file type: EMPYREAN'S TEMPO

Prologue

The languid fluttering of crooked wings' could be heard throughout the small sanctuary, it is considered one of the most defining features of all cherubim and seraphim since ancient millennia, their historical trademark, and would continue to be so. Lest evolution allowed for another contender to develop such physical and magnificent characteristics.

Teriyaki thought they were more of a nuisance, if anything. For guardian angels, they served less of a purpose as they couldn't be effectively used in providing quality of life improvements; instead, they remained in the hidden crevices of their disguise as they assimilated into the mortal society for academic progression, their wings waiting to be released.

Their visible absence didn't negate the phantom growing pains they underwent, either. It was just another reason added to the list of a million reasons as to why Teriyaki wasn't appreciative of his unique features. Along with the thought of how having wings are useless for his line of work, anyways.

When going to the mortal realm, guardian angels are given special forms to shift into, legitimizing their status as a human and abandoning any traits that could expose their supernaturality. Humans discovering the angelverse could pose as detrimental to their plan, which the Sapient Academics disclose. Not that humans could really do anything about that fact, if they were to find out, Teriyaki recalled one Academic saying, it would just be a bother having to explain something impossibly seen.

Teriyaki deemed that as a good enough reason, and besides, guardian angels exist to subtly help humanity collectively. Directly stating their purpose, who and where they come from, along with the centuries upon centuries of angelverse history wouldn't exactly help further that process of purifying them for the Angel's Standard of Humanity. A checklist of what humankind should strive to be, and yet, they were nowhere near close to perfection. They needed the help of guardian angels and their institutions to provide them the correct path with the correct choices, but even then, there was still much work to do and little to ease the tired wings of the angels.

The sun was beginning to set behind the sanctuary, and Teriyaki was starting to grow impatient as he had waited calmly all day for his next assignment. His next task before he could be considered a truly bonafide and certified guardian angel, moving him up on the hierarchy they have established.

The final task for guardian angel internship is to live with humans, in a learning environment. To study them, their relations, their thought processes, their individuality up close – only professional guardian angels could continue to interact with the mortal realm in this capacity, and Teriyaki wanted that more than the world. It was the pinnacle of success in his designated field of study. Even if he didn't personally choose this path, he was given it for a specific reason, and he would outshine everyone else and leave shame on those who thought of him with indifference.

Finally, at that moment, his master, a Sapient Academic, beckoned him to come forward, to which he complied. Although he couldn't see his master, he understood the voice to be coming from the quaint temple confined in the sanctuary. A temple where guardian angels – Teriyaki's predecessors' souls resided. A temple where he didn't want to shame his ancestors and lineage.

Walking towards the temple, he felt the hurricane tearing through the skies of his insides, destruction and anxiety pouring out through the cracks. He had been nervous before, but not to this degree of almost passing out.

It's not even anything bad, this is stupid, Teriyaki tried rationalizing his thoughts as he began to make entry. He may have managed to clear his mind by counting down numbers, but that didn't stop his skin from boiling and bubbling all over. Subconsciously, he knew how difficult these internships are. Not everyone can be a direct guardian angel, and instead lurk in the shadows of delicacy; but Teriyaki had to be different. He had to integrate.