Beyond the Sky

Have you ever wondered who maintains the balance of the universe? Every cell that grows, every soil that dries, and every ocean tide—is it all happening by chance? Every cattle that eats uncontrollably still finds food at the end; every predator that hunts hungrily still has prey to catch, and every fish can trace its food in the vast ocean. Is everything happening by chance?

Natural disasters often turn into calamities. Many people die, but their deaths give another chance for the living. No matter how much the earth rages, humanity cannot be destroyed. Is everything happening by chance? People say it is the mercy of God. The Creator is the one who gives life, and only He can take it away.

God made a world sink beneath the waters, but He let Noah save a few. God showered a city with meteors, but He let Lot save a few. Even when the signs showed that humanity is a notorious creature, God maintained the balance. Since Adam ate the forbidden fruit, God knew this creature would commit sins against Him. But He believed in His creation, believed in the balance within it.

Humans are creatures capable of committing sins, but they still have pure hearts. They can help each other, live in peace, and fight to protect it. Even though some may cause disasters, break the peace, and attack one another, humanity remains balanced, like a holy scale that cannot be broken until the end of time. This balance is called destiny.

Humans are intelligent and always seek knowledge. They discovered the sum of things and called it mathematics, a major knowledge that helps the world. Humans keep counting to solve problems and find answers. One of the branches of mathematics is trigonometry, which helps them understand angles.

They can determine the degrees of a shape with it. To find the ratio of the length of a triangle's opposite side to its hypotenuse, they use something called sin. Sin helps people understand the edges of a triangle, but how do we measure the edges of our lives? By what are they counted? Yes, by sin.

With the language brought by the British all over the world, they taught us through their Gospel mission that sin is a hideous act, a defiance against God. But in the language spread across the eastern peninsula between Japan and China, in Korean, "sin" means God.

What a contradiction, right? Does life play tricks on us? But no, it’s all rhythm. Is there a being that embodies both? A creature that can defy God but also obey Him? Yes, we already mentioned it. That creature is called a human. Humans have desires like demons but hearts like angels.

And in mathematics, if you calculate sin 30, you’ll find the answer is half. It fits to say that humans are half-devils, half-angels. That’s why, when God created Adam, He said to all celestial beings that this was the peak of His creation, a creature that would astonish both angels and devils.

While devils opposed it, believing themselves the greatest beings in the universe, they were expelled from heaven. Devils vowed to lead Adam's children astray, to make them defiant to God. They swore that humanity would accompany them in hell.

But the angels? Gabriel stepped forward and asked God, “But this creature will bring destruction upon the earth. Why do you create it?”

“Do not correct Me. I know what you do not. And I know what I have done. Now, bow down before Adam!” God commanded with the greatest firmness.

Gabriel, with his angelic heart, bowed down to that human. He fully accepted that this creature was greater than him, a being destined to inhabit the earth and create life beyond it. Gabriel realized he was created to serve this creature and to protect the universe in which he lived. From that moment, he committed to his angelic duty: to maintain the balance of the universe and foster life for humanity.

*

Then the angels worked under the nine orders to balance the universe, controlling everything from the smallest atom to the greatest natural disaster. They lived in the holy celestial kingdom, beyond dimensions we can even dream of—high in the seven skies, yet close to the surface of the earth.

In that celestial kingdom, there is no ground. Everything floats without wind, defying the law of gravity, yet remaining in a highly stable state. There are floating diamond stars with a shade of pink, shining across the sky, casting a bright and rosy hue.

Among them float thousands of clouds. These clouds aren’t fluffy; they are solid and can be stood upon. They are as soft as cotton yet as hard as coral. Flowing between them are rivers of bright turquoise green, visible and invisible at the same time. On the surface of these rivers, one can see their reflection clearly. The waters cascade down, forming waterfalls from the white clouds to the lower levels.

On these clouds dwell the angels, ever ready to serve humans and maintain the universe. Many of them are assigned to different tasks and orders. Before being selected, angels start in a form called Sharaq—their first form after creation, before they grow their wings.

With their wisdom, morality, and pure hearts, angels choose the orders and tasks that suit them. Now, one angel has grown his wings and is ready to serve God. He steps out of his shack in the clouds, spreading his wings as he flies through the celestial world.

His name is Azrael. He wears a black cape and carries a large sickle. His wings are made of crystal that glows red. He has a red crystal jewel on his forehead and wears another as a necklace. His eyes resemble ruby stones—red and shiny. When he flies, his wings reflect the red light, looking like a turbo jet engine.

Azrael knows he will serve under the Archangel order. But the celestial world is vast, and he is now lost under the rosy sky. “Oh my God, where am I?” he mutters, confused as he looks around.

This celestial sky is so vast, it’s like a multiple of Earth. But for angels who can fly fast, it still feels manageable. Azrael scans the horizon of the pink sky, the flowing cloud land, and the diamond stars, but he can't find his way to his destination.

“I’m supposed to go to the Celestial Castle, right? But what does it look like? Could that shiny diamond star be considered a castle too?” he wonders aloud, pointing at one of the diamond stars.

Confused, he flies around aimlessly until he spots another angel. But this angel is different from him. She is a woman with blue hair, and her wings flow like water. She wears a fur collar around her neck. “Is she an angel too? Why is she so different from me? Could I drink her wings though?” he muses, perplexed.

Azrael comes closer to her and greets her. “Excuse me, madam! Could you help me? I'm lost,” he says politely.

The angel looks at Azrael and studies his figure. “Oh, an Archangel,” she says with a little giggle.

“Wait, how do you know that I'm an Archangel? I'm pretty sure I just received the message from the castle in my shack. Are you spying on me?” Azrael takes a few steps back, shocked and confused.

The angel giggles again. “Of course, I know. Your wings,” she says, pointing at Azrael's wings.

“What's wrong with my wings? Oh, yeah, I noticed our wings are different. Why are mine like glass and yours like water?” Azrael looks at his wings and then points to hers.

“Each angel order has different types of wings. Crystal wings like yours are unique to Archangels. Mine are different,” she replies with a smile.

Azrael's eyes widen. “Oh, I see. I've heard there are nine different types of angel orders. I think one of them is called Se… Serap…”

She giggles again, louder this time. “Seraphim, you mean?”

“Oh yeah, that! Are you a Seraphim?” Azrael asks, stepping closer to her.

“Unfortunately, no. If you want to know what a Seraphim looks like…” Before she can finish, an angel zooms past them at high speed.

This angel is wearing glasses and a yellow-brown suit. But what catches Azrael’s attention is that his wings are ablaze, like fire. “Wow, he's magnificent, like a meteor flying through the sky,” Azrael says, his mouth agape.

“Oh no, I'm late, I'm late,” the fire angel says, panicking. “Where’s the castle?”

“He’s one of the Seraphim. Their wings burn like flames, so that’s how you can tell them apart,” the woman explains.

“Hey, brother! Are you lost?” Azrael asks the Seraphim angel.

The Seraphim angel looks at him and nods. “Yes, I am.”

“Huh, lost? That sucks!” Azrael mocks.

“YOU'RE NO DIFFERENT!” the angel woman shouts, seeing Azrael’s foolish claim.

Then she calms down. “For your information, I’m one of the Cherubim order. One way to identify us is by our water wings.”

“Oh, so your wings aren’t drinkable? I’m a little tired from flying around, you know,” Azrael asks again with a disappointed look.

“I'M NOT DRINK MATERIAL!” the angel woman shouts again, but then calms down. “Oh my God. Cherubim are supposed to be calm angels, why do you make me like this?”

The Seraphim angel approaches them. “Are you guys heading to the Castle? I need to hurry,” he says, still panicking.

“Why do you need to hurry? It’s not like someone is chasing us,” Azrael says, rotating his head in confusion.

The Seraphim angel comes closer to Azrael. “Listen up, young angel. I’m a Seraphim. My task is to record all human and universal fate according to God’s will. Do you know how many humans there are, plus all the cells in their bodies, and all the atoms and dust in the universe?” the Seraphim says, grabbing Azrael's cape.

“Okay, okay, take it easy, brother! I don’t even know what your task is. I don’t even know what my task is,” Azrael says, raising his hands in apology.

“You really don’t know anything, do you? What’s your name?” the Cherubim woman asks, rolling her eyes.

“I’m Azrael. I’m a new angel, starting work today,” Azrael says, looking at the Cherubim woman.

The Cherubim woman smiles. “I’m Elara. I’m also new. But unlike you two, I know the way to the Celestial Castle.”

Elara then looks at the Seraphim angel, signaling that she wants to know his name as well. The Seraphim angel answers with a pout. “I’m Samael. Now, show us the way.”

“Okay, then follow me, kids!” Elara says, leading the way.

The three of them fly through the celestial world, toward the never-ending horizon. They pass cloud after cloud on their way to the Celestial Castle. Along the way, Azrael spots another angel flying low.

This angel is dressed entirely in green, with a green hat. He has blond hair, and the most interesting thing about him is his wings, which look like leaves. “Hey, what kind of angel is that?” Azrael asks.

Elara looks at the green angel below. “Oh, that’s a Virtue. Most of their wings resemble leaves or plants,” Elara explains.

“Can we eat them? They look yummy,” Azrael says.

“OF COURSE NOT. ARE YOU A CANNIBAL?” Elara shouts again. Sometimes she forgets that Cherubim are supposed to be calm angels.

Azrael then flies down to the other angel’s level. He notices that the angel is carrying a bag. “Hey, buddy. What’s that?”

The angel looks shy and answers nervously, “This…this is a…bag full of seeds.”

“Seeds? For what? Are you a gardener angel?” Azrael asks, still confused.

“The Virtues' duty is to balance the nature of the universe. They ensure that there’s a plan for humans whom God has decided have the right to receive it,” Elara explains, flying down as well, with Samael following her.

Azrael nods and looks at the Virtue again. “What’s your name, buddy?”

“My…my name is Liora,” he says shyly.

“Nice to meet you. My name is Azrael, that water lady is Elara, and that four-eyes over there is Samael.”

“DON’T CALL ME FOUR-EYES!” Samael snaps angrily at Azrael.

As they bicker, Elara looks ahead and smiles. “Guys, we’ve arrived at the Celestial Castle.”

The three of them look at the Celestial Castle for the first time. It’s a magnificent building made mostly of gold and diamond. It has high walls surrounding it, and it serves as the headquarters of the Angel Orders.

Unlike other buildings in the Celestial realm, it doesn’t stand on a cloud. It’s so tall that the base of it can’t be seen, appearing to surpass the sky itself. “It’s beautiful,” Azrael says in awe.

“See, this is the Castle where angels work. Nothing can surpass it, and it’s guarded by thousands of angels. It can’t be destroyed by anything, not even by demons,” Elara says proudly, presenting it.

But then they hear a loud explosion nearby. What’s happening? They see a nearby cloud island being destroyed by some figures with an ugly appearance. “Who are they?” Azrael asks, confused as he looks at the figures. There are three of them.

Elara panics and steps back, covering her mouth. “Those are demons,” she says. After she says that, they all panic. What could happen if demons, who are supposed to be in hell, have come here to the Celestial realm?