Page 153 of Mantle

All bearing the unmistakable traits of Celestial heritage.

Allkept—hidden from the world, hidden fromtruth.

The Celestial Plane had continued their experiments after the Draco failure. Not just through Chimera Circle, but here also, making pure Celestial children. They’d obviously failed to rob them of free will, they hadn’t managed to find a way to control them to their liking, so they’d done this to them. Set them aside like they were objects and not living things. They couldn’t kill a Celestial being, so they’d kept them here in a suspended state—neither alive nor dead.

It was absolutely despicable.

It was beyond redemption.

I couldn’t allow this… I could barely stomach the sight of it.

I gathered my power and sent out a Celestial shockwave.

Cries and gasps sounded a moment later as it woke all of the children up.

As they began to sit up, some climbing out of their confined spaces, a blast just like earlier slammed into my chest, forcing me to double over.

The children screamed.

“It’s.. okay…” I forced out, holding my hand out in a bid to reassure them.

But then white light streamed down upon me, tearing through the roof and pouring in.

I screamed as it bore into every part of me, like molten fire through my veins.

As it poisoned me from the outside in.

As it stripped me of what I was.

I was becoming Fallen.

It graduated to blinding pain.

I dug my fingers into the floor, trying to drag myself away.

But it was impossible.

It wouldn’t release me until the punishment was complete.

I stared out at the children, wanting to reassure them again.

But I couldn’t summon a word this time.

And then the pain took me and I passed out.

My eyes snappedopen and I sucked in a stilted breath.

Everything hurt, ached, screamed in protest.

Especially as I pushed to my feet.

I could feel the difference immediately.

The weakness.

That I just wasn’t the same.

I staggered a couple of steps before I was able to stabilize myself.

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