Revelations and Realizations

Max sat at his kitchen table, staring at the small, glowing object in his palm—a tiny fragment of light Gabriel had dropped during their encounter with Revenant. He had picked it up without thinking, but now, sitting in his dim apartment, it pulsed faintly, like a heartbeat, and no matter how much he tried to rationalize it, the thing was clearly unnatural.

"This can't be normal," he muttered, poking it with a spoon.

The fragment flared briefly in response, sending Max scrambling back in his chair. "Great. It's haunted," he said, running a hand through his hair.

A sudden knock on the door made him jump. Startled, he shoved the fragment into his pocket, then grabbed the fire extinguisher from the corner of the room. "If this is more glowing weirdos, I'm ready for you," he said under his breath.

When he opened the door, Gabriel and Lily stood on his porch. Gabriel looked as grumpy as ever, while Lily was cheerfully munching on a donut.

"Hey, Max!" Lily said with a wave, powdered sugar clinging to her fingers.

Max lowered the extinguisher slightly. "Oh, it's just you two. Great."

Gabriel frowned. "Just us? What were you expecting?"

"Another shadow monster," Max said flatly.

Lily grinned. "Aw, you missed us! That's adorable."

Max sighed, stepping aside to let them in. "Fine. Come in. But if you start glowing or summoning more monsters, I'm calling the cops."

As Gabriel sat stiffly on Max's couch, Lily made herself at home, flipping through Max's collection of old sci-fi DVDs.

"So," Max began, leaning against the counter. "Are you finally going to tell me what's going on? Because I've had it with cryptic nonsense and glowing... everything."

Gabriel exchanged a glance with Lily, who shrugged. "Might as well. He's already seen too much," she said, tossing a DVD onto the coffee table.

Gabriel sighed. "Fine. Max, I'm not human."

Max raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, no kidding. You glow, you can fight shadow monsters, and you somehow made churros explode. What are you, a radioactive wizard?"

Lily snorted, nearly choking on her donut. "Radioactive wizard! Oh, that's good."

"I'm a fallen angel," Gabriel said bluntly, ignoring her.

Max blinked, the weight of the words sinking in. "You're serious."

"Dead serious," Gabriel replied.

"And her?" Max asked, pointing at Lily.

"I'm an angel," Lily said with a dramatic bow, her halo glowing faintly. "Former demon, but I've been promoted. You're welcome."

Max stared at her, then turned back to Gabriel. "So... you're a fallen angel. And she's a demon-turned-angel. And you're just... hanging out?"

"We're not 'hanging out,'" Gabriel said, his tone sharp. "She hasn't stopped following me since the festival incident."

He head dropped low in that moment, almost as if he'd learnt of a passing relative. No one spoke for a split minute. It was clear to them Gabriel's plight.

"I can't keep doing this," Gabriel said finally, his voice low.

"Doing what?" Max asked, leaning against the wall.

"Failing," Gabriel muttered, his gaze fixed on the floor. "Every mission, every step—it all goes wrong. And now I've got Hell breathing down my neck for saving you. I failed at being an angel, and now I'm failing at being a demon."

Max raised an eyebrow. "Wait, I thought saving people was a good thing?"

"Not in Hell," Gabriel said bitterly.

"Yeah," Lily chimed in, her mouth full. "You're supposed to let humans suffer. It's kind of our thing."

Max frowned. "That's... incredibly messed up."

"It's the rules. And I broke them. Again."

Lily hopped off the counter and patted Gabriel's shoulder. "Aw, cheer up, buddy. At least you're consistent."

Gabriel glared at her. "Not helping. I hate our circumstances."

"Circumstances?" Max echoed. "Like what?"

Before Gabriel could answer, Lily chimed in. "Oh, you know, the usual—he lost his halo, I stole it, and now we're both trying to figure out our next moves without killing each other."

Max rubbed his temples. "This is insane."

"You're telling me," Gabriel muttered.

As the conversation continued, Max's mind raced. He thought back to the fragment he'd picked up, its warmth still faintly pulsing in his pocket.

"I need to show you something," he said, standing abruptly.

Gabriel and Lily exchanged a glance but didn't protest as Max retrieved the fragment and placed it on the table. The moment he did, the fragment flared brightly, filling the room with a warm, golden light.

Gabriel recoiled slightly, his eyes wide. "Where did you get that?"

"You dropped it," Max said. "At the festival."

Gabriel hesitated, his gaze fixed on the glowing shard. "That's celestial energy. It shouldn't respond to you."

"What does that mean?" Max asked, his voice tense.

Lily leaned forward, her expression unusually serious. "It means you're not just some random human, Max."

"That's ridiculous," Max said, shaking his head. "I'm as normal as it gets."

"Normal humans can't interact with celestial energy," Gabriel said. "There's something... different about you."

Max stared at the fragment, his mind racing. He thought of the strange occurrences in his family—his grandmother's tales of seeing "angels," his father's obsession with celestial symbols. Could it all be connected?

"I don't want to be 'different,'" Max muttered.

"Too late," Lily said with a grin, leaning back. "You're stuck with us now, buddy."

****

Meanwhile, in the shadows of the city, Revenant watched from a rooftop, his crimson eyes gleaming. The faint glow of celestial energy from Max's apartment caught his attention, and a slow smile spread across his face.

"Interesting," he murmured.

A figure emerged from the darkness behind him, its form indistinct. "What have you found?"

"A human," Revenant said, his tone thoughtful. "One who shouldn't be able to wield celestial energy."

The shadow figure shifted uneasily. "What does this mean for our plans?"

Revenant's smile widened. "It means we've found a new piece for the board. Let's see how they play the game."

****

Back in Max's apartment, the tension was palpable. Gabriel paced the room, muttering to himself, while Lily flipped idly through Max's DVD collection.

"What do we do now?" Max asked, his voice breaking the silence.

"We figure out why celestial energy reacts to you," Gabriel said. "And we do it fast. Im not sure how long we can keep this secret. Plus, this may be the only clue I have to getting my halo back."

"Well, at least things won't be boring." said Lily, a devilish smirked curling beneath her cheeks.

Max groaned, sinking into a chair. "This isn't what I signed up for."

Gabriel stopped pacing, his gaze steady. "None of us did. But if you're connected to this, we don't have a choice. We'll protect you."

Max stared at him, then at Lily, who gave him a thumbs-up. "Great," he muttered. "Stuck with a fallen angel and a snarky angel-demon. What could possibly go wrong?"