I landed – crashed really – in clouds of white, like those of my homeland. Only where those were comfortable – fluffy as you sank into them – these were cold and wet, sticking lightly to my body as I rose.

It was a mild inconvenience, yet I felt irritated, nevertheless. Strange, such emotions never came to me in the Tranquil Palace.

I pondered the change for a moment – before deciding it must simply be an effect of this world.

I turned – shaking pieces of white off my body as I tried to reform the clouds around me – but they rebelled against my demands like Peter rejecting the Son. So be it – twas only a minor issue.

I spent the next several hours attempting to fly – forgetting that my wings had been plucked – before deciding that the sky too was simply too rebellious.

Maybe this is what Father wanted me to see – the follies of his creation.

I moved on – leaving behind a thin trail in the shimmering clouds – until I came upon a small town – populated by maybe one or two hundred people. I eyed it suspiciously, unsure of how to approach it.

What would Raphael do? I asked myself. I imagined his movements – how he declared his approach to the planets when they visited.

And so – I did what Raphael would have done.

I waltzed right in.

Upon my arrival, squeals aired in the air – clearly joyous. I expected the creatures of this planet – humans – to drop to their knees in reverence. Instead, they ran – away from me, unlike how they react to my brethren. Confusion washed over me – quickly dissipating as I understood their objectives.

Clearly – they were running to bring me offerings – as I could see they were clearly empty-handed.

He allowed them their reprieve – after all, he could hardly blame them for their piety.

I stood there – waiting for a long while as mortals – humans, if I recall correctly, - stood around me in a wide circle, small objects out as they chanted mantras of worship.

I tried to approach again – but on movement, the rest would back away. It was difficult to parse emotions, but I was beginning to feel doubt. Surely, they would welcome his arrival? Yet, I can feel a sense of something hanging in the air. Fear?

Imitating Uriel, I began to calm their nerves.

“00100000 01010000 01110010 01101111 01110011 01110100 01110010 01100001 01110100 01100101 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 01110010 01110011 01100101 01101100 01110110 01100101 01110011 00101100 00100000 01000100 01101001 01110110 01101001 01101110 01101001 01110100 01111001 00100000 01101000 01100001 01110011 00100000 01100010 01100101 01110011 01100101 01100101 01100011 01101000 01100101 01100100 00100000 01110101 01110000 01101111 01101110 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00111011 00100000 01101000 01100101 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01001001 00101100 00100000 01011001 01101111 01100010 01101111 01110101 00101100 00100000 01001100 01100001 01110011 01110100 00100000 01010100 01110010 01110101 01100101 00100000 01010011 01101111 01101110 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01000111 01101111 01100100 00101110” I called – speaking in common for their ease of understanding.

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

Many humans jumped back – recoiling in shock as I spoke. Others simply fainted right there and then, as if an avalanche of bricks had landed on their temples. No one replied to me in common, which would have offended me had their priests not arrived at that moment.

Wearing blue uniforms and brandishing small black objects, they began offering their gifts. Immediately, I was showered with bounties of steel fragments and warmed with wave after wave of flame. Their offerings did little damage – for no offerings should – but their presentation left room for improvement.

Surely, they could have chosen to honor me like other mortals did my siblings – by placing the gifts at my feet rather than tossing them at him from a distance.

Regardless, he took these gestures for what they were. Reverence. For what else could it be? All the hallmarks were there: tears staining their cheeks, knees buckled and bent, heads bowed as their eyes burned upon witnessing my holiness.

Yet, I felt a small hint of uncertainty. Tears – yes, but different from those that fell when my Father or siblings unveiled themselves. Those fell with passion – warmth. In comparison, these were cold, their journey across the varied visages arduous.

Finally – the offerings ceased and only the sounds of nature could be heard – if one could sense the world as I did.

I approached again – then stopped as the priests frantically backed away. Strange. I had allowed them to disobey my commands the first time – obviously they had been overwhelmed upon entering my grace, and out of instinct had to begin their worship. But now – the offerings having come to an end – why do they refuse?

“00100000 01010000 01110010 01101111 01110011 01110100 01110010 01100001 01110100 01100101 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 01110010 01110011 01100101 01101100 01110110 01100101 01110011 00101100 00100000 01000100 01101001 01110110 01101001 01101110 01101001 01110100 01111001 00100000 01101000 01100001 01110011 00100000 01100010 01100101 01110011 01100101 01100101 01100011 01101000 01100101 01100100 00100000 01110101 01110000 01101111 01101110 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00111011 00100000 01101000 01100101 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01001001 00101100 00100000 01011001 01101111 01100010 01101111 01110101 00101100 00100000 01001100 01100001 01110011 01110100 00100000 01010100 01110010 01110101 01100101 00100000 01010011 01101111 01101110 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01000111 01101111 01100100 00101110” I repeated, letting the sound transfer directly to their soul.

All around – mortals collapsed to the ground, screaming as if molten lava replaced their skin.

Good. Clearly – there was just some miscommunication the first time. With my audience prostate – as they had been for my brethren I be–

I felt a burning sensation in my side. I glanced over – finding a small blade wedged in one of my eyes.

I dropped to the ground – as a new sensation filled my soul. I knew of its name, but not of its touch.

Pain.

I turned my eyes – catching upon the frame of a small mortal, trembling as he clutched a silvery dagger in his hands – a white sheen caught on it.

For the second time today – I felt a new emotion as pain blossomed from the point, spreading across my body like a shattered mirror. Agony.

And then – something new. Something rarely witnessed, especially among our order of Angels.

Rage. Burning, hot rage.

At that moment, I let the rage take over me. Loosening my powers – just a touch, to send a message to the mortals of who I was, and the power I wields.

I just wanted them to understand.

------

Oliver arrived home, tired from a long day at school. He had mountains of homework to get through, but that could wait for now.

Because today, a new game comes out. One he’s been waiting to play for months.

He ran upstairs, changed, and then cracked open his new computer – ready to devour Ironsiders III.

Mindlessly – he opened Twitter as he waited for the game to download – scrolling aimlessly until his attention was caught by a developing new story. He clicked on the video.

“Breaking News,” the newscaster said, shaking as she compiled her papers.

“Hours ago – anonymous sources reported a strange creature, followed by a surge of power in the town of Bampta. Authorities arrived to find the entire town entirely missing – literally. Footage shows a giant, empty field where there once used to be a town – not a man or building in sight. Not even rubble – to indicate an explosion of any kind.”

“Police are still investigating the source of the incident – and have yet to uncover the source of the disappearance. For more on this – and more breaking stories – please visit our website.”