The two seraphim, now having undergone a strange metamorphosis out of which they emerged mutually better friends, have decidedly went on to continue their journey to the mythical Shrine. It exists, according to Throne, however what lies inside is still as enigmatic of a mystery as it ever was. To make matters worse, it was nearing the end of the cycle.
"Are you going that fast because you're excited?" Vastoria inquired, "There's no need to rush, not like we're under a time limit anymore."
"So now I'm not allowed to be happy for a change as well?" He glared back, "Let me have this, I finally might scratch this damned itch that's been annoying me ever since I first laid Eyes upon it."
"No, you can be happy, it's just..." She found it difficult to explain, "The White Monster doesn't go after us, y'know? Us seraphim, we..."
"Yeah, I get it." He stopped her, "It doesn't chase us, but if we were to even accidentally take a peep at its ugly mug, we'll be put to sleep and sent back home."
"But we still retain our memories." She retorted.
"Kinda doesn't matter when you gotta fly all the way back." He sighed, "Look, I don't like seeing his hideous ass, so just please keep up with my pace and we'll be there before even a single one of those morons down below go night-night."
And of course by "those morons", he means the other angels. As Throne put it, the seraphim are the only ones except for the Gods that remember what the White Monster's face looks like after seeing it. In a sense, the angels are lucky to get such a horrid sight wiped from their mind, yet these two have both been subjected to it countless times already. Maybe the same cannot be said for Vastoria, who has only been a seraphim for a few weeks, but for someone as "long-lived" as Throne, he has more than grown sick of it.
"...Are you calling Migu a moron?" Vastoria raised a scornful Eyebrow at him.
"Okay, I gotta ask." Throne got sick of her incessant defense, "What makes her so special to you? She looks the exact same as every other girl here, and even then you could've gone for a guy or something!"
"Special?" Vastoria paused mentally, "What made you say that?"
"You know, I wasn't promoted yesterday." He groaned, analyzing her word choice very carefully, "When you flocked to defend your sweet little girlie Migu, you completely skipped past the supposed other guy that was with her when you two first met."
"Eh?"
"Sab, I believe it was." He scowled, "So you tell me, then—How come Migu ISN'T considered special in your Eyes when you only seem to run to her when you need an example of a kind being."
"That's..."
"Ah, I believe I understand. You two engaged in a rather risqué display of affection in front of this Sab person." He recalled the story she told earlier at the floating island, "What was it again? Touching golden parts? I wonder, could that be a form of masturbation for angels-?"
"STOP!" She smacked him, speeding up significantly to hide her embarrassed expression, "That's absolutely not what happened between us! A-And for your information, Migu and I are NOT in that kind of relationship."
"Hm, that's a relief." He smirked.
"Tch, something about the way you said that ticked me off..." She clicked her tongue, "Even though we're not, are you really afraid of two women being romantically associated with each other?"
"Oh I'm terrified. Scared beyond angel comprehension." He said sarcastically, "Now move faster, come on. I'm about to say some really messed up shit about lesbians, so you best not hear it."
"You're actually the worst." She grimaced before zooming out of view.
"Cheh, infinitesimally easier than taking candy from a baby." He grinned to himself, "Rile them up and they immediately speed up. I swear, humans are just like horses sometimes. Well, anything to get her sorry ass to get moving. We don't have much time, I'm afraid..."
As much as he boasted in front of the lovestruck seraphim about his homophobic bigotry, it appears he had not uttered but even a single word of disdain for the two's hypothetical union. Throne cared not for such things, but it seemed to be the only way Vastoria was willing to fly faster towards their destination. Below them appeared more and more sleeping angels, which could only signify that their time was quickly running out.
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"Vastoria." He lagged behind her, "That's fast enough, y'know."
"Until you've apologized for all the hurtful things you said, I'll be taking the front seat!" She stuck her tongue out at him.
"I didn't even say anything, come on!" He yelled, "Besides, you'll tire yourself out and won't be able to use those wings when you most need them later!"
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"What do you care!?" She glared.
It appears the young seraphim still disliked his earlier words against her and Migu. Though she did not truthfully consider herself enamored by the female angel, it was still a rather offensive thing to hear come out of her friend's mouth. This is all to say that Throne was already on very thin ice, but this definitely made the cracks show. Absolutely, she was unwilling to fly at the same pace as him, no matter how much he would try to catch up.
"You're being dumb." He warned, "You're forgetting that I've been using these wings far long than you have."
"So what? You think that'll change...!" She turned back, only to see he's seemingly disappeared from her field of vision, "...anything?"
"Peekaboo." He jumpscared her from above, flying at the exact same speed without so much as breaking a sweat, "I assure you, it does."
Though she couldn't see how he did it, Throne did in fact use a specific set of movements that optimized the efficiency of his flight. By lunging down, he accumulated a potential lift energy that also gives him speed caused by the natural gravity of falling. Quickly pulling back up, he maintains said speed whilst simultaneously avoiding as much drag as possible by adjusting his wings. This method of flying, that mimics how a paper airplane would go about it, requires a lot of concentration and skill to accomplish, but in exchange gives an incredibly speedy flight that barely causes his wings any stress.
"Gah!" She panickedly jolted, causing her to fall a few hundred meters, "You... You moron!"
"I guess women and I just don't mix..." He shrugged, "I warned her not to go too fast, she got mad. I sped up to match her pace, she got mad. It's almost like you don't want me anywhere near you, miss."
"Maybe 'cause I don't?!" She hollered back, "And I'm not mad about that, why didn't you tell me there's an easier way to fly!?"
"Easier, she says..." He repeated, "There isn't a single easy thing about it, woman. You're welcome to try, but know it took me over a hundred days to get to figure it out-"
"I'm going for it!" She was already nosediving by this point.
As it were, Vastoria was pretty much a complete newbie when it came to flying. Still, she was a studious type of girl, willing to learn from her mistakes and iron them out as quickly as possible. Once she reached a high enough downward velocity, she quickly used up all her body's strength to redirect herself up. She managed, if just barely, but the hard part was yet to come.
"Mngh...!" She found quite the difficulty spike ahead of her, "Gotta... keep... the angle...!"
"Nope." Throne was thankfully there to grab her from the air before she lost control completely, "That's not how you fly."
"Oh come on, at least let me try until the end!" She got fussy.
"And when would that be?" He got annoyed as well, "When you exhaust yourself completely? When your wings fall off? Or perhaps when you fall to the ground yourself?"
"...What happens first." She replied with a strong nod, "But if I don't make a mistake in learning, then can I ever truly say I learned it? You said it yourself, right—It took you a very long time before you managed."
"Except I experimented during the start or middle of the cycle." He reminded her, "Meanwhile you're going hardcore mode. One wrong move and you're standing face to face with a wave of the White Monster's Apostles. Of course you know, they won't hesitate to stare into your Eyes deeper than I do my own empty vessel I call a soul."
"So edgy... Have you considered dyeing your hair?" She suggested, "It'd really fit you."
"Oh, and I assume piercings as well?" He played off the joke, "Sorry, but I'm not that far gone."
Hearing his rather conservative beliefs, it appears Vastoria deemed this man to be quite old-fashioned. She wasn't being serious, of course, but not once did she assume calling him an emo would be considered an insult. To her, it was just like any other brand of clothing—An outfit, a style, something to make you feel just a bit more unique than you already are. The more she talked with him, the more she understood the kind of community he was brought up in as a human. Or rather, the time period.
"...Well then, time for round two!" She freed herself of his safety grasp before nosediving once more, "Woohoo!"
"Vastoria!" He called out to her, "No more, dammit!"
"I'll get it right this time, don't worry!" She reassured him, "Okay, now pull up in three, two... O-Oh no."
Below her was a rather harrowing sight. The White Monster, or maybe just one of his Apostles, was holding a smiling Migu by the hand. She was cheerfully speaking to it as if it were a normal friend. Why, or rather—How? She should have redirected herself a long time ago by now, but in order to understand more about this upside down situation, she just had to get in closer.
"Her Eyes are closed." She noticed, "Don't tell me, is it tricking her into thinking she's safe? That hand, it looks human despite the White Monster only being a goat's skull and nothing more."
Saving her was already out of the question. If she got too close to intervene, she'd get put to sleep in an instant. Regardless of what would happen to Throne after that, they would simply have to call it quits for this attempt. Vastoria was, by definition, the main cog meant to make this whole mechanism turn. She had a responsibility to bear, even if it meant leaving the one she held closely in her heart, the only one willing to hug her even when their bodies were completely numb to it. That was what Vastoria chose, but as she finally made up her mind, it was far too late to pull herself back up.
"No, gonna crash...!" She braced herself, opting to close her Eyes just in case, "Oof!"
The crash landing would have been lethal even for an immortal being, or at least that's what it looked like. However, she didn't feel a thing. Her heart rate was through the roof, though, so the palpitations did make her quite sick. Nonetheless, she was still there, awake. All she had to do was wait for Throne to find and scold her for this blunder, but only after they got back to safety.
"Hmm..." Throne looked on from high above with a disgruntled expression, "I really don't feel like I'll ever understand women... Dammit, so help me if that girl made me travel all the way here for nothing, I'm gonna make her wish she never ascended to seraphim!"
Closing his Eyes, the golden mechanical wings of his stalled much like the engine of a plane. Instead of nosediving as haphazardly as she did, he merely fell down, letting gravity do all the work for him. This would allow a smoother landing, but the hard part was still yet to come. Landing, securing Vastoria's safety, flying back up... None of these could be considered hard for him. Nay, the difficulty only rises when he has to pull all these feats off completely blind.
"Keep those Eyes closed, dammit!" He let out a thundering roar, "I'm putting a lot at stake here, and I hate gambling!"