9 Orders
Azrael felt the pain as Rythom grabbed his neck, making it difficult for him to breathe. He didn’t understand what Rythom meant by “order.” No one had ever given him an order before.
“You know that protecting the realm and the universe is the Power Order's job, right?” Rythom said, his cold eyes fixed on Azrael as he continued to grip his neck.
“I just wanted to help…” Azrael gasped, struggling to catch his breath.
Rythom then released his grip. “You look so pathetic trying to explain with that face. Speak clearly. Did God order you directly?”
Azrael hesitated, unsure of how to respond. He glanced around, searching for an answer, but found none. “Well, actually… no.”
“HOLY WATER: FLOW.” Elara flew closer, drawing her blue staff with an emerald crystal. From the staff, a wave of water surged, hitting Azrael directly.
Azrael was quickly submerged in the water, struggling to breathe. Rythom, confused by the situation, looked at Elara, who was smiling. “Forgive us, Vice-Captain. We're just new angels,” she said with a grin.
Azrael coughed and choked on the water as he tried to recover. “Hey, Elara, what are you doing? OUCH!” Elara struck Azrael on the head with her staff before he could finish his question.
“This young one here is still a fool. He doesn’t know what he’s doing,” Elara said, maintaining her smile as she addressed Rythom.
“I’m not a fool—” Azrael began, but was cut off by another splash of water. When he saw Elara's smile, he knew it was best to remain silent. That smile was terrifying.
Rythom sighed in resignation. “Whatever. You're a Cherubim, right?” he asked, looking at Elara.
Elara nodded with a smile. “Then take him to the Archangel headquarters,” Rythom ordered, flying away. He paused, glancing at the disarray on Cloud Island. “I can’t stay here any longer. It’s not beautiful at all.”
Azrael looked back at Elara. “Well, you tried to help me, right? Thank you…”
“DON’T BE SO FULL OF YOURSELF. I DIDN’T HELP YOU,” Elara growled, causing Azrael to step back a few paces.
“But you did help me…”
“I didn’t. I was helping myself. If you made a mistake, all the new angels would be under suspicion.” Elara crossed her arms, pouting as she looked away.
Samael and Liora then approached them. Liora glanced around at the mess. “What about all this mess? Who’s going to fix it?”
“Ooh, that…” Before Elara could explain, Azrael stepped in. “That will be handled by the Dominion Order,” Azrael said confidently.
This left the three of them confused. How could someone who didn’t even know his own duties be so sure about another angel's responsibilities? “How do you know?” Samael asked.
Before Azrael could answer, several angels flew out of the castle gate. These angels had wings made of stone or soil, and each had a large stone arm of a different color. “That’s the Dominion!” Azrael pointed at them.
The Dominion angels began heading toward Cloud Island. With a wave of their hands, they started rebuilding the broken island. They created solid materials like metal, dust, soil, and bricks, even conjuring golem-like figures to assist in the restoration.
Elara turned back to Azrael, still confused. “How do you know about the Dominion and their duties? You don’t even know your own.”
Azrael placed his hands on his hips and began laughing proudly. “Hahaha. You fool! You still don’t know the breadth of my knowledge…”
“Ooh, isn’t it Azrael?” A voice called from behind. Azrael began to sweat nervously as he recognized the voice. He slowly turned his head.
Elara, Samael, and Liora also looked toward the source of the voice. They saw a female Dominion angel with deep dark blue stone wings and long dark blue hair. She had wide eyes and a calm demeanor. “Who are you?” Samael asked, not recognizing her.
“Si…sister Asiya,” Azrael called out nervously, surprising the others that he knew her.
“How do you two know each other?” Elara asked Asiya directly.
“Well, I used to fix up Azrael's shack because he broke it every time he was a Sharaq. I guess he trained so hard it would break every time. It’s still quite amazing,” Asiya explained her relationship with Azrael.
“Well, that's why I know about the Order. Hahaha…” Azrael said softly, mixing fear and shame in his tone.
The three of them looked at him, annoyed. “Breadth knowledge, huh?” they said in unison.
“Okay, I need to get back to work. You should meet your captain soon, Azrael. He’s looking for you,” Asiya said before flying away.
Samael sighed. “You guys and those demons already took up too much of my time. Now I’m late to write the fate of one atom. I should go.” Samael quickly flew toward the castle gate.
“I have to gather a few more seeds at my headquarters as well. I think I should go too,” Liora said, following Samael.
“Well, I think I’m gonna go—”
“Wait a minute, you!” Elara grabbed Azrael's shoulder tightly before he could leave. “I should take responsibility for you.”
Azrael looked at Elara, confused. “What? I’m not pregnant.”
“THAT’S NOT WHAT I MEANT.” Elara composed herself again. “I need to teach you about the Angel Orders properly, so you don’t make any more stupid decisions.”
“Oh, that would be great! Thanks!” Azrael smiled widely. Then Elara took his hand and led him to the Celestial Castle.
As they passed through the gate, Azrael’s eyes lit up immediately. The outside of the castle was magnificent, but the inside was far more wonderful. He looked around at the castle complex, full of intricate buildings made of jewels like diamonds and gold.
The architecture was breathtaking as well. Not all the buildings were built on the ground; many were suspended on floating clouds near the structures. It wasn't just the first or second floor—there were levels like one and a half floors or second northeast floors.
Azrael’s jaw dropped repeatedly as he gazed at the angels flying around the castle, creating a kaleidoscope of colors with their different types of wings. They looked like rainbow fireflies. His eyes were drawn to a massive castle in the center. “What is that big castle?” Azrael asked Elara, pointing it out.
“Oh, that’s the main castle. It’s where all fate is determined through the word of God,” Elara explained, still leading Azrael around.
“But we can’t see God, can we?” Azrael asked, turning his head completely toward Elara.
“Of course, but God speaks through that building. Only Seraphim can understand it, though even they can’t meet God directly,” Elara explained as they continued flying.
Azrael then noticed a flying circle with wings above them. “Are they angels too?”
Elara looked at what Azrael was pointing at. “Yes, they’re Thrones. One of the Orders.”
“You said before that you wanted to explain the Orders to me, right? Go ahead! I’m confused,” Azrael said, crossing his arms.
Elara took a deep breath before beginning her explanation. “In total, there are nine Orders of Angels: Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones, Dominion, Virtues, Powers, Archangels, Principalities, and Angels. Each of them has different tasks and responsibilities. Among the nine, we further divide the Orders into three types.” Elara raised three fingers.
“These types are The Guardians of Angels, The Balancers of the Universe, and The Servants of Humans,” Elara said, pointing to each finger in turn.
“Aah, what does that mean?” Azrael asked, tilting his head in confusion.
“The Guardians of Angels are the ones who assign tasks to other angels based on God’s will and facilitate their duties. Those in this category are Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones. Their tasks keep them within this palace," Elara explained.
“Seraphim are tasked with writing the fate and destiny of every material in the universe, including atoms and tiny cells. They have the power to hear God’s commands to humans. Seraphim are characterized by their flame wings,” Elara explained, pointing to the main castle.
“Oh, that’s why Samael was in such a hurry. I didn’t know everything in the universe had its own fate,” Azrael said, nodding in understanding.
“And my kind, Cherubim, receive these fate reports from the Seraphim. Our job is to assign tasks to other Angels based on that fate. You know our characteristic is our water wings,” Elara added proudly, showing off her wings.
“Oh, so your kind is like a water jug. Well, that’s a good facility.”
“FOR THE LAST TIME, IT’S NOT DRINKABLE!” Elara snapped. “Okay, next. Thrones are the ones who transport angels to where they need to be for their tasks. They have power over space. You know, they look like flying balls.” Elara gestured to a nearby flying ball.
“So they’re like drivers and delivery men. Can I order pizza from the human world through them?” Azrael asked, eyeing the flying Thrones.
“OF COURSE NOT. THEY’RE NOT UBER DRIVERS!” Elara snapped again, struggling to deal with Azrael’s foolishness.
“And the other type is The Balancers of the Universe. Their task is to create, rebuild, and protect things in the universe. This type includes Dominion, Virtues, and Powers,” Elara said, stopping to point at the gate. “They mostly work outside the gate.
“Dominions are responsible for creating and rebuilding things in the universe—every star, planet, moon, asteroid, and even every speck of dust. They even control plate shifts. Their characteristic is stone or soil wings.”
“Oh, like Sister Asiya,” Azrael said with a bright face.
“Yes…stop mentioning her. What’s your relationship with her, anyway?” Elara pouted and looked away.
“We’re just friends. And what about Virtues? I see Liora always carrying seeds and her wings look like salad,” Azrael asked, still confused.
“Virtues are responsible for providing humans with fortune through plants, water, and fertility. They make plants grow,” Elara explained. Before continuing, she glanced at the Powers, who were being carried back to the castle after being wounded in battle, including Ason and the others. “And the Powers’ job is to protect the universe from demons who try to destroy it. You already know their characteristics, right?”
Azrael looked at Ason and the others as well. “Yeah, their iron wings are cool, by the way.”
“And the last type is your type: The Servants of Humans. Your job is to carry out God's destiny for humans. Starting with you, the Archangels' job is to decide what happens to humans and to eliminate the biggest threats to the universe,” Elara said, pointing at Azrael.
“Big threats? Like what?” Azrael asked, confused.
“Well, I don’t know. I’ve never encountered the deadliest threat in my life. Let's just hope it never happens,” Elara replied, shaking her head.
“Then there are the Principals. Their job is to test humans with misfortunes and disasters. It’s to see if humans remain committed to God and continue doing good deeds. They have lightning wings. And the last one…” Elara hesitated before continuing.
Azrael sensed something was wrong. “What’s the matter?”
“The last order is Angels. They are the lowest in the hierarchy and the weakest. They have plain white wings with a slight shade of color. Their job is simply to guard humans against potential demonic influence.”
Azrael looked down. “Like that?”
Elara followed his gaze and saw two female Angels surrounded by three Principal Angels. She immediately sensed something was wrong.
“Hey, hey. Angels like you should stick to playing with us so your low rank doesn’t get exposed,” one of the Principals mocked, laughing as the female Angels looked on in fear.
Azrael didn’t like what he was seeing. This was blatant discrimination. He was about to approach them when he heard a loud voice from the side. “STOP IT, YOU JERKS!”
Azrael turned towards the source of the voice. An Angel boy with white wings was approaching the Principals with a furious expression. “Don’t bully my kind,” he demanded.
The boy seemed to be from the Angel order as well. He had white hair, wore blue clothes, and his wings had a shade of turquoise green. He drew his sword. “My name is Ellio. Step aside if you want to fight,” Ellio challenged.
What will happen next?