As Above so Below

Prologue : Fates Intertwined

Elyon stared up at Her, his eyes soft and boyish, childhood clinging to all of his features. She smiled at him, leaving Elyon euphoric.

"You, my creation, will be just perfect," She set her hand on his head, luminosity radiating from Her palm. "Do not fret, darling, it's just light," She promised, rubbing his blond hair.

He would be perfect for Her. His entire purpose was to obey Her and fulfill Her dutiful wishes. An angel's job was to serve their Lord, Her.

The skyspace they were settled in glowed brighter as She channeled energy into his body. She was blessing him.

—

Zuphlas gritted his teeth together as he was lured through the bland, colorless halls of heaven. Where was he going? It wasn't like there was any sightseeing to be done, and Zuphlas had only been an angel for a few centuries. He wouldn't be taken to a meeting at such a young age.

He contemplated asking the archangel who was taking him around, but Zuphlas didn't bother. It's not like someone of his class would be taken seriously anyway. The promises of strength hidden within the color of his wings only got him so far.

The archangel, Michael, he believes, has these loud black shoes that clack constantly against the floor. In the enclosed space, the sound has nowhere to go but bounce off the walls.

Zuphlas feels like covering his elf-shaped ears to escape the annoying sound. You'd think as angels they would be advanced, or regressed, enough to not use shoes. Maybe go back to the older days when they were simply depictions of light. It was way better than the disgusting, restricting clothes he was being forced to wear right now.

Don't get him wrong, though, because he thought the suit was stunning. He had on a blue vest engraved with silver patterns, leaving pretty designs that he couldn't quite make out. Perhaps they were just lines. Underneath, he wore a white long-sleeve shirt that had slight frills around the v-line of the vest.

It was a great fit, suiting his deep aquamarine eyes. One of the other new recruits, Evangeline, would always compliment them and say that Zuphlas had "eyes of the ocean".

The process of creating Earth had been an ongoing project for quite some time, and he and Evangeline had been invited to observe on account of the form. It was not close to done, not at all, but She had worked on the oceans. Big, huge masses of water formed the majority. That was the plan for now, based on what he had heard. The lesser angels such as himself weren't given that sort of inside information.

Zuphlas let out a startled grunt as Michael rested a hand on his shoulder. "We have reached your destination," Michael said, leaving no room for speculation before they explained. "Zuphlas, this is Elyon. Elyon has been under Her care for three decades, and is now being transferred to heaven grounds." Michael paused to drag their gaze over the young angel. "Zuphlas, you will be assigned to guide Elyon around to his daily duties."

"What?" Zuphlas spat, unable to keep his composure. "Why? I'm not even that old yet. Why can't you get Seraphina to do it?" Seraphina was an elder angel who frequently guided the new formations.

"Seraphina is assigned to the creation of Earth and is not to be bothered until further notice. Instructed by the Almighty Herself," Michael said courteously, but Zuphlas knew it was all an act. Michael was as corrupted as the rest of the archangels. Whenever the higher-ups thought that lesser angels like Zuphlas weren't looking, the archangels would gossip about all the good deeds they had accomplished that day.

It wasn't even like they were doing anything important. Zuphlas knew he could do tenfold in half the time. "Yada, yada yada, I made an island in the middle of the sea," like it would stick up. He had been hearing that natural disasters were going to be an addition to Earth to bring humans together.