Lore of the Angels Ch. 14

"Fine."

"Wonderful! Now release me and we shall be civil."

Noor blinked her eyes a few times to readjust her sight and smiled when she was able to see him once again.

"We'll leave them here," said Ehren grumpily. "And you, stick close to me."

"Naturally."

Entering the snowy dome had not been easy. Noor had to forcefully melt an entrance for herself – the hole simply resealing the moment she and Ehren were inside.

It was not surprising to be greeted by harpoons the moment they landed on the ship's deck.

"I was invited here," Noor said coolly as she brushed aside their puny weapons. Striding across the wooden floors, she headed straight to the deck house.

The sight that greeted her was not what she expected.

Yuki had frozen her entire bottom half of her body, concealing it in ice. Blood trailed everywhere and the smell... putrid and of rotten flesh.

"Finally." That one word left her breathless for she motioned Noor closer. With her lips inches away from her ears, Yuki whispered, "You've won."

"This is not a game Yuki." She moved her palm across Yuki's frozen limbs, the heat causing a pool of water to form beneath their feet.

Yuki made no move. She remained emotionless as Noor continued taking apart her cocoon of ice. It had been a temporary solution anyway. There was no stopping the venom from spreading now.

"I will make a deal with you Yuki... because we are sisters. I can remove just one poison – Light or Darkness. You choose. But what happens from then on, that is up to you."

Noor stood over Yuki; sadness creeping into her heart. As the last two remaining Matriarchs of Angels, Noor had a duty to save her. It was their promise; the six of them to always take care of each other when the world first came to be.

But the world was now a different place and they were no longer the fresh eyed Archangels they were then.

"Choose."

Yuki propped herself up, using only the strength of her wings to hold her body upright with her back facing her guests. The dusted snowy feathers slowly lost their shimmer, revealing a pale almost translucent white-winged Angel with pure silver strands of hair trailing down her back.

"You know what to do Noor. I don't want to die."

The Light Archangel stepped forward, her delicate fingers reaching out to end the misery and immortality of the last of her sisters.

***

That's it, that's the last of them." Marcus slumped his back against the metal container in exhaustion.

"We're not done. Now we need to transport them Northwards where they will be safe."

Marcus didn't dare to ask how. It was going to take immense focus and strength to airlift the hundred tonned metal and they didn't have much time left.

Stretching out his wings, Marcus prepared for the strenuous flight.

"No, that's not necessary. We will push them and the earth will help us along." Not wasting more time, Zilarrezko placed his hands at the side of the metal container and allowed it to glide along the ground.

At first it looked like a snail crawling aimlessly but then it started to pick up the pace and was soon cruising effortlessly as though it was pulled by something...

Marcus bowed his head in awe. From this distance, Zilarrezko was still able to manipulate the magnetic poles – as his mother had before – and simply guided the metal containers northwards as they naturally would.

As they moved faster, the containers lifted higher off the ground allowing them to move without the constraint of trees and buildings. The blanket of Darkness that was misted over the continent started to wear thin and they soon found themselves at the borders of Europe.

There was no need for words at the moment. Zilarrezko left the Earth Angels in Marcus's charge and flew back into the battle zone.

***

Archangel Aria...

Lucian hated water and there was no way he was going to dive in the freezing ocean to look for her. For one, his feathers would be rumpled and he'd look like a wet duck.

"Fuck it." Securing his bow and arrows, Lucian took a deep breath and let out a silent curse as the ice cold water enveloped his body.

It stung when he opened his eyes.

But what he saw made him clamber to the surface for a breath and to give a long swearing howl.

Aria was unconscious; in a coma-like state like the one that she had been in the hospital once before. However, it was the sight of her distorted body that terrified him.

Instead of legs, her lower limbs had split and elongated to what he could only describe as tentacles or enlarged trunks that seemed to go on and on into the gloomy depths. And in place of wings, the feathers had melted to form long translucent jelly-like tendrils that glowed and sizzled with electric currents.

Coming closer, he saw that the sides of her neck and jawline had folds mimicking gills – an adaptation for her underwater form. Her face was peaceful, as though her mind was contented being in its comfort zone but Lucian had to wake her up. Yuki must not be given more time to heal or the war will be over.

Cardinal, you need to wake up.

The Water Archangel stirred slightly as though annoyed but she remained in slumber. Each time he came closer, a tentacle would lazily swing in front of her, like batting a fly. Lucian had no choice. He had to leave her for his body too was slowly shutting down from the freezing water and holding his breath was starting to get harder with every passing second.

Surfacing, Lucian took a big gulp of air and opened his eyes –

To the face of the Metal Archangel starting straight down at him.

"She's in there?" Zilarrezko didn't dare to ask the next question for it hurt.

"No, she's still alive. She's just... sleeping."

Perplexed, Zilarrezko stood to his full length, wings wrapped tight around him creating a cocoon of metal. Before Lucian could stop him, Zilarrezko had dived into the frigid depths.

Through the thin mesh of his metallic protection, what he saw got his jaw dropping. Aria was beautiful as she was frightening and Zilarrezko had no doubt that this was her true form. A Water Angel was not made for land. In her element, Aria could rule the seas and lived thousands of years undetected should she wish to.

Inching closer, Zilarrezko extended his arms to hold her. He noted the tendrils threatening to whip him out of the water but was grateful that they allowed him safe passage.

Aria.His thumb rubbed her cheek gently as he brought his lips closer to hers.Please wake up... please don't let me spend eternity without you. I will only live for you.

As their lips connected, he felt jolts of electricity coursing through his body; the jelly-like tendrils gripping his body so tightly that all Illusions of Metal disappeared. Zilarrezko was stripped to his bare feathers and flesh; whips of current slashing his naked body.

Aria...

He had to breathe... his heart beat was growing weaker and weaker...

A rush of oxygen; filling his lungs, jerking him back to reality.

Eyes of pure steel snapped open to stare into clear crystal blue eyes that seemed to glow underwater.

"Thank you." Aria blinked her eyes profusely willing them to readjust to the sudden luminosity above water.

"Yuki is back on her ship," said Zilarrezko in between coughs. His body was covered once more in its metallic sheen but he could still feel the chill to his bones.

"Stay here. I have some unfinished business that I need to do," she whispered, dropping him a kiss. Turning to her Light Ordinal, Aria smiled. "Come Lucian. It seems you have something that will help."

Swimming towards the floating ball of ice, Aria considered her options. An attack from above would be anticipated but an attack from the hull of the ship...

Now that, Yuki would appreciate.

"Lucian, I am going to destroy this ship from the inside out but I won't be able to see Yuki when she falls overboard. I will try to save as many lives as I can." She paused, looking hard into the violet eyes of her beloved Ordinal.

He understood.

"I'll take care of it."

***

Diving back into the water felt like a lover's embrace to her senses. The silence allowed her to think and the gentle currents tugged at her in warm welcome.

Flipping on her back, Aria playfully glided her way to the bottom of the ship where the keel of the ship was exposed for her pleasure. Ripping out this basic bottom structure of the ship would cause the ship to collapse in on itself.

Tentacles, each the size of a redwood tree trunk floated gently to her bidding before wrapping itself tight around the base of the ship.

The sound of the hull being ripped apart echoed like deafening cracks of thunder. Her powerful tentacles crushed the wood and metal effortlessly, tearing a gaping hole in the vessel. As water gushed inwards, Aria followed; splitting the ship further in two until each half floated by her side, protected from the freezing water by Yuki's outer shell of ice.

Not for long.

Ignoring the screams of the ships' inhabitants, Aria brought herself up to the surface of the ocean before crashing back down on the floating remnants; her tentacles like whips slashing down on the flimsy flotsam.

Snow Angels found themselves fluttering like handicapped butterflies as the freezing waves threatened to claim their lives.

There were so many of them.

Out of their element, the Snow Angels could no longer stay in their Ice form; their wing feathers soaked and the chill creeping into their bones. Aria could feel their feet kicking fruitlessly in attempts to stay afloat but the water was too cold.

It would not be long before their muscles start to become numb and their heart stops beating.

Lucian...

***

Lucian watched in awe amidst the destruction. The ship was now reduced to debris floating across the southern ocean but Yuki was nowhere to be found.

Looking up in the sky, he noticed the shroud of Darkness slowly dissipating but the clouds had turned into a treacherous grey promising storms and hurricanes.

The winds were starting to be so strong that he had to dig his feet into the sand.

Lucian...Get out of here! It's getting too dangerous!

Rain and hail was starting to fall, blurring his vision. He had to find Yuki. She was controlling the weather somehow but from where?

Mounting his wings defiantly, Lucian ignored the sharp stings of ice raining from the sky and flew as low as he could, skimming the surface of the water.

Floating faces stared at him as he passed by, their bodies subject to the turbulent waves that was starting to swirl. But Lucian was adamant.

Beneath him, pockets of water were starting to form whirlpools, claiming the offerings of shipwrecked Angels. The winds slapped at his face and pushed against his wings; cold and angry at having a persistent intruder.

There! He saw her. That had to be her. White wings lifting off from the sinking mast, up into the clouds...

Lucian closed his eyes and drew his final arrow. It was now or never.

Aiming high for the sky, he opened his eyes and released the arrow amidst the biggest mass of rumbling clouds.

Short bursts of fire exploded in the sky like fireworks – the intensity of the light so strong that Lucian instinctively folded his wings to shield himself from getting blind.

But not before catching a glimpse of pure white wings exploding into thousands of pieces –

Falling from the sky, the incoming waves lapped hungrily, swallowing him whole along with half the coastline. The ocean was cannibalising everything in its path.

Lucian was no longer conscious. The force of the whirlpools sucking him inwards was too strong for him to resist and his lungs were slowly being filled with water.

Darkness and silence claimed him.

While his body had gone limp, his mind was semi-conscious. Aware of the gentle hand lifting him out of the ocean; warm fingers pressed against his chest, expunging the excess water.

"Lucian..."

When he came to, all that he could see was powdery snow falling from the sky and the familiar eyes of his Archangel. The whirlpools no longer in her irises but instead they reflected calm and crystal clear blue.

Lucian watched as the snow turned to droplets of water; Calida's spiralling ball of fire dancing across the sky, warming up the continent in its wake.

Taking in a deep breath, he revelled in the rays of sunshine warming his face.

Beautiful.

It seemed like the war was over.

***

Noor's skybridge of Light was partially destroyed but it became the central point for all surviving Angels to gather, seeking solace and refuge.

"Aria!" The Metal Archangel was down to his most basic grey feathers; all show of power cast aside for the moment as he scooped her into his arms. "You break my heart."

She murmured reassuringly into his neck, her wings wrapped gently around him possessively.

All around her, former Snow Angels huddled together, unsettled by their new glossy feathers and watery features. The episode underwater had stripped them off their bond with Yuki and brought out the true forms in each of them. While not all had survived, those that did understood that their reawakening was only due to the new Archangel at the helm of their clan.

***

Epilogue

Construction of her underwater cove began the month after the catastrophe that Angels were referring to as 'The Awakening'.

The world began to witness the existence of Angels that so many had thought to be extinct. Water Angels, in their varying liquid form had begun sprouting out everywhere on the continents. But the most startling revelation was the Earth Angels.

Needing guidance and tutelage, the Earth Angels had congregated up north, in the remote mountains of Ural in Russia where Gaia was rumoured to have built her fortress.

Aria, however had chosen to create her empire in the middle of the Pacific, surrounded by tiny inhibited islands west of the deepest trench of the world's ocean. In the meantime, she had gathered a small following of Water Angels on the nearby Mariana islands where she and her siblings were taking refuge.

Their residence was a simple cozy two-level house that overlooked the ocean; the sandy beach just at the edge of their garden.

"It sure is difficult keeping my armour on display in this weather." Zilarrezko had been down to his basic grey feathers ever since they landed on the island, in attempts to keep cool. It hadn't been easy.

"I love it!" Lucian pranced about on the sand, his wings almost invisible as they had taken on the form of glowing violet light. The twins were beside themselves with excitement as they somersaulted and cartwheeled alongside the Light Ordinal, screaming their lungs out.

"It's much cooler in the water," said Aria with a gentle smile as her eyes wandered away towards the ocean. "But in the meantime, this is the best place for former Snow Angels to readapt to various water temperatures."

Cupping her face in his palms, Zilarrezko bent forward to press a kiss on her lips.

"It's going to be difficult to say goodbye."

"To both of you..." she whispered, resting her head on his chest. "Do you really have to take him away?"

"I do." Another kiss. "You have Lucian now and look... Angelo follows Marcus around like a loyal puppy."

It was undeniable. Though he was her brother, Angelo displayed no connection to Aria beyond their blood. He was bold and had a curiosity to see the world that as a sister and as an Archangel, she couldn't deny him.

"I can stay here longer if you need me. I know it's not easy building everything from scratch. You'll need Ordinals and you're going to have to train..."

"I'll be fine. I have Chióni and Lucian. We'll begin somewhere. And if all else fails, there's always the Lore."

Aria placed her hand gingerly on the only copy written by a Water scribe. It had been Yuki's, the original that she had buried deep within her palace. It was still a solid block of ice at the moment but Aria was determined to break the lock and open it soon.

Centuries of Water Angel history was guarded in that book and to rebuild that empire, you always need to go back to the basics – who, what, when, why and how.

Aria smiled. This was it.

She was now the Water Archangel and they would all learn together what that entails. But for now, Aria was contented being in Zilarrezko's arms and having this new family of Angels and Archangels to call her own.

***