The Angel of Frost

XVI.

Though immortal, Gabriel wasn't immune to stress.

Three visions plagued him at once in the throne room of Heaven: Glaucus, alongside Levi, commanding an army of demons to storm the fringes of Asraca; Jonah, foolishly provoking a deity's anger; and Hasuma, hopelessly lost, wading through the deserted, frozen streets of Namata with hungry eyes watching her every move.

The problems weren't his fault, yet he was the one expected to deal with all of them. He wondered how the Father could have endured his position as king of Heaven for millennia. Maybe his temporary absence was a vacation of sorts.

He steepled his hands and settled his chin on them as he wondered which of the three needed divine intervention the most. The two brothers were an obvious answer, though Gabriel knew even his power would be unable to purify them unless he had the Sanctus Domini. The book was nowhere to be found, and his frustration from its apparent immunity to his scrying added to his growing headache.

In a fight, if the need arose, the nymph had shown herself useful with her empathic and telepathic abilities, and her control of water was nothing to be laughed at. Hasuma would manage well against the cannibals who stalked her now.

That left Jonah, the grief-stricken farmer who had lost his family and his village to the corrupted winter spirits that had once served Hiames.

He peered deeper into the vision with the farmer, and noticed that while Hiames and Jonah were arguing, the corrupted spirits had crept up to the front door of Diana's hut.

As Hiames scolded Jonah for assuming the role of a judge, one of the spirits mustered the courage to ram the front door. It broke into pieces under the spirit's immense strength. 

Jonah was the first to react. He jumped backwards and turned, facing the door to the room. Seeing that nothing was there, at least not yet, he slammed it closed, hoping it would hinder the creatures' progress.

The monsters seemed hell-bent on claiming their prey, though, for with an unholy scream, they extended their fangs of ice and sped towards the closed door.

Within seconds, the door had been broken through, and Jonah, Hiames, and Diana were surrounded. There were three of them, all in all, and they seemed to hesitate as they eyed their former master, who was staring back at them with beady eyes.

Gabriel knew that Hiames was severely weakened by the unnatural winter. In fact, if it came to blows, Jonah would certainly win in a battle with the deity. The avian god wouldn't be much help against the creatures, even if he had once commanded them in the past.

So he decided to intervene.

He waved his hand, disippating the visions, and got up from the throne. He was absently wondering which way to enter the mortal world was the most spectacular as he created a gate to Earth in his hand.

*

"Look into their eyes, Jonah. Do you see what they were, and what they have become?"

Never taking his eyes off the monsters, Jonah replied, "I see only the latter."

Meanwhile, with trembling hands, Diana fished out a lustrous, emerald seed from one of her pouches. It glowed with lively energy, awating its freedom in the form of a flowery thicket.

Her teeth chattered as she muttered a few ancient words to stimulate the energy inside for release. She knew gambling for survival with a simple seed of life was pointless in a situation like this, but she didn't want to just stand there and do nothing as the creatures killed them. She didn't want to be a coward in her final moments.