Chapter Text
Watching over the world.
That was his purpose. The only reason for his existence.
The angel sat cross-legged on the white floor, his huge feathery wings folded at his back. His only attire were pieces of purple silk that covered the lower part of his body, strapped to his waist by a couple of belts, and wrapped part of his arms and ankles.
In front of him a translucent sphere floated, surrounded by veils of golden magic. It showed images of the world on the surface, one after another. The angel could choose the images he wanted to see, but he hardly ever did so. He just let them go on and observed them with little to no interest, his aqua-green eyes slightly unfocused after centuries of not looking away from the sphere.
The truth was he did not care. He was an angel, a divine creature. Servant of the Radiant God, almighty Bhunivelze. As his servant, he had no emotions. Ever since he could remember, he had been there, residing in the threshold of his master’s realm and guarding its gate, and watching over Nova Chrysalia from the Ark, the moon of the world.
He could see his reflection on the surface of the sphere. The angel looked like a young man in his early-to-middle twenties, lean and slender. He had extremely pale skin, which combined perfectly with his disheveled, thick silver hair that fell straight at his neck. He observed his features, soft and sharp at the same time. He ran a finger along the zigzagging scar over his left eye: it was his brand of servitude, marking him as a divine servant of the Radiant God.
There were humans on the surface that said they served Bhunivelze, but the angel thought their claims were vain. The Radiant God had more important things to do than attend to their demands. The stability of the universe depended on him, and the whims of human hearts were but fleeting, selfish prayers.
Therefore, the angel was there. He watched over what took place in the world, and his task was to alert Bhunivelze if the order of nature were to lose control. And he also had to monitor mankind, in case its dangerous free will triggered a catastrophe.
During the long centuries he had been serving the Radiant God, the angel had borne witness to more than one disaster caused by the chaotic hearts of humanity. What they called ‘emotions’ was but a curse to his eyes. A burden that destroyed both them and the world his master strove to protect.
Humans are weak, the angel thought. They succumb to the darkness rooted in their very nature. They are unable to embrace the light and reach true bliss.
Whenever he watched humans live out their ephemeral lives, that thought haunted his mind. It was the Radiant God’s duty to protect all life, making it his as well. But humans destroyed more than they created. He could not say he liked them much.
However, this time, his eternal routine was turned upside down in a moment as fleeting as human lives were.
While observing the random images the magic sphere showed him, one of them made the apathetic gaze of the angel acquire a shine that never his eyes had shown. He sat up like a spring, unfolding his wings, and bent to have a better look at that brief, blurry image.
He had not had time to look at her properly. He only got a glimpse of spiky, wavy rose-colored hair and a pair of icy-blue eyes that had left him breathless.
For the first time in centuries, the angel used his power to make the sphere show him again that young woman, who looked fragile and proud at the same time, as beautiful and mysterious as a goddess incarnate in a fragile human body.
The angel reached out to the sphere out of instinct, perhaps trying to touch the woman, to get close to her. For some reason, he was fascinated enough that he was not even aware that he was.
He was an angel, a divine being. Servants of the Radiant God could not feel emotions.
But, unexplainably, he felt strangely drawn towards the image of that young woman. His green eyes were staring at her, alight with a spark of curiosity.
It had been centuries since the last time a thought pounded his mind. But while staring at that image, he could only think of a question, and how urgently he needed the answer.
Who are you?