“Thank you so much for your patience. Will you please pass through the door and approach the woman on the bench.”

Yes, Lord! I instantly hold my hand together and kneel, and try to best commit His… or perhaps Her words to memory. Or perhaps it was a holy messenger instead? I rise to rouse my Angel, when in the corner of my eye I notice the door. My heart skips a beat: a miracle! Praise God, a miracle! As I approach I try to drink in all the divine handiwork: a door of solid metal! The rarest of mortal materials, and it has been used for a mere door! But of course, within the realm of the Almighty this could just be the least of the miracles to come!

Perhaps two meters in height, one meter wide, and completely and utterly flawless. Within I can see the ethereal reflection of the ceiling sun behind me, illuminating a ghostly visage of the room. Most prominently is the faint reflection of myself, reduced to nowt but green blobs extending from a central white cloud of my tunic. What is the meaning of such an illusion? Could it be that the holy creation that is this door is more than any of us? That compared to it, all of us are mere shadows until we shed our mortal shell and ascend to His side?

Am… am I allowed to touch it? But of course! The message suggests I pass through the door, so I must need to touch it. In which case…

I gently extend my forefinger, and I meet my reflection at the surface. Remarkable, I can barely feel… no I can’t feel the hammer marks! Truly amazing! Do the artisans of Heaven perfect their craft to this degree, or is it simply that He provided such artistry?

Wait, I cannot allow myself to become lost in this beauty – my Angel needs help! I grip the handle and, unsurprisingly, I am met with barely any resistance as the door pushes open.

There is no doubt, this is Heaven.

More colours than I can name, a dazzling luminescence, a projection of what might be the mortal realm in the sky. I want to drink it in more, to run and dance in the flowers, but my Angel… this must be another test! Of course, He is tempting me to paradise to see if I would abandon those in need! I close my eyes, and take a breath to calm my racing heart. I resolutely turn and run toward the bed, kneeling and clasping her hand.

“Angel! My Angel, we have been summoned! Let me help you up!”

But she barely stirs. Very well, I must take this into my own hands. No! With the Lord by my side, my hands are His hands. I glide an arm under her back, and one under her knees. An angel, a being of pure divinity, shall weigh less than a feather.

As I rise, I can feel my pulse race as I find my assumption correct. He is with me: a tear comes to my eye. Her wildfire red hair nearly hits the floor – I adjust her so there’s no chance of me stepping upon it. I try to move quickly and firmly, carefully turning sideways through the door. As we cross into Heaven, I call for the source of the voice:

“Help! This girl needs help!”

Finally through the door, the enormity of Heaven hits me for the first time. I can’t decide whether to gaze into the incomprehensibility of the plants, or the wonder of the world in the sky. And as I turn, I see the devils. I freeze.

There are two. The closest strikes fear through me, in spite of His protection. In some ways it resembles a person, albeit on the lighter side of skin tones. But everything about him – the unnatural stillness, those wide, penetrating eyes of coal and embers, those dark, tight navy robes, that abnormal short, pitch-black hair. It reminds me of an insect – if I move, will it pounce?

The other is charging toward me, having stamped through an empty doorway suspended in space. This one has sickly blue skin, adorned in scrapped and tattered pink and blue rags that suits the ferocity in those animalistic red and yellow eyes and the wild dark blue hair whipping around his face.

“Stay back!” I shout, mustering my courage as I cradle my Angel tighter to me. This must be more of the test. I can’t allow myself to be scared – the test is obviously as to whether fear can weather my loyalty to the Lord. It shall not be so.

My Angel convulses, nearly rolling out of my arms as she groans in pain. The blue one stops in his tracks a few feet from me – it must be dark magic caused by his presence. Should I run? No, I must trust Him. The bug-boy on the back doesn’t move an inch, but the savage blue boy points to my Angel.

“Is she okay? Did anything happen to you two?”

Its common knowledge that devils can speak the tongue of man, but I hadn’t expected such genuine concern. But it’s equally common knowledge that devils are designed to make you doubt yourself. Whatever happens, I must be honest and sure of myself – this devil shall not corrupt me!

“I said stay back, devil! You will harm her no more!”

Blue-boy’s wild eyes squint for an instant, then he raises his arms gently.

“I promise you, it’s not us. Whatever is happening to your friend, if it’s a cut or a break I can help out. My name’s Sy,” he says bringing his hand to his chest, and with his other he points to bug-boy behind him, “and this here is my friend Igelet. We bo-”

Angel spasms again, more violently than before. This must be a spell cast by one of them! I practically curl her body to my chest to stop her from falling. I take a firm step backwards, with a twinge of guild as I crush a flower underfoot.

“I said stay back! May the Lord grant us protection from you beasts! I shall not be swayed by your poison, return back from whence you came!”

“Look,” the blue boy says flashing a gentle smile, “I understand you’re confused. I was freaked out when I first saw someone different – no offence, Igelet. Bu-”

My Angel thrashes again! This isn’t good, I need to be proactive. The real test… of course, how could I possibly allow myself to have forgotten!? Those magical words woven mere moments ago had been obfuscated by the magnificence and terror before me – how could I allow this to happen? How dare I, how could I forget? A direct command from the Lord: find the woman on the bench.

I turn, and run with all my strength away from the room I had come from. As each foot kicks forward, a rainbow of petals explode up and into my face. The woman, the woman, where is the woman?

The field of flowers I am upon is the peak of a hill, and the more I run the further down I can see, until – there! There she-

Before I can drink in her appearance, the blue-boy appears mere feet before me. Dark magic! An illusion to stop me! No, I cannot be stopped. I have been assigned this holy mission, and as the Priest’s daughter, I will satisfy my role.

The image raises its arms again,

“Look, I think there’s a bit of-” he starts, when his eyes widen as he realises that this paltry trick will not slow me down. I curl Angel closer to my body, extending my elbows outward and prepare to lean into the apparition to shield her from harm. But no sooner than it had appeared, it vanishes. With my newfound speed I charge down the hill unobstructed – for a moment I worry about losing my footing. But by the Lord’s grace I steady my pace, and I look back down to the rapidly approaching figure on the bench.

There sits a great figure, with skin of royal purple with cropped hair, almost bald. Something reminiscent of tanned leather coats his body and limbs, but by the little flesh I can see near his hands he appears to be incredibly muscular. His head is bowed and arms brought together in prayer, and despite sitting I can tell he’s the tallest man I have ever seen in my life. I cannot see his face.

The slope starts to flatten out, allowing me to comfortably come to a stop before him. Lord forgive me, I know this to be an angel of the highest of orders, and to disrupt a prayer of such a being is far above my station. But I have my mission.

“Your Holiness!” I announce, dropping to one knee and gently laying Angel in the bed of flowers. I look up to his face, and his magnificent yellow eyes look at me in a surprised expression. “Please, heal her! She is in pain – her head, I believe! I lack the power.”

I bow my head again, and await the splendour of holy rejuvenation. Lord, I have done what has been asked of me! Surely now I may pass on…

“What happened?” a rough voice rings out. I’m taken aback somewhat – this isn’t what I expected an angel to sound like, but who am I to judge? Also, there was something else about the way he said it that I can’t quite…

“I awoke to find her thrashing in her bed. I prayed and prayed for her, which chased the demons from her for a short time. She awoke, but slipped back into unconsciousness. Her temperature-”

“Okay, okay, calm it,” the angel says again, and this time I catch it. The sounds don’t match up with the words at all… this must be the language of the Heavens! Of course it would be that I could understand. I hear the gentle creak of leather and look up: the angel rises, slipping a glowing rectangle into his pocket. As he rises I make note of two gloves hanging from his waist on his left and right side – something on them glints in the sun’s light, but I can’t make out what it is.

“This works out, it helps with the demonstration somewhat,” he says, somewhat to himself I think. “We’ll wait for the others, it looks like they’re about to come down.” He cups his hands around is mouth. “HURRY UP, YOU TWO!”.

I look up the hill behind me – there are others?! But I only see the bug and blue boys… I see! A thrill rides through my body and I can’t suppress my smile. Clearly these devils are here to be redeemed! How else would they have gained passage into the Lord’s realm? And to come here, to be accepted and judged alongside them by this angel – it just all makes sense now. Thank you for humbling me, my Lord.

I return to bowing my head, and against the gentle blowing of wind through the petals I hear the timid approach of the two boys. I understand – to them, the Heavenly realm must strike fear into their hearts! Or perhaps upon seeing it all, they realise that they must renounce their dark ways?

As they get closer I make out hushed tones – well, more like one tone. I can’t imagine the bug boy speaking, so it must be the wild blue one. As they approach I try to suppress my unease and revulsion at having them to my back, but there is nothing to fear.

Eventually, the footfalls come to a stop.

“Finally, you’re all here! Well I say that, sometimes I get to wait a bit longer. Sometimes we get people from places without doors, you know?” the gruff tone seems light and conversational, but there’s something else there. Perhaps he, too, reviles the devils?

“Can we leave?” I recognise the sound of the wild blue boy. His voice is level, but I can detect a hard edge to the undercurrent to his voice. How dare he?!

“No, not for a while, I’m afraid. Look, did any of you pick up the phones in the drawers?” There’s a pause, and my heart lurches – was there something I was to collect? How could I have missed a heavenly artefact?! I try my best not to bunch my hands into fists of frustration. “Okay, green-dude, could have nodded, don’t need to put your hand up. And you know how to use it?” Another pause. “Can you speak? Ah, whatever, if you can use it then I designate you to explain everything to the rest, okay? I really can’t be bothered to go over it again.”

The angel converses so casually with devils… in such a strange way that I would not have associated with such divinity.

“But short version: so you’ve all been brought here because you’re each one of those once-in-a-universe delights that have magic. You all got born with power and the prospect of infinity, so see this as a training course and a way of giving back to the reality that gave you all your wonderful gifts. You’re going to master your abilities here in ways you can’t even understand right now, trust me, and then you’re gonna be kept on retainer to help out universes in dire need of a mage. If you want more details, ask green-dude.”

There’s another pause… what? Other universes? Power? Oh, she must be referring to the devils. It makes sense – perhaps the training and work is a form of purgatory to reform them?

“What do we need to do to be able to leave?” came the voice of the blue-boy, and now I recognise the same disconnect in voice and meaning I perceive. Fancy that, a devil speaking the tongue of the divine! Though the dark undertones are not anything I would expect to be heard in this realm.

“As I said, ask to green dude with the phone. You guys are the last lot I have for a while, so just figure it out for yourselves, okay? I don’t want this to take up any more of my time than it needs to.”

I admit, this is… really not what I expect an angel to sound like. Speaking of Angel!

“Your Holiness, please, now we are assembled, help her,” I beseech as I look up again.

“Are you going to help her?” the blue boy behind me asks, and as I turn I note he’s a lot closer than I expected. Light, don’t allow yourself to be perturbed by his demonic sneakiness! His stance is curious – he’s half leaning on the balls of his feet, like an animal on high alert. His hands are firmly planted into his pockets. His face looks relatively restrained, but the intensity of those eyes remain, as though trying to burn a hole through the angel’s head.

I look back to the angel as I hear her moving. She’s reaching for her gloves, unhooking them from her belt. As she starts to slip them on, I notice an incomprehensible metal sheet adorning the knuckles, of such intricacy that I can barely describe.

“Okay, I guess there are two lessons I actually have to teach you. The first: magic. You all probably think it’s something different depending on your unique ability. Fundamentally there are two types of magic you have by yourself: your Characteristic, and your Body magic. The Characteristic is your unique ability – yeah, you know what it is. Body magic is actually quite hard to explain without a demonstration. Basically, it’s the reinforcement of your body, basically a healing ability you possess. If you don’t know what I mean, it’s most likely because it’s really affected by your expectations, mental state, blah blah blah, look it’s complicated. Long story short, you’re strong, heal fast, and functionally immortal.”

I drink in the words, the feeling of holy discovery dancing within me. To hear the secrets of the heavenly realm first hand! I have never read any of this in the scriptures – perhaps these are secrets too incomprehensible for the living? I need to focus, because as I try to digest it, there are a few things I don’t understand. What does she mean, I’ll know what my Characteristic is? Perhaps that was aimed at the devil? I take a breath: I need to focus! My life’s training must allow me to understand this!

“The second thing is less about you, and more about the world here. You see, you can’t die, per se. Not permanently. If your body is sufficiently damaged or destroyed, your soul will leave your body and be caught by the Soul-Catching network that exists in this planet. This stops it from dissipating, and allows itself to reconstitute a body.”

This makes more sense, I think. Of course you cannot die in Heaven! But, in the land of infinite joy, what could ever happen to cause damage to the body?

“What’s your Characteristic?” blue-boy asks calmly. The angel barks a short laugh.

“Good question! And it ties in really well to everything we’ve talked about so far. My Characteristic is to charge energy into objects, up the amount of ‘complexity’ the object has. This energy, if I use a sufficient amount, causes rapid and explosive destabilisation of the object. You see this?” he traces a gloved forefinger over the steel plate on the knuckle, and now it’s on show I realise how it’s some recursive pattern of immense intricacy, an eternal jagged loop that twists in on itself to such a degree that my eyes cannot focus on the smallest details. “It’s a tool I use, to help amplify my destructive power. When I punch something with this, it imprints the fractal into the object. This increases the complexity of design of the object, allowing me to charge it with more energy. Take notes, most people have one or two objects like this.”

In spite of everything, something isn’t feeling right. Despite the calm serenity of the world, I sense a tension not unlike the approach of a thunderstorm. Why would an angel need such a destructive weapon in Heaven? To smite devils, perhaps? Why am I so uneasy?

Oh, that’s why. But before I can ask, the blue boy echoes my thoughts perfectly.

“And what does that have to do with helping that girl on the floor?” he asks, and now the darkness of his voice lays naked.

The angel cracks a very un-angel-like smile.

“Don’t you see? When newcomers arrive, the hardest thing to impress upon them is the reality of the situation. You wouldn’t believe how many newbies think it’s a dream, or they’ve died and gone to Hell. So I have to demonstrate what I preach, really back up what I’ve been saying, you know? And here is a great opportunity to be really efficient! How can I prove to you about my powers, demonstrate your immortality, and help out this poor creature in one fell swoop? After all, it looks like the warp here might have affected her somewhat – it’s not unheard of. There’s often a simple cure.”

A pit has now solidly built up in my stomach. Is it me, or has the world gotten colder? The wind seems to have stopped blowing. For a moment, there’s nothing, and it looks like the man relishes the silence and he flashes a maniacal grin and clenches his fist.

“A mechanical reset!” he roars in a half-laugh and he bring his fist down to the Angel before me.

The next thing I know, my arms are outstretched as I maintain a vice grip the ang--devil’s purple wrist – the gloved fist mere inches from Angel’s twitching face. Wow, how did I do that? How am I doing this?

But of course, the answer is obvious. The Lord guides my hand and provides me with the strength I need. Under any other circumstance I think I might have fainted with the wonder of it, but that wonder in my stomach is dissolving into frustration now. My grip continues to tighten. Lord, please help me understand your plan here. I understand this is another stage of Your test, and I recognise You have designed it such that I can persevere for as long as I maintain faith. But to send this… thing to torment me… to have me worship it as Your herald…

No, I need to stop it! I cannot allow my personal inadequacies lead me down the path of blasphemy! This is another stage to the test, and I believe my path is clear. Protect Angel.

“Devil!” I shout as I look up, but before I can attempt to channel the force of my faith, the nightmare of the sight before me shuts me up.

The devil had to bend down to punch at Angel at his feet, so I expected to meet his gaze. However, instead I saw his head was turned, looking off down the length of his outstretched left arm. At the end of which I see the blue boy standing as though frozen mid-run – how on earth did he get here that quickly? Those previously shrewd eyes are frozen in confusion. His brow furrowed, he slowly looks down to the fist resting against his chest. What is the matter with him? Has the blow from this devil acted to diminish his fighting spirit?

My attention is captured by the glint of reflected sunlight on the demon’s leather-bound outstretched arm. Quickly whatever caused it moves down closer to me – a small blue bead travelling down his forearm, leaving a smooth streak of deepest navy in its tracks. What is that? Where does it coming from? I follow the trail, up the forearm, up the wrist, up-

The true magnitude of the horror of the sight hits me in an instant. The fist is nowhere to be seen, undoubtedly buried squarely in the chest of that blue boy. A slow, creeping circle of the boy’s dark blood spreads from the demon’s wrist, fading the brilliance from his pink and white upper garments. As the confusion in his eyes drains, I see a spark become an ember become a flame become a roaring blaze of sheer, rage. His face transforms just as gradually – his brow starts to furrow, his jaw tightens, his lips part over his gritted teeth, his neck tendons start to flair. With a savage, strained grunt his face shoots up to meet the demon’s eyes, and as a strained roar begins to escape him, a muffled yet deep BOOM sounds from his chest and immediately he is sends flying backwards as though he were a thrown ball. His legs catch the ground and he’s sent into a wild tumble through the field of flowers, leaving a bright cloud of swirling leaves and petals to mark his trajectory.

“Aaaaand there go your lungs,” the devil mutters casually, as though spectating on a child’s game of hide-and-seek. “It’s a good lesson for him, though,” he continues as his head slowly turns to meet my eyes. I notice the spreading smile starting to reach his eyes. “The stronger your Characteristic, the more invincible you think you are. I mean, did you see his face?! I bet he’s never actually been hit in a proper fight, ha!”

Lord, could this be the Devil himself? Then that would mean… this place… For an instant I feel the wrist slip through my fingers, bringing that first closer to Angel. The same fist which just… No! Regardless of where I am, I cannot allow such a foul wretch harm anyone under my care, regardless of their divinity. I tighten my grip and the arm moves no more. The devil’s eyebrows arch in contented surprise.

“Woah, now that’s a good grip you’ve got there.” His tone is overly light, and unmistakably condescending. Slowly I sense the free arm twist in order to aim downward. “But what if I…?”

My right hand is latching onto his right, and in this position there’s no way I’m going to be able to intercept the left that has already begun to swing towards Angel’s skull. But again the Lord guides my body. I think I might understand now – the test is to put Angel’s protection above myself. To prostate myself, to allow myself to suffer to demonstrate my devotion. I must have faith in Your plan, and that You have assembled those capable of carrying it out. And I will not fail. My left arm flies out, and grabs as thick a handful of my Angel’s tunic as possible. Then, with the strength bestowed upon me combined with the lightness of Angel’s frame, I pull her body in an arc and throw her behind me, towards where I remember the bug boy had been standing.

“Take her and run!” I scream as I use as much strength as possible to kick off the ground, launching myself towards the devil’s legs. Midway there, I feel the fist connect with the side of my ribs, but I barely feel a thing, of course. A mere devil’s fist can’t hurt me here.

I hadn’t thought about it, but in trying to wrestle his legs I had let go of the fist. With demonic agility, before my eyes the devil jumps into a forward flip, up and over me. For a second I feel his feet on my back, followed by the tremendous force as he undoubtedly kicks off of me. And now there is nothing before me except an expanse of flowers and the holy visage of the heavenly skies.

Flowers fly past my view, and it takes me a moment to realise that I’m still going. Wait, I’m really still airborne? All I did was jump, but it feels like seconds I’ve been sailing through petals and buds.

Finally I feel myself falling, and I land stomach first into the rainbow of plants. For a few moments I tumble, and with all my strength I try to repress the memories of falling down those stone steps… until finally I land on my back. I open my eyes to a full view of the scribbled sky, sun high with a million petals of all hues fluttering wildly above me.

Angel!

I jump up: nothing feels broken. There they are – so far away! I’m easily a dozen meters from that bench, and the devil is falling through the sky – how high had he been able to jump from my back?! Directly where it looks like he’s going to land lies Angel, and behind him the bug boy stands frozen, gazing on the figure descending upon him with just his hands in his pockets.

Lord, give me strength! I dash forward, urging my body to sprint faster than ever before. I try and push the despair, the niggling doubt in my mind away that I will make it in time, as the devil begins to fall, contorting his body downward-

Out of nowhere the blue boy appears in the air, fist pulled back, mere feet from the devil. What?! I look over to the settling cloud of petals where he had landed – yes, he truly has vanished! So the magics of this boy isn’t mere illusion, it is displacement of himself! What creature… no, wait, I cannot look down upon him. For here he is aiding me in protecting my Angel… he cannot be completely evil? Perhaps this is his road to redemption in this hellish purgatory? Blue boy, I thank you, so please stop her with all of your strength.

His punches forwards, directly into the devil’s head. Except, no! The blow did not land at all – the devil had simply shifted its own head to the side, as it once again contorts its frame in mid-air. As it does so, a hand reaches out and grabs onto the blue boy’s arm, and with unimaginable dexterity the devil arches its back to arc the boy over his head and completely downwards. For a heart-rending moment the boy plummets to the ground. When again he vanishes. His body appears in the empty space directly above the devil, and with the same speed as he had been hurtling before he tackles the devil, knocking them both to the ground. An eruption of petals mark their landing – easily a few dozen feet from the green bug-boy and my Angel. I see that he appears to have found his wits, and it quite unceremoniously dragging my Angel along the floor with one hand grabbing her tunic-wrapped leg, whilst the other remains in his pocket. The indignity! How dare!... No, I must not condemn him either. He must be trying his best, given the circumstances.

I’m quite close to the bloom of petals as it settles enough for me to see what transpires within. Spaced far apart and facing each other the combatants stand diametrically opposed. The blue boy stands hunched as streams of blood roll down his body, smoke visibly rising from the crater in his chest. Yet despite such a lethal injury there is no mistaking that the source of his erratic shaking is pure, primal anger. His face a contorted snarl - truly an exemplar model of a devil in his own right. The air itself seems laden with biting energy emanating from him. If it weren’t for his wound, he would undoubtedly be screaming.

The purple devil, on the other hand, stands relaxed with a hand on his hip and a bemused smile upon his face. There is no mark upon him, besides the deep blue that stains the otherwise uniformly rich bright leather of his suit.

“What are you, too angry to die? You’re literally smoking… I wonder if you’re healing under there?” With elegant ease he reaches down a plucks the stalks of a fistful of flowers. He begins to pick the petals off, one by one. “Ooh, look at that face! Wanna kill me, kid? Well come on then. Tell you what, if you guys manage to kill me, I’ll leave the girl alone, okay?”

For a moment, all I can hear besides the beating of my feet through the field is a gentle gust of wind, which carries a few petals from all about high into the sky. I’m nearly there! I’ll be able to help… to do what? Surely I can’t actually kill her. That couldn’t possibly be the right thing to do. In no heavenly realm would admittance be accepted on the basis of mortal combat. Of course! This is a devil’s trick! We need to pacify him some other way… aha! We must use the strength of our devotion to heal and call upon our Angel!

The blue boy clearly hasn’t figured this out. His quaking fist rises, and I realise it’s gripping onto a knife with a red handle. A carving knife? What a strange sight the two of them, one armed with a blade, the other wish a fistful of flowers and a hand full of petals. But wait, I cannot let him fight the devil like this!

“Stop!” I cry out as authoritatively as I can, as I have seen father do so many times to squabbling children. But if anything that only triggers the blue boy into action. He half turns in place, then vanishes – and appears directly behind the devil, half-facing him as his knife aims directly for his head. Before I can yell again, the devil has already begun to move. As though having anticipated the blue boy’s moves, he drops the handful of now bear flowers, leans to the side and turns his own body, catching the wrist holding the knife as it sails through where his head had been an instant before. Before he can do more, the blue boy is suddenly half a dozen feet in the air, his foot at the height of the devil’s face as he kicks forward as he starts to fall. The devil’s artfully rolls his head out of the way, and a shiny-knuckled fist rises towards the blue boy’s leg. He is suddenly a few feet behind where he was in the air, behind the devil and his other foot kicks backwards, to the point it looks like he’s attempting a front split in the air. The devil, with his wicked insight, seems to anticipate this again, and ducks low. Before the devil launches another attack, the blue boy disappears again, and lands from the half front split a few dozen feet away. I’m close now.

As the devil rises, a barking laugh erupts from deep in his chest.

“BRILLIANT! Kid, you’re a natural! All that on half a torso! Oh I am so glad to be your first here. Everyone’s gonna want a piece of you! Looks like you’re running low, though. Take a sit and let this happen, alright?”

I can see what the devil means – it’s no longer the boy’s fathomless rage causing him to shake. His legs are practically knocking together, I cannot imagine how much he must be fighting to even just stand. Yet the message of bodily failure has not reached his face – if anything the savage anger has only increased. He raises his knife with a jittering hand, his blue skin practically white at the knuckles. In response, the devil opens his palm, and the gentle breeze gently carries them towards the blue boy.

“STOP, I SAY!” I shout, mere feet from the blue boy himself. I just need to grab him, make him come to his senses. Cleanse from him this nonsensical rage. I outstretch my hand but then he’s gone, and to my side I see him directly before the devil, thrusting his knife towards the leather-bound chest amongst the petals in the air. This time, however, the devil makes no move, and from his expression I can clearly read a proclamation of victory. The confidence practically rolls off of him – was the boy too enraged to notice? But why-

With a familiar sounding BOOM! the petals erupt in searing white lights, and I feels the air smack against my face. In an instant all that is left is a chaotic cloud of smoke and petals. The boy! Where… ah! He’s standing beside me, knife by his side, his rage momentarily subsumed by an alert examination of the cloud, clearly waiting to see where the devil will emerge.

“You need to stop this!” I implore. Lord, please let me words reach him! I place my hand upon his shoulder. “My lost lamb, I assure you we can survive-”

“Shut up!” he hisses, glancing towards me for a second. And in that moment I see the devil, in such a low sprint I could imagine he was slithering on the floor, shoot out from the cloud on the other side of the blue boy, fist pulled back. Without thought, my hand on his shoulder tightens to a grip and I pull him out of the way, using my other hand to push as I jump into where he had been standing. Now the fist is coming squarely at me… foul Devil, strike me as hard as you can! You cannot harm me, nor anyone else under my sanctified protection!

The fist connects straight into my gut and… nothing, as expected. Do you see, Devil? And do you see, you blue wayward lamb?

“What are you made of?!” the devil half-shouts, half laughs, as he pivots immediately into tearing after the falling blue boy I had just knocked over. I look up – he’s on the floor, undoubtedly his footing as too weak to support the push I gave him. His fist comes crashing down, but the boy disappears at the last conceivable moment, I cannot see where. The devil apparently can, though, as he looks over me, and starts to stand himself. No! Now I have you, devil, I cannot let you harm anyone else!

I reach out and grab both of his ankles. I made the mistake of letting go before, but not again. I lie flat on my stomach and hold as tightly as I can – Lord, please keep my grip true! I feel a shift in the weight of the devil, and suddenly he looks down at me. For the first time I can read genuine annoyance in his expression.

“Strong bugger, aren’t you? Look, let’s just get this over with, okay? You were the one asking for me to do something.”

I take a breath, and centre my spirits as though I were to pray in Heaven’s Cane. This is my chance!

“Oh foul being, leave us! You have no power to hate and cause pain here! Repent of your transgressions and be accepted to the Lord! May you love Him with all your-”

“Oh for the love of… let go!” the devil mutters in annoyance as he struggles his feet in vain. Yes, it’s working!

“-heart, and may you walk the road to righteousness in his arms. Fear not the past you have led, love only the future-”

“Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP,” he begins to groan as I feel punch upon punch upon my back, to no effect. Lord, I know this is no proper prayer, but I speak from my soul right now!

“- you have yet to live in His embrace. Calm your rage, feel our love –”

“Oh, lookie here,” he suddenly says, and he bends over and rises with the blood-dripping knife the blue boy had been wielding. Do what you can, you can do nothing to me here. “Okay, so you said I have no power to cause pain, right? Well what about…” and with expert finesse, he fluidly flings the knife away – in a flat arc towards the green bug boy! He has made it an admirable distance, but there is no doubt that the knife will soon meet his head. His hand is now free of his pocket – is that another knife?! Almost identical to the one the blue boy had, except this one has a blue handle. He’s looking directly at my Angel, completely unaware of the impending blade.

“Watch out!” I scream as loudly as I can, and instantly the boy’s face snaps towards me, eyes quickly locking on a knife mere seconds from hitting him. Jerkily he immediately starts to move, moving his head away as he tries to raise his knife as thought to intercept, but it’s too late. Lord, I pray, please-

Before I can even finish my prayer, the knife stops, now firmly in the iron grip of the blue boy. His previously colourful clothes are now utterly saturated with his navy blood, but the multitude of shades of petals stuck to him give superficial colour. From this angle I can more easily make out the gaping, fist-shaped hole in his chest, and even a thin trail of smoke puffing out with each attempt at a breath. Despite this, he’s no longer shaking – now I see his face, I need to reconsider whether he is a devil or not. There’s a hollowness to his eyes, but that contorted mask of pure fury lingers like the burning smoulders of a bonfire.

“He’s pretty tough,” the devil above me speaks in the light, conversational tone of elderly women exchanging pleasantries. “Though, do you think he’s forgotten my Characteristic? It’s not going to be anything spectacular, with it being plain steel and plastic.”

It takes me a moment to realise what he means.

“DROP THE KINFE!” I yell as loudly as I can, but instantly a white flash erupts from the boy’s hand, engulfing all three of them in a roaring sphere of heat.

My Angel! No! Freezing, nightmarish panic shoots up from my stomach through my arms and my fingers, where the devil kicks forward out of my grip.

I lay on my front, my thoughts coming slow. I have failed. My Angel, those other two… I failed to protect them from this Devil. Over all my years of spiritual training, what lessons did I miss that could have properly prepared me? How… how could I have possibly let any of this happen? I had him in my hands, I could have held on tighter, pulled him down when he went for the knife. Or even before, when I foolishly let his fist go. Lord, you lent me the strength to subdue this monster, and I failed you. I can feel a choking sob trying to break free from my throat, my eyes start to blur in tears.

No. This isn’t the time, Light. Calm down! I clench my fists – next time I have the devil in my grasp, he will not escape until Your word has reached him. I look up – the devil is sprinting towards the torrent of petals kicked up by the explosion of light. Where is… There! My Angel is laying in the same place as she had been before, no different to before except now slightly hidden beneath a sheet of petals. Maybe she had been moved a bit, she’s a little more outstretched than before. But that bug-boy is no longer standing over her – instead, a few metres away he appears to be trapped under blue-boy’s smoking, ragged body. Nobody over there is moving, and the devil is so close.

Lord, please. I shall not fail you again. All I need to do is reach him. Grant me this, and I shall save them.

I kick up, practically sprinting before I even fully right myself. Each kicked into the ground pushes me faster and faster than I have ever run in my life. The air itself seems to growl and the petals pass my face each with a thwip. I’m practically at the demon’s heels in a few seconds, when he jumps head-first, pulling back a fist to fly into the unconscious Angel. Yet I can feel it, my running pace is faster – with a few more bounds I throw myself forward, and I know with full certainty I will be able to grab into him in mid-air, overshooting both of us from hitting my Angel. Despite how close we now are, practically on top of my Angel, I’m going fast enough to restrain that pulled-back fist. The world seems to slow to a crawl as I see my hand getting closer, closer to that arm, as my left arm goes to wrap around his body. Worry not, my Angel, you will be –

“JUST DIE ALREADY!” I hear a scream… no, two screams. One is clearly the devil who is an instant away from my grasp, but the other… it doesn’t sound like that blue boy. Besides, it sounds more familiar in tone… wait…

I see it in the corner of my eye. The sheet of petals adorning my Angel are suddenly flung up, in a swirling mass of red hair I catch but a glint of flashing metal I hear the slashing of something. The devil below me contorts – no, I shall not be distracted! I clench my fist, but his arm has shifted, leaving my nails biting into my own palm. My left arm, however, wraps around his leg, and as we tumble to the ground I clutch it as firmly as I can. There will be no escape from me.

“For the love of-” I hear the devil curse, and I look up – violent crimson blood appears to be seeping out from under the palms over his eyes.

I look up to my Angel – she’s on her feet now, her hair down by her side and mostly over her face in a dreadful tangle. But even behind the ornate tunic and luxurious hair, the fury blemishing her face catches me off-guard. It’s almost… no, exactly the same possessed fury that the blue boy wore. I see in an arm trembling with rage is a blue-handled, bloody knife.

This… this isn’t my Angel. Transparently so – despite everything else, the expression gives it away. Has the boy’s venomous wrath transcended his own body and possessed this embodiment of purity? And as she steps forward, I sense the same murderous aura. Blue boy, whatever you have done, it needs to stop! My Angel, I cannot let you kill this Devil. I pull my arm around the devil’s leg even tighter, but also push myself into a sit to keep myself between the Angel and Devil. Angel or not, I need to get through to her.

“My Angel! You need to stop this, it is not right to do this!” Lord, please guide my words. “To harm another such as this is to blemish the Lord’s love! Please do not forget!”

Thank you Lord, for in that moment I see the hostility wash away from her face, and as she looks down to the knife in her hands she drops it in surprise. Then she looks up at me, surprise in her eyes –

“Light- watch out!”

I feel a knock on my back, then another, and another. Nothing more than… pats? I can feel some weight behind it, but nothing else. I turn to the devil and one of his punches catches my cheek… it doesn’t even feel like a push. No devil can harm me as I embrace the Lord.

“DAMN. What, are you changing your density? Your structure? Even your clothes? Why won’t you blow up!?”

“Calm yourself, monster. You have fallen a far from the path, but I shall help you return to grace.”

“ABSOLUTELY NOT,” he roars, and bring his fist down once again… onto his own leg. Why, is he reaching for something in his pocket? The blasting eruption of sound and noise from the fist shocks me, but my spirit remains utterly unshaken. I keep the leg tightly in my grasp. As the light begins to fade, I feel something about it begin to feel different. Is it getting colder? Something is seeping out from it. I don’t understand.

By the time the light fades enough, I see – the leg in my embrace is entirely by itself. The devil has vanished, leaving his own leg behind. Ew! I push it away in revulsion.

“No, she didn’t get far,” Angel’s soothing voice greets me, followed by her outstretched hand. I take it, letting her pull me to my feet. Such a soft hand! Should I kiss it, I wonder?

“No need,” she says to herself. What does that mean? Wait… no way! Could it be that she is communing with God Himself?!

“No,” she says again, looking straight into my eyes with those enchanting inside-out eyes. “I can feel your thoughts. We will talk later,” she says just as I am to speak, to give her the glory she deserves, “we need to focus on her for now,” she says, indicating to the side. I follow my Angel’s gaze, and a few dozen meters away I see the leather bound, one-legged man in a steep crouch supported by an arm, the other hard still supporting the stream of blood coming from his face.

Oh, such a pitiable creature! Truly he suffers – if only he could appreciate God’s truth. Wait, he needs treatment! He’ll bleed out with those wounds. I open my mouth to speak, but my Angel speaks first.

“It won’t work. Dying here, it isn’t permanent. She’s less afraid of dying, and more afraid of having lost to us.”

Wait, she? Angel nods in confirmation. But her hair is so short! And where are her… anyway.

“Lost?! To the likes of you lost?” spits the devil…ness? She barks a laugh, completely devoid of the taunting playfulness of before. I don’t need an Angel’s mind-piercing ability to tell she’s bitterly frustrated. “Like hell that’s gonna happen. I’ll give it to you guys, you’re a handful. You’re all gonna be an absolute blast to have around. But someone here is going to die. It’s all a part of the induction, you see. Yeah, I didn’t think you guys had any fight in you, and it’s cost me my eyes and a leg. But I’ve been here for centuries, saved dozens of worlds. Do you really think my pride will let you do me in?”

“Please, allow me to tend to your wounds! You will bleed out!” I say as firmly as I can, trying to emulate the confidence father would wield during medical emergencies. I can tourniquet that stump of a leg with my tunic, that’s the greatest problem here. The creature recoils, tensing like a threatened animal and putting her blood-soaked hand onto the ground to further steady herself. The gouging across the face is grotesque – fortunately I cannot even see the remnants of the ruined eyes with all the blood.

“Don’t you dare look down on me, you trumped-up newbie. Come at me with all you’ve got, or this will be no fun at all.”

“Senseless violence is not the way!” I retort, taking another step. “Whatever brought you this low, there is redemption. I hold love in my heart for even a devil like you.”

I feel Angel’s hand upon my shoulder.

“Light, stop. She’s not a devil, she’s a person, like us. And right now, she’s planning to blow up Sy and Igelet if you get any closer.”

I look back to the smoking heap of the two boys. Right now, I’m close enough to them that if this devil pulls anything I’ll be able to get in the way, but if she slips by me with that wicked agility she’ll be able to throw something again.

“Oh, for the love of… a telepath? Ugh. Stop rooting around in here, perv,” the devil moans.

What do I do? I cannot reach her, so I need to convey the Lord’s message from here! But she shan’t survive too long with those wounds!

“No, Light, she will be fine. As we speak she’s healing her eyes, and she’s stopped the bleeding in her leg. While she’s down we NEED TO KILL-” she winces, and holds her hand to her grimacing face. Wait, is this like her spasms earlier? Is she still hurting? I go to reach out to her, but she subtly shakes her head. “No, it’s Sy. He’s so, so angry. I don’t understand how he can feel so… it’s sustaining him, somehow. It’s getting better ‘cos he’s losing consciousness, but I keep getting caught up in it, I’m sorry.”

Of course – an Angel, a being of pure spirit and goodness, would naturally be affected by the negative emotions of others.

“But I mean it, we do need to kill her,” she says more levelly, clearly exerting to keep the toxic madness from her mind. “I promise you, Angel, she will be okay. I can feel it in her – she has died many times, it’s a natural thing here. There’s no evil in it, I promise.”

I look deeply into my Angel’s inverted eyes, spotting the occasional flicker of seemingly random expressions. If my Angel is saying this, should I take it to be true? Or… perhaps she is being manipulated by that blue boy again, or this devil here? How could she possibly be advocating such cruelty? I see a reflected understanding in those eyes, and she turns more towards and tenderly grips my shoulders.

“Light, you’re right. I’m not sure to what extent what I’m saying is me. But I’m just seeing the minds of everyone and telling you everything. I agree, if this were home, we’d be completely wrong to kill. But she gave us an ultimatum earlier which she will stick by – if we kill her, she won’t kill us when she returns. And I don’t want to die here, even if it’s temporary.”

“It’s the way of the world here!” the devil pipes up. Her sadistic grin has returned to her face. “Hoity-toity moralising types like you are the most fun to break. You’ll have such fun, I promise.”

“Both of you, quiet,” I say firmly, and take a step from my Angel. I need to pray, but I can’t keep my eyes off this devil. Lord, what is it with these people? This devil, that blue boy, now even my Angel – why is everybody so obsessed with violence? With death? Have I failed, having let your Angel become so obviously corrupted? Three people need my spiritual guidance, and they’re all at each other. Lord, what is it you are demanding of me?

Hang on. Ever since arriving I have been assuming that You will provide the clear path before me, Lord. But this hasn’t been the case, meaning… of course! The true test is the degree to which I can correctly channel Your will with my own actions, not expecting it to be apparent before me! I need to focus on what I believe to be true, not that everything shall appear honestly and evidently. The world need not be laid plainly and evidently before me to trust in my own ability to navigate it.

And if this is the case… then I can believe Angel. Whether she is an actual Angel or not, it doesn’t matter. I believe with all my heart that I am to be her companion for what is to come, for whatever path is laid before us. I have no idea about half of what people have been talking about, but I feel this is the right way forward.

I rise and turn back to her, finding a determination matching my own in her eye.

“Well, there it is. I accept I don’t fully understand what’s going on here, but I’ll believe and follow you to the end, whoever you are.”

“And I with you,” she replies, and in that moment I realise why her words soothe me so much. Whereas the blue boy and the dev- the woman spoke in tongues that I could understand, Angel speaks in my own, with her words matching up with what I hear.

“AAAH!” my Angel suddenly screams, her head snapping backwards kicking her red hair into a chaotic swirl. He legs buckle like a puppet having its strings snapped, and in an instant I’ve got her arm around my neck as I support her weight. What has that woman done?! I look over, expecting to see evidence of her movement, but if anything she’s just as confused as me. Hang on, this has happened before, in the bed. These spasms, what are causing them? She’s not unconscious, though: weakly I can feel her attempt to remain standing as she groans.

“God, he even does it in his dreams,” she mutters, trying her best to stand. Calm yourself, my Angel. Whatever ails you, I will deal with it momentarily.

“Please, sit and rest, my Angel,” I say calmly as I lower her into to bed of flowers. She is clearly barely able to keep sitting up straight, with both hands clasping her forehead. “I shall deal with this for us.”

“So, you gonna cut loose?” spits the purple woman to my side. I take a breath, it’s time to affirm myself. In spite of myself, I feel my heart flutter – it has been so long since my last Vow, my next should have been during my affirmation of Priesthood.

“I don’t understand where we are, or what our goal is here. Clearly I need to learn more of this realm. If it’s the will of others to fight, then I shall not encroach upon them. But here I make a Vow:”

 “First! Should reason fail, I shall act to defend the all those who do not wish to fight, to the full extent of my ability.”

“Second, in doing so I shall never act to maim nor kill. Everyone else may choose to blemish their soul in this way, but I shall not.”

“And third and finally! I shall provide no aid to willing fighting participants. It will not be my place to interfere.”

I stop, and inhale my lost breath. My heart no longer feels uncertainty, my soul feels reaffirmed. I hold my gaze steadily upon the wretched bleeding dev- woman. Her face for a moment is blank with shock, but slowly and surely a grin begins to spread across her face as a raucous laugh starts to build.

“Hahahaha! WOW! Okay, I like your style. Protecting people, that’s why we’re here, I guess. And that’s newbie naiveté for you – how can you hope to protect anyone if you’re not going to put me down? That other girl doesn’t sound like she’s in the best shape, and the boys are out for the count. Can you defend three people all by yourself?”

My Angel, is Sy still conscious? I look over to my Angel, and she nods gently. Okay then.

“Is there really nothing I can do to avoid conflict? Anything I can do to provide or serve? Will you be willing to talk, and work this out?”

“No,” she spits back, with clenched jaw.

“Very well. Then, I only have one thing to say to you. Is this really the best you can do?”

The devil freezes, her smile suddenly ringing hollow.

“No, I mean it. Look at you, rolling your little bloody ball of petals. With all that blood, it’s going to make a bit of a solid ball, right? You’re going to throw that, right? What, you thought I couldn’t see? I’m not the one missing an eye here. You throw that, and it explodes, and assuming you’re pumping as much of your magics into that as possible, you aim to blow us all away?”

Her hand twitches slightly, her knuckles whitening as she clenches to compact the ball further.

“And what are you going to do about it, huh?” she sneers mirthlessly. I raise my voice – please, let my words reach you!

“Honestly? I just pity you. You’re just scared. Where is that person I saw before, so strong, so determined, so impassioned? Certainly not here, certainly not the person lying in a bloody heap! You’re dying, and look at who brought you this low.”

“How dare - ” she begins to spit, but I’m not finished.

“Oh please, WAKE UP! Have some pride in yourself and fight father that take the cheap, coward’s approach.”

I lock eyes with my Angel, and she nods subtly, struggling to keep the fury from infecting herself. I relax a bit. Thank you, Lord. Ah, there’s one more thing to do, just in case. I begin to walk towards her, and despite her blindness she seems to follow my position purely through the sound of the snapping stalks underfoot. I lower my voice a little.

“So out of, what is this, frustration? So out of frustration you’re going to attack the weak and infirm? All that talk earlier, all that bravado. But wait… oh yes, you weren’t actually able of hurting me, weren’t you? You hit me a few times there, was it meant to do anything? You seemed surprise. You see, I have the Lord on my side. And with His strength, I can do anything. The same could be true for you, if you would but rest yourself and listen to me.”

For a moment, there is nothing. A cackle of thunder seems to saturate the air, and the ball of leaves in the devil’s hand starts to glow brighter, brighter and brighter still. Until, finally -

“Let this be a lesson to you, newbie! DON’T TALK SHIT TO YOUR ELDERS!” With that, the devil jumps – with a single leg and pushing off with a free hand, she launches high into the air, easily dozen of meters. She pulls back the dripping ball of bloody leaves and petals, clearly putting in all of her strength to fire it… oh thank goodness, she’s aiming at me, and only me. I keep my eyes on her, and even as she passes in front of the sun, that ball in her hands shines brighter still. And then, she throws it…

And against the light I see the silhouette of the blue boy appear, then vanish in an instant. Thank goodness he had been paying attention. That ball of light had probably just bounced harmlessly off his body – after all, they’re just petals before they explode. Meaning, it’s still close to…

The concussing blast makes visible ripples in the air, kicking the entire meadow of petals high into the sky as the sphere of light rapidly expands, swallowing the devil whole. As quickly as it erupted the light fades, leaving a blizzard of infinite colours swirling high in the sky. No sign at all of the woman.

I hold my breath. Is it safe to be this far from the boys? Should I move closer to them, in case she somehow…

I hear a dull thunk, and looking down I see the proof of our safety. A charred, black lump, evidently dead. Rest in peace, devil, for however long you stay dead.

I kneel down to my Angel, and brush her glorious hair to the side. Her face is pale… oh Lord, did you experience what that devil did in her final moments? Oh my Angel, I am so sorry. I lean in and hug her tightly, and she responds in kind. Now, my Angel, I need to go and tend to that blue boy. However I can.

I stand to go, but she grabs me by the wrist. I look down to her weakly smiling face.

“He should be fine. He lost consciousness after he saw her blow up.” She looks to the side, as though something caught her eye. “He’s under the table at the moment. Anyway. What I mean to say is, he isn’t aware of it but I can feel the sensation of his healing. He will be fine.

“But Light, that’s beside the point. If we are going to all work together to survive here, then before he wakes up, the one we need to worry about is Igelet.”