Michael entered the garden where his brother spent a lot of time. He had felt a presence and had walked in its direction, but he didn't find Raphael. He saw a young blond man with short hair, sitting on the ground leaning against a tree with his eyes closed, a book in his left hand. When the light hit the boy and he opened his eyes, he saw for a moment the woman who followed him in his dreams. The woman he had sentenced to death – Sayenne. This cannot be a coincidence. But he needed certainty.
The blue eyes looked surprised when he saw Michael and a smile spread across his face. "Hello, my Prince," the voice greeted him.
He's not afraid of me. That was more than unusual. He always felt everyone's reluctance, but this angel was completely calm.
"Hello. We were interrupted at our last meeting when I inquired about your name. What's your name?" the archangel asked kindly.
"My name is Aleksander," the young man's voice rang out in front of him. It wasn't deep, but instead, it had a bright sound.
Aleksander. Who are you? Why are you in my brother's estate? Michael would get to the bottom of these questions. "Aleksander, who are your parents?" he asked the angel.
He just smiled. "That's a secret."
That upset Michael a bit. He refuses to answer me? Astonishing. "Why are your wings hidden? I don't think Gadriel told me what applied to your situation."
Aleks looked at him in surprise. So Michael knows he's dodged him. At that moment, Aleks came up with an idea. It was risky, but if the plan worked, he would finally be able to escape. Should I dare? Belial's image reappeared before his eyes. He had to do it. "I can't show them because of the shackle," he said, putting his hand on the neck ring, which was hidden by a spell.
Michael's brow raised. The spell disappeared after he knew about it, and he saw the angel shackle on Aleks' neck. It was clearly from his brother. Why did he put an angelic shackle on this angel? What did he do?
"What have you done, Aleksander?" he asked.
The angel looked at him with fixed eyes. "I have done nothing other than being alive."
This shook the archangel more than expected. Is he Sayenne's son? The prodigal son who disappeared twenty-eight years ago? But who is the father and why is he with Raphael?
"If you want to see my wings, take the ring off me for a moment," Aleks said, hoping to have lured the archangel. "You are the strongest archangel, what should I do against you? Do you think I could escape before you caught me? Do you think I'm that stupid?" he added. One fact and two questions, not a lie. Of course, he would try to escape, it was worth a try. He saw the archangel pondering what was springing up in Aleks' hope.
When the angel had decided, he created a hemispherical barrier around them and enclosed them. Aleks immediately recognized what kind it was, after all, he had recently read a book about it. It was strong, but had a weak point. A well-aimed concentrated blow could break it, but a lot of magic had to be discharged abruptly at once, which only a few could.
So Michael underestimated Aleks, which would be to his advantage. I only have one try. And in these few moments, he would put everything. For Belial and for Sai. He would put all his eggs in one basket.
Slowly, the archangel's hand approached and touched the neck ring. Aleks didn't take his eyes off him for a second, then he felt a magical impulse and the shackle began to glow.
"Michael, what are you doing?" his brother's voice rang out.
Surprised, he looked at Raphael, who was standing a few meters away from them, horror on his face. Then a bright rattle sounded. The shackle touched the ground.
"No!" Raphael cried, but it was too late.
Aleks took a deep breath, then felt the magic rush through his body and silver wings sprouted from his back. I'm free.
Michael looked speechless at the silver wings, which were clearly his brother's. Is he Raphael's son? Impossible.
A smile appeared on Aleks' face. "Thank you, uncle. I'm finally free."
What? But before he could prevent it, Aleks rushed forward at lightning speed and hit the barrier with a red-hot fist, which then shattered with a loud crash. Incredulity spread through the archangel.
Aleks stood between the two, making sure they were close enough. "Farewell, father," he said calmly. Now! Just as they were rushing towards him, he froze the two of them. He shot crescents of light to the ceiling and the glass shattered, raining down on them.
Michael and Raphael just blinked for a moment and Aleks was gone. Glass rained down on them, so they immediately threw their heads up.
"Find him!" Raphael shouted angrily, Michael had never seen him like this before. Not knowing what was going on, he shot with Raphael into the air through the open dome after him, causing them to fly over the estate. They searched the area, but Aleks was gone. How?
After a while, they landed back in the garden, where Raphael hit the ground in anger, causing it to burst under him. "How dare you?" he said angrily.
Michael took a step back. "Then explain to me why you put an angel's shackle on your own son and hid him?" he shot back. How could Raphael be so unreasonable?
"I will not allow him to return to hell. He's all I've got left of Sayenne," he pressed forward and barked at the employees to start the search for Aleks immediately.
"Sayenne?" Suddenly, it all made sense. He was Sayenne's lover. So he had condemned not only Sayenne, but also his own brother.
Twenty-eight years ago, he was told that a half-angel had been born on earth – something that had never happened before, since angels and humans could not mate, the Supreme God had taken care of that. But it had happened. He had sent three angels to take the child to heaven, but they had instead returned with a bloodstained, lifeless female body – Sayenne's body.
He had found her soul, but she had never told him where her son was, and they had not been able to find him. Sayenne's words had burned themselves into his soul, haunted him in his dream.
Sayenne sat in the meadow and smelled the flowers, caressed them tenderly. Her eyes met his, showing not a spark of fear. "Eventually, you'll find out what you've done, but the blood on your hands won't wash off. He will appear strengthened, will fulfill his destiny, and you will get down on your knees and bow your head. He has a strength that you will never possess, which is a heart."
He had never understood what she meant, but he suspected that there was more to Aleksander. His powers were far above the highest level for a twenty-eight-year-old angel. It was unmistakable that he possessed Raphael's angelic powers. They had to find him.
... and you will get down on your knees and bow your head.
Michael had bowed his head in front of only one and that was the supreme deity. Aleksander, what are you?
Aleks ran through the corridors until his lungs burned. He had stolen an angel's robe and put it on. The archangels had fallen for his trick. Aleks had never left the garden, but hid behind a tree and then disappeared through the exit.
I have to go to the reception hall. There he might be able to open a portal. It was a daring gamble, because he had never tried it before. He had just imagined it over and over again. I'll have to try. When he arrived at the hall, he tried to calm down and began.
"Aleks?" a voice startled him from behind. He winced and held his heart with his hand.
"Hell, Gadriel, don't scare me like that."
"Excuse me, I've just returned, why are you wearing a robe?" the angel asked.
The gears in Aleks' head began to spin until they snapped into place. "It's very good that I'm meeting you. Can we go back to the capital today? Raphael was busy and I'd like to get something," Aleks said with a smile, hoping to convince the angel.
A radiance spread across his face. Gadriel thought he wanted to get Raphael something. Guilt spread through Aleks' chest.
He nodded joyfully and created a portal. The two walked through it, leaving behind the excited employees who had just entered the room.
"Where is he?" Raphael asked the clerk who stood trembling in front of him.
"He... Gadriel has created a portal... they went through," she stuttered.
Gadriel? Did he betray me? That couldn't be, Aleks must have tricked him. But where could they have gone? They had been in the capital of the angels yesterday. But what would Aleks want there? He had no choice, it was the only lead, so he set off with Michael to the capital of angels.
Aleks and Gadriel stepped out of the portal. In front of them was hustle and bustle, many angels scurried across the square. Aleks exhaled with relief, because he was one step closer to his goal.
"Where do you want to go?" the unsuspecting angel asked.
"Gadriel, forgive me," Aleks whispered, and Gadriel looked at him in surprise.
Gadriel just blinked for a moment and Aleks was gone. What? He looked around in panic, but Raphael's son was gone. Benevolent gods, I have lost Raphael's son. The realization made his blood freeze in his veins. He had to find him, or his life was forfeited.
Meanwhile, Aleks made his way through the crowd of angels towards the museum. You certainly wouldn't suspect him there, why should they? This bought him some time, though not much. I need to recover the key. He walked inconspicuously through the entrance, but without his wings he stood out. Damn.
He had to provide distraction so that he could get the casket. So he created a few crescents of light and scattered them all over the room, so that numerous panes of glass shattered. Screams rang out and panic drove the angels out of the museum. Aleks first hid behind a pillar, and then quickly ran to the part of the hall where the treasures of the people were.
With a racing heart, he stopped in front of the island where the treasures of Degei were exhibited. With a well-aimed magic-enhanced blow, he shattered the disc and climbed into it to reach for the casket.
It was like in the picture, only a hand's width long and a half high and low. It consisted of small bones that looked like snake vertebrae and was decorated with corresponding teeth. It shimmered in the pattern of Degei's skin, which is why he suspected that the disguises were Degei's scales.
Immediately he felt the resonance with the empty amulet and the key around his neck. He couldn't be mistaken, in this casket was the third key. Carefully, Aleks climbed back, careful not to cut himself.
"Don't move!" a voice rang out, and he saw three angels with swords pointed at him.
Shit. They had caught him. "Let me go, or you'll regret it," Aleks said, spreading his wings. That was enough of a distraction. He shot several crescent lights in the direction of the warriors and towards the ceiling. They dodged and the skylight shattered. Aleks strengthened his legs and pushed off the ground, with powerful wing beats he flew through the skylight into the open air. Chaos reigned everywhere. I have to go to Hall of the Gods. There was a portal to the human world.
Aleks had wondered how all the angelic hosts could come to earth at the same time, for not every angel had been on earth. He had found a clue in the book about Degei.
Michael had led all his soldiers through a portal in the divine halls. There was one there that was directly connected to the human world. Thus, angels who had never been in the human world could travel there with the help of it.
The same as the demons, because there were also such portals. The spheres were connected by them. Maybe if Aleks could make it there and maybe open this one, maybe he would escape from heaven. Quite a few maybe, but what choice did he have? None. So he flew as fast as he could in the direction of the Divine Halls, a building that no one would miss. It shone in bright gold and the statues of the seven archangels adorned its entrance. It was decorated with numerous frescoes and was made of black and white marble.
The gate was made of bronze resembling two angel wings. He landed in front of it, already spotting the warriors rushing towards him. Panicked, he pressed against it and they opened in front of him. A gasp circulated in the crowd watching the spectacle.
Aleks ran in, completely disoriented. He stopped for a moment and looked around. It was insane. Black and white marble alternated on the floor and walls. Everywhere were golden statues of angels and images of the seven archangels. In the middle stood a small altar in which numerous words were carved and seven high-quality chairs made of dark wood covered with a fine golden fabric and numerous decorations.
This is where they hold their conferences. He kept looking around until he saw a large mirror on the back of the wall. He was at least three meters high and two meters wide, but the strange thing was, the mirror didn't reflect anything. Words were engraved on its golden frame.
Close your eyes and move forward.
That's what it has to be, the portal. Now all he had to do was open it.
"Who are you?" a female voice sounded.
In front of him stood an angel with green wings. Jophiel.