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In the days following Lelouch's visit to his sister, events proceeded exactly as he imagined they would— which is to say his sister was released from the hospital and her unique case gradually withdrew from the short attention spans of the local community. She was seldom spoken of, and even then only with the softest whispers of sympathetic condolences. He'd gained many admirers by opening a hospital in an area where there previously was none, and wishes poured in quickly.

Thus, their public life was curiously subdued for a period after the incident. To an outsider, this appeared to be an unofficial observance of mourning by the people but those on the inside knew that the whispers had suddenly stopped due to Lelouch's underhanded intervention.

As for Lelouch, he spent his time with Laura, who was transferred to his mansion's newly made intensive care wing, slowly recovering from in blissful sleep. By conventional wisdom, taking care of his sister and managing their finances was too much for any grieving teenager to bear alone but Lelouch knew that he no longer enjoyed the luxury of children's innocence.

Business and research took most of his time. But Lelouch visited her in the morning, in the afternoon, and sometimes at night. It broke his heart to see his beloved sister in such a state. In the remainder of his time, Lelouch one day decided to visit his mother's grave and pay his respects. It was only appropriate, after all.

The rain had begun the night before his visit and had lasted until morning so that by the time he reached the small graveyard, the skies were still grey and filled with a lingering drizzle. Lelouch had risen early and eaten by himself as he did every morning in the days since he began studying his father's grimoires. He was dressed in black and had nothing to shield himself from the rain.

Lelouch somehow managed to pass through the streets of London with little fanfare, the morning commuters hurrying through the damp weather never looking up as he passed by. Only a single man greeted him and it was the undertaker who laid his mother to her final resting place, the small area where Lelouch's grandparents rested.

No one had come to pay their respects when she'd died nor did anyone care that a mother of two helpless children was dead, that they were all alone. Lelouch was not too fond of his mother but he had sat beside her open casket for two days in mourning with his sister, a small part of him wondering where they would sleep tomorrow night.

It was duty that had snapped him out of his stupor, the realization that he had to search for accommodation, feed his sister, and plan for his mother's funeral. His mother had left no will to dictate such matters, nor instructions regarding her children in the event anything should happen to her. His parents had left them nothing, nothing except for seven pounds and a bundle of old books from his father.

As he finally came to a rest in front of his mother's grave, Lelouch felt his fists tighten at his side, the raindrops dripping down his face ignored as a cold, consuming fury burned inside him—a numbing anger more intense than any he had previously felt towards his father who had abandoned them, towards his mother who had left them alone, towards the great demon plaguing his sister, and towards the cruel world.

His hate was as much a reminder to himself as it was a last tribute to her. "I would do what you could not, Mother. I would save Laura. I would never stop and I would not rest, not unless I see her freely smiling again."

"Is that what you intend to do, Lelouch Crowley.?"

The boy had been so caught up in pledging his vow of vengeance he failed to notice that someone had intruded upon his solitude. Turning around, he saw an angel whose visage was hidden underneath shining distortions of space. But through the radiance that shielded her face, Lelouch recognized the shade of gold which he had felt was the most brilliant in the world as a child.

"Aiwass..." He whispered, turning around.

The original grimoires he'd inherited from his father frequently mentioned cosmic hierarchies ruled by transcendent beings of inconceivable wisdom—higher existences known as the Secret Chiefs, omnipotent gods said to hold infinite knowledge.

The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, one of the most prominent magical organizations whose members had shaped countless disordered magical paths into modern occultism used the Silver Star Grading System to grade the spiritual transcendence of their members based on their equivalent positions on the Tree of Life.

Their descriptions were everchanging, dependent upon the experiences of the seldom few who had experienced transcendental contact. Such cases were not unique either— the wisdom and the power of these transcendental entities were usually used by modern magicians through temples that manifested outwardly in the form of magical cabals.

Lelouch had no regard for those magicians, he thought them to be fools who watched the world from far above and lived by the weather of their mood with no regard for the rest of the world. But these pitiful did not stay long in his mind, for manifested before him was the Secret Chief who embodied the Aeon of Horus, whose might had felled nations and shaped the history of mankind.

A Secret Chief of the Pure World. The Holy Guardian Angel— Aiwass was her name.

"You are an interesting person, Lelouch. A miracle beyond reason and a wonder to behold," She continued, her golden radiance only growing as she moved closer, "You should have more faith in your sister,"

Lelouch turned away from his mother's simple grave and finally looked at her. She had been by his side for years, but even now she appeared distant, so far removed from mankind. Her face was elegant and graceful, genderless though Lelouch thought of her as a female.

A bright halo hung above her head and platinum distortions moved behind her back as wings of power— she was mighty and powerful, more than capable of protecting everyone worthy of her regard including his sister if she so wished. The deep, dark hate returned. "Why do you even care, Aiwass?"

The palpable concern that spread across the spectre's face because of his words came as a small surprise to Lelouch— the angel had been beside him since his birth, but he did not expect her to actually care. "Are you alright, Lelouch?"

"I'm fine. Thank you for being concerned." Lelouch glanced up at her, only a trace of hardness on his face before his eyes moved back towards the ground— the kind of expression no boy should have. He was not the clever yet caring teen he used to be. Desperation had altered him into something else, "Laura has been kept in a room for almost a year now. The doctors say they cannot do anything, but she is only nine…"

There was no trace of warmth or feeling in his voice, Lelouch spoke with the voice of a man who had lost all hope on the inside. Aiwass moved her head to the side at his tone and moved closer. "Why do you speak as if you've given up already?"

For a fleeting moment, Lelouch felt a pang of guilt, an emotion he quickly suppressed as he remembered that there was no help coming, no one left to protect them from the cruel world of magic. He was all that remained to look after Laura, a lone King without any pieces against a board full of foes.

Lelouch punctuated each syllable emotionlessly, which in his heart he knew the angel did not deserve. Hands in his pockets, he started down the grim, narrow path that led to the cemetery exit. Lelouch walked passed the angel, never once looking directly at her. "I cannot give you what you seek, Aiwass. There is nothing left here except ruin, and death."

Instead, he felt an unseen force grab him by the shoulders and bring him face to face with Aiwass who stared into his amethyst eyes, whose ethereal visage used to scare him terribly when he was young. For the first time in what seemed like a long time, Lelouch was at a loss for what to do.

"You are not alone, Lelouch."

He was so used to hearing the angel's explanations— as a distant guardian only doing his duty, clear and ethereal—that clear statement him harder than he could have imagined. He fought the emotions that threatened to unravel him. "You did well to bear those heavy burdens alone. You deserve a reward equal to the blood and tears you shed in that lonely darkness so I shall guide you as the Holy Guardian Angel in return,"

So for the first time since his mother died, Lelouch found himself at a loss for words.

Yet that sudden surprise had one virtuous effect—words of the Holy Guardian Angel had doused the dark hatred that had previously plagued his thoughts, regaining him the use of a clear mind once. Now that he was able to think once more, his desperation and anger, extinguished by the angel's force of presence was quickly replaced by thoughts of hope and survival. Not all was lost…

The sky, which had been a dark expanse of blue and grey when he arrived, had transformed into a deep black overcast. The sound of rolling thunder was audible in the distance, and the slow drizzle grew into a torrent that beat down upon him until rivulets ran down his face and his garbs clung to his skin. What could he hope to accomplish alone against a foe he could barely even see? A great demon who could destroy worlds and get away with it? What could he do when even countless magicians had survived and emerged victorious from bloodshed unimaginable to him could not defend themselves against his foe?

Nevertheless, a thrill sparked through his being at the words of the Holy Guardian Angel, an electric feeling that warred against his doubts and hopelessness about his current situation.

Lelouch slowly extended his hand forward. "If that is what you intend then lend me your strength, Aiwass,"

As he spoke those words, the boom of a close by thunderclap reverberated through his chest and caused his eyes to look toward the Heavens. Blue and purple lightning streaked across the sky, illuminating the sombre statues of angels and saints perched atop cemented gravestones. The young teen watched as a bolt of lightning reached down and struck the earth below, showering the sky with countless sparks.

Lelouch smiled as the untouchable spectre of the ethereal angel moved forward to grasp his extended hand. It was a sign— his purpose in life had found him. He would destroy those who had harmed his sister, who ruined his gentle world of peace. It may take a lifetime, but he would save her and he would them make pay.

Thanks for reading.