Talk In This Dark Place

The oppressive silence of the blackened wasteland pressed down on Elsa, Kassiel, and Aelarin as they stood frozen in place. The swirling gray fog clung to their body making them feel smaller as if reality itself had shrunk around them. It was a feeling they can not explain.

Michael's sudden appearance sent a wave of worry through them. It wasn't just his presence, how effortlessly he had emerged from nowhere as if the barriers to this strange place meant nothing to him.

Even Kassiel, who had been sent by Michael himself, looked utterly bewildered, his face filled with confusion.

Elsa the human soldier from Uriel's troop was the first to break the silence. Her grip on her shortswod tightened instinctively, though she didn't dared to raise it yet.

"Lord Michael... how are you here?" she asked cautiously. Her voice sounded calm, but there was an edge to it.