1 Shooting Star

Jay, in his teenage years, had just lost his life and memories after an unfortunate death, and he was now nothing but a transparent and almost mindless soul with a shining white orb of light emitting from the middle of his almost invisible chest.

Leaving his physical body, which is now nothing more than a dead shell, he felt as light as a feather, and began ascending into the sky. Jay's spiritual body had then started slowly reconstructing, becoming more opaque. He began to feel heavier, but his body still continued to ascend. As he rose into the sky, he gazed around. 

It was a very chilly and rainy night,  and surrounding him was a world of towering steel and thousands of glowing, colorful specks of light. He then looked down and saw his bloodied body, noticing a group of mysterious hooded people surrounding it, which all took place in the middle of a large crater.

Upon the sight, Jay's lingering unconsious feelings of resentment, worry, and misery had grown intense. Suddenly, he then began to warp through time and space, emerging through an enormous, thick sheet of white clouds, with many bright orbs also appearing from deep within them.

He had soon felt a bright and intense energy that came from a potent, distant light high above the surrounding cloudy space. The light seemed to quickly redeem Jay of his strength and energy. as he had no longer transparent and had been full of opaque color.

His spiritual body was then fully constructed as he reclaimed his short cobalt hair, sapphire eyes, and his caramel skin. He appeared to be rather tall with a slim, toned body, looking no different than when he was human.

But he, unfortunately, was no longer one.

He was now brimming with energy, and angelic wings quickly bursted out of his back as it shot out feathers of snow. His body had then absorbed a blue energy that had appeared and slowly thickened out of thin air. The azure, glowing energy travelled and lit up his eyes and veins which glowed through his skin.

His head then ached as he began going through a recollection of verbal communication from sensing an old man's voice in his head. 

The voice whispered with a deep echo, "You have now become a spirit. Because of good fortune, you have been resurrected into an angel; One with the duty to protect this world from chaos and destruction. I have given you elemental powers to aid you in your adventure.

It also seems you've had a rather unfortunate fate. If you wish to lighten your burden of the sins of hatred and accumulate divine spiritual power, you must utilize the path of exorcism and undergo many experiences. You've also been given a pair of holy blades that you may summon accordingly."

"Attain great power throughout your life of the Outer World, and prevent the annihilation of light. The forces of light and dark are heavily unbalanced, and all of existence is under the process of total destruction. It has come to the point where I cannot fight this battle alone, and at any rate, both the mortal world and the world of the afterlife will be destroyed.

The entirety of life and every form of matter will be wiped away. The creations of gods would then have served no purpose, and time and space will revert to being empty and lifeless. Help me prevent all of such misfortune from happening. Don't let absolute darkness be the fate of the world." The voice said, beginning to fade away.

"...Your mission is to preserve the light, my child."

Again, Jay had immediately warped through time and space during the message to an unfamiliar world. He fell through the atmosphere of the somewhat earth-like planet as if he was a meteorite. Many people that resided within a nearby kingdom were in awe as they witnessed the beautiful streak of light in the sky.

The violet sky was illuminated by the brilliant golden streak on the horizon, giving the shooting star an enchanting aura. Coming closer to the planet's surface, he was soon about to land in a large forest which lay right beside the vast kingdom. 

"Crap, I almost forgot I can fly...!" He thought.

But right before Jay could have made a tragic impact, his angelic wings offered him a safer, but still hard of a landing. He had fallen and stumbled all over the ground, getting inflicted with slight bruises and injuries.

He then attempted to get up, but staggered and fell. He rose again slowly, trying one more time, and before he could have dropped once more, he stabilized himself after remembering how to walk.

Having then gained his balance, Jay slowly stood straight, and before he thought of making another move, he began to observe the environment. He discovered himself in a very thick forest that shielded most of the golden light from the setting sun.

The peaceful rustling of leaves and the soothing sound of flowing water made him feel calm and at peace. Then shortly breaking away from his trance, he had then averted his focus to his wings as he turned to look behind him. He wanted to make sure he knew how to fly in order to experience the excitement of soaring through the air.

He made his first attempt, making a running start. He jumped, attempting to flap his wings, but of course, it didn't go as planned. He was indeed flying for a very short moment, but he had soon lost control and plundered back to the ground.

Jay was persistent, however, so he kept trying, but it always ended in the same results, only slightly better. Many hours of repetitive attempts later, and it was already midnight. He finally got the hang of flying, but barely. He was able to fly up high above the trees and gaze around.

The world was very peculiar, with giant floating islands and earth debris, and other, smaller islands. Some contained small forests, others were inhabited by medieval-aged villages, and others with flowing rivers and waterfalls that flowed down the giant, seemingly bottomless rift of the planet that he had then realised is a cracked and broken world. He had struggled quite a bit, but he managed to fly back down.

Jay was unsure of what action to take next, but before he was situated in deep confusion, he happened to notice another person standing near a river. He walked by them as they soon noticed Jay.

The individual was tall and had the appearance of a dark-suited young man, with long black hair and black eyes that gleamed under the moon's shine. Jay walked up to him and asked, 

"Do you know where I am…?" 

"Well… you're in a forest, which is right next to the kingdom of Y'vette, ruled by a goddess."

"Why are there floating objects in the sky?"

"Not many know, neither do I know much, but some say that during an ancient time, this world called Residuum had been destroyed once, but legend says people from another world helped recover the planet and made it habitable again. The floating pieces are essentially being sustained by massive amounts of magic."

He said, raising a finger to the sky. He then leaned over to Jay and closely scanned him as he flinched in surprise.

"By the way... are you a newborn? Considering the fact you look so clueless."

Jay responded, "Newborn...? What do you mean?"  

"Is this your second life?" 

"I don't know, it might as well be." Jay said, shrugging. 

"I see..." He said, rubbing his chin with one of his hands.

"Well, hopefully you can find some friends." He said with an odd chuckle. 

"What brings you here in the middle of a forest?" Jay questioned.

"I'm just taking a breather away from the kingdom, working as a merchant really takes a toll on you." The man replied as he held a grin.

"By the way, you should hide those when you're not flying, they could really get annoying just being there, taking up space. Simply think of them disappearing, and magic should probably do it's thing. So I'll get going now. I hope you'll have a good second life here~" The man said, smiling slyly as he began to walk away.

"What's up with that guy...?" Said Jay as he observed the man disappear into the darkness of the forest.

Then, Jay took away his attention from him as he began to sit down. He soon looked up, gazing past the opening of the forest at the clear, dark sky speckled with radiant stars, and had wondered about the fate that would inevitably cross him throughout the rest of his future. He then began to remember what the voice from earlier ago had told Jay. As he started to lay on his back, he questioned himself.

"Did I really just die..? The old man had spoken of my fate, so what had happened during my past?

...And who were those people surrounding me back then...?

If possible, I'll try and regain my memories; To remember the events that had taken place, and to get all of my answers. For now ... this world looks interesting. I'd rather take my time and learn more about it."

An unsuspecting yawn began to fly out of his mouth, and Jay soon noticed the fatigue settle in his body as it grew heavier.

"I've used up too much energy trying to fly. At this point, I can't even move."

And before Jay knew it, the night had passed, and once he sat up and looked around, he suddenly found himself on top of a cozy bed in a small room with wooden furniture and pale walls. On one of the walls in the room, he spotted a large painting of a young woman with long, violet hair. Bright sunlight beamed out of one of the room's windows onto his face. He was, of course, very confused. 

"Wait … why am I … here? Where am I?" He said as he rubbed his eyes.

He then got up and slowly walked towards the wooden door whilst continuing to look around. The wooden floor boards made loud creaks at each step he took. Eventually grabbing hold of the door's handle and gently opening it, he saw two people sitting by a long table as they ate.

One of them was a young girl who looked around his age. Upon noticing Jay, she quickly got up and ran towards him. There was also a middle-aged man who peered at him. The girl had long, curly black hair and pale skin with deep purple eyes. She was very relieved to see Jay awake.

The man had short black hair, shaven facial hair, and a rather large, muscular build. He was looking towards him with a slightly intimidating face. 

"Why am I here?" Jay asked.

The girl responded with a surprisingly soft voice.

"My name is Lisa, nice to meet you. That's my father, Harry Smith." She said as she pointed towards him.

"We carried you in here to keep you safe from demons that might lurk at night. Being outside during those times is a bit dangerous. You could've possibly even died, so you should be thankful I kept you safe."

"My name's Jay, Jay Blue. Thank you for being generous." He stated. 

"Welcome, Jay. I'm surprised you don't know about those creepy crawlies from Hell. Hmm … I know that sunlight tends to keep them away, so they prefer to come out at night. Anyways, you can stay here for the day! Come eat with us if you're hungry. Just sit over here."

After Lisa pointed out to one of the empty chairs, Jay walked to it and sat down. She then went out of the room and later came back with a steaming bowl of thick, pasty liquid. His eyes were soon fixed on the bowl, unable to peel them away, and he began to feast on the well-made food as soon as it touched the table. 

"I apologize for asking, but why were you in the forest?" Lisa asked after a moment later.

Jay then replied, "As weird as it may sound, I fell from the sky, and I wasn't capable of going anywhere else. How did you manage to find me, and why did you care to bring me here?" 

"I was looking for where that streak of light had landed. Before we found it, I came across you and decided to give you a safe place to stay. Also, we were created to be kind and protect others. That's what we were meant to do, regardless of being an angel."

"And what do you mean by a streak of light?" Jay asked. 

"It was there in the sky yesterday evening. It was probably you, since it came from the forest. Angels can spawn high in the air sometimes, but where they usually appear is on ground, although falling that high from the sky is quite ... rare. Whoever was able to see it and ask for a wish would probably get it granted, but that's most likely fake. I was also curious to see who you were." 

"What was your wish going to be?" 

"My wish … was to be able to see my mother again. But I probably just asked for too much." Lisa said with a sorrowful tone. 

"Sorry for asking." He uttered.

"No, you're fine."

"...By the way, how did you manage to fall from the sky so fast? Didn't you have wings?" She asked. 

"Yeah, but I realized that when it was too late. This is all new to me." 

"Huh, just as I thought, so you're a newborn. Despite that, I'm pretty sure it should be a natural instinct for angels. It's always them that can fall from the sky like that for some reason." Lisa replied.

"Anyways, you should go meet that old grump over there."

"I don't think you should talk to your dad like that, Lisa." Harry replied.

She laughed and said, "He may be grouchy at times, but he's really nice! You two should be able to get along well."

The man let out a sigh.

"So your name's Jay, huh? I wasn't too willing to let you stay here, but my childish daughter annoyingly coerced me into it, so you should only thank her."

"Well, thanks for allowing me here at least." Jay answered.

"So, earlier ago, you mentioned you couldn't fly, right? Maybe I could teach you a thing or two, maybe get the senses in ya, how about it?" Harry suggested. 

"How?" 

"I'll make sure you really know how to fly. It's a necessity for an angel, which allows us to get to places quicker than by foot." Harry said, getting up from the table and walking towards a door.

"Come with me outside." He said.

Right after following him through the main door, they both arrived right outside at a large, grassy plains bordered by the forest.

"I assume you know how to bring out your wings." Harry said. 

With a bit of a struggle, Jay had successfully summoned them.

"Good." Harry said. "Now let's simply try ascending." 

As he began to slowly rise upwards, he said, "Pay attention to how I rise up, and try it for yourself."

From observing, Jay had soon managed to ascend. 

"Okay!" Harry said. "Nice, you're a good observer. Let's try flying now; Watch me." 

Harry began to elegantly soar through the air with ease. He was moving fast whilst maintaining stability in his flying. Doing barrel rolls, spins, and loops, his movements in the air were nothing but a spectacular performance. He then started decelerating as he flapped his wings, soon landing in front of Jay. 

"Try it out now."

Jay attempted to fly forward, but he had gone too slow and lost stability. Compared to Harry's flying, his was awful, with lack of composure. Eventually, he had plummeted to the ground. Remaining determined, however, Jay continued to take flight for a second time, then a third. He had thought that if he kept trying, he would eventually get the hang of it. But, unfortunately, nothing had changed.

But Jay had realised something, he began to feel more of the "instinct" Lisa had mentioned. He immediately felt more confident, and took flight for another time. He slowly started gaining speed and felt a bit more stable, but right when he started to change direction, he lost composure and descended to the ground once again. 

"Jay, stop right there for a second!" Harry shouted, right before Jay went for another attempt. 

"I know why you're struggling so much. Your wings are injured. I'm sure the sunlight will get them healed up real quick"

"Sunlight..? Heal..?" Jay questioned.

"Since we're angels, the divine energy of Demiurge's light, which is the sunlight, is able to repair our wounds. How fast it does it can vary, however, depending on the amount of sunlight you're exposed to." Harry responded.

"Well that's nice. Looks like it's noon." Jay said as he looked up into the sky.

"How fast do you think they'll get repaired?"

Lisa started running towards Jay and Harry, unnoticed from afar.

"From what it looks like, might take about an hour." Harry replied.

"Jay!" Lisa said, panting.

"I was watching you fly! You were doing pretty well for your first attempt. You'll probably get the hang of it in no time." 

"Yea, I feel pretty confident that I can fly, but my wings aren't in a good state right now. I'll have to wait an hour for them to heal."

After hearing what he had to say, Lisa began reaching for her bag around the side of her waist and took out a glass bottle. "Here's an elixir I made. It should fix you up a lot faster. I always make sure to carry some around in case I get hurt."

"Thank you." Jay said, taking the bottle and drinking it after a bit of hesitation.

After completely finishing the drink, he summoned his wings once again, and from the clean, neatly arranged feathers on his wings, it appeared that they have already mostly healed.

"Even though your wings still need a bit of healing left, it shouldn't be too much of a drag now. Try flying again, why don'tcha?" Harry insisted.

Jay began flapping his wings, creating a large gust of air, then ascending high into the sky with ease. He made swift turns in all directions while maintaining good stability. It seemed Jay had officially taken control of flying and was now able to suspend himself in the air for a while. He even managed to show off flashy tricks and stunts like Harry's, who was astonished by the sight.

"So it seems you actually do know how to fly. You just weren't able to due to injury." Harry said as he landed. 

"Can I ask you another favor?" Jay asked. 

"Go ahead." 

"If there's these so-called demons out there that are capable of hurting me, I should probably know how to defend myself. Do you mind training me?" Jay asked. 

"Sure thing. We'll begin tomorrow." Harry responded, walking back into the cabin as he waved his hand goodbye.

***

"Greetings, m'lord. I've returned from my dispatch." Said a dark-suited man.

"Good work. Did you gather any information on the phenomenon?" Said the other man, hidden under a black cloak.

"It seems to be confirmed that the shooting star phenomenon was indeed an angel. They were just sent to this world, so they should be very weak. As they are not a threat now, they could eventually be an issue. I recommend we deal with them soon."

"...I see. How proficient are you with beast summoning?"

"I can assure you my summoning capabilities are more than enough to handle them."

"Good. Assemble a group for the ritual and dispatch a team of spies; Make sure the angel never leaves our sight."

"As you wish."