by Tj Dixon
“Have you forgotten me already? You last saw me just over five hundred years ago. At least in this form.” I tell her and her eyes go wide.
“Ishki… But I saw you eaten by the hell flower!” Mayor Perry protests.
“I gave it indigestion.” I laugh. “Since we have a mutual enemy now, I’ll let you live. Be grateful. Now, Rin and Hermes… are you coming with me?”
“Where?” Hermes asks whilst Rin just stands there dumbstruck.
“Somewhere that’s not here, and Rin, we can take your mother too.” I say.
“Fine, but you have some explaining to do.” Rin says looking at me angrily.
“I see she’s really grateful to you for resurrecting her.” The Kuroneko laughs. Rin looks embarrassed. Of course she has every reason to be embarrassed given that she isn’t wearing anything.
“And can I get some clothes!?” Rin asks furiously as if reading my mind. Then she frowns. “And what about my dimensional bag?”
“Destroyed I’m afraid. I focused on saving the people. A pity since it was well made and would have been very useful.” The Kuroneko says sounding like she genuinely means it.
“Thank you, for saving my mother and everyone else.” Rin tells the Kuroneko who shakes her head in amusement. Rin then looks at me. “And thank you for saving me.”
“It just sort of happened.” I admit.
“You should probably focus your attention on the enemy at your walls.” The Kuroneko tells Perry, pointing out the goblins that are now beginning to swarm inside the city through the new gap in the wall. Perry ports away and so do the other mages around us. Sure enough they then begin to bombard the invading goblins with magic, but it isn’t going to be easy.
Perry should be able to win though. Even five hundred years ago she wasn’t weak and much as I hate her I can’t deny she is even stronger now. If I wasn’t weakened from centuries in the arena I would help too but right now that isn’t an option.
“We need to get Midori, Hinata and Rin’s mother.” I tell the Kuroneko.
“So you do accept my alliance?” The Kuroneko asks.
“I don’t remember breaking off our old alliance.” I tell her with a smile.
“You’re really not the same boy I’ve known.” Rin says, still of course naked, with a frown.
“I’m not just that boy, but his memories of living as a human are what make me who I am. The arch angel that I used to be would think nothing of destroying a whole city and killing everyone in it, which I did more than once. The boy Peter finds the things that I once did abhorrent and was appalled at the thought of having killed so many people again. There will be more time to talk once we are safe, but I am still Peter.” I tell Rin honestly and full of guilt.
“I have moved the two girls from down below and this one’s mother too. Are you ready?” The Kuroneko asks me.
“Yes. Thank you.” I tell her and she purrs. Then she shifts us to her new temple at the top of Heaven’s Fall.
Epilogue (Peter)
It’s true that I am still Peter, even though I finally know my past. Other than my centuries in the arena everything else still feels surreal but I cannot deny that it was me. The guilt is almost overwhelming. I am just grateful that the Kuroneko saved me from the guilt of having killed so many people again. Especially Rin’s mother.
I am not human though, and in my true form even with the anchor that these arms provide I will get through my power far too quickly. It would not be wise to discard my current form though, because now that I have revealed who I really am I would be far too vulnerable. Besides, there is so much I must do and only in this form do I have the strength to do what must be done.
There was a time when I would have simply consumed every soul in a city to replenish my power, but I’m obviously not going to do that. I may not be human but my mind has been humanised by the time I spent living as a human with humans. Not the centuries in the arena but with my friends at the academy and outside of it.
Obviously I cannot ask my father for power either. He threw me from heaven for trying to reach the stars. Not my brothers and sisters who shared the night sky with me, but the true stars. Only about a quarter of the stars that we see in the sky are fire angels. The rest are the true stars that I sought.
I do wonder whether it was their call or whether it was my brothers and sisters in the night sky that I truly sought as a human. My connection with my brothers and sisters often allowed me to briefly recall who I was when we spoke to each other despite the power of the Heart of Alchemy. Deep down though I think it was probably my stubborn desire to reach the true stars that drove me to continue seeking the stars.
I probably would have given up on the true stars, but having been told not to seek them I decided to work even harder to reach them. That is no less true now than it was then. I will reach those stars, but there are more urgent matters to deal with now.
Since I can’t take enough power any other way I must live as a lesser god. Taking power from mortals not by force, but by their own will. That means I need followers. In other words I need to convince people to follow me. There are advantages for them too of course.
My friends would be a good start. I think Midori and Asuna at least will agree. I should establish a soul link with Midori as soon as possible and with Hermes, Rin and Hinata if they agree. If I wait too long I will weaken dangerously.
When my body died so did my contracts. That means that my contract with everyone in Future’s Forge is gone. So are my contracts with Dairon, Asuna and Angelika. That means I must convince everyone. I cannot simply order anyone to follow me, but this is how it should be.
It also means though that everyone who I have a contract with will soon realise that it is gone. Most likely they will assume that I am dead. My mind stone was destroyed along with my body and my clothes so I have no way to contact them. My new form doesn’t need clothes, because my scales serve not only as armour but as an alternative to clothing. In this form my genitals are retracted under my scales other than when I choose to use them. I feel sorry for Rin who was much less fortunate when I resurrected her. The loss of the mind stone though is a much greater loss than mere clothing.
I look up at the night sky. Most of my brothers and sisters would normally be nervous about my recovery, but right now they have more urgent matters to worry about. It seems the empire have opened the celestial gate to hell. In other words there is an open gate on the smaller of the two moons to the inner and most dangerous circle of hell. Even for my brothers and sisters that is no small problem.
I worry for Hades, the one sibling who argued against our father when he banished me from heaven. It wasn’t just because she was to be my wife before I was thrown from heaven. That was just an arrangement our father made. She only began to love me after I fell from heaven. She argued for me because she believed in me and genuinely disagreed with our father’s decision. Right now she is in grave danger and so are all my brothers and sisters.
With the empire attacking them from the ground whilst they are distracted by the invasion from hell, the danger is even greater. The empire chose it’s time well too. The winter is when the fire element is weakest and when the ice demons of the inner circle are strongest. Only a few fire angels like me are attuned well to other elements and none to the ice element.
The few of us who aren’t attuned to the fire element are exceptions like Aventurine is in the Divine Flame family. That’s probably partly why I was drawn to her when we first met. I hope she is willing to become my follower, because I feel a weak connection to her soul already. At least I know she is still alive and has not left this world.
I worry most though about Azrael, the Fallen Arch Angel of Death. Portalis and Contractia will fall if he is left to do as he wishes. I must stop him before that happens but I am far too weak to do so alone. Perhaps with the help of the elves and dwarves it may prove possible. I am certain though, that he knows I have awakened from my centuries’ long sleep. He will not wait lon
g before he makes his move. I have so little time and so much to do.
To Be Concluded in War of Contractia Book 6 – Peter and the Rising Angels
