7 hours ago, right about when the reset occurred...

Sab awoke in an odd and unfamiliar room. Though he tried desperately to recall the exact events before this moment, nothing in particular came to mind. His headache made it too much of a hassle to try. Still, the room he was in was run-down and vacant. After having raised his head to scan the surroundings briefly, he defeatedly let it drop down to the ragged pillow under him.

"...What am I even doing?" He asked himself.

After having failed to attain seraphimhood by but a single good deed, both he and Throne had gotten devoured by the horde of White Monsters. Throne told him what'd happen if he failed, and it seems that's exactly what's going on.

"...Wait, that's not right." Sab sat back up all confused, "If this is supposed to be the next cycle after I failed, then how come I still remember everything?"

"Piece it together yourself, genius." Throne's voice teased him from behind.

"Bah!" He fell off the bed in surprise, "Y-You're...!? You're still here!"

"Yep, so are you." Throne smirked, "Flex your back muscles for me."

"Huh?" Sab confusedly obliged.

"No, not your traps." Throne shook his head, "Your BACK muscles. Try and get your scapulas to touch."

"...Okay? So, like this-?"

Doing as he was told, he pivoted his shoulders in a way that made his back flex. What he didn't expect to follow this maneuver was a bunch of loud crashing sounds. Turning around quickly to check on what it was, he continued to hear the loud noises, yet all he saw was an already destroyed room. Shelves and bookcases were on the floor, tables and chairs were turned upside down, but he couldn't for the life of him see why this was happening.

"...That one's on me." Throne sighed, "I should've taken you outside before making you do that."

"You're saying this is my fault!?" Sab jumped back, which led to more stuff breaking, "Gods, what the hell is that!?"

"You're smart enough to figure it out, but I guess anyone would be in disbelief after our earlier close call." Throne smiled, "Okay, try to slowly move your scapulas as far away from each other as possible. I'll urge you to go slowly though, wouldn't want you to smack me away too."

Still left confused by these seemingly weird orders, Sab did as he was told and carefully moved his back muscles accordingly. In his field of vision, two remarkably golden wings with a mechanical texture to them appeared from both sides, with a proud Throne standing cross-armed in between them. These wings, they weren't Throne's, he already had his own. In other words...

"These are... mine?" Sab smiled widely, "Haha! My wings! We did it, man!"

"Hey, watch it with the sporadic movements." Throne made sure to calm him down, "We're in my house, so I'd like for it not to collapse, please."

"B-But how!?" Sab still couldn't believe it, "We were one good deed off a hundred, right? Did we miscount?"

Back then, time had run out before they could reach 100 good deeds and turn Sab into a seraphim. The White Monster Apostles had them surrounded, and though they managed to squeeze out four more customers, the total they reached was only 99. As Sab sat there thinking of what else they could accomplish to get him his wings, Throne dejectedly decided it just wasn't gonna work, so he opted to open his Eyes and get devoured by the White Monsters without any pushback. This left Sab alone to fend for himself, a task he simply could not accomplish, leading to him getting brutally forced to open his Eyes and get put to sleep by them. This was what had happened, so how was it that Sab had a pair of wings on him currently?

"I've been wracking my brain thinking up reasons as to why that is too." Throne sat down with an uncharacteristically warm smile, "Both of us kept count in our heads, with frequent checks between us to make sure our count wasn't off."

"Yes, I remember that." Sab sat down as well, "So then, if it wasn't a miscount, then what was the last good deed?"

"Me." Throne pointed to himself, "It's the only explanation."

"Eh?"

"Right, it happened when we just met." Throne recalled, "Back then, you remember the promise you made to me?"

"I..."

"Maybe you don't even remember it, it was probably something you just said, but I guess that only serves the purpose of proving I'm right on this." Throne nodded, "You told me that as long as I helped you become a seraphim, you'd help me enter the Shrine."

"Ah, I did say something like that." Sab raised his Eyebrows.

Ironically enough, though he hasn't yet even done it, this might very well be the only actual good deed in the total. No ulterior motives, no end goal—Sab just saw the despair in Throne's Eyes and opted to help him find a way inside the Shrine. In fact, Throne knew that they had succeeded way before he woke up after the reset.

"When I opened my Eyes, ready to give up..." Throne noted, "I saw you sitting there, cowering from all the White Monsters surrounding you. I saw those wings of yours fully spread out for the world to see."

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"Wow..." Sab looked down in disbelief, "So then, that's why I'm in your house and not mine?"

"Yes." He nodded, "When I woke up today, I immediately flew to find you and took you back here. Actually, I was pretty anxious about your condition."

"And why was that?"

"You were asleep for an entire cycle." Throne replied, "I'm not sure if you're just a heavy sleeper, or if this is standard for every newly turned seraphim, but you were lying unconscious in that bed for over 36 hours."

"...And you watched over me for the entire duration?" Sab gulped.

"...Hell no." Throne shook his head, "I'm not crazy. I went for a stroll around town to check out the new clothes shops around."

"Oh." Sab slumped forward, "You do look dripped out, though. Did you at least get anything for me?"

"Nope. One outfit per person."

"Oh."

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***

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"Okay, you're all set!" The kind lovely female shopkeeper handed him his clothes, "Looking good, sir!"

"T-Thanks, you too." Sab tried to give his best attempt at flirting.

"...Sir-"

"Okay, I'm sorry!" He ran away immediately after, "Thanks for the clothes, love you-ACK! I-I meant see ya'!"

"..." Throne could only stare at him disappointedly in silence.

"Phew... What?"

"The hell was that?" He asked him with a frown.

"I felt confident!" Sab tried to justify his actions, "I-I got new clothes, new wings... Honestly, anyone would feel like they could do anything after all that!"

"So you decided to try your luck with the shopkeeper?" Throne facepalmed.

"Yeah, so what if I did?" He crossed his arms, "Not like she'll remember me by the next cycle anyways, so I can just try again later!"

"...Shopkeepers keep their memories-"

"NOOOOO~!!!"

He was destroyed. This was the face of a seraphim who had just learned that his actions no longer have no consequences. At least if he's gunning for the shopkeepers, that is.

"Fine, I fumbled her, but there are other female shopkeepers around, aren't there?" Sab looked around as if he'd find them nearby or something, "Surely there's gotta be some."

"I'm sure there are, but what's the point?" Throne scowled, "No one here has any reproductive organs, and our bodies are numb. You wouldn't ever feel anything anyways."

"Your definition of love is genuinely concerning." Sab cocked his head back, "Even if our bodies can't biologically reproduce, that doesn't mean our souls can't experience the joys of having a partner, right? Besides, stuff like holding hands and kissing are still possible, aren't they?"

"It'd literally feel like kissing and holding air!" Throne yelled, "Heavenly Beings don't feel anything apart from their golden parts!"

An overly mature middle aged man with a pinch of sarcasm in him and an overzealous yet inexperienced older teen. These two were seraphim, the second best when it came to ranking Heavenly Beings, sitting only below the Gods themselves. It's already a miracle Sab managed to get his wings in the first place, but now the bigger question is whether or not that'll be enough to get them inside the Shrine.

"Already, we have everything ready, so let's not waste any more time." Throne began to flap his wings.

"Wait, hold on!" Sab pulled him back down by the ankle, "You still haven't taught me how to fly, dude!"

"Yeah, no worries. I'll teach you on the way there."

"Teach me now!"

"That's what I'm saying, geez!" Throne rolled his Eyes, "When you learn how to swim, your dad tosses you in the water to swim or drown trying. It's the same thing here."

"Ah, no??" Sab stepped back, "Hell no! What era do you come from, the fucking middle ages!?"

"Certainly not. I just had a father that cared."

"Mine did too!" Sab obviously couldn't know for sure, "...Probably. B-But come on, at least teach me how to follow you first! The basics, at least!"

Sab was adamant about this. Thus far, he only knew how to move his wings, but not nearly fast enough for them to get him to ascend off the ground. Given his technique, he knew for sure he'd get way too tired before he could ever even move an inch off the ground, much less actually make a controlled flight. He needed the guidance from Throne.

"...Fine. Go on, let me see how you'd do it." Throne floated close by.

"Hrngh...!" Sab pushed himself as much as he could, "Hggghhh...!"

"You know, we don't have anuses, but you might just be the first guy to shit himself in Heaven 2.0." Throne was ready to give up already, "No need to force it so much. You're too tense."

"But they're heavy." Sab refuted.

"They're heavy, yes, but that just means they have good inertia." Throne explained, "Imagine your wings as if they're sliding on ice."

"Okay?"

"The friction is practically zero, since they have a galvanic connection to your body."

"Galvanic...?"

"It means they're not connected to your body, but you can still control them." Throne dumbed it down for him.

"Oh, like bluetooth."

"No clue what that is, but sure." Throne continued, "In any case, the near zero friction part is the important bit. Try shrugging, but keep your shoulders up after, okay? Make sure it's explosive."

Now having been given both the space and permission to spread his wings properly, Sab felt a lot more comfortable doing as he was told. Swinging his wings high above him, he quickly understood the intuitive nature of controlling them.

"Great, now move your shoulders down a tiny bit." Throne added.

"Ohhh! I think I get it!" Sab began to flap them, each time making his body feel lighter and lighter, "So tiny movements are enough, huh?"

"That too, but in general you shouldn't be using your shoulders." Throne warned, "It'll tire you out way too quickly. Instead, you should learn to flex your back muscles only."

"So what you're saying is—This is the incorrect way."

"It's the more labor intensive way." Throne smirked, "But over time your body will correct that on its own. You'll get the hang of flying with your back before you know it, but for now try to just lift yourself off the ground."

Continuing to make tiny shrugs that sent his large wings up and down repeatedly, Sab gave himself a bit of a running start as he cleared the street. A tiny hop, followed by a lofty leap, then a super high jump. His wings slowed down the descent quite noticeably, making it seem like he weighed no more than a feather.

"You're still not flying." Throne looked a tad saddened by the failure.

"Woohoo! This is fun!" Sab still kept on smiling however, "Flying or not, I'm liking these wings! Haha, it's like I'm on the moon!"

"Like you'd know what it's like on the moon, come on."

"If only you knew, Throne!" Sab smiled widely as he kept moon wading, "If only you knew!"