The Light That Comes to Me

[Gabriel]

She could only look, wide-eyed, as Joshua worked and Adriel… changed.

She wasn't the best between her siblings at much. Michael was the best, if one spoke on averages, of course. Raphael was the smartest. Uriel was the strongest. However, there was one thing Gabriel had going for her and that was her empathy, her ability to understand, to put herself in others' places and to feel in general. This was helped by the fact that she was the best sensor.

And that moment, what she could feel from Adriel, Joshua's spells and the room in general was… overwhelming.

The intensity of the magic filled the place with the pressure of the ocean depths. Joshua stood amidst it with the calm of one that had all the power and no concerns with the situation, like Poseidon himself would have, if she were to follow her own metaphor. And then there was Adriel, somehow in the midst of the currents, unaffected and part of them at the same time. Her fellow angel was the center of it all, the cause and the consequence, in and out.

It wasn't overwhelming because of the power though, no. Gabriel had seen much stronger, much more complex and much more overall impressive magic. However, what she had never seen was magic that did what Joshua could do. It reached a point where Gabriel couldn't even understand what the magic was doing, despite being able to sense every little thing.

Half the time, if she hadn't known better, she'd have thought he wasn't doing magic at all. It felt like something completely different, foreign and strange, incomprehensible. Gabriel tried to make sense of it and nothing came to mind, nothing she'd ever seen or experienced.

Except maybe one thing.

Because there'd been one time when a human had done things that had seemed unreal. It was odd, how much Joshua reminded her of him at the same time that he seemed so… different. Her brother had been like him, taking the world by storm and doing impossible things. Yet, Joshua and him acted nothing alike, having completely different attitudes and goals.

Two sides of a coin, in a way.

She was prevented from further pondering that when the whole thing was over. The magic slowly receded, disappearing and leaving behind only Adriel, Joshua and spells that seemed minor in comparison to what had been going on before, but were nothing of the sort. Gabriel then looked at her fellow angel… and knew that he was different, much different, but still so familiar. Familiar in a way that had nothing to do with the Adriel he'd been before though.

"It worked," Joshua said, unnecessarily, because there was no way Gabriel wouldn't know that. Adriel could have missed that though, probably. She had no idea how out of it her fellow angel was, but judging by his expression and body language, the answer was plenty. He seemed lost yet focused, weak yet strong, less yet more.

"It worked?" Adriel asked, eyes wide, unfocused as he tried to understand what had happened to him. Gabriel couldn't blame him. She couldn't understand it herself either. She could see the beginning and the end, but everything in between was a mystery despite her having witnessed it all.

Her brothers – Raphael in particular – were likely going crazy in Heaven, keeping track of Adriel in the System. He was also likely to want to be there the next time Joshua did his thing. Not that Gabriel expected he'd find many answers to his questions. Maybe Azazel, Raphael and Ajuka had found their match, maybe even a superior.

She wondered what they'd think about it.

Well, she didn't have to wonder about Azazel all that much, but he wasn't in their good graces… to put it very generously. Had never been, ever since he fell. The war had just made everything worse… and then, just as Gabriel thought things were getting better, he found a way to make a mess.

Her brother truly didn't do himself any favors, ever.

"Sure did," Joshua answered Adriel's question, after taking a moment to assess the situation, breaking Gabriel from her thoughts. "It'll take some time for the wings to grow, but everything seems to be in order, as far as I can tell. Gabriel?" the man explained before turning towards her, probably thinking she could confirm what he said and probably correctly assuming Adriel would trust her more than him.

Maybe she'd need to do something to help Joshua with his image with her people. They had a positive impression of him, after Asia and the help he provided the Church, but there was quite the gap between that and… Well, being in a relationship with her. Maybe she should have tried to work on that before everything was set in motion, but she rather doubted Yasaka and Serafall would have given her as much time as they had if she'd gone down that road.

As it was, she was grateful she'd taken time to work on her own feelings and thoughts.

Everything else would come in time.

Then again, once they assessed things and decided it was time to reveal Joshua's power to give wings, that was likely to do most of the work for them, even if there'd always be those that thought differently.

"It worked, Adriel," she said, smiling at her fellow angel. "You are a four-winged angel now."

Are, not will.

Because maybe Adriel didn't have four wings just yet, but his energy felt like he did, his presence felt like he did. It'd just take some time before he had the physical tells of it, but there was no doubt in Gabriel's mind. Joshua had provided yet another miracle, this time for her own people to profit from and she couldn't be more grateful.

A gift that had once been provided to them by their father was now once more within their reach. A hole in the cracked piece that was her faction had been filled. They would never heal completely, never go back to what they'd once been, but this was enough for them. This was proof that life could keep going, that they could continue on their path even without their father.

If nothing else, Gabriel and her faction were grateful for that.

Because Joshua had now given them hope for the future.

[}-o-{]

[Joshua Davis]

He resolutely ignored the screen that had popped up after he was done with Adriel. The information in it, the things it'd shown him… Those were something better left for a moment when he could process them at his own time. Besides, he was trying to work on not getting so distracted when he was with his… romantic partners.

He didn't even know what to call them, but then again, they were hardly in a conventional relationship, were they?

"I know it's a big deal," he said, picking up his cup of tea and glancing towards the side where Adriel was testing his… Well, his everything, from his body to his magic and everything in between. Joshua couldn't hope to understand what it must be to be him, even with as much as he could sense himself and through his spells. "But sometimes I think I don't quite process how much, I'll admit."

"You're a weird man like that, Joshua," Gabriel replied with an amused smile as she took a sip of her own drink. "It's somehow both amusing and frustrating, how much you can do while having no idea what it means for everyone else."

"Should I apologize? I feel like I should apologize. Sorry," he commented, drawing a giggle from the angel across the table from him. "On a different note, both sides of Project Ascension are done now," he added and the mood of their table was dampened quite a bit.

They couldn't avoid the topic though, much as he'd like to.

"Going back on your side of the deal with Azazel is not a good idea," Gabriel told him and he grimaced. That was what Serafall and Yasaka had told him already. He wasn't sure why he'd expected the angel to say something different. "Much as we'd like to punish him and his faction, this is a… somewhat unrelated matter."

"So I was told," he said almost with a sigh. "Fortunately, there's something I can do though, to punish them anyway," he added. Some might call him vindictive, but he was reluctant to just leave things be with some harsh words and angry looks directed at Azazel. Some of Yasaka's servants had died, the whole place had been wrecked and it was still recovering. His anger was earned for what almost happened to his family, but there was much more happening there.

He knew, thus, that Yasaka had been hurt and slighted and Joshua wasn't going to just let that be.

So, he'd talked with her about what they could do. Her hands were tied, pretty much, which was very annoying. Mainly because Azazel wasn't as stupid as his choices would have one think and had made sure that he had ways of playing things just right. Mainly with the fact that he'd worked the Vali thing almost by himself, separated from his faction. It hit his reputation in and out, but he was unchallenged at the top of Grigori, so he could just not care about it either way. She also needed to play things peacefully as much as possible, since her faction wasn't what one could call the strongest on good days, and even less at that particular time.

She likely would have anyway, but Joshua wouldn't let her when it was much better for him to take care of it.

He was a little freer than Yasaka was, after all. Not only were the Egyptians very detached from everything, including matters involving other factions that were disconnected from him. There was also the fact that he was more or less a free agent. Sure, he had ties with some factions, some bigger than others, but very little of what he did would trickle down to those. Targeting the Youkai or the Devils for what he did was a very sure-fire way of earning a lot of enemies and no support, considering very few people – if anyone at all – would side with Azazel on this matter. Everyone knew what it meant for a faction leader to be attacked, even with the Fallen's reasons.

"Holding onto Ascension?" Gabriel replied with a slight frown, showing that she was a very smart woman. "Not entirely, but giving Grigori less than Heaven? That wouldn't break your agreement."

"Basically," he confirmed with a nod.

"Do you think it's wise to make an enemy out of them?" Gabriel asked him and he saw no hint of what her own thoughts on the matter were. For all that she showed on her face, the angel might as well be asking him what he thought of the tea.

"Not particularly, no. But as I told Azazel, I'm not a reasonable man," he answered, being completely honest. "It might be petty, or vindictive, or downright stupid, but I can't let things be, not after what he did to us."

"If I may," the angel started, very noticeably speaking slower than before, as if she were choosing her words carefully. "I think you want to punish Azazel in particular, but you are targeting his faction. Are you fine with that?"

"He's their leader, his decisions reflect not only on him but them all. Just how the entire Youkai faction suffered for what he helped cause," Joshua answered… but even as he said it, he could see her point. Sure, maybe many would agree it was fine. It was a game of factions and such, but he wasn't a player of that game, not really. Or, at least, he didn't want to be. "I don't like it either, but I don't know how to attack Azazel himself."

"I may have an idea," Gabriel commented, and Joshua blinked at her. That was completely different from how he expected things to go. "You can do what you want, but on a lesser scale. Less ascensions for the Fallen, but then you make Azazel publicly explain why and apologize, which makes you raise the number but not quite to the same numbers as us. That won't hurt his faction as much, but it'll hurt his image, and thus, him."

"Pretty sure Warth is a Sin," he commented, watching as a smile appeared on the angel's face.

"This isn't Wrath," Gabriel replied. "Actions have consequences and bad choices face punishment."

"Justice then," Joshua said, wondering how right that was. Was what he was delivering justice? He'd never had too clear a picture of the difference between justice and vengeance. Or maybe it was justice in Gabriel's opinion and that was enough? Was that how it worked? If it was, was it just because Gabriel was a Seraph or did it work like that for every angel?

He had a lot of questions, but he didn't think he needed the answers.

"I guess that works," he said in the end.

"You doubt," Gabriel pointed out.

"I do, sort of," Joshua acknowledged with a nod. "Most of all, I'm worried."

"Worried about me falling because of something you do or say," she told him, smiling at him in a way that he didn't think the conversation merited. "Or worried about what I'll think of what you do or say," she added after a moment.

"Both. Neither? It's…" Joshua went to reply, but the words failed him then and there. "I don't know. I just feel like this should be more complicated than it is. Does that make me an idiot? I feel like it does."

"You're a smart man, Joshua. And, from what I know, smart people tend to overcomplicate simple matters. They consider more options than most, and the obvious options sometimes feel too obvious, or too good, to be true," Gabriel told him, gazing towards Adriel herself for a moment before smiling a little wider and shaking her head. "There's a lot of complicated things about our relationship simply existing, but the relationship itself doesn't need to be."

"I guess you aren't wrong about that," he replied with a wry smile. "I'm sorry."

"Just the kind of person that you are, Joshua. Nothing to be sorry about," Gabriel told him patiently and he had the distinct – and not very pleasant – realization that all three of the women he was with usually had to be patient with him. It made him feel incredibly guilty. "You worry too much, Joshua," she added, sounding and looking amused and as if she could read his mind. "I… No, none of us three are naive people. If we decided to give you a chance, it's because we believe you are worth it, overthinking mind and all."

"I know that," he said, because that was the truth. However, at the same time-

"But you still wonder. It's a pity that your self-esteem is so low," she commented, almost casually, but there was a tinge of sadness there. "However, that's a conversation for another time."

"I can agree with that," he said, feeling more than a little awkward. "Actually, maybe a change of scenery would help?" he asked, looking around. "Don't get me wrong, these bases are great and all-"

"But they are a bit… crowded?" Gabriel finished for him, and he thought he'd gotten something right for once in that whole conversation when he saw how happy her smile was. True happiness and not the usual warm one she always wore. Nothing wrong with that one, but this one felt more… personal instead of just her general disposition.

Joshua might be pulling an overthinking once more, but he thought he wasn't wrong about this one thing.

"Yeah," he agreed with a smile of his own, if a smaller one. "Also to change the air a little," he continued. "I feel like we keep it a little too professional in places like this," he added, fidgeting with his cup of tea between his hands. "I'd rather try having more normal conversations."

"Anything in particular you had in mind?" Gabriel asked and he thought he saw a hint of something else in her mind and heard it in her voice… Curiosity, sort of, if he had to put a name to it, but much more intense than the usual thing.

"You like to explore, right? Visit places and such, right?" he asked and he was rewarded with yet another beaming smile. He found that he rather liked getting that reaction out of Gabriel and he knew he'd strive to get it as much as possible. "I'm sure we can find a conversation topic while we are at it."

"Any preferences?" she asked and he was pretty sure she already had like ten in mind. She was a sightseer kind of person, apparently, which wasn't a surprise at all. That was more Jeanne's thing, really, but Joshua had humored his sister and he could humor Gabriel.

The angel had humored his magic talks enough to deserve that much, for sure.

"You're the expert, what do you have in mind?" he replied before hesitating for a moment. Was it bad that he didn't answer her directly? Did it make him sound disinterested if he didn't at least try to say something? Sightseeing was more or less all the same to him, but still… "I'm fine with most things, but I usually prefer places with more nature to them," he added after a moment, bringing a hand to rub the back of his neck.

"I like those too," Gabriel said, and Joshua wondered if the face he made when he got excited about spell tinkering was anything similar to hers at that moment. "Although, there's something to be said about historical places or beautiful pieces of architecture or art."

"We can go to one of those if you really want. I don't mind," he told her, but she almost seemed to be in her own little world already.

"There's this park nearby that has some beautiful flower beds and there are sculptures spread around…" she started explaining and off she went, he realized. So, calmly, he started sipping at his tea and hearing her out.

If that was how she – and Yasaka and Serafall, he supposed – felt when he went off on his tangents, Joshua thought it wasn't so bad. There was something nice about hearing someone you care about be so excited, even if you didn't care for the topic in question. He was just happy because she was happy and he guessed that was enough.

"Ah, I… I might have gotten a little carried away," the angel mumbled at some point, which was incredibly amusing and adorable. Especially when she blushed and looked down, evidently embarrassed about her rambling.

"You're cute when you are excited, has anyone told you that? And when you get shy," he commented, because if he'd learned something after some time being in a relationship – Or was it relationships? Whatever –, it was that giving compliments worked wonders. Even more so if what he said was what he honestly thought. "I don't mind hearing you out at all. I liked the sound of that castle you mentioned in particular."

"It's great!" she exclaimed, taking the chance to ramble some more with both hands like it was a lifeline.

Absolutely adorable.

[}-o-{]

"Mom, why did you and dad choose Joshua for my name?"

"Because you came to us in a time of our lives where nothing seemed to go right… and then we had you and suddenly everything was right. It was like God himself gave you to us, to solve everything and make our lives brighter."

"Aren't children supposed to make life harder?"

"Ha! You'd think so, right? But you made up for all the troubles we had before and after having you."

"Do you still think that?"

"Always, Josh. Always. Your name will always fit you just right, as far as I'm concerned. Because Joshua means…"

[Quest Complete: Give an Angel an extra set of wings.

Perk Partially Revealed: Salvation of God

New Skill: Light Magic

25 levels to Light Magic

15 levels to Electric Resistance

15 levels to Light Resistance]

'Joshua means "God is salvation", right, mom?' he thought, reading the screen once more, still working on believing what he was seeing. Not only the Perk though, but also the Light Magic, because… it was Light Magic.

As in, the same magic that angels used. Sure, Church members could use Light Magic too… but where they had to go about it in a similarly complicated – if different in methodology – way to his own magic usage, Joshua could use it… just like angels could. What did that mean? Well…

He brought his hand up, flexed his fingers a bit and poured out some magic…

And a ball of light formed over his palm.

'This is a whole new level of bullshit, Game,' he mused, twisting and turning the Light Magic before turning his gaze back to the screen, even though he didn't dispel the shining ball now turned into an arrowhead. 'Salvation of God,' he read for what felt like the hundredth time.

There were no clues as to what the fuck was going on with that either. More of a mystery than the Light Magic, in a way, if only because there was literally nothing to explain to him what was going on there. Sure, the Light Magic made little sense and was a crazy thing to just get, but he could sort of see where it came from, what it did and what it meant. That Perk though? A Perk that had apparently been with him for a while, if not forever?

He had no idea.

The thing had no effect, not listed at least. It was just… there, and it refused to elaborate. No matter what he tried, the system gave him absolutely nothing on it. The lack of any kind of answer just made Joshua's mind go even wilder trying to make sense of it.

In the end though, he had a bunch of ideas and no way to confirm anything.

'Because of course I don't,' Joshua thought, letting out a frustrated sigh before he let the magic over his hand dissipate. As if it weren't enough that the system was being unhelpful – something depressingly usual by then –, the Egyptians were keeping surprisingly quiet despite what they were surely seeing through him. Something that was also depressingly usual, really.

Joshua really wondered what was up with them. It was like they had no interest in anything other than… 'Fucking hell,' he thought, an idea suddenly forming in his head. Surely not though. 'Surely you aren't all just watching how things go for me like I'm some kind of streamer… right?' he asked them.

He really didn't like the fact that they kept very quiet once more.

'... A beer, please?' he asked then, sighing as he grabbed the can that appeared by his side out of the air. 'I'm too sober to deal with all this shit.'

'So, Perk revealed – no idea if that's the end of it or if there's more – and it's "Salvation of God", for whatever reason. I have Light Magic: Angel Edition, for whatever reason. System is annoying again, for whatever reason. And the Egyptians are suddenly mute, for whatever reason… Today was going so well, why did this have to happen?'

Wearily, he took a gulp from his can of beer.

'I should stop thinking about this,' he thought, eye twitching. 'I'm getting nowhere here,' he added. Yet, no matter how much he tried, Joshua couldn't stop. He needed answers.

"Because Joshua means "God is salvation"," he could almost hear his mother telling him what felt like a lifetime ago. That wasn't helping him at all though. Was that a coincidence? It sounded like too much, but then again, crazier things had happened in his life ever since he woke up in that hotel bathroom. Was a mere coincidence like that ridiculous to consider?

Then again…

Cheshire stirred where she'd been lying on his lap since they all got back home. Reaching up a little, the feline patted his chest with her paw. He could almost hear her through their bond, telling him "stop overthinking".

As if agreeing with her, Margalo perched herself on his shoulder and started singing a soothing tune. Soon joined by Morag tugging at his hair and Nagini curling up around and then underneath him like the biggest puff seat.

"I get it, I get it," he mumbled, taking another sip from his beer. "Know what? How about we just spend some time doing whatever? I need a distraction anyway and my brain's not braining a whole lot right now," he mumbled, standing up, still on top of Nagini. "What do you want to do, girls?" he added before smiling a little as Margalo flew off his shoulder and started chirping excitedly. "The forest sounds nice-Woah, Nagini!" he agreed before his snake familiar decided that she was feeling impatient.

Before he knew it, she was already moving, acting as a mount.

"Well, if you don't mind doing all the work, I guess," he mumbled, patting her head. Nagini just hissed, showing him that she was perfectly fine with the arrangement through their bond. "Lead the way then."

[} Chapter End {]

Hey guys! How's it going?

Well, a very angel oriented chapter, more than I expected it to be. Alas, we'll move on to different things next chapter… probably. Hopefully? I don't know, alright? We'll see.

There's also the reveal of the Perk, which I won't be going into detail about.

Hope you guys liked the chapter though.

As always, if you can't wait until next week for next chapter, there's up to three new chapters in my Pa tre on:

P a treon . com (slash) AdrianKing

Discord Link: discord .gg/UTDransjJZ

Random Question: What do you think is up with the Perk?

See you.