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She wanted to return to the Archive the next day, to look for What Layeth Below, but Lucifer had been quick to warn against that. To urge her to be safer, to wait. Emily had argued that with all the Heavenly power that constantly came and went, flowing through and around the Seraphim Tower by its very nature, surely no one could sense her relatively meager strength - at least in this sort of endeavour - reaching out from it. But none of them could be sure, and according to Lucifer being safe was the only way to win the game they found themselves embroiled in. So, bowing to his experience from eons in Hell, Emily waited almost a week without seeing Pentious before she dared return to the Archive.
Uriel was waiting on the roof once more, and she smiled on seeing him.
"Sister." He bowed, turning to lead her inside without another word. She reached his office as he sat at his desk and hummed, "I suspect you have found your answers…?"
"Yes. No…" She sighed, fluttering over to the door and lingering there, one hand on the doorknob. "I… Only found a question. But I think it is the question."
"One truly worth the asking?"
"Yeah." She nodded, flicking him a look. As ever, he was almost unreadable… But she could almost see tension in his shoulders. Hear worry in his voice. Did he know what she was doing…? Why she was doing it? There was no way to tell, but he wasn't trying to stop her. So, for now, she prayed he trusted her and smiled, "It's… Worth everything, I believe."
"I see." He nodded, "Good luck. And… I love you, Sister. Always."
"And I you, Brother." She smiled, "Always."
Once again, she flew to the section set aside and empowered for the Seraphim to use to whatever ends Heaven set them to. Flitting from one end of the other, she checked to be sure she was alone. There were only a few who could come there, of course, but… Lucifer had stressed how important secrecy was to this all working, whatever she figured out. And he knew far more about this kind of thing than she did, so she wasn't about to ignore his advice.
Finally, she laid a hand, sighed, and spoke to the Divine Archive itself, "Show me 'What Layeth Below'."
The Archive shelves shook around her, even more violently than the last time. And Emily felt the stress of it. The… Violence that wracked Heaven's energies as it tried to find her answer, and something seemed to rebel against it. She was about to stop, to go back to the Seraphim Tower to speak to Lucifer about this and see if this had happened when he read the old book he'd told her about, but before she could… It stopped, just as suddenly as it had begun, and the shelves sat empty.
"What in Heaven's name…" She murmured, looking up and down the empty shelves while a strange shiver crawled up her spine and out along her wings.
She almost jumped when something clattered on the floor behind her and she shot away and up, turning and looking down at… A scroll. It had dull, ill looking metal green caps on either end, weathered with time and pitted by burns and cracks like the metal had decayed. Something that shouldn't have been possible, not in Heaven. Decay should have been impossible in Heaven. When she knelt and touched it, the metal almost felt like it was breaking away at her touch, and the paper of the scroll felt… Ashen and warm under her fingers, and came away at the edges when she touched them.
Unfurling the Scroll, she smelled sulfur and grimaced, but set that aside to sit and read from the clearly old tome…
'What Layeth Below, only in Need thou Shalt Go.
When Justice shalt lie, only in Truth thou Shalt Go.
When Light Darkens, only in your Heart thou Shalt Hope.
When Hope cries out, the Divine Hand shall Know.
From a seed of Innocence, the Truth will Grow.
What Layeth Below, Truth long left to Ash.
This Scroll a Tome, Key to Ancient Past.'
"This…" She blinked, "Isn't a story, much less a book. What…?"
"Sister…?" She nearly squawked, shooting up and closing the scroll clumsily, hiding it behind herself as she did. Just in time, before Uriel swept over the shelves and met her gaze, coming down to land without a sound. She smiled and nodded, and he looked up and down the empty shelved. "I sensed something… Strange, here. Did you-"
"I did." She nodded, searching quickly for something at least close to the truth. Sera might lie whenever it suited her, but she wouldn't. Not to her own family. "I-I asked for more advice, and the Archive… I don't know why it reacted that way.
"I see…" He murmured, giving her a sidelong glance and humming, "You should go, for now. I will spread the word, the Archive is to be closed for a time."
"Closed?" She blinked, "It's never been closed…"
"I've never felt what I just did, either." Uriel countered, "It felt… Foreign to me."
"And old…"
"That, too. That, too…" He nodded, sighing wearily. Worriedly. Waving her away, he spread dark silver wings and lifted up and away, calling back to her, "Go, Sister. Whatever is happening, I do not want you involved in it."
She nodded, lifting up and turning, carefully bringing the scroll around in front of her as she did to tuck it against her chest. It felt hot, now. Not enough to burn her, she was still a Seraphim after all and hurting her was a challenge, but plenty to be uncomfortable. And every moment, as the Tower of the Seraphim loomed closer and closer, it steadily, gently continued to heat up. More and more. Enough that she wished for something to put it in, just so she wouldn't have to touch it anymore.
Until she finally stepped through the door, holding it close and fighting not to react to the pain she was finally feeling, for the first time in…
Well, in her life.
But, finally more than a step in the Tower, the heat suddenly… Vanished. So suddenly it almost made her stumble. Almost made her think the scroll had vanished entirely. But she felt it, still, and when she held it up it was still there. Only…
It had changed.
The green caps had turned golden bronze, inlaid on one end with the carving of the sun and on the other with… Symbols. But from a language she didn't understand. Which was impossible, Heaven gifted all its Seraphim with knowledge of every language. The paper was renewed, too, with a rich, dark creme color and a thin velvet backing around it. It was beautiful, and… And impossible in so many ways. She should be able to read anything. And the Archive should have restored it on its own, but it hadn't looked so good until she'd gotten to the Tower…
She didn't understand.
But she could think about it later, when the Exorcists by the door weren't watching her. Closing the scroll, she waved at them as she jogged off and heard them muttering to themselves. But, of course, neither of them tried to stop her. They knew better than to question a Seraphim, after all. As did each one posted at the doors at each of the landings of the stairs, too. Places they normally weren't…
"Did something happen…?" She asked one, halfway up to Pentious' cell.
"No." The Angel answered, "Lute just ordered us to heighten our presence."
"Drills." Her partner added, "Practice, for if we're ever needed to secure a place like this."
"I see…" Lucifer had a castle, she knew, and the Hotel had two towers now. Maybe this was an exercise to prepare for actually taking and holding them? If it was, she needed to warn Lucifer and Charlie. They were preparing, as best they could, for an attack. Not an occupation. Even a short-lived one would be bloody, and now that there was no guarantee of the Hell-born's safety…
She smiled and nodded as she went up the stairs, "Thanks."
"Of course," one intoned, "we serve the Seraphim."
She nodded, and went on her way without a backward glance.
"Emily." One of the four Exorcists guarding Pentious' door nodded as she approached, stepping to the side to let her go through the door. It was only as it opened that she realised…
They never called her just Emily.
"Emily, fly, it's a-"
"Silence!" Sera's familiar voice echoed around the room as Pentious collapsed, driven into the floor by her angelic power flowing through the room and against him.
Two of the Host were standing behind him, spears pressed into his shoulders, and two more stepped to Emily's flanks as she blinked. When Sera turned to face her, eyes blinking along her hair and wings and body, Emily tried to back up on instinct but ran into two more Exorcists. The ones who'd been guarding the door, who grabbed each of her shoulders and pushed her forward, into the room while the other two outside came in and fanned out to the sides, armed and frowning deeply. And glaring.
At Emily…
"Sera, what-"
"Did you think I was a fool, Emily?" Her sister cut her off, face warping and glimmering as she seemed to struggle to contain her power. Emily flinched back, but the Exorcists held her in place as Sera floated up and to the side, pacing in mid-air. "I knew sparing this… Oddity would have consequence, but I never once believed you would defy Heaven's Will, Emily."
"I'm not defying Heaven's Will!" She snapped before she could stop herself, "I am following it!"
"And yet you have spent weeks sneaking around Heaven itself!" Sera argued, "How does that serve Heaven?"
"How does hiding a redeemed Sinner, and letting Lute swell the Heavenly Host for another attack serve it?!"
"They murdered our people, and destroyed the First Man, Emily! The self-same woman you stood with before the Council gave the order that ended him!" Sera shouted back at her, wings spreading out to either in an instinctive display of power. As if the sheer size of the other Seraphim made all the difference in their opinions being right. "And fed them to cannibals! Our brother! Our sister! The father of all mankind - reduced to a stew!"
"Because they attacked the Hotel!" Emily argued, clutching her scroll against her chest tightly while it started to once more warm in her hand. "Charlie would have been desperate when Adam made it clear he wanted everyone she cared about dead."
"Where the Host goes is decided by the Host-Master, and that-"
"That's ridiculous!" Emily cut her off, choking on her words and shaking her head. "It's unfair, Sister! You have to see that! Have to see that you're wrong!"
"Whatever this snake is," Sera snarled, "you are not who determines my right and wrongs!"
"And who does?!" Emily argued, tears burning at the edges of her eyes. "The soldiers Lute trains not to question anything? Or the Council you draw up and coordinate?"
"Emily…"
"Haven literally sent a Redeemed Sinner to our feet," she choked out, throat aching from how tight it was and eyes burning, "but you still won't listen to me, Sera." Letting her head hang, she choked on a sob, "Why won't you just listen to me…? Why can't we work together on this, like… Like we always have? Make Heaven what it should be?"
"What it should be…?"
"Hope." She said, looking up into Sera's strained, flat face. Her anger was gone, now, and she stood in her lowest form, eyes searching Emily. Hesitantly, hands almost shaking and looking for something she could offer to prove her intentions, Emily offered her the scroll she'd found and said, "Lucifer… He told me to look for this."
"Lucifer did…?" She asked, reaching for it. "Why would he send you after this?"
"I don't know." She said, "But look at the end. I can't even read it."
"Impossible…" Sera murmured, turning it over in her hand and shaking her head. Then she sighed and nodded, handing it back so quickly Emily almost fumbled it. "I see what you mean, Sister. The words are so worn…"
"What?" She blinked, looking at the fine bronze and velvet, "No, it's-"
"It doesn't matter." Sera cut her off, voice sounding… Almost frail. Looking up, she met Sera's pained gaze as she raised her chin, closed her eyes, took a deep breath and said. "Take her away, and ward her room. I will convene the Council for the Trial."
"What…?" She blinked, ice blooming in her guts and along her spine as the Exorcists turned, pulling her towards the doors. She only recovered enough to struggle when they reached the door, kicking and twisting and flicking her wings. "No! Please, Sera, you- You have to listen to me! Please, don't- Don't do this!"
"You have given me no choice…" Sera's words reached her as she was dragged around the corner, "I'm… Sorry, Emily."
Then it slammed shut, and the Exorcists dragged her off.
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She'd never realised, really, how cold Lucifer's old room had been once it had been Warded, keeping her from feeling Heaven's Will. She'd noticed it, when she visited Sir Pentious, of course, but… She'd never been there more than a few hours. And after days and days of it, of the sheer isolation of it all, she felt herself withering. Her room was barren, just a bed, and cold. And that cold seeped into her heart, where Heaven's Warmth should have been, and drained her of so much that, after the first day, she couldn't even cry anymore. She just laid in bed, wings wrapped around herself, and stared at the door she could no longer pass through.
It almost felt worse to have it there… Like it was mocking her, somehow.
Was this how Sinners felt, looking up at Heaven looming over them? An impossible paradise just out of their grasp, forever… Except it wasn't out of reach. It was a beacon, calling on them to better themselves. All they needed was to know.
And for Sera to allow it…
Her thumb ran along the warm bronze-cap of the scroll, and down its velvet side, and she wondered, "What even are you… And what in Heaven are you for?"
A knock at the door pulled her out of her thoughts and she sat up, tucking the scroll into a little fold she'd made in her dress to hold it. She'd hoped for her sister, but Uriel stepped through the door, flanked by a pair of Exorcists who looked around her room - her cell - as if she could have somehow booby-trapped it, and then left when they were satisfied. The door slammed behind them, and she stared into the floor while she waited for Uriel to speak. To castegate her, demand an explanation, or… Something, anything, like that.
Instead, he just asked, "Do you believe this is Heaven's Will…?"
"I do." She nodded, voice… Weaker than she'd expected. "I don't know the end, but-"
"You stand unshaken." Uriel nodded, wrapping a nervous, hesitant arm around her and pulling her close. Quietly, he murmured, "I am proud of you, Emiliana the Joy. I am proud of you, and I love you. And I need you to know that, before…"
"Before what…?"
"Before what comes next." He murmured, taking in a shaky breath. "I-I'm so sorry."
"I'm not getting a real trial, am I?"
"Heaven's Will, Emily, I wish I could do more for you." He sighed, pulling away and, for the first time in eons, lowering his hood. Without it on, he looked bird-like, almost. With feathers that hugged his head and sharp, golden eyes set over a sharp nose and pointed lips. It was an intimidating sight, on the few occasions he'd employed it.
But, when he looked at her now, he just looked…
Fragile.
"What did they decide?" She sighed, leaning against his shoulder, glad for even just that after so long spent so painfully alone. At least, while she still could.
"You know what you've done…" Uriel answered, "And what Sera's Council will decree."
"I see…" She murmured, trying to keep the fear and the pain at bay as best she could. "H-How long?"
"I'm to take you to the gate…"
"You?"
"My punishment." He sighed, "For not paying closer mind to what you were doing. Sera's own words."
"The cruelty…" Emily frowned, thinking back to Charlie's triel. The coldness in her sister's words, and the fire in her eyes. Quietly, she asked, "Has Sera always been as she is now? Cruel, and… And ruthless, even to those of Heaven? It makes me question everything… Even Lucifer's Fall."
Uriel didn't answer her, simply humming and holding her for a few more moments. And she relished in it, turning and pressing her face into his chest, and wrapping her wings around him. She took long deep breaths, knowing that she'd likely never see him again and just… Trying to memorize everything about him. And wishing she'd know to do the same for so much else in Heaven.
Oh, how she'd miss the birds…
A heavy knock at the door jolted her out of her thoughts, and Uriel sighed as he straightened and stood, pulling his hood up and murmuring, "It is time."
"Will you care for the animals for me…?" She asked as she stood, feeling a weight of fear and heartache settling into her gut. She tried to laugh it off, but the sound came out stuttering and frail and weak. And she couldn't stop the rambling, "T-The new ones are so scared, sometimes- They need a g-gentle hand, and- I'm sorry, it's a stupid thing to even-"
"I will command the Host to see to them," Uriel promised, "and handpick the most gentle."
"Lute won't like that…"
"And that will be her problem." Uriel growled lowly, something… Almost dark echoing under his words. "She serves the Seraphim. And for all I have kept to myself, I am a Seraphim."
"If she resists…" Emily murmured, "Explain it as a way to- To train the Host in more skills Heaven might have use of."
"We could use husbandry…?"
"Lute can't argue we won't." She shrugged, "And… I-If you agree, even Sera would hesitate."
"You overestimate the worth of my opinion…" Uriel sighed, before another, even heavier pounding shook the door and he let out a long, deep breath. "We can't delay any longer. Come, Emiliana the Joy. And forgive us."
"I already have," She smiled, "Know that, Uriel, above all else."
"Thank you…" He said, sounding as if he were about to break for the kindness.
Eight Exorcists waited outside, all but two armed with spears. Those two wore swords, instead, and held heavy cold iron shackles. They said nothing as they came forward to cuff her arms in front of her and wrap the chain around, cinching it tight enough behind her that she couldn't move her wings. It hurt, too. And she could tell from their smirks when she winced under the tight chains that they liked that. Enjoyed her discomfort solely for its own sake.
How had the Host come to this…?
She was lead up instead of down, however. To the apex of the Tower, beyond Sera's own abode, where three more of the Host waited. These, though, carried bows, with silver-feathered arrows in hip-quivers along the back of their waists. The swordswomen who had shackled her had shields now, too. The Host had changed after the battle. Learned from their mistakes. In only months, Lute had trained new forces with new weapons, to overcome the weaknesses in their old style. The archers wore light chainmail, too, with sleeves cinched at the wrists and metal plates song the collar, and bright golden belts that tied it all at the waist.
This could only be the start…
Two of the spear-wielders grabbed her by her chains and lifted up, carrying her through the sky while they dug into her wings painfully. She knew there were easier ways to do this, to get her to the Gate, but… She also knew the Exorcists enjoyed the pain they were causing. And she refused to give them the pleasure of voicing her discomfort.
Finally, they reached the gate, which was… Shockingly empty, for what was happening. Only Sera waited for them, with a loose ring of Host soldiers scattered out around the gate, keeping anyone curious from looking their way. Not that most cared - there was enough distance they couldn't see, even if they looked up from the wonders Heaven provided. The Host spent more than enough time forming up just like this, inside the Gate so they could march through to the Host's Barracks.
"Sister." Uriel rumbled as they arrived and her carriers dropped her on the ground in front of him. He gave them looks, eyes glowing luminously under his hood, but he only spoke to Sera. "I have brought Emily, as ordered."
"I see…" Sera murmured, wings hanging flat against her shoulders. "Good. That's… Good."
"Sera-"
"That is enough, traitor." A familiar voice snapped, before a hand grabbed her by her hair and yanked her up to stand on her own feet. She gasped at the stinging along her scalp, but Lute shoved her forward before she could say anything, snarling, "You don't get to speak."
"That is enough." Uriel growled, stepping up to Emily's side and steadying her with a hand. "You forget yourself, Commander."
"I forget nothing." The Angel growled, stepping around Emily to speak to Sera. "Give the order."
Lute had changed like her army had - by a margin wide enough to see, but not enough to be completed yet, she was sure. Her new tunic was thicker, with long tabard-fronts that hung in front of and behind her waist and a golden belt like her Exorcists wore. Her missing arm had been shorn back as well, with a bronze cap where the bone had protruded on her return. And a red 'A' had been emblazoned onto her front, as large and outstanding as the one who had first worn it.
Adam…
"You just had to listen…" Emily spoke when Sera opened her mouth, making the older Seraphim look to her. She looked worn, somehow, Emily noticed now. Tired in a way she'd never seen the angelic woman. "All you had to do was give it a chance."
"I…"
"Every man only lives once." Lute barked, holding up a finger in Emily's face. "Hell is forever. But don't worry, you'll learn that soon enough, Emily the Fallen."
The name stung, worse than she'd expected it to. Like a slap across the face, and spoken like the curse that it was. She looked to Sera, hoping against hope for something, even now. Some small kindness, even if her decision couldn't be changed. But the Seraphim only met her gaze for a moment… And then looked away, towards the Gate.
"Take her." She ordered, "Cast her down."
"Sera…"
The Gates opened on their approach, commanded by the presence of the Exorcists, and Emily turned as Peter descended from his post to watch their procession. His face looked broken on seeing her and Emily tried to force a smile. Tried to offer him a little wave. But he only seemed to deflate further, wings hanging behind him, for her efforts.
Finally, they reached the great Rift. The opening from which Heaven kept watch over Hell, so far below, and the realization finally set in…
She was going to Hell.
Falling.
Corrupted and hated…
Emily threw herself back, heart hammering in her chest as everything in her rebelled against the thought. The Exorcists didn't care, though. They grabbed her chains, and Lute grabbed her by her hair again, and two more came to grab her legs, picking her up bodily and carrying her to the edge of the Rift where they dropped her in a heap. She tried to rise, instinct pushing her away from it, but Lute pressed a knee to her back before she could, yanking her head up so she could hiss into her ear.
"Struggle more," she warned, "so we can throw you through in shackles."
"Or without her wings." Another murmured, "Like Vaggie the Wing-cutter."
That terrified her enough she froze, staring down into Hell so far beneath her, through the miracle of the Rift which caused the vision to shift and roll. Like water. It was only as the shackles fell away that she noticed… Sparks, dancing across its surface. Sparks that grew into arcs of lightning as the scroll, still in the fold in her dress, began to warm until it hurt. Not like before, when it was uncomfortable, but really hurt. And the more it hurt, the more lightning she saw, trailing smoke and sparks of dark red fire behind it.
"W-Wait, something is-"
"We don't care." Lute snarled, spinning her around and smiling into her face. "Whatever lies you have to say- Save them for Hell, where liars belong."
And with that… Emily Fell, thrown through the rift as lightning reached out to curl around her. She heard Sera shout something, and saw Peter flying up in the distance, before fire and lighting closed around her and blinded her. She landed on something soft, surrounded by the smell of ash and fire, but as she blinked the stars from her eyes and stood she realised…
She wasn't in Hell.
Instead, she stood at the top of a forested hill covered in ash. The trees were still alive, though she didn't know how, with needle-like leaves and dark bark. At the center of it was the remains of a great temple, with one large square for its center and dozens of halls and outer buildings collapsed around it, filled with new trees and fires that seemed to burn on nothing but bones which had been piled in great heaps, casting the ruins in a bright, hot light that contrasted with the pale light the ashen forest rested in. At the top of the building, surrounded by crumbled little towers and stone statues she couldn't make out, was a huge glass-like dome that looked rough and unrefined from where she stood. Behind her, rolling hills of the same forest stretched on for miles. But all she saw was the forest.
So, confused, she turned and lifted up, flying towards the temple and looking down on dozens of tall, black-armored knight-statues that dotted the land, hidden in close-grown gatherings of trees. They made her more uneasy than anything else, here…
There were no doors on the temple. Instead there were only wide, tall, rounded passages in the walls. And inside them was another wall. This one was black and smooth, with holes burnt through all along it which still smouldered faintly and ragged tears that admitted passage through marked out by bone torches that were swallowed in flame that reached up from the ground. Through the second passage she found a steep incline into a wide, flat area, with a raised dais ringed in stone seats which sat mostly empty. The black-stone dais had built around a roaring fire that reached up to sear through the top of the inner wall and flick along the glass roof.
"That's the source of the light, I guess…" She murmured, looking up at the glass-like roof as she fluttered in and down, just a bit above the floor. "But… What is this place?"
"Now that is a rather interesting question." A voice behind her spoke, making her squawk in surprise and turn, fluttering back as a man who had been laying on the ashen slope sat up and gave her a look. "I have one of my own. That being, 'who are you'. How does an exchange sound?"
"I…" She murmured, steeling herself and recovering what she could of her wits. "I am Emiliana the Joy. O-Or Emily. Or, um, Em- Sorry, I ramble when I meet new people…"
"Greetings, Emiliana the Joy." The man nodded, bowing shallowly and pressing a hand to the smiling, singed sun sewn into his shirt. "I am Solaire, formerly of Astora. And to answer your question, in honorable trade…"
"This," he gestured at the great room, "is the Temple of the Kiln of the First Flame, source of all. And I bid you welcome, as its so-called Lord of Ash and Cinder."
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