Chapter 28: Emergence of Life

During the last week at the academy before the summer holiday, an incident occured. Down in the dark cellar where the corpse of the Angel lay, there were signs of life. Although they were brief jitters that could be summed to be muscle spasm, there was another motion that was peculiar. That was the sound of a heartbeat- a beat every few hours. No scanner had been able to pick it up until it was too late. The body had suddenly woken up in a blinded fury and attacked all they could sense, destroying the foundation and bringing down the floor. It took Erven and Adam to subdue the entity and knock it out, while they sent Nerman to look for the Sinborn.

"Barbados!" she yelled after spotting his red glistening halo.

"Hello professor, what brings you to my humble classroom?" he replied back as the 4th year Blossom class was taking part in what seemed to be wrestling.

"I won't even ask. There's been a situation. Grab on."

"Alright? Class I trust none of you will seriously injure yourselves. But, if you do, just have Minteen heal you. Or use your own mana." Barbados grabbed a hold of Harpy's hand and hovered while she dragged him back to the campus.

"There," she said while pointing towards the wrecked remains of the reception, "A creature suddenly appeared from the ground. Adam and Erven have dealt with it, but who knows for how long."

Barbados's blood boiled with excitement. This would be the first contact with another being from his era, and didn't care if it was one from the oppressors that put him in that prison. A scream came from the creature as it awoke from its momentary slumber. Yells of anger turned out to be pleas for mercy in the Holy tongue.

"I retreat. My intentions are pure." said the blinded creature, its halo shaking vividly while its glamorous robes were ridden with dirt. "I am Alken. I surrender."

"Well that is scary." said the Sinborn. "Hello Alken." replied Barbados in the Holy tongue of the Angels. The creature shook after hearing another being speak his language.

"W-who…who are you? You do not resemble anything like me."

"I am Barbados, a Sinborn." Barbados awaited the reply, while extending his hand.

"What is a Sinborn?" the Angel asked as it grabbed ahold. Barbados' expression turned sour.

"What? How do you not know what a Sinborn is? We are the despicable race without a place of our own!" Barbados used exaggerated gestures and moved haphazardly. The other professors looked confused as their co-worker moved like a lunatic.

"Uh, Barbados, what are you doing?" asked Grog, worried that all the lessons were starting to turn him insane.

"Shush," he said while looking at Grog, "He doesn't know what I am. Either he is older than the entire concept of a Sinborn, or -"

"Barbados," the Angel interrupted, "What language are you using to speak with those mortals."

"The English language. But that is something we could discuss later. There is something else I wish to ask you."

****

Two mythical beasts spoke in an isolated room where only a warm yellow light illuminated the cosy aspect. Although the Angel had been blinded, it could see an invisible force similar to light that existed in everything. The only theory that the two could come up with was that after the match Barbados and Erven had, the mana that dissipated into the air actually accumulated into the body of the Angel.

"Another helpful piece of information to figuring out Okia's situation" he thought while taking a sip of his tea.

"What is this intriguing taste?" the Angel had asked as it too took a sip.

"A plant from the present era. It is made from the leaves of raspberries."

"What a wonderful flavour!" exclaimed Alken.

Alken suffered from memory loss. His brain had long rotted away and all that remained was a skull, but being brought back to life had reinvigorated the body to form a new one. This was regeneration that was unheard of for an Angel. Barbados had gotten over his excitement from earlier and was dealing with sombre feelings. Right in front of him was the enemy that had imprisoned him for millenia, but had no memory other than their name. The enemy in front of him was different; it could empathise and have sympathy for those going through tough times. This was completely different from the cold and programmed-like state that Angels had. Once again, leading him back to a moral question. Where Angels born to be egotistical and cruel, from an outsider's view, or where they trained to act that way through the way society needed them.

"Barbados, this power that is moving my body, do you think there is a way for me to find out more about it." The Angels asked a question that made Barbados think for a minute.

"As of right now. I would say you have 3 options. One would be to ask a Spirit-possessed. Two would be committing taboo. Three would be asking someone who's gone through the exact experience, although subtly different." he made sure to whisper the last part.

"And who may this person be?" Alken asked.

"A good co-worker of mine by the name of Okia."

*****

Okia stood with her bony jaw open as she saw Barbados and the Angel on her doorstep.

She took one long breath of air, or mimicked in doing so as she was only bones, and relaxed her mind.

"What do you want at this hour?"

"Me wanting anything? Pfft," he said but then taking a quick breath, "Yes. Need help. Please. Really quick." Barbados spoke quickly while directing Okia into her home. "Come inside." Barbados said to Alken.

"But is this fine? It doesn't seem like she is happy-"

"Its fine," Barbados said, avoiding eye-contact with Okka, "Sit on the sofa."

"Okay tell me what this is about. We look like a mismatched group of freaks." she said while pointing at herself and the rest.

"We would like you to answer some questions about your wonderful self." Barbados answered, trying to captivate her attention.