CHAPTER 6
PRELUDE TO WAR
Thirty minutes before the Aliens landed on Earth.
Heaven.
The land of Angels and all that is holy in the world, where they train their skills in combat, discuss various events in the world, and prepare themselves for the war that was to come.
In the Grand Chamber, which had walls as white as snow, and white, hexagonal tiles decorating the floor, seven Angels, all having five pairs of wings, were sitting around a roundtable made of pure quartz.
Sitting on their golden layered seats, a man's deep voice suddenly sounded out,
"We need to plan out our offensive against Tartarus."
One of the men sighed, as he shifted his gaze to the man that spoke and replied,
"I told you already, we can't. We need to work on Earth's defenses."
The person next to him nodded and chimed in,
"I agree, the Angels in this generation are weak compared to the past… I think we should start working on strengthening them."
One of them slowly raised her hand, and with a bit of hesitation, she spoke,
"Maybe… maybe we should finally assist our mortal followers…. Getting the other mortals to join their religion has been troublesome for them lately…"
"Let them be… If they still haven't achieved anything with what we've given them, then they no longer deserve any assistance from us..."
A rough voice immediately replied, making the person that gave the suggestion sink into her seat.
The discussion continued. Words were getting thrown back and forth, all of them openly voicing out their opinions on what they should do about the recent invasions they've experienced in the past hundred years.
The man that originally spoke then slammed his fist into the table, and with fierce eyes, he growled as he said,
"I told you already! We should—"
The man couldn't finish what he was going to say, however, because he suddenly heard the giant, golden engraved double doors, the entrance to the Grand Chamber, suddenly opening. The sound of slow and steady steps could then be heard, making the seven Angels turn their heads to where the sound was coming from. They then froze when they saw the person that came in.
Terron, The Ashen Flame and God's First Angel.
Dressed in a suit that was as dark as the void of space itself, he walked towards them with calm and steady steps. The sounds of his neat, black shoes echoed across the now silent chamber as he slowly approached their table, making the seven Angels gulp unknowingly.
When Terron arrived at the table, he swept his gaze towards the Angels in the Chamber while maintaining an aloof expression on his face. He then slowly walked around them, looking for a spot sit in.
Raphael, the personification of Humility, got up from his seat, offering it to Terron. He then stood just behind the seat, and waited for Terron to take his place. Terron nodded, showing his thanks to Raphael, and proceeded to sit on Rapahel's golden layered seat. Terron then placed his arms on the armrests and swept his gaze to the other Angels once more.
Finally comfortable with his position, and with still an aloof expression on his face, he said,
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"Proceed with the meeting."
* * *
The meeting continued.
They first decided to officially give the Aliens that invaded Earth a name. Many suggestions were thrown out, with most of them being completely unusable, but in the end, they decided on calling them—
"Fiends."
Raphael said so and coughed before he continued,
"For a hundred years, they've been constantly invading Earth… We were able to stop them from actually doing any harm to the planet and the mortal world, and finally ended their invasion when…"
Raphael looked at Terron's back, and said once more,
"Their invasion ended when Sir Terron killed their leader, Isaac… They haven't invaded for ten years now, and we finally managed to get the time to investigate their origins…."
Raphael then shifted his gaze to the center of the roundtable, where there was a white orb, radiating golden light, a device that was broadcasting their meeting to every Angel in the world right now. He then continued,
"And after ten years of investigation… we finally found out where they come from… They are the residents of Tartarus, the Ancient Prison of the Seven Sins... and the Fiends are their children, born from all their essence combined…"
Raphael sighed and made eye contact with Gabriel, the personification of Diligence, signaling him to continue. Gabriel then nodded and said,
"And now, we have come to a decision. Due to the threat of the Seven Sins and their children, the Fiends, from today onwards, all Angels, from the lowest rank to the highest, shall return to Heaven immediately for Power Transfusion…"
Raguel, the personification of Charity, then cut in and said,
"Half of you may die… but this is a sacrifice we must take for the sake of Earth, Heaven, and God…"
Uriel, the personification of Chastity, choked up as she said with great difficulty.
"Brothers and sisters… please… we need your strength…"
* * *
Calm and aloof, Terron only watched and listened as the Seven Virtues continued with there discussion. Throughout the meeting, there were many times where he just really wanted to leave or throw a tantrum and leave, but he couldn't, all because of a message he received from someone.
Metatron.
God's Scribe, leader of the Order of Angels, and the only person in Heaven that could communicate directly with God.
Metatron suddenly approached Terron yesterday when he was resting in the Northern Mountains, all so he could deliver a single message.
'God has requested for your presence in tomorrow's meeting.'
Words weren't even enough to describe Terron's shock when he heard the message. He asked Metatron for more details, but the only reply he got from him was that he didn't know. Metatron then left without saying anything else, leaving the dumbstruck Terron all alone in the Northern Mountains.
And now, he found himself here.
They must've have found out about the message from God that Metatron relayed, because the oh~so powerful leaders of Heaven suddenly treated him with utmost respect the moment he arrived.
Of course, the best they could do was shut up when he suddenly barged in and offer a seat for him to sit on, but that was honestly better than nothing.
So now, as they broadcasted their message to all the Angels in the world, he couldn't help but think if this was really fine….
If this was really the best course of action they should take…
Especially since they were planning on using Power Transfusion, a spell where one Angel sacrifices their life and their power to strengthen the other. A spell that was considered taboo for a very long time.
Until now…
"Brothers and sisters… please… we need your strength…"
Terron's ears twitched when he heard Uriel's pleading voice. He still couldn't get used to it, to how there could be someone here who lived for so long to be this empathetic towards…. everyone….
Terron whole body then suddenly froze. He felt like a thousand needles were prickling his skin, making him feel uneasy. Terron then stood up abruptly, startling the other Angels in the room. And in an urgent voice, he yelled at the glowing orb,
"The atmosphere's been breached! All Angels, prepare for battle!"
And without even waiting for anyone to say anything, Terron stormed off from the Grand Chamber and flew immediately towards Earth.
* * *
Kingdom of Petrichor.
Terron didn't know why he came here of all places, but something inside him told him to go here. He saw numerous meteors falling from the sky, but he ignored them, and continued to fly towards the outskirts of the kingdom, to the place he sensed a powerful presence.
To the place he killed Isaac.
So Terron flapped his wings as hard as he physically could, until he finally arrived at his destination. Terron looked at his surroundings and noticed how everything seemed fine. He then raised his head and looked at the sky, only to see it empty, with no meteor in sight.
"What the hell did I sense then?"
Terron then closed his eyes and expanded his senses, trying to locate the exact location of the powerful being he sensed before. And after thirty seconds of searching, he found it. He wasted no time and immediately flew over, only to arrive at a small cottage somewhere in the outskirts. He then muttered to himself,
"It's the same place…"
Curious, Terron slowly approached the cottage, not even bothering to set his Domain up. He sensed a presence inside, but it seemed to be asleep. So carefully and quietly, he slowly opened the shabby door and closed it after he went through.
Terron then looked around, but was unimpressed by what he saw. It was basically empty. No furniture, no decorations, and this place didn't even have trash. Terron's gaze then landed on the single bed on the farthest side of the cottage, where he saw a young girl, sleeping in her bed.
Terron slowly aproached her, and was quick to notice the girl's identity when he took a close look at her face. The child Isaac, the leader of the Fiends at that time, sacrificed himself for.
Ocean.
Terron could feel boundless energy coursing through her veins, but they seemed to be suppressed by something, which was why she still looked so weak. Ocean then suddenly started squirming in bed, and looked like she was having a bad dream.
Terron, remembering the incoming threat, suddenly thought of something and grinned as he yelled into Ocean's ear,
"Wake up, fool!"