ã€ŠHigh-School Angelsã€‹


 Prologue

    Yana had lived a fairly short life as a human, died, was reborn as an Angel, cast off his wings to live as a man only to be killed again in ritual sacrifice by the mortal servants of Dark Lords.

    However, in spite of all of that, he had risen yet again, clad in amour forged from brilliant shards of the dimensional Seal of all Heavens, as the commander of a force that numbered in billions of the faithful and his remaining Angelic kin, beings of Light that were clad in luminous armor wrought in the seventh dimension.

    This host of steel, gold and light stood before the trillions who were the legions of the damned, clad in Infernal iron and fire that perpetually burnt their souls.

    This most final of battles took place in the highest of dimensions, a realm where all of existence unfolded at once in a bright white expanse that never dimmed, and each clash sent out ripples across all of time.

    Now it was almost over, and a bloodied Yana found himself barely able to stand as he was surrounded by three of the Divine Errors who stood atop mountains of corpses of both their enemies and allies.

    Chief among them was H''erev, the Black Beast that Prowled the Abyss. The darkest among them, standing at ten thousand meters tall and clad in thick plates of ever cascading Malice. Jutting from the back of his helmet, which was fashioned to resemble the maw of a rabid dog, were dreadlocks that nearly touched the surface of the expanse. He brandished a monolith of a longsword that gnawed at reality, tearing at it with every moment of its unholy existence.

    To his left was his sister, who stood only eight thousand meters tall. Her head had been replaced with a stone temple that she nailed onto her neck, and her black blood poured forth from its doors.

    Stolen story; please report.

    Zemer of the Repugnant Whoresong, like H''erev, was clad in a gown of Malice, that which ate away at creation, and she let out muffled, pained groans that undid the flesh of the corpses at her bare feet.

    To H¡¯erev''s right was the most damned soul and it belonged to Romach the Reviled who, while only marginally shorter than H¡¯erev, wore armor that was equally caustic to life and was a slimmer fit, lined with elongated streaks of malice that screamed back and forth when he moved at great speeds. Atop his helm was a plume made from the sundered feathers of an Angel, and he wielded a Spear that emitted so much power, it threatened to pierce even the final dimension.

    Yana stood dwarfed before these primeval terrors without the protection of his Angelic Crown or the might of his long-gone wings.

    He stood as a man, brandishing a sword made from the heart of the firstborn star and a resilience that was unflinching even as his skin burnt.

    [So, tell me, Yana, Angel of Faith, he who rose time and time again, did your god finally reply?]

    Yana bit his teeth, and this was answer enough for the darkest lor,d who let out a mocking chuckle through his Blackened helmet that dripped with the blood of millions.

    [Will you finally admit your folly? Confess so that all may hear that your false faith was a failure without even without eventually a shred of proof, that it was you and the rest of our cruel creators that damned this universe to an eternity of suffering!]

    Yana¡¯s bones creaked under H¡¯erev''s voice, but he stood fast.

    ¡°That was always your problem, child. So eager to blame others for your own faults and transgressions.¡± Yana sighed through bloodied teeth.

    He then took a deep breath and pointed his sword at the Darkest of Lords.

    ¡°I have never needed a reply to keep my faith! The beauty of all things is testimony enough, and you, my son, are a foul exception.¡±

    Five of the remaining Angels stood by Yana''s side, and, with wings that reached the farthest ends of existence, they embraced him with their light.

    ¡°The day of your judgment has finally come, and the stain of your accursed soul will finally be wiped clean from the face of creation!¡±

    H¡¯erev let out a disgusted growl before rushing towards his creators to strike, but while this battle would decide the fates of all who were present, the final threat to all things had hidden herself somewhere far below, in a dark and quiet place.

 1. And So It Was, Once Again

    ¡°Today¡¯s topic is compassion, and we¡¯re taking it a step further by figuring out not only how much you are willing to give but how much of yourself you are willing to divest for the sake of another.¡± Miss Thabit¡¯s voice barely reached Gwayana as he slouched on his chair near the back of the class. He was a lanky young man whose brows seemed permanently furrowed. His dark skin seemingly glowed with how smooth it was, and his dark brown eyes lazily hung to the side as the seconds of the afternoon ticked by.

    ¡°Hey, Yana?¡± Came a chirp from the table to the right. The small voice belonged to a short boy who had messy, long, golden hair and a smile that rivalled the sun in its brightness. He had pale skin, bright blue eyes and a missing front tooth.

    ¡°Mmm?¡± Yana grunted, although not even his moody self couldn¡¯t help but soften when facing Kiln, who leaned over.

    ¡°What are your plans for the holidays?¡±

    ¡°Quiet, both of you. The teacher is speaking.¡± Nozh whispered from behind the two. She had long auburn hair that was bound in a neat bun and eyes that were a dull green. Her skin was fair and littered with freckles.

    ¡°If you really wanted to hear her, then you¡¯d have sat in the front.¡± Yana scoffed.

    ¡°Yeah!¡± Kiln chimed in, which made Nozh¡¯s eyes flare with anger.

    ¡°We don¡¯t get to pick where we sit!¡±

    ¡°Oh- forgot about that.¡± Yana lazily yawned.

    ¡°Ma¡¯am, could you remind those three that classes are still in session?¡± K¨­ritsu, a prefect and class representative, spoke up without turning to face the trio behind him. All Yana could see was his dark, neatly trimmed hair and pale skin.

    ¡°Keep it down, alright. The day¡¯s almost over anyway, so just keep your stories to yourselves a little longer, okay?¡± Miss Thabit asked in her usual patient manner. Her small frame stood in front of the relatively massive whiteboard, and her voice was as delicate as the petals of a blooming flower. Her silky brown hair hung in a ponytail, and her bronze-coloured skin was littered with little dark spots.

    Yana didn¡¯t care for what she had to say, though.

    He just wanted to hurry home and procrastinate the rest of his day away.

    That¡¯s how it was every day as of late.

    Wake up, trudge through school, fill in the time until sleep and repeat.

    Motivation was a rare feeling and he desired less with each passing day.

    He had tried a few things to light a spark in his heart but sports, academia and socializing only served to drain him even more.

    Part of him knew he was just being lazy and that he¡¯d live to regret some of what he was doing but he really didn¡¯t care.

    Well¡­ there was one exception in the monotony.

    ¡°So¡­ what are you gonna do? Where are you gonna go?¡± Kiln whispered while keeping a comically narrowed eye on Miss Thabit, who was writing something on the board.

    ¡°No idea. Probably gonna rot away in my bed or something.¡±

    ¡°Aww¡­ I¡¯d come over but we¡¯re going to the sports camp next week.¡± Kiln pouted, only to start grinning again soon after.

    ¡°We should still have a few days to hang out when I come back, so hang in there, alright?¡±

    Yana once found the short blondie annoying, what with his ceaseless chattering and dopey expression, but those things quickly became parts of his day he cherished, although he didn¡¯t have much of a choice since Kiln was made to sit next to him.

    ¡°Alright.¡± Yana only ever smiled at school when he was in Kiln¡¯s presence. Almost as if, for a moment, he¡¯d forget just how miserable he made himself, circumstances aside.

    ¡°Heck- if you can¡¯t wait a couple of weeks, you could always come with us¡ª¡° Kiln stopped as the ground violently shook.

    ¡°Earthquake?¡± K¨­ritsu jumped to his feet, his dark eyes scanning the visibly shaking room.

    ¡°Everyone, please get under your tables!¡± Miss Thabit cried and all of her students complied, as they had practiced.

    In this moment, Yana turned to Kiln and watched as dread filled his friend¡¯s eyes but even in this moment, the fool put on a nervous smile even as the entire school shook and as the sky darkened.

    ¡°Well, this is one way to start the holidays, right?¡±

    Yana, who had been clenching his jaws with fear, shook his head and smiled back at his friend.

    ¡°Yeah¡ª¡± Yana wasn¡¯t sure if his voice reached his friend, but as soon as he opened his mouth, a large chunk of the ceiling collapsed, crushing Kiln and several other students.

    Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

    Yana¡¯s mind rattled with horror as he looked for even the slightest hint of his friend within the rubble, but he couldn¡¯t see anything, not even a bit of blood.

    The school continued to shake as the air filled the dust, dust that lined Yana¡¯s tears as they welled in his quivering eyes. Each panicking breath only served to stretch his aching chest.

    He then heard the sounds of something loudly cracking above him but before he could even think of looking up, his body was crushed as another chunk of the school fell.

    .

    ..

    That brief moment of agonizing pain, the last thing he felt before he died, followed him across an ink black eternity.

    The feeling of his head being pressed onto the floor and his brain being forced out of his skull rang like a million headaches.

    Then came a relief unlike any other.

    All was quiet and at rest.

    After this second, brief eternity came a gentle drifting motion.

    Yana felt something pull him into a terribly cold place but he felt no pain nor discomfort.

    He then took a breath and felt as though something now occupied the empty expanse.

    Then came vision.

    He opened his eyes to find himself in a place that was so bright, all he could see was white light everywhere.

    He looked himself over and saw that his body was different.

    He was taller and muscular, and his skin was pearlescent in colour and texture.

    He squeezed his hands and felt a great strength that was both new and yet felt natural. As if it was always his.

    He could also see himself and the space around him from a third person perspective, allowing him to see that, while his facial features remained mostly the same, he now had bright golden irises, a brilliant white halo and a pair of wings that reached out to the edges of the expanse, allowing him to perceive all that was.

    Including a few other winged beings who drifted in the bright white space.

    He tried to move towards them, and by the simple thought of it, his form shifted through space until he was before several of them.

    [Yana?] One of them called shakingly, and he immediately recognized her as Miss Thabit.

    [Ma¡¯am?] He gasped, and his teacher, now a pale winged being, moved closer to wrap her arms around him.

    [I am so¡­ so sorry!] She wept and it looked like she had been crying for some time. Something he felt in his chest as a deep ache.

    Yana gently tapped her shoulder while looking at the others, who wore various expressions, most of which were grim.

    [W- what happened?] He asked, his voice filling all of existence.

    Miss Thabit looked like she was having trouble finding the words to say as she let him go, so it was K¨­ritsu who answered.

    [Unless I am personally hallucinating all of this, or if this is some sort of shared delusion, it¡¯s possible that we died in that earthquake and were somehow brought to this place afterwards but¡­ I don¡¯t know for sure.]

    Yana¡¯s classmates muttered among each other and it was here that the new, powerful heart in Yana¡¯s chest fell.

    [Ma¡¯am?] He called out with a fear that resonated in the hearts of the others, their feelings seemingly seeping into each other.

    [Yes, Yana?] Miss Thabit whimpered, and at this point, she already knew what her student was going to say.

    [Where¡¯s Kiln?]

    Miss Thabit¡¯s eyes lowered, forcing Yana to turn to K¨­ritsu, whose brows furrowed a little.

    Yana clicked his tongue and as despair pooled within him, he closed his eyes and searched as far as his wings could reach, feeling out for anything that resembled his friend.

    He searched for a brief eternity until he felt a massive pulse that tore across all of space, prompting Yana to return his focus to his body, where he joined the others in watching as an incalculable amount of matter flew out from a single point in the endless space.

    Stretching out from this point were the primordial seeds that went on to form the stars and galaxies.

    Weaving in and out of all things was also a network of reddish gold tendrils that were teeming with the power of creation.

    But it also felt¡­ familiar. Like the warmth of a hug or the assuring words of one most dear.

    Yana reached out and touched on of the tendrils, and he immediately began weeping as he saw visions of his friend, nestled in the heart of all things, his form bled into all that was as his essence fed all of existence. Each tendril was like one of his veins and they stretched out to the edge of the newly born universe.

    [Kiln!] Yana called out but his friend was in a place was in a place his voice could not reach.

    Sorrow followed.

    A deep ache that permeated through all things as Yana cried.

    All his classmates could do was watch as he futilely clung to one of the primordial veins, as if trying to hold something that wasn¡¯t quite there.

    [Well, that answers some of my concerns. We have indeed been reborn. Why and by whose hand have we been brought here? I don¡¯t know but it would be best if we stuck together. That¡¯s the least we can do in this bizarre situation.] K¨­ritsu said, prompting the others to nod as the universe formed around them. With each second that passed, Kiln gave more of himself to fuel the persistence of all things.

    All while he slept curled up in that distant, inaccessible place.

    Yana let go of the Vein and floated over to the others as they watched reality unfold before them. Great clouds of dust gathered to form the stars which cradled little worlds as they spun around nascent galaxies.

    [Fogo. See if you can land on one of those planets.] K¨­ritsu instructed one of his classmates who always had a buzzcut and a pair of bushy eyebrows. His rounded head betrayed his once chubby appearance. One he had long shed, even before his rebirth.

    [Huh? Why me?] Everyone felt Fogo¡¯s hesitance and frustration in their own brows.

    [Because, of everyone here, you were the most athletic when we were alive. I just think you¡¯ll have the easiest time manoeuvring the terrain.]

    Everyone could feel that K¨­ritsu was appealing to Fogo¡¯s pride, and Fogo knew this as well.

    That said¡­

    [Tsk! Fine, but you owe me one, especially if I get burnt.]

    Everyone held their breath as Fogo descended onto a world of fire and rock. It was incredibly close to its star, but even in these extreme environs, Fogo stood unfazed.

    If anything, his light and presence were pushing at the star and planet a little.

    Fogo landed on the little rocky work,d and just as his bare feet touched the ground, the contact sent out a massive shockwave that pushed away the lava and fire.

    [If we can survive this, then I''m pretty sure we can survive underwater too!] Fogo reported from below.

    [I reasoned as much, given the fact that we are floating in space without suits.] K¨­ritsu muttered, although his thoughts were clear for the others to feel.

    Tears had also started falling from all of their eyes and it was from the combined sorrow and grief they felt.

    They all mourned their now evident departure from the Earth, the fact that they¡¯d never be able to see their loved ones again and they even mourned their own deaths.

    Yana hadn¡¯t stopped crying from earlier either, his every conscious thought being dedicated to his friend who, whether willingly or not, gave of himself to all that was.

    Without wiping his tears, K¨­ritsu turned to the stars.

    [We¡¯ll need to find a place to rest and gather our thoughts. That¡¯s the first step.]

 2. Becoming

    The class of fourteen and their teacher had finally found a singular point they could rest, and it was one that even they struggled to comprehend initially.

    The nature of their existence allowed them to exist and perceive all dimensions, meaning they didn¡¯t need to limit themselves to the three commonly known ones.

    That¡¯s how their wings were able to stretch out to the outer boundaries of the universe. They were free to reach beyond the three axes.

    The place the class had chosen was in one of the higher and relatively uneventful dimensions, the seventh. A seemingly empty white space.

    They chose this place because being present in the third dimension was too tedious as they had to physically shift their near omnipresent forms across the limited space within which all things in the universe existed, which led to many high-speed collisions.

    Ever since they had awoken, Fogo, their scout, had broken several planets and shattered a few stars.

    They also couldn¡¯t go into dimensions that were too far high because the mechanics of time and space were so erratic, it made it hard to exist at all.

    And so, the seventh dimension was in the Goldilocks zone for them.

    The class was now experimenting to see just what their new bodies could do under the patient guidance of Miss Thabit.

    Their newfound strength and speed were easy enough to understand, something Fogo had demonstrated they had plenty of and so they tested the stranger parts of themselves, like how they could perceive everything across the universe, including themselves.

    Yana stared at himself. while he felt a little dizzy at first, but he quickly got used to it.

    It was also hard to say how tall any of them were since they were in a place where meters were absolute so, as they had done before, they sent Fogo down to the third dimension, where he landed on a planet as gently as he could, destroying only half of its barren rocky surface.

    There, he looked himself over and nodded.

    [Nine thousand meters.] Fogo reported making the entire class gasp.

    [Also, I think I''m actually smaller down here since my form is being compressed, so keep that in mind.]

    Next came their halos.

    Grand crowns of light that floated around their heads.

    Strangely enough, Yana felt as though it was his true centre of being, but he couldn¡¯t quite figure out why, a query that resonated in the others.

    [Should I try and take mine off?] Fogo asked, making everyone¡¯s throats tighten, including his own.

    [Let''s... not do that¡­ yet, at least.] K¨­ritsu swallowed.

    Thabit was next.

    She gathered some of the reddish gold energy that had a source which they couldn¡¯t see but feel.

    It came from the heart of all things.

    Kiln¡¯s heart.

    She instinctively knew that it was the very essence of creation, and so, after closing her eyes, she willed it to become an apple.

    Well, that¡¯s what she wanted by all that appeared was a vaguely spherical grey blob.

    [Damn¡­ your imagination must suck, ma¡¯am.] Fogo scoffed, only for Nazh to lightly smack the back of his head, something they all felt.

    [Don¡¯t be mean!]

    [What was that for?] Fogo whined, although everyone could feel that he didn¡¯t really mind.

    [Miss Thabit is trying her best and your comments aren¡¯t helpful.]

    This exchange got a soft laugh from everyone because it was a common occurrence back on Earth.

    Nazh was always nagging people for one reason or another.

    She wasn¡¯t even a prefect.

    She just liked bossing people around.

    But, while this scene may have brought feelings of warmth to most, it only reminded Yana of what was missing and everyone felt tears well in their eyes because of his sadness.

    They all turned to him, prompting him to messily wipe the tears away.

    [S-sorry.] He sniffled, and it was K¨­ritsu who patted his shoulder.

    [Look on the bright side. We know he¡¯s out there somewhere. Turn your sadness into motivation and try to think of a way to reach him. We¡¯ve already explored most of the higher dimensions, so maybe he¡¯s in a lower one. Either way, you can¡¯t sulk forever.] K¨­ritsu genuinely wanted Yana to feel better, although he also didn¡¯t like being interrupted by a wave of sadness every other moment.

    You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

    Yana nodded and K¨­ritsu gave him another pat on the shoulder before turning to the ethereal vein.

    [Alright, I guess we should all give it a shot. Let¡¯s follow Ma¡¯am¡¯s lead and try and make some food.]

    Everyone nodded before gathering palmfuls of the primordial essence

    What followed was an unknown amount of time and countless failures.

    [RAAAAHHH! What even is this stupid stuff?] Fogo growled as he held a lump of greyish matter that was somehow both organic and metallic.

    [M- May I suggest that we call it Kilnessence?] Everyone turned to Vidente, who no longer had her glasses, not that she needed them anymore. She had a head of curly hair which was now a pale grey like most of her. She had a fairly long nose and short chin which made her face very pointy.

    Yana felt his heart melt at Vidente¡¯s suggestion, which made him want to cry again, but he stopped before everyone turned their annoyed glares at him.

    He knew they weren¡¯t really annoyed, but it was tiresome having to cry all the time.

    Yana himself barely understood why he was so emotional now.

    He barely ever cried back on earth but, thanks in part to K¨­ritsu¡¯s words, he was determined to be just as steadfast.

    [I think that¡¯s a wonderful name.] Thabit praised, and no one spoke a word in opposition.

    [Yeah, well this Kin essence stuff sucks!] Fogo threw his lump of matter into the expanse below.

    [I think we¡¯ll just need to practice some more, but since that will take some time, how about just build things to fill our new home instead of trying to create matter from scratch?] K¨­ritsu suggested.

    [And we have a whole universe of resources.] Vidente nodded.

    [But don¡¯t take too much. Only what we need.] Miss Thabit cautioned as he students all stood ready to descend to the third dimension.

    Yana stood alongside them.

    In order to find his friend, he was going to need a space where he could gather knowledge, resources and tools.

    And with that in mind, they set off.

    .

    ..

    What would you call a gargantuan structure that floated in a vast white space?

    A city held atop monolithic pillars of marble and lined with carvings so precisely intricate, they seemed impossible. Each white marble slab was lined with gold, silver and every precious gem in existence.

    Above this ornate base stood a tower that reached up and out into the upper limits of the expanse, the Diamond Needle.

    Yana wasn¡¯t sure how long it had taken them to build this place.

    What he knew for certain was that it was a lot of work.

    They carved entire planets open as they harvested the resources they wanted, and getting those three-dimensional objects to their new home would have been impossible if it wasn¡¯t for Kilnessence which allowed them to open gateways between dimensions.

    It was Vidente who was actively figuring out the near limitless potential of Kilnessence and she was now located in her laboratory on the northern edge of the city they had decided to call the Hereafter.

    She supposed that the reason they couldn¡¯t use Kilnessence to create stuff on their own was because they didn¡¯t fully understand the innermost machinations of existence.

    She supported Yana in his quest to find Kiln because it seemed as though he was in a place where they¡¯d most likely get answers.

    And so, Yana spent the time that followed in his chamber beneath the mostly empty streets of the Hereafter, where he studied Vidente¡¯s findings while meditating deeply, searching the very edges of existence for clues.

    Thabit continued her role as teacher and counsel for her students in the first floor of the Diamond Needle, atop which stood Fogo, who scanned the universe over and over for anything of note.

    K¨­ritsu often led the rest of the class into the third dimension, where they gathered resources and knowledge.

    None of them needed to eat or sleep, so it was all mostly to keep themselves occupied since they were the only sentient beings in existence.

    [Haa¡­] Yana sighed as he found nothing, even beyond the boundary of all that existed, in the void where only the infinite expanse of space remained.

    Things were depressingly empty over there, so he returned to his body where he turned, instead, inwards.

    He looked within himself for clues and, although it had been learnt that, coursing within them was Kilnessence, there was not much else he could discern at a glance because of how out of reach the truth seemed to always be.

    His constant running into dead ends led to Yana eventually getting onto his knees and clasping his hands as he lowered his head.

    [Kiln¡­] He softly whispered, but his voice clearly reached the edges of the seventh dimension.

    [Please¡­ say something¡­ tell me that you¡¯re still there.]

    Miss Thabit and all of Yana¡¯s classmates heard his plea, and they too could see Kiln as he slept in that distant place

    Yana¡¯s plead. His prayer would go on to become a daily occurrence as his classmate went about completing their tasks.

    .

    ..

    K¨­ritsu had led four of his classmates, clad in gowns of light,  across the cosmos a few times and, unlike Fogo, they didn¡¯t break everything they came across simply because they knew how to slow down.

    It was this group that eventually discovered something that sent the feeling of awe into all the others.

    Floating in pools of hot water and near the still hot ocean floor of a fairly sized planet were tiny microbes that multiplied near exponentially.

    [Guys¡­] K¨­ritsu called out while keeping a safe distance from the infant world.

    The others all hurried down and watched as life struggled through the steadily cooling waters.

    [My goodness¡­]

    [Wow¡­ is that¡­?]

    [Genesis¡­]

    Such things were said, and each amazed word seemingly reached the life below, making it push and shove even more furiously as it grew in number and form.

    K¨­ritsu was beyond amazed.

    He couldn¡¯t wait to see what new forms this version of life would take and this reminded him of the ant farm his father had once gotten for him.

    An ant farm he destroyed.

    K¨­ritsu quickly shook those memories aside but Miss Thabit had already felt that which came before the pause.

    While they couldn¡¯t strictly read each other¡¯s minds, as beings that weren¡¯t bound to their own forms and permeated throughout existence, their emotions and voices clearly reached others and it seemed as though Thabit had been the only one who felt the odd emotion amidst all the awe and wonder.

    She gave K¨­ritsu a questioning smile and he replied with a polite one, making her nod before she returned her gaze to the world below as life burgeoned.

    The oceans vibrated with activity as the planet¡¯s surface continued to cool, giving way for a thick atmosphere to form.

    Some of the more complex life forms began to cling to the rocks outside the water and formed great planes of dense. Spongey life spread across the planet¡¯s surface, breathing carbon dioxide in and letting out oxygen, which went on to bolster the atmosphere.

    Some of the life began to crawl across the greenish, spongey surface but just as this new life began to grow its first legs, Fogo noticed something approaching the planet¡¯s star system.

    [Uh-oh.]

    Everyone followed Fogo¡¯s gaze and they all watched with horror as the star system drifted towards a gas cloud that was lined with asteroids and broken planets.

    [Someone, please do something quickly!] Nozh cried and it was Fogo who acted first, standing in front of the cloud and manifesting his presence but before he could destroy the gas cloud, K¨­ritsu shoved him to the side.

    [Do not interfere!] He snapped at a now infuriated Fogo.

    [Why not? They are going to die!]

    [That is the natural course.]

 3. The Initial Schism

    [They would have died if we weren¡¯t here, so let them die.]

    Everyone winced as Fogo¡¯s anger bubbled at K¨­ritsu¡¯s words.

    [What kind of backwards ass thinking is that? What if this is the last and only chance life gets in this universe?] Fogo barked while absorbing nearby residual Kilnessence, which made his eyes burn terribly red.

    [That is improbable. If it happened once, it may very well happen again, and besides, who¡¯s to say that everything down there will die- some may survive. All I''m saying is that we shouldn¡¯t interfere.] K¨­ritsu tried his best to keep calm, but he felt too strongly about what was at stake.

    Back on earth, life had to evolve without much aid or divine intervention, and whenever someone tampered with the natural order, there was disaster.

    K¨­ritsu didn¡¯t mean to drop his ant farm.

    He didn¡¯t mean to engulf their prison of a world in chaos and destruction.

    And so, he concluded that nature was at its best when untouched by meddlesome hands.

    [You know, my mom taught me that you should help whenever you can. I guess you¡¯re the type who just walks past those in need because that¡¯s just the natural course, right? Well, fuck that.] Fogo squeezed his fist and punched at the gas cloud, vaporising it in an instant, but the resulting shockwave was so powerful, it pushed the planet behind them into a wider orbit.

    The others rushed towards the planet to see if it was alright, and while global temperatures were dropping significantly, life persevered.

    [You will live to regret your short-sightedness.] K¨­ritsu scowled, making Fogo scoff.

    [Any loss I make on behalf of another is not a loss at all. Maybe you should¡ª]

    [Enough! Both of you!] Thabit cried, finally silencing the two.

    [K¨­ritsu, there¡¯s nothing wrong with helping when you can and Fogo, please think before you act so recklessly¡ª]

    [But, Ma¡¯am¡ª]

    [No buts! Your haste could have destroyed the planet or the life on it, so both of you, go back to Hereafter and stay there for a while.] Thabit firmly instructed. This was the first time she had ever yelled at her students, and they all felt how much it pained her.

    [Yes, ma¡¯am.] K¨­ritsu sighed deeply before ascending.

    Fogo begrudgingly followed him up, and it wasn¡¯t long before they were gone.

    [The rest of you, please look around for other worlds with liquid water and favourable conditions. Then take some of the life there so that we avoid a situation where all of the life in the universe can so easily be snuffed.] Thabit firmly instructed.

    [Yes, ma¡¯am!]

    Her students then all flew off in different directions, leaving her with Vidente, who keenly eyed the world below.

    [Do you think I did the right thing? Sending those two back, I mean.]  She asked her most studious of learners.

    [I can¡¯t say. Only time will tell what comes of this, but that¡¯s my cautious side talking. My more¡­ human side is saying you did the right thing and that those two knuckleheads need to cool down.] Vidente smiled, and for the briefest moment, Thabit saw the big glasses that once adorned the girl¡¯s face.

    [I miss them.]

    [My glasses?]

    [Yeah, a little.]

    Vidente rolled her eyes.

    [Everyone keeps saying that. Might as well make myself a pair of fake ones at this point.]

    [I mean¡­ if it isn¡¯t too much trouble¡ª]

    [You¡¯re supposed to fight peer pressure, not add to it, you useless teacher!] Vidente pulled at Thabit¡¯s right wing a little.

    [Oh no!] She whined, making Vidente roll her eyes again.

    [That aside, can you see them?] She pointed down and, after gently rubbing her massive ethereal wing, Miss Thibet turned her gaze to the planet¡¯s surface where she saw tiny reddish gold sparks appearing only to disappear shortly after.

    [The souls of the dead. This is where it begins, it seems¡­ the Cycle of life and death.] Vidente breathed.

    Thabit¡¯s eyes widened at the revelation.

    [You know, when we first appeared here, I always thought that we would end up looking for a way back home, but now I see that the only path we have is ahead and, for a reason I have yet to understand, I am willing to tread the path to its end.]

    .

    ..

    Without prompt, the class divided the universe into fourteen sectors, which they each scoured in search of suitable planets.

    The problem was that the universe was still a very young and violent place, so Miss Thabit instructed that they watch over the worlds they favoured until they were safe enough to hold life.

    Nozh was the first to report that her planet was safe, and she subsequently seeded it with life by grabbing a palmful from the Genesis World and gently placing it into hers.

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    The others followed suit, and it wasn¡¯t long before each of them had at least one planet under their protection.

    Even K¨­ritsu had one whereon life developed.

    The oceans were filled and then the lands of their worlds until they were lush and green. Winters came and went in some places. Some experienced decades-long summers, and some planets had gravities that were marginally stronger than that of the Genesis World, but even in the face of all these factors, life persevered.

    Yana found it inspiring.

    How desperately life clung to existence.

    It made his own limbs twitch with the desire to actuate, to live.

    He already had a reason for living and, thanks to the life under his wings, he was more motivated than ever.

    When he wasn¡¯t watching over the trillions of little bugs that crawled over his world, one he decided to call Caesia, due to the fact that it had days that were the same length as those on the earth down to the second, he was in his chambers in Hereafter meditating on the integral parts of the cosmos.

    Mathematics, physics, biology, the physical and ethereal planes.

    All of it was laid bare before him as a being who could perceive it all, but seeing was only part of the battle. It was something entirely different to understand it all.

    After all, you could show a caveman a wheel, and he wouldn¡¯t know where to begin to understand what its near limitless uses were.

    So, Yana pondered.

    On everything.

    All while calling out to his friend in the distant place.

    His longing permeated throughout all that was, and eventually, he was joined by Thabit, who knelt by his side in his messy, dimly lit chamber.

    [May I?] She warmly smiled, and he nodded.

    [Go ahead. I¡¯ve tried everything from whispering to shouting, but my voice doesn¡¯t seem to reach him, so maybe both of our voices will.]

    Thabit nodded before closing her eyes and tapping into Yana¡¯s feelings.

    A single tear then fell from her left eye as she called out to her sleeping student.

    An eternity had passed since they had been reborn, and she too missed him.

    She missed their simple, seemingly insignificant lives on earth, but it was those moments which gave their new lives meaning.

    And so, she prayed.

    To Kiln.

    That he may one day awaken and join them in this new universe.

    Thabit and Yana eventually opened their eyes, and they sat for a silent moment.

    [Did I¡­ did I ever tell you why I became a teacher?]

    [No, ma¡¯am.] Yana¡¯s wings fluttered curiously; their ethereal spans harmlessly passed through the walls of his chamber.

    [My friend and I thought it¡¯d be easy.] She softly laughed, making Yana smile in turn.

    [We thought we¡¯d go to our classes, yell at our students, mark their tests and go home, but those five years were anything but.] Thabit rested her hands on her lap.

    [Sometimes I felt more like a parent to you all even though I was a childless Bachelorette, but through all the hardships, every fallen tear, every broken heart, every triumph and graduation, I found meaning. So, walk the path that you would for his sake and yours just as I did for myself and my friend who would go on to be a principal in her own school.]

    Thabit stood up and gave Yana a polite bow.

    [Thank you, Yana.]

    [For what?] He tilted his head as she turned to leave.

    [For being a good student and a good friend.]

    Yana was confused.

    All he ever did was slack off, and he rarely ever handed his assignments in time.

    But he felt the truth in her words.

    She appreciated him.

    And so, Yana silently swore to appreciate her as well and how patient she had been with him in the brief time they had on earth.

    .

    ..

    Fogo stood atop the Diamond Needle, and he peered at K¨­ritsu, who was in the third dimension, watching over his worlds.

    Back on earth, people like K¨­ritsu were dangerous.

    That¡¯s what Fogo believed.

    That the idle hand, the complicit hand, the callous hand was just as guilty.

    The universe needed protection from those who were willing to let harm befall others, and Fogo was willing to take that role.

    He knew the others felt his feelings, but he couldn¡¯t deny them in any capacity.

    He descended to Vidente¡¯s laboratory where he found her desperately pouring Kilnessence into a small, brown slug that was rapidly shrivelling.

    [Come on!] She yelled as she stood at the centre of a pile of carcasses and machinery.

    While her lab was as big as an entire university campus, she spent most of her time in the main Hall, with the rest of the space being used as storage for archival reasons.

    Adamantly, Vidente had learnt to completely manipulate her wings, which meant that while she was busy in the Main Hall, her wings were doing at least a thousand other things elsewhere.

    Fogo watched as she tried to keep the slug alive, but it quickly succumbed to the stress of being in a plane of existence it was never meant to be in and died.

    Its soul, however, a small thread of reddish golden light, persisted for a moment before fading away.

    [Tough luck?] He asked from above.

    [You have no idea.] Vidente sighed before leaning against the operating table.

    [What¡¯s up? I can tell you want something.]

    [The universe will soon change greatly with the advent of life, and while we will be more than enough to protect all that is at macro level threats, we¡¯ll¡ª]

    [You want an army.] Vidente droned, making Fogo clench his teeth a little.

    [Surely you understand my feelings.]

    Vidente sighed at his words and nodded.

    [Of course, I do. We all have our own ideas for how we want this universe to be like, and it will be absolutely necessary to have a moderation force, but if I do this, if I help you create an army, you will not be the one to command it.]

    [Then who?] Fogo frowned.

    [Ma¡¯am, of course.]

    Fogo felt a strange relief wash over him.

    He had half expected her to say K¨­ritsu.

    [I can live with that. Now¡­ where to begin.]

    [Golems seem like the obvious answer. It¡¯ll be a good long time before sentient life comes around and who knows if they¡¯ll be able to help defend anything at our scale.]

    [I agree. What will you need from me?] Fogo asked, his eyes burning with determination.

    [I¡¯ve been looking for a way to store Kilnessence and it seems as though the clue lies in our bodies and crowns so¡­] Fogo shivered as a dangerous glint appeared in Vidente¡¯s eyes.

    [I¡¯ll need a volunteer to help me see just what we are and what makes us tick.]

    Fogo suddenly wanted to run away but it was too late.

    Vidente grabbed him and slammed him onto the table as her wings closed in on him.

    His cries reached the highest dimensions, and all K¨­ritsu could do was shake his head as he sat on the moon of the world he had been assigned to watch over.

    He profusely protested this but Miss Thibet insisted that he do it so that he may learn something from the experience.

    K¨­ritsu assured her that he was completely willing to watch over life, he just wasn¡¯t sure it was right to interfere in its development or ultimate demise.

    They were originally humans themselves, so what right did they have over the lives of this universe?

    A terrible thought then surfaced in K¨­ritsu¡¯s mind.

    It was they who were the anomalies.

    He knew for certain that the cataclysms and apocalypses of the future were going to be at the hands of one of them.

    Miss Thibet, Fogo, K¨­ritsu himself or any of the others had the power to obliterate large swathes of existence, meaning that they were the disasters.

    K¨­ritsu took deep breaths and calmed himself, taking care not to alarm the others.

    He kept his mind clear and his emotions levelled.

    What he was feeling was caution.

    Yes, caution and worry, which were natural emotions for one to have from time to time.

    He guided his thoughts along those lines and eventually concluded that the only way this universe would be safe was if none of them were present or able to access it, but where could they go? What could they do?

    K¨­ritsu didn¡¯t know, but he planned to find a way.

    An optimal outcome that came to mind was one where they were sealed in the seventh dimension.

    He¡¯d have to ask Vidente about how to develop such a seal.

    Forever separating the physical and ethereal planes.

    Allowing the universe true autonomy over itself.

    A brief flash of Kiln appeared in K¨­ritsu¡¯s mind.

    Yes. Surely this is what he¡¯d want too.

    As he was the new father of all things.

 4. Not of the Truly Divine

    Thabit felt it all.

    Their thoughts came as waves of emotion that were at times clearer than their words. Words which could be heard across all of creation.

    She finally got upset at her students, a moment which was exacerbated by their feelings.

    Both of them wanted to be right, but the courses of action they wanted to take were too extreme.

    That¡¯s why she ended up assigning K¨­ritsu to a life-bearing planet of his own and Fogo to the top of the Diamond Needle, which, she hoped, would teach them temperance.

    Thibet sat in the lobby of the tower at the centre of the Hereafter, where she deeply sighed.

    Unlike when she was human, her thoughts and feelings rang like ever-echoing bells. Her sigh was an attempt to distract herself.

    This moment in eternity, where she stretched her wings, was followed by a wave of excitement and wonder as Vidente experienced the aforementioned emotions at incredible levels.

    A wave of extreme pain came next, and it came from Fogo, which would have made Thibet jump to action, but she had since learnt that Vidente was experimenting on him and subjecting him to all kinds of pain as she cut him open only to heal him using Kilnessence.

    Over in her auditorium, Vidente finally returned the last of Fogo¡¯s bones into his body before promptly healing him.

    Her wings inscribed her findings onto countless sheets of paper as she helped a wide-eyed Fogo sit upright.

    After receiving a stern word of caution from Thibet, the two had used each other as guinea pigs to test various things, which led to the discovery that they couldn¡¯t fully heal, even with the help of Kilnessence.

    This was tied to the fact that none of them had even begun to master the art of creation.

    The best they could do was combine or mend what was, but the more complex the entity, the harder it was, and they were the most complex.

    It was Vidente who eventually dubbed them all Angels, a name that had been on everyone¡¯s mind until then.

    Due to their ceaseless self-mutilation, Fogo and Vidente were covered in scars that would never heal. Golden seams that lined their once perfect skin.

    The two also discovered that the essence of all living things was held in an ethereal crown or halo that floated above their heads. The Angels were no exception, and since an organism faded from existence after its crown was removed or destroyed, Vidente and Fogo didn¡¯t touch theirs.

    That didn¡¯t stop Vidente from experimenting with the halos of lesser life forms, however.

    [Phew¡­ so I won¡¯t die until something happens to my Halo, huh?] Fogo stretched his arms lazily.

    [Apparently, and we know that death is assured if it¡¯s broken, as seen by the countless dead globs around us. Now let¡¯s see what happens if we take some Kilnessence, create another blob and then give it one of the many Halos I¡­ borrowed from some of the life in the third dimension.] Vidente cracked her fingers before stepping away from the operation table where Fogo idly sat.

    The floor was lined with the blood of countless dead organisms mixed with that of Fogo and Vidente.

    Angel blood was a brilliant gold in colour and as thick as honey; however, it had no taste. Any organism that came into contact with it was healed immediately, although any damage a Halo took couldn¡¯t be undone due to the complexity of its design.

    Which is why Vidente was using the now dull grey Halos she¡¯d pilfered from the corpses of dead organisms.

    She took a glob of fleshy matter and poured into it Kilnessence, which she linked to the second-hand halo above its head.

    The halo flickered a little before glowing a pure white as the flesh it actualized writhed below.

    Fogo watched apprehensively as the grey thing in Vidente¡¯s hands squirmed.

    It was roughly the shape of a pear, had two pathetic tentacles jutting from its sides and had three eyes on what vaguely resembled a face. The third eye, which sat slightly above the others, had a dull golden hue.

    The thing didn¡¯t have a mouth, but it seemingly expressed all manner of emotions as it looked up and beheld its creators, who could feel the faint waves of emotion its soul was releasing.

    It was in pain.

    Agonizing pain that was a result of the haphazard way Vidente put its body together, jamming as many organs and nerves into it so that it may better survive in Hereafter.

    She took into account that it wouldn¡¯t be able to breathe, so she didn¡¯t bother giving it a mouth or note and instead made it feed off of residual Kilnessence, which was potent enough to keep it alive for years if need be.

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    The part that amazed Vidente the most was the fact that the Halo actively changed to better suit its new wearer. Meaning that the universe had recognized it as a denizen of the seventh dimension.

    [Aww¡­ what in all worlds is that?] Lilium, who had droopy eyes and the longest hair among the Angels, asked after being drawn into the auditorium by Vidente¡¯s awe at her creation.

    [It is¡­ my final failure.] Vidente sighed deeply as she motioned to crumple the thing like a piece of paper, but Lilium stopped her.

    [Wait! You don¡¯t feel disappointed, so why are you killing it?] Fogo rolled his eyes at Lilium¡¯s typical and smothering response as she gently snatched the grey thing from Vidente.

    [I have succeeded in making or, at the very least, assembling life in a form that can persist in the Hereafter. With this knowledge, I can make as many as I like.]

    [How can you be so cruel?] Lilium gasped while gently petting the thing.

    [It will be the first step in what will ultimately be a grand design of our own making, which I see as an honour for something as ugly as it is. And besides, it¡¯s in lots of pain, so it¡¯d be best to put it out of its misery.]

    Lilium stuck her tongue out at Vidente.

    [Ignore those two. I¡¯ll take care of you in their stead, okay?] She spoke to the thing as she left the auditorium. Her adoration for it mixed with the joy and excitement felt by the two she was leaving behind to fill the Hereafter with a positive air.

    [Well, see ya later.] Fogo waved while ascending towards the exit.

    [Training?] Vidente asked, even though she knew the answer.

    [Yep.]

    [Don¡¯t push yourself too hard, okay?]

    Fogo turned back with a raised brow.

    [Huh¡­ I didn¡¯t think you cared that much.]

    [I don¡¯t. I just need you in tip-top condition for when I cut you open next.] Vidente winked, making Fogo roll his eyes.

    [Yeah, yeah.] He scoffed before flying to an empty part of the seventh dimension, where he tested his strength by lifting entire planets and he tested his speed by flying from the first to last reachable dimensions as fast as possible, getting impossibly faster each time.

    [Knucklehead.] Vidente softly smiled.

    She never spent much time with Fogo back when they were on earth, and that was simply because they were of two worlds.

    She read her days away, getting lost in old encyclopaedias and the occasional romance novel after she studied, and he barely passed his test after having spent most of his time playing sports.

    They rarely ever talked, let alone acknowledged each other, now they were transcended beings who were coated in each other¡¯s blood.

    She bit her lower lip at the absurdity of it all.

    Yes, she missed her parents, her friends and the vague concept of normalcy, but she couldn¡¯t deny how much fun she had been having since she was reborn.

    She was bearing witness to the unravelling of the cosmos, and like the ever-keen botanist to a flower, she was determined to bear witness and archive it all.

    Which is why she was delighted when a uncharacteristically nervous K¨­ritsu entered her halls.

    [What do you want?] She asked as the light of her wings probed her peer, searching him up and down for insight.

    [No need to be so brash. I- I¡¯ve just come to see how far your work is coming along.] K¨­ritsu¡¯s eyes didn¡¯t meet hers as he walked up to her.

    [Uh-huh. We created a lifeform capable of persisting in this realm, but I''m more curious about what you want, class rep.] Vidente smirked, making him finally face her.

    [Is there was way you could develop some kind of wall or a barrier to¡­ maybe keep us here.]

    Vidente¡¯s eyes narrowed.

    She then let out a deep sigh.

    [Did you think about how hard such a feat would be before you stumbled here?] She crossed her arms but K¨­ritsu furiously shook his head, transferring some of his anxieties into her.

    [You don¡¯t have to do it immediately or even anytime soon! I¡­ just want a failsafe in the case that any one of us tramples on that oh-so-delicate garden.] His sincerity reached Vidente clearly, and she knew why he felt so strongly about what he wanted, unfortunately, her own desires were directly opposed.

    [I¡¯ll see what I can do but I can¡¯t say what form it¡¯ll come in yet.]

    K¨­ritsu nodded before turning to leave.

    [Oh- and could you please keep it a secret?]

    Vidente felt his sincerity again.

    He genuinely wished they would stop interfering with life but the new universe was far too exciting to lock away.

    [Alright.]

    K¨­ritsu nodded before leaving the auditorium, leaving Vidente in a deep silence.

    One which she immediately broke by resurrecting several fleshy blobs which screamed out in pain.

    .

    ..

    Nozh disliked the silence of the Hereafter.

    In this unchanging, eternal place, there was no noise, no banter and no arguments since everyone either agreed with each other or settled things peacefully with the occasional help from Thibet.

    This was because they each deeply understood how each other felt on a level that was deeper than she could have ever imagined back on earth in the small home she''d grown up in.

    The lastborn in a quintuplet of sisters, by a matter of seconds, she always had to fight for attention, affection and even time.

    It was always loud, chaotic and unstable.

    But it was home.

    She loved each of her sisters and hoped that they loved her just as much.

    But now they were gone.

    Or maybe it was she who left them.

    Did they mourn her passing?

    Did they even care?

    These questions gnawed at Nozh as she floated far above the Hereafter.

    She chose to consult someone who had been, in what seemed like self-inflicted torture, pursued his grief and pain while others tried their best to move on.

    Beneath the Diamond Needle and the streets of the city was his modest chapel where he prayed as he knelt, with closed eyes, before a stone sphere which sat atop of plain wood and cloth.

    [To thee I pray, oh Kiln. Oh, all of all.

    So yond I may come close to thee.

    In thee, I¡¯ll find content and grace;

    From the first to the last of mine days.]

    Nozh felt her chest both swell and ache with longing and grief.

    A single tear almost fell from her eye, but she was used to the feeling she got when she was near Yana at this point.

    She knelt by his side in the dimly lit chamber, as was custom and joined him in a moment of silent prayer.

    Calling out to her family before scoffing at how ridiculous Yana¡¯s routine was.

    [I swear, sometimes l think you forget he was once just a kid, like the rest of us.]

    [What else would you have me believe?] There it was again. That endless sorrow anyone who heard him speak felt.

    Nozh bit her teeth as she fought it back. That which only deepened her own sadness.

    [I mean¡­ anything else? Have you found anything yet in all your meditating and prayer?] Nozh knew she was being needlessly harsh, but she needed this.

    She needed him to argue, to open his eyes and glare at her, anything.

    [No. I have not heard even a breath from his sleeping self.]

    [So¡­] Nozh pressed, but all Yana did was take a deep breath and sigh.

    [So, I will continue to pray and search until I reach him or until he awakens, however long that may take.]

    Nozh gnashed her teeth.

    He wasn¡¯t being aggressive enough, and so she turned her eyes to someone who might have had what she was looking for.

    Fogo.

 5. Good

    Fogo stood at the summit of all existence.

    A realm where time and space were vague occurrences, a white expanse where maintaining one¡¯s own form was arduous.

    He had trained here for what could be imagined as an eternity, but it was hard to tell just how much time was passing in the highest dimension.

    Whenever he returned to the Hereafter, it seemed as though only minutes would have ticked by, not that Fogo was complaining.

    An eternity of training was more than he could ask for, and since the body of an Angel was already perfect, he instead mastered his control over his strength and speed.

    It wouldn¡¯t be incorrect to say that he was the strongest of the angels by the sheer fact that each of his feathers could break entire planets, and he had countless ethereal feathers.

    It had gotten to the point that he could visit the third dimension and fly around without breaking things.

    [Fogo?]

    He looked down to see that Nozh was calling him from the Seventh Dimension, and so he descended.

    [Yes?] He asked as he landed on the patch of space just outside the city.

    [Hope I didn¡¯t interrupt anything important.] Fogo could feel her anxiety and restlessness, so he warmly smiled, but while this would have been enough to invoke positive feelings, Nozh only grew more frustrated.

    [Nah- I was just wrapping things up. What did you want to talk about?]

    [Umm¡­ so- how are things going with you and Vi?]

    Fogo¡¯s heart began racing a little, sending out adorable waves of joy across the realm.

    [Ahem! Good. Things are going good, why do you ask? Did she say anything?] He hid his mouth behind his hand as he tried his best not to smile.

    [No. And although I think that it¡¯s cute watching you two, I can¡¯t help but wonder what the point is if we are going to live forever. Why even pursue such things if not driven by instinct? Heck- we can¡¯t even¡­ you know.] Nozh probed, which made Fogo¡¯s eyes narrow a little.

    [Mmm¡­ is that all you really wanted to talk about? Because if it is, then you already know the answers to those questions.] Fogo spoke with the authority of one who had mastered himself in the realm of unbecoming. So assured and certain that it made Nozh fold into herself.

    [I¡­] Her voice shook.

    Fogo watched as she struggled through anxiety, frustration, restlessness and unresolved grief.

    He knew those feelings all too well but had decided to work through them while also keeping himself occupied.

    Which gave him an idea.

    [You don¡¯t know what to do with yourself, huh?]

    Nozh shrunk even further at his words.

    [Mmm¡­ well, as you know, Vidente¡¯s building an army for me, so if you like, you could help by being one of my generals.]

    [But I''m not cut out for fighting.] Nozh whimpered.

    [True. Not yet, at least and while I know you think my concerns are the paranoid ramblings of a mad angel, I want you to join me, and even if I end up being wrong and nothing happens, we¡¯d have had fun, right?]

    Nozh looked up to see that Fogo was still smiling.

    [Fun?]

    [Yep. We¡¯ll do all kinds of training together, and we can help Vidente create all sorts of things. So, what do you say?]

    Nozh¡¯s eyes widened, and Fogo felt a strong surge of affection rising within her.

    He didn¡¯t know if he had helped with whatever she was going through, but she was emitting a positive wave of emotions, and that was good enough for him.

    [Alright-]

    With that, Fogo grabbed Nozh¡¯s hand and dragged her to the auditorium where Vidente was trying to make some humanoid lifeforms. Crawling along the campus and doing their best to help Vidente with her work were the Oracles, small grey and ugly things with three eyes that resembled the first one she¡¯d made fairly recently.

    They were helpful due to the fact that they could exist in most dimensions, so Vidente often sent them on expeditions to the third dimension where they gathered materials, other lifeforms and knowledge.

    While the Oracles were far weaker than their angelic creators, no living organism in the third dimension stood a chance in the face of their control over Kilnessence, however insignificant it may have seemed to the Angels.

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    [Hey, Vidente! Someone finally decided to join the cause!] he bellowed while storming into the chamber, only to be stopped by one of Vidente¡¯s wings as she carefully sowed various pieces of flesh together in a shape that vaguely resembled a human.

    She then placed a Halo on its head, but as soon as it came alive, it collapsed in on itself while screaming in agonizing pain in the brief moment leading to its death.

    Vidente let out a disappointed sigh before looking up at Fogo with weary eyes.

    [I really need one of our worlds to host something other than simplistic life.] She tossed the heap of flesh on the table to the floor before making her way up to where Fogo and Nozh stood, walking past the two and finding a spot outside where she sat.

    [You okay?] Fogo asked after following her out with Nozh in tow, both of them feeling her bubbling frustration.

    [I¡­ cannot create anything. All I can do is throw stuff together and hope for the best.] It sounded like she wanted to cry, and so the two sat at her side and wrapped her in the light of their wings.

    [Hey, think of it like this: You are currently finding ways to tweak and tune life to all kinds of forms and environs. You may not be the inventor, but you¡¯re one hell of a technician.] Fogo smiled, and it immediately reached Vidente, who looked at him with appreciating eyes.

    [Y- Yeah! You¡¯ve done so many amazing things so far, like the Oracles-]

    [I hate those things! Don¡¯t bring them up when I''m in such a downed state!] Vidente spat, frightening Nozh a little with a wave of pure chagrin.

    [But thank you. Both of you. I think I just needed to leave that place for a bit. What were you two up to again?]

    [Nozh has decided to join my cause!] Fogo cheered with a raised fist.

    [Oh? I never took you for the heroic type.] Vidente smirked.

    [I- I''m not trying to be a hero. I just¡­ don¡¯t want to feel so stuck.]

    Vidente nodded at Nozh¡¯s words before turning a curious, dangerous eye to Fogo¡¯s wings.

    [Huh¡­ I won¡¯t be able to make your army for a bit, but¡­ we can make their weapons in the meantime.]

    Fogo felt a wave of fear wash over him.

    [Heh?] He sounded as Vidente got up and stood over him.

    [How much are you willing to give for your dream, Fogo?] She whispered, making him swallow.

    She then reached out to grab him, but he was several times faster than her, so he quickly flew out of reach.

    However, just as he prepared to flee from the Hereafter, Vidente crossed her arms.

    [If you come willingly, we can watch a few sunsets together after we¡¯re done!]

    Fogo stopped dead in his tracks.

    He then turned his glaring eyes down to Vidente, who was smirking.

    Normally, he wouldn¡¯t mind being subjected to her studious torture, but for some reason, he felt as though what was coming next was going to be worse than anything he¡¯d experienced before.

    His instincts had kicked in before he could even think about what was happening.

    And as for Vidente¡¯s offer¡­

    Well, he¡¯d have to see if it was worth it.

    And so, he descended.

    [Go inside.] Fogo bit his teeth at her instruction as that oh so familiar smile appeared on her face.

    He did as she said and sat on the operating table like always, but he was more apprehensive than ever.

    [Now, we never got around to testing this, but there is a chance that our wings are what give us the ability to travel between dimensions, so be prepared for the worst if this goes wrong.] Vidente warned as Nozh helplessly watched.

    Fogo bit his teeth as Vidente gently held one of his smaller feathers.

    She then unceremoniously pulled it out, and this resulted in a wave of pain stronger than any he had ever felt since being reborn. It felt like a million burns all concentrated at one point. Not only that, it also felt like someone was pressing ice-cold needles into those burns repeatedly.

    Fogo¡¯s Angelic body was able to withstand the hardest of bludgeoning forces and the sharpest of blades, but his wings, as strong as they were, were also the most sensitive part of his body, seeing as they helped him perceive the universe in its totality.

    However, even with all this pain, he held his screams in as tears welled in his eyes.

    The same couldn¡¯t be said for Nozh, who fell to her knees and screamed as all of Fogo¡¯s pain seeped into her and everyone else, prompting them to all descend on the auditorium.

    [Uh-oh.] Vidente sounded as the light of eleven angels filled their surroundings.

    She couldn¡¯t even think of an excuse and so slowly stepped away from Fogo as the others entered.

    .

    ..

    Vidente had been made to sit in the centre of the courtyard just outside the Diamond Needle, where she received all manner of stares from those who encircled her.

    Thibet, naturally, was disappointed, while the others were a mix of worried and angry.

    This was because while the pain Fogo and Vidente inflicted on each other usually came as a dull or sharp ache, this time, it was the full thing.

    They all felt it, like a hammer and chisel striking at a tooth a million times over.

    [I allowed far too much to pass by, and I know that a lot of damage has been done, but the least I can do is punish you for this, no?] Thibet asked with a quiet rage.

    [Yes, ma¡¯am.] Vidente¡¯s head hung low.

    She genuinely didn¡¯t mean to let the pain reach the others but also couldn¡¯t hide her ever-burning curiosity. Something which Thibet saw all too clearly.

    [You are to cease any and all experiments on your fellow angels indefinitely, is that understood?]

    [Yes, ma¡¯am.]

    [Good. Now, please take a moment to rest. Especially you, Fogo.]

    Fogo nodded before watching as everyone dispersed, leaving just him and Vidente.

    He walked up to the kneeling angel and offered her a hand.

    [You still up for seeing a few sunsets together?]

    Vidente looked up and felt his warmth wash over her.

    She who had cut and torn him open repeatedly.

    It was here that she realized the absurdity of what she had been doing.

    The madness and callousness behind it all.

    However, through all of it, he remained.

    With that big, stupid smile.

    Vidente took his hand and stood up.

    [Yeah. Let¡¯s go to Yana¡¯s world. It¡¯s the closest to the earth in appearance and situation.]

    Fogo nodded before joining her in descending onto the little world.

    They landed as gently as they could on the side of its surface, which was experiencing a sunset as they arrived.

    Sitting side by side and, by suppressing their power and light, they limited the impact they had on the lush green forests and oceans that were teeming with life.

    [You¡­ you don¡¯t hate me, right?] Vidente whispered.

    [You know I don¡¯t.] Fogo replied just as softly as the light of the setting sun bathed their brilliant forms.

    [I want to hear you say it-]

    [I like you, Vidente.]

    The tears she had been holding back began to well as Fogo wrapped his arm around her waist.

    [You don¡¯t think I''m a monster for everything I¡¯ve done¡­ and all the things I¡¯ll do?]

    [Oh- you¡¯re definitely a monster-]

    Vidente lightly punched him in the chest.

    [But the knowledge you seek and the lengths you¡¯re willing to go through will be worth it so long as it benefits us and life in the long term.] Fogo assured as he wiped the single tear that had fallen from her left eye.

    [Idiot.]

 6. Step by Step

    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.

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    [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.

 7. Among the First of Wars

    One thousand men and women gathered before Yana as he patiently sat.

    He graced them all with a smile that quelled the fear threatening to take root in their hearts, and he made sure the air around them was comfortably cool, regardless of the time of day.

    Most of the gathered uttered praises and thanks as they knelt, while a few begged forgiveness for whatever wrongs they may have done, but Yana was there for neither.

    After everyone was comfortable and calm, he finally spoke while turning to the sky.

    [To thee we pray, oh Kiln. Oh, all of all.

    So yond we may come close to thee.

    In thee, we find content and grace;

    From the first to the last of all days.]

    Yana sang out his prayer, laden with grief and longing, and this immediately caused all who were gathered to begin ceaselessly weeping.

    If the feelings of a human were like ripples in a pond, sometimes big and sometimes small, the emotions of an Angel were hurricanes that had no end.

    The Caesians all fell until their heads touched the dirt, and they prayed to he whom Yana longed for the most.

    They, too, wanted to soothe the ache that now tormented their souls, and this was sufficient for Yana, who pointed at five of them, three men and two women whose grief for their own resonated with Yana¡¯s.

    He gently rested one of his feathers on each of their heads and blessed them with some of his own Kilnessence, giving them small pieces of his very soul, allowing them to all that was and had ever been along with the heart of all things.

    This linking of souls allowed him to see their lives as well, but through their eyes.

    Without speaking, the five chosen asked what Yana wanted them to do as they stood with eyes that glowed ever so dimly gold.

    [Tell them of Kiln, that it is through his every slumbering breath that they are given life. Tell them to call out to him, to pray to him, so that we may, even if ever so insignificantly, draw closer to him.]

    The five took to their knees and silently introduced themselves: Touma?, Taung, Daka, Aroeira and Petralona.

    Yana planned for only them to follow him back to the Hereafter when they died, but that wouldn¡¯t be for some time, so he allowed them to learn of Kiln and join in searching while they were alive.

    With that done, Yana stood, shaking the world once again before ascending and dematerializing, leaving behind a crater that was fifty thousand kilometres wide and four thousand meters deep directly where Yana sat.

    The gathered then turned to the five chosen who walked up to the edge of the crater.

    ¡°This here marks what will be the centre of all that we will ever be! Return to your homes with one of us each so that we may bring them here and begin what will be our greatest mission!¡± Touma?, the oldest among the chosen, declared. Only shortly before, had he been a frail, aged man who struggled to even stand on his own. Now, he stood poised and brimming with a vigour that defied his greyed hair and wrinkled skin.

    The gathered split into five groups as they returned to their respective regions and tribes, where they spread the word of what happened.

    Many didn¡¯t believe them, claiming that it was a trick or scheme by Yana, who ultimately wanted to punish them.

    Those who were among the gathered assured the others of Yana¡¯s true nature and intent, but the sceptical hid behind their fear.

    And so, only those who were willing to listen were chosen to follow along on the journey back to the crater.

    A pilgrimage of thousands followed.

    Led by the five chosen, they took the little they had and traversed immense distances, enduring hunger and the elements for months until they returned to that place where the weather always seemed just right.

    The gathered then built a small settlement along the southern edge of the crater.

    A place they called ?atal.

    The paths leading back to the tribes where everyone came from neatly forked out from the small town¡¯s centre, which meant that anyone who wanted to go back home was free to do so without too much trouble in terms of navigation.

    The people of ?atal got their water from a river which ran a few kilometres to the south and, possibly due to Yana¡¯s brief presence, the soil around the crater was really fertile.

    ?atal thrived, and while Touma? was asked to be the leader of gathered, he politely refused, choosing instead to live as a simple man.

    Before the sun rose on every day that came to pass, he made his way to the edge of the crater where he knelt and prayed, thanking Yana for his visit and for blessing them with knowledge.

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    Knowledge which he shared every day from morn till noon in the small school that was constructed for him by the willing.

    There, he taught every subject to everyone who was interested.

    The sciences, philosophy, mathematics and many more subjects, topics and thoughts were shared in those humble wooden walls as the years passed and as ?atal grew, always along the crater and never within.

    The other Chosen also made great efforts to share their blessings with their people.

    Taung, who never seemed to age from his prepubescence, tended to all children, educating and tending to them while their parents tirelessly worked to develop the burgeoning city.

    It was customary to always refer to him as Big Brother, despite his youthful appearance.

    Daka was in charge of the city¡¯s construction, and he joined the men in the construction of every structure in ?atal, aiding them with his strength, which equalled that of a hundred men and his height, which made him stand twice as tall as everyone else.

    His stature earned him the title Daka the Mighty, but even with all this praise and power, he never spoke, and when he wasn¡¯t joining Touma? and the others in prayer, his head was buried in work.

    Aroeira headed a choir of women that sang a beautiful song during sunrise and sunset. The song thanked Kiln for the day and asked for nothing but his continued presence.

    When women weren¡¯t singing, they were tending to wounds of mind, body and soul in the Hospice of the First Song.

    Aroeira was especially blessed in that she could speak to the soul, and her words alone could heal any wound or illness.

    Petralona was blessed with a part of Yana that knew keenly of his plans, and so she had a specific segment of the crater¡¯s circumference dedicated to the burial of the dead.

    However, this place was reserved for those who were willing to give themselves to him so that they may aid him in seeking closeness to Kiln.

    Those who were buried had their names marked on gravestones and recorded by Petralona, who lived in her small home near the gravesite.

    Yana was pleased by their actions and continued to watch over the Caesians as their world developed.

    It also became clear that the Chosen would live far longer than their fellow Caesians as Touma? would go on to celebrate his two-hundredth birthday.

    He was considered the spiritual leader, although the more administrative duties were left to the ministers of the city as it grew around the crater.

    Those whom the faithful had left behind had also developed in their own way.

    It was inevitable that some outsiders would visit ?atal for knowledge, which they would take back to their homes, which evolved alongside what was being called the Holy Seat.

    To the far west was the Golden Peninsula, so called because of its acres upon acres of evergreen trees that had brilliant yellow leaves. The region, ironically, lacked in gold deposits when compared to the rest of the continent, but they had plenty of other resources.

    And to the west were the Ashen Wastes, so called because of the decades of war that had ravaged the expanse.

    Things had settled down ever since the great tribes unified under the great war chief, Soyoo, who marched with his army of a hundred thousand men across fields of fire and smoke as they waged war.

    The now elderly chief, whose massive territory was split among his sons, had his sights set on the so-called Holy Seat.

    But it was no conquest that filled his eyes but curiosity.

    Because while ?atal may have adopted monotheism, the rest of the world still practiced ancestral worship.

    This led to tension and a bit of friction in some places, but it was never anything that got anyone killed.

    That was until Soyoo declared that he was going to pay the city along the crater a visit.

    He had spoken to a few travelling Kilnists, but they failed to convince him of whatever truth their faith stood upon.

    Of course, he had heard of the strange incident that had occurred centuries prior where the divine seemingly made contact with the people of the world but any reasonable person would have concluded that the object that made the crater of ?atal was just a fallen star.

    Belief in the ancestors, however, was natural.

    The living missed and, with time, revered the dead.

    What more was there?

    Soyoo needed to know and so, with a host of twenty thousand men, set out for the Holy Seat.

    The journey took months, and when the great chieftain arrived, he found a city that stood behind massive stone walls that eclipsed any structure Soyoo had ever seen.

    As if its height wasn¡¯t already impressive at thirty meters, it also encircled the entire ?atal crater.

    Surrounding this massive structure were swathes of healthy farmland and smaller satellite settlements.

    Patrolling the five great roads that led out of the city were soldiers who were decked in armour of steel and gold.

    They brandished excellent weapons and marched under the banner of a perfect circle.

    Soyoo was amazed at this sight, but he wondered why such a peaceful and religious place was so heavily defended.

    He had long since sent out a scout team who announced his arrival to the local leaders and, after being given a place for his army to set up camp, he was told to wait so that he may be given audience with the legendary Chosen who, for some reason, had agreed to meet him without complaint.

    Days passed, and he was eventually allowed into the First Parish, a small wooden building atop which a massive cathedral was built.

    In this most sacred place was he greeted by the Chosen, all but one of whom were elderly.

    The youngest looked no older than ten, but his golden eyes reflected decades of life lived.

    Soyoo sat with this most profound council, and at first, there was nothing but silence as he, a great warrior and leader of hundreds of thousands of people, humbled himself.

    Even his interpreter failed to look directly into the eyes of those he was supposed to speak for.

    It was Touma? who eventually broke the silence, his voice still as clear as ever, even after having lived for centuries.

    ¡°All you need do is pray.¡±

    ¡°To who? Your god?¡± Soyoo asked through his interpreter.

    ¡°To the One who grants you breath. The One who allows the sun to rise every day and to the One who we are most grateful. Call Him whatever your heart pleases, so long as you acknowledge Him as the Giver.¡±

    Soyoo bit his teeth as his eyes shook.

    He was sitting before a man who was older than any kingdom that still stood and a boy who was said to be immortal.

    How could he not question all that he knew?

    With the proof of something greater before him, he was ready to take the steps necessary to accept the truth.

    There was just one thing he wanted and so he swallowed before opening a mouth that was lined with fading scars.

    ¡°If¡­ if I accept your words¡­ will I be blessed just as you?¡±

    The Chosen remained silent.

    Not a single part of their faces moved as Soyoo¡¯s words were swallowed by the dimly lit walls.

    ¡°Well?¡± Soyoo¡¯s voice trembled with a deep desperation.

    ¡°If Kiln wills it.¡±

    Soyoo¡¯s heart fell.

    He didn¡¯t know why, but Touma? ¡®s answer was beyond disappointing.

    He stood up and, after bidding the Chosen farewell, he left the city and made his way to a camp just south of the city where he spent the next five days without eating or drinking as Touma?¡¯s words rang in his mind.

    He eventually let out an anguished cry before demanding that his men return to the Ashen Wastes.

    He told his closest advisors, who were still ignorant as to what had transpired in the meeting, that the Chosen had insulted him in a way that he could not even repeat.

    He told his men to prepare for war.

    A war that would have them march to wipe ?atal from the face of the world.

 8. One in Faith

    [Mmm?] Fogo sounded curiously as he flew up to Yana, who was patiently watching over his world.

    [Umm¡­ not sure if you can see this, but your people are fighting.]

    [I know.] Yana answered frankly, which made Fogo¡¯s brows furrow.

    [You know, there¡¯s rarely ever any conflict on Cratus. That¡¯s because I lead my people with a stern hand and¡­ well, I''m actually there to lead them.]

    Yana remained silent, making Fogo sigh as he began to ascend.

    [Oh, well. Let me know if you need any help. The last of the Heavenly Armaments is soon to be completed. Say the word and they''re yours, alright?]

    [Alright.]

    Yana turned his gaze to Soyoo, who sat in his grand palace in the centre of his territory. The Huon Forest was as vast as it was dense, fagged and steep which was key in its defence during the terrible tribal wars of decades past.

    The palace of stone stood atop a mountain, which made it a most treacherous fortress.

    Soyoo was in the palace¡¯s innermost sanctum, pouring over the handful of maps on his table.

    Upon returning to the Ashen Wastes, he declared to his fifty million subjects that they were at war and that his bloodline had been chosen by the ancestors to do away with those who sought to erase their culture and history, a decree he wrote in the blood of any who were found openly practicing Kilnism.

    This lit a fire beneath his people, and their newfound zeal ushered in a decade of prosperity.

    One which ended just as Soyoo died.

    He would go on to be succeeded by his firstborn son, Uugan, who, while intelligent and well mannered, led a sheltered life thanks to his doting mother, the then Queen.

    He was, however, determined to keep his father¡¯s word, and so, after gathering a force of four million men, he sent them towards ?atal under the command of his father¡¯s headmost general, T?m?r. A remnant of the previous era and one of the chieftains who allied himself with Soyoo.

    T?m?r marched for two months until they met the repelling force of a million Kilnists at the natural border that was the Transient Valley.

    The two armies, both heavily armed and fully prepared, clashed.

    The Huoni used the brute force tactics that had worked in the Ashen Wars only to be constantly checked by the Kilnists, who used relatively advanced machines and tactics to push through enemy lines, unleashing waves of fire while protecting their users.

    Most of the war machines were shaped like turtles, and they crawled along the ground on sturdy wheels that carried their steel-plated bodies, which were manually pushed by the soldiers inside.

    These were countered by the Huoni saboteurs, but by the time an Iron Turtle fell, it would have burnt at least a hundred soldiers.

    Another advantage the Kilnists had was their superior medicinal knowledge, which they used to keep soldiers in the fight and minimize casualties.

    Chief among these supportive efforts was the Lady of the First Song herself, Aroeira, who personally healed those who were close to death.

    Her elderly self was kept as warm and as safe as possible in the Kilnist encampment, and for the two or so hours a day that she was awake, she healed those she could by praying for them and speaking to their souls.

    Mending them from within, but as the days of violence and death passed, her song grew softer and softer until the day she finally closed her eyes to sleep for the last time.

    It was she who had asked to be taken to the frontlines, and so, after her work was done, her body was taken back to ?atal where she was buried.

    However, what no one other than the other Chosen knew was that, in the moment of her passing, Yana came to her and took her to the Hereafter, just as he had said all that time ago.

    Upon arriving in the seventh dimension with her soul, he promptly poured it into one of the five Halos he¡¯d gotten.

    He then prepared a little more Kilnessence, which allowed Aroeira to manifest a body that both resembled hers in her prime and was capable of surviving in the third dimension. Her body, petite and pearlescent, existed stably in the higher dimension.

    She awoke in Yana¡¯s chapel, and he promptly dressed her in a gown of light.

    [Welcome.]

    Aroeira¡¯s now brilliantly golden eyes welled with tears as she finally beheld Yana; only he was far¡­ shorter. Actually, he was only a little a little taller than her now.

    [Space is a distant notion here.] He warmly smiled upon seeing her furrowed brow.

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    She nodded, and it seemed as though she wanted to say something, but she was far too embarrassed, which only made Yana¡¯s smile widen.

    [Come.] He beckoned while offering his hand.

    With trembling eyes, she accepted it and followed him out of the chapel and onto the streets of Hereafter, where she let out a loud gasp.

    ¡°I- Is this the true kingdom of Kiln?] She whimpered while taking in the beauty and grandeur of the city the Angels had built.

    [All of existence is his seat.] Yana softly laughed.

    ¡°Of course! Oh- and pardon my rudeness, Your Dinity! My name is Aroeira-¡®

    [It is quite alright, my dear. And besides, you and I are already long acquainted.] He assured while taking slow steps towards Vidente¡¯s campus.

    [The Hereafter is but a place of rest we built and is where we will patiently await the day.] He nodded to himself.

    Tangentially, something Yana enjoyed about interacting with regular humans was how time seemed to slow down since they experienced time differently.

    Everything, every second, was of consequence to the mortals and, after having existed for several eternities, he found it refreshing.

    The two made their way into Vidente¡¯s Hall, where she was busy sketching a diagram using light.

    She keenly inspected her holographic projection, which depicted a complex web-like structure, and shook her head disapprovingly before finally turning to Yana and Aroeira.

    [Oh! Is that one of your chosen people?]

    Aroeira quivered as the inquisitive Angel approached.

    [Yes. What do you think?] Yana asked as Vidente looked the woman over.

    [All within expectations. Her soul actively reconfigured its new Halo to better suit its new form¡­ if only I could figure out how to do the same. Hopefully, your joint prayers will reach him sooner rather than later.]

    Aroeira marvelled at Vidente¡¯s words while trying not to cry because she was in the presence of two Angels.

    Yana bid her farewell before leading her to a spot just outside the city where they sat on a slab of floating marble.

    He then looked up into the white expanse above.

    [You saw Him, right?] He muttered.

    [Y- Yes, Your Divinity! I beheld His Wholeness and did as instructed. I called to Him in prayer and professed my ever-lasting gratitude!]

    [Good. If I can be completely honest, that is all we can do. I''m nowhere near as smart as Vidente, and even she hasn¡¯t been able to find a way to reach him.]

    Aroeira felt her heart ache under the direct weight of Yana¡¯s grief, but she had gotten all this way to help, so she sent him all of her faith and reverence.

    Yana closed his eyes and felt her efforts like the warm light of a candle on moonless night.

    [Thank you.]

    Aroeira smiled as Yana let out a deep sigh. Experiencing, for the fraction of a moment, a bit of relief.

    He then turned his gaze downwards, prompting Aroeira to do the same.

    [Let us await the arrival of the others.]

    The war on Caesia had raged on for several months with the Kilnists pushing the Huoni further and further into the Ashen Wastes.

    What should have been a simply conquest, turned into a political mess as the Ministers, Chieftains who were given new positions after submitting to the late Soyoo, doubted Uugan¡¯s competence and so began to withdrawing the support of their regions, letting Uugan bear the weight of the war on his own which turned the chieftain bitter.

    He turned his scorn towards his own people, bringing tyranny and despair to the war-drained territory.

    The ministers foresaw that he would ultimately come for them, and so, in a grand act of betrayal, they allowed the Kilnist forces to pass through their lands under the condition that they maintained their sovereignty after the war was over.

    The rulers of ?atal accepted their terms, demanding the capital in turn, and marched into the grand palace with little effort, where they captured a now deranged Uugan whom they imprisoned before raising their flag, the perfect circle and symbol of Kiln over the palace.

    Meanwhile, back in the now illustrious ?atal, Taung watched over Touma?, who had stubbornly chosen to spend the last of his days in his humble wooden home, which hadn¡¯t changed all that much since the elder built it himself.

    The light of the full moon whispered in through closed curtains, and with weary eyes, Tuang watched as his friend struggled for every breath.

    ¡°I''m sorry.¡± The boy whimpered, and the elder opened his eyes, still brilliant and gold.

    ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to follow you and the others for a while.¡±

    Touma? breathed deeply before ever so gently resting his cold, dry hand on the boy¡¯s cheek.

    ¡°That¡­ simply means your work here is not done.¡±

    His voice may have been as soft as the echo of a whisper, but Taung heard it clearly, and it only served to deepen his pain.

    ¡°Don¡¯t say that when you¡¯re leaving me. Hold on a little longer so that we can do it together. Just like always¡­ don¡¯t¡­ don¡¯t leave me alone.¡± Tuang broke down, loudly crying, letting his tears fall onto the elder¡¯s wizened skin.

    ¡°Take comfort, sweetest child, in His embrace¡­ where you will find me.¡±

    Tuang felt the strength finally leave Touma?¡¯s hand, and he cried so loudly that all of ?atal felt his pain.

    The faithful slept early on this day, snuffing out their candles and torches, allowing the light of the stars to guide Touma? to where he needed to go.

    And, although they didn¡¯t know it, he arrived safely, in the arms of an Angel.

    Touma? manifested in the seventh dimension, and the man, like Aroeira, Petralona and Daka before him, wept at the sight of the Angel who had visited them all that time ago.

    Touma? fell to his knees and thanked Yana for all the lives he had managed to live in the additional time he was given and to all the lives he hoped he managed to save.

    [It is quite alright. While I may never be sure, I think your deeds, in one way or another, pleased Him.]

    Touma? wept ceaselessly, especially now that he stood face to face with Grief made manifest, but, like the others before him, he wondered why Yana was so much smaller.

    Yana explained the nature of the seventh dimension, but, unlike the others, Touma? wasn¡¯t referring to his physical appearance.

    The man felt, he knew that there was more to the Angel and so, with a smile, Yana carried the four he had chosen to one of the many higher dimensions which allowed them to perceive a glimpse of his true extent.

    An Angel.

    A being of unimaginable power and light.

    Of wings that spanned to the very edge of the cosmos.

    Even though they could now see just how far each of his feathers reached, it was still far too limited a view.

    Too blurry a lens.

    As if they were never supposed to see his truth.

    But this made Yana curious.

    What would happen if they did?

    If he gave them the ability to perceive him fully.

    The Oracles were able to perceive the Angels, but they were artificial lifeforms who lived in perpetual pain.

    Yana didn¡¯t want to inflict any of that onto his Chosen.

    So he returned them to his chapel where he knelt.

    [Come. Let us continue our search.]

    Touma? was shaken to his core.

    That even Yana, so close to the absolute, would so diligently pray.

    He cursed himself for ever having questioned the Angel and joined Yana in kneeling, only he used his very soul as a beacon, emitting his longing and faith in exactly the same way that Yana was doing, albeit at a smaller scale.

    The others followed suit.

    Singing silently as a choir of grief.

 9. Letting Go

    Nozh stood as the second pinnacle in all of creation.

    Clad in armour of light that rivalled any in the cosmos, she was so powerful that if she ever fully manifested in the third dimension, she could burn entire galaxies to ash.

    After having completed her training, she had some free time to tend to her world, Pech which, after having been neglected for some time, had become a noxious, nightmare scape strewn with dark jagged rocks and blanketed by a grey smog that robbed the surface of colour.

    And yet, life was present.

    Lining the innumerable caverns beneath the surface was an entire biosphere of life and, among the strange life forms, were humanoids only the were short, had pale skin, dark eyes, wide noses, clubbed fingernails they got from a past of having to dig through the soil and large ears that allowed them to barely survive beneath the surface where what precious little oxygen was present was produced by the fungi, algae and other organisms that called the sub-terrain home.

    Nozh genuinely felt bad for having let the humanoids suffer for so long.

    She could feel the burning sting in their every breath and the ache of their hunger but she wasn¡¯t sure whether or not to help them directly so she consulted Fogo who she found him cuddling with Vidente atop the Diamond Needle, on the uppermost platform where the brightest light in all the universe usually stood watch.

    Nozh felt the love and passion in each kiss they shared and while this made her feel a little embarrassed to witness directly, her matter was more important.

    [Ahem!]

    Fogo turned an eye to her while slowly rubbing the roots of Vidente¡¯s feathers with his fingers which made Nozh¡¯s own mind dull as a wave of pleasure washed over her.

    [What?] He grunted.

    [Umm¡­ my world¡¯s doing pretty bad. Should I help them or¡­?] Nozh averted looking directly at the two lovebirds but she could perceive everything so shying away didn¡¯t help.

    [If I was Ma¡¯am, I¡¯d say something like, do what feels right and if I was K¨­ritsu, I¡¯d say something stupid like leave them be, but your world¡¯s a death pit. Not sure what you can do without using a ton of Kilnessence and we really shouldn¡¯t use more of that stuff than we need since we haven¡¯t found a way to generate it. So, my advice is that you give it a try but it won¡¯t be easy.]

    Nozh turned to Vidente who¡¯s eyes were glazed as she softly mewled making Nozh roll her eyes as she descended.

    [You know what, just forget I asked.] She clicked her tongue while thinking of a way to help.

    Fogo was right about Kilnessence.

    While the universe was brimming with it, the unseen fuel that seemingly drove actuation itself, it wasn¡¯t infinite.

    They needed to be cautious with how they used it and, fortunately, the Angels themselves had massive pools of the stuff within them.

    But Nozh didn¡¯t want the suffering of her people to lose its meaning.

    To just swoop in and change their world and all they knew.

    She had abandoned them but she would do what she could to redeem herself in their eyes.

    She started by looking the total population of the world over.

    There were about one hundred million of them, divided into the five Hypogean Superclusters.

    Massive, industrial cities where people spent most of their time trying to generate oxygen which was used as both a resource and currency in handheld tanks.

    No one walked without an oxygen mask unless they were in a place that was both sealed and had sufficient life support systems.

    Water was surprisingly abundant, flowing down into the caverns from the oceans on the surface and filtered by the algae.

    Cleaning the water was simply a matter of harvesting the algae and conducting a little further purification.

    Nozh thought of what to give her people.

    Yana had given his world faith and Fogo had given his strength.

    What did she have to offer?

    She thought back to her family and the times when they struggled.

    Something they appreciated, through all the bickering and arguing was the fact that they had each other.

    And while contentment was important, it wouldn¡¯t help her people in the long term.

    The Superclusters seemed to be disconnected and acted independent of each other but Nozh wondered what they would be able to achieve if they were united and so she thought of how to make that a reality.

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    She couldn¡¯t manifest because¡­ she¡¯d kill everyone with her brilliant light but she could offer guidance and raise a champion who could unite their people.

    Heck, she could even give said champion several blessings.

    So, with that in mind, Nozh began her search.

    She wanted someone much like herself.

    Someone she could entrust with the fate of her world.

    She found a candidate in a young orphan girl who struggled for scraps in Abell, the capital city of the Pavo¨CIndus Supercluster.

    She was shorter than most other children, malnourished and spent most of her days chewing on unprocessed algae that stuck to the bottom of the large metal pipes that transported water across the city.

    Nozh felt an immense amount of pity for the sickly little girl, having experienced poverty herself back on Earth, and so chose her to be the vessel of her will.

    Not just for who the girl was and had been through, but what she would become.

    The next step was to give her a body able to withstand her blessing.

    Unlike Yana, her light wasn¡¯t like the gentle light in the morning sun, it was more like the light from a quasar.

    She made her way back to Vidente who was now in an empty part of the seventh heaven where the inquisitive angel stood before an army of one hundred and seven artificial beings of grey flesh and armour of light only their Halos were dangling just above their heads, meaning they technically weren¡¯t alive yet.

    The seven who stood at the front of this celestial army were actively being injected with Kilnessence by small, crawly things in their veins that Nozh found incredibly creepy.

    [Vi?]

    [Yes?] Vidente asked while continuing to arm the army with weapons of light. Her wings handed each arm its respective tool of war and destruction.

    [Can you teach me how to do that thing that Yana did?]

    [You want to bring a human here?]

    [No. Not now, anyway. I just want to give them a perfect human so that they can do some awesome stuff on my world!] Nozh declared making Vidente smile a little.

    [Alright, when the human you¡¯ve chosen dies, take their Soul and pour it into this empty Halo and give them a little residual Kilnessence. Then, boom. They¡¯ll be able to exist in just about any dimension.]

    Nozh accepted a blank Halo from one of Vidente¡¯s feathers.

    [Thanks, Vi! You¡¯re the best!] Nozh rushed back to Pech where she prepared to put the still struggling girl¡¯s soul into the Halo but, no matter how hard life got, no matter how much abuse, scorn and disregard, she lived on.

    The underground was a place where altruism and charity were punished.

    Why should I give you what I have when you can¡¯t give me anything in return?

    If you don¡¯t have anything else to offer then at least give me your body.

    Such things were said as the girl grew up, moving from place to place as the water pipes became informal homes to the extremely impoverished but even these people had no heart to spare for the girl who didn¡¯t even have a name.

    This broke Nozh¡¯s heart and so, when the malnourished girl turned eighteen, Nozh manifested the smallest ray of her light before the girl, who had found shelter in the Walls of Waste along the edges of Abell, appearing as the glimpse of an Angel.

    [Child¡­ please let go.]

    The girl looked up, with sunken, yellowed eyes and coughed.

    ¡°Mama?¡±

    Nozh¡¯s heart broke further as tears fell from her eyes.

    [I know you feel like you need to keep fighting but just give yourself this one moment to rest.]

    The girl¡¯s eyes fell for a moment as the Agnel¡¯s plea rang.

    Tears had begun to fall from her own eyes, feeling the Angel¡¯s anguish.

    The girl let out a deep sigh before finally letting out a deep sigh.

    She then closed her eyes and seemingly fell asleep.

    Nozh waited a moment, and before long, the girl had stopped breathing.

    Nozh promptly took her soul, took it to the seventh dimension and made her anew in her barracks. A messy marble palace where she kept various weapons and pieces of armour.

    The girl let out a panicked scream upon bearing witness to Nozh¡¯s full form.

    ¡°AAAAHHHHHH!¡± She screamed before running off and hiding behind a pillar of white marble.

    Nozh wanted to assure her that she was safe and that there was no reason to be afraid but she could feel the girl¡¯s fear, so she decided to sit down and pat the spot next to her while sending her sincerity.

    A moment passed as the girl hid behind the pillar, looking for an escape but she could tell that Nozh¡¯s presence touched all that was.

    Now only that, there were other similar presences in the universe and while this made her heart race a little faster, she also finally turned to Nozh with caution, rather than fear.

    ¡°You¡­ I saw you¡­ who are you?!¡±

    [I am Nozh, an Angel.]

    Those words were all the girl needed to hear.

    While beings from different worlds or even continents spoke different languages, they could all understand the words of an Angel since Angels spoke to the soul.

    And every species, race and creed seemed to know instinctively what Angels were.

    It was a relationship that transcended instinct or even faith.

    As if the universe itself was reminding all that was that the Angels were the ultimate forms of being.

    ¡°W- What do you want? I don¡¯t have anything!¡±

    [I do not wish to take from you, I wish only to give, a pitiful attempt at atonement.] Nozh didn¡¯t know why she was speaking so differently, so patient and warm.

    But it felt natural when speaking to a mortal.

    [I want to give you strength and insight, so that you may conquer your fate and your world so that a new age may be ushered. One of unity.]

    Nozh felt confusion well in the girl.

    Confusion which allowed fear to creep back into her heart.

    So Nozh decided to temporarily shift gears.

    [Mmm¡­ what have you always wanted?]

    The girl¡¯s eyes widened a little.

    She looked around and, after seeing the perfect architecture, reminiscent of that once found in ancient Rome, she seemingly came to the conclusion that she was in a dream which helped with her fear a little.

    ¡°F- Food.¡±

    Nozh nodded before stealing some fine foods that were being prepared on Yana¡¯s prosperous world with her wings.

    She then placed the food in front of the girl who, after suspiciously eyeing it over.

    The finest breads, meats and desserts all sat atop trays of silverware and were begging to be eaten.

    In an instant, the girl abandoned all caution, pulling the treys closer and messily eating as much as she could grab with her hands, dropping sauce and oil onto the otherwise clean marble floors.

    [Good. Now, what name would you like me to call you?]

    ¡°I¡­ Don¡¯t have¡­ one.¡± The girl said through massive bites of meat.

    [That may be so but is there a name that you may have wanted for yourself?]

    The girl paused her deranged devouring and looked up in thought from behind the pillar.

    She then swallowed before peeking around the pillar only to panic at the sight of Nozh who was still sitting patiently.

    The girl returned to hiding before looking herself over.

    While she looked very similar to how she did in her first life, she was different now.

    In this dream-like place, she was fit, clean and full of vigour.

    Burning like a newly lit candle.

    ¡°L¨¤zh¨².¡±

 10. Back Again

    [Come on, run faster or you¡¯ll be cleaved in half again!] Nozh barked while throwing spears of light at L¨¤zh¨² who had been training with the Angel in the highest dimension for an indeterminable amount of time.

    In this vague timespan, L¨¤zh¨² had endured physical exercises that would have been impossible were they not in this most high of places.

    She was made to run for an eternity, lift meteors and comets, and she was made to punch those same comets with her bare hands until the comets broke.

    While excruciatingly painful, this process was only bearable because of L¨¤zh¨²¡¯s new body.

    One which had been unwillingly dragged up here by the ever-overzealous Nozh.

    L¨¤zh¨² frantically dodged the incoming missiles of light while reminding herself what this was all for.

    After each session of nightmarish training, Nozh would give L¨¤zh¨² the most delicious food from around the universe and this was the only way the Angel had managed to convince her to do anything.

    Before then, she¡¯d simply cower away and freeze when asked to do anything by the near-omnipresent being.

    L¨¤zh¨² also seldom spoke and even when she was under fire, she wouldn¡¯t scream or beg.

    A habit that had followed her into the second life.

    Wounds from having screamed and begged before but never having been heard.

    [Alright, this is the last one!]

    Nozh yelled while gathering more light than ever before.

    L¨¤zh¨² didn¡¯t even need to see the bold of light to know how powerful it would be and so she continued to run.

    The Angel then loosed the bolt and, while pushing her new body to its limits, L¨¤zh¨² dodged something that was moving at the fastest possible speed in the universe.

    Her now perfectly muscular and bare body moved just enough to avoid getting hit while also allowing her to keep her balance as she finally came to a stop.

    A massive explosion went off behind her as she stood to face the approaching Angel.

    Nozh looked a fierce-eyed L¨¤zh¨² over and nodded.

    [I think you are ready now. For mine blessing.]

    As if instinctively, L¨¤zh¨² took to her knees.

    Nozh then held her hand over L¨¤zh¨²¡¯s head and gave her a little bit of her Kilnessence.

    L¨¤zh¨²¡¯s body immediately caught fire, burning with white flames that didn¡¯t scorch her skin.

    Instead of giving her pain, it seemed as though they were feeding off of the pain and frustration she felt inside.

    Manifesting as her wrath.

    L¨¤zh¨² took a deep breath and focused all of these white-hot streams of fire on her pure white hair which was cut short.

    [Good. I shall grant you two more gifts before sending you back from whence you came. A suit of armour, forged from the light of the highest place and¡­]

    L¨¤zh¨² looked up and watched as Nozh reached for one of her feathers which she proceeded to pull out, letting out a guttural groan as she did.

    The feather was without definable form and held immense power.

    As L¨¤zh¨² was wrapped in armour of light, she was handed the feather which took the form of whatever weapon she had in mind, starting with a great hammer.

    [Go now. Bring justice and unity to your world.] Nozh winced.

    L¨¤zh¨² nodded as she slowly descended, passing through all the other dimensions before finally returning to the spot where she had once died.

    It looked like a few years had passed and her corpse was nowhere to be seen but that didn¡¯t bother her that much.

    She looked, her golden eyes peering beyond the cavern¡¯s ceiling and beyond her world.

    Nozh, who had returned to her home in the Hereafter looked down from the balcony of her marble palace and gave L¨¤zh¨² a wave.

    L¨¤zh¨² waved back before lowering her head and looking herself over.

    Her armour had solidified, taking the appearance of a complex white-ish crystal lattice that was warm to the touch and her hair was no longer on fire.

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    She held a great hammer in her right hand and now stood two meters tall which was half a meter taller than even the tallest people on her planet.

    She took a moment to think about what she wanted to do and recalled all that Nozh had taught her in addition to the insight she gained due to the Angel¡¯s blessing.

    Nozh hadn¡¯t given her a specific path to take since the battle maniac of an angel was too focused on combat but she said that if L¨¤zh¨² came across reasonable people, force should be the last solution. However, if she came across unreasonable people, force was to be used first to get them in line.

    But what line?

    What vision did L¨¤zh¨² have for her own world?

    Before being reborn, she had never even thought of a moment other than the present and now she had to decide the fate of her world.

    It was all too much and so she decided that the first thing she must do is find someone smart and wise enough to help her with this.

    She also cursed her Angel for not taking more time to help her study the more academic combat styles.

    L¨¤zh¨² took casual and heavy steps out from underneath the pile of trash she had died in and turned to the distant city of Abell which glowed an eerie green.

    The only reason why L¨¤zh¨² could see it was because of her blessed eyes.

    ¡°Mmm¡­¡±

    L¨¤zh¨²¡¯s initial thought was to make her way to the city beyond the hills of scrap but she found herself glancing at the wastes that had become her home in the final years of her life.

    Unlike the city, she knew very well the goings on of the places that were cast in shadow.

    People here relied less on words, plans and other such things, relying on their instincts instead, a language she spoke quite well.

    She would find the people she needed here, in this wretched but familiar place.

    As she walked, the dregs of her kind peered at her from the shadowy shacks they¡¯d built in the scrap heap and this made L¨¤zh¨² a little self-conscious.

    Normally, not even these most unfortunate of souls wouldn¡¯t spare her a glance.

    Now they were staring at her while muttering all manner of things.

    Awe, shock, fear, things she could never before have imagined being associated with.

    She made her way to the centre of the wastelands, waking the slumbering outcasts as she did.

    As she walked, she came into a group that she recognized.

    They were scavenger bandits who robbed even those who had so little.

    Clad in filthy drabs, wearing cracked and hissing oxygen masks and brandishing weapons of rusted iron, they snarled at her, suppressing whatever caution they may have had as they greedily ogled her armour.

    ¡°I don¡¯t know who or what you are but if you don¡¯t wanna die, you¡¯ll drop that hammer and come with us!¡± The foremost bandit snarled as onlookers fearfully watched from the shadows.

    Normally, L¨¤zh¨² would have done as they said, surrendering herself and all she had but things were different now.

    She was stronger and while she had lost all patience for people like this, she knew that, if Nozh were in this situation, she would give them a chance and so, after taking a deep breath and puffing her chest, mimicking her Angel, she spoke.

    ¡°Leave.¡± Her voice, although now deep and sultry, shook a little. She had wanted to tell them to leave this place but only managed to utter a single word as her nerves got to her.

    Not because she was afraid but because she had never been in a position to tell anyone anything before.

    ¡°Ha! Was that supposed to be scary? Get her!¡±

    The bandits all rushed towards her and she flinched in a manner that was almost imperceivable.

    But now was not the time to be afraid, she had given them more chance than she had ever gotten in this world and so she swatted the air with the back of her free left hand, sending forth a wave of air that tore the bandits from their bones.

    Whatever was left of their bodies splatted on the surrounding hills of scrap and hidden onlookers coward further into their recesses as L¨¤zh¨² stood.

    She had just killed a group of people and while she knew this moment would haunt her forever, she hoped that, by getting rid of them, one less person would have to worry about having their things or their life taken.

    L¨¤zh¨² eventually made it to the centre of the wastes, a toxic scape of metal, rust and filth.

    She took a deep breath in, appreciating the fact that she was now immune to all toxins but regretted the fact that she had to smell everything directly.

    She had chosen this place because it was far away from the city which would allow her to try a few things and even fail without interference.

    The first thing she had to do was clean the place up and since this was the lowest, darkest point in the region, where all waste flowed, she took advantage of this fact and tapped the ground once with her great hammer which, infused with the power of an Angel, annihilated everything beneath L¨¤zh¨², creating a circular hole that was ten kilometres deep and six thousand kilometres wide, creating a dam into all the wastewater fell.

    She had planned to turn the incline that led into this pit a series of dams that could generate electricity but that would come later.

    Since she couldn¡¯t fly, so she fell to the bottom of the pit where she then harvested gargantuan chunks of rock and stone which she carried by hand to the upper rim of the dam which she laid them long, leaving channels for the waste to flow into.

    This would be the centre of her base but now she had a problem.

    Her actions had shaken the wastelands and Supercluster to such a degree that it probably frightened tons of people as several tremors shook the continent.

    This would undoubtedly make people weary about approaching the dam which made L¨¤zh¨² groan in frustration.

    It was proving quite challenging to think both for the present and future simultaneously.

    She would have to take a step back and focus on gathering the people who would help her on her mission and so she returned to the wastes, trying her best not to frighten those who were hidden.

    She eventually came across a heartbreaking scene.

    Cramped in an old container unit, was a family of four who were all without masks.

    A mother, father and their two sons who L¨¤zh¨² could see through the rusted walls.

    They were bone thin and covered in festering wounds.

    Of course, they hid when L¨¤zh¨² approached but she was determined to help them, just as her Angel had helped her all that time ago.

    And so, she knocked on the side of the container as gently as she could.

    ¡°Hello.¡± L¨¤zh¨² greeted softly only to wince as the father fearfully wrapped his arms around his family to protect them.

    L¨¤zh¨² understood their fear and so mimicked Nozh by sitting and waiting in front of the container but, unlike in the seventh dimension, she didn¡¯t have an eternity and it looked like the boys were running out of time.

    ¡°Pardon my rudeness but I''m going to heal you all now.¡±

    L¨¤zh¨² raised her left hand and gave the family the trace amounts of Kilnessence that were in the air around them.

    The mother gasped aloud as whatever pains, aches and cuts that covered her body were healed.

    They all then began loudly weeping but the sound of their cries was little price to pay for L¨¤zh¨² who lowered her hand and uttered a word in thanks to her Angel and the one she had learnt of from Yana.

    ¡°By her light and His will are you saved.¡±

 11. A Helping Hand

    L¨¤zh¨² had been waiting for a few hours and eventually, the father fearfully stepped out of his home, lowering his head before the seated woman clad in armour.

    His eyes were low and he clutched the rags on his back.

    ¡°T-Thank you.¡± He coughed reflexively even though his lungs were in much better condition.

    ¡°It¡¯s alright.¡± L¨¤zh¨² smiled warmly.

    The father winced before finally raising his eyes to meet L¨¤zh¨²¡¯s golden gaze, catching a glimpse of the chasm she¡¯d made behind her.

    ¡°I¡¯m sorry but I have nothing to offer¡ª¡±

    L¨¤zh¨² raised her left hand, silencing him gently.

    ¡°You owe me nothing.¡± She assured mimicking the Angel, Yana¡¯s way of speaking but this just made the man fold into himself more and L¨¤zh¨² knew why.

    On Pech, nothing was free, not even kindness.

    She knew it would be hard for anyone to just accept her help because whenever someone offered a hand, they wanted something in return.

    Even she found it hard to believe when Nozh helped her after she died.

    L¨¤zh¨² wanted to change that for her people but it would take time.

    She finally stood, startling the father a little.

    Then pointed at the dam.

    ¡°In the time to come, I will build a city in that place. I want you to help me.¡±

    ¡°I w-will do what I can but¡­ who are you?¡±

    L¨¤zh¨²¡¯s hair began to glow a little as she turned to face the father once more.

    ¡°My name is L¨¤zh¨² and I am the fragment of light sent by the Angel, [Nozh] to guide this world to a united future.¡±

    Tears began to well in the father¡¯s eyes as L¨¤zh¨² uttered the Angel¡¯s name but the young woman had, due to reverence, said the name using a voice that the soul could hear.

    This was the first time the father had felt something so deep that it shook him free of his fear, filling him instead with gratitude.

    ¡°And what is your name?¡±

    ¡°Nederig.¡±

    ¡°So, Nederig, will you come with me, to a united future?¡±

    The father glanced back at his teary-eyed family who watched from within the container.

    He nodded again before facing L¨¤zh¨² and bowing.

    ¡°Yes.¡±

    L¨¤zh¨², after ensuring the children were healthy, led the family to the dam.

    She and Nederig then spent the rest of the day building the first of many homes that would line the rim.

    It was built from slabs of stone, most of which L¨¤zh¨² moved and carved herself.

    She then instructed that they rest while she tried to figure out how to get them oxygen and clean water.

    She could have taken some from the bandits but what they had was barely any cleaner than the stuff that flowed in the wasteland waterways.

    The best bet was the city of Abell but she¡¯d have to buy it.

    Using force was an option but if conflict became more common, she couldn¡¯t guarantee the safety of those she was planning to take care of.

    She could¡¯ve asked Nozh for assistance but she couldn¡¯t even imagine how she could ask for more than she had been given.

    She¡¯d have to do what she could on her own and so she turned to Abell again.

    She knew work was plenty in the sprawling city but she couldn¡¯t just leave Nederig and his family while she was away so she returned to the chasm where she gathered more stone which she used to erect a massive, thirty-meter-tall wall along the rim.

    If anyone wanted to access the rim, they¡¯d have to swim through the channels of putrid water and not even the bandits had access to equipment that would allow them to swim into the dam without getting extremely sick.

    L¨¤zh¨² gave Nederig¡¯s family a little more Kilnessence to sustain them while she was away before wrapping herself in a drab cloak to try and be as inconspicuous as possible.

    She then set off for the distant city, walking at a fair place and passing countless people and even bandits who were still shaken by the earthquakes she had caused.

    After a few hours of walking through the hills of twisted metal, L¨¤zh¨² eventually arrived at the slums that stood at the foot of Abell¡¯s fifteen-meter-tall walls.

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    She towered over all she walked past and the handful of thieves that tried to pickpocket her found that she carried nothing other than her hammer. She also stood out because she wasn¡¯t wearing a mask.

    Many people tried, desperately selling their wares, offering everything from scraps to people bound by rope.

    This disgusted L¨¤zh¨² to no end but she also understood that this was all just how her world was.

    She also understood that she¡¯d have to work that much harder to change it.

    She arrived at the large steel gates that led into the city which were blockaded by a detachment of guards in tactical gear and armed with assault rifles.

    All who wanted to enter had to pay a fee and since L¨¤zh¨² didn¡¯t have any money she turned to one of the many taverns that lined the muddy paths of the slums.

    Cutting through air that smelled like the liquid at the bottom of a bin, she eventually entered a bar named Lukav¡¯s where she was met with all manner of unsavoury stares.

    She had ignored it for the most part but her superior hearing allowed her to hear all the terrible things were saying about her and what they wanted to do to her.

    She steeled her nerves by reminding herself of her mission and with that in mind, she approached the barman and asked if there were any jobs she could do for some quick cash.

    The barman, who also happened to be the bar¡¯s owner, said that empty gas canisters were in high demand regardless of the condition although the closer they were to functional, the higher the price they fetched.

    With this knowledge, L¨¤zh¨² left the slums and bolted across the wastes, crashing through hills of scrap and picking up canisters of all sizes.

    She made sure to pick up the good ones and after gathering what she estimated to be a ton of canisters; she made her way back to the slums while dragging an abandoned and rusty heavy-duty trailer.

    Lukav, the barman, and everyone else in the slums were shocked to see her effortlessly dragging an obscene amount of metal.

    Impressed by this, Lukav led her to a buyer in the slums but L¨¤zh¨² had been robbed and blindsided too many times before and so, when she arrived at the buyer, she told him that it was her who caused the earthquakes.

    He laughed at her words and, to quickly demonstrate her strength, she tapped the ground with her hammer, creating a perfectly circular hole in the ground that was one meter deep and one meter wide.

    She then told him that she wasn¡¯t going to ask for anything other than the best price.

    The buyer then, with eyes that were now soaked with fear, gave her money which was proportionate to her haul, some of which she gave to Lukav as thanks. She also asked the buyer if she¡¯d be able to buy oxygen from him and he nervously said that, for her, he¡¯d get her oxygen at a great price which made her a little happy. She¡¯d be able to bring it back to Nederig¡¯s family and have a good source for all her future people.

    She also asked Lukav what the best jobs were and he told her that bounty hunters were in high demand.

    Bandits were making life on Pech, which was already incredibly hard, even harder by stealing water, oxygen and food.

    Their heads fetched a good price but going after the hundreds of thousands of bandits that called Supercluster Pavo¨CIndus home by oneself was tantamount to suicide, so bounty hunters often formed hunting parties that numbered from ten to a hundred.

    The reason why those who governed the Superclusters didn¡¯t actively pursue the bandits in the far reaches was that It¡¯d leave their cities unguarded.

    Lukav explained all this to L¨¤zh¨², recommending that she join one of the many hunting parties to go after the two major bandit clans that were terrorizing Pavo¨CIndus: the Sons of Argo Navis and the Blackened.

    The Sons of Argo were just like any other large group of bandits only they coveted gold especially.

    The Blackened were a cult that believed that man¡¯s true place was on the surface of Pech and that by going underground, man had since devolved into a lesser form.

    They often sent their own to the surface to be anointed by the smog above, the chemical burns leaving their exposed bodies severely discoloured.

    Armed with this knowledge and after thanking Lukav again, L¨¤zh¨² made her way to the gate again but was stopped by some people who had spied over her dealings with Lukav, people who knew she had money now.

    They threatened her with guns and knives but she had no time to waste so she incapacitated them by releasing some of her blessed fire, burning their eyes a little.

    She recalled her flames and made her way to the gate proper where she paid the fee and entered the city, although her hammer came into question with the guards asking where she had gotten it from only to be confused when she said she got it from an Angel.

    L¨¤zh¨² then made her way to the hunter¡¯s guild where she got registered. She asked for all the bounties near the city and was given seven cards which had the names, faces and bounties of their respective bandits, high-ranking killers and thieves that terrorized the Supercluster.

    She accepted the bounties and promptly left the city with a bag of fresh food, oxygen masks and a forty-five-kilogram canister of oxygen which she carried all the way back to the dam, where she left the stuff she¡¯d gotten with Nederig before leaving for her targets.

    What followed was a series of raids where L¨¤zh¨² gathered information on her targets, bribing and threatening those she had to before making her way to her target and wiping out everything in sight.

    The bounties stated that the targets were to be killed and so she did so along with the others because the bandits were like a hydra, it wasn¡¯t enough to chop off just one head.

    She wanted to remove them completely and so when she visited a bandit encampment, she would make sure to leave none of them alive.

    She grappled with the possibility that not all of them were violent killers or even willing members but if she had to complete her mission with hands that were soaked in their blood, then that¡¯s what she would do.

    She collected the heads of her targets and made her way back to Abell where she handed them to the guild receptionist who was dumbfounded that she had managed to kill so many people in just one day.

    But L¨¤zh¨² knew that they were simply among the first.

    She collected her reward money and made her way to Lukav who she thanked yer again for having helped her.

    The barman shook his head and thanked her instead for making life in Pavo¨CIndus exciting.

    He also warned her that her rapid rise to power wouldn¡¯t come uncontested but in the same breath assured her that he would have her back when the time came. This earned him some more thanks from L¨¤zh¨² who went on to buy some more food and oxygen which she took to the dam.

    However, as she arrived at the wall that only she could jump over, she saw a small crowd of people gathered by it.

    They, like most who called the wastes home, we malnourished and filthy.

    Upon seeing her, they fell to their knees and begged that she help them and while L¨¤zh¨² wanted to, she knew it wasn¡¯t as simple as letting everyone who asked in.

    She would need to develop a rigid system for all to follow and adhere to in the name of Unity.

    She temporarily ignored them, jumping over the wall in a single motion and dropping down to Nederig¡¯s new home where the now clean and fed family kept each other company.

    L¨¤zh¨² set the stuff she¡¯d brought aside and called Nederig outside.

    She had already told him of her plans and her mission but, in order to go out and do what she needed to without worry, she needed to be able to entrust Nederig with the dam.

    And so, she asked him two questions.

    ¡°Will you be my Sentry and will you accept Kiln as your creator?¡±

 12. For All

    ¡°Congratulations on another successful hunt, Ms. L¨¤zh¨².¡± The bloated tub of flesh that was the president of the Hunters Guild wheezed through his oxygen mask, even though his office had the most advanced life support systems.

    ¡°Thank you, Mr. President, but I''m surprised you called me in personally.¡±

    L¨¤zh¨² had been an active hunter for almost a year and, apart from changing the wastes into a massive series of dams that generated enough power for the entire continent, a project that she had completed almost entirely by herself, relying on the scientists she hired to help with power generation.

    She also planned to build dams in the other Superclusters but that would come later.

    She had also killed almost every bandit in Pavo¨CIndus and had established herself as a key player in the politics of the world of Pech, something she could have never imagined before she died but it was all possible thanks to her Angel and His will.

    She had aged a little as well, with her hair growing a little longer and wrinkles forming on her face, something she attributed to all the worrying she did.

    Unlike in her earlier days, she now proudly and openly wore her armour which stood out in the moody atmosphere of the president¡¯s office.

    ¡°It is only natural to thank the hunter after she rids the forest of wolves, no?¡± Every word that President Zyu uttered was hard fought as his tight but luxurious clothes further restricted the movements of his chest.

    ¡°Fair enough.¡± L¨¤zh¨² nodded while crossing her arms and leaning back, sighing deeply as she closed her eyes momentarily.

    ¡°I imagine you are quite tired.¡± Zyu chuckled.

    ¡°My body was made to never feel fatigued but the heart and mind were not so fortunate.¡±

    ¡°Hehe, if only one of those Angels you speak of could come down here and fix everything for us.¡± Zyu lazily laughed.

    ¡°Then our suffering would lose meaning¡ªalso, you should come down to the Dam for prayer one of these days.¡± L¨¤zh¨² warmly invited.

    ¡°I¡¯ve never been very religious. Even with beings like you around, I chose to believe that we, even the divine, are a product of an unimaginable number of coincidences.¡± Zyu giggled making L¨¤zh¨² shake her head.

    ¡°Oh, well. You can laze around some more if you like. I have some paperwork to do.¡± L¨¤zh¨² stood up.

    ¡°Of course, don¡¯t let me hold your time but, before you go, I must warn you. The guilds that remained have their sights set on you and yours. Keep an eye out.¡±

    ¡°Huh¡­ and to think that you yourself once tried to have me killed. Now you are freely giving me words that may save many lives.¡± L¨¤zh¨² smirked as she walked up to the doors which led to an elevator.

    ¡°What can I say? You¡¯re starting to rub off on me and besides, it is a small thanks for all the work you did in helping us hunters diversify our work.¡±

    L¨¤zh¨²¡¯s smile warmed at his words as she entered the elevator, eventually making her way onto the streets of Abell which was now brighter thanks to the increased access to electricity which was now more affordable for ordinary people.

    And while a lot may have changed, some things changed the same.

    L¨¤zh¨² was only able to bring about absolute change in the lands surrounding the Dam but places like Abell were a lot trickier in that, even if she preached words of peace and faith, not everyone would accept them with others flat out rejecting them.

    That¡¯s why, even though they initially antagonized her, L¨¤zh¨² kept the key leaders in Abell alive.

    It would be up to them to lead their people down the right path.

    Doing this reduced the chances for conflict and bloodshed but even though she had gone out of her way to do all of that, there were still some who marched heedlessly towards violence.

    She left the city, entering the now orderly outskirts which were bustling with activity.

    The rusted makeshift structures and tent had been replaced by proper buildings and roads.

    The main road led all the way to the Dam and it was the one she walked, passing by the masses who greeted her as they stepped aside.

    L¨¤zh¨² waved back at them and even offered advice and words of prayer to those who asked.

    The air was still heavily polluted so everyone still had to wear masks but they were more readily available now, so everyone had clean ones and oxygen was at a good price.

    L¨¤zh¨² left the outskirts and walked along the road, through the now almost empty wastes.

    Most of the metallic and reusable scrap had been taken to recycling plants while the junk was thrown into the pit which L¨¤zh¨² had created all that time ago.

    Patrolling this vast expanse were the now repurposed hunters who now acted as a private military organization that fought against crime and corruption.

    This organization was split among the preexisting hunting parties who, unfortunately, fought among each other quite often.

    The best remedy for this was keeping them on the field for as long as possible although it seemed as though one of the parties was not content with their new role and was now coming for L¨¤zh¨² who let out a sweet yawn as she arrived at the wall of the third of three Dams.

    It was just as big as first and had its own little outskirts at its feet.

    L¨¤zh¨² entered the Dam via gigantic steel doors.

    She was greeted inside by Sentries, men and women who had dedicated their lives to Kiln, Nozh and the people of the Dam.

    They were clad in bleached white tactical and carried rifles among other weapons.

    These soldiers all greeted L¨¤zh¨² as she made her way to the first Dam where she passed by Lukav¡¯s bar.

    He had moved to the Dam after seeing just how prosperous and peaceful L¨¤zh¨²¡¯s city was becoming.

    After establishing the Sentries, she began letting people in and they joined her in building the city into what it became.

    She also established Kilnism which spread across the continent over the year that followed.

    She deemed it a necessity if the people of Pech were to change the way they thought about things.

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    Kilnism was about a divine longing, faith and hope.

    It promoted peaceful coexistence among all things and joint prayer in awaiting the day of His awakening.

    This was the perfect counter to the suffocating, selfish atmosphere that had fuelled the machines of cruelty for so long.

    And so, the people of the Dams were asked to join the faithful in prayer if they so pleased.

    This birthed community and order.

    After catching up with Lukav, L¨¤zh¨² made her way to Nederig¡¯s home to find that the two boys she¡¯d saved all that time ago had grown quite a bit beneath the loving gaze of their mother who urged that they greet their saviour.

    L¨¤zh¨² greeted back before politely entering Nederig¡¯s office which was at the back of the house.

    The thick stone walls muffled the sounds of the Dam, allowing the two to speak clearly.

    L¨¤zh¨² told him, as he had become her confidant, about Zyu¡¯s warning and he concurred that some old and disgruntled hunters were mobilizing arms and people in their attempts to undo L¨¤zh¨²¡¯s hard work.

    ¡°They are unreasonable. Not only are they outnumbered, we hold a superior defensive position and are better armed. My guess is that whatever they do here will be a distraction. There might be something more devious at play than any sort of outright combat.¡± Where once fear took root, Nederig¡¯s eyes now burnt with determination.

    Being an older man, he had experienced the horrors of the world of Pech and, like L¨¤zh¨², yearned for change.

    This was exactly why she chose him to her right hand.

    He wasn¡¯t the strongest or brightest of the Sentries, he simply shared her vision for a better world.

    Nederig detailed the movements of the rogue hunters and pointed out that they were using ancient, unstable tunnels to mobilize.

    However, unlike the Sentries of the Dams, who had been trained by one who had studied under the Angels, the hunters were a hodgepodge of skilled killers who fought for profit, little better than the bandits they once fought to defeat.

    In the weeks that followed, these rogue elements launched various futile attacks at the Dams but it became clear in time that they had made plans beyond even the Pavo¨CIndus Supercluster.

    According to intel from a few captured elite hunters, they had managed to deceive and convince the other Superclusters that L¨¤zh¨² was a threat that needed to be eliminated.

    Three of the four neighbouring Superclusters, which were on the three other continents, chose to remain neutral, even with their doubts, stating that they stood to gain more through good will and cooperation rather than conquest, which they¡¯d barely be able to afford either way.

    The Horologium Supercluster to the Near East, however, sought to expand and take both L¨¤zh¨²¡¯s hard-laboured fruits along with the minerals of the Pavo-Indus.

    So, they declared war, mobilizing a force of five million men who would cross the death-mired seas of Pech to invade Pavi-Indus.

    In response, L¨¤zh¨² called all of the leaders in her home Supercluster and had them agree to form a unified front under a banner they could all raise.

    That of Pavo-Indus itself.

    And, while most were on board with this, there were mixed reactions to the fact that L¨¤zh¨² wanted the highest level of control over the defensive effort.

    Some of the leaders thought this would give her far more power than she already had.

    It was eventually put to a vote and the majority was in favour of having her be the supreme general of the defensive forces.

    L¨¤zh¨² immediately got to training and arming twenty million men and women using her singular vision and advanced technologies.

    Electricity, food, and water, while still at a price, were no longer things to worry about under her authority meaning the soldiers could all focus on their training which, while nightmarish, was nowhere near what she had experienced in the seventh dimension.

    Kilnism also spread across the population with many great alters being built of simple, cleansed stone.

    These alters were of spheres which aimed to depict Kiln¡¯s wholeness and all he encompassed, which was everything.

    Armed with faith and steel, the defenders met the invaders along the coast where they engaged in combat.

    L¨¤zh¨², on occasion, joined her men on the front lines, obliterating entire fleets at her time with her hammer which earned the name ¡°The Fist of God¡±.

    Two years of bloodshed would follow and while the natives of Pavo-Indus lost two million of their own, almost all of the invaders were killed, cementing the continent as the victor but it wouldn¡¯t be over until the Horologium paid for their actions.

    After consulting the other leaders who, at this point, had formed a senate that ruled beneath her, she decided to give the invaders a taste of their own medicine all while ensuring all who served beneath her prospered.

    While she mobilized a separate force of ten million, she built schools, hospitals, and more dams and oversaw the fair trade of goods all while praising the Angel who had saved her all that time ago.

    A year of preparation passed and while the leaders of Horologium begged for a peaceful resolution as they surrendered, L¨¤zh¨² knew that the old world and its ways wouldn¡¯t be undone so easily.

    It needed to be cleansed with holy fire.

    That said, she allowed civilians to evacuate and any clusters that were open to her rule were to be spared.

    The day eventually came and when the forces of Pavo-Indus made landfall, they washed over the foreign lands with an unprecedented efficiency.

    Military bases were eradicated if not taken over completely, clusters were seized and those that resisted were destroyed, burying any of the wretched who survived beneath tons of rubble.

    The capital was eventually taken and the Supercluster was claimed by the people of Pavo-Indus.

    Since it was they who fought so hard, L¨¤zh¨² allowed them to bask in the glory of victory, watching from her office on the first Dam, where it all began.

    More years passed and her influence reached the remaining Superclusters, not through war but faith.

    The two continents under her rule were so prosperous and peaceful that many yearned for what her people had.

    But since she had strict immigration policies, the other Superclusters took to imitating her ways.

    Leading through pragmatism, kindness and faith.

    Kilnism spread across the world and L¨¤zh¨² was held up in the hearts of her people as a saint.

    This praise continued even as she reached her fiftieth year and as the burden of carrying a fragment of the second most brilliant light began to cause cracks in her once unbreakable form.

    No one saw it happen but, overnight, her perfect body shrunk by several folds and her skin was lined with cracks.

    Her Halo, much to Nozh¡¯s anguish, had splintered under the force of the light of an Angel.

    This caused L¨¤zh¨² to age at twice the speed of ordinary humans.

    As the once-dark world of Pech lightened, thanks to the countless new refineries that cleaned the air on the surface, Nozh visited L¨¤zh¨² who had been moved to a Hospital that had been unknowingly built near where she first died.

    Nozh manifested as but a glimpse of her true self, sitting next to L¨¤zh¨²¡¯s bed as she slept, her every breath weaker than the last.

    [Why did you never call to me?] Nozh winced and this awoke the wizened woman. Her once flawless porcelain skin now darkened with cracks.

    L¨¤zh¨²¡¯s still golden eyes widened a little as she beheld her Angel.

    The visibly elderly L¨¤zh¨² warmly smiled and as tears welled in both her eyes and Nozh¡¯s.

    ¡°Why¡­ because I wanted to make you proud.¡± With little less than a whisper, she replied.

    [No¡­ I should have just done everything myself. I shouldn¡¯t have abandoned any of you in the first place and let things get as bad as they did.] Nozh didn¡¯t know why she was crying so much or why her words were pouring from her heart as if it had been unlidded.

    While fifty years may have passed for L¨¤zh¨², it was only a moment for Nozh and even at this moment, she felt a wave of agony.

    Why did she give her a piece of her light?

    Why didn¡¯t she get more humans?

    Why was she crying¡ª

    Nozh gasped as L¨¤zh¨² softly hushed her.

    ¡°Thinking that deeply about things was never a strength of yours.¡± L¨¤zh¨² teased which would have made Nozh smile but she was too busy trying to see if she could save her Chosen.

    ¡°But that¡­ is what got us here. That single-minded vision is what eventually led to my birth, however unfortunate it may have been, to my death which allowed us to meet.¡±

    More tears fell from the Angel.

    ¡°You never struck me as someone who regrets things for long. You simply use whatever you¡¯re feeling to leap forward, leaving behind and forgetting what you may, but forward you go. And, should I get even the smallest bit close to joining Him in rest, I look forward to cheering you on as you leap on.¡±

    Nozh messily wiped her tears as L¨¤zh¨² closed her eyes to sleep.

    The Angel then returned to the seventh dimension where she beheld the wonderful world her Chosen had created.

    L¨¤zh¨² was right.

    Nozh knew that she was a bit short-sighted but she was determined to see the end of all things with the one she¡¯d chosen and so, in less than an instant, she flew over to Vidente¡¯s campus where she asked the Angel for another Halo.

    She was given another blank halo which she promptly put L¨¤zh¨²¡¯s soul into, birthing her anew.

    L¨¤zh¨² gasped and immediately broke into tears as she was saved from death yet again.

    ¡°Why?¡± The woman whimpered; her body returned to its perfect state although a few cracks could be seen next to her eyes.

    Nozh puffed her chest and rested her hands on her hips.

    ¡°Because I want to make you proud, dummy and¡ªand we still have a lot of work to do so I''m not letting you go anywhere!¡±

    All L¨¤zh¨² could do was smile upon seeing her Angel¡¯s panicked determination.

    Such humanity from a divine being was almost comical.

    So, after wiping her tears, L¨¤zh¨² stood up and hugged Nozh.

    Each determined to march forward for the sake of the other.

 13. Pride

    Fogo watched proudly as Nozh reunited with her Chosen from atop the Diamond Needle.

    He admired the moderation and patience she had displayed, which, he knew, would sharpen her even further as a warrior.

    [Baby?] Vidente called from the Summit of Creation.

    [Yeah?] Fogo asked as he ascended, casually rising through the dimensions as the brightest light in the universe.

    He arrived in the highest dimension where he saw Vidente, only she had that scary look in her eyes. Like she wanted to do something painful to him.

    [Nozh just helped us big time with our wing problem.] Vidente¡¯s eyes narrowed, triggering Fogo¡¯s flight or fight response, which he ignored.

    [Yeah- we didn¡¯t feel it. So¡­ you wanna try it?]

    Vidente nodded, making Fogo sigh.

    He then turned around and offered her one of his wings.

    She then slowly pulled out one of his feathers, and while this caused the both of them excruciating pain, the likes of which was not possible for any other being, this pain was not transmitted to the other Angels.

    [Oh-Ho!] Vidente exclaimed as she held up a feather that was both without form yet incredibly powerful.

    [Space and time are so loosely defined up here that not even the pain of an Angel can spread far enough.]

    Fogo nodded at Vidente¡¯s words, but that look was still in her eyes, which made him sigh.

    [How many do you want?]

    [An entire wing.]

    Fogo¡¯s eyes widened.

    [I wanna see if an Angel can still fly¡­ with one wing.]

    [Ms. Thabit is gonna be pissed but alright.]

    What followed was an agonizing eternity, which both Fogo and Vidente felt as she plucked out all the feathers in his left wing.

    He now stood as a one-winged angel, no less luminous.

    [So¡­ how do you do you feel?] Vidente asked with the slightest hint of concern in her voice.

    Fogo stretched his arms and hummed thoughtfully.

    [I can only reach half of the universe now.] He noted, making Vidente wince.

    [Well¡­ this gave me more than enough feathers and data, so I think we can call it a day. Can you still fly freely?]

    Fogo descended through the dimensions and almost immediately returned.

    [Yep!] He smiled, making Vidente sigh deeply.

    [Good. I wouldn¡¯t be able to live on if you were stuck here.] Vidente nervously smiled, and, with a smirk, Fogo wrapped his arms around her waist.

    [With or without my wings, I will always find a way to your side.] He nuzzled his nose on hers while trying to pour Kilnessence into where his left wing once grew to no avail.

    Vidente softly kissed him while rubbing his cheek with her thumb.

    [You and your mouth. Always saying things¡­]

    [Only for you. Now, be sure to give some of those feathers to the Armaments.] Fogo said while letting her go.

    [Alright. It¡¯s a shame we haven¡¯t found a place to test them, though.]

    [Don¡¯t worry! The time will come when it does!] Fogo yelled before returning to the Diamond Needle, where he looked down and beheld his world, the planet Cratus.

    Unlike Yana and Nozh, who had limited just how present they were in their worlds, Fogo immediately introduced himself as a guardian Angel to his people.

    He instantly taught them everything they needed to become an advanced species, with the humans in his world being far more muscular than others.

    They had tough skin and their knuckles and feet had special padding that help absorb damage which came as a consequence of having evolved on a planet that, before Fogo¡¯s arrival, was violent yet vibrant with life¡¯s many possible forms.

    The threats were plentiful, in predators and the environment, but so were the resources in food and water.

    Fogo saw in these humans the potential for greatness.

    He wanted to turn the entire species into a race of warriors who would join his ranks in the Seventh Dimension when they died, and so, after gifting them civilization, he demanded that they sharpen their instincts instead of letting them dull.

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    He demanded that they send members of their own into special areas on their planet which were undeveloped and untouched by modernity.

    These places varied from deserts to lush jungles, and in them, the Cratans were made to survive under similar conditions to their ancestors, fighting for every breath and hunting with sword and spear.

    They were allowed to war among each other and reproduce all for the sake of producing better warriors.

    This proved so successful and popular that even those who stayed in civilization sent their children to these special areas, known as the Fogian Planes, which were recorded and broadcasted for all to see.

    The people in these areas were known as Postulants and, once in the Fogian Planes, they weren¡¯t allowed to leave.

    Death was the goal, but one was supposed to make sure their death was as epic and glorious as possible, so they fought and fought until blood stained the hands of even then nascent youth.

    One such child was S¨ªdero, a healthy young boy who was born to a middle-class family in the civilized parts of Cratus.

    His family, seeking glory of their own, sent their child to the Fogian Plane of Triassia which was a dense jungle filled with great beasts and harsh weather that could go from freezing and raining to hot and humid.

    S¨ªdero was among the many children who were taken in by the Priest of Conflict, those who were said to have studied under the Angel Fogo himself.

    These priests were nearly twice as tall as everyone, had pure white hair, golden eyes and porcelain skin.

    They wore hooded robes that hid their muscular bodies, and they preached the truth of the cosmos.

    That it was friction, interaction and change that drove every action in the cosmos.

    Conflict was an inevitability, and the wise prepared for it.

    The priests trained alongside the children, running deep into the jungle until each of the boys was exhausted and leaving behind what little comforts the villages provided.

    The children were then made to fight the priests only to get beaten to near death and healed in what would be months that broke them down, leaving nothing but pain and instinct.

    These children would go on to be trained into adolescence, where their bodies reached their peaks.

    S¨ªdero was among the best of the best, being slightly taller, stronger and faster than his peers.

    Born with keen eyes, a sharp mind and a silver tongue, he grew to be a leader that was able to stand toe to toe with even the priests of conflict, superhuman as they may have been.

    He did this using everything his body had to offer, fighting until his blood boiled with the fury of a great warrior.

    One of his punches was able to crack great trees in half with his kicks being able to fell several trees.

    He was able to lead men into battle and emerge victorious with little to no losses.

    His tribe, that of the Eoraptor people, expanded greatly due to his efforts and in wars that were sanctioned by the Priests of Conflict, he helped his people acquire swathes of Triassia, killing tens of thousands of men in his early twenties alone.

    He was ruthless, efficient, intelligent and patient, never acting hastily or without being aptly informed.

    He conquered every village he was sent to by not only overpowering his opponents but also outsmarting them.

    Laying traps, poisoning water supplies, ambushes and more.

    He eventually rose to the rank of chief, and under his rule, the Eoraptor prospered.

    And, to keep the spirits of his people as sharp as their blades, he held daily fistfight tournaments in his home village where combatants clashed for glory and honour.

    S¨ªdero would participate as well as he reached his late twenties but time and his many scars did little to slow him down with him standing lossless even after hundreds of matches.

    To cement his legacy and carry his genes, he sired several children with his wives, who were his closest confidants and advisors.

    They were the first to notice his dissatisfaction.

    He had conquered an entire Fogian Plane, but since there was no crossover to other Planes, he had nothing else to do, and it was they who consulted the Priests.

    They wanted their husband to be happy, and the Priests, who had watched closely over S¨ªdero¡¯s rise, told the women that they would consider what the best course of action would be.

    They convened and, in their temple, and wondered how best to please the great chief and it was here that Fogo intervene, sending down one of his feathers which bore his image.

    S¨ªdero had grown tired of reaching the summits he desired, so Fogo decided to give him a summit that he couldn¡¯t reach, something the Priests immediately understood.

    They took the feather, a humanoid being of silver hair, glass-like skin and glasslike eyes, to the village.

    Since no ordinary person could just challenge the chief, the feather was made to fight the lower-level fighters and, as expected, the feather won flawlessly.

    It was as if it knew what a fighter would do long before when in fact, it was just so fast, it seemed ahead of time.

    The feather fought for several days, raking in victories, and this eventually drew S¨ªdero¡¯s attention.

    He personally went to watch one of the feather¡¯s matches and even his keen eyes couldn¡¯t see what a flaw or weakness in the feathers form.

    Not that he knew what it was.

    To most, the feather was a mute man who was born with a rare skin and eye condition.

    Since there were no high-end hospitals or facilities in the Fogian Planes, there was no way for anyone to discover the feather''s true makeup.

    Regardless, S¨ªdero continued to watch as the feather, Flawless, as he was called, rose in fame and glory.

    The feather then, by command of Fogo, sent a letter to S¨ªdero requesting a duel, but the great chief denied it, stating that the upstart lacked the glory to face a chief.

    S¨ªdero made it clear that when it came to a duel, he would only accept one from a chief of equal status.

    This amused Fogo to no end, and so he commanded that the feather make its way to the far reaches of Triassia, where it found the remnants of the old villages, the few whom S¨ªdero had failed to subjugate.

    These fearful survivors called S¨ªdero the Final Form of Man, stating that before and after him, no man would ever equal him.

    The feather didn¡¯t dispute this, Fogo truly didn¡¯t, but he wanted to push S¨ªdero to his limits, and so he commanded that the feather build his own chiefdom.

    He started by helping the outcasts, the forlorn and the weak who had been thrown away by the Kratocracy that S¨ªdero had built.

    The feather would oppose the great chief in every way, and Fogo wanted it to be the stuff of legend.

    He knew that it was unfair making a human go against the feather of an Angel, but it was that which S¨ªdero had been seeking.

    The insurmountable.

    And so, where S¨ªdero was calloused, the feather was kind and accepting.

    It brought together all of the other peoples and united them in warmth and light, all while training them for the inevitable conflict.

    These people called themselves, Heavens Chosen, and while all of the people on the world of Cratus had been chosen by Fogo, it was the Chosen who were guided directly by his hand and even ate with him, being closer than any others, even though they did not know to what capacity.