Golden wings

Chapter 58 - Prelude

After a satisfied huff, he sat down strongly. His eyes contemplated the mist below, and it began to twist, it began to part... The abyss was granting a vision; until another groan echoed and broke his focus.

Angus slowly looked down, to the guard on who he had sat on. The idiot was still squirming and trying to hit him, even if he had given him the beating of his life. That one was the only one who still resisted, on the top of the huge pile of wings, tangled limbs and dented armors, which they would make him repair later, for sure.

He rolled his eyes with annoyance, and then he lifted up a little his hammer in the air, by its handle. The guard let out a loud yelp when the tool fell onto his helmet, making him shut up efficiently, thanks to gravity, which did all the work.

Angus grumbled under his braided black beard and jumped down the pile of guards, to sit on the edge of the void. He waited patiently, to be able to look down the abyss in peace, to see his nephew.

A year...

He had let go, knowing he would never be able to take his dear nephew back home. He had let go, because he realized that Alexis did not want to kill that demon. He let him go, hoping that he would have a peaceful life down there. He had seen his amber eyes... and no one knew what those glances meant more than him.

He trusted in fate; but he still bowed to come back here and look down, every year.

Now here he was. He took a deep breath, knowing that anything could have happened. He had wanted to leap; but if he had done so and risked his own life, Alexis would have never forgiven him. His nephew had always been altruist and selfless.

He opened his eyes again. And with no one to stop him... he looked through the black abyss. The abyss looked back. The mist began to twist again, to show him what he most wanted.

The angel's heart skipped a beat when he discerned the outlines of a forest, in the hazy blackness. Little by little, the vision became clearer, even if not entirely. His eyes narrowed and brightened at once, because he finally saw what roamed between tall trees.

He saw thre- No, four figures.

Angus saw them there, walking through dense woods, following a long and small path in the shadows. There was a very tall demon; Alexis' demon. There was a human; an angel hunter, who rode on the back of a huge wolf without tail.

He knew. He did not fear or hate their presence, because he was seeing his nephew again. Alexis was walking willfully between them, while a cape trailed behind him. He had a bright smile on his face, while he followed his demon closely.

Angus felt a smile slowly grow on his own lips as well, seeing that he was still alive, still safe. He felt relief, until he had a sudden thought.

The blacksmith leaned forward sharply and slammed his hands down; he frowned and tried to have a closer look.

That cape...

His jaw dropped, seeing something that would haunt him forever.

"...Alexis...?"

He could not hear him. He shuddered, because he realized that there was nothing bulging under that cape, that there were no wings hidden below it. The soft wind that brushed Alexis' blond hair was revealing his back; the cape was flowing behind him.

Angus' voice quivered for the first time in a century, because he could not see any trace of those golden feathers.

"W-what happened to you, lad?"