Thibet and her students watched with bated breaths as a group of humanoid beings emerged from a cave on the life-bearing planet Thibet had assigned herself to. The Gargantuan world of Gaia which hosted life forms that were far bigger and more robust than most on Earth due to the increased gravity.


    The humanoids were no exception. Standing at around three meters on average and incredibly muscular. Their other traits closely resembled those of humans back on Earth, and this eerie similarity led to Vidente wondering if Kiln was perhaps subconsciously willing certain things into action.


    It was a common feeling among the Angels that he was either responsible or had facilitated their new forms and the forms that life was taking in this universe.


    After all, in a cosmos of trillions of worlds, it was odd that the life growing on the ones the class had chosen to seed so closely resembled the life on Earth.


    But since Kiln was still silent and inaccessible, there was no way for them to know for sure.


    It was possible that they had just been caught in one of the many loops in a cycle where the universe began and ended in ways that only marginally differed.


    Their souls might have washed over into the next cycle, but it was hard to say without conclusive evidence.


    The tall humanoids explored their world in the years and decades that followed.


    Forming great tribes and eventually kingdoms.


    [Are you not going to pay them a visit?] Lilium asked as she gently cradled the first Oracle.


    [I don’t see the need to, but you should all check on your worlds to see if there are any developments there too.] Thibet warmly suggested.


    [Umm… ma’am, is it alright if we interact with the humans on my world?] Fogo asked, garnering everyone’s attention.


    [What for?] Thibet raised a brow.


    [I want to aid them, of course.] He smiled, but this only got him mixed reactions.


    Half the class believed that it was better to just let things be, while the others expressed their enthusiasm and support for the possibility of helping to shape the coming ages of their world.


    [Mmm… alright, but just remember that everything you do will have ever-reaching consequences, so think before doing anything rash and don’t hesitate to talk to any of us if you’re unsure about something.]


    Fogo nodded before turning to Vidente.


    [Hehe… things are getting good!] He struggled to hide his excitement, much to Vidente’s delight.


    [Yes, and I have a surprise for you. Come.] She beckoned while making her way to Hereafter.


    Fogo followed her to the seventh dimension, where he was led into her Hall where he beheld a being that was much both taller and muscular than he was. Its skin was a dull, rubbery grey, much like all of Vidente’s creations, and its kinky hair and eyes were a bright white, something which denoted their artificial design.


    Vidente had learnt that if taken from the third dimension and placed in a formless vessel with a crown, life could persist as it assumed an immortal form. This revelation led to the hereafter being the new home to countless plants and lifeforms whose forms resembled those they had in their previous lives, only they now had pearlescent skin, golden eyes and Halos.


    This wasn’t the case for organisms which Vidente made by injecting Kilnessence into unoccupied flesh. Such organisms had grey skin, white eyes and Halos.


    The being that Vidente had created was the pinnacle of artificial design.


    So close to being an angel yet without wings since Vidente couldn’t figure out how to recreate them, and she had been prohibited from gathering Angel feathers.


    The being was made of complex organic composites that gave it a resilience that couldn’t be matched by anything that existed in the third dimension, and its blood was teeming with microbes that acted as miniature Oracles, absorbing Kilnessence and delivering primordial vitality into the monolithic being.


    Across its body were innumerable scars and seams from the process used to manufacture it.


    [You wanted beings that would be able to stop one of us if we went rogue or crazy? Well, here is the first of what I am calling a Heavenly Armament!] Vidente proudly announced to an impressed Fogo.


    [Amazing, truly.] He looked the thing over and nodded approvingly.


    If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    [And, since no army would be complete with just generals, I''m going to make an additional hundred thousand smaller and weaker ones so that if we ever face a threat that requires such a force, we will march in all epic-like!] Vidente yipped before jumping into Fogo’s arms, who softly pressed his lips on hers.


    [Amazing! It’s almost like this was originally your idea.] Fogo chuckled.


    [I wouldn’t have done any of this if a certain angel wasn’t preparing for what he believes will be Armageddon.] She nuzzled her nose on his.


    [I hope nothing comes of any of this, but it’s always good to be prepared.] Fogo hummed as her gently held Vidente, who leaned into his touch.


    [Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a noob to train and a planet to visit later.] Fogo said as he put Vidente down.


    [Aww… I wanted you to keep me company while I made the other six Armaments.] She pouted even though her wings had already begun working.


    [I’ll be back before you know it.] Fogo kissed Vidente on the cheek before making his way to the Summit of Creation, where he found Nozh meditating as he had instructed.


    He then raised his right hand and summoned a sword of his own creation.


    One forged from the heart of a star.


    Cora??o de Sirius.


    Nozh immediately felt Fogo’s presence and stood up, wrapping herself in a full suit of armour made of light.


    Fogo swung his sword in her direction, sending forth a wave of destruction that could easily cut a planet in half, but she blocked it just as easily with her wings before rushing towards him in an instant.


    She then punched him in the face with so much force that it shook the entirety of the highest dimension.


    However, Fogo didn’t budge.


    He instead tapped her tummy with the back of his fist, and this was enough to pulverize her insides, forcing blood to pour out from her mouth as she reeled in pain.


    Pain which he could feel.


    [Don’t just think about your next move. Think about the move your opponent will make in response to yours and then think about the move you’ll make after that.] Fogo sternly instructed while gently healing her.


    [Yes… sir.] Fogo felt the resolve in her words.


    His training, while arduous, was providing her an outlet, a way to excise her frustrations.


    Nozh then zapped away, gathered an obscene amount of Kilnessence in her hands and threw it at Fogo, who deflected the wave of primordial fire with his sword only for Nozh to suddenly appear at his side with an axe made of light, which she swung to hack at Fogo’s side.


    Fogo grabbed the axe’s blade before it struck him and squeezed it until it shattered.


    Nozh quickly created a dagger of light to try and stab Fogo in the neck, but he backed away, letting her blade strike empty space.


    [Good! Keep me on my feet until you get an opening that you can successfully use!]


    [Yes, sir!]


    Fogo liked her enthusiasm although he had mixed feelings about being called sir since he and Nozh were technically the same age.


    Regardless, the two trained some more in a series of clashes that shook the highest place.


    .


    ..


    Yana ignored the faint oscillations in space that were a result of Fogo and Nozh’s training above as he watched over his world where relatively normal-sized humanoids had appeared.


    Yana didn’t feel the need to interfere with their kind initially, but he wondered if he could take some of their dead and bring them to the Hereafter to help with his work.


    He made his way to Vidente’s Hall, where his heart jumped a little at the sight of her most menacing of creations.


    He tried his best to ignore the gargantuan unmoving humanoid as he walked up to her as she made several small versions of the big thing.


    [Vi, do you think you could teach me how to grant souls Halos?]


    Vidente turned her ever keen eyes to Yana.


    [I’d love to, but why would you want that?]


    [I just think it would be nice to have a few extra souls to help with my search.]


    [I mean, you could always ask any of the others.] Vidente tilted her head curiously.


    [True, but everyone is busy with their own things, and I do not want to disturb them so…] Vidente felt Yana’s sincerity. He had been praying for so long by himself that it only made sense that he wanted to try other avenues or techniques.


    Vidente was more than willing to support him because the closer he got to Kiln, the closer they got to the divine machinations that drive the cosmos.


    And so, she rummaged through a pile of things that was next to her.


    [How many would you like?]


    [Lend me five for now.]


    Yana curiously watched as she pulled out five blank Halos, which she had gotten from long dead organisms.


    [Fitting a Halo onto something is as easy as pie. Just guide their Soul into this little thing as they die, and if you add a little Kilnessence, they’ll get a new body, one that can persist even in some higher dimensions.]


    Yana nodded while accepting the five Halos, which he took back to the world of Caesia.


    Now, it was all a matter of finding the right humans.


    The ones on his world were still very much primitive and had yet to invent things like proper agriculture, and religious notions were still limited to ancestral worship, but this was good.


    It meant that he had a clean slate to work with.


    He descended to the third dimension while limiting the true extent of his presence and while this may have stopped him from obliterating all life on the surface but even then, his form was still nine thousand meters tall and when he landed on the surface, on the most central of three continents, he sent out a massive shockwave that shook the world a little.


    The handful of tribes that were in the savannah around where he had landed all fell to the knees as they were overcome by fear and shock.


    Yana sympathized.


    To them, he was a gargantuan intruder who wielded the power to destroy their world, and so, to ease their hearts, he emitted a bit of his light and allowed his warmth to touch their souls.


    Fear was replaced by apprehension and caution, which was enough for Yana.


    He beheld the hundred or so thousands of the humans on the surface and lamented that none of them would be able to survive in the seventh dimension.


    He would need five of the dead, and while it would have been easy enough for him to grab a few recently deceased souls, he wanted only the willing to follow him up, so he spread his arms a little.


    [Come.] He beckoned in a voice that all could understand.


    The shaken masses gathered to discuss the meaning behind Yana’s appearance.


    Some called him a harbinger of doom, while others called him the creator of all things.


    Many nights passed, and after much deliberation by the many small tribes around the world, the humans, or Caesians, sent out handfuls of their own to learn the truth.


    Men who were determined to seek truth, a quality that pleased Yana.


    A handful among them sought to somehow destroy him, since they thought he was an ender of worlds, but he paid them little mind as he patiently awaited the journeying souls.