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Angels need a purpose to live. Rather than a flaw, it was surely intended as an advantage to their maker to ensure that they would follow lead, else they would spiral into despair. Gabriel wondered how the Council had not lost their minds. Were they truly so certain that God was still somewhere, ready to return some day?
Well, they were wrong. God was dead, or He had turned His back on them, which essentially would lead to the same result. After God disappeared, when the Council took over, when he lost to the war machine and was separated from the light, Gabriel has prayed countless times. Once upon a time, before humanity fell, Gabriel had a close connection to God. He was His righteous hand, he had his prayers answered by his maker, he executed His will.
Coming to terms with the fact that He was gone hurt more than any defeat, more than being severed from the light that remained of Him. Gabriel no longer had a purpose. He was able to bridge over this loss by following the Council, but now that he had fulfilled his last mission… there was nothing left for him to follow.
Gabriel sighed as he sat down on the shore. Even now, hours away from certain death, the sight of the unsteady waves made him feel uneasy. What was there to fear? He would die either way. Still, he made sure that he was just out of reach of those waves meeting land.
Just recently had he discovered this place for the first time. To think that Hell held such a beautiful place was absurd, but Gabriel decided that he would like to meet his end here. It was the closest he could come to what his home had felt like, before he spent years over years patrolling Hell. The sky was beautiful, rich of colours and stars, the air was cool and fresh, the atmosphere was… peaceful.
This place seemed to be hidden from most eyes, recently only disciplined by one more being. As much as it spoke against everything Gabriel had believed in until now, he came to feel respect towards the machine. Perhaps he even envied it. It was free of any chains, lived for its own sake, its own purpose. If he had more time, he would have liked to find his own purpose as well.
But seeing as time was starting to run out, Gabriel knew he had little left to choose over. He decided that he wanted to take control of the little bit that was still in his reach. With a calm hand, he drew Splendor from its sheath. Its golden blade reflected the dark bluish light of the skies above, spreading tranquility across the small island.
Perhaps it wasn't a very honourable way to go, but it was a way that was entirely in Gabriel's control. Those swords of his had shed so much blood, it was only fair his own would at last be spilled by them as well. With a last look out upon the sea in front of him, Gabriel raised the blade to his throat. The divine edge threatened to break skin just by a light touch. He closed his eyes, drinking in the sound of the waves, the wind passing by.
Then a sound crawled through the clash of water. Gabriel did not bother to move quickly as he had come to grow familiar with the noises of agile joints and fluttering hard light wings. With resigned calmness, he lowered his sword, a sigh puffed out through his helmet. “Machine.” he began as he opened his eyes, yet remained turned towards the water. “I am surprised to find you in this place once more.”
V1 had long finished roaming through Wrath. Gabriel was quite sure it had even gone beyond Violence by now. Why would it bother to come back to a layer it had long rampaged and emptied of its blood. Or had it come for him? Could it possibly have emptied all of Hell by now and craved for his blood?
Finally, he looked up to the machine that had just landed next to him. Even as he sat, it wasn't much taller than him. Such a small and nimble being, capable of so much destruction. It looked at him with a wide eye, seeming to think for a moment before signing. “Needed a break from kicking ass.” Its insolence would have enraged him just hours ago, but now it made him huff in amusement. How strange to feel such sympathy for a man-made creature like it.
After all, it did whatever it wanted. Gabriel guessed he shouldn't have been surprised by it returning to such a place to relax. Neither did it show any hostility as it instead sat down by the shore, barely a meter away. In a calm motion, Gabriel returned Splendor to its sheath. He had no intention of taking his life in front of something- someone else. Instead, he watched how V1 drank in the sight of the sea as he had before, mindlessly drawing symbols into the sand.
It was strange, seeing the machine like that. Gabriel couldn't remember seeing it so near motionless before, especially this close up. They remained like this for a while - Gabriel had since lost all feeling of time. But it was comforting to not spend this time alone, as he had been contemplating on the moon. After a while, blue hands came to Gabriel's vision once more.
“Do you have blood?” it signed, and Gabriel blinked in confusion. “Of course I have blood. You should know that.” he returned, and when he finally looked at it properly, it shook its head. “Can I have some blood?” V1 asked. It was so blunt, Gabriel almost felt offended. Before he could answer, the machine added “Just a little”.
“How come?” Gabriel asked, still feeling perplexed at the request. This was a killing machine. Why was it asking for blood? He was a mere meter away, it could have easily attacked him. After some hesitation, V1 explained itself. “I'll be honest, I got my ass kicked on Fraud.” it admitted, its straightforwardness almost drawing a laugh from Gabriel's throat. “Not severely. But I'm kind of low on fuel.”
This was ridiculous. But Gabriel could not deny that he appreciated that the machine would ask. Perhaps he was right and it did come for his blood in the first place, but chose to be polite over attacking or asking straightforwardly. The angel rose from where he had been sitting for a while now, drawing Splendor once more. V1 jumped to its feet in a quick motion, whether in excitement or preparation to be attacked, Gabriel could quite tell.
Yet it stayed still as he raised his sword and slit across the palm of his hand, the straight cut of the sharp blade barely causing pain. Once blood started to pool in the wound, he stretched his arm towards his former opponent. “Thank you!” it signed, now visibly excited, before one of its blue hands grasped his. The light squeezing caused the wound to ache after all, but it was bearable. They remained like that, like a friendly handshake as the machine fed off of him.
After a minute or two, V1 withdrew its hand and took a step back, its eye toward Gabriel. Instead of signing, it bowed before the angel, and as he took a breath to speak, it leaped from where it was standing, back towards the entrance to the island. As he watched the machine disappear, Gabriel couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation.
Splendor was once again returned to its sheath, and with a deep breath, Gabriel also turned to the elevator leading down to the ground. Perhaps he already found his new purpose, and could follow it until the light inside him died out.