Ethereal Fall [Undergoing Major Editing] | #Wattys2016

Chapter Seven

Half an Hour Earlier...

Xapham was pacing the room. The other eleven Angels sat in a semi-circle of golden thrones, magnificent wings folded in, bathing the essentially pitch-black room in light.

"I still think we should shut down the Stelli," Sariel spoke up.

"Then what would become of the future dead souls?" Jophiel countered.

"Good point," Sariel agreed.

Xapham was still pacing. His pupils burned a vivid red, a trait he demonstrated in deep thought.

There was a long period of silence before someone spoke again.

"Maybe we should call upon God?" Zadkiel suggested. He clasped his hands together and closed his eyes, beginning to pray.

"Fool!" Charmeine hissed. "We can't let Him know that we're losing control of the one realm He so generously granted us!"

Zadkiel opened his eyes, narrowing them. "But He is the All-Seeing God. No matter what, nothing can escape His gaze. He may even be watching us as we speak!"

"Zadkiel makes a good point," Paschar chimed in.

Xapham suddenly sighed and placed his hands on the map-table in the center of the room. "Everyone... Enough."

The room stilled at his order.

Something unreadable was laced in his expression. One that the other Angels have never seen before. It was determination mixed with guilt mixed with...something else.

"Do you all remember who was originally granted the ability to create Ethereal?"

"You, sir," they replied in unison.

"And who chose the Angels to become the leaders of Ethereal?"

"You, sir."

"That means I get the final word on Ethereal's future. That also means that I will take responsibility for anything that happens to Ethereal. Understand?"

They all nodded.

"Good. Now..." Xapham sighed. "I'm going along with Zadkiel's idea, but from what I can tell, a temporary shut-down would become a complete shut-down in a matter of time. So after that point, what use is there for Ethereal? Everyone would reincarnate eventually, and no one new would arrive. I propose that we destroy Ethereal before more Stars have to be shattered in this chaos."

The other Angels looked at each other.

"Now, now, sir," Michael chided. "Let's not be rash. We have spent eons creating and maintaining Ethereal. You're acting as if it's as easy destroying this as it is to destroy Earth. Both in a physical and a mental sense."

"There's also the issue of Asteria," Dina murmured.

Charmeine scowled. "You're not planning on letting her out of your sight, right? After what you've done to her?"

Xapham sighed. "Unfortunately, she has been abducted by one of the rebels. Well, not abducted, exactly." He laughed nervously. "I gave her hand to a man in exchange for peace."

"Sir!" the others shouted in protest.

"What kind of decision was that?" Tabbris demanded through clenched teeth. "There's a very high chance that they didn't uphold their end of the bargain."

Xapham froze.

"Oh no..." Sariel smacked her palm to her forehead. "Don't tell me..."

"The thought never occurred to you?!" Charmeine screeched.

The room was filled with groans and mutters.

"I'm not a human, alright?" Xapham tried to reason. "We don't have excellent foresight and courage like them."

"She's probably holed up somewhere, the men doing indecent things to her..." Charmeine muttered in a helpless tone.

Xapham straightened at her statement, eyebrows furrowed. "I'm going to find her immediately."

"But we haven't reached a conclusion on the future of Ethereal yet!" Paschar protested.

"Just follow the plan we were talking about earlier!" Xapham ordered, and disappeared in a flash of light.

✧

Hi everyone!

How was it like to see the other side of things? I really liked writing this particular chapter. You could see what goes on when the Council of Angels has to make important decisions and realizes their mistakes. Though Xapham is the leader, he still has a lot to learn about humans.

Until next time, please

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