The warm sunlight peeking through the gaps of the curtain hit her face. It was bright enough to wake her. As Erta's eyes opened slowly, the first thing she saw was the large window on the far side of the room.
The curtains were blocking the view so she wanted to move them away. Very sluggishly, she tried to get up. That was when she realised what kind of situation she was in.
She was in bed with a man. His right arm was stretched out, letting her use it as a pillow. And she found herself hugging the man's naked body. Despite thinking that his chest and abdominal muscles were perfect, she could not help but be shocked.
"Kyaaaaaaaaa!"
With a scream, Erta jumped away from the man, kicking away the blanket covering their bodies. She was still in her pure white dress fortunately, but the man only had boxer shorts on him. She quickly turned around to remove him from her vision.
"What the hell is wrong with you, you damned angel? Do you have to scream first thing in the morning?"
"No! You! What did you do to me?!"
"Nothing!"
"Liar! Why are you naked?! You violated me didn't you?! I haven't even been in a relationship yet! How could you?!"
"Stop dreaming, you idiot! I'm naked because you wouldn't let go of me even as I was trying to change out of my clothes last night. You even stuck to me in bed! So if anyone's doing anything, it's you."
As he said that, Caelum got up and parted the curtains. He looked to see if Erta was satisfied only to find her sneaking glances at him with a red face.
He sighed and went to the bathroom for a quick shower. Meanwhile, Erta, who was now fully awake and aware of what she had done, followed after him and waited by the door.
"I'm sorry."
"It's alright. I already knew you were a handful from the moment we met."
After a few minutes, Caelum came out with a towel wrapped around his lower body. Erta looked away quickly, but Caelum just pulled out another towel from a drawer and tossed it to her.
"I don't know if angels need to take a shower, but you should at least take one. Just to freshen up."
Erta did as she was told and Caelum just smiled at how adorable she looked. While the angel was in the shower, he called for servants. It was not long before several maids of the House of Grace came knocking on his door bringing breakfast and some clothes. Their timing was perfect as Erta timidly came out wrapped in a towel.
"Caelum, I don't have a change of clothes. What should I do?"
"It's fine. I asked them to bring you something."
Two maids approached Erta and respectfully dragged her back into the bathroom. Caelum could guess what they were doing, but he let them. He was curious to see how an angel would look like when made to match Earth's beauty standards.
After setting up the table and food, the rest of the servants finally left. Caelum changed into new clothes and turned on the television to see the morning news, but was disappointed that it was still covering the incident yesterday, more specifically, the 'two angels'.
Soon, Erta was freed by the maids who quickly left the room with smiles.
"How do I look?"
Caelum gasped at Erta's shyness. Her face was beet red, but aside from that, her skin was a flawless white that contrasted well with her wine red dress that covered up to her knees. Her white legs looked perfect with the red low heel sandals adorning her feet.
Finally, her long hair that could reach down to her waist was tied in a ponytail. Its silver colour paired well with her golden eyes, and the ashen tips only added to her overall charm.
"You look beautiful."
Hearing his answer, Erta doubted whether he was just flattering her. But when she saw him dazedly staring at her, a smile blossomed on her face.
"Thank you! Now, let's eat. I don't think I'll last much longer without food."
The two sat down for breakfast while watching the news. As soon as they finished their meal, Caelum turned off the television and faced Erta seriously. It was time for them to talk.
"So, why did you come to Earth?"
"Right. Before that, let me introduce myself once again. I am Erta Ki'ana, an Avatar of the Divine Obelisk. I come from a world called Sanctuary in order to seek help from the neutral world, Earth."
"What do you mean by neutral? And what help are you hoping for?"
"I'll start with the reason we decided to ask for help. Sanctuary is a very old world which had emerged into the Great War long before I was born. As such, we've made a lot of enemies, but also allies.
However, the war became complicated some hundreds of years ago with traitors appearing from allied worlds. We were forced to fight against our enemies on multiple fronts."
Being an avatar that had made contact directly with the Imaginary Tree, knowledge of the Great War between worlds was given to Caelum.
Perhaps among all the Chosen on Earth, only he knew the true nature of the changes occurring in the world.
However, Earth was still just an infant compared to all the worlds that had been participating in this Great War for a long time now. That was the reason why Caelum needed to get stronger fast.
"As you know, before joining the Great War, a world is completely isolated. However, once the Anchor appears, the world changes and is forced to fight for its survival.
Other worlds can invade by punching a hole in the world's natural barrier to create a pathway. And the more this pathway is used, the larger it gets.
Sanctuary now has a gaping hole in its natural barrier. The enemies could take advantage of this to send entire armies to overwhelm the entire population of our world in an instant. That's when we decided to take a drastic measure."
Caelum had expected this to a certain extent. The frequency of gates appearing would only increase over time along with the enemies that come flooding out. He could not help but get angry at the Anchor that plunged Earth and himself into this war—the Imaginary Tree.
The Anchor of a world is like its heart. And the purpose of this Great War was simply to invade other worlds in order to reach their Anchor and destroy it until only one world remains. It was a disgusting game.
"Our ancestors created a magical array covering the entirety of Sanctuary during the earliest time of the Great War. It was a magical array that required all the Avatars to pour their power into creating and maintaining a barrier containing the holy mana of the Divine Obelisk.
Its purpose was to forcefully isolate the world once again by artificially blocking the pathway. But we knew it wouldn't last, so we made a gamble."
"Let me guess. They sent you to Earth to ask for help."
"Correct. Earth is a world that has only just joined the war. We were certain that it was not affiliated with any other worlds yet."
"And how are you so sure that Earth will help you?"
"Well, there are two reasons. First is because the worlds that have been invading you are our enemies as well. Before they could break through Sanctuary's barrier, Earth will be their main focus. And second, it's because I trust you, Caelum Grace."
Caelum stared at Erta as though she said something completely idiotic. She squirmed under his gaze, embarrassed. But she had to reveal everything if she hoped to gain his trust and support.
"We just met yesterday. Are you actually that naïve and gullible? Why do you trust me so much?"
"Ugh… I knew you were going to say that. First let me explain why I was chosen to carry out this mission out of all the Avatars on Sanctuary.
I am the youngest among us and also the latest to become an Avatar. As such, I am the weakest. I also don't have a partner yet which is essential for an Avatar of the Divine Obelisk to grow. But the most important reason is my innate ability."
"We'll get back to those other stuff you talked about later. So what's your ability?"
"I belong to a lineage of the rarest among the fae, the alves. At first glance, one might think that our uniqueness is the feathered wings on our backs, but in truth, it's something else.
We have the ability to see our destiny. Only small fragments, but no less important when it involves the fate of the world."
"You saw your own destiny?"
"Yes. It only happens once in our lifetime, but it has never been wrong. And in my destiny..., I saw you."
Caelum stared at her silently. He was wondering if she was lying just to persuade him, but it did not seem to be the case. He closed his eyes and massaged his forehead to rid him of the headache that suddenly appeared.
He was already burdened with the responsibility of protecting Earth, but now this angel was telling him that he was also destined to protect another world.
He wanted to be angry, but Erta's desperation and hopefulness could be felt from her words and her gaze directed at him. He sighed before asking a question.
"How are you sure that it was me you saw?"
"I wasn't. The gate that led me here should have been influenced by me to lead me to where you were. But when I saw you, I also doubted if you were actually the one I saw in my destiny.
The one I saw had many wings while you only have two. But the way you blocked the bulimeus's flames was exactly how I saw you in my destiny. You were blocking an attack of a much greater scale with only your wings and my magic to support you. That's how I knew it was you."
Erta's eyes were shining as she talked about her vision. She had suddenly become excited as though she was talking about an idol she wished to meet. Caelum finally gave up interrogating her.
In the first place, he had no intention of leaving her alone after she helped him save the city yesterday. To Caelum, Erta was the first ally, maybe even a friend, that he had made in so long.
He had already resolved himself to never abandon her. And the first thing he had to do in order to help her was to understand her circumstances more.
"Alright, I understand. Now, tell me what you meant by needing a partner. Avatars of the Imaginary Tree don't have such restrictions so I don't fully understand."
"Ah! That's… You don't need to worry about that."
"Hey, you said you're weak right now. If that partnership can help you get stronger, then shouldn't you do it? I'll be your partner if you can't find one."
"But… fine. I promise I won't tie you down, so please become my partner!"
"I already said I will. Explain it to me first though."
Erta's eyes began swimming around trying to avoid Caelum's gaze. Her cheeks were turning bright red enough to think someone smeared paint on her. After a few deep breaths, she finally looked at him.
"It's a ritual called the Life Covenant."