"Allow me to explain," Angelo said, "Starting from the beginning. The very beginning. When I was a boy, I studied with the church for years. That's how I gained divine powers, you see."
"Wait," Cosaria interrupted, "But I thought divine powers were something a person was born with."
"Ah, yes, but I was, uh, like you, truly. I was a late bloomer."
"And didn't Lord Grysle, he called you a 'warden'?"
"Ah, yes. He, that's." Angelo sighed, "I suppose it would be in our best interest to disclose the full story as it is."
Cosaria said, "I think so."
Angelo said, "You are familiar with the ancient war, correct?"
"The war between angels and demons?"
"The very one. Tis a true event. It happened in the demon-angel realm. It was the demon's goal to take over all of the realm. I was a soldier on the angel's side."
"You're an angel?"
"Truly, I am. Eventually, the demons took over the realm completely and, in their greed, they turned their eye towards conquering this land of humans. I was one of the last efforts sent here to monitor the activity of the demons, but alas, this singular job has proved to be too much for merely one single angel. I had once aligned myself with the influence of the church, but then undercover demons started entering the ranks of the clergy, finding allies and deceiving the truly valiant. I'm afraid it might be the case that your mother was one of those deceived."
"My mother took the side of the demons?"
"It caused her own death. Years ago, you see, I had been assigned the gate's protector, but I failed. With the help of certain priests and priestesses, a demon activated the spell that moved the gate. It used to reside in the temple on my estate. We have been ignorant for years of its location since that conniving demon made his efforts. It was only just now that we rediscovered the location of the gate we'd been guarding so faithfully."
Cosaria thought of the tutor that Delrik had been so fond of. Perhaps he was the demon who moved the gate and cursed Delrik in the process.
"I have done everything I could to protect humanity from the evil demons present but I see now I cannot do it alone. I need your help. Cosaria, my love, don't you see, together we could save all of humanity from the wicked effects of the demonic energy."
"You said that the demons took over the angel-demon realm?"
"Tragically, yes."
"And then they wanted to concur the human land?"
"It is as you have said."
Cosaria pursed her lips. She said, "But that doesn't make any sense. Demons are burned by divine magic."
"They have other-"
"And demons can't survive in the land of humans."
"Uh, that's. As it stands currently that might be true. But they plan to change that."
"And all they want to do is go home."
"That's just a manipulation tactic, truly. They prey on your compassionate soul. They say they want to go home when it's just a ploy. They want the gate to be opened so they can send in their legions of demons and destroy this land."
Cosaria had never been so deep in thought.
She said, "And Angelo, how do you know how my mother died? I was told she died of a sickness. That's not the case, is it?"
Angelo froze. He had forgotten he revealed that tell-tale detail.
"Cosaria, dearest. You must listen. I am known as the warden among this people. I've been living in this forsaken world for so long and, I was getting bored having everything I'd ever wanted. That was until I saw you. I had never wanted something so badly. With you by my side, there's nothing we can't do, nothing we can't have. Happiness is being together with you. I love you. Don't you feel the same?"
Cosaria said, "Oh no. I'm sorry Angelo. Perhaps Tilda was right. I think of you as a dear friend, but I'm not in love with you."
"What?! But. You. I. I thought. You. You said. I. What?" For once in his life, he was at a loss for words.
"It's time to take me back, Angelo." Cosaria said, "You said you would."
Slowly, Angelo's body language changed. His hands clenched, his jaw protruded out, his eyes burned with humiliation and fury.
He said, "I can't do that, Cosaria. This, this is what's going to happen. You'll stay here and wait for me. At least miss me, will you? And don't worry. I'll take care of all your pretty little demon friends, truly. Starting with Delrik. He'll be the first one I exterminate."
Cosaria's eyes widened as she said, "What?"
"Good luck living in nowhere my dear. I hope you rot here."
"Angelo, you don't mean that."
Just then, in a flash of misty blackness, Tilda arrived. She was coughing and blinking away the mist. The demons had performed some demonic ritual on her and it worked. The connection Tilda had to Cosaria, put there by Cosaria when she first saved Tilda from death, was still active.
When she could finally speak, she said, "Hey, so. Hi."
Angelo's hard demeanor turn positively delightful. He said, "Oh my dearest! What troubles you must have endured. You must help me talk some sense into this poor confused soul."
"It isn't so," Cosaria said, "Angelo is not what we thought he was. Tilda, I need to go back. Please, believe me."
Tilda didn't know what to think. First off, she had no idea where she was and the lack of recognizable earth was very alarming.
Angelo said, "I need your help, Tilda. This dearest creature does not understand that opening the gate will unleash the demonic energy on the world. This demonic energy will infuse into every living person, turning them into those hideous, horrible, uncontrollable, cursed beasts."
Tilda said, "It will what?"
Tears, welling up in her eyes, Cosaria said, "They're not hideous!"
Angelo said, "Opening the gate will doom humanity."
"How." Tilda started, "How do you know that, Angelo?"
"Whatever do you mean?"
Tilda said, "No one knows what happens when the gate opens. Not the church. Not the demons. Not the divine maiden. No one."
Cosaria said, "No, the demons do know. And I know to trust them. But I don't think Angelo knows, because then he wouldn't be trying to stop me."
"You're wrong, truly. I stop you because I know. The church has ancient scriptures that prophecy the opening of the gate."
Tilda, who had was quite familiar with the scriptures and ancient prophecy, asked in feigned ignorance, "And what does it say?"
"Yes, right. It says, now I'm roughly quoting here, it says, 'Twill be of the divine maiden, chosen of the skies, in determining future's fate. To the open doors of the gate, the change of hearts will lead to evil.' It means that opening the gate will curse the world."
Tilda said, "That's not the original passage."
Angelo said, "Excuse me?"
"The passage goes, 'Twill be of the divine maiden, chosen of the skies, in determining futures fate. To the open doors of the gate; the change of hearts will lead to truth.'" Glaring at Angelo, Tilda finished saying, "Not all truth is good and sometimes, the truth itself is evil."
"I thought you were under the same ideological stance as me upon this subject?"
"I am, but you need to be accurate in choosing which sources you give credibility to, especially if they're coming from the church."
"Truly, you are so correct. Now, my dear, you must keep Cosaria here while I go and take care of the rest."
"You mustn't," Cosaria said, "I must return! They need me. I have to save them!"
Tilda said, "You don't have to save them."
"But I do. I must go back, then I can open the gate, and everything will be okay."
Tilda said, "Cosaria, it's not that simple."
"But it is!"
Tilda said, "It's not! No solution is never that simple."
"You don't understand!" Cosaria said through frustrated tears.
Speaking softly, Angelo said, "No dearest. Truly, it is you who does not understand. You open the gate, you doom humanity."
Cosaria said, "That's not true!"
Angelo turned to Tilda and said, "It is. I know you can see it."
Tilda looked down. She had no idea. In her pocket was a black crystal. She couldn't help but remember the demons, their pleading faces. Their utter helplessness. The fact that they would even trust her was incredulous. It made Tilda feel like they were worth trusting. Tilda had been trying to block out any reason to help them. She would not give in to their emotional manipulation. And yet, she was tempted.
In an instant of a moment, a memory flashed though Tilda's mind:
She was in her family cottage, glancing over Anra's shoulder as she read from the scriptures.
"As darkness threatens, twill be of the divine maiden, chosen of the skies, in determining future's fate. To the open doors of the gate; the change of hearts will lead to truth. Her will be done, her consequences to face." Anra put the book down and turned to her sister, saying, "I don't like all the church's interpretations of these versus."
Tilda said, "Then what do you think it means?"
Anra said, "I think the divine maiden is an actual person. And I think this passage wants us to trust her."
Tilda reread the passage and remembered what the church said about the symbolic nature of 'maidens' and 'gates'. This passage definitely wasn't literal. Tilda said, "Nah, that can't be it."
Anra said, "Maybe. You don't know if it isn't."
Rolling her eyes, Tilda said, "And you don't know if it is."
"But I can believe, can't I?"
Anra's gentle faith softened Tilda's heart. She kissed her sister on the forehead and said, "Yes, you can."
The memory was over. Tilda was back in nowhere land, staring at her hands.
Finally, the weight of it all became too much, and she broke. She couldn't handle the responsibility of saving the world. She couldn't handle the responsibility of saving Cosaria. She couldn't handle the responsibility of saving Anra. She gave back the responsibility, as she mumbled, "Okay. I'll trust her."
Tilda walked towards Cosaria, then fell on her knees. As she brought out the black crystal, she said, "Cosaria…"
"Truly, that's the wrong answer," Angelo said. Then he spoke angelic words and lighting shot out from his hands.
Cosaria, without knowing what she was doing, unconsciously used her powers to freeze time. (Such a feat was not hard given they were in nowhere space, and time was already so fragile there.) Then Cosaria unfroze Tilda.
As the lighting was in front of her face, Tilda screamed. After realizing she was unhurt, Tilda marveled at Cosaria. She said, "You saved me?" She was less amazed that such a thing was possible, (she already knew that Cosaria was powerful) and she was more amazed at the irony of the situation. Come to save Cosaria, gets saved herself. It was honestly, kind of revealing.
Cosaria, naturally misunderstanding Tilda's astonishment, said, "Of course I did. I love you."
Finally, while time was frozen, Tilda explained the black crystal and Cosaria used it to teleport both of them back to the gate.