After the cataclysmic event, Bael and Halo stood amid the chaos they had wrought, their partnership fractured beyond repair. Halo's face was twisted with anger and regret as he glared at Bael, who was still trying to play it cool despite everything.
"You tricked me," Halo spat, his fists clenched. "All of this—heaven, the fall, the end of the world—you were just using me for your own gain."
Bael sighed, attempting to keep his tone calm, though there was a hint of desperation. "It wasn't like that. We can still fix this—"
"Fix this?" Halo interrupted, his voice rising with disbelief. "We ended the world, Bael. The more we try, the more we break!"
Around them, the remnants of their catastrophe continued to rain down from the sky. Shattered halos fell like burning comets, crashing into buildings and trees, setting the landscape ablaze. The air was thick with smoke and panic as people ran screaming, trying to dodge the falling debris. Fires spread indiscriminately, reducing structures to rubble, while others simply burst into flames as halos tore through them.
But to Bael, the scene of destruction felt disturbingly familiar, almost like another day in hell. He stood still, unfazed by the madness surrounding them. Despite the havoc, Bael pressed on, stepping closer to Halo.
Halo turned away, watching as another halo shattered through a nearby building, sending people scattering in all directions. The absurdity of it—the sheer destruction and the frantic, almost comical way people tried to outrun the inevitable—made him want to laugh and cry at the same time. But all he felt was a dull, aching sense of defeat.
As the chaos raged on, the sky above began to glow with an eerie, intensified brightness. The ground trembled beneath them as a celestial event unfolded in the heavens—this was the rapture. Worthy souls were being pulled upwards, leaving trails of radiant light as they ascended, leaving behind the chaotic and burning world below.
Halo and Bael watched in silence as the divine spectacle unfolded, the air charged with a mix of awe and dread. The sky continued to pulse with light, growing brighter until the second trumpet sounded, a deafening roar that cracked through the heavens like thunder after a flash of lightning.
The very earth seemed to groan in response, the atmosphere thickening with the weight of the divine judgment that followed. The panic among the people reached a fever pitch as they screamed and scattered, desperate to escape an inescapable fate.
Halo, his heart heavy with the weight of all that had happened, finally turned to face Bael. The anger that had once flared in his eyes had dimmed, replaced by a resigned weariness. His voice was low and hoarse as he spoke.
"What's your plan?" Halo asked, his gaze locked on Bael.
Bael, standing tall amidst the destruction, met Halo’s eyes with grim determination. The flicker of mischief that had once defined him was gone, replaced by a steely resolve.
"Exterminate the root of evil."
