Bonus Chapter~
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"Isn't this like a really small shrine? How did you live here?" Rei asked Lucifer while looking at the shrine in front of them.
"Don't be like that, Rei. This is not a bad shrine..." Lyria tried to praise the shrine in front of them.
"Lyria... stop pretending and just say what you mean already," Orchid said to Lyria, as the shrine in front of them did indeed look small.
Currently, Rei, Lyria, Orchid, Lucifer, and Sandalphon were standing in front of the shrine after Lucifer brought them to this place.
The other archangels were not with Rei and the others because they were still looking for Uriel and Raphael and would join them later.
So, it was just the five of them here.
"This is just the entrance, so you don't need to worry," Sandalphon said to them, shaking her head.
"Yes, like Sandalphon said, this is just the entrance. So, shall we get going?" Lucifer said as he walked into the shrine, followed by the others.
When Rei entered the shrine, he immediately felt that they had passed through a barrier, making him turn around. "That's just a barrier to protect this entrance so no skydweller can get in," Lucifer explained to Rei.
"I see..." Rei then continued following Lucifer until they finally reached a door.
"This door looks really tough," Lyria said, knocking on the door in front of her.
Lucifer opened the door, and they could see what was behind it.
Another corridor... They found another corridor, so now they had to walk again until they reached a large room.
"This is where we archangels gather and discuss what is happening in the Sky Realm and what we've been doing," Lucifer said, turning to them and explaining the room.
"So, you actually meet each other often?" Rei asked Lucifer.
"Yes, sometimes I call everyone, and we talk about what's been happening to each of us in this place," Lucifer replied. He then pointed to a hallway. "Because I am the only one here most of the time, this place doesn't have a good environment for Lyria and Orchid to live in, and we Primarchs don't need to eat or sleep."
"So, if you want, you can use that hallway that leads to the rarely used area of this place and change it as you like."
"Wait, you mean we can decorate our own rooms and other rooms just the way we want?" Lyria seemed interested in what Lucifer was saying.
"Yes, this place already has tools made by the Astrals, so you can change the rooms and make things appear. The tools use mana in the air as their fuel, so you don't need to worry about overdoing it," Lucifer said to the two of them.
"Then I'm going to decorate our place! Come on, Orchid," Lyria said, quickly grabbing Orchid and running toward the hallway.
"Why meeeee?" They could hear Orchid's voice getting fainter as she got farther away...
They just stared in the direction the two had gone for a moment before Lucifer finally spoke again, "At least with them here, this place won't be too lonely."
"So, what about my training?" Rei immediately asked Lucifer.
Lucifer turned serious again and looked at Rei. "We can start the training whenever you want, but there's no need to hurry. There are some things we still need to do, and you can also meet the other archangels."
What Lucifer said was right... Rei had been fighting nonstop ever since they accidentally ended up in this timeline, so there was no need to rush into training his powers.
"Alright then, I'll take a break first, and I need to monitor Lyria so she doesn't make my room look weird..."
Rei was sure that Lyria would make his room look like something out of a storybook she liked—but the problem was, the book she read was a romance novel for young girls...
Rei then went off to follow Lyria and Orchid, leaving only Sandalphon and Lucifer in the room.
Sandalphon stared at Lucifer with hatred, while Lucifer looked back at Sandalphon with pity.
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A few hours later, after Lyria successfully persuaded Rei and Orchid to set up several rooms such as their bedrooms, a kitchen, a bathroom, a gathering area, and an exit leading to the back of the shrine where they could walk through the forest surrounding the shrine.
"Ahhh, I'm so tired," Orchid collapsed on the bed after spending the whole day running around because of Lyria's antics.
"This place is really big. We couldn't even explore all the areas in this shrine. Tomorrow, we should go again," Lyria said, looking excited.
"Please, no. I just want to rest," Orchid muttered, her voice muffled as her face was pressed into the bed.
"Hey, Lyria, Orchid, I'm really sorry for getting you both involved in all this. I thought we'd just need to get Akasha, but then we suddenly got caught up in this weird timeline-traveling stuff."
"And even though I said I'd take you to Black Knight, here you are, trapped with us instead."
Orchid, hearing this, turned to Rei and finally sat up to face him.
"I don't mind at all, Rei. Even though I've only been with you for about a week, this week has been the most fun I've ever had. Even when I was with the Black Knight, all she did was give me orders and never talk to me. So, I don't mind all of this," Orchid said with a slight smile.
"Orchid... Then I'm glad to have you with us too," Rei replied, gently stroking her hair.
Not long after, Sandalphon entered their room and informed them that she would be staying with them.
She didn't want to deal with Lucifer anymore after their conversation earlier, so she decided to stay in their room instead.
Because of that, Lyria redecorated the room to make it even bigger, and she also enlarged the bed, saying that the more people there were, the more fun it would be.
Time passed and a week has passed.
Rei started his training on the fourth day after they arrived here, but he decided not to use the cocoon that Lucifer had suggested.
When Lyria found out, she immediately objected, not wanting Rei to grow old alone. She said it wasn't romantic, as in the books she read, all couples had the same dream—to grow old together with their loved ones.
So, even though Rei couldn't age because of his race, Lyria still rejected the idea and clung to him to keep him from entering the cocoon.
"Don't let your wings influence you, Rei. Keep them under control," Lucifer said, staring at Rei, whose twelve dark wings were spread out behind him.
But suddenly, Rei's aura began to go out of control, causing the floor beneath him to crack. Lucifer immediately used his power to contain Rei's aura, preventing him from losing control.
The moment his aura subsided, his wings vanished as well. Now, he was on his knees, panting heavily. "Hahh, this is really hard... The moment those twelve wings appear, they immediately try to influence my mind."
Lucifer pondered as he observed the energy within Rei's body. Even though he could see multiple energies inside him, Rei's astral energy, a deep purple, was particularly prominent.
He could also see that whenever Rei used his wings, that purple energy would quickly rage and attempt to flood his entire body.
"How many wings can you use before you lose control?"
"Hmm, if I remember correctly, I've never lost control when I only use two pairs of wings."
"Four wings, huh... Then use that now."
Hearing this, Rei immediately summoned his four dark wings, and this time, he didn't lose control at all. However, the power he felt was far weaker compared to when he used twelve wings.
"How long have you been using my friend's body?"
Rei looked like he was thinking, trying to recall how long it had been since he awakened in this world.
"Huh, I just realized it's been three months since I've been here."
"Three months... And your body is already like that..." Lucifer murmured to himself when he heard that. "What are you planning, my friend..."
"What do you mean?" Rei asked Lucifer, unable to hear what he had said.
"Nothing. At least now I know why you keep losing control."
"You know the nature of Astrals, right?" Lucifer began to explain to Rei.
"Astrals are beings that are very curious about everything and always want to create something. Like how we were created by my friend Lucilius because he was curious about the evolution of Primarchs."
"The loss of control you're feeling is normal because you're suppressing your Astral nature. Your body is that of an Astral with mine abilities and other primal beasts."
"But because you come from another world and weren't born an Astral, you've been suppressing your Astral nature all this time. Your Astral nature is your true self, but because you were born as a human and have human traits like compassion, it's in direct conflict with being an Astral."
Rei continued to listen to Lucifer's explanation. So every time he thought he was losing control, it wasn't actually losing control.
It was his true nature trying to return...
"Is there a way to fix this?"
Lucifer could only shake his head at Rei's question. "There is not. You can't suppress your true nature, Rei. Sooner or later, your nature as an Astral will resurface, and you will fully become an Astral."
Rei looked very shocked upon hearing this and began to recall the dream he had seen before, where all his friends were dead, with Lyria in his arms.
"So that's going to happen..." Rei clenched his fists tightly, feeling frustrated with this body.
Even though this body had always helped him, he didn't want his friends to be hurt or die because of it.
"But you can make your mind get used to your nature. You need to do what we usually do, Rei. Always use your wings and don't let them disappear from your back."
"How about during your stay here, you always use those four wings and never remove them?"
Just as Rei was about to answer Lucifer, a light suddenly appeared behind him.
"We're here, Supreme Primarch ~" came the voices of two women from within the light.
When the light faded, Rei saw two Archangels appear.
One of the Archangels had tan skin, blonde hair, and two golden wings on the right side of her back.
The other Archangel had black hair with two blue wings on the left side.
[IMAGE]
"Halluel and Malluel?" Rei muttered when he saw who had arrived.
"Both of you are finally here. Did you already notify Raziel and the other Archangels about the meeting?" Lucifer asked them.
"Sure we did. We already notified everyone, and soon they will be here," the blonde Halluel said to Lucifer.
But Malluel seemed to be observing Rei closely because she had a unique ability compared to the other Archangels.
"Woahhh, you have so many auras! How can your body handle such power??" Malluel quickly flew over to Rei, inspecting his body while circling him.
"Eh?"
Malluel has the ability to see other people's auras with just her naked eyes.