" Luciel, it's time to go to sleep," a beautiful woman said sweetly as a young boy played on the living room floor. The boy had white hair and lavender eyes. " Okay, Mom," Luciel said happily, walking to his room. His mother followed behind him.
Tucked into his bed, Luciel asked, "Mom, can you tell another story about father?".
"Sure," She answered with a warm smile. She thought briefly about what to tell him before she started to tell the story. The story revolved around how she had met his father, an all-powerful angel, who had saved her when a demon had attacked the village where she was living in the past. After this fateful event, his father always observed her from a distance, and he ran away whenever she tried to confront him. But upon a day that he was observing her again, she had offered him an apple she had just picked up from a tree.
This time, he didn't run away. Instead, he took the apple and tasted it. Then he asked for her name. She had answered grumpily, "Huh, you're not mute? You just always keep looking at me like a creep, but my name's Lumi. What about yours?"
He had answered by saying, " Azrael," and at that moment, she was utterly shocked. There wasn't a single living being who didn't know who he was. He was someone who stood above even the Celestial emperor and his divine council. He was the one who had stopped the invasion of demons and the one who had ended the single-handedly the holy war fought between deities and angels.
After this interaction, Azrael stopped avoiding her and spent his days following her around and helping her if she ever needed help. Their relationship deepened over time, and it wasn't long before they fell in love. As the story came to an end, Lumi reminded Luciel that he shouldn't tell others who his father was.
Kissing Luciel on the forehead, Lumi turned off the lights and walked out. Sighing deeply, she looked at the starry sky. It had been almost ten years since Azrael had ascended back to the Celestial realm. She knew that he had left for her and Luciel's sake, but she couldn't help but long for him.
But even that hope of seeing him again had been destroyed five years ago when she couldn't feel the warm gaze from the faraway place anymore. At that time, she knew that he was dead. This news had almost destroyed her, but for the sake of their son, she had to hold on. " Tomorrow is Luciel's tent birthday. Also, tomorrow should be the day he awakens," Lumi spoke to herself.
'Oh, yeah, I also need to give that to him,' She thought to herself as she remembered the mysterious wooden box Azrael had left for her before leaving. At that time, he had told her to give it to their son when he awakened.
...
" Sir, our troops are waiting for your orders," A soldier clad in black and red armor spoke respectfully to the person in front of him. This supposed general was an old man who looked more like a wise scholar than a general, but the aura around him said otherwise. A Violent aura dripping with malice and bloodlust was emitting from him even while he was trying to suppress it to the best of his abilities.
" We will start our incursion at dawn. We'll cross the borders and march through that village towards the capital," The old man said, his voice emotionless. The soldier saluted and started to convey the orders to the army.
...
What would have been a peaceful morning in Rosenfield village was disturbed by the smell of blood and the shrill screams of the residents of Rosenfield. Explosions happened all around the village as those who were capable of fighting tried to fight back against the attackers, but their attempts turned out to be futile. Houses burned down, and people tried to escape, but the unknown invaders didn't show any mercy, and everyone was slaughtered.
In the outskirts of the Rosenfield stood a single house. Inside the house, Lumi was woken up by the resounding explosions. Looking through the window, she saw smoke billowing into the sky. The smoke was coming from the direction of the village. Lumi had a bad premonition. Putting on her clothes, she grabbed a small wooden box from the shelf next to her and ran to Luciel's room.
But when she stepped inside his room, something was different. The walls, floor, and ceiling that were supposed to be made from wood were now replaced by a darkness resembling that of a night sky, and in the middle of the room sat Luciel. Surrounding him were specks of light that looked like stars in a night sky. He giggled as he looked at the specks of light in wonder.
A minute later, the darkness vanished along with the specks of light. But everything had changed. Luciel had awakened his mana core, or in his situation, his body had turned into a vessel that would hold the mana. This was one of the largest differences between other species and angels. Every other race had to have a mana core to use mana, but angels' bodies were the mana core. Because of this, angels had much larger mana capacities, and this difference would keep growing larger as their cultivation grew.
Another large difference between angels and other races was their control over mana, which was on a different level compared to others. Angels were closest to a perfect race, with longer lifespans and stronger bodies and senses; there was no race other than demons who could be compared to angels. But of course, even angels had a flaw: the possession of godhood from the moment they awakened the ability to use mana, something that should be possessed when a cultivator reached the cultivation realm named angel, which was a completely separate thing from the race of angels.
Of course, godhood had positives if it was under control, such as increased cognitive abilities, better control of mana, and control over laws. But if one let the godhood consume their mind, they would turn into a cold, inhuman being that wasn't any better than a demon.
One important fact that should be known about angels is that they were not all the same; there were many different subraces such as fallen angels, holy angels, normal angels, and the most superior of all, an archangels. There were many other biological differences between other races and angels, one of them being how children were made. Angels were able to have children like humans, but they could use the essence of their very being to create life after they reached a certain level of strength. Luciel was born through the latter method, which meant that he wasn't half-human but a pureblood archangel.
"Luciel, how are you feeling?" Lumi asked in worry. Even though Azrael had taught her all of the knowledge that was mentioned just now, in fact, he had taught her even more, but she couldn't help but worry about her son.
" Yes, but there's a weird feeling all over my body," Luciel answered. Lumi knitted her brows, she had a hunch about what was happening to Luciel's body. The godhood that had awakened was integrating with his body and mind.
"Try to bear with it, honey. Something bad is happening in the village, so we have to go somewhere safe," Lumi explained in a hurry while helping Luciel put on his clothes.
...
A lone man stood on a hill that overlooked the whole village, which was now burning to the ground. With a long beard and black robes, the general who had ordered the attack on this village looked into the horizon. Suddenly, the old man snapped his head in a particular direction where a small house stood on the outskirts of the village.
The old man frowned; something was happening there. He suddenly vanished from the hill. Appearing in the front yard of the small house, his frown deepened even more. 'What's happening in here? The laws around here are shaking and even almost breaking," The old man thought while walking towards the house.
The bloodthirsty aura surrounding him last night had completely vanished, and now only serenity remained. Sensing people inside the house, he directly appeared where the people he had sensed were.
" Hmm, what do we have here, a human and ...what are you, boy?" The old man asked with a smile that didn't reach his eyes. Lumi stumbled from surprise, but her instincts took over, and she stepped between the mysterious old man and Luciel.
"W-who are you?" Lumi asked with a trembling voice. Even though the surrounding air around the old man was calm, she got a terrifying feeling from the old man. The smile on the old man's face vanished, and it was replaced by a look of annoyance.
Suddenly, the old man was holding on to Lumi's throat and snarled, "Who gave you permission to speak?" The old man threw Lumi against a wall. Lumi felt countless bones breaking throughout her body. This simple throw made by this old man already put her on the dead's door, but what could she do? After all, she was just a human without any cultivation, and this old man was someone with an unfathomably high cultivation.
Barely holding onto her consciousness, she looked at now crying Luciel, who was trying to run to her, but the old man was blocking his path. An apologetic smile bloomed on her face as she whispered with her remaining strength, "Michael, save him,". Then, darkness blanketed her mind, and she drew her last breath.
The time came to a halt, and everything turned monochrome. The only person who was unaffected by this change was Luciel, who kept on crying profusely. The sight of her mother dying in front of him was branded into his mind. Suddenly, he felt warmth spread all over his body. Looking up, he saw a young man with long golden hair and beautiful blue eyes who looked at Luciel sadly. Behind his back was a pair of majestic wings.
Deputy of heaven, the proxy of the God of angels, Azrael's most beloved angel, Michael, the angel of judgment, had descended. This angel of the loftiest position wrapped his wings around himself and Luciel, and then, like they had never been there, they vanished, and the time started to move once again. Along with them, the small wooden box that was with Lumi vanished.
As time started to move again, the old man looked around in confusion. He couldn't remember why he had come to this house, and as if nothing had happened, he vanished from the house and returned to his army.
...
Michael appeared thousands of miles away from the Rosenfield, Luciel still in his embrace. He gently stroked Luciel's back, trying to comfort him. But these attempts were futile, as Luciel kept on crying, almost choking on his tears. This continued for another 20 minutes before Luciel started to calm down.
"Who are you?" Luciel asked warily. He looked at his surroundings but couldn't figure out where they were.
" My name is Michael, and I am... No, I was your father's angel, but now I am your guardian angel of sorts," Michael said with a smile while holding out the wooden box he had taken with them from the Lumi's and Luciel's house. "Young lord, take this... It is your father's last gift for you."
A slight smile appeared on Luciel's face as he took the box and opened it. Inside the box was a small ornament of sorts. It was made of some kind of multicolored metal that was shaped to look like a pair of angelic wings. Just as Luciel was about to ask what it was, the ornament transformed into light and flew directly into his head. It sank deep into his soul, where it exploded with a ray of multicolored light.
Then Luciel felt as if a hot iron was used to scald his mind, he let out a painful scream as tears streamed down his face. The pain started to subside, but still, he felt like his mind was constantly expanding as the knowledge that he didn't possess was directly infused into his mind, letting him grasp the knowledge as if it were his own.
A gentle voice rang out in his head, constantly reminding Luciel, " Remember you are he, not 'He." The knowledge that was infused into his mind included information about the Angelic race, cultivation, utilization of mana arts, and the mortal realm and heavenly realm.
" What was that?" Luciel asked weakly while he digested the information he had learned.
"You should have received quite an amount of information?" Michael asked for confirmation, and in return, Luciel nodded. "The hidden function of the thing that you absorbed is to constantly improve your soul strength... It was once used by your father, and if it were to be graded as treasure, it would be classified as a primordial grade treasure," Michael continued explaining.
Luciel nodded his head. According to the information he had received, treasures were categorized into earth, spirit, emperor, mythic, supreme, heavenly, divine, and primordial grades, with primordial being the highest grade. But Luciel remained oblivious to the fact that only eight other primordial treasures had appeared in the history of mortal and celestial realms.
" Young lord, I must leave now, or someone might sense my presence here. We are currently on the border of Lilian, if you follow that road you will find a fairly big city. You should have learned that being an angel has a few perks, such as not needing to eat food or sleep, but you need to try to control the godhood inside you before it consumes you," Michael advised. And then, like he hadn't even been there, Michael vanished.
Left with a blank look on his face, Luciel didn't know what to do. He was only 10 years old, and without anyone to support him and guard against the threats of the cruel world, how was he to survive? Luciel started to walk in the direction Michael had instructed him to go.
One step, a hundred steps, a thousand steps... Luciel didn't know for how long he had kept on walking. Thanks to him being an archangel, his stamina was already comparable to a relatively fit adult human, and he didn't feel exhausted.
At some point, he heard the sound of galloping horses. Turning to look behind him, he saw two horses pulling a wagon, and sitting in the front, three men were chatting merrily. When the three men saw Luciel, they stopped the horses and walked towards him. Each of them had clothes made of fur. They had many scars all around their exposed arms and chests. Different kinds of bladed weapons hung from their waists and backs.
"Oi, boy, what you'd doing here all alone?" One of the men asked with a gruff voice.
Luciel didn't answer. A bad feeling slowly rose inside him, but he didn't know what to do. These three people looked like slave traders, and Luciel quickly learned this as he heard a cry for help from the wagon.
" Liam, chain him up, and let's continue our journey. We have to reach the next city tomorrow," The man in the middle said in annoyance. He had hoped to use the element of surprise and catch Luciel quickly, but to his dismay, Luciel had noticed that something was wrong with them. He seemed to be the leader of the group.
"Sure, boss," the last man said with a grin and walked leisurely toward Luciel. While this was happening, Luciel tried to find a way out of the situation, but the only option he could find was to confront the slave traders. Just as Liam, the slave trader, was trying to grab hold of Luciel, Luciel instinctively took a step back and, like a well-oiled machine, mana rushed to his help, and with a mana-augmented step, he dodged Liam's attempt to capture him.
'Huh, what's this?' Luciel thought to himself as a completely new sensation washed over him. Strangely enough, the sensation felt as if he had found a long-lost piece that completed his existence.
"Boss! The boy is a cultivator!" Liam shouted in surprise, but then a greedy glint appeared in his eyes.
The boss of the group laughed happily and then said," What a lucky day, the boy will fetch a good price,". The leader and the other slave trader circled around Luciel, then the three men lunged at Luciel.
Something weird happened inside Luciel's mind, and everything seemed to go blank for a second. The moment he became conscious of what was happening, he felt his hand going through something. Then, he heard something falling to the ground and red liquid splashed on his face.
At some point in time, Luciel had used mana and pierced the slave trader bos's heart with the blade of his hand. Looking shakily at the dead body lying before his feet and his bloodied hand, Luciel couldn't help but start crying. The two other slave traders were shocked by the death of their boss and turned around and ran to the wagon. Then, urging the horses to pull the wagon as quickly as possible, they vanished into the forest.
Luciel fell to his knees and sobbed uncontrollably. Innocent soul, so pure and bright that it could light up the night sky, that should have been living carelessly without being tainted by the twisted world, but now this innocent soul was tainted by the world. Luciel had treasured every life, he had not killed even a bug before this. If anyone saw Luciel now, there would be no way for them to guess that, in truth, this sobbing boy was an angel, an archangel at that.
To angels, humans were no different from insects—both were beings of no consequence, unworthy of their regard. But Luciel was grown by a human, which meant that his current understanding of wrong and right was shaped by the moral frame of a human who wasn't even a cultivator. After some time, Luciel slowly rose from the ground, but now there was something wrong with him. There were no emotions in his eyes! All that was left was an expressionless face, though as a monolith. He seemed like he was a completely different person, as if he was possessed.
The godhood in him had taken over as a protective measure to protect Luciels mind, but at the same time, it was eroding his sense of self. This was the reason Luciel's mind had gone blank when the slave trader had tried to capture him. Since he wasn't able to control the godhood inside him, his instincts used the godhood in him as a natural defense mechanism, which allowed him to make a decision that he wouldn't have normally done.
Luciel started to follow the road that he had originally walked, but this time, the surrounding mana in the air was pulled towards him, and like a black hole, he absorbed it. Even while moving, his cultivation kept on rising. This was a feat that only an archangel could accomplish. Of course, while he was walking, the efficiency was much lower, but the rate at which he was absorbing was so high that even if a cultivator of great talent were to cultivate while meditating, they would only be slightly faster.