east of eden | (g)i-dle

31; minnie

cw // mentions of "lucas" wong yukhei. while i don't know enough about his scandal to take a stance, i acknowledge that mentions of him may be triggering to some.

please remember that this is work of fiction taking place in a fictional universe, and while this character may share his name and likeness, he is separate from our reality.

"they won't find us here," mark said, swinging the library doors shut. "entry to the library has been restricted. only her majesty and i are allowed in here right now, and she's asleep."

"why?" minnie wondered, wandering the looming shelves of scrolls. other than the light of a candelabra on one of the cluttered tables, the library was completely dark.

"you probably can't tell, but Heaven is uneasy." mark's face was hard and solemn, a far cry from the joyful, joking mark that minnie remembered. "things aren't good right now."

"and how so?" mark flinched as soyeon stepped out of the shadows, her eyes glowing slightly in the dark. despite his earlier bravado, it was evident that she still freaked him out. "you said you'd be bringing us to the dungeons, but here we are."

"i have a reason!" mark quickly replied. "a saint would be checking in on them about now. besides, you two weren't going to break yuqi out the moment you got in there, right? that would be incredibly risky. i'll bring you later, at a safer time."

"a group of mostly-demons broke into Heaven," minnie retorted. "risky is kind of our thing. also, Heaven being uneasy?"

"i've been getting strange feelings recently. visions, dreams, the like." mark leans back on one of the tables, arms folded. "usually, those aren't a big deal. most angels get those whenever things happen to their line of duty. one of the fledgelings, lia, fainted recently due to an antagonistic force coming from hers: promises."

for reasons minnie couldn't put a finger on, something inside her felt a little bit proud at the mark's words.

"but i'm the embodiment of prosperity," mark continued. "prosperity doesn't just look like this." he gestures at his clearly exhausted self. "promises are a human concept and can be influenced to be broken more frequently with the rising of an opposing spirit, but prosperity? you can't just ruin prosperity."

mark hurried to the table with the scrolls laid out on it. "prosperity isn't one concept, it reflects the general state of all other good things, like growth, or love. if i'm taking a hit, it means that something's countering all those other things at once, and judging from the results from our researchers on earth, it's a bigger threat than the usual demons alone. uh, no offence-"

minnie raised her hand. "researchers?"

mark replied. "we sent a group of easily replaceable angels down to earth under the guise of bringing back the guardian angel system."

easily replaceable? minnie frowned. but shuhua was one of the guardian angels!

"so you think shuhua's easily replaceable?" minnie exclaimed as she stood up from one of the chairs she'd been sitting on and heard it scrape loudly on the ground. mark winced.

"look, i didn't come up with that idea or the list. it was all her majesty, i didn't have a single say in this!"

minnie ignored him. "you sent shuhua, the future queen, down to earth, knowing that there was a chance that she wouldn't make it back alive?"

there was a faint rustle to her side, and minnie turned to see soyeon's face harden slightly, her arms crossing over each other.

she turned her focus back on mark. "i just said that i didn't, the one who was in charge of this whole thing was her majesty only! even yukhei didn't want to send them down, but she made him sign the dotted line!"

"and if i were to believe you," minnie folded her arms, "what knowledge did you gain of this threat that could allow the risking of shuhua's life?"

mark looked nervous. "well-"

"and how do you know if Hell isn't behind this threat?" soyeon asked as she leaned against a table and rested her chin on her entwined fingers.

"i don't!" mark said, sounding distraught. "i don't know much about any of this! i just knew from looking at the stats that there was something off that i had to look into. some other angels had the same idea and wanted to examine all the records in the library but then miyeon declared it to be shut."

"alright, then." soyeon closed her eyes, looking just as intimidating as she did when minnie first saw her despite the faintest trace of a smile that tugged on her lips, and minnie gulped. when she opened them, the strange glow had dimmed slightly. "but tell me, mark, why the perfect timing? why do you appear just when we need you, knowing too much and too little at the same time? you're sloppy, mark." soyeon chasticed, checking her clawlike nails like they're more important than the archangel she was speaking to. "or should i say, yeji."

a sigh reverberated from all around them, and mark slumped forward like a puppet whose strings had been cut. you got me.

minnie took an unsteady step back. "what?"

"what?" the disembodied voice parroted, mimicking minnie's tone exactly. next, you're probably going to ask something along the lines of "who are you?" or "what are you?". why do you always have to know?

minnie shook her head, baffled. the voice seemed not to come from any direction in particular, but all around her. "wh-"

again with the questions! you didn't even bother to answer me, did you? the voice sighed again. demons these days ask so many questions.

"that's enough," soyeon cut in. "get to the point, if you even have one."

boo hoo, the voice said without the slightest trace of sadness. you're no fun. but have it your way then, jeon soyeon.

"excuse me?" minnie began to ask, clearing her throat, but the words didn't manage to be spoken before the entire world faded into darkness.