The stars glistened in the dark sky above a peculiar island in the southern hemisphere, which stood unreachable to the living in the middle of the ocean. The island reached towards the sky in ten distinct terraces, each spiralling up towards the very top of the island where a welcoming warming light shone like a beacon of hope.
Gentle waves rolled against the island’s shore, on which various lights mirrored the stars above. People in simple clothing had gathered around the fires, either talking, singing, or sleeping. The atmosphere on the shore was one of calm patience and waiting while music, hymns and prayers echoed down from the higher terraces.
Uriel sat at a fire close to Peter’s Gate, side-eyeing the angel guarding it every so often. He had been taken to Ante-Purgatory as his punishment for his disobedience. Although the amount of his contumacy had been short in comparison to the human souls surrounding him, he was to stay at least for one human lifetime among the Excommunicate and Late-Repentant. Something he wasn’t too keen on.
“If thou wouldst cease to stare at thine brother so glum and join in with the human souls in song and prayer, thou wouldst not be so miserable”, the angel at the gate addressed him with a soft expression. “Thy penance may become lighter still.”
“Penance… What doest thou know of my penance?”, he asked and turned away.
“I know not the details, but enough to advise thou thusly: Accept thine fate with humility and grace, and thou shalt find thyself soon once more in His radiance. There are worse fates than Ante-Purgatory.”
Uriel scoffed and looked towards the shore. Due to his nature, he could see beyond the dark of the night and took note of a small island some distance away from the main island of Purgatory. On it, he could see a rock formation akin to a cave entrance and a boat mored at its shore.
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“Tell me, brother, what island is that over there? The one with the boat?”, he asked and pointed towards it.
The angel at the gate squinted in the indicated direction, then let out a soft chuckle.
“My brother, that’s the entrance to the Ninth Circle of Inferno”, he explained amused. “It is a rare occurrence, but occasionally a sinner purified by the fires of Inferno will accept their punishment and find inner peace, thusly opening up once more to the Lord’s love. They then leave Inferno via this pathway to begin their journey of penance at the slopes of Purgatory.”
Uriel fell into thoughtful silence. He knew like all angels of various pathways from earth through the underworld towards heaven. There was a way to go. A path, if followed in reverse, would allow him to destroy the Transient.
With newfound determination, he stood up.
“Brother? Where art thou going to?”, he asked in a serious tone. “Thou knowest it is forbidden to climb the mount during nighttime.”
“I do not intend to climb, brother”, he replied, and regarded him with contempt. “What I do want to do, is to decent.”
“Decent? Brother! Thou doth make a grand mistake!”
“Might that be the case, but I can’t sit idly by and watch the Transient pervert and destroy our Lord’s creations!”
“Thou shan’t—”
“I am already outside His grace! If our Father truly wants me to stay at thine side and wait until my time has come to climb the mountain, then thou shalt be able to leave thy place atop the tree steps in front of Peter’s Gate and stop me with thine blade, right here, right now!”
At this, the angel of the gate lifted his sword but the second he tried to step down, his movement halted. At this, Uriel smiled in triumph and turned his back to his brother.
“Uriel, brother of mine”, the angel called after him. “See to it that thine decent shan’t become a fall.”
Uriel scoffed at those words and flew towards the gate to the Ninth Circle of Inferno.