Chapter 20

  Reunion

  Part Two

  After trying various unsuccessful manoeuvres, she finally caught sight of one of the elusive black angels. She charged at him with orbs intending to melt him. But the angel disappeared right before the impact, and upon turning towards a static sound, a golden light hit her chest, followed by an angel holding a spear.

  She took hold of the spear and swung her leg to kick the angel, but he dissolved into smoke with the spear. A warm sensation wrapped around her hand; it turned out to be particles barging into her SL, resembling a virus or bacteria, prepared to engulf her. The black angels destroyed all the waterspouts she had created to protect herself from surprise attacks.

  “In the twilight of your deeds, the angels weep for the soul that chose shadows over light,” a deep voice announced from the depth of darkness.

  “What? Who, who is it? What shadow?” The thick black liquid falls on her, leaving a sticky residue on her arm to destroy her SL, but still struggled for an entrance.

  “Your sins echo through the entire cosmos.” There was no source of voice.

  Another batch of liquid fell on her, and it was flammable.

  “As the curtain fall on your mortal act, hear the angel’s plea for a repentant finale.”

  The closeness of the voice startled her, as if the person was right beside her.

  “In the celestial realms, a profound transgression echoes—a life extinguished, a paragon of virtue lost,” the voice continued. Sparks of golden fire fell upon her. “The sacred guardian, bearer of responsibility for myriad lives, now departs, leaving a wake of sorrow upon the countless who entrusted their destinies to its divine wings.”

  “Just shut up!” As the fire spread, it rushed the process of SL destruction. She dived into the ocean. Her eyes expanded over the view of waterproof fire.

  The feeling of being submerged in water was far more terrifying than being outside, surrounded by the suffocating black smog. But the voice of the angels stopped. Before charging at the nearest one, she observed subtle ripples and swirls in the ocean’s bed. “What is he hiding down there?”

  Water doesn’t extinguish the fire, but it enhanced the SL’s capacity to manage the invading force. Black angels attempted to contaminate the water, but their efforts were unsuccessful.

  “Then let’s fight water!”

  The pressure she felt from black smog has been lifted, and so does the dizziness. Even though she had regained her agility, they continued to burden her. Eight against one. One with little to no features.

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  “Where the hell are those whales?” The ocean appeared devoid of life, with an eerie stillness that made even the natural elements seem artificial or man-made.

  A thought of all this being nothing but a fake war created by none other but Yajvan himself for her to learn to face adversities and overcame it brushed her mind. “It can’t be. This would be way over his budget, but-but-but.”

  The idea of looking at the footage of the land only reinforced her belief that there was no sign of life beyond the crumbling infrastructure. “Unless there are hidden bunkers. No way. I was right. It’s all fake. There’s no war. All these angels are his invention for the test.”

  She approached Darsh with no sign of harm. But they didn’t lower their guard. “Darsh, tell me honestly, are you all created by Yajvan?”

  With a swift strike, Darsh’s sword released a piercing energy that sliced through her arm, leaving a visible cut.

  “I am trying to talk! Oh, I get it. You can’t fall out of your character.” She scanned them hundreds of times just to find a single clue hinting to them being a Sevavann’s product, but there was none. And all she got from this treaty were several deep wounds that thumped with intense pain.

  “Why the hell would you attack a dwarf planet?” Manya continued. “I know it has a cool lifestyle, with all amenities. It doesn’t even have much of a population.” She learned the reason of why angels weren’t responding. Their mouths were—sealed.

  ‘Ms., it’s not an act. They have really invaded the planet.’

  “Vega?” she had completely forgotten about her. “How are you? Are you ok?”

  ‘Yes, Ms. But I am still in between the healing process.’

  Manya sighed and instinctively dodged a spear. “I am talking!” she took a shot at the angel’s head with point blank, but he avoided it with little effort. Before long, she was playing tag with the angels.

  “Vega, will you do one thing for me?”

  ‘Yes, Ms.’

  “Kill me!”

  ‘I have already told you. AIs aren’t capable of killing humans or the one they serve.’

  “It’s better to get killed by you than by these bulky mosquitos! And the one who was supposed to protect this land is nowhere to find. Probably enjoying my torture while slurping coffee somewhere!”

  ‘He isn’t relaxing.’

  “What do you mean?”

  Manya received a ping of location. It was situated right at the heart of the north pole of the planet. As she zoomed in, her skin erupted in tiny, raised bumps, combined with a shiver, danced down her spine. Dozens of celeriots in space, raging fire at one target. He was standing and eating ice cream?

  “But why the hell he isn’t doing anything? He can easily destroy them, right?”

  ‘No one but he himself can answer it, and every native, including me, is confused regarding current events, and most importantly. Why you are the focus of everything?’

  “The question I have been asking since the beginning, why me?” The irritating, unerasable black smog surrounding her disappeared. “But you know what confuses me more? Why are they attacking at him? If they know that none of it will work?”

  ‘Ms. You shouldn’t have said it out loud.’

  She glimpsed Yajvan’s smile. “He-He’s listening to our conversation. It was him who cleared the smog to liven up his event, and I am sure that in mere seconds, all those fat ships will drop on me! Vega! I command you to end him after my death!”

  ‘Sorry Ms.’

  “I don’t even have a single friend to avenge me.” She faked a sob. “And I saw a friend in a heartless, selfish robot who can’t even risk herself for her owner. Excluding your recent piercing.”

  ‘Your emotions are showing that you are currently performing the act of manipulation.’

  “I hate this world! I want to go back home!”

  The celeriots arrived and began attacking her, aiming to trap her and limit her movements, providing a prime chance for black angels.

  “Where’s mamu?” Atharv was nowhere to be seen. Her weapons and orbs now proved useless against the massive fleet. Despite their grief, the angels hummed a chilling melody that carried a sense of awaiting doom.

  A blinding white light emerged from the ocean, engulfing everything around her. She glimpsed hundreds of ariots—not projections—dashing towards celeriots. Within moments, a cacophony of destruction, collisions, explosions and powerful gusts of air greeted her. However, the fragrance of the ocean lingered.

  “I have never seen angles obsessed over a human,” Atharv said.