2 Seraphiel

"Where am I?" David thought as he looked around, finding himself in an unfamiliar place. 

He realised he was not standing on a solid surface but floating in the air. He swung his arms around as if trying to swim as he travelled to a figure standing in the distance.

"So you are here", a melodious voice rang out as the figure turned around, revealing its existence to David.

"I am Seraphiel. The Moderator for the planet you once called home, Earth", she spoke in a monotonous tone. She snapped her fingers as David felt that the environment around him quickly changed. When he opened his eyes again, he stood on a green field with a table and two chairs in front of him.

"Please Sit", Seraphiel requested, and David quickly obliged. He picked up a cup of tea, which was so clean that he could see his own reflection in it.

"My appearance..." he murmured. The unshaven beard and rugged clothes were no more. Instead, they had been replaced with clothes available on Earth, and his face was clean again, revealing a handsome face.

"But why a nightsuit?" he asked,

"Uh-uhm", Seraphiel coughed. "Those were the only human clothes worthy of my presence. Those silky smooth clothes which make you sleep in an instant."

"She is definitely a weird one", David thought.

Seraphiel looked at him with a sharp gaze. "I can notice whatever you think inside my domain."

"Why didn't I die? I am sure that I killed myself in the explosion when I destroyed the mechanism controlling the territory", he asked Seraphiel, the Moderator.

"I brought you here before you could die. Everyone else, even Jason, was killed in the explosion.", Seraphiel said as she put the cup of tea on the table before looking at David.

"Why bring me here? I am just an Adept tier trash."

"We lost the Authority over Earth because you destroyed the Territory! You know what you have done!!" Seraphiel raised her voice as she snapped her finger again, and a screen appeared between David and her.

"Now that Earth has lost its Authority, Uriel and Axel have commanded all the forces under their moderation to attack Earth and take over any territory they can", she said as David looked at the screen.

The screen showed that a large-scale war had broken out between the humans and the Congress of Monsters. Dragons destroyed the most prominent guilds, while Elves and Vampires took over Territory for themselves. Numerous other races took part in the battle, wanting some territories. Goblins and Trolls created havoc across the street, killing any human they saw. Players tried to fight against them, but the sheer number of monsters was enough to bring down humanity.

David watched closely as Seraphiel showed her the outcome of his decision, which had led to the death of millions of humans.

"This is all happening because of you!" she said.

"Because of me? We both know that Jason would hand over all his territories to the Vampires in exchange for marrying the princess. But I get the blame because I destroyed the Territory?" David shouted.

Territories became a significant topic of discussion a few years after Earth had merged entirely into the ascended universe. Humans were given a chance to distribute these territories amongst themselves. Still, humanly, it led to large-scale wars, where Player guilds and other corporations fought for dominance over these territories.

The owner had complete control over their Territory and could build their kingdom with enough power. This was to allow the planets to evolve and further grow into higher powers, but it came with a catch. If invaders occupied majority of the territorial area, the planet would lose its authority. It would become a slave to the invaders.

Seraphiel, as the Moderator who looked over everything that went on Earth, knew that Jason would deflect sooner or later. 

"I tried to talk to him as well", she said. "I offered him any class or weapon he would want in return for pledging his allegiance to humanity."

"There is no way that horny bastard would settle for anything except a woman", David grumbled.

"Yeah. Jason wanted ... me. Maybe I could have saved everyone if I had sacrificed myself", she said sadly.

It was the first time that David truly felt terrible about her. He could feel the sorrow in her eyes. "Why is she trying so hard to save a planet we gave up on?" 

"Where did we go wrong?" Seraphiel asked David while looking at the screen.

"Ha hahaha", David started to laugh while holding his head, "I think about it daily. Where did it all go wrong? Was it when Tom took his own life? Or was it when I chose a class without thinking,"

"Why did you never ascend? You were one of the most promising players on the entire planet. You reached level fifty faster than Jason or anyone else", Seraphiel asked David. Being the Moderator for the planet, she wanted Earth to succeed, but she could never understand what happened to David.

"I don't want to talk about it", David muttered. 

David looked at Seraphiel and noticed that she was slowly turning invisible. "What is happening to you?" he asked.

"This fate awaits all moderators once their planet is taken over. I have to give up my powers to Uriel. That bitch will now be strong enough to ascend to an Archangel", she muttered.

David looked at her with pity, "Can nothing be done to save Earth now?"

"No, not in the present", Seraphiel sighed, her form becoming more translucent. She rose from her seat, walked towards David, and gently touched his head with her hand, "Before I disappear completely. Take this as my gift to you, " she said as David's system rang.

"Consider yourself lucky, or maybe this was the fate. Only time can tell", Seraphiel spoke, tears falling from her eyes.

"One more thing",Seraphiel muttered causing David to look at her.

"Tom didnt take his own life. He -", but before she could complete the sentence,she was completely erased from existence. 

"WHAT? COMPLETE IT!" David shouted on the top of his lungs, but there was no one to hear him. 

David was left all alone in the garden, and he noticed that cracks started to appear in the atmosphere. 

"Her domain must have started to lose effectiveness", he thought as he quickly opened the system to check what Seraphiel had gifted her.

He quickly opened the mailbox to find a message from her. He noticed that the world was falling apart and quickly clicked the message.

Suddenly, the entire world came to a standstill.

"What just happened?" he looked at his system and noticed it had turned all red.

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You have opened "an Angel's Parting gift."

You have obtained [ An Extra Life ]

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