"Y-You...!" Sab went in for the punch after enough provocation.

"Yeah, no." Gale just as easily grabbed the slow and frankly weak attempt, quickly tossing himself over until he was the one on top, "Ack, dammit."

"What?" Sab was still trying to fend his opponent off, "You gonna fight me or not?!"

"See, I'm inclined to..." Gale refused to go in on him, "But given we're surrounded by pillows, this is just gonna end up looking really suggestive, I think."

"...Fair point." Sab agreed, quickly rolling out to stand back up, "Regardless, I'm still mad about you breaking my stuff. And how the hell did you even get here so fast?"

By now, they were less than an hour away from bedtime. Gale didn't have time to spare, especially if he wanted to achieve that sweet, sweet revival the Gods promised him. Sab needed a lot of convincing if he was to help him get to Throne and the others, so Gale had to multitask a little. Walking up to inspect the technology of the TV, he began trying to remove the backplate whilst simultaneously giving him the rundown.

"I left the group after they all sided with that bastard Throne." He said.

"They what...?" Sab looked sullen, "Tch, are they blind? What do you mean, they sided with him?"

"If I knew where they were coming from, I wouldn't have left to go find you." Gale looked up and above the TV, "By the way, got a screwdriver or something?"

"No, why would anyone want that in their Heaven home?" Sab asked a few reasonable questions, "And what the hell are you doing, anyway? Do you even know how to fix a TV?"

"That's the best part about fixing things—You can't screw it up any more than it's already screwed up!" Gale smirked, "Ahh, but that's kind of annoying, though. Alright, we're gonna have to do it like this..."

"Huh? W-Wait!"

Prying his nails into the edges of the TV's backplate, Gale promptly used his strength to tear into the hidden components without the need for any hand tools. Sab was appalled, but after quickly running around the back himself, he noticed just how meticulously his tinkerer friend had ripped it off. Ignoring the screw holes, everything else was in perfect condition.

"Ooh, what are all these used for?" Gale got excited upon seeing the exposed wiring, "Future tech sounds like it's gonna be a blast!"

"Yep, it's a real charmer." Sab slumped forward, "So, since you have no idea what you're looking at, is it safe to assume you can't fix it?"

"Mnn... Hold on, just the screen is the issue, right?" Gale ran to the front to check on it, "The right side works just fine."

"Yeah, it's the side you didn't dropkick." Sab hissed back.

"Well, I don't have a cure, but I can give you a remedy." Gale explained, booting up the game and entering splitscreen multiplayer, "There, just play on the side that works."

"E-Eh? No, that's not..." Sab took the controller to move around a bit, "This isn't the campaign, though..."

"Okay, I fixed your issue, now are you willing to hear me out?" Gale talked over him.

It was at this moment that Sab understood what kind of person Gale was. Simple, overpowering and determined. The issue wasn't at all rectified as he said it was, but Sab could hear just from his tone that Gale had something he needed done quickly. Placing the controller on the ground, as if to give up on attempting any restorations for the time being, he asked what was up.

"I visited the Gods again, and they said some pretty crazy stuff about the Shrine." Gale spoke seriously for a change, "Throne's gonna get everyone in that party killed, not knowingly, but it will happen."

"Oh, is that all?" Sab almost immediately tuned it out, "Serves them right for siding with him. Why should I care if they all die, they brought it upon themselves after all."

"They're our friends. They just happened to have made a lapse of judgment and assumed he's a greater friend to them than we are." Gale didn't want to give up so easily, "Look, I'm gonna need to ask you for a favor. Please, you don't have to follow me inside the Shrine. Hell, fly back the moment you drop me off there, just..."

"No." Sab sat down decidedly, "I knew it, you're after my wings, just like he was. Is that all you people see me as? A pair of wings? Fast travel? Well, I'm sick of being used and abused!"

"Sab, please!" Gale reached for him, only to get his hand smacked away.

"Leave." Sab sternly ordered, "I'm the one with the wings, not you."

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Just then, something in Gale snapped when he heard that. He was this close to achieving something incredible, another shot at life. He tried his best from the start, and it netted him a special one time pardon from the Gods of this world themselves. Everything was going pretty well, all things considered, but for what? Is it seriously gonna end here, because of Sab's disapproval? At that moment, he couldn't see what he was doing. His numb hands disallowed him from feeling the sheer overpowering force he had used against Sab, his Eyes could only see Sab's golden hoops which he had squeezed vigorously with all his might to discombobulate him, and in the end, his mind could not see anything wrong in tearing his friend's wings off of his back and taking them for himself.

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"...Hoho." Throne saw in the distance a golden glimmer as he kept failing to pass through the barrier, "And to think he was spouting so much self-righteous bullshit just an hour ago."

A lone aviator, an angel turned seraphim through unsavory means. Gale, now having forcibly stolen Sab's wings for himself, all under the pretense of it being for the sake of his revival, didn't even take 10 minutes to reach the Shrine. Unlike most other seraphim, he was a quick learner.

"Look what the cat dragged in." Throne mocked him, obviously alluding to the wings spread shamelessly behind Gale, "Did you earn those wings yourself by completing the trial? Oh, but if that's the case, I have to ask where Sab is..."

"...I did what I had to do." Gale heartlessly replied, "He was reluctant, and I didn't wanna wait for bedtime to come around until he was convinced."

"He could have flown you over the White Monsters though." Throne kept his composed, smug smile as he figuratively twisted the blade deeper into Gale's heart, "Truth is, you were just too horrible to hear his side of the story out. A steamroller wading over everything and everyone that comes in your path, endlessly trucking along to your own selfish end goal. That's what you are."

"...I'm told the Shrine is a dangerous place."

"Are you talking about the wound on Vastoria's chest?" Throne tilted his head, "That's exactly why I didn't want her to go in alone back then, and yet they still somehow choose to repeat their mistakes. Heck, even Sheep ran headfirst into the Shrine the moment he phased through. It was starting to get quite lonely all by myself out here, so I'm glad someone at least showed up."

Throne's words had the tone of an aloof, naive and self-pitying character that was happy to see Gale, when in reality that couldn't be further from the truth. His tone was kind, but his words were carefully handpicked to deliver the most damage towards Gale. He wanted to rile him up, get him to attack or even just get him to start acting without thinking like it usually is the case for him. To Throne, this was nothing more than a distraction from the boredom of banging his head on the barrier. A short reprieve from reality.

"Ah, sorry, did you come here to warn them?" The corners of Throne's lips drooped down to an annoyingly low level, "Warn them of the big bad me? Yeah, you're too late for that—At this point, they might already be at the bottom!"

"I'm here to guide you inside." Gale sighed, begrudgingly stifling his anger as he took his wings off and walked up to the barrier.

"W-What...?" Throne felt a bead of sweat roll down his brow.

Just like that, Gale put his hand up to the barrier. The cold was surreal, and despite the usual numbness of his fingertips from having this body, he could feel the chill extend down his spine far too quickly. It was a shocking experience, a wake up call. Like a splash of water to the face, he was suddenly reminded of the atrocious act he had committed against Sab, the one whom he was supposed to bring with him in accordance with the Gods. Alas, it was no longer the time to regret his actions. Now, all he could do was press forward until he made it to the other side of the barrier.

"T-That worked...!?" Throne was left in shock, "Was that the secret all along?"

"Hey." Gale walked back out just as easily, extending a hand for his enemy turned temporary friend, "Take those wings off and follow me. We're gonna make sure those guys make it out safely, and we're gonna do it together."

"...Tch, my poor head." Throne clicked his tongue with a wry smirk, removing the wings with ease before taking Gale's hand, "I wonder if I'll start to feel the countless concussions now."

"Let's hope not, you'll only slow me down if you start whining." Gale pressed on, eager to warn his friends of the dangers that lurked below, "Remember, from here on out, even we can die."

"Duly noted..." Throne kept that unnerving smile on his face.

This hateful duo, born out of spite for one another, yet forced to work together to achieve their own individual, respective goals. Gale was going to return to the World of the Living after this, and though he wouldn't go so far as to say he couldn't care less about helping save the group down below, he would also be lying if he didn't admit he had ulterior motives. What was his life like before? Will he keep his memories of Heaven thus far? Where will he be resurrected at, and if he was given a proper burial, will he be able to escape to the surface? These questions festered endlessly in his mind, making him almost sick and woozy. Though, this could also be in large part due to the disorientating first floor.

"This is quite fascinating." Throne glanced around, "Walls become floors, ceilings become walls... It'd make someone less experienced dizzy without fail."

"Hm..."

"Huh? Oh wait, that someone is you?!" He picked up on Gale's state and pounced on the chance to make fun of him for it, "Really now! And I thought you were capable after learning how to fly so fast! This much is enough to make you puke?"

"Ungh... I won't puke." Gale clenched his stomach tightly, "Just shut up for a second, man. Let me... Hrph!?"

Despite everything leading up to this moment, however, Gale had nothing to throw up. It was merely a stronger gag reflex, however Throne was still the one that lost in the end. The smirk on Gale showed this reaction was enough to bring him back to full strength.

"What's the matter? You flinched." Gale teased him.

"I wouldn't have flinched if you hadn't aimed it directly at me." Throne rolled his Eyes before walking in front, "You ass, don't you dare do that again."

"What, don't tell me you're disappointed I didn't actually have anything in the chamber?" Gale kept pestering him, "Oh okay, fine. Next time I'll make sure to actually hurl at you."

"Remember that you can die in here, Gale." Throne turned to point a finger at his face threateningly, "From here on out, these little jokes are to be taken as you playing with your life."

"...Duly noted." Gale only stared back, "Now get fucking moving."