Falling from grace with style

Pawn was shocked at the request she had received from her elder sister, to the point that she was only able to give a blank stare in response.

"Before you ask, Pawn, no, you didn't mishear me," Lumin, the person addressing Pawn, stated, ignoring Pawn's stunned silence.

She wore a golden vest, golden sandals, golden bracers, and a white, knee length skirt. Lumin also had a golden sword sheathed in a leather sheath at her hip. Her hair was a very light shade of gold, and was waist length.

Pawn wore the same outfit, though all of the gold items were instead made out of copper in her case, with the exception of her bracers, which were instead made of leather. Pawn's hair reached to her mid-back and was light copper coloured.

"I want you to deliver this box through the barrier at the edge of the demon territory," she continued, "I'll then direct you further from there using your communication crystal."

Lumin, like Pawn, was a celestial, a being born from raw spiritual energy. However, unlike Pawn, Lumin was created from, and thus governed over, the spiritual aspect of 'judgment.' She was a rank S, 'elder,' only 3 ranks away from becoming a literal god of judgment.

Pawn, on the other hand, was a celestial who governed over the aspect of 'support,' the act of helping others. She was also currently only at rank E, 5 ranks below Lumin, 'common' ranked in terms of rarity.

There was simply no comparison in terms of rank. And with the additional factor of combat-related aspects, like 'judgment' being highly respected, and support related ones being thought of as unnecessary for the mighty and warlike celestial race, Pawn had simply no choice to obey whatever task she was to be given, no matter how cruel or unusual it may be.

"It is a very important mission, so I'm entrusting it to you specifically," continued Lumin as she gently patted Pawn on the head.

She then grabbed Pawn's hand and forced the small brown parcel into it, ignoring her futile resistance.

Pawn stared momentarily at the cube-shaped object that she had just received, and then immediately began trying to think of ways to give it back.

...Eventually settling on trying to gain sympathy.

"I'm... just a supporter, you know," she said in the most pitiful sounding voice she could muster, "my aspect revolves around healing injuries and providing resources. I can't fight. What if I were to come across demons or something? I'd literally die."

As Pawn spoke, she looked towards a nearby, ominous-looking tunnel, the only nearby path to her potential destination, the demon realm.

It was formed into the base of a lush-looking, flower-covered hill, as if to make the tunnel seem even more foreboding via the contrast between the two.

On the other end of which, was the demon realm, home to all manner of demonic things that hated her kind especially. That was not the reason she didn't want to venture near said place, however. It was guilt.

A certain demon's smile as it sacrificed itself to save its children... it haunted her still... It had been the spark that had ignited her doubts and forced her from the fanatical path she otherwise might have followed if she had been able to maintain her resolve.

*Chop

Lumin gently 'chopped' her hand against the top of Pawn's head, drawing Pawn's attention back towards their current conversation.

"You can't claim to 'just be a supporter' only whenever it's convenient for you," Lumin said with a bit of coldness and accusation showing in her voice.

"I don't know what you talking ab-," began Pawn.

But she stopped when she noticed the mood of Lumin suddenly change. Lumin's aspect, judgment, had sensed the lie before Pawn had even finished speaking it.

"I am a celestial of judgment," she declared, her emerald green eyes glowing pure white, "do not lie in my presence!"

Lumin gripped the hilt of her sword as she spoke.

A long silence then ensued...

A moment later, Lumin seemed to realize her actions, her eyes quickly faded back to their normal colour, and she removed her hand from the sword's hilt.

"Ha... I'm sorry," she said quietly, "I can't blatantly go against my nature like you do.

Those words stung Pawn slightly as Lumin said them. There were very few things a celestial could do that would be considered to be 'incorrect', as most celestials believed themselves to be the very ones who governed what was 'correct' even meant.

The rules were, number one, being corrupted by foreign energy, as they would literally be forced to cease being a celestial if they were corrupted to a large enough extent.

Number Two, mating with a member of a 'lower' race, as the result of such a union would likely be a monster. Pawn had certainly not done this one as she had not yet even had an extended conversation with a member of another race.

Number three, betrayal or disobedience. Pawn was guilty of this one as well, but she knew it was not this that Lumin was referring to with her comment, as Lumin would have already killed her if that had been the case.

Number four, going against, or choosing not to enforce the aspect which a celestial governs over. Pawn had done this in abundance as well, so she knew it was what Lumin was referring to by default.

Pawn had recently been trying to 'twist' her support-based aspect do more than just what it was 'intended for, in secret of course.

She didn't trust her people very much anymore, and thus wished to support herself more, rather than them, so that she could rely less on those around her. It was not as if they wanted her support anyway.

This way of thinking was a rather taboo one among celestials, as, to most, the aspect was generally thought to be a part of the soul itself. To change it was thus considered pure blasphemy.

Pawn, however, didn't believe in such things. Even if it actually was the truth, it was still her soul, regardless, she felt she should be able to do as she pleases with it.

However, she hadn't known that Lumin was aware of her actions. That simple fact scared her more than any of those 'nonsensical' rules ever could.

Lumin, 'the loyal strategist,' they called her, she had once slain even her own elder sister, Iris, for violating a rule in the past. She was not someone you wanted to know any of your misdeeds.

"This will be just like one of your little... 'tests,'" Lumin continued as she took a step forwards. She had a cold smile that seemed to say, in big bold letters, 'do this, or else I'll tattle on you!'

"Won't you trust me?" She questioned, her emerald eyes staring into the light blue eyes of Pawn as she spoke.

There was only one answer Pawn could give.

In truth, there was no one she could trust even half as much as she trusted Lumin, other than herself that is.

"... Always," replied Pawn weakly.

Minutes later...

Pawn wore an old-looking, thick grey robe, which mostly the clothes she wore beneath it, as well as her hair and eyes.

"Haa..." she sighed as she took her first step through the barrier at the entrance of the tunnel. A rush of unpleasant feeling spiritual energy washed over her as she did so.

There would be a similar one at the other end of the tunnel as well. After which there would be no celestial energy available to her, only the energy of demons.

The tunnels between realms could be considered a type of natural phenomenon which, as their names suggested, directly connected different realms together, allowing both safer and more efficient travel between the two connected realms, whichever realms they may be.

That, however, wasn't really a good thing, the 'Bermuda triangle' of one particular universe being a good example of a 'bad' tunnel. Pawn had heard that it occasionally dropped those who passed by its entrance into the nether realm, the realm of Undead, death, and decay.

The tunnel Pawn was currently following, however, was a far more stable one than the Bermuda triangle had ever been, it was just a literal tunnel, pure and simple, without a single gimmick... other than the barriers at either end which demanded exponentially more energy to pass through in relation to one's rank.

This prevented those of a rank A or higher from passing through without essentially crippling themselves, thus preserving the balance of power between the realms.

Pawn proceeded further down into the darkness, a small light blue communications orb in her hand, roughly twice the size of a golf ball. It also doubled as a lantern in the darkness, and was currently Pawn's only connection to the celestial realm should something go wrong.

She held it tightly within her hands, as if fearing it would suddenly yank itself from her grasp.