I once again found myself in what I only could describe as the void.
Like the previous times it did not take long for the creature consisting of smoke and shadows appeared out of nowhere. It seemed happy to see me again. maybe it was growing bored here. maybe it had been searching for me and once again found me. maybe it was something else. I would probably never know. Just like how I would probably never know what it was. It was not a demon, that did I know for sure. But it was not an angel either.
"Welcome back! those who live above the worlds salute you." its harmonious voice, both louder than thunder and quieter than a whisper echoed through the eternal nothingness.
I looked around yet my eyes could not adjust to the pure blackness that surrounded us. The images of the terrifying creature that I had seen last time were still imprinted on my mind. "Is that thing still here?"
The being just shrugged. "Everything is always here. it is just that it now choses to slumber."
The creature circled around me.
"Anyway, last time you wanted to talk about the gods? I am verry sorry, but I am afraid that I still am not allowed to tell you much about them. you will have to ask them yourself someday."
"Then what about the angels? I have seen a few. One was commanding an army of demons. But I could not feel it's presence, as if it never existed in the first place. why was that? And there was a dead one used to open a gate to hell. How was something like that even possible in the first place?"
"Alright then. I can do something with that. To start with, every angel, high and low can conceal their presence. This is something natural to them, but it takes verry long to prepare so most of them would not bother to do it unless it is necessary. As for the second. The gods are planning something. Sacrifices have to be made and all that disobey will be get rid of."
Slightly confused I stared at the ever-shifting silhouette of the creature. I wanted to know why the angel had just died instead of also falling. Wasn't that what happened to angels that rebelled against the gods? But before I could ask the being spoke again with a wide smile.
"Of course, certain angels have found ways to bend the rules. None of them are happy with what is planned but they can still walk among humans to fulfil their final desire. They infiltrate families, and act like one of them so they can still try to help a few people while hiding from the gods. The angels of time and space were especially taking advantage of this. The angel of time being able to exist at every point in time as it desires and the angel of space being able to exist at every place it desires could naturally do much more than the others. I believe you have already met both of them, have you not?"
A wave of panic flooded over my mind as I slowly started to realise what this might meant.
"And my mark? What do you know about that?"
The being stopped smiling.
"Are you sure you want to know?"
I nodded, I had to confirm my suspicions.
"Just know that you asked for it. I believe that it was time that ordered that demon to place that mark on you. Both being there in the present and past to come across as two different entities. Since time had seen the future, I don't know if it wanted to conserve something or to change something. Maybe it had seen the outcome of the great plan. Maybe it follows the same orders as I do. I can't say for sure."
It answered as I feared. But how could I say for sure that this thing was indeed telling the truth.
"Why are you telling me this?"
"Well, you asked, didn't you? And in the end, it is all part of the plan. Besides, I don't have much else to do."
The creature floated around a little and then sighed. "I am afraid that you can't stay much longer. I hope to see you again someday when all the pieces fit together."
Suddenly I awoke back into the real world, the one where I was still chained up against a wall.
The woman who had stabbed me had already left. But then again, I had no idea for how long I was out.
I was sort of relieved to see that me passing out actually sped things up a little. My body was able to adapt much faster without my mind ever so slightly constricting it. and maybe just being in the void had this kind of effect.
The blade on my tail had changed a little, it now had two bits of bone sticking out at the side. The way it curved almost formed a broken halo around the lower part of the rest of the blade.
I may have grown a little more, tough I was not entirely sure. But the thing that in my opinion stuck out the most was the new pair of wings that had grown just underneath my original ones. However, these were a little smaller.
Tough I was still recovering from the spear; I was not in as much pain as I was before. Like this I could finally rest a little. Even if I did not sleep, I could let my mind wander off in an attempt to process what I had just heard.