "...Is this part of the baptism?"
No, it wasn't.
Ilias smiled, "Yes; as I said, I wanted it to be special. Because you are special. Special to the World, to my Angels, and special to me."
Thump Thump-Thump
Ilias felt the odd skip in her heartbeat, the strange throbbing causing her a wave of lightheadedness. She shook her head, the Goddess's blonde hair being tossed to the side. "You, Luka, are my last hope. So many before you have failed, and I am afraid that there may not be much time left before the World I love so dear is thrown into chaos."
She didn't know why her body quaked, shuddering seemingly just from her own confession. They were much more passionate than how she had meant to say them, but she felt the tone appropriate now as her hands fell lower down his back. She idly wondered if his entire body was so pleasing to the touch.
Ilias's hands rubbed the boy's back, the heat in her chest spreading until her body felt like it was burning. She suddenly felt the urge to get closer to the boy, to share the heat of the fire burning inside her. Her hands suddenly started to move from his shoulders, trailing down his arms.
Ilias heard the boy's breathing hitch as the Goddess's hands went lower down his arms until she reached his hands, gripping each of them into her own. "I-Ilias?" Luka stammered as the Goddess leaned in closer, her chest pressing onto his back. She crossed his arms over alongside her own, pulling him into a tight hug. She scooted closer, her knees right at the edge of the clouds that created the small bathing remained silent, breathing in deeply as she stared straight ahead.
The Goddess of Light was acutely aware of the boy's scent as her head was positioned right above his wet hair; he smelled sweet to her, somewhat akin to vanilla. She clutched his hands tightly, opening her mouth to say something, but nothing but heavy breaths came out. She felt as though she was on fire.
Luka coughed nervously, rattling Ilias from the haze that blanketed her mind. "I don't m-mean to upset you, Ilias, but is the Baptism not over yet?" The Goddess frowned, disliking his seeming eagerness to separate from her. Was he not enjoying this?
"Do you not want to be with your Goddess, Luka?" The Goddess's question caused the boy shook his head.
"N-No, that's not it. I'm just a bit l-lost." Ilias felt a pang in her chest, his confused tone upsetting her. Because truly, she was lost, too. The boy was right. The baptism should be over, she should be announcing it right now, but she wasn't. Instead, she was wasting away the precious few minutes she had left to do so, using that time in favor of caressing and holding him like a lover would.
Thump-THUMP
Ilias panted, tightly pulling the boy in closer. Her head was on his shoulder now, something that caused the boy to shiver as her breathing tickled his ear. Her vision was blurred, the edges of her sight going black. What was happening to her?
Luka noticed her distress, asking, "Ilias! Are you alright?" His head turned, the boy trying his best to look at her burning red face. Her eyes looked into his, the throbbing in her chest reaching a fever pitch. Once their gazes met, something just clicked.
"No..." She gasped, "...No, I'm not alright, Luka." She leaned back, releasing the boy from her tight grip. She looked up into the sky, the Moon having long since passed its peak. Ilias had missed her chance; he could not be baptized now.
However, she didn't feel any disappointment as she called the clouds around to dim down even more. Soon, their already dim light was completely gone, the Heavenly constructs no longer giving any illumination to the room. Now, the only object shining down on the two was the Full Moon.
She heard some splashing as the boy turned to face her fully. Her face blushed heavily now, her pale skin turning dark red at the sight of his naked flesh being presented in such a manner. Even still, she didn't look away. Not that she even wanted to. "Well, what's wrong? I'll do whatever I can to help you."
The Goddess felt as though she was sick, sweat pouring down her body as if she were in a sauna. Did she have a fever? Why was everything so hot? She glanced down at the pool Luka stood in, the water reaching just above his waist. She suddenly found it to look very refreshing...
"Yes, I think you can help me, my Prophet..." Her hands rose to the collar of her dress, slipping her thumbs beneath the thin shoulder straps. "...I think that you aren't the only one who needs to be cleansed." She watched his eyes open wide as her dress fell from her body to reveal her flushed, sweat-covered flesh.
"ILIAS!"
The Goddess flailed in her marble throne, a shout coming from her mouth as she waved her arms around embarrassingly. The Goddess's manic eyes snapped to the one responsible for waking her.
It was the last Great Seraph, Eden.
The sage-haired Angel looked up to her with stressed, tired eyes. Ilias snapped, "E-Eden!? What are you doing!?" The Seraph flinched but drew her hands together in front of her chest. "Pardon me, my Goddess, but I have been worried sick for you. You haven't spoken a word to anyone since you've returned, and Ariel tells me that you missed the Baptism! Is it true what she said? Is Luka not Baptized!?" Ilias's eyes softened, realizing her mistake.
"Ah, my apologies, my Daughter. There are... a great many things that have been on my mind, and I'm afraid that certain things have gotten away from me." Ilias stood from her throne, legs a bit shaky from certain sensations still going through her loins. She steadied herself, the Seraph below noticing the Goddess's stumble with a frown.
It was very unlike Ilias to have such an ungraceful movement. "Luka is Baptized, this I made sure of." The lie came out almost too easily, but Ilias could not have anyone knowing that her baptism had failed. Admitting such a thing was unthinkable.
Eden gave a questioning gaze up to Ilias, "You did, but how is this so? I thought that every baptism must be performed at noontime at the Temple of Ilias Village? That is how you have always done so." Ilias regarded her Seraph with thoughtful eyes, the Goddess's cunning mind devising an explanation.
"Yes, that is how I have baptized my Heroes. However, this morning, I had a Revelation." Ilias outstretched her arms to Eden, "After much thought, I found that my Prophet deserved a different type of baptism, one that required me to bring him up to Heaven itself to perform. I would have spread this message to the Archangels, but I needed to focus on my preparations for the Prophet Luka first, you see."
The sage-haired Seraph looked up to the Goddess in awe, easily fooled by Ilias's explanation. "Ah, of course! I should have known better; you surely know much more about these things than we! I am sorry, my Goddess, I should have had more faith." Ilias smiled, satisfied in herself.
"Have no fear, Eden. I know that your heart is in the right place." The Goddess stood up straight, regarding her right-hand Angel with benevolence. "Now that the boy has begun his journey, I feel as though it is time for the others to be made aware of just who and what he is. Eden, I would like for you to gather all of the Angels to the Ninth Level. I believe that the rest of Heaven is ready to be revealed their Prophet."
Eden smiled, the idea bringing her much happiness as her earlier worries melted away. "That is fantastic!" Her smile fell, a question coming to her mind. "What of the Archangels? Do you want me to let them know what you have told me? I promised Ariel that I would inform her as soon as I was able to speak to you." Ilias shook her head, raising a hand to halt the Seraph. "Tell them to meet with me here in my throne room after I address my Angels. Once they all are here, I will tell them myself."
Eden bowed to her Goddess, a relieved smile on her face, before flashing out of Ilias's throne room to inform all of Heaven's Angels of the upcoming meeting. Such a thing did not happen often, and such a monumental reveal was sure to boost morale amongst Heaven's congregation. Even with all this in mind, though, none of that could distract her from the lewd images of her dream that continued to plague her mind...
Not long after Eden had left, she had started to spread the news of the meeting throughout Heaven. The Ninth Level was alive with the sound of chattering Angels. The enormous bottom level of Heaven was filled to the brim with tens of thousands of white-robed Angels, all of whom standing in front of Heaven's Gate. Most of the Angels were clear copies of each other, having golden-blonde hair and bright blue eyes. Their halos and wings were all very small, the smallest of any Angel as most of this breed were fairly young and inexperienced.
Amongst them were scattered outliers of the Ninth Order, Angels that had been around for much longer and were much more competent in combat. They varied in appearance a bit more; many of them having different hair colors and face shape from the regular Angel drone. Floating through this congregation of Angels, was one very annoyed Angel of Love.
"E-Excuse me! Move it!" Cupid yelled as she jostled through the large congregation, earning glares being aimed at her from some of the others. "Come on, where's the respect here!?" She complained loudly, though not without reason. She'd hate to be designated as such, but Cupid was one of Ilias's oldest Angels, technically being one of the most superior of the entire Order, especially with Valkyrie's promotion leaving a still-empty spot for de facto leader of the group. As such, she would actually be a candidate for such a position.
However, most Angels, including herself, were under the agreement that Cupid would be a terrible fit for such a role. Because of this, the position was still vacant as there was a lack of viable options.
Cupid continued nudging her way through the large group, slowly trekking to the front of the Ninth Order. After all, even with her continuous and offensively lewd escapades, she did still take some pride in her seniority. However, one could easily argue that this was purely for the sake of her somewhat shaky sense of pride as opposed to the actual feeling of dignity in her seniority.
With a grunt, Cupid finally broke through the last line of veteran Angels, who looked particularly besmirched by her rude behavior. One of them called out, "Watch yourself, Cupid. Wouldn't wish for you to stumble and fall, such an embarrassment is something you do enough on the regular!" The green-haired Angel soldier laughed, spurring the rest of the line to follow suit, poking fun at the Angel of Love.
Cupid whipped around to face the lot, snapping, "Bite me!" They laughed harder, one of them calling back to Cupid with a mocking tone. "Never in a million years! Doing such a thing may cause one to fall ill due to disease!" Cupid scowled, turning away from the chuckling group. 'Stupid bunch of ugly battle-axes, and they wonder why I find watching Humans so much more interesting. Compared to these broads, even Valkyrie was a riot to be around!'
Cupid crossed her arms under her large chest, becoming a bit sad at the thought. Although they had their differences, Valkyrie and she had been very close. It wouldn't be a stretch in her mind to even refer to the War Angel as her best friend. She had been actually, truly proud when Valkyrie had received her promotion to Archangel. The War Angel deserved it, having worked for the position for thousands of years until she gained the good favor of Archangel Ariel herself. Which was no small feat, as the white-haired leader of the Archangels had notoriously high standards for her group.
However, even with her pride for her best friend, Cupid hated the empty feeling she got every morning when she passed by the War Angel's still empty living quarters.
A hush fell upon the gigantic cloud-floored epicenter. The Higher Levels were beginning to descend. The large group of common Angels started to rapidly break apart in the middle, hurriedly making walk room for the approaching Eighth Order of Heaven. Cupid watched, annoyed at the acknowledgment that had not been extended to her. Soon, the Archangels could be seen marching down the walkway.
Naturally, Archangel Ariel led the march, her red eyes holding a tight edge to them as she stared straight ahead. 'Ugh, just seeing her makes me want to vomit. Can she not look like she's looking for something to stomp out for once?' Cupid thought, feeling bothered just by the sight of the leader of the Archangels.
A wider berth had to be made for the more graceful-looking Archangel Runael, her impressive assortment of golden wings requiring much more room than the normal Angel's. Her eyes, like always, were closed as she glided behind her superior. Cupid didn't have much experience with Runael, as the second-in-command was much like Eden in the fact that she spent most of her free time worshipping. Which was not something Cupid had an abundant amount of excitement for, herself.
A small gap came between Runael and the next Archangel, the dreaded Ranael. Her rust-red eyes shone blankly as she silently stepped somewhat off-beat from the rest, nearly stumbling at some points as her robes seemed to ruffle and move from something beneath the silk. The congregation around her took several extra steps back as she passed, knowing all too well the Archangel's reputation for being unstable. Cupid scooted over some, just to be safe.
A little bit behind her was the somewhat similar-looking Archangel Chamael. The blue-haired Angel held her head high, a showing of her own pride in her station. 'Not as bad as someone like Ariel,' Cupid thought, 'But it wouldn't kill her to walk less like she has a stick rammed up her-'
"Hello, hello! Oh, hi! Hello!" Cupid was brought out of her rude thoughts by the sound of Archangel Mariel greeting and waving at nearly every Angel she saw. The Angel of Love cringed at the small Archangel's overwhelming enthusiasm, Mariel bouncing and skipping from place to place, barely participating in the actual march and instead flying around to greet the other Angels. Cupid rolled her eyes, the youngest Archangel's boundless energy being somewhat draining.
Looking past the other Archangels as they drew nearer, the Angel of Love found the one she sought to see the most. Valkyrie, former leader of the Ninth Order now Archangel, followed at the tail-end of the group. Her steel blue eyes met Cupid's pink ones for a moment, something odd occurring. Upon meeting Cupid's gaze, Valkyrie's face contorted as a flash of distress shone in her eyes. Valkyrie then looked away, keeping her eyes straight ahead after that. 'That's... odd.' Cupid thought to herself as the Archangels neared the front.
Ariel turned once she came to the front of the crowd, passing by the Angel of Love on her way to form the line the Archangels would form in front of the congregation. Of course, Ariel could not do this without leveling a glare at Cupid first. 'Screw you too, bitch!' The Angel of Love thought while wearing a condescending smile, wishing she could say the comment out loud. The rest of them passed her with various levels of greeting. All except Valkyrie, not even giving a nod as she passed. The lack of any comment or acknowledgment gave the Angel of Love a rare pang of sadness, not understanding why Valkyrie was seemingly trying to ignore her.
Before Cupid could mull on the unasked question much longer, her attention was brought back to the gap made in the legion of common Angels, watching as the Orders above the Archangels started to file in now. Cupid shuddered; a reaction mirrored by a majority of the other Angels, if not all of them.
Calmly stepping through the line by herself was Principality Nagael. The Angel's robes and wings were covered in green vines that trailed along the ground behind her. Nagael's sharp face was turned upwards towards her sizable Halo, but there was a subtle hint of disdain in her eyes when she gazed around at the other Angels. Cupid took offense to the Principality's behavior, 'So what if you get to guide souls to Heaven, big whoop! Doesn't mean you gotta be so high and mighty.' Principality Nagael passed Cupid, who jumped as she swore a hiss came from the higher Angel's robes.
The next pair of Angels to come were the Powers Muzukiel and Berryelle. Cupid cringed at the sight of the two Angels of the Sixth Rank, knowing that from now on, barring one exception, would only get freakier from that point on. 'At least they didn't show up in their true forms. How awful that would be.'
Berryelle was somewhat like the regular Angels in appearance, although her face and body were more childlike in appearance. Her body, aside from her head and wings, was covered by a white robe far too large for its own good. Her blonde hair was curly and fell behind her shoulders in multiple string-like locks. The Power's face wore a large smile, bobbing up and down happily as she floated a meter and a half off the ground. Her Halo and wings, unlike most Angels, were absent as they were a part of her true form.
Cupid watched with a grimace as one of the Power's arms popped out from her ridiculously long sleeve. Disturbingly, the arm from the hand down was made up of multiple spindly strings, much like her hair was. In Berryelle's hand was a bright red apple, which the Power boorishly horked down. Loud pops and snaps rang through the throne room as she downed the fruit in seconds, causing many of the common Angels closest to her to make faces of disgust.
Power Muzukiel was somehow even more bizarre, her raven hair falling down the right side of her face in a single long curl while the rest of it either fell down her back or fell into a small fringe on her forehead. Jutting from said forehead, was a large green antenna! The appendage twitched some as the Power walked alongside her fellow Sixth Order Angel. Thankfully, the rest of her body was currently of normal shape, and nicely clothed by a white robe that tightly clung to her admittedly endowed chest. Her golden wings and Halo were present, unlike Berryelle. As the two Powers passed, Cupid swore that she could hear a buzzing coming from Muzukiel's robes.
'Ugh, that creep better not have her nasty bugs with her.' The Angel of Love lamented in her mind, crossing her arms over her chest at the thought. The Powers next to Principality Nagael, Muzukiel and her in particular seeming to exchange some words of greeting with the brown-haired Angel. Berryelle simple watched the other two converse, finishing another apple with greedy chomps.
Cupid looked away from the sight, fixing her eyes on the next approaching Level of Heaven: The Virtues. This was a mistake, as the next two weren't much better than the last.
The first to catch Cupid's attention was the one with the arguably worst true form of the whole bunch, Virtue Revel. The blue-haired Angel had a deceptively peaceful appearance, her eyes held closed in a manner similar to Archangel Runael. However, while Runael was a truly peaceful and pious Angel, Revel always seemed more sick. The tall Angel's wings were some of the strangest in Heaven, being shaped more like a butterfly's than a bird's. She had multiple pairs of these wings as well, each flapping lightly as she moved. Her Halo wasn't very large, but it held three smaller spinning Halos on it.
Thankfully, the hideous body of Revel was hidden. A blessing in Cupid's mind, as she had seen it once before, which was one time too many.
The Angel of Love quickly looked away from the first Virtue, her presence always being a strongly disturbing one. Instead, she looked to her fellow Fifth Order Angel, Virtue Silkiel. The blonde-haired Virtue was good deal shorter, though still taller than the regular Angel. Silkiel's short hair was accented by a small pair of wings that framed her face, sitting right below her somewhat small and unassuming Halo. The Virtue wore a lopsided grin, and her large bright green eyes stared unblinking ahead of her. Silkiel's two pairs of wings were similar to that of a Harpy, the first pair being folded upside down behind her back.
The second pair was hidden away as, like the rest of the Higher Orders, the Virtues were both clothed in white robes. 'Doesn't make them any less ghastly. I'll never be able to scrub the image of Revel's real appearance out of my head...'
The Virtues passed Cupid silently, being followed by the sounds of loud jabbering from all the common Angels. Though this sudden uproar wasn't due to them, it was because of the next Angel, the only one of the Orders above Archangel that Cupid actually looked forward to seeing. The Angel of Love's head turned back quickly to see the one Angel more controversial than herself.
Dominion Endiel was the only Angel of the Orders about Archangel that didn't have a true form, appearing much more like a regular Angel than the others. This, however, was not what separated her from the rest. What did, was the fact that she was, without a doubt, the most scandalous Angel in Heaven.
Yes, somehow even more suggestive than Cupid.
Endiel slowly strutted by herself, her long gray hair cascading down past her shoulders. The Dominion's scarlet eyes dimly glowed, a provocative edge to them at all times. Endiel's wings were very small, resembling the dark down feathers of newborn birds as they remain folded down as they fell down her back. The Dominion had no Halo, as showing one off would be more of a hinderance for her.
Her voluptuous hourglass figure was clothed by something that could tentatively be referred to as a robe, but that was not completely correct as the white see-through garment more so resembled lingerie than it did the Heavenly uniform. The smutty cloth barely kept her privacy, as it only fell down past her thighs, and her sizeable breasts were nearly on full display due to her obscene amount of cleavage on display.
The Dominion's appearance paired well with her siren-like technique of collecting wayward Human souls, caused her to be infamously dubbed as the "Angel Whore" by most of her fellow Angels. Cupid watched as the lustful Dominion came close, her red eyes widening in pleasant surprise as she drew near. "Ah, hello Cupid. How have you been?" Her words were low and drawn out, a habit gained by her act as a siren on Earth. Cupid replied, "Oh, I'm well, thank you for asking. How about you?"
Endiel shifted from one foot to another, even this small movement causing her significant assets to bounce. "I have been fine, just waiting to return to Earth." The Dominion let out an exaggerated sigh, "I'm hoping that this meeting will wrap up soon, I'm quite bored at the moment."
The Angel of Love nodded with a knowing grin, her and Dominion Endiel finding that their... particular interests on matters on a more sensual level were much of the same. Where Cupid got off on watching Humans have sex, Endiel got a rush from just skirting the line between what was necessary to do her job and what she could get away with doing before she actually carried out her duties. Of course, like every other Angel, Endiel never actually had sex. However, she had gotten very, very close to crossing that line. Though she never did so, it was an exciting fantasy for her.
"I know what you mean," Cupid started, "Waaaay too many prudes here." The Dominion lifted a hand to her mouth, concealing her giggling. "Oh, I know," Endiel said between laughs, "Believe me, I find the surface World to be much more interesting."
Out of the corner of her eye, Cupid noticed that Valkyrie was staring at the two, an unreadable expression in her eyes. Once Cupid and her met gazes, the Archangel looked away.
Dominion Endiel quickly recaptured her attention, "Well, it was good seeing you, Cupid. You should visit me more often; I always enjoy hearing the stories you have of Human relations. They make good inspiration for my work." The gray-haired Angel left with a wave, one that Cupid returned with earnest.
The Angel of Love's smile faded as Endiel walked to the front, standing away from the rest of the Higher Orders, all of whom had begun to gather into their own little freaky group. The Dominion seemed unaffected by this, though, as she stood isolated with a smile on her face.
Cupid looked back to Valkyrie, but the former Angel of War had her eyes forward towards Heaven's Gate, much like the rest of the Archangels. Cupid frowned at the silver-haired Angel, 'What's her problem? I haven't done anything wrong... yet.' Cupid thought with a frown on her face. If she could, she'd go to speak to her friend. However, breaking formation would probably elicit a stern talking-to from the eagle-eyed Ariel. So, the Angel would have to wait until after Ilias's big meeting g to find out what seemed to be bothering Valkyrie so much.
Lost in her thoughts, Cupid nearly missed the approach of Throne Eggiel, the Angel of the Third Order. Eggiel's body was mostly covered by her white robes as she quickly floated past the congregation. Her large white wings flapped gently, the movement causing her long braid of blonde hair to sway behind her. Only her head showed, the Throne's red eyes looking somewhat bored as she made her way to the front of the group. Like Dominion Endiel, the floating Throne isolated herself from the rest. 'Not as freaky as the rest, at least. Though that's not very hard, considering how much uglier the rest are.'
Very suddenly, any and all idle chatter from the huge gathering of Angels died down. Cupid felt her skin grow cold from the chill that struck her. The Angel trembled, turning to view the second-to-last Angel to arrive.
Cherub Wormiel.
Perhaps the most infamous Angel, Wormiel was the last of the 2nd Order after the formation of Heaven's Gate. It was a title that held much respect, as the Cherub's power was only below Seraph Eden's. However, her particular nature made her much more feared.
The blond-haired Cherub took slow, deliberate steps towards the front. Cupid thanked Ilias herself that the Cherub decided to follow suit with the others, showing up without any of her wretched worms. The tall Cherub was clothed in her white robes; a rarity as, if one were to encounter her on the normal day, the Cherub would be in the nude. Unless of course she was covered in her long, thick, disgusting red worms. The image of the Cherub's pets caused Cupid to turn away from the Cherub, the mere thought nearly causing her to hurl.
Wormiel's golden eyes gleamed, something gleefully menacing in them as she looked about the Angels around her. None dared to make eye contact with her as she looked about the congregation, her silent challenge going unmet as she made her way forward. Cupid, along with many of the other common Angels, kept their gazes averted from the much taller Cherub as she passed by. Wormiel came to the very front, giving a small wave to Heaven's Gate, who had at some point must've crossed over into Heaven's side of the door. Her upper body came out from the top of the door, the former Cherub's half-lidded stare looking down at Wormiel with familiarity.
Cupid shook with impatience, wanting to finally hear what exactly this gathering was about. Eden hadn't necessarily been thorough in her message, just that all of Heaven's Angels must gather at the Ninth Level so that Ilias may address all of her Daughters. 'Whatever it is, it better be good. I don't have all day!' The Angel of Love complained to herself. As if hearing her ranting, the last Angel of Heaven appeared.
Seraph Eden, the strongest of all Heaven's Angels, finally appeared. All of her wings were on full display, waving behind her like magnificent flags of war. She walked with painfully slow steps, probably thinking that the rest of the congregation was looking at her out of awe at her mere presence. Perhaps some of the younger, more naive Angels were, but any of the ones who had been around for a good hundred years or so just seemed annoyed at her pomp and circumstance. Cupid yawned, the purposely loud action eliciting some chuckling from some of those around her.
Eden's eyes snapped to Cupid, the Seraph immediately recognizing the source of the noise. Her normally soft eyes hardened into a scowl as she neared the Angel of Love, who wore a sly smile on her face. Suddenly, Eden's voice entered her head, the Seraph using her telepathy to chastise Cupid.
'Your behavior is exceedingly rude, Cupid. Expect for me to have a talk with you after this.'
The Angel in question's face fell, staring at the passing Eden with annoyance. 'Come on, it was just one little yawn!' Eden reached the front of the Heavenly gathering, turning on her heel to look around the large expanse of Sisters. Eden closed her eyes and bowed her head, an action that the rest of the Angels followed suit. Clasping her hands together, Eden leads a prayer for the entirety of Heaven.
"O Goddess, hear your Daughters call out to you. You, the bringer of Light to a dark World, the Creator and Ruler of all. We worship you, we glorify you, we need no one more than you. Your's is an existence with no equal. So to you we bow to in reverence, so that we may grow closer to your majesty. We thank you, for being the one and true source of Good in a World full of Evil."
The Angels lifted their head in unison, the prayer now finished. Then the clouds of the upper levels all began to part. From this parting came a flood of bright, Heavenly Light. Ilias fell from her throne room with only the utmost grace. Her golden hair flowed in waves, partly falling in front of her as she floated down. The Goddess's eyes were closed, and her hands were outstretched towards her congregation. Silently, the majority of Angels watched in awe as their Goddess appeared before them.
Finally, Ilias stepped onto the clouded floor, regarding her legion with a smile. "Greetings, my Daughters. I have come to you today for one reason and one reason only..."
She rotated with purpose, casting an arm upwards towards the wall of cloud above her. The clouds began to morph and move, opening to reveal an image of a certain purple-haired boy. The army of Angels, barring the few that recognized the boy, looked on with some confusion. Ilias looked back to them, a very wide smile on her face. "This, is the one who will help me finally rid this World of Darkness for good. The one who will help bring victory for Heaven. He is your Prophet, a boy named... Luka."
More and more, Alice is getting a better understanding of what she's actually dealing with here. If I haven't stressed it before enough, I'll say it again. This version of Luka will be more or less forced to fight in these early proceedings. I apologize if that makes things seem a bit slower. Simply enough, it is necessary in order to slowly introduce the idea that Luka is more or less being forced to become something he doesn't want to be. It's a pretty central part of my interpretation of him as, once the fabled Pandora's Box is opened, you can not close it. And you may not like what you get from doing so.
Suffice to say, being the first Angel-Human hybrid comes with some very hefty side effects. Both mentally and physically.
Of course, it'll be a while before we reap what we sow. So, let's just enjoy the ride while we can.
Proud Parent: It doesn't make sense, because what is causing this shift in Ilias is not something I have chosen to reveal just yet. If I gave you all the answers so quickly, the questions would not be quite as important. Have patience, all will be revealed soon enough. Though I can promise, no OC shenanigans here. If I was to do that, OC would clearly be named in the character list. I do not like to drop that particular surprise, as I've had too many Fanfictions that I was quite enjoying do the same to me. It can be off-putting if not expected, I know that much.