Paradise End

6 - Present

Captain Heze leaned forward in her chair, gazing at the coppery tinted locket sitting on the mahogany coffee table. She reached her hand out, hovering above the tiny piece of jewelry waning under dim daylight. She picked it up, white gloves passing over its surface.

Raz watched Heze's stare narrow and squint. Although relatively normal from his perspective, he couldn't help but notice the way Nashira's face paled when looking at it. "There's a small crow embedded on the front. It's tinted, but still, for the most part, fully intact. Tell me, why is this being brought to my attention?"

"Because it's the only trace left of any existence in the Rigel district."

Both of their gazes snapped to Nashira in alarm. "W-What?" Razael uttered. "But 200,000 souls live peacefully there—"

"Yes, and 20,000 angels. You heard me correctly." Nashira nodded her head, "Earlier this week, my team received an anonymous tip from a seraph guarding the east exit in the Rigel district that a neighbor had reported suspicious activity in the apartment above them. While I admit, at first, I thought nothing of it; the business of restless lost souls is their business. How they decide to reach the top is up to them, noise complaints were the least of our concern. But when we were reflecting on the graph outlaying the city, we noticed something off about the Rigel district. Nothing showed up on our radar. No sentient life; no souls, no cherubs, no seraphs, not even animals."

Captain Heze set the locket back on the table, catching Raz's eye. The emblem of the landing crow gleamed back at him.

"When I sent a scout to go investigate..."

Raz looked over to Nashira. What? Her shoulders seemed tense, shaking with the weight of a thousand boulders, her face contorting in quiet. When was the last time I saw her this close? This close to looking so... human.

Stormy oblivion skies shadowed his mind. The sight of brown-golden wings fading in twilight, emerald hues plaguing the storms and thunder beyond. Tephra coalescing piece by piece, refracted glass piercing.

"The only person left was the guard on the watch tower near the exit. There was nothing. Captain, all traces of their life. It's gone. Not even their auras remain – just a little locket we found near the fountain in the square. The belongings are all still there, making it look like all the souls in Rigel just got up and left. There one day and gone the next." She kneeled, her head hanging. "I wish I could say we knew what we were doing in that square. Looking at all the remains of what used to be. But nothing remained. This has the work of a monster painted all over it."

Captain Heze lifted her chin, "You think this was foul play then?"

"Yes, sir. One of the guards at the East Exit had reported recent abnormal activity near the gates."

"Go on."

"Movement in the forest. According to the guard, one of them had fallen asleep on the job a few days prior unexpectedly. To anyone else this might sound perfectly understandable, but when recounting said guard's previous history, this seems a little suspicious. But I'd say the most alarming detail was what they found the morning after they found the guard asleep on the tower—the gates were wide open."

Captian Heze slammed her fists and tea plate on the table, "What!? Why didn't anyone report this!"

"Goodwill, I assume."

"I've always said downgrading would really help the quality of work around here. How are these people on our payroll again?" Razael pitted, narrowing his gaze at the locket. Two-hundred thousand souls. Gone. Could there be such a thing?

"It doesn't matter!" Heze barked, "I'm not about to play the great mouse detective because of one guard's carelessness, but even I can smell the stink on this. No one messes with my district." Her voice growled, "Ever. Were there any traces of demon at the sight?"

The room flinched at the mention of the word demon, Raz's invisible wings hunching closer to his form. "We couldn't tell. The evanescence in the air was too dense. My team and I grabbed the locket to study and decided to report back to you with this information we found. Do you think this could be a sign of a breakout?"

The Captain folded her hands, staring at the locket with such an intensity Raz wondered if the accessory might set on fire. Red, hot, and bright. Waving, teasing, complimenting the sound he heard now every time he glanced at it. Dark, and thick, just looking at the locket he almost thought he could hear a faint sound. Too faint, too inaudible to completely make out. An awful, awful, awful sound, gripping his chest. The sound of distanced high-pitched screaming.

"Could be," said the Captain, "But we're gonna need a bit more proof before we assume the worst." She turned to Nashira, "All souls in Purgatory may be lost in some way. Broken, hurt, moving on from their last life by the mere light of our magic. To harness the portal of life at the top requires immense value per soul, and what could equal the toll but the dreams or memories they carry?" The Captain leaned forward, "Some try to find the portal on their own. Some try to make their own way up the mountain. Without our help. I suppose that in itself is fine. But this... could this be the makings of a soul trying to make it up without us? Who could possibly have the power to make two-hundred thousand souls and twenty-thousand seraphs disappear from existence?"

The Captain stood, Raz rising as she did. "It may be nothing, it may be everything. Whatever the answer is, I have no taste for the chaos. Any other bounties you two were planning on collecting today will have to wait. I want this taken care of now. I want to know immediately who is responsible, if anyone, for this wanton destruction in my streets. Those are my orders. Investigate, whatever is necessary, do it."

They nodded in unison, bowing before heading towards the door. "Oh, and both of you," She called, "Use caution."