The Seraphic System

The Seraphic System

Chapter: 80

Disclaimer: I don’t own High School Dxd or any other universe used in this story. 

Pa/ t reon details below the chapter if you're interested in seeing some content in advance.

(The Fateless)

I stared at the quest curiously. 

[Quest]

Bound by Destiny

Description: A cryptic prophecy has been delivered. Pontus has been sealed, and Ishtar has taken control of a power she was never meant to wield. Only by calling on the Fateless can the Queen’s plan be stopped.

Objective: Stop Ishtar from manipulating the Primordial God Pontus' power. 

Reward: Legendary Summon Token.

[Accept / Decline]

Perhaps the most cryptic quest, one I had no intention of doing. 

Ishtar? 

Was that the God from the Mesopotamian religion? Or something else. Already this was pointing to fighting a God. One that was, if I was decoding the prophecy correctly, manipulating a primordial God’s powers? 

That was right until my eyes landed on the end of the quest and the reward.

One Legendary Summon. A god-class being level summon. Invaluable.

My eyebrow twitched.

When you determined a faction’s power, you looked at how many top-tier powerhouses they had. That was what Michael drilled into me during our brief lessons. The more heavy hitters a faction had, the more other factions thought twice before making a move.

In the supernatural world, power wasn't symbolic. It was real. It was the highest form of authority.

Heaven was in a weakened state, oh sure it was much more powerful now but with a potential large-scale attack looming on the horizon, having another god-class combatant could be the tipping point. 

Most of all, it would make me feel more confident in general. 

That’s why I felt conflicted. 

I didn’t have time but something told me this was one of those rare moments where I needed to make time. The reward alone made it hard to ignore. 

I hadn’t realized the value of the Legendary Summon Token when I first received it from the Divine Quest, but in hindsight, that alone had made everything worth it.

I let out a slow breath.

Aphrodite narrowed her eyes. “What do you want with my father?”

An alien emotion entered her eyes, completely detached from humanity as she stared at the equally alien eyes of the three Fates. 

“To free him from the one manipulating his powers,” one of them answered.

I caught it, the split second where her composure cracked, her body flinching just slightly before the reaction was buried beneath a mask even I couldn’t see through.

So Pontus is being controlled... and she didn’t know?

“He’s being manipulated?” she muttered, her voice laced with confusion. 

This quest was vague. The reward was high, which meant I was walking into something equally annoying. But I had the backing of Heaven now and multiple powerful Angels under my command.

“Yes,” one confirmed.

Hestia frowned. “How can someone manipulate the powers of a primordial being?”

That’s when the second voice responded, quiet but firm. 

“Because he is sealed.”

“Defenseless. 

“Vulnerable.”

They all said. 

Aphrodite went very still.

“For how long?” she asked, her voice sharp with tension.

“That, even we cannot see.”

“The threads only revealed this truth to us... recently.”

“Even with that, it would take an extraordinary amount of effort to steal energy from a being like that.” Hestia frowned. “It’d take a device of some kind and a powerful one at that.”

“Fine, I’ll send someone to do it,” I decided, more as a probe than anything else.

“No.” One replied instantly.

Another spoke. “You are the only one who can do this.”

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.

Of course, it couldn’t be simple.

I glanced at the reward again. I didn’t know when I was going to get another shot like this. Something told me Legendary Summon Tokens weren’t a common reward even for Divine Quests.

“So you want me to do this vague quest of yours alone?” I asked, letting my annoyance bleed into my tone.

I almost regretted being given this opportunity. I wanted to do it but I wasn’t going to blindly run off on some mission from gods too cryptic to even out tell me what they truly wanted from this.

“No.” They replied in unison. “You may bring allies with you.”

“Then why do I need to go?” I asked once again, narrowing my eyes.

I long knew that Gods were much more than just overpowered humans. They acted a certain way but even Aphrodite had a whole different personality under that all. There Domain skills were also mysteriously powerful. 

“You do not know this, but you are not the only one who hides from fate. You have a shroud around you that hides you from fate’s possibilities.” One explained. 

“Fate is never set in stone, but it does have a flow and a desire. You are shrouded from that completely as are those around you.” Another one of them explained.

I was briefly surprised by their sudden openness.

“So you found me because you couldn’t sense Aphrodite’s Fate?” I deducted.

Aphrodite looked slightly shocked at the revelation. 

They didn’t respond, but that was all the confirmation I needed. 

I stayed silent. If I could bring allies then that was different. I wasn’t stupid enough to not utilise what I had now. I’d take Jeanne with me. 

I turned to Aphrodite. Her smile was gone. Her eyes were downcast and guarded.

“Pontus,” she whispered, her voice barely audible. “The Primordial God of the Sea Before the Sea, is my father.”

The air grew still.

“What are your thoughts on this?” I questioned. 

Her head snapped to me. She seemed to understand the meaning of my question. 

“Kai, he’s a Primordial, if someone has the capability to do this then they are dangerous and most undoubtedly powerful.” Aphrodite shook her head, snapping out of whatever weird mood she was in. “If they have somehow found a way to use his sealed state in a manner that allows them to wield a bit of his power then you won’t stand a chance.”

I went to speak but Hestia nodded, staring at me with a firm gaze. “I agree, this has gone far enough.”

I sent her a confused glance.

Hestia sighed softly, offering me a fond smile. “Kai, the supernatural has layers, realms stacked on top of each other. The deeper you go, the more you realize how small everything is. To a human, a simple vampire is already a mystical, terrifying creature.”

“To a vampire, a high-class one is a king worth serving. Above them are the ultimate class, monsters born of nightmares. And even they fear gods, forces of nature, rarely seen, yet deeply feared. But even gods aren’t the peak.”

“Titans and similar beings exist beyond them, capable of killing gods with only some effort. And it just keeps going, Kai. The top of the food chain... might not even exist in this reality.”

I stayed silent, thinking over her words seriously 

Gabriel had said this exact thing. 

Aphrodite spoke up next. “A primordial isn’t the same as a God. Don’t make that mistake. They are far above that and the aspects they hold, their existence has a weight itself. I doubt this task is being given to you with the impression you’ll succeed. As much as I would love for my father to be released, it won't be that simple.”

Instead of arguing, the Fates watched on boredly. 

Hestia came to cling to one side of my body. “With your… power returning and growing. You will become so much more in time. Don’t jeopardise that for those who want to see you in harm.”

My eyes glanced back to the legendary summon token. Perhaps they were right. I was getting way over my head. The only reason I was even considering it was due to the legendary summoning token. 

Two goddesses were telling me to back down. 

Both told me not to go through with the quest. Both were sure it was too dangerous. Maybe they were right. I had no solid plan, no real knowledge about Ishtar, and only vague information about Pontus’ condition.

“I’ll think about it,” I said, keeping my voice flat as I stared at the Fates.

Hestia gave a small nod. Aphrodite’s eyes narrowed a little, but she didn’t push.

“Is there a time limit on this little objective of yours?” I asked, staring down the three Fates.

My six Angels were still standing around me guardedly, reading to intervene whenever necessary. I doubted they would get very far but it was the thought that counted.

One of the Fates floated forward slightly, tilting her head. “We do not know.”

Another followed up, voice low and flat. “But if we were you… we would consider deciding soon.”

“Why?” I asked guardedly. 

“Because this is all tied to the influence of a common enemy.” Another one said, “One who we believe you’ll come to know very soon. As even our own will.”

Before I could say anything else, they vanished.

No noise. No light. Just gone.

I stood still, staring at the spot where they’d been.

My eyes narrowed. A common enemy? There was only one group I could think of that had their hands in this many pots.

The Khaos Brigade.

Was that who they were referring to? Why would they be involved in manipulating the power of a sealed primordial like Pontus? That was a whole different level of danger. 

And Ishtar, another god from a completely different pantheon, why was she involved? This wasn’t matching the original timeline I remembered. Not even close. The Khaos Brigade was looking a lot more powerful. 

While I couldn’t remember much of the original timeline, they were still incredibly dangerous which was why I was taking this supposed attack on Heaven so seriously.  This felt bigger. More organized. 

A small edge of worry crept into the back of my mind.

I didn’t like it. I sighed, pushing that down. 

“Stand down,” I said simply.

The angels around me relaxed, lowering their hands and taking small steps back. The room settled.

I let the system screen float there. Not declining the quest but not accepting it either as I made it disappear, ready to be called upon when I had made my choice.

Well. That was eventful. I certainly wasn’t expecting that when I came to visit Aphrodite. 

Hestia decided to stick around but at a distance so as to not intrude. 

When Aphrodite finally calmed down, she sighed deeply. “I’m sorry for that… I didn’t know or even expect the Fates to know of you.”

I chuckled. “I’m sure they didn’t appreciate me intruding on that little quest.”

“Do you think so?” She questioned.

“Dite, I came into your pantheon’s domain. Joined a Demigod on a quest that could have started an internal war. Fought and interacted with multiple Gods.” I replied with a playful smile. “I’d be surprised if they didn’t, especially with all that I’ve heard going in your pantheon as of late.”

She didn’t comment on the way I shortened her name, simply giving me a soft smile that said she noticed and didn’t mind.

“They interrupted our time,” she said, voice smooth with a quiet edge.

“It’s fine,” I replied. “It’s not like we won’t have more time.”

Her smile lingered, and for a moment, she said nothing. Just let the silence settle comfortably between us. Then, with an almost lazy grace, she tilted her head.

“Kai… what did she mean, when she spoke about the common enemy?” Her tone was light, but I could hear the tone behind it.

“I believe she was referring to the Khaos Brigade,” I revealed

“The group you mentioned before,” she mused. “The ones involved in the Bolt incident?”

“Yes.”

“I see…” She ran a finger along the edge of her sleeve absentmindedly, expression turning thoughtful. “Then that’s why she said my family would come to know him soon.”

We talked a little more before it was time for me to leave. 

“I should return,” I said. 

Hestia was already by my side, prepared to open the teleport back to her Hearth within the sub-dimension. 

Hestia gave Aphrodite a warm hug. “It’s good to see you again.”

Aphrodite smiled. “You too.” 

Aphrodite turned to me, gaining a thoughtful look and stepping forward. She tilted her head and seemingly released something around her. The way the light touched her skin was unfair, sunset gold and rose-tinted warmth.

“I know you’re busy,” she said, voice smooth. “But thank you for today.”

Then, without hesitation, she leaned in. Her lips pressed against mine, and soft enough to feel like a whisper across my soul. When she pulled back, her smile returned, calm and confident. “Be safe, my Chosen One.”

I blinked rapidly, staring at the beautiful Goddess that had just kissed me.  I didn’t respond, and neither did Hestia. With a flick of her fingers, I found myself back at her Hearth. 

What just happened? 

Hestia didn’t look at me. But I noticed how her grip tightened on the edge of my sleeve… and how her jaw flexed for half a second before she smoothed it out again.

She looked at me and tilted her head, the fire that replaced her eyes gently flickering. Before I knew what was happening, I had another beautiful goddess kissing me, this time deeper than the quick peck we had shared before. 

She pulled back, her arms wrapped around my neck. Her face was intimately close to mine. I stared at her. I had to say, the grown-up version of her was a lot more appealing then the child form she had taken when I had first met her. 

Then vanished a moment later and I stood there.

Seriously, how had I just been kissed by two of the most beautiful women I had ever met? Not just women, but two Goddesses older than me by thousands of years. 

I shook my head. 

This was going to be so complicated. 

-{Rias Gremory}-

Rias said a quick prayer, the normal flash of pain absent as it had been the last time she did it. 

Eagerly, with excitement and gratitude in her chest, she attempted to fall asleep. Only for the excitement to keep her awake.

She sighed.

The last day had been… hectic. 

Her brother, mother and Father had all practically interrogated her when they had finally come to see her after the rating game. Her elder brother especially had watched her intensely. He knew something had changed. He just didn’t know what had happened. 

He was right.

Something had changed.

Rias couldn’t tell them the truth. 

She wasn't allowed to. She couldn’t say that she had called out in desperation, and someone had answered. God had answered. Rias would stick by the promise she made even if it killed her. 

Not because she felt that God couldn’t very well crush her if she didn’t but because she had promised to. 

Her heart genuinely wouldn’t allow her to. 

The Agent of God had simply appeared one day before the rating game. He had been so unassuming, no one had been able to sense his power. 

Then he had destroyed Riser’s peerage with a contemptuous ease. 

Sitting down with her peerage guarding her and listening to names simply being read off in quick succession had been downright ominous, yet every time a name was listed off she felt her heartbeat just that bit quicker. 

When the battle was over, when Riser knelt in surrender and the field shattered, he’d appeared back where they had entered the rating game and turned to her and simply said:

“My Lord will be in contact.”

Then he vanished. Gone, like he was never there at all. 

And she’d been left standing in the silence. Her entire peerage had been left shocked and more than a bit worried about just what type of deal she had made. 

But that didn’t matter. It wasn’t just gratitude she felt anymore. It had started as awe. Then curiosity. Then comfort. Now… it was something else entirely.

Rias sat up in bed, pressing her hand lightly to her chest. Her heart beat faster at the thought of him. Especially now she had been what she felt was saved. 

Was this why priests dedicated their entire lives to him? This feeling. It was warm. Rapidly the appeal of the religion that opposed her existence as a Devil became a lot stronger. 

Not just for what he did, but for who he was. The way he’d spoken to her. The way he’d looked at her, not like a devil, not like a pawn in a game like she felt that everyone else seemed to look at her like. 

He had looked at her like she was just Rias. It was hard to explain. He could have made the deal and simply left, but he had taken some of his time to learn about her. 

She had made a deal with the so-called enemy of all Devils. 

She calmed her beating heart. Despite everything that had happened over the past few days. She didn’t regret it.

Not the pact. Not the consequences. Not even the fact that she had fallen for someone who belonged to the side her kind had once called their enemy. Her fingers curled gently against the sheets.

“My Lord will be in contact…”

Now here she was, failing to fall asleep as she thought over what had happened. 

That didn’t last as she found herself within her dreams. 

“Hello.” A calm voice said. 

She turned towards him, eyes wide. 

He sat there casually, giving her a light smile. 

“…T-thank you,” she said, the only words coming to her mouth. She met his eyes, her words honest. “I’ve been wanting to say it properly since the moment it ended. For sending help. For answering when I was completely alone.”

He didn’t interrupt, merely smiling. “You’re welcome, I’m sure you’re under a lot of attention right now. How’s that going?”

“I haven’t told anyone,” she added quickly, almost defensively. “Not my brother. Not my peerage. Not even Akeno. They’ve all been questioning me nonstop, but I haven’t said a word. I gave my word to you, and that means more to me than anything they think they’re owed.”

“Good,” Kai said simply. “As long as you don’t speak of it, everything will stay the way it should.”

She pressed a hand against her chest.

“…What do you want in return?” she asked finally, voice low. “For helping me.”

Kai paused. “I haven’t decided yet.”

She blinked. “You haven’t?”

“No.” His tone remained the same. “When I do, I’ll contact you.”

“You helped me without a reward in mind?” She questioned, feeling her heart pump faster. 

He merely smiled amusedly. 

“Will we… talk again?” she asked quietly, hesitantly. Her fingers curled slightly at her sides. “I know you’re busy with… everything. I just… I’d like that.”

He looked at her carefully, it was more curiosity than anything. 

“Would you want that?”

Her cheeks flushed. She glanced away, just for a second, then back to him, her voice small, but honest.

“Yes. I would.”

He gave the faintest nod. “Then I will check up on you once more.”

The dream around her began to fade, the light retreating into that same familiar stillness.

-{Kai}-

I blasted through the air as I pushed out my max speed while Raphael watched from below. 

This had been delayed for too long. 

I descended to Raphael and stopped in front of her, a large wave of wind billowing out in front of me a moment later. 

“How was that?” I questioned.

She smiled. “Your current speed is definitely above the sound of speed.” 

I had never properly calculated how strong I was or what capacity I could act in, I had heavily relied on my system to show me my power level and my opponent's power level. While also measuring how strong I was via stat points alone.

Raphael and I had decided to change that.

“Good, let's test your strength next.” She said happily, smiling at me. 

We were in the sixth Heaven in a special lab where Raphael did all of her research and experiments. 

I had come to her about testing my limits and she had happily agreed, which led to now. 

Two barriers formed around me so I wouldn’t cause any damage to the surrounding area. 

A large cube floated in front of me, made with a mix of durable materials and magical enhancements. It was a simple black cube with golden-blue lines travelling through its surface. 

I raised my fist back and punched the cube. 

Which cracked and sent a large shockwave out that was contained by Raphael’s barriers. Surprisingly the cube began to regenerate and Raphael took notes. 

I repeated the action a few times. 

“Interesting, do you not feel anything at all?” Raphael said, looking curious.

“No? I mean, I feel the impact and it hurts a little bit.” I replied thoughtfully.

“How curious, you think you could continuously punch at that level of force?” Raphael further asked.

“Yes?” I replied, unsure where she was going with this.

“So you have a perfect endurance-to-strength ratio?” She mused. “How peculiar.”

“How so?”

It made sense, my endurance was linked to my strength. 

“Father, normally when a being punches with their full force there's a backlash. It’s why dragons are so powerful, their bodies all normally have a significant endurance advantage which allows them to use their full physical abilities.” She explained. “To get past this normally you train your body. Or you simply focus on your magic like many others decide to do, which can lead to enhancement magic of some kind to help with this.”

Oh? 

That made sense… I guess my endurance was related to my strength stat? That was overpowered in its own way thinking about it. 

“How’s your progress with the Golden Fleece coming along?” I decided to ask. 

Her eyes lit up. “I’ve made a breakthrough. I meant to show you but completely forgot.” Her voice trembled with excitement as she rushed over to a certain area of her little laboratory. 

I followed her as she moved to a long platform lined with reinforced glass and golden containment seals.

Inside it was a green cloak, faintly glowing, thin as silk, and embroidered with soft, geometric holy runes that I recognised from the limited rune magic that Angels used. 

Raphael gestured toward it proudly. “I haven’t got a name for it, since I thought that maybe we could come up with a name together.” She admittedly, before continuing hurriedly as if she didn’t want to hear my response to that confession. “It's the first successful prototype.”

“You completed it?” I questioned.

“Yes, though it’s not the same as the Golden Fleece.” She replied. She tapped the control panel, and the glass lid lifted with a soft hiss. “It’s not as strong as the original Golden Fleece, obviously, not even close to the sheer regeneration it provides. This version is designed for deployment across the legions of Heaven as you requested.”

I reached out, brushing a finger against the edge of the cloak. It was warm. Not physically but there was something alive in the fabric. Holy energy, a lot of it. 

That didn’t surprise me. Raphael couldn’t replicate divine energy even with her Heavenly Domain. 

“This wasn’t that hard to make,” Raphael admitted. “I don’t know why I never tried to make such an item with my Heavenly Domains being Healing and Knowledge.”

That was right… I had forgotten she had a Heavenly Domain related to Healing. That was why she was such a good artefact-maker and scientist in general. 

“Talk me through the process,” I asked curiously.

She looked even more excited. “I started by using my Heavenly Domain skill analysis to watch the divine energy flow through the fleece. It seems to be blessed by a strong God which gives its healing effect, along with having a complex weaving system that spreads the energy out to all parts of the cloak.”

“So then I decided to combine holy threads with a new divine synthetic I developed. Sanctasilk. It took me a little while to get the energy stability right. With the help of a few of my other Heavenly skills. 

The circuits you see, those tiny runes, they’re part of a layered interface. After all that. I had a perfect conduit. So I gave it a blessing from my Heavenly Domain of healing. Which has led to its effects now.”

I listened to her intently as she listed off how she had spent the last two weeks. “It sounds like you had fun, good work.”

“I’m sure I could make them stronger in their healing effect but that would need more time. The cloak will also be much stronger when in Heaven due to its passive absorption of holy energy. If used outside they will naturally start to dwindle in power unless the Angels have access to holy energy. Which can thus keep it charged.” She explained.

“Do you think it’s possible to start mass-producing them?” I asked, thinking about how I was going to do this. 

Michael was working on getting the army back up to speed, training among Angels had skyrocketed once more. 

“I’ll try, now I know how to do it. It’ll be much easier but I’m only one Angel. Healing effects among the supernatural are sought up religiously. This is a tremendous project that only Heaven could sustain with its resources.” She said, looking thoughtful. 

“What effects do the cloaks give?” 

She looked proud. Really proud.

“It clears out curses, poisons, minor hexes. Has a burst-shield built into the design which only triggers once, but it’s enough to stop a fatal blow. Think of it like a ‘last chance’ built into the cloak. But after that, the cloak will be ruined.” She said, listing the effects.

I found myself impressed, like really impressed. I had started artefact-making once more. It was something I enjoyed and realised it progressed my divine shard a lot quicker than smithing. 

So I could appreciate the genius put into this.

“So what do you want to call it?” I finally asked. 

She tilted her head, thinking. “I… considered calling it Sanctified Mantle Type-01, but that felt too clinical.”

“Because it is,” I responded with a smile. 

A small smile tugged at her lips. “Then what would you call it?”

“How about we call it the Halo Shroud?” I said, thinking of a random name. “It’s not exactly flashy-sounding but I kind of like it.”

She lit up. “I love it.”

We spoke for a while longer, mainly about my current strength and my Semi-Divine form.

“Oh yes, how could I forget? I’ve got something for you.” I said, remembering the Dracionianite I had left. 

Her head tilted. “What sort of something?”

I reached into my inventory and brought out the rest of the Dracionianite I had.

“Dracionianite,” I said, only with some hesitation as I found the word hard to pronounce. 

Raphael’s eyes widened instantly. She stepped forward quickly, peering down at it with a look of genuine interest.

“This is real?” she asked. “Untreated?”

“Yeah. I found it during my travels.” 

She slowly reached out, not to touch it but to feel the heat it was giving off. “Even mid-class dragon fire can burn through high-class defences if directed. This kind of material could be channelled into something devastating.”

“That’s what I was thinking,” I said. “If you used it to reinforce Heaven’s main gate defences, we’d have something with bite. Not just the many wards and protections but retaliation potential besides the large holy canons.”

She nodded without hesitation. “I can work with this. I haven’t had proper samples to experiment with before. If we sync it with Heaven’s shielding arrays, we could design an automatic defence cycle that returns focused blasts when overloaded.”

“Perfect,” I said simply. “I’ll leave the rest with you later.”

She smiled faintly. “I’ll do my best Father, I’m certain Michael and Uriel will be happy. They’ve wanted to add to Heaven’s defences for a long time.”

I gave her a nod and turned toward the exit. Only to pause, turning around to the smiling Raphael. I decided to wrap her in a hug, which made her body stiffen against me for a split fleeting moment only for her to desperately return the hug.

“Good work,” I mumbled. 

I often forgot how much my Angels needed praise even when they were thousands of years old. 

She nodded and I could see her eyes starting to shine.

I decided to give her some time alone and promptly left. I had things to do. 

The throne room was next. I needed to check Heaven’s defence systems. I wasn’t sure if there was any way to add to what we already had since this was one of the things Michael had access to but I would like to see it anyway.

But as I stepped into the hallway, I barely got ten feet before someone rounded the corner I stopped.

She stopped.

Gabriel.

-{Raphael}-

Raphael felt her heart beating rapidly, faster than it had in hundreds of years. 

The rush she was feeling felt intoxicating.

Was this how Lucifer felt? 

A small part of her mind gained understanding, had Lucifer been ahead of their time? While she would never forgive her for betraying heaven, she felt like she was understanding how that had come to be.

Maybe it was the years of absence. She had always loved her Father’s attention but this was so much deeper. 

No one had expected him to die, he had been the one permanent thing in their life. When he went it was just so sudden. 

No wonder Gabriel, Michael and Uriel kept holding secret meetings about him. She hadn’t wanted to be a part of it. She left it up to them to discuss how to keep him safe. After all, in some parts he was young once more. Naive even. 

The cost of being reborn. 

Honestly, it was cheap. And they were all so grateful. He didn’t seem to notice the connection he held with all of them, but despite how weird the situation must be for him he effortlessly re-entered their life. 

Acting as if everything was normal.

She looked down at the Ore he had given her. She was going to put everything into it. Her eyes became deathly cold and downright alien to any human who would have seen her. 

Someone wanted to take that away from them again. 

Father didn’t even realise the outrage in heaven at the moment. The reveal of an attack had sent the entirety of Heaven into a frenzy. 

Everyone was training until they couldn’t, veterans who had been deathly wounded came out to fight again. 

Heaven’s army was buzzing. 

She wasn’t surprised, just because she was at the top rankings in Heaven didn’t mean she felt any differently. 

Raphael took a breath, her eyes becoming warm and her thoughts focused solely on his image as she activated her Heavenly Domain skill: Heaven’s Library and began designing a weapon that would add to the defences on Heaven’s wall. 

-{Kai}-

“Kaiel.” She replied, her eyes lighting up. “I’ve been looking for you. I heard that you encountered the Fates when you left. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, they weren’t hostile. Trust me I was a moment away from calling upon Jeanne and Michael if it came down to that.” I replied easily. 

“You could have called me.” She frowned. “I knew we were getting too relaxed. What if they had been there to harm you?” 

“Hestia and Aphrodite were there, I would have been able to stall long enough for backup,” I replied calmly. 

“Still… Please call on me next time.” Her tone turned soft. 

I stared at her for a moment before nodding. “Next time I’ll call on you.”

She looked happy with the answer. 

“What did they want from you?” She questioned.

“They wanted to send me on some sort of quest.” I replied, “Apparently my existence is special so I was ideal for the job.”

She frowned. “So you declined right?”

“I said I would think about it,” I replied hesitantly.

The deep frown that appeared on her face was all I needed to know that the answer didn’t please her. 

“Do you intend on sending someone on your behalf? Why bother with them?” She questioned her voice, slightly worried.

“They said that I would have to go myself. But I can bring allies with me.” I added the last part in an attempt to assuage her. 

She stared at me silently.

“Why put yourself at risk?” She questioned.

“Because it may have to do with the Khaos Brigade, all I know is that they are taking advantage of a sealed Primordial and that could mean bad news.” I replied, it was a serious concern.

I could see she wanted to argue. 

“Kaiel.” She said, oddly stiff. 

She hesitated, obviously thinking something through.

Concern rose immediately. “Gabriel?”

She didn't respond immediately. “I've wanted to bring this up sooner, but I wasn't sure how. I feel like you need to see this,” she admitted quietly. "It's something deeply significant, and I thought carefully about how to approach it.”

“Maybe it’ll give you a great perspective on how I feel about you being in harm's way.” She said softly. 

I was taken aback by the sudden shift in demeanour. 

“Is everything okay?” I questioned. 

She nodded slowly, taking a deep breath. “Follow me, please."

I silently complied, following Gabriel as she guided me away. We went to a part of the realm that I hadn’t seen before, the route twisted downward, growing steadily darker and more isolated. 

Eventually, we reached a hidden stairway.

After several moments, we arrived at an immense gate carved from ancient marble, inscribed with holy runes glowing faintly in the dim light. I could sense a powerful barrier. 

Gabriel placed her hand gently on the gate, murmuring a quiet prayer. 

With a deep rumble, the gate slowly swung inward, revealing a massive chamber.  

I froze as my eyes registered what I was seeing. 

Rows upon rows of white stone coffins stretched into the distance. Each one bore the familiar crest of Heaven. Above us, lanterns floated in solemn silence, casting a soft golden glow over the tombs.

They were all open, the bodies of Angels. 

Thousands. No… tens of thousands. A sea of tombs. All housing a sea of faces, all peaceful. Some had closed caskets and it didn’t take a wild guess as to why that might have been. 

Angels.

All of them… angels with their wings on display. Some with one pair, others with multiple. 

I felt something in me shake. My vision physically shifted as my heart thundered in my chest. 

She had brought me to a Crypt? I hadn’t even known this existed. 

Gabriel stared at me regretfully. 

What?

-END-

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