Angel Monarch-Chapter 595: The Forgotten Realm

Sera got whiplash as she felt her body rolling on some soft yet sturdy material. Her golden-green eyes fluttered open, revealing a dark world with interconnecting, massive ropes stretching into infinity.

Upon glancing around, she realized the soft ground under her was also made of this rope-like material. However, she quickly lost interest in this strange Realm as her eyes landed on the female Angel with a body made of light.

The portal closed behind her, which meant Sera lost her only way to escape. That also didn’t matter to her. At the moment, Sera only cared about this Angel’s identity.

She looked awfully familiar, and after some consideration, a name appeared in Sera’s mind.

This Angel wasn’t like the ones back on Earth. She didn’t have a Mark of Judgement, meaning she never spent time in Dark Prism. Supposedly, all Angels died when Aerin fell... except for three...

"The Archangel of Light..." whispered Sera, causing the female angel’s glowing white eyes to snap in her direction. A hint of recognition appeared in her hollow gaze, but soon she turned away, gazing into nothingness.

Upon seeing her reaction, Sera sighed and climbed to her feet. She took a few steps while glancing around the Realm.

Truly, nothing existed here besides the giant ropes and a few scrap planks intertwined with them. Out of curiosity, Sera bent down and grasped a handful of rope. It instantly broke into smaller strings which, while felt soft, cut up her hand.

She dropped the bloody strings back onto the ground while continuing her examination. Eventually, she stopped before the Archangel, who continued acting like a mannequin.

"Where are we?"... No answer... "Why did you bring me here?"... Nothing... "Why aren’t you answering my questions?"... The silence was the only answer she received...

An annoyed sigh whistled through Sera’s teeth as she walked to the rope’s edge and stared down into the darkness below.

"This is the worst kidnapping I’ve ever participated in!" she said, while taking a hidden glance at her shadow. It looked the tiniest shade darker, and she felt two presences hiding inside.

She couldn’t help but shake her head and chuckle. At least she wasn’t stuck alone in this strange Realm. Her foolish girlfriend and devout Shadow followed her inside...

"Let’s just hope we can leave alive..." she whispered as shuffling steps reached her ears and a robed figure appeared a few dozen meters away.

Their gender couldn’t be discerned. The hood and long robe hid Their body perfectly, not letting Sera get the tiniest glimpse of the individual’s face.

However, while Their physical traits remained a mystery, the robed figure didn’t even try hiding Their Rank. Each of the figure’s breaths shook the fabric of reality, causing the ropes to move around like worms.

They didn’t simply control the strings. The Realm itself reacted to Their presence, obeying Their will.

Sera had never seen such a demonstration of power. Even though she had met multiple Conceptual Gods, They never demonstrated the extent of their abilities. They had nothing to prove and felt no pride, unlike beings who rose to power through effort and determination.

This figure... They weren’t Ethereal or even Celestial... This was someone on the highest step of divinity... A true Empyrean!

With unhurried steps, They stopped a few meters away from Sera. The figure’s height matched Sera’s, yet standing near Them made her feel tiny in comparison.

"It’s nice to finally meet you, Last Angel..." They said with a delighted voice, which shook Sera’s very soul.

"Who are you?" she managed to ask after a momentary silence.

They didn’t answer, just began walking along the giant rope. The Archangel followed Them silently and motioned for Sera to do the same.

While walking, slimmer ropes appeared beside the massive one they walked on. Bodies hung from these ropes, attached by ethereal strings... a disturbing sight, which reminded Sera of something...

Back in the war at Antarctica, the others mentioned some strange being who fought with scissors and had a single mission... Kidnapping Sera to turn her into a Puppet...

It was quite obvious these hanging bodies were all Puppets, which meant this robed figure was that scissor wielding Puppet’s Master.

"Your assumptions are correct," said the figure, stopping before a peculiar Puppet. "I sent her to bring you to me, but your friends proved their worth. I needed to wait until the Barrier around Earth weakened further, so I could send someone more powerful..."

They motioned towards the Archangel while speaking, but didn’t glance away from the disturbing Puppet hanging before Them. Its body was made of millions of tiny strings.

A cold shiver went down Sera’s spine upon looking at the Puppet. It had pale skin and a perfect body with four wings. The only imperfection was the scar running from her brow to her jaw... The Puppet looked exactly like Sera!

The figure touched the Puppet’s naked chest gently, as if afraid the strings would detach from Their hand. Ethereal strings left the figure’s hand, penetrating the Puppet’s body.

Sera had a real bad feeling, but before she could’ve thought of a way to escape, she felt a horrible agony pushing deep into her chest. She couldn’t understand how, but at some point, she found herself kneeling before the Empyrean, Their other hand pressed onto Sera’s chest.

Strings penetrated her pale skin, pushing into every part of her body, slowly taking control. However, when they tried consuming her soul, they found a surprising amount of resistance.

"Oh? That’s unexpected... You’re much stronger than I assumed. You could resist my control, but that’s why I made this beautiful body for you... With your soul inside there, all your defiance will be futile!"

Sera screamed in agony, her golden-green eyes glancing towards the Archangel pleadingly. She fluttered her pristine white wings with maddening yellow eyes... It was the Archangel of Despair’s wings, her brother’s own...

Recognition ignited in the Archangel’s eyes. She tried moving her arm, but something seemed to hold her back.

Above the Archangel, a bunch of ethereal strings stretched into infinity. They controlled the Archangel, stopping her from acting upon her desires and will. She couldn’t help Sera until those strings existed...

"Cut... the... strings..." she said to Bea and Faith with her mind.

The Shadow under Sera crawled away, while the Empyrean focused on moving Sera’s soul into the Puppet. The Archangel’s glowing white eyes noticed the Shadow, but she ignored it and continued struggling against her restraints.

Suddenly, Bea jumped out of the shadow, wielding a curved golden sword covered in shadows, cleansing flames and bright green energy. If any weapon could cut through those ethereal strings, it was this blade...

Bea sprang away from the rope ground, causing the Empyrean to glance in her direction. However, by the time They realized the threat, it was already too late.

Sera’s sword slashed through the ethereal strings without resistance. The cut lines floated through the air, as light exploded in every direction.

The Archangel of Light, freed from her shackles, gazed at the Empyrean with unveiled hatred. The light from her body spread to the edges of this Realm, which meant it stretched into infinity.

Strangely, the light the Archangel summoned wasn’t normal. It felt heavy and burned Bea’s skin, even though it wasn’t hot. It felt suffocating as the light pushed down on every atom of Bea’s body.

All the shadows disappeared under the light’s power, causing Faith to turn corporeal again. She coughed and took labored breaths as she struggled to stay conscious.

The Archangel and Empyrean had a short staring contest before the light spreading over the Realm suddenly shrunk and condensed around the robed figure.

They stayed motionless as the immense energy kept condensing until nothing but a tiny floating orb remained.

Bea and Faith glanced at the orb in confusion. They still felt the Empyrean’s suffocating presence, which meant the Archangel couldn’t kill Them.

As for the bright Angel, she walked up to Sera’s kneeling form. At some point, she lost consciousness. The ethereal strings jutted out of her chest, wriggling like worms.

The Archangel grasped these strings and with a powerful pull, yanked them out. Sera screamed in agony and passed out from the overwhelming pain, causing Bea and Faith to appear by her side.

The World Tree healed her girlfriend, but the exhaustion seemed to have finally caught up with Sera. She remained unconscious while the floating sphere of light cracked.

"It won’t hold Them much longer. Follow me quickly!" said the Archangel, while her hands glowed and she tore open the fabric of reality.

They might’ve been spoiled by Vicky’s portal opening ability. Even the Archangel struggled a bit when opening Gateways wasn’t nearly as easy as the Princess made it seem.

Neither Bea nor Faith knew if they should trust this bright Angel, but since the sphere of light continued breaking apart, they were left without a choice.

Faith took Sera’s unconscious body into her shadows, while she and Bea both jumped through the Gate. The Archangel followed after them, sealing the Gate and severing its connection with the Realm they had just left.

Both women glanced around in confusion. They found themselves in a strange Realm where hundreds of different colored lights danced around in the sky. The ground was covered in a layer of soft, white, mud-like substance from which purple hands grew with eyes in their palms.

The Archangel glanced around, smelling and tasting the air. She was in search of something, but after a few moments, disappointment glinted in her glowing gaze.

"Where are we?" asked Bea while taking a step forward. "Could you take us back to Earth?"

The bright Angel glanced at Bea, then her gaze moved down at her bare feet. Bewildered, the World Tree followed her stare. One of the hands was grasping at her ankle, which somehow Bea couldn’t feel.

With an annoyed sigh and a roll of her eyes, the Archangel twisted the light at Bea’s feet, creating a sharp blade. It cut through the hand—and Bea’s ankle—without resistance.

The World Tree cursed in pain, but a moment later her foot regenerated.

"Advice before we continue... Don’t move until I say so! We’re not safe from the Puppeteer yet, but I’m searching for a specific Realm where They won’t find us! Now shut up, stop asking questions and let me concentrate!"

Bea wanted to argue, but Faith placed a hand on her shoulder and shook her head. Afterward, she quickly realized that it wasn’t wise to further annoy their savior.

Unlike Sera, neither woman recognized the Archangel of Light’s actual status. Even though Bea had met with the Archangel of Despair’s consciousness, the stress of the day prevented her from making such an obvious conclusion.

Still, they placed their lives in this stranger’s hands. It wasn’t comfortable, but their lacking options prevented any other choice.

A few seconds passed, when an excited grin grew on the Archangel’s face and she whispered... "Found it!"

Her hands glowed once again. She used them to tear open reality, but this time, she struggled a lot more, as if the Realm tried preventing entry.

Behind her back, the wings of light began glowing even brighter. Her hands also burned brighter, and with a groan, the Gateway gradually opened. Soon it was wide enough for them to fit through.

"Go!" shouted the Archangel, struggling to keep it open.

Bea and Faith jumped through without question, the bright Angel following in their step. This time, the Gate closed itself, severing its connection to the previous Realm immediately.

Before either woman could’ve glanced around, the Archangel’s clear, exhausted voice reached their ears.

"You’ll be safe in this Realm... Nobody will look for any of you here... It’s called the Forgotten Realm for a reason..."

She chuckled at her own words, with a hint of melancholy in her voice. The Archangel then took a deep breath and stretched her heavenly body.

"I’ll leave for now. Tell Lady Seraphine to explore this Realm thoroughly and get as strong as possible... When she’s ready, I’ll return and explain everything..."

With that, the Archangel exploded into sparks of light and flew through the small dilapidated room’s wall. Without her presence, the room became awfully dark, but through the only doorway, bright light seeped in.

Curiously, both women stepped before the door, pushing it open. The wooden planks broke under their hands, but neither paid attention as a depressing yet beautiful sight stretched before their eyes...

The ancient room stood on a hill, watching over an endless field covered with golden grass. A gentle breeze made the strands dance, while a bright light shone from the sky. A few lone trees also stretched, their foliage covered in blood-red leaves and black-white flowers.

However, between these beauties of nature, the corpse of a massive city stretched as far as their eyes could see. Gigantic towers lay broken and fallen. The walls, once carved and painted in whitish-gold colors, now rotted away, leaving them depressingly gray.

This wasn’t simply a Forgotten Realm, but a war-stricken, yet... Heavenly place...

[End of Part 3 — Resolute Goddess] 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

[End of Volume 3 — Old Gods]