Unresolved Issue - Part 1

[Clang!]

Upon their arrival at the meeting chamber, the massive gate swings open leaving no sound as it moves until it stops. The lights from inside and out emerge together, causing obscurity for Gabriel and Uriel to see properly.

As the view starts to get better and clearer, Gabriel finds himself standing in front of two other Archangels whom he intimately recognizes. Both of them are sitting on the edge of the boomerang-like table that faces a podium that only God will use when He needs to rely on any information.

The furthest to the left of the curved table is Archangel Raphael. His middle-length, soft pink hair is slicked to the back, forming a side part. Not a single strand can escape and block his amethyst eyes that match the lining of his formal wear.

Sitting next to him is Archangel Jophiel. With his arms crossed, his calm stature can be reflected in the way his eyes are closed most of the time. Unlike the other Archangels, his hair appears to be combed neatly. When he turns his head to face them, there is not even the slightest movement that can be seen missing out.

"No one's telling me that you're already back?" Raphael remarks with a slight joke.

"As if you can't feel his presence returning here," Jophiel answers on behalf of Gabriel. Honestly, he is just trying to pick on Raphael.

"Haha, Raphael. Jophiel," Gabriel comes up to them and pats their shoulder a couple of times, like how he always does it when he greets them. "How long has it been since we last met?"

"Not worth at all to count or even mention, actually," Jophiel replies.

"We've always seen you from the distance whenever you're present in Heaven. Though we don't seem to find the chance to properly say hi," Raphael adds with a shrug. "You know, all the time busy with a designated task."

"Yeah, I agree."

While the three keep on conversing, Uriel goes straight to his seat on the opposite end of where Raphael and Jophiel were positioned. Raphael realizes this and quickly shoots a question at Uriel that he has been eager to ask for a while now.

"Managed to find where they are?" Raphael raises his voice but not as high to be called a shout. He leans his body forward to avoid the disruption of Gabriel's body to look directly at Uriel. Noticing this, Gabriel shamefully walks to his place.

"No," Uriel says, going quiet for a second before replying to Gabriel after he finally sits down. No additional information, no long elaborative nonsense, just an on its own 'no'. With that, the mood exponentially drops for everyone except Gabriel.

"Oh, God. How long are they gonna take?" Raphael sighs and clutches his face with both of his hands in defeat.

"Patience, my friend. They'll be back before we know it," Jophiel tries to calm his seatmate. As God's beauty, patience is his ultimate virtue.

"How long have they been away?" Gabriel whispers to Uriel, who is seated far off, so his voice is audible enough for everyone to hear.

"We don't know," Raphael whines in response to Gabriel's questioning. From gazing right at Uriel, Gabriel switches his head around showing a huge nervous-tic smile toward Raphael.

"We kind of lose count if you want to be specific," Jophiel exclaims, which leaves an inquiry for Gabriel to ask.

"Lose count? How is that possible?"

"Yes, they have been missing since... No, it was like forever. They have been gone forever," Uriel follows with the regard just now.

"Like what Raphael said before, we're always occupied by our tasks and actions that we hardly ever work together anymore," Jophiel adds to strengthen their statement by emphasizing the seriousness of the issue. "Raphael, tell him what you saw."

"Oh yeah, there's this one time - I can't remember, though, when - that I saw Zadkiel anxiously looking around walking with no sense of direction," Raphael reminisces about the start of his story that Gabriel has not heard before.

"So he approaches him and asks him the reason why," Jophiel cuts in before Raphael could get to the good part. This undoubtedly irritates Raphael, but he does it to ease their worries.

Therefore, Raphael sulks and faces his head somewhere else with frustration. Jophiel extends his hand to ask for forgiveness but gets left with the silent treatment. He knows that he is being ignored as the tip of his finger slightly touches Raphael's body yet no gesture is ever returned.

"No, you can continue with the story," Raphael grumpily tells Jophiel to finish it all off.

"If I remember correctly, Zadkiel said to Raphael that he's in a hurry to find God to report about something but can't seem to find Him anywhere," Uriel continues. If neither of them is going to, then who will rely on this important piece of intel for Gabriel? "So he suggested for Zadkiel to find Camael and search for him together."

"And they haven't got back still?" Gabriel knows the answer to his question, but there is a tiny bit of mystery that left an impression on the story.

"Well, the funny thing is Camael can't detect God's whereabouts, which is weird, especially when he's the one that always sees God," Raphael plods in as he realizes that he will miss the chance to finish off the story if everyone decides to spread it. "Since he can sense it, the two when on a search."

"So we're all just waiting for them to come back?" Gabriel sarcastically implores them about their choice of action.

"What else can we do?" Jophiel informs. "Sending one more won't help."

"None of us have the capabilities to do what Camael's able to."

"I've been refusing almost all the Angels that try to come here asking about the issue that's going on right now," Uriel attaches.

"Now that we're on this topic." Jophiel looks straight at Gabriel, still having his eyes closed. "Tell us the story of your end."

"You're supposed to be with Michael, but I believe he's nowhere near Heaven, right?" Raphael retorts.

"Honestly, I don't have the faintest idea of what is going on," Gabriel confesses. "The commands I gave out are all out of pure instinct."

When Gabriel explains it like that, all of them directly know what he is trying to say. Gabriel's precognition is always on point, plus his being in the highest order left clueless, only God has the answer to this madness.

"Though we did retrieve the last person to be transferred here, I've sent Michael back to summon Malique here," Gabriel continues. "He mentioned something about the Demons planning on resurrecting the Great War..."

"Bringing that massacre back? Surely, you jest me..."

"With how the situation turns out, I don't think we can keep on living on the happy end," Gabriel finishes it off sharply. "The unsettling feeling that came off as a sudden storm passing through..."

"Might have a connection to it," Gabriel concludes. The whole council goes silent. Not due to their tongue twisted, but because their mind was severed. There is nothing more to discuss nor any more theories that can be explored, so Gabriel lets one last sentence go. "Hopefully, the two of them save some good news for us or we're eternally doomed."

[Clang!]

The enormous hall's door flips open, revealing two silhouettes that grow larger and larger as they enter the room. Synchronously, everyone turns their head to see the oncoming visitors and brim them with happiness, exhilaration, and pleasure.

"C-Camael! Zadkiel! You guys back!?" everyone exasperatedly calls for them.

As they walk towards the chamber's table, none of them returns the greeting. Archangel Camael leads the brazen tread, and a couple of blotches in his robe suggest to them that he has been on quite a journey in search of God. Yet, his expressionless face confuses them a bit, as he is supposed to be fairly cheerful.

Archangel Zadkiel remains unmoved after entering the room, and all he does is place his right hand on his lip supported by his left arm, mimicking a thinking pose. Still, none of them cares about their action more than they care about their anecdote.

"Where have you guys been to?" Raphael probes, with tons of answers he wants to know. "Did you guys manage to find God? Did He tell you what is happening right now or is He outside? Are there any orders anticipated for us?"

"Calm down, Raphael. Let them sit first, and then we talk," Jophiel observes as Camael walks past them and takes a seat between him and Gabriel. "They must've been tired. We can resume the conversation after..."

[Thhlluuck!]

Suddenly, the sharp tip of a hidden blade, fixed to Camael's hand, pierces through Jophiel's skull, forcing his eyes to open wide. An icy-blue pupil shows completely lifeless emotion, contrasting with the dripping crimson liquid.

"Hehehehahahaha!" Camael's maniacal laughter embeds their souls, overturning a kill switch that automatically aimed at him.