Page 39 of Uriel
As the words sink in, I lock eyes with Emilia across the room. In her gaze, I find my own struggle reflected in her eyes—fear and fortitude existing in perfect symmetry. Together, we face whatever comes.
The Horsemen continue their slow, inexorable advance. War, at their center, grins with malicious glee. “Now then,” he growls, his voice resonating with the power of countless conflicts. “Shall we discuss the terms of your surrender?”
Lucifer, to his credit, doesn’t back down. He stands tall, his own power flaring to match the Horsemen’s. “I don’t recallsurrenderingbeing on the agenda for today,” he says, his casual tone belied by the dangerous glint in his eye.
As the two forces face off, the very air seems to crackle with tension. I can feel the barriers between realms weakening, reality itself groaning under the strain of so much concentrated power.
“We need to do something!” Emilia’s voice comes through the comm, tight with urgency. “If they clash here, in the middle of the city...”
She doesn’t need to finish the thought. The destruction would be catastrophic, potentially triggering the very apocalypse we’re trying to prevent.
“I have an idea,” I say, the beginnings of a plan forming in my mind. “But it’s risky. And you’re not going to like it.”
“At this point,” Helena chimes in, “I think we’re open to suggestions. What’s the play, Halo Boy?”
I take a deep breath, steeling myself for what I’m about to propose. “We need to shift the battlefield. Move this confrontation somewhere less... populated.”
“Okay,” Raphael says slowly. “And how exactly do we do that?”
“We don’t,” I reply. “Ido.”
Before anyone can object, I step forward, placing myself between the Horsemen and Lucifer. I draw on my power, letting my human guise fall away. My wings unfurl, blazing with celestial light, and I allow my true form to manifest—a being of pure energy, with countless eyes and wheels within wheels.
“Enough,” I command, my voice resonating with divine authority. “This quarrel is not for the mortal realm. If you wish to fight, let it be on neutral ground.”
For a moment, everyone—Horsemen, Devil, and our own team alike—is struck silent by my revelation. Then War steps forward, his eyes gleaming with malicious delight.
“Well, well,” he growls. “The Archangel of Chastity, deigning to involve himself in earthly affairs. How... unexpected.”
I meet his gaze steadily, refusing to be cowed. “These are hardly ordinary circumstances,” I reply. “Now, will you agree to my terms, or shall I be forced to compel you?”
War’s laugh is like the clash of steel on steel. “You? Compel us? I’d like to see you try, little angel.”
I smile inwardly then, a cold, dangerous thing that has no place on a being of my station. “Oh, I was rather hoping you’d say that.”
With a thought, I expand my consciousness, reaching out to touch the minds of all present. In an instant, I show them glimpses of the devastation that would result from their clash—cities reduced to ash, oceans boiling, the very sky tearing apart.And beneath it all, the anguished cries of billions of souls caught in the crossfire.
When I release them, even the Horsemen look shaken. Lucifer, for his part, seems grudgingly impressed.
“Very well,” Death intones, speaking for the first time. His voice is the whisper of a last breath, the rattle in a dying throat. “We will adjourn to neutral ground. But know this, Archangel—this changes nothing. The apocalypse is coming, whether you will it or no.”
I nod, acknowledging the warning. “Perhaps. But not today, and not here.”
With a thought, I allow my true form to recede, my countless eyes and wheels within wheels folding back into the more familiar shape of my human guise. But I maintain a vestige of my celestial power, allowing my wings to remain manifest—a reminder to these beings of who and what I truly am. The massive, luminous appendages unfurl behind me, their soft glow a stark contrast to the darkness surrounding us.
With a gesture, I tear open a portal in the fabric of reality. Through it, I can see a vast, barren plain—a pocket dimension I created eons ago for just such a purpose.
“After you,” I say, gesturing towards the portal, my wings arching imposingly above me.
One by one, the Horsemen step through, followed by a reluctant Lucifer. As I move to follow them, a hand on my arm stops me. I turn to see Emilia’s upturned face, her widened eyes betraying both wonder and trepidation.
“Uriel,” she says softly. “Be careful.”
Something shifts inside me at her words, a warmth blooming in my chest that has nothing to do with celestial power. “I will,” I promise. Then, before I can think better of it, I lean down and press a soft kiss to her forehead. “Take care of each other,” I say, looking at our assembled team. “I’ll be back soon.”
With that, I step through the portal, leaving behind the mortal world and all its complications. As the gateway closes behind me, I can’t help but wonder if I’ll ever see it—or Emilia—again.
On the other side, I find myself on a vast, desolate plain. The sky above is a roiling mass of colors that have no place in the mortal spectrum, and the ground beneath my feet pulses with barely contained energy. This is a place between realms, a neutral ground where cosmic forces can clash without risking collateral damage.
