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The threat released from Beth's lips made Aleph to even tighten the hold on the jar the more, then he gulped in fear. Beth sighed and focused her attention once again on Azaliah. She showed no sign that she was disturbed that she had found her here
"About what?" She asked.
"You'll have to follow me". Beth replied and turned to walk away.
"And bring him with you".
Aleph's eyes widened and he stared at Azaliah who was staring at Beth's retreating back.
"This cannot be good. She sounded like she was about pass judgement on us". Aleph cried. Azaliah smiled softly and stared at him.
"She's just trying to scare you". She said. "But you're probably right, what she wants to talk about might not be good".
Aleph sighed.
"Well, only one way to find out". Aleph then raised his right hand and tapped Azaliah's shoulder forcefully. This action made him to lose his grip on the jar and before he could fix anything, the jar greeted the floor and made an deafening and irritating sound.
"ALEPH!"
"IT DIDN'T BREAK!". Azaliah laughed at the panicking angel before interlocking her arm with his.
"Let's go". She said. They walked out of the temple hand in hand and saw Beth standing outside the temple with a scowl on her face. The sight made Aleph to face another direction, pretending to be interested in the glistening fountain.
Azaliah nodded at Beth, a sign she was ready and the warrior turned and led the way to the hall which the meeting would take place.
Ever since the battle occurred, a lot had changed in heaven. There were certain creatures that graced the sky with the angels, looking like the less angry versions of dragons. There were also more halls, some planted in the inner city were only angel's houses were built in. Winged horses also existed and different temples with different purposes also spread across in an orderly manner around the heavens. The hall that Beth was leading them to was accessible to only high ranked angels. Ever since the battle, a singular person no longer made the rules to prevent easy access to their weaknesses. Now, a collective group of people oversaw the events in heaven.
They got to the hall in no time, the powers standing in front of the gate bowed and gave way for them to pass through. When Azaliah stepped in, she saw her guardian,Carshena, and five other cherubs seated at a long table. Her eyes went from one angel to another until it settled on the massive figure that sat at the edge of the table, Michael. She smiled at him and waved but the archangel only gave her a nod in response.
She had heard about how he fought against Lucifer and how it affected him. He was given the title archangel of war after that and he barely smiled. Since there were no major battles, he stayed in heaven a lot sending his subordinates to fight demons on earth. Azaliah and Aleph took a seat beside Beth and faced Nahamani who sat at the end of the table. There was silence for a moment before Nahamani spoke up
.
"We give thanks to the most high for making us gather here today". She started and the angels bowed in reverence. "We have a lot to discuss today, and what we are going to talk about is something we have been avoiding for a long time".
Her eyes fastened on Azaliah who had a confused expression on her face.
"Azaliah, I know you've been wondering why you have not been assigned a rank yet and why I never let you train, I am going to clear everything up now". She said.
Azaliah sat up from her seat and focused on her guardian. This was the moment she had been waiting for all her life.
"You know the history of heaven yes?"
"I do". Azaliah replied.
"And you know it's not just a story".
"Yes".
"You also know that this topic is very delicate and--"
"Oh please, cut to the chase already!" Carshena interjected. The angels looked at her in surprise.
"You are not to speak out of turn". Nahamani warned. The angel scoffed in response.
"Never mind that, you are stalling. You don't want to tell her the real reason she's here because you're afraid of what it might mean".
"CARSHENA!". A cherub yelled. "CONTROL YOURSELF!"
"She need to take responsibility, she cannot just--"
"Responsibility?" Beth added with a laugh. "You have the audacity to mention that when you gladly abandoned your comrades to die and hid to save yourself. Like the rest of us were guinea pigs and you the queen of the world. You lost all sense of honor on that day, so do not open your mouth and speak to us about such matters again".
"I can speak to whomever I--"
Before she could finish that sentence, Michael had moved to her direction with extraordinary speed and knocked her out. Azaliah and Aleph stared in awe at his show of power. The latter came closer to Azaliah's ear.
"I don't think this is how it's supposed to go, right?" Azaliah shook her head in response. Michael took Carshena out of the room without speaking a word. When they left, Nahamani took a deep breath.
"She's right. I am stalling and I am afraid because of this. We aren't talking about any angel, this particular cherub almost ruined us. If not for the mercy of the most high, we would have perished. And now, I have to let you come to the reality of things.
"What are you talking about?" Azaliah asked. For some reason, she could feel fear taking over her body.
"When Lucifer was about to crush Michael and we were on the losing side, I did something unthinkable, I ran to the temple of the most high to ask for his help". Azaliah's eyes widened.
"That means…"
"Yes, I walked on the stones of fire that should have killed me". Nahamani said. "God knew I was coming, and he didn't stop me. He had a plan already so I was merely fulfilling it. I cried for help and he listened, he gave me a promise and said he will send a weapon that will one day send Lucifer to his death".
"And what is this weapon?"
The whole hall was silent.
"We don't know". She said. Azaliah sighed in relief, for a minute she thought they would mention her name.
"But we know who will wield it and it's you". Azaliah stood up abruptly.
"Me!? why me?"
"Because after the battle, he sent you here. The sword Lucifer yielded was powerful and cannot be controlled by anyone, so he sent you".
Azaliah stayed silent for while and nodded silently.
"If this is true, then my mission is to…"
"Find the weapon". Nahamani said then paused. "And kill Lucifer".