Angelic Omen

Encounter

The bright full moon was rising as I walked the streets from the castle. Larux had given me the address to the place I would stay, and I was looking around the area to find it. After getting directions from a random passerby, I decided to take a shortcut through an alleyway.

The moon's silver light was hidden in shadow as I entered the alley. I took a deep breath of relief as the shadows overtook me. Finally. A place of darkness in this overly bright place.

I walked through the dark pass, my wings slightly brushing the exterior walls of the buildings on either side of me. I looked around, especially gazing at the stars peeking through the opening above me absentmindedly.

But that was all interrupted when I was run into by someone else who happened to be wandering through an alley at night.

I yelped in surprise as I tumbled to the ground, the person who ran into me making a similar sound as they fell.

My vision went black as my body hit the hard ground.

———

Fire and smoke choked my vision as I opened my eyes. I was still in Norxentor. But the entire place was burning to the ground.

The blue sky above was thick with black smoke and ash. Pools of red liquid were scattered around charred figures, limp on the ground. Bodies, drenched in dark crimson blood.

Standing in the middle of the chaos was a single angel. His feathers were stained red and black from ash and blood. A single rose-gold earring hung from his right ear, not unlike the one that hung from mine.

Voices seemed to whisper all around me, overwhelming my senses.

"Your destiny."

"Finish what was started."

"Kill them all."

The angel turned around slowly.

His eye was entirely white. There was a pupil, I did see, but only visible because it glowed bright. A jagged, dark scar was carved into his face, through the white eye and over his mouth. The skin where his mouth was scarred had been torn away, giving the angel a permanent, twisted scowl.

The angel grinned. "Hello, Omen."

The angel let out a dark, devious laugh as black shadows encased me in their angry binds, and I fell as the floor beneath me ceased to exist. I groped in the darkness for anything to hold onto, flapped my wings in a panic to stay in the air, but it was no use.

I finally closed my eyes as I accepted the final plummet to my demise.

———

"Hello? Hello? Oh, please be okay-"

My eyes shot open as I gasped. My breathing was heavy, and I looked around to find myself back in the alley. I sighed in relief as I realized I had indeed not fallen to my death.

On her knees looking down at me was a panicked-looking angel with long, silver hair that reflected the moonlight above. Her light purple eyes were wide with worry. They closed as she sighed in visible relief.

"Oh, thank god you're okay," the angel exhaled.

I sat up and brushed some dust off of myself. "Watch where you're going."

"Geez, I'm sorry," The angel held her hands up submissively.

I gave her a glare before starting to walk off.

"Are you okay? Did you like, hit your head or something?" The angel stopped me.

I took a deep breath in annoyance. "I'm fine."

She shot me another concerned glance before smiling in a friendly way. "I'm Cekrelas, but you can call me Krel."

I didn't return her optimistic expression. "Inarix."

"You seem a bit lost. Do you need any help getting home?" Krel asked me.

"I know where I'm going," I retorted. Before the curious angel bombarded me with any more random questions, I turned tail and continued down the alley, leaving Krel in the dark alley.

———

Eventually, I stood in front of the place I would stay. My temporary home.

It was an average sized house, not very noticeable but not a hovel either. It was made of a dark wood that looked almost blue in the muted light of the moon. There was a cobblestone pathway that led to the front door, surrounded by green flora that whispered to each other in the light breeze. I walked across the path, brushing the green leaves of the plants on either side with my hands as I did.

I opened the door to be met with the interior. It was nice enough, with a kitchen as soon as I walked in, and a door to the left leading to a living space. I walked to the living room and found two more doors to the left and right, both leading to different bedrooms. One must be the normal bedroom, and the other a guest room.

I walked into the left one. It contained a bed with a nightstand next to it. On the nightstand was a note. I picked up the slip of paper and read it to myself.

Don't get too comfortable. Stay focused on the task at hand.
- Larux

How does he sneak in here? And why do I have to be here if he can do it?

I shook my head and tossed the note to the side. Best not to question Larux.

Knowing no one was going to get in here in the middle of the night, I shapeshifted back to my normal form. My angel body was quite restricting to me, and I felt much more comfortable in my normal form. I stretched my dark crimson wings in relief.

I flopped down on my bed and sighed, looking at the blank ceiling above me. The vision I had when I ran into Krel entered my mind. A million questions flooded my headspace, as if they were a river held behind a dam that had cracked and broken to a point where it no longer supported the pressure.

Who was that angel? Why was Norxentor burning? What did he mean by my "destiny?"

I shook my head. I can't think about this right now. I'm tired.

It wasn't long before sleep took me in its dark, comforting arms, and I was plunged into darkness.

———

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