Chapter Text
Footsteps echoed across the hallways of the massive tower. Aside from the ambience of the sterile hallways, everything was quiet. The silence was deafening, well almost.
The boy had his lips sealed, and his eyes darting to the corners of his surroundings. One hand tightening around the handle of his sword, his crimson cape. It felt off putting by the lack of people. Wasn’t there supposed to be robots guarding this place?
His ears picked up a quiet hum in the distance. “Can you hear it?”
From his side was someone who chose to accompany him in his journey. They called themselves ‘Gabriel’. He wore white robes just like the manmade angel who commanded the armies of Babylon, he too has wings.
“We are near.” Gabriel confirmed with a little grin formed on his face, his voice nearly monotone with a hint of excitement. It put the boy off by a little bit, it looked real, but his gut screamed the word wrong over and over again.
So many red flags sprung up in his head about this guy. Nevermind that he’s freakishly tall or that weird look on his face as if he was expecting something, he wouldn’t doubt it if this guy has a hidden agenda or something. A memory arose from the depths of his mind from days prior, and his world shifted momentarily.
The boy ducked quickly, narrowly avoiding a large meaty fist meant to connect against his head. Once he saw a gap in his enemy’s defense, he swung with his sword and slashed at the knee of his foe. Promptly making it screech in rage as it fell onto the barren ground till a slash to its exposed neck promptly silenced it. Joining its downed brethren on the soil with its dying gasp.
From there, another attempted to hit him with a makeshift blood stained club to his side, yet his legs did not fail him as he took a step back, avoiding the hit as another attempted to swing at him. His muscles ached in weariness as adrenaline left his body in droves.
The group of abominations surrounded the boy from all sides, towering over him and cutting off any way of leaving. They weren’t going to show any mercy to a child. Let alone one not native to the Holy Land.
Killing enough of them could force them to run away and buy him enough time to make distance between him and them. Despite being hideous beasts that would come out of his nightmares, the Forgotten weren’t dumb enough to not take a hint when things went south.
Even then, a conflicting thought emerged in him as he once again side stepped another swung his sword down at him, dodging became routine. Where could he go? There is nowhere to hide if more decided to show up. He had little left of his supplies to eat or drink after several days, and he couldn’t go back to Babylon.
His thinking abruptly halted when he felt something heavy slam against his chest, his eyes widened. The air out of his lungs vanished faster than he could process what had just happened before he got knocked onto the ground flat on his back. His grip faltered, and his weapon clattered to the side
Pain pulsed beneath his ribs, heart hammering in his chest. He attempted to roll out of the way, nearly slipping free. The one who struck him, the largest one out of the group was faster, and moved with him. Its hand closed around his throat after its weight kept him down there.
Under his visor the boy’s eyes bulged out in panic. The intent to kill him became clear, his small hands desperately clawing at its arm, nails digging in with all the strength he mustered, and feet kicking uselessly against the ground. It did nothing but make the monster snarl in fury. It redoubled its efforts and tightened its grip onto his throat.
His movements got slower, weaker as time passed by the fleeting seconds. The corners of his sight blurred, he could see dots multiplying like locusts in his vision. The sound of his chest pounding reduced to a ringing growing dull. No words came out of his mouth, only a wheeze that grew quieter.
Tears crept to the corners of his eyes, it didn’t matter how much he squirmed, his body didn’t budge. This beast was unrelenting in its pursuit; it was a matter of time before his body would give into darkness.
‘Uriel… Barachiel… Anyone please… I don’t wanna be alone when I go…’
The sound of a faint boom entered his ears, something warm pooled down his face from above. The pressure on his throat eased itself. The boy couldn’t make out what was going on, but the large weight on his body ceased, and a thump sounded off next to him.
Followed by the sounds of incoherent shrieking and heavy footsteps drastically picking up pace. It became quickly obvious when their noises left his earshot in the span of several seconds.
He coughed hard. Vision steadying itself with every gasp, chest heaving with air it may never receive again. Confusion sprung up in the child’s eyes like sunrise after the night passed. He couldn’t feel the light of the sun; chills ran down his spine.
What just happened? One second he was on death’s door, and in the next his enemies…ran away screaming? Something is smeared all over his face, and it’s dark all over the place. He thought his ears caught the noise of wings snapping shut, and something landing.
He didn’t have much of a chance taking a look at their hideous faces, but they sounded scared? No, it can’t be right, that would mean-
“You lived.”
The voice broke away his thoughts. Calm, and unhurried. His visor didn’t allow him to see who it was lest he go blind from the light? Dark? It’s hard to differentiate between the two. “S-Stay away!” He cried out, voice strained and rasp.
The voice didn’t respond immediately, the child heard footsteps getting louder with every second. It ceased when it became clear to him.
“Do not be afraid. I am not your enemy.” The voice replied back smoothly, the boy’s teeth grinded against each other, he pushed against the ground. His body didn’t respond. “I don’t even know who you are! How do I know you’re not going to kill me?!”
The voice paused for a second, as if taking a moment to ponder. “Why would I take your life? The forgotten were about to take yours so I took care of them.” It replied back carefully.
The boy’s eyes narrowed underneath his visor. “You were the one who made them run?” His voice held a hint of disbelief; it got a bit quieter. “But why save me?” He asked. The voice responded back.
“You follow a treacherous path to free an angel under its instruction. I’m on the same path as you to see him. You can lead me to Uriel.”
The boy remained silent, his breathing for the most part had steadied though his jaw dropped briefly. How did he know the angel’s real name? “You want to follow me?” He questioned. The voice hummed.
“I can ensure your protection in this barren land, in exchange you can give me information on what you know that can help the two of us. I keep you alive, and I get to talk to him.”
The boy’s mouth stayed shut, his mind played out his options. He knew nothing of this stranger, yet he knew of Uriel. The stranger resembled an angel sent down from the skies and speaks like one.
He’s thankful he gets to live another day, but some part of himself didn’t agree. The stranger he’s speaking to is an angel just like Uriel…so why does this man’s presence feel as if it does not belong to this world? The voice continued speaking.
“Of course, you don’t have to accept. I’m not going to get angry if you choose to decline. It’s natural for a child like you to be reluctant to give your trust in an environment barely suitable to survive in.”
In theory, he could say no and let him be on his way to go there. His enemies got scared off so he probably has a good headstart to continue walking to the direction of the tower. He shouldn’t be too far. Most likely it would have taken a day or two to reach it.
There are several problems to that however. If he went through with it, how would he know when the Forgotten would come back to finish the job? Where could he possibly hide from people after him in these lands? Or worse, he fails to free Uriel…the thought of being rejected by him is worse than perishing.
After a long moment of consideration, he nodded slowly. “What is your name?”
The boy could see the stranger’s figure better now up close. Uriel by his estimate was a head taller than him in his vision. This guy towered over the angel by several inches and wore similar clothes to him.
The stranger’s expression formed into a little smile; he extended his own slender hand to him.
“Gabriel.”
The boy accepted it and took his hand.