Terran's heart pounded as he stared at the cloaked figure. Understandably so, as the creature underneath was one of the beings responsible for the apocalypse as man knows it today.
Underneath that cloak was an angel, its true personality, not anything like that of the religious stories.
Stopping just outside the warehouse door, their eyes landed on Terran's concave stomach and dirt-ridden appearance.
Out of site, Terran fiddled with the little bead his academy had given him to crush whenever they were in trouble. However, he didn't immediately crush it. He didn't know if it would reach anyone, much less if anyone would come while they were on the first floor and in the city's safety.
While contemplating his choices, the devil incarnate in front of him spoke up in a melodious voice that was only second to the voice telling him to live during his trial. "Poor child, are you hungry?"
Terran was a little taken aback. Even though he had disguised himself in this state for the purpose of convincing the angel in front of him that he was just a street kid scavenging for food, the ideal situation he imagined would have been being ignored or told to scram.
Unsure of the angel's intentions, Terran played his role and gave a shy nod without opening his mouth.
Covered in a cloak, Terran could only see her mouth, and with it what appeared to be a kind smile. "My name is Esme, follow me and I'll give you a warm meal. If you want, I can even give you a job, I always need some extra hands."
Again, Terran's mind churned. "Does she want to kill me somewhere no one can see? But why would an angel fear being seen? Maybe the angels with only one pair of wings are weak? The quest did say this was within my skill range. Or maybe she really just wants to give me food? Either way, I might stand a chance!"
Against his own better judgment, Terran nodded and followed Esme.
Entering the warehouse, Terran took another look around. Before, he had only focused on the white feathery wings, but now he was taking the time to observe his surroundings.
Lining the walls were boxes. Looking at the labels, Terran realized they were all filled with food. "Is she really going to offer me a meal?"
Suddenly, Esme turned around, reaching out one of her delicate fingers towards Terran's forehead.
Immediately, Terran jumped back, a dagger made of pure white bone growing in his hand. Yet, it was too late. A small black hole formed at the tip of Esme's finger, sucking Terran inside.
When Terran opened his eyes, he was looking at a wood floor, all sorts of unfamiliar sounds filling his ears.
Raising his head, Terran could see all sorts of cages and enclosures. Inside was quite literally thousands of animals.
If the bone dagger wasn't growing out of Terran's forearm, it would have long clattered to the floor as his attention was drawn entirely away from the perceived danger.
A second later, Esme appeared next to Terran. "Welcome to Noah's Ark", she warmly proclaimed.
"Noah's Ark?" Terran thought questioningly. "That's the name of my quest? Could that have been a hint from the system that this is the blessing I must steal?"
After giving a small introduction, Esme went on to pull a blanket out of thin air, laying it on the floor before also taking out a small potluck of varying foods.
It didn't take a genius to figure out Esme's previous odd motion had not been an attack, so Terran calmed down.
Terran sat in silence across from Esme, hungrily digging into the assortment of food. Despite only recently eating a bowl of ramen, he still needed to play his role, and he didn't want to make any big moves until he better understood what was going on.
Esme didn't interrupt Terran until he had eaten his fill. "Can you speak?"
"Good," Esme commented as Terran nodded his head. "As you can imagine, taking care of all these animals can be quite troublesome for one person. Would you be willing to help?"
Terran didn't mince his words in the slightest as he wanted to know exactly what game this angel was playing. "What do I get in return?"
"Well, it's quite simple. You'd get all the food you could ever eat, but more importantly, you'd get safety. Even after everyone on Titan is dead, you will be safe and alive."
Hearing Esme's answer, Terran almost said something he would have regretted, wondering, "Is she planning to finish our planet off?"
However, he bit his tongue and considered his words. Esme's wings were still hidden, and he didn't want to reveal that he knew she was an angel. So instead, he asked something a bit vaguer, "What do you mean by after everyone on Titan is dead?"
"Huh? Oh, sorry to be the bearer of bad news. I suppose your government has never been very upfront with you. The human cities only have a good year left before the mana runs out and life seizes to exist."
Terran almost choked for the umpteenth time today after listening to Esme's words. There was a lot to unpack. He had been led to believe he still had many decades to complete his task. Yet now, out of the blue, he was being told he didn't even have 1/10th of a single decade to complete the systems mission statement.
This timeframe easily crushed his previously carefree nature.
Terran was not concerned with dying after the cities fell. Instead, he was concerned with surviving. If the cities fell, his road would come to an end, and he would be left to perpetually wander the wasteland as he had done for two years. Without anyone to take blessings from, all progress with the system would be halted. Terran wouldn't even be surprised if the system completely disappeared as it seemed to rely on mana.
The other important thing to catch was the fact that Esme didn't seem particularly worried about hiding her identity as an angel as she had clearly drawn a line between her and humans in the way she spoke, taking off the burden from a few of Terran's previous worries.
"That news must be a lot for you to unpack. How about I introduce you to a few of the animals on the ark.
Terran stood up and followed Esme. However, any sense of fear or other emotion had completely disappeared from his face.
"Why have you collected all of these animals?" Terran asked as they walked over. His voice was almost as monotone as the system's.
"Honestly, I'm not quite sure myself. I just know it's a shame to watch them go extinct, but if I had to give a reason, I'd say evolution is the best artist and I enjoy collecting art."
The two approached one of the larger enclosures. Inside was what could only be described as a family of fully grown creatures that shared a resemblance to elephants.
"That one's name is Horton, that's Dumbo—hold on, that's weird: they're normally pretty skittish. I guess it's our lucky day." Esme was amazed as all the elephant creatures had ignored their normal natures and approached the glass wall, but her amazement hadn't stopped there. The creatures had all bent their front knees and raised their trunks into the air.
"What the hell is happening," Esme muttered as she stared in confusion. It wasn't just the elephants. All the animals had come out of seclusion and were prostrating themselves in front of their respective glass walls.
It was then that she felt something pierce into the back of her chest.
"You. What the hell are you doing? I fed you. I offered you a job!"
Terran, who had just plunged a bone knife into Esme, emotionlessly took a few steps back as he gauged the damage the flesh wound had done.
Previously he had been terrified of Esme, and rightfully so with his past experience with angels. It was also true that few things scared him, and Angels currently sat at the top of that scale. However, that was only when you looked at living things. The only thing that terrified him more was returning to a life in the wasteland.
If he died, then he died, but he would never again suffer in solitude.
One could never fully understand the torture of always having your body breaking down and regenerating, living every day with the unexplainable pain that came when your body called out for mana but had none around to take in, and worst of all, the everlasting loneliness that made your life feel truly meaningless.
At the moment, Esme was standing directly in his path. Sure, maybe he could take her up on her offer and live happier ever after, but at the end of the day, she was an angel. Could he ever truly trust her? If his trial was a real event, then the angels clearly wanted something from him. Would Esme want that same thing? Could he turn his back on the people that had shown him unconditional kindness: Oliver, Mia, and Sophie. What about the millions of other people living in the Oasis and Abyss?
If one took even a second to weigh their options in Terran's shoes, they would quickly realize there was no choice. So, if the system believed he could save Titan with Esme's blessing, he would just have to take it from her.