Never Let Go [Hiatus]

Part I, Chapter 7-Hope

It was her 7th day in the Library when Theliel found an old book of records, heavily dog-eared and yellowing at its pages. She blew off a thick layer of dust and patted the covers, revealing the tittle embroided in gold. " A Record Of Heaven-God And Angels " She carefully turned the cover. The book was so old it was already crumbling and falling apart, the pages crackling with each turn. She saw a portrait of her family with everyone sketched ever so elegantly and majestically. She did not know who the artist was, nor did she remember posing for it.

Throughout the book were detailed records and descriptions of each of them- from the time they were little angels to the mature archangels they have become. For once, she smiled as she flipped through the pages. And then it dawned on her. This was a magic book, one that will automatically update itself with the events in Heaven. 

A thought struck her. Frantically, she turned to the last page and sure enough, a sketch of Aphaleon in The Rings Of Fire stared back at her. Below the sketch was a caption ' The First Fallen', with the adjacent page describing the week's events- how Aphaleon fell and the fight in the Promised Gardens. Fingers trembling with anticipation, she turned to the next page, her hopes raised once more. She just needed one sentence, no- maybe even a word, that can give her a clue on how to revert her brother. And this book, with its attention to details and events, seemed promising.

Empty. The blank page stared back at her in mockery. She flipped over to the next page. And the next. But there were only pages of empty spaces awaiting to be filled with new information. Her heart sank and she let out a stifled sob. That's it? So the fall of her brother was worth only two pages? And the book was not going to tell her how to save him? She looked at the sketch once more, willing the picture to tell her more. She traced the lines with her finger, taking the moment to remember that simple game she used to entertain Aphaleon with when they were younger. They would make out shapes from almost everything -from the clouds to random doodles on paper, and weave a story with the things that they saw.

I see a crown, fangs, a claw... Theliel subconsciously processed the sketch of angry flames. She was about to close the worthless book in frustration and resignation when an odd string of symbols caught her eye. They did not correspond to any of the thousand languages she knew, and judging by the looks of it, Theliel guessed that it was one of the ancient languages she was too lazy to learn.

The symbols were so indigenously blended into the artistic strokes of the paintbrush that no one would notice the hidden message amidst the picture it was meant to portray.

Theliel banged the book on the table and scrutinized the fire around Aphaleon closely, intently making out the symbols. Grabbing a piece of paper and a nearby feather-pen, she copied the symbols carefully, excitement building within her.

Suddenly, everything seemed clear to her. She now understood why her past research was futile, why they kept saying that there was no way, why they had asked her to give it up. It was not that there was no way, but Aphaleon was the first to fall. It was the first time an archangel had fell. How can the books tell, and how would the others know, of a solution to a problem that had never existed?

Aphaleon... almost there... just hang in there a little longer...

It took Theliel a few more hours to identify the precise language by corresponding the symbols against the few possibilities she suspected. Finally, as she painstakingly translated each letter, the decoded message read 'One who has fallen may not remain the same for eternity. A fallen may rise again, albeit with a million-fold sacrifices and difficulty, for love is something that is hard to understand.'

She read and re-read the message, her vision becoming blur from tears of joy. Her hand quivered with happiness as she gripped the paper so tightly it crumpled under the pressure. I did it.. I DID IT! She let out a celebratory squeal. Abandoning the books in their untidy mess, she hurried to see her father.

'FATHER! I FOUND A WAY TO SAVE APHALEON!' Theliel screamed as she flew straight into his working chambers, not bothering to land or ask for permission to enter. And as God listened to her babble, he sounded the horn for an emergency meeting.

Her four siblings gathered promptly, wondering what the crisis was. It was rare for their father to call for such meetings in the middle of the night. The last time he did it was when the demons broke through the barrier separating the living from the afterlife. Luckily for them, God had considered that possibility during the erection of the barrier and had it located deep within the cold mountains. It had bought the angels time to fight and drive the demons back into their hell-hole before significant damage could be done.

Again, Theliel went into a lengthy recount of her research, stopping a few times to catch her breath.

'And so, I decoded the message!'

'One who has fallen may not remain the same for eternity. A fallen may rise again, albeit with a million-fold sacrifices and difficulty, for love is something that is hard to understand.' they read in unison.

'Okay...? But how is that going to help? He has already been taken over by darkness and we can't even approach him without him lashing out,' Remiel asked, confused.

'So... with his current state, it's quite impossible to gain access to him both physically and emotionally. How are we going to teach him about emotions and love?' someone added.

'Can he even learn it in the first place? I mean, sure we can try to teach him with him attacking and going berserk at us and all. But, it won't get in here...' Dayne expressed, tapping his head with a finger.

Theliel's eyebrow twitched. Yeah... I hadn't thought of that. I must be a genius.

God smiled and sighed.

'Now now children. There are simple ways of doing things. If you think about it, Aphaleon was consumed by the darkness of mortals'

'Yah...?'

'If hate, despair, anger, sorrow and vengeance were born there, don't you think love, happiness, courage, faith and hope will also reside there?'

'So you're saying ...' the angels trailed off and looked at one another with new found comprehension.

'Aphaleon will have to start from scratch. As a human.'

Author's Note 

Hi guys! So this will be the last chapter of part I!

And you guys can finally see Madara woohoo~~ Just give me two or three more chapters to bring him in smoothly:)

Phew! I put in so much effort in writing this chapter, practically racking my brain on how Theliel would find the solution coz honestly, I didn't have a clue hehe. I thought I had to portray the apparent futility and difficulty in finding it. And that the solution must appear in a very subtle way. Basically I was like digging my own grave and then jumping into it. I was so freaking tempted to take the easy way out. Just let her find it in some old archives. But I pulled through (at least I think I did). Thank God for that eureka moment where the idea just popped up in my head. Maybe you guys would be like- OMG! You're so stupid! But still... *Pat in the back*

I really hope you guys are enjoying the story so far! So.. drumroll... here's the chapter XD

Happy reading! And remember to vote and comment hehe or better add to your reading list woohoo!

see ya soon dattebayo!