[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/1aryh7e.png[/img][/center] [center][color=#b18f71][u][b]Location[/b][/u][/color] 🌑 Abdandoned Brewry. [color=#b18f71][u][b]Interactions[/b][/u][/color] 🌑 None. [/center][hr] The brewery was an old, decrepit sight. One would be forgiven for mistaking it a structure from Colin’s age, long since forgotten and abandoned by modern times. With a hand placed on the cold surface of a metal crate, Aiden lowered himself to a knee. Large, black eyes scanned the surrounding area, but silence and solitude struck. [color=#b18f71][i]”We should be able to sneak inside,”[/i][/color] Lumen spoke, raising a finger as he pointed ahead, [color=#b18f71][i]”from over there.”[/i][/color] [color=#b18f71][b]”Are you ready for this?”[/b][/color] Aiden paused, turning his attention towards the Celestial Spirit. Again, he could feel his heart beating like a jackhammer against the shape of his ribs. Adequate time had been wasted, and while thoughts of this ‘Samael’ lingered within the recess of Aiden’s mind, there was accompanying regret. He should have come here, long ago. However, conflicting thoughts were abundant, and present. There was no right decision, not if he intended to maintain a humanity which could slip between his fingers at any moment. [color=#b18f71][i]”Are you?”[/i][/color] Lumen returned, placing his hand on Aiden’s shoulder. [color=#b18f71][i]”Tenebris is our home. Protecting it should be second nature, by now.”[/i][/color] Clenching his teeth, Aiden moved a hand towards his chest, where it remained. Every second, another beat slammed against his palm, a gulp traveling down the boy’s throat. WIth a deep breath, the Angel moved away from where he had been hiding, casting aside any doubts he might have had. Delving into a jog, Aiden soon accelerated his pace into a faster sprint. Weightless steps padded across hard concrete, until finally, the Angelic Warrior found himself face to face with his target destination. Climbing up a wall-side pipe offered no challenge, and soon, Aiden was able to gaze inside, through the shattered square of a now broken, dirty window. Tensing at the sight, a deep breath managed its way past the Angel’s pale lips. He saw a circle of thirteen women, standing within a ritual symbol painted in what could only have been the sanguine nectar of blood. Indeed, the conclusion was easy to draw, once the gathering of cadavers was noted, within the ring of hellspawn. [color=#b18f71][i]”We need to halt that ritual, now!”[/i][/color] Lumen exclaimed. Never before, had Aiden witnessed such a concentrated gathering of death, and gore. Thirteen women stood in a circle, thirteen bodies were piled between them, and chanting could be clearly heard, in a foreign language. One thing was certain, the words were painful. Every tune which left the vampiric sisters’ lips struck at Aiden with a headache. [color=#b18f71][b]”It’s Satanic,”[/b][/color] the Angel groaned, a hand on his forehead. [color=#b18f71][i]”Then we’ll shut them up!”[/i][/color] The Spirit shouted, before Aiden leaped down from where he had climbed. Within an instant, and Angelic boy landed on the hard, cold floor, motivation and a burning desire for justice emanating from his golden heart. However, the young Angel would soon learn that in his attempt to embrace humanity, through help which had been extended to those in need, he had neglected his Celestial duty. A dark presence was suddenly overwhelming, and every vampiric sister who had stood before him found themselves turned to little more than a white mist. The hellspawn, and the bodies they had procured, alike, were all engulfed in a powerful swirl of darkness perverting and twisting a bright, white color. “Sweet, little Angel..,” came a cold, sinister voice which echoed throughout the abandoned building. Unable to move, Aiden was frozen to the spot. Fear, it had taken hold, and gone was the resolute desire to strike down those who were to summon this beast in front of him. Indeed, such a wicked word would not do the creature justice, as a beautiful woman soon presented herself, standing in front of the boy. A tall, slender figure clad in white stepped out of the mist which by now had slowly began to fade. “A child of purity,” the woman continued, her pale skin like snow, digits reminiscent of skeletal fingers as she extended a hand. Her empty, black eyes spoke volumes of this Demon’s true nature, where the ghostly beauty otherwise surrounding her was but a facade, hiding what dwelled within. “Yet, two children stand before me, one of flesh, the other of Heaven.” Every word uttered by the ghostly creature left her lips in a soft tune, and yet, they cut like razors. [color=#b18f71][i]”You can see me..?”[/i][/color] Lumen tried, his eyes widening at the realization. [color=#b18f71][b]”Why..,”[/b][/color] Aiden gulped, [color=#b18f71][b]”why is her presence.., comforting..?”[/b][/color] The boy clenched his teeth, a wicked sense of warmth washing over him. It continued, growing all the more powerful as the woman’s bare feet gently brought her closer, each step padding along a cold floor. He had heard stories of Demons with the ability to induce a false sense of security, but until this very moment, he could never confirm that they truly existed. “Torture, isn’t it?” The woman continued, a small, tender smile bridging across her features. “Will you, Aiden Connors, keep Lumen of the High Heavens shackled to you?” She tilted her head, eyes narrowing on the couple before her. “Is your desire for life now stolen from an Angel so overwhelming..? Would you truly force him to your side, to trick the Reaper out of his due?” Trembling at her words, Aiden found himself taking a step forward, unbeknownst to the boy himself. He was not consciously moving a muscle, and yet, he was. [color=#b18f71][b]”I.., stole his life.”[/b][/color] “You did,” the Demon slowly nodded her head, “would you allow me to free this lover of yours, Aiden Connors? Would you release him from your pact, and let him soar with the wings you have now clipped?” [color=#b18f71][b]”He’ll die.., if I..,”[/b][/color] Aiden tried, his sight dimming with pearls now trickling down his cheeks. “I can free him, if you just take my hand. It has been so long, since you last enjoyed a Mother’s embrace..,” she finished, reaching for Aiden’s now slowly outstretched hand. [color=#b18f71][b]”He’ll be free..,”[/b][/color] the boy whispered, [color=#b18f71][b]”I won’t be his prison.”[/b][/color] A mere split second followed Aiden’s utterance, and he felt a fist connecting with his face, which immediately sent him tumbling towards the floor. [color=#b18f71][i]”How fucking dare you..?”[/i][/color] Appearing between the demonic entity and Aiden, Lumen stood, infuriated. His fist trembling, his eyes wet, the Spirit gazed down at Aiden, before wrapping his fingers around the boy’s collar. [color=#b18f71][i]”Free me?”[/i][/color] The words were spoken with venom, [color=#b18f71][i]”wake the fuck up!”[/i][/color] Pulling him back to his feet, Lumen once more punched the boy, sending him tumbling back a second time. [color=#b18f71][i]”I am your sword, Aiden Connors!”[/i][/color] Struggling to his feet, the Angel shook his head, as if the boy had been knocked out of a trance. [color=#b18f71][b]”My sword..,”[/b][/color] Aiden mumbled, eyes adjusting to the sight before him. [color=#b18f71][i]”Don’t you dare let go of me! There is only one thing we say.., to freaks like that!”[/i][/color] Lumen turned to point at the monstrous woman, her presence unmoving. [color=#b18f71][b]”One thing..,”[/b][/color] Aiden gulped, his breath heavy, and his heartbeat at maximum. A hand rose to wipe the tears from his eyes, and with a scream, the Angel called forth his sword. In a brilliant burst of blindingly white fractals, Lumen vanished, taking the shape he had proclaimed, in Aiden’s resolute grip. With his voice twisting into an entwined combination between his own vocals and Lumen’s Heavenly strings, there was indeed only one phrase which fit. [color=#b18f71][b][i]”Fuck You!”[/i][/b][/color] Charging forth, Aiden raised his sword and swung the weapon in a vicious arc, Celestial white following the motion, as if a judgement in itself. For a brief moment, he thought the Demon vanquished, but soon saw her appearing further away. “This is a wonderful development,” she stated, “an Angel and his human, entwined as one.” The horror continued, “allow me to leave you with parting words,” the demon spoke, her shape fading into the air as if sand in a breeze. “We will meet again, for I shan’t abandon..,” her voice lingered, following the disappearance of the woman’s frame, “something so precious..”