Angelic Omen

Kingdom of Heaven

The Gateway to Heaven.

Not really a gate, but a portal. A bridge. A wormhole. A rip in the fabrics of time and space. Whatever you want to call it. It glowed bright white, yellow, and blue, the two saturated colors a pastel tint. The palette triad swirled in an almost mesmerizing, hypnotizing pattern, like a slow motion whirlpool.

Some would find it beautiful. A sight to behold.

I found it unsettling. Like an invisible set of eyes boring into me from the shadows, waiting for the slightest misstep, the slightest lowering of my guard, to swallow me whole.

My three tails twitched in anticipation, and I glanced back at Larux. He was standing behind me, his ever judgmental gaze staring after me.

"Just go through and find the capitol," Larux explained, "Shouldn't be hard to miss, but if you get lost just ask for directions. Once you're there, you have two weeks to at least join their army. Which I think is too much leeway, but I'm not questioning King Sornax. I'll be coming to check in on the mission every Saturday, in an alley half a mile due west of where you'll be staying."

I nodded. "Alright, then..."

"You let me down, Omen, and I will personally kill you."

"Reassuring."

I took a deep breath, and focused on the light. My tails melded into one, the red fluff at the ends turning white and feathered. My scaly wings grew feathers as well. I felt myself shrink a foot or two, and the weight of my horns disappeared. That was always the weirdest part, and I knew I'd feel lightheaded for the next half an hour because of it.

This was why I was chosen for this mission. Because I was the only one of my species with the ability to hide among the angels as one of them.

Taking one final glance at my home behind me, I stepped through the gateway into the light.

———

The sun's golden rays shone holes through my eyes as I stepped through to the other side, and I hissed slightly from the short-term pain. A weak pins-and-needles sensation spread throughout my whole body, accustomed to the dark depths of Hell. It would hurt for a bit, I knew, but as long as I remained in this form I shouldn't be physically injured by the sun's burning, ultra-violet light that I was all too sensitive to.

I blinked a few times as to adjust to the blinding light. I heard birds chirping in the green trees around me, whose rough, brown trunks branched up and out into the sky and dug deep below the surface with their roots. The bright green grass was soft under my feet, opposing to the blackened, dead flora of my home. The sky above was cornflower blue, with fluffy white clouds carried with the gentle breeze that ruffled my wing feathers.

I looked back at the bridge behind me, which now swirled with black and crimson instead of bright pastels. Honestly, I would have preferred to stay there. This place was too bright, too warm. I liked the cold, the dark and foreboding of my homeland.

I shook my head. I was here for a reason. I need to fulfill that reason. I'm the only one capable of it.

Turning away from Hell's entranceway, I pulled the hood of my cloak over my head and spread my wings, taking a running start before catching the wind and rising above the forest.

———

Like Larux had told me, finding the Angel capitol wasn't difficult.

The capitol city of Heaven, Norxentor, was a giant, grand city. The city itself was surrounded by a white stone wall that stretched high into the air and enclosed the great capital. Within were miles of homes, roads, and paths, the houses getting larger and more luxurious the closer to the center they were. And in that center was the castle - a larger-than-life palace with towers of the same white stone as the walls, and roofs made of silver and cobalt. A river wound it's way through it all, it's crystalline blue waters flowing with a gentle current through the middle of the city.

It looked like a utopia.

But I knew of the lies that lay within.

Knowing of the invisible field above the city to prevent aerial invasion, I landed at the entrance gates where multiple angels were standing guard. Two of them walked to me, and I didn't resist as they made sure I wasn't sneaking anything illegal in. Once they were certain that I wasn't smuggling anything within, they nodded me on into Norxentor's walls.

The city seemed bigger now that I was inside. Buildings lined either side of the street I now walked on, on which citizens walked and mingled among each other. Chatter and laughter came from the talking groups, cheerfully sharing news with their friends. I continued onward, ignoring their random friendly greetings as I walked past.

I was not here for them.

I ended up flying most of the way to the castle in the city's center, seeing that it was much too far to travel simply by foot. I landed in the square, not far from the castle's entrance. It was much busier in this part of town, for it was where most merchants stopped to sell whatever goods they profited from. Those merchants' shops where lining the streets, offering whatever they had for sale to random passerby as they went. Still I continued on, towards the castle gates.

The river that flowed through the capitol, the Norxentorian river, circled around the castle. A bridge was built to cross it, with a strong, sturdy wood I didn't know the name of. Across it was a neat cobblestone path that lead farther along all the way up until I stood in front of the castle gates. The door was an arching shape of the same material as the bridge I had just crossed.

Standing at the door were two guards with spears. They stopped me at the door, their strict gazes meeting mine.

"Who are you and why have you come?" One of them asked me.

I put my hands up in submission. "Relax, you two. My name is Inarix Farisee. And I've come to join your army."

The angel that had spoken seemed to relax a bit. He exchanged glances with his comrade before turning back to me.

"Very well, then. Let's see what King Montelor has to say about this," he said. He motioned for me to follow him, and his companion opened the door. I knew he would stay behind. There's always at least one guard at the main gate. I followed the angel into the castle, and the other closed the door as we stepped inside.

———

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