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Seraphiel frowned in concentration at the book she was holding. One of the Gifts Father had given her was not working. The Gift of Knowledge was the most complicated of the Gifts, as it provided the user with information on anything they wanted. The more you already knew about the topic or the object, the more detailed the information the Gift provided. It only provided you with information you could understand, and when used on a completely new object or concept, the additional information could be very limited. As inconsistent as the Gift could be, she’d relied on it many times in the past while thrust into another universe. And now it was failing her.
That had never happened before. The idea that there was something in this universe powerful enough to stop Father’s Gift from working was inconceivable, so the only explanation was that Father was denying her the use of the Gift on purpose. Why now? What made this universe different? And was the Gift denied for her permanently, or only during her stay in this universe? She could manage without the Gift, but it would make things more difficult. Having a ready source of information at her fingertips had been very useful in the past. Luckily her travels and trials had already made her knowledgeable enough that she was an expert on most topics, so her reliance on the Gift had grown less important as time passed.
The most important problem with the Gift malfunctioning though, was the worrying thought that it might not be the only Gift that didn’t work. If the Gifts were being revoked for some reason, that had very unpleasant implications, as some of the Gifts were much more vital. Her Gift of Tongues, allowing her to read, write, speak, and understand all languages seemed to still be working perfectly, so not all of them were malfunctioning. The one she was most worried about was the Gift of Permanence. The Gift made her and all her siblings immortal, and almost invulnerable. Only certain special weapons and other Celestials could harm them, and they were not susceptible to elements, hunger, or other maladies. She’d run into other weapons and beings powerful enough to override the invulnerability in the past, but generally the Gift had still held true. What if it no longer worked? That would make things much more difficult. She’d already lost access to most of her other powers.
“You seem to be deep in thought.” Ophiel’s voice surprised her from behind her, causing her to look up startled.
“I suppose I am.” The two of them were still getting used to each other and their new relationship. “I just found out that some of my oldest abilities are no longer working.”
Her new mother hummed in thought. “It might be because they’re being integrated into the System, and you won’t get access to the System before your System Day. I’ve heard of such things happening to new arrivals in the past.”
She frowned. The idea that this System was interfering with Father’s Gifts seemed blasphemous. “Let us hope that is the case. I would hate to lose access to them.”
“I wouldn’t worry too much. All the Champions have only grown more powerful after being brought to our universe and given access to the System.” Ophiel reassured her. “I am curious though. Whose Champion are you? I know you don’t know either, so I’m just thinking out loud. Usually, the Gods only have a single Champion or a united group that plays the part of a single Champion. The god that both Angels and Draenei serve, the Light, already has a Champion. At least I haven’t heard of anything happening to change that. Maybe you’ve been summoned by one of the minor gods? Perhaps that’s why you’re a child?”
As she couldn’t really provide any answers, Seraphiel chose to stay quiet, but it seemed Ophiel had said as much as she wanted on the topic as well. Instead, she changed the subject. “I’m curious about your past. You said you’ve been sent to other universes several times in the past. That implies that someone does the sending. And I also get the sense there’s more to the story. Mind if I probe a little?”
Seraphiel gave a sigh. It was perhaps expected that the question would be asked. It usually was at some point. “Something you should know. I was created in the original universe, by the Creator God. Yes, I say created, as my kind were not born but created by Father directly.” She noticed something about Ophiel’s expression. “Ah, yes, I imagine most universes think they’re the original. All I can say is that after having visited many other universes, I’m fairly confident in my conclusions. Having seen Father create the seeds that sprouted into the other universes also implies as much.”
“Alright. Let’s assume that’s true. Why are you not there anymore?” Ophiel asked. She had no special reason to think her new daughter was lying, though it did imply many things. Like the fact that she might be much older than Ophiel thought.
“Father took a very hands-off approach to His creation. Yet He set down certain rules for us that didn’t apply to the rest of His creations. Some of it made sense as we were custodians, not overlords. However, we were often also forbidden to act in order to make things better. I think the idea that the concept of free will warrants suffering the results of bad decisions has some merit, but there have to be limits. Some of us disagreed with Father’s approach. My brother Lucifer and I were the leaders of what was later called the rebellion, although we weren’t really rebelling as much as we simply wanted Father to change some things. Or let us help with the worst and most pointless problems. For our supposed rebellion we were punished rather harshly. Lucifer was forced to rule over Hell, the place where the souls of the damned were forever tormented for their sins, while I was cast out, exiled to other universes. To fix the other universes before attempting to fix our own, or at least I think that was supposed to be the lesson. He never really explained. Ever since, I’ve been sent from one universe to another to “fix” them. Sometimes there’s a very obvious existential threat, and sometimes I have to fix something smaller.” She shrugged. “Sometimes I’m not even sure why I’ve been sent.”
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
"And you've grown tired," Ophiel said with clear sympathy in her voice. She’d noticed that about her new daughter immediately.
“Yes.” She admitted. “Even with good intentions, there becomes a point where you no longer care like you used to. When you wish people would just fix their own mistakes. I also can’t claim that all that I’ve seen and done hasn’t left its mark on me. I’m no longer the Angel that I used to be.”
“In what way?” Her mother asked gently and quietly while pulling her into her lap while hugging her from behind.
“I’m no longer as moral as I used to be. I tolerate things that I didn’t use to, and I’ve personally done things that I’ve condemned others for doing in the past. All in the name of the bigger picture. Or in some cases just because I’m tired and it was the most expedient path. I can honestly claim that I used to be the epitome of goodness and righteousness. Now though? At best I’m morally grey with the general tendency to protect those weaker than me.” She’d come to terms with her changed self a long time ago, but that didn’t stop her from shedding a single tear for that which had been lost.
"I would consider that a good quality," Ophiel reassured her, hugging her a little tighter.
“I would agree. However, beyond that…” She didn’t finish. She’d broken most rules and committed most sins at least once. Sometimes she’d done it just to spite Father.
"Maybe these are the lessons your father wanted you to learn," Ophiel suggested.
“Perhaps.” She dried her eyes. She hadn’t even noticed any tears forming. Bah! Child bodies and their tendency to cry at the slightest things! “Anyway, I think it’s only fair if I get to ask a probing question of my own.”
“I think I already know what, but sure. Go ahead and ask.” Ophiel’s own smile strained a little.
“I seem to notice that there’s no father in the picture. In that vein, I haven’t seen any other family either.”
“Yeah, I suppose it would be rather obvious to someone like you, who has seen so many other families.” Ophiel nodded. “I didn’t always live in this city. Since we haven’t started your history lessons yet, you probably aren’t aware that Celestis, that’s our country’s name by the way, is in a constant state of war. There are three types of wars we’re generally involved in. The first kind is border wars and wars for resources between the countries of our world. Those are fairly standard, and I imagine you’ve been involved in plenty of those judging by what you said before.”
Seraphiel nodded. "Yes, I've seen more war than I care to think about. Fought in many as well."
“Right. The second type is battles between worlds. Usually, the fights between the gods are solved between Champions, but sometimes things get out of hand. And sometimes the gods bring in a race or races that are more aggressive and go on conquest sprees. Or at least try to and find out they aren’t quite as mighty as they used to be. Currently, there are several such cases that are quite dangerous in the universe at large, but none of them are directly threatening us at the moment. The third type of war is against what we call Locusts. Races that have been brought along whenever the universe expands, and act like locusts. They are generally either mindless or part of some kind of hive mind, and attack everyone around them almost blindly. The Great Bastion at our southern border is holding off one such race. I think the gods bring such races in to keep things interesting and to make leveling easier. Killing things is pretty much required for many Classes after all.”
“That seems both interesting and more than slightly horrifying.” Seraphiel retorted both aghast at and intrigued by the idea.
“It is both of those, yes. Anyway, why am I telling you this? The point is that I left my childhood home to fight the Locusts attacking the Great Bastion. I felt it was my duty. Noblesse oblige and all that. My family didn’t agree. Still, while they might have been angry at me, they only cut ties with me when I married Raziel’s father. My family is heavily involved in politics and marrying “below my station” so to speak would’ve been a huge scandal. So, they cut ties. I never got along with my family and my rebellion with the Great Bastion had already brought things close to a breaking point. The marriage just broke things completely.” Ophiel explained. “I met him at the Great Bastion, and we fought together for several years.”
“Raziel’s father?” She asked with narrowed eyes.
“Caught that, didn’t you? Yes, the man I married died just before Raziel was born.” Ophiel admitted with a sad look on her face. “Our marriage didn’t last long, but I don’t regret going through with it. At least I got Raziel to remember him by.”
“So, my father is…” She prodded.
“I honestly couldn’t say.” Now Ophiel looked embarrassed. “I admit that I didn’t deal with my husband’s death very well. I didn’t let my grief affect Raziel, or at least I tried to avoid it, but I did drink quite a bit to dull the pain. And when I drank, I also often sought comfort and release in the arms of other men. Your father could be any of a couple dozen such trysts. I got my act together when I realized you were on the way. That’s…perhaps also why I wanted you to be a good little sister for Raziel. His early childhood could’ve been better and I’m afraid I wasn’t there as much as I should’ve been. I just wanted him to have the little sister he so much wanted.”
"I see," Seraphiel said simply. It wasn't too far outside her expectations.
“You’re judging me.” Ophiel took her simple words the wrong way.
That’s why she was so shocked when Seraphiel burst into laughter. “I would never. My favourite brother Lucifer is the biggest manwhore ever, and I haven’t been much better in some of the universes I’ve been to. Since I could never settle down anywhere, I replaced any long-term family with…well, you know.”
“Hmm. I’m not sure I wanted to hear that about my daughter.” Ophiel seemed conflicted. On one hand, like mother like daughter. On the other hand, she wasn’t sure she wanted that for her daughter, no matter how many lives that daughter had lived.
Seraphiel grinned. “Well, it’s a good thing you don’t have to worry about any of that when it comes to me for a while yet.”
“That’s a comforting thought.” Ophiel seemed relieved, though not for long as she realized that the problem had only been pushed forward and nothing else.