The voice that came out of the raven’s mouth, his voice, was an enigma on its own.
Sounding neither too masculine or feminine, neither too interested or bored, and neither too emotionless or emotional, he had achieved the perfect balance for all of them, creating a voice that was entirely neutral in all aspects.
Yet, despite that fact, it still carried a certain mesmerizing appeal, a kind of hypnotic charm that would force anyone to listen to him, even if it did not sound like it had any kind of charisma on the surface.
“The angel, known now as Anten and formerly known as Anna. The devil, known now as Dauma and formerly known as Damian Faustius. Lastly, the Soul Particle Vessel, known then and now as Yuu Kitakure. My name is Michael, and I am the last god ruling the universe and reality as perceived by humans.”
Dauma, Anten and Yuu, who were all listening to him, did not dare to speak or even make any noise as they were all transfixed by his voice to respond.
“I apologize for my untimely appearance and request, but I do hope that you are not too disappointed. What I intend for this meeting to accomplish is to acquaint myself to all of you, as well as answer any questions you may have, seeing as I know you have many.”
It was as though they had knots in their throats as they refused to even take a breath out of instinctual worry that it might offend the otherworldly being and result in their punishment.
“I know what there is to know. Should you have any doubts you wish to clarify, you can do so.”
“…”
“You can speak now.”
At his order, the three could finally breathe normally again. To them, it felt like a weight had been lifted off their shoulders, even if only by a bit, as his presence was still overwhelmingly powerful despite him not saying anything.
Anten was the first one to speak, as the raven looked at all of them with mild anticipation, waiting for the first words that would come out of their mouths.
“Mister… I mean, Sir Michael, I… forgive my rudeness, but I… it’s an honor to finally meet you,” she stammered out her words, visibly tensing up as she said them out of pure fear and awe.
“It is of no concern to me what you believe is customary or uncustomary to address me, angel. I welcome any response, positive or negative, and I am always interested to know more about what you really think of me.”
“Don’t you… already know that?”
“Not entirely,” he calmly explained, “while I am a god, I am unable to see everything. For the humans, including you three, while I can see what they do, I cannot foresee what they will think. Though I can predict and change my actions and decisions based on them, any future actions performed by humans are a complete unknown to me. If I had the power to shape their minds, I would not have needed to send you two down to Earth. The human mind truly is one of the greatest creations that has ever been realized and implemented.”
As he continued his explanation, he suddenly flew towards them before perching on Anten’s shoulder and speaking directly into her ear.
“Angel. If you have any other questions, do let me know.”
“I…”
Completely struck dumb by his sudden action, she was at a loss for words, so Dauma asked his question next.
“Michael… sir…”
“You can simply refer to me as Michael. That is how you have called everyone so far, isn’t it?”
“Yes… ok.”
Dauma took a deep breath before trying again. While he was not quite as nervous as Anten was, he still felt the certain pressure that practically demanded him not to make a single mistake in front of the god himself.
“Earlier, you mentioned us three as humans. I am aware that Yuu was a human in the past, but what about me and Anten? Are we also human?”
“That is a good question, devil. To answer that question, I would need to ask you something first.”
Dauma patiently waited as Michael asked his question while deliberately emphasizing it to highlight its importance.
“What do you remember about your past?”
“!!!”
It was a hard question to answer for Dauma. While over the past few weeks, he had had mental flashes that seemed to show his past, he was still not fully clear on what they were showing. There were some grim scenes in there, but they were all jumbled up and made confusing by their lack of context.
“I remember something… not sure what…” he admitted.
“That is good,” Michael bobbed his head in acknowledgement, “I believe it is best to keep your past locked away until you are ready to accept it. If not, it might affect your mission, and I cannot allow that to happen.”
“Ah, that’s right, the mission!”
Snapping out of her stunned state, Anten perked up as soon as the topic was brought back into focus, and she began to talk once again, maintaining a consistent flow this time as she adjusted to his influential presence.
“Sir Michael. We need to confess something. In the past few weeks, I have unfortunately questioned and doubted the mission you put us on. I admit that because I had no idea what it demanded of us, and how little I knew about the world, I was ready to give up on it completely. Although Dauma and Mister Aleby both talked me out of it, I still feel ashamed as to what I planned to do at that moment.”
“It is alright,” Michael lifted his wing up, appearing to wave it off, “your confusion and temporary surrender to your emotions is only natural, since I did not clarify what I wanted from the two of you and gave you nothing but riddles.”
“Y… yes.”
“In that case.”
Michael suddenly threw his head back and announced his next statement in a commanding tone, completely different from his neutral voice but still maintaining the same pressure it had left on them.
“I will tell you everything about your mission!”
Out of the blue as he spoke, a dark cloud appeared in the sky, getting closer and closer to them until they could see what it was. It was a mass of black ravens completely identical to him, swooping down all at once towards the group.
They remained frozen as the cloud began to shift and turn. The individual birds, all flying incredibly close to each other without any of them impacting or colliding, descended to the ground in front of them. They then lined up in rows and promptly began moving quickly in a flat circular motion, creating a solid black ringed wall that went around and around without stopping.
“Step inside.”
By his command, the wall slowly parted, the birds naturally shifting upwards to create an opening, revealing a small, enclosed space within the artificial structure.
“Only the angel and the devil can come inside. As for the Soul Particle Vessel, she must wait outside. What I will tell you two is not for her.”
Following his order, Anten instinctively gulped and Dauma took a deep breath before the two of them stepped through the opening, with him closely following behind them before it quickly shut itself.
With that, they were now completely closed off from the rest of the world, alone in a private audience with the god himself.
**********************
As soon as they stepped foot inside the small space, they both sensed a change in the air. The atmosphere inside the ring of ravens seemed to be completely different than the one outside.
Even though they were both still standing in the middle of the wasteland, it did not feel that way to them. Instead of the warm and arid climate, they felt cool and refreshed, as though multiple fans were continuously blowing at them without stopping.
It could have been coming from the wind being generated by the ravens’ wings, but they knew it was something else that was creating that effect. Alternatively, perhaps it could not be explained naturally at all, and the only possible answer was because of the god’s presence with them in the same space.
“Right. Now that we’re finally to ourselves, you can ask me anything about the mission.”
As for Michael himself, when the both of them had stopped soaking in the cool sensations and turned to look at him, he was gone.
To be more precise, his raven form was gone, and in its place was a dim, faded, and significantly more human-like form.
“Wow…”
If not for the deeply muted colors that he was bathed in making him look faded and slightly blurry, he could have passed off as a normal person that they could have met or be introduced to.
“… you look good, Sir Michael.”
“Really?” Dauma responded to Anten’s offhand compliment with his own remark, “he looks kind of sickly to me.”
“What? What are you talking about? He looks fit! Strong even!”
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“What? Are you sure you’re seeing the right thing? He looks frail and disheveled.”
“You know, I expected this reaction, devil.”
Despite having taken a few verbal abuses from Dauma, the god simply let out a light chuckle, appearing to take it all in good spirit.
“You… did?”
“Yes, this has happened before. It’s all to do with your perceptions and what you want to see about me. For animals like ravens, it’s different since most humans do share the same perception of them with each other, but in this case, because they are all used to seeing so many other different humans, their mind automatically switches to seeing what they want to see the most when they meet an unnatural being such as myself. That is why this is not surprising.”
“Wait, so I want to see other people as frail and weak? How is that possible?” Dauma argued.
“Like I said, I can’t tell you the answer. Only you know why you want to see me in that light. Regardless, my form that you see is the most comfortable one that you want to see, simple as that.”
“Hm.”
Now that it had been given a proper reason, it only made Dauma’s personal perspective even stranger, and even Anten looked at him with idle curiosity, interested to find out more.
“Why do you feel that way, Dauma? Huh? Care to tell me why you like to see frail and weak people?”
“I don’t know.”
“Those kinds of perspectives are the ones that most humans do not really expect if I might help clear your confusion. They simply are based on past experiences and significant moments in your lives and can easily change without you even realizing it. Therefore, someday your perception of me will change, and I might appear as a different type of person to you.”
“Bzz…”
As soon as he finished his explanation, the three of them heard a soft buzzing noise coming from an area close to them. It was short and quick, but all of them had heard it, and Michael’s face slowly began to shift.
“However, I realize that we are getting off topic here, and I would like to suggest we go back to the original purpose of our meeting.”
“You’re right.”
“In that regard, what about your mission would you like to ask me, devil and angel?”
At his urging, Anten stepped forward and asked the first question.
“Sir Michael. What is our mission, exactly? Is it just to collect the Particles that make up the Source?”
“That is correct.”
“But you never told us anything other than that. Not even what we’re looking for or how we can find them.”
“Yes, I suppose I can tell you this now.”
“Why the delay? Why couldn’t you tell us beforehand?” she continued to ask.
“Like with the message I gave the two of you three days ago, it was a test for me to see whether I could trust you.”
“Trust us?” Dauma chimed in with his own question, “you didn’t trust us?”
They could hear another buzz as he finished speaking, and this time it sounded closer to them than before. Michael’s expression changed again, and he began to speak to them at a much faster tone and speed.
“You see, angel and devil. As I have mentioned before, you two are still human. That means that the both of you have walked, lived, and died on this very Earth before you were chosen by me. That is why I had my reservations about you two, as I did not fully know how you would respond. Additionally, that means that you two are also incomplete. I only gave the both of you a small fraction of a pure angel and devil’s powers when I sent you down.”
“Wait, a small fraction? Is that why we seem to get our asses kicked every time we fight? Because you didn’t trust us?”
“Perhaps that is so, angel,” he continued, “but in reality, I did restrict your powers for another reason. It is also the reason why I intend to make this meeting short, and why I was unable to meet you before now.”
He paused and, as if on cue, the weird noise returned for a third time, but this time, the buzzing had been replaced by a soft rumbling. Anten immediately flinched at the sound, but she quickly shook herself and remained calm.
“You see, as a god, I cannot physically step onto the surface of the Earth itself, otherwise that would change the entire structure of the planet as we know it. Even in my reduced state as I appear before you two at this moment, I have limited time before my presence causes irreparable damage to the environment. The same can be said about the pure angel and devil forms. If I had not restricted your powers, it would be chaos.”
“But it’s also because you don’t trust us, right?”
“I cannot comment on that.”
“Is it related to the other angel here?”
As soon as Dauma asked him the big question, the entire mood shifted, becoming more tense and aggravative, almost as if he had said a taboo word.
“… I cannot comment on that either,” Michael replied after a while, “but one piece of advice I can give the both of you for now is, don’t engage with her yet. I have seen your conversations with the group that calls themselves the ‘Silver Foxes’, and I can guarantee that you two are not ready.”
“Really?”
Anten’s shoulders drooped, and she slouched in disappointment at his advice, but he soon followed up with something else.
“However, that does not mean that you two cannot be ready when the time comes. That is part of the reason why I tasked the both of you with gathering the other Particles first. With their special powers in your hands, you would be able to beat her, I have my full belief in that. In addition to that, I have also given you some special abilities which you can use to turn any fight in your favor should the opportunity arise or whenever you two are in trouble.”
“Oh, new abilities?” Anten excitedly responded as her unhappy mood seemed to improve upon their mention.
“Indeed. I believe the devil has already figured out one of his new abilities by himself, but I can show what you two can still learn.”
The rumbling had only gotten louder as the conversation continued, but even as the ground began to shake, the god himself was unfazed as he stepped towards the two and stuck both of his hands out, each one directly pointing at one of them.
“Take my hand, and you’ll find out.”
Anten eagerly accepted the offer, but Dauma was a little more hesitant, even though they still both did so after a while. Together, the three of them closed their eyes and began to focus intently.
“Some of these abilities can only be activated if certain conditions are met. I am sharing with the two of you all of their details so that you can decide when to use it. In addition, I am also passing the details of the other Particles, so that your journey would not be as difficult as it is at the current moment,” Michael spoke softly as he concentrated.
“Does that mean… you trust us now?”
“Perhaps,” he simply answered without giving any further elaboration again.
A small hairline crack had appeared in the ground below them, but the transfer process continued until the god finished it.
“…”
Eventually, it was done, and all of them let go of each other as the shaking became more rapid and powerful, and the crack became much larger and more pronounced.
“Right,” Michael remarked, “there is no time left. Are there any more questions you want to ask me?”
“I… well…”
Naturally, the both of them still had a lot of questions, but after looking at each other silently, Dauma chose to ask his.
“Why did you choose us?”
“That’s not important to you.”
With that quick response, the question had been answered and thrown away just like that. However, despite that immediate dismissal, Dauma probed further.
“Why?”
“It is better if I do not tell you. What is important is your mission, and you must focus on that. Only when you two are ready, I will tell you more. Until then, stay focused.”
The god’s answer seemed relatively safe, but deep down, all of them knew that the question had opened up a big can of worm. Even his tone when he was saying it sounded a little unsure, almost as if he was hiding something very important.
“I see.”
Dauma was completely unconvinced by his argument, but he still accepted it as the crack had already grown into a small hole, getting larger by the second.
As the rumbling noises reached their peak, it was obvious that their meeting time was up. If it continued for any longer, they would be in big trouble, along with the entire area that they were presently standing in.
Little by little, Michael’s human-like form began to vanish as, one by one, his ravens dispersed into the sky, slowly breaking the ring, and causing the hot aridness of the wasteland to return in full force.
“Ah, I almost forgot.”
However, even as he disappeared, he had one final thing to say to the two of them.
“Thank the Soul Particle Vessel for me. I was going to find you two either way even if you had not figured out my instructions, but I can see that the Soul Particle is in good hands now. Tell her I said good j—”
Before he could finish his last sentence, both he and the ravens were gone, leaving them back on the wasteland with Yuu again. The rumbling had also stopped, leaving behind only a small, cracked area in the aftermath, but it did not seem like it was anything major or inherently dangerous for them to take note of.
“… what?”
As Dauma and Anten looked at each other blankly, processing all the information they had just been given, Yuu rejoined them, her eyes filled with slight curiosity.
“…”
In the distance, they could still hear the flap of a bird’s wings as it grew softer and softer until it faded away completely.
**********************
“… mmm… ok…”
Following the end of the meeting, the group had found a large rock to gather around and sit down, discussing the new revelations that they had learnt from the god himself.
In the end, despite Michael’s insistence that the information be kept only between the three of them, Anten did not hesitate to tell Yuu what she wanted to know, including the knowledge of their new abilities.
“I figured that it would be better if she knew as well. After all, she did help us find him,” she reasoned, and Dauma reluctantly agreed with her point.
However, out of all the things that she told her, Yuu seemed to be the most interested in the god’s praise towards her, and she blushed and hid her face as soon as she heard it, mumbling soft noises to herself.
As she did that, Dauma began to talk to Anten again now that she had stopped talking for the moment.
“What do you think about all of this?”
“Hmm,” she replied as she crossed her legs together and idly rocked her body back and forth, “I trust him, even if he doesn’t fully trust us yet. We should work to gain his trust so that he can help us more.”
“I was talking about the Particles.”
“I was getting to that. Jeez, you’re so impatient. About that… I think he’s right that we shouldn’t fight the other angel first. We should focus on doing our job just as you said back then, and should anyone show up to stop us, we must be prepared as well.”
“Somehow, I feel that fighting her is going to be hard.”
“Hey, as long as we know our stuff, we can beat her! Who cares if she has a Particle or two or however many she has, we’ll beat her up and take them from her! I guarantee it!” she jabbed her thumb to her chest and confidently declared, eliciting a soft smile from him.
“I was wrong, you haven’t changed at all. Guess that’s been your human side all along.”
“Why would you ever think that?”
“I like to think we’ve all changed. I suppose we’ll keep changing as we learn more about the world, the other angel, the other Particles, all of it. That’s what humans do, after all.”
“Humans don’t grow horns out of their head though,” Anten replied sarcastically.
“Hey, we never know.”
“Um, so what… do we do now?”
Yuu had seemingly recovered from her embarrassment, and quickly broke into their conversation with a simple and direct question.
“Well…”
To answer it, Dauma and Anten both looked at her and smirked, forcing her to immediately panic and give a strained smile back at them, being understandably confused by their reaction.
“… You know what? I think we should start over, really start over this time, as a group.”
“Mhm,” Dauma nodded at Anten’s suggestion before adding, “just like what we had decided that day. No more distractions. No more sidetracking. We have to do our mission and we have to do it right for him. No one can stop us if we work as a group.”
“Group? As in… the Apocalypse Cleaners?”
“I still don’t like that name…”
Facing a serious stare from Anten before he could finish his comment, he quickly backtracked and came to a compromise.
“… but I’ll learn to accept it! Happy?”
“I didn’t have a problem,” she laughed cheekily before sticking her hand out towards them, her palm facing downwards.
“…”
“Come on, don’t leave me hanging!”
“Sure…” he begrudgingly remarked as he placed his hand down on top of hers, and Yuu silently followed suit, swiftly creating a small pile of three.
“…”
“…”
“So, is that it? No one’s going to say anything?”
“Alright, fine,” Anten groaned before shouting, “I declare… the Apocalypse Cleaners… assembled!”
Together at her signal, they lifted their hands up into the sky before breaking them up. It was lackluster, unsynchronized, and incredibly awkward, but the spirit was still there, and she was satisfied all the same.
“What a beautiful moment this is.”
“I don’t think there’s anything to get sentimental about.”
“I take offence with that.”
And so, the Apocalypse Cleaners’ first course of action was a heated discussion on how memorable their formation was.
**********************
“Awkh!”
On the other side of the world, inside a manor located in a grand city surrounded by a crystal blue ring of water, a white crow had just finished its scouting mission.
“Hmmm… so they stopped the angel-killing weapon. Interesting.”
It had flown down to a balcony, passing through the open window and into a bedroom, where its owner warmly welcomed it back.
She was female with sharp facial features, piercing golden eyes, and white hair tied up in a cylindrical bun that stuck out from the top of her head. Her wings, light grey in color and majestic in appearance, were lazily spread out behind her as she sat on her bed.
Fussing over the crow that landed beside her, she held her finger below her chin and mused to herself.
“Your servants are proving to be very interesting, aren't they?”
As she finished her out-loud thought, the crow hopped up to her hand before vanishing into thin air, and taking it as her cue, she stood up from her bed and stretched her arms out before getting ready for her day.
“Now, we shall see what their next move is. I’m sure it’s going to be very interesting. Very interesting, indeed…”