「 Procedure 1: Establish emotional connection 」
"So... What made you want to be with me for eternity?"
Philip asked Tenshi, seemingly numb about Tenshi's feelings towards him
"Well... I think you're cool..."
"That's all?"
"Perhaps... Maybe the short time that we've been together, I felt a connection towards you. We played different games which made us closer. Just from playing games, I can see anyone's true personality"
"And what did you see in me?"
"..."
"Just as I thought... You also don't know"
Philip lowered his head in regret. He doesn't know if he would proceed with the finalization of the Soul Contract if he cannot establish an emotional connection
"You're mistaken"
"!!!"
Tenshi denied Philip's claim, to which he widened his eyes in surprise. A part of his body was moved
"What I saw in you at that time was a very kind hearted man that suffered througout his life because he was repeatedly taken advantage of"
"..."
Philip frowned but Tenshi didn't see it because his head was lowered
"You were a happy boy, full of smiles and laughter to the point that others will also be affected by your positivity"
"..."
'I missed that part of my personality'
"But the unfairness of the universe and the society changed you. Your family, money, and the realization of the truth behind the reality. You knew that the system of the universe was flawed and freedom doesn't exist"
"..."
'I knew that death was the only way at that time'
"Because of that... You devolved and your positivity was being chipped away. Negativity slowly took over to the point that your kindness and despair was conflicting each other"
"..."
'I can't let anyone be affected by my despair and depression'
"This in turn destroyed your mind and body, yet your heart is big and your soul is strong. You didn't let anyone get affected by your negativity and tried to smile around people that is not involved in your life"
"..."
'I wanted for someone to know!'
"You seeked for help, but no one helped you. Even if you helped them before, no one came put of their way to help you. You fought by yourself, struggled through the ravaging dark storm. But it the end, all you have done was to ignore and move past from it. Negativity rose up and destroyed more of your mind and body"
"..."
'I had enough fighting by myself!'
"I've pieced it together after learning you have Fate Control and Future Vision abilities. You manifested those abilities because of your journey, your desire to change the course of action in order for you to not suffer anymore"
"..."
'It's selfish of me'
Philip's eye started to become hot and his mouth quivered
"It's not your fault, I understand your desperation and your desire that you earned those abilities. It's because you had enough and you wanted it to go your way this time"
"..."
"That's why I want to be with you for eternity until I'm alive or you're alive. I want to show the beauty of the universe along with you. I want to prove that there is someone that will help you when you need help the most. I want to bear witness to your journey, no matter how treacherous or ravaging it is... I want to experience your kindness that no one has seen before because I know, that there is an unmatched kindness behind that facade of multiple unknown personalities of yourself and the condensed collection of mixed negative emotions deep within you"
"..."
A golden twinkle trickled between Philip's eyes and the ground
"Love couldn't explain what I feel towards you, but that's pretty much it"
Tenshi looked down at Philip with the same warm smile and soothing voice
'Why...'
"Why?"
Philip said in his head but he also voiced it out in a low tone at the same time
"Hm?"
Temshi exclaimed after hearing Philip muttering something. She could she his body trembling and his fist closed tightly. White lines were slowly wriggling around his palm
"Why?! Why now?!"
Philip abruptly raised his head and shouted towards Tenshi. She still looked at him with a warm smile and understanding eyes
"Why did you only appear now?!! Why are you the one who saw my true suffering when we just met for two days?!! Why are you the only one who cared?!! No one has asked me how am I just because I was putting up a front to them by smiling... So, why?! How did you know just by watching me play games with you?!!"
The darkness sightly cracked around Philip and revealed small beams of red and blue light with white light in between. Tears flowed from his eyes and anger is written deep in his eyes
"After all this time... After calling for death several million times to take my life and end my suffering... Why would you show up now?!! It's like everything is punishing me and telling me to live and survive! Why?!! I've suffered enough! I don't want you to experience what I've gone through! I can't bear the pain of seeing you getting hurt because of my incompetence and despair! I don't want anyone to know my condition! It's better for me to become alone and fight by myself!"
Philip's soul tremble, as well as all of his other abilities, especially the Pureblood because it's experiencing Philip's suffering in real time. The Pureblood replaced Philip's heart, so it also started to suffer
Tenshi descended and held his cheeks with Philip realizing. His eyes widened as he looked directly at her blue eyes
"That's all the more reason to be with you. A broken person with a heart that's so big and still intact that he doesn't want anyone to get hurt by his own suffering and not involve anyone his life. You've suffered enough... Let me shoulder half your burden, that's my desire. I wanted to do it"
Philip's heart did not waver nor falter. All his life, once he decided on something, he would go straight towards that path and no detours will be made
"But..."
"No buts... Whether you like it or not, I will be your messenger and be with you for eternity"
Philip was torn between rejecting Tenshi in terms of shouldering his burden and accepting Tenshi in terms of becoming a messenger
In the end, Philip succumbed to Tenshi's desire after seeing her serene and honest eyes. He felt very warm for the first time in forever. His heart sunk to his stomach and butterflies flew around it. His limbs felt jittery and his jaw trembled
Tears kept flowing from his eyes while he's narrowing his eyes and furrowing his eyebrows because he's trying to resist tearing up. Tenshi let out a chuckle since she finds this part of Philip cute
「 You have established an emotional connection to Tenshi Hikaru 」
「 Procedure 1 of finalization of the Soul Contract complete 」
「 Procedure 2: Engage in a mutual understanding 」
「 Tenshi Hikaru has completely understood your pain, suffering, depression, and despair. She also saw through your facade and found your true personality that you have not seen is so long. She is the first one who took the time to see who you really are 」
「 Because of this, procedure 2 has been completed due to Tenshi Hikaru's genuine perseverance and care 」
「 Procedure 3: Accept each other's flaws 」
「 Tenshi Hikaru has accepted all of your flaws 」
「 You don't see any flaws on Tenshi Hikaru 」
「 Procedure 3 of accepting each other's flaws has been completed 」
「 A condition has been detected. Since Tenshi Hikaru is of the opposite gender with a relatively high affinity, procedure 4 has been modified 」
「 Procedure 4: Become one 」
Philip slightly frowned from the fourth procedure of finalizing the Soul Contract, but he wasn't rejecting it
'I will give this another shot, even if I've given thousands of chances my entire life!'
Philip closed his eyes and reopened them
It was clear
The answer, if not, a part of the answer in front of him
An actual angel descended and pulled his hand while he's falling in a bottomless abyss
Golden light shone from Tenshi's body and filled the dark world with white light. Tenshi was still floating in the air while holding Philip's cheeks. Their faces are a few inches away from each other
"Alright, become my messenger then!"
Philip lifted his hands and held Tenshi's arms. He pulled her down and lifted himself up and leaned forward
Philip's lips and Tenshi's lips connected and engaged in a kiss
「 Procedure 4 of becoming one has been completed 」
Light then shone from their lips and grew brighter and bigger
「 Congratulations! You have successfully finalized the Soul Contract with Tenshi Hikaru 」
「 Tenshi Hikaru shall be known as the First Messenger of Fate, the Totality of Fate 」
「 Corresponding titles has been granted to Tenshi Hikaru 」
「 Soul Link, Soul Corridor, and Soul Connect are available 」
「 Tenshi Hikaru's potential has been unlocked 」
「 Alert! 」
「 Several gods and dieties has detected Tenshi Hikaru's rise in power 」
「 Few aspects has been imbued to Tenshi Hikaru 」
「 Your emotional instability has been temporarily stabilized 」
「 Whenever Tenshi Hikaru's presence is around you, triggering negativity has been decreased to 50% activation chance 」
「 Affinity to Tenshi Hikaru has risen to a maximum of 10,000 」
「 You have successfully completed your first Soul Contract 」
「 1,000 EXP has been given 」
「 Level up! 」
「 You are now level 7 」
「 7 skill points has been received 」
「 1 loot bag has been given 」
「 Loot bag has been placed with the rest of the items in possession 」
Philip was blinded by the light glowing from their bodies, but the displays can still be seen in his vision
~~~
Out of all the people that have been a part of my life, why was Tenshi the first one?
We just met for two days and she already knows me... I don't even know myself
I guess this isn't too bad... I don't even know how to feel about this
I usually don't care and just go with the flow most of the time... But it might be different this time
I could only hope that at least something will change because of this... But I'm still seeking for death, nothing can change that
I'm tired and I want everything to end
But I don't want to waste anyone's efforts. The least that I can do is to survive, live, and help them until they have reached their goal
In this case, I'll just wait until Tenshi dies due to some unforseen circumstances or when I can't protect her and she was vanquished by a power unimaginable
'Just this time... I'll leave myself in your care, Tenshi'
Philip voiced out his last thought in his mind. Since Philip and Tenshi are connected and they have finished the Soul Contract, Tenshi heard his last thought. She smiled and happiness flowed inside of her
Power swelled up in her and the light glowing from her rotated in colors. From white to red, then yellow, then green, rotating rapidly
At this moment, the darkness subsided and returned back to Philip's feet. No one realized what happened since they couldn't see the darkness. For them, not even a second has passed and Philip and Tenshi were talking for several minutes now
Ken has already conjured a sharp sword made of air, the space between the Old Man and Tenshi began to crumble as his hand is extended towards them, and the True Solaris Spear is lunging towards Tenshi
Of course, since an instant happened for the Old Man and the rest of them, they suddenly saw a bright flash of colorful light
"Fate of Advantageous Retribution and Desolation"
Boom
Tenshi's voice resonated in the library and a controlled explosion occured as the Air Sword and the True Solaris Spear stopped in their tracks. A chain of scattering sparks and ignitions crawled around the room. Everyone shielded themselves and dodged the scattering sparks that came from the Old Man's collapsing hand
The light dissipate and revealed Tenshi's appearance. Philip also slowly opened his eyes and his tears has already evaporated. She looked at Tenshi, who's floating above the long table
「 Fated Holy Pureblood Angel of Good Luck 」
Tenshi was seen giving a confident smile. Her hair is pure white in color and it was glowing. Two large stalks of leaves with four-leaf clovers were attached on the side of her head like clips and two halos are above her head, one in a yellow light and the other is red and has spikes protruding in a symmetrical manner. Her eyes are gold with four-leaf clovers as her iris, the lining of her pupil is red and her eyelids were glowing white. Yellow intricate tatoos are also lined at the corner of her eyes, into her cheeks and into her forehead
The amulet on the necklace choker on her neck changed into an eight-pointed star with a blue gem embedded inside it. Her entire outfit also changed for transforming into a fusion of four aspects at the same time
She is now wearing a black fitted shirt adorned with spikes and belts. A red skirt was attached on the shirt that reaches down to her ankles, like a cape, since the front of the skirt is open that is showing her legs, almost like a dress
She is also wearing a black fitted pants, adorned with yellow and green chains, spikes, and belts. But the sleeve of the pants is only intact on her right leg. The left sleeve is ripped, up to her thigh, showing her smooth and white skin. Instead, she is wearing a white leg sleeve on her left leg, adorned with holy symbols and inscriptions. She is wearing black and red ankle boots
On her arms, only her left arm has a white arm sleeve with gold runes, outlined by blood. On her right arm, four rings are rotating around her wrist in a layered form. The first ring is the Halo with four spikes and the Disc of Retribution revolving around it. The second ring is a Bloody Ring made of blood strands with the Disc of Desolation revolving around it. The third ring is a green ring made of a collection of four-leaf clovers with the Disc of Advantage revolving around it. The last ring is the Ring of Fate made of pure white light. The Disc of Fate is hovering next to the Ring of Fate
Tenshi is also wearing pure white gloves that seemed brilliant and glittering from the light
"The Totality Catalyst! I've only hear of this in stories and myths!"
Sai exclaimed in excitement
"Likewise!! This is unprecedented! The more reason I would stay here!!"
Ken shouted with a smile in his face
"I never knew you had an identity like this! Since you are under Philip's protection, all the reason to immediately empower you!"
The Old Man exclaimed and shouted
"Huh?"
Philip could only mutter in confusion. He was confused because the behavior of the three higher beings are contradictory to what he expected
Seven displays then showed in his vision
「 Tenshi Hikaru is being placed under the influence of Sword Energy 」
「 Tenshi Hikaru is being placed under the influence of the Power of the Earth 」
「 Tenshi Hikaru is being placed under the influence of the Power of Saykrandae 」
「 Tenshi Hikaru is being placed under the influence of True Divine Energy 」
「 Tenshi Hikaru is being placed under the influence of Solaris Energy 」
「 Tenshi Hikaru is being placed under the influence of Disaster Energy 」
「 Tenshi Hikaru is being placed under the influence of Spear Energy 」
Philip widened his eyes from the displays being shown. This could only mean that if they kept this up, Tenshi will be able to add seven aspects to her arsenal and become more powerful
While the Old Man, Sai, and Ken kept powering up to push their limits, Tenshi was unfazed and kept her composure after being attacked by two gods and a mysterious being
As of this moment, Tenshi is the most powerful being inside the room, after Philip
Strong winds blew around the library and everyone gritted their teeth from the force of the clash, while the capable ones were watching calmly, like Jude, Mathilda, Alucard, Camille, Justine, Celine, Braudain, and Bea
Just then, two display appeared in Philip's vision
「 Congratulations! Tenshi Hikaru has unlocked the following aspects for transformation 」
「 Sword Angel - Angel of Earth - Angel of Saykrandae - True Angel of the Divine - Solaris Angel - Disaster Angel - Spear Angel 」
Philip smiled from the inside after seeing the transformations
'With this, Tenshi will be able to protect herself!'
「 A hidden branch of the Universal Mastery Stages has been found! 」
「 Due to your discovery, a condition must be met before a being in the universe would be able to achieve the Angel Stage. In turn, they will be aware that you discovered the Angel Stage 」
「 Increase in an aspect power of equivalent Angel Stage will be given 」
「 Your sword power and spear power has been increased 」
Boom
Just then, after Tenshi unlocked the transformations, the Old Man, Sai, and Ken was pushed back. The Air Sword was shattered and the True Solaris Spear was deflected. A controlled explosion occured once again that blinded everyone in the room, even Philip