Chapter 63

The angel's expression morphed into one of confusion as he looked at me, before looking around the throne room I brought him too.

"First of all, I'd like to ask where we are."

His voice was calm as his golden eyes scanned the room around him, before returning his gaze back to me.

"I don't exactly know how to describe it, but we're inside a realm created from the residual energy of my void state."

After saying that, the angel's expression remained unmoving, but he lowered his eyebrows and gave me a curious expression.

"What do you need to talk to me about, only a very powerful individual should have the power to resurrect a being from over 1,000 years ago."

My eyes widened, I had no idea that the angel I was talking to was over 1,000 years old. I instantly thought back to what I learned from looking through Raymond's notes. 

I learned that angels in the previous epoch were servants of a higher being known as the Almighty Lord. It was said that in the epoch before that the angels and him descended to earth and helped humanity prosper, but a war broke out and humanity managed to drive them back for unknown reasons. 

"I heard you attempted to accommodate the properties in order to ascend to Order 0 and become a true god, what stopped you?"

The angel's eyes widened as he looked behind him and noticed that the spears had left his back, in fact his body was back into peak physical condition.

"My humanity, it's a simple answer."

His humanity? I instantly thought back to Aaron's words, those painful words that he said after we learned his true intentions; Sometimes when you have to get things done, deception, trickery and manipulation, you just lose your respect and value for human life.

"You lost your humanity?"

I asked, taking a step closer to him. The angel looked down at me and smiled softly.

"I did, child."

"I lost my humanity attempting to pry into the secrets of life and accommodate enough power to ascend to godhood."

His golden eyes softened, but also gave a flicker of anger and frustration.

"I wasn't strong enough to prevent myself from losing my mind in the process, eventually I went mad and attempted to kill the rest of the angels, but they drove me back, and murdered me in this very temple you found my corpse in."

"Since you and I are merely spiritual projections, we can't harm or hurt each other."

Just then he reached his hand out, touching mine with an oddly comforting grip.

"I know the exact reason why you're attempting to get this power, to return back to where you came from."

"But, it's heartbreaking that you'll have to destroy everything in the process."

I froze, like a deer in headlights. I gazed up at the angel, my expression instantly flooded with fear and worry about what he just said.

"Say that again?"

Just then he turned away, a remorseful expression on his face as he looked at me in the corner of his eyes.

"Why do you think it's called the Apocalypse Routeway? You'll have to destroy everything in order to attain your goals, whether you like it or not, it's fate, it's destiny, and it's what we all strive to break free from."

The iron black wings on his back ruffled, sending a small amount of feathers into the air.

"I know you're ready for Order 8 of the Apocalypse Routeway, and I'm unsure if any amount of control serum will be able to save you from losing yourself."

Instead of feeling worse about myself for what he was saying, I was only left curious by his sudden revelation.

"How do you know about the potion, and my status in the Routeway?"

He turned back to look at me, before smiling softly.

"Just because I'm dead doesn't mean my influence isn't still focused on the world and watching over it. I'm watching the world to protect it from unseen forces, me and the rest of the angels are too."

"But aren't they afraid of you, afraid of what you might do to them?"

He just shook his head and smiled softly, before speaking again, his tone gentle and soft.

"We're all close to powerless, but our residual aura and essence was pulled into the potions you Seekers drink to this day."

I nodded slowly, taking in this information, before looking back towards the dome shaped window that showed the cosmos, I walked over to it and pressed my hand on the window.

"You safeguard all of this, huh."

I looked outside the window and watched the stars and moons float lifelessly, and the illusory sun burning brightly in the cosmos.

"It's true, it's hard work but it pays off to see humanity safe from those who attempt to pry past the barrier and invade earth."

There are deities in the cosmos known as Outer Lords, those who root from the personalities of the Oldest Creator, including the Almighty God. Some represent the darkest sides of the cosmos and strive to invade earth and corrupt it, entities like the Fog of Dark Divinity.

"You do so much for a person, or angel who's dead, now I don't want to be dead."

I chuckled dryly after making my insensitive comment, but I quickly revered back to normal after noticing the slight unease in the angel's expression.

"Death is the end of all things, child. It's the inevitable force that binds all things, the reason that humans strive to survive, it's because they know that death is their eventual end, their destiny above all destinies."

His voice was low and tranquil as he continued to look outside the spherical window, before focusing his gaze back towards me.

"My name is Crodio by the way, and I'm glad to have met you."

Suddenly Crodio's body started to slowly become more transparent and blurry. I turned to look at him, and realized the effect of the artifact used to diving dead organisms was slowly siphoning away, most likely due to the power level of the given individual.

"I'll see you again soon."

Suddenly Crodio disappeared, and I was left alone in the throne room, still staring at the window reflecting the cosmos.

I then grabbed the artifact and held it with 2 hands, before I felt my spirit projection begin to lower into the dream state of reality. When I reopened my eyes I saw Crodio's dead body lying on the ground, the cloaked figure looking right at me, reaching their palm out in order to take back the artifact.

"I assume you learned much, child."

I nodded as I walked over to the figure, before giving them back the artifact, I then gazed back up at their hidden features with saddened eyes.

"Will I really have to destroy the world?"

The figure nodded slowly, I could see a distant, cold pair of eyes begin to surface within the darkness of their cloak, the eyes rather looked like tiny wormholes more than anything.

"Yes, it's the inevitable cycle."

They then waved their hand again and transported us back to the fogged up realm, before looking back down at me.

"It's time for you to go back to the world of the living."

I took a few steps back, before taking a deep breath.

"How will I explain my sudden resurrection, I don't know how they'll react."

I looked down at the ground, my brows furrowing slightly as I contemplated the current situation. The figure simply chuckled, their illusory voice ringing through the empty space.

"I assume they'll be happy to see you again, I promise."

I could feel my body begin to melt beneath an unseen weight, before everything around me was engulfed by a bright, overwhelming light.

When I reopened my eyes I was lying down inside a hospital bed, similar to the medical bay that Oboro was in before we spotted him at the event.

"I see you're finally awake."

A nurse entered my booth and smiled warmly, before handing me a platter filled with peas, grilled steak and cheese.

"Thanks..."

My voice was filled with confusion. How long was I out for? Did that entity manipulate time in a way to give the appearance that I've been asleep for a few hours, days, weeks? 

"How long was I out for?"

I instantly asked her, then ran her fingers through her bunned up hair before replying.

"About a full day, you seemed exhausted and quite hurt when we took you in, although it's a miracle you recovered so quickly from a stab wound."

"A stab wound?"

At this point I could definitely tell that this was a fabrication made by that cloaked entity, a made up story to conceal the reason I was dead, a black hole wouldn't be the most believable cause of death.

"I see, it's a miracle."

I sipped the glass of water I was given, and I looked down my body and saw the large bandages wrapped around my lower torso, and a small pool of blood embedded into the white cloth.

"Who stabbed me, do you know?"

The nurse shook her head.

"I'm unaware, the police are working on it right now."

My eyes widened, and I felt an instant wave of confusion and concern wash over my body.

"I'm working with the silencers on a case regarding Isaiah Walls, except I think Aaron would kill me again like he did at the banquet."

I tried to stand up, but my lower appendix rang with pain, making me unable to move even a few inches.

"Steady, you'll need to rest for now, ok?"

I nodded slowly, my brown eyes then slowly closed, as I fell into a light slumber once again.