Chapter 20: Meeting

'This promotion must be almost guaranteed if I manage to bring him back, just have to make sure I play my cards right!' Xiao Li thought to herself. 'That spiritualistic brother of mine certainly did make my job more difficult than necessary...' She thought as she mounted a tiger twice the size of a normal one.

Alphonse was placed horizontally on the back of the tiger, then secured to the saddle to ensure he doesn't fall off.

...

Sarah continued running as fast as she possibly could, hoping to be in time. For a moment, she looked back, with the clearing barely in view, she could make out a few figures, one smaller than the rest getting picked up. 'Dangit Alphonse! I knew this would happen!' She thought to herself as she straightened her head to look forward.

She continued for a while, then reached the sect. She frantically searched for Min Li. After around twenty minutes, she managed to find her. "Min Li!" She yelled. Min Li turned to look at her.

"What is it, Sarah?" She asked. Once Sarah was next to Min Li, she took a moment to catch her breath. Min Li looked at her boots in confusion.

"Alphonse and I were on a quest, but members of the Mu Yu sect found us, they took Alphonse!" She said loudly and frantically. Min Li looked at Sarah with a serious expression.

"Follow me." She said with a commanding tone.

'It's at times like these that you realize she is actually decently ranked...' Sarah thought to herself as she followed Min Li who had begun walking in the direction of the inner sect. After a few minutes, they reached a large gate.

"We need to speak with the Sect Leader, she saw Mu Yu sect members nearby." Min Li said. They quickly opened the gate, and Min Li walked in with Sarah following closely behind. They entered into a very lush and spiritual ki-rich area. Min Li began to pick up the pace, and Sarah made sure to keep up with her.

After another few minutes of walking, Sarah and Min Li reached the Sect Leader's meeting house, then opened the door. Xiao Shi was in the middle of a war preparation meeting as he looked to the door which was now opened.

"What is the meaning of this?" He asked.

"Alphonse was captured by the Mu Yu sect." Min Li said.

"I see. Where was it?" He asked. Sarah walked forward, slightly shaking.

"It's to the west in the forest!" Sarah exclaimed.

"Were there any others who were captured?" Xiao Shi asked.

"N-no." Sarah said.

"Do we know why they decided to capture him and not kill him?" Xiao Shi asked. As the question was asked, Sarah tensed up.

"I... I only know that they were talking about finding a kid... Someone that they said you had taken a liking to." Sarah said.

"I see." Xiao Shi said. "What direction did you see them go?" He asked.

"Alphonse had told me to run and tell what had happened before I got a chance to see where they went, but they came from the west." Sarah said, her nerves beginning to calm a bit.

"I suspect they took him hoping that I had invested resources into him and thinking they could use him as leverage." Xiao Shi said as he stood up and turned around, looking out the window on the far side of the room. "I would rather not lose him, as he has potential far outreaching everyone in this room." He said with a solemn tone.

Sarah could tell what his next word would be. "But?" She asked as she attempted to keep herself calm

"But we cannot afford to send anyone after him either. We are already spread quite thin since we are attempting to protect all the villages within close proximity to us." Xiao Shi said as he closed his eyes. "Sometimes I envy people like the leaders of the Mu Yu sect... Always willing to leave people behind..." Xiao Shi mumbled.

"Leader, when you said that his potential exceeds everyone in this room, does that-?" Min Li was asking a question as she was interrupted.

"Yes, even me. I can sense it... Something about him isn't... Mortal." Xiao Shi said. "I've been told that he has memories of a past life. Perhaps that has something to do with it." He said.

"If that were the case, wouldn't the same thing come from me?" Sarah asked.

"I suppose... The only other theory I have is... Well, he made a deal with a being much stronger than anything on earth." Xiao Shi said.

"What do you mean?" Min Li asked.

"Everyone aside from Min Li and Sarah, leave immediately." Xiao Shi said. After a few seconds, everyone who was sitting at the table stood up and exited the building as Min Li and Sarah entered the building more fully. "Sit, we must talk." Xiao Shi said.

"About?" Sarah asked as Min Li and she sat at the table across from Xiao Shi.

"What do you know about Alphonse?" He asked.

"Only what we have been told by him and his mother." Min Li responded. Sarah nodded in agreeance.

"Huang Fei had told me a bit. She knows he was resurrected by an angel several times, but she doesn't know why or if there was a deal made." Xiao Shi said as he paused. "Did either of you know that?" He asked.

"No, we didn't..." Min Li said.

"What do you two know about angels? They are nowhere in our history books, and yet they exist and have existed since the beginning of time." He said.

"Angels are..." Sarah said as she hesitated. Xiao Shi turned around and sat at the table.

"Tell me what you know." He said. Sarah sighed shakily as her body shook. Nervously she began to speak.

"Angels... Angels are beings of purity... Servants of God. The being which created all of the worlds, the heavens, the creatures in the sky, and water, the creatures on the lands..." Sarah began explaining as things began to click into place for her. "Ma... Thew...? There's no way, right?" Sarah asked aloud.

"What are you talking about?" Min Li asked. Sarah stood up shakily as a wave of nauseous nervosity washed over her.

"Why... Did that name come to mind...? He died... It's possible... But..." She continued to think aloud as Min Li waved her hand in front of Sarah's face.

"Sarah? You there?" Min Li asked. after a few moments, Sarah snapped out of her trance-like state and took a step back.

"I remember... When I died... No, when everyone who is reincarnated dies, they meet God and are asked if they want to reincarnate. Some are given the opportunity to ask for something, anything, while others are given a slight boost to everything." Sarah said.

"What does that have to do with angels?" Min Li asked.

"I remember asking a few questions, but only vaguely, one of them was about guardian angels. I was told that everyone has an angel who is helping them, on a few rare occasions, there are archangels that are assigned to people. One person... Just one person got exclusive rights... To... To... I... Can't remember... It's blurry past that point..." Sarah said shakily.

"Sarah. Calm down." Xiao Shi said. 'It seems my search for answers has only brought more questions.' He thought. Sarah began to take deep unsteady breaths. After a few moments, she calmed down and organized her thoughts.

"Back to the original question. Angels are beings created by the most powerful of all, God. Angels are separated into three rank categories with three variants of angels in each." Sarah said. 'I guess my past life was useful for information when it comes to this...' Sarah thought.

"Detail what they are, take your time if necessary." Xiao Shi said. Sarah thought for a few moments, then spoke.

"At the lowest rank is the third triad. Each triad is separated into choirs. In the third choir of the third triad are the angels. The lowest ranking of heavenly beings. They are very similar to humans but have the wings of a bird scaled proportionally for their bodies. They are also typically a bit taller than the average human. Their primary role is to help humans reach heaven and resist temptation. They are also known as guardian angels." Sarah explained.

"Okay." Min Li said. "what's next?" She asked

"Next is the third triad's second choir. The Archangels. Archangels are the guardians of humankind. Archangels appear in human form with huge wings set on their backs. There were a few well-known ones, but that's not important as of now. Odds are, she was talking about one of those two types of angels." Sarah said. After a few moments, slow clapping could be heard from every corner of the room.

"Well done." A monotone female voice said.

"Who's there!?" Xiao shi asked. A portal appeared and out walked a small girl. She has white hair and a large hoodless cloak, the cloak is white and ice blue. She has a hat, with similar colors, and is similar to a shapka, though it seems to be mixed with a British royal guard's hat.

"My name is Koyuki. I would rather not be here for longer than necessary, so listen close. I am an Archangel, I am responsible for the one you call Alphonse and he is in danger. I'd rather he didn't have to meet me again. Go help him. That is all." Koyuki said wothout emotion. After a few seconds, she walked back through her portal and it closed.

"... What?" Sarah asked as she processed what just happened.

"I'm right there with you..." Min Li said.

"It seems we do not have much of a choice and must help Alphonse..." Xiao Shi said as each of them began to think deeply about what had just occurred.

"Perhaps I shouldn't have done that..." Koyuki said blandly as she observed the group. "Maybe I should have learned that thirty lifetimes ago..." She added