Did I stutter?

Mihael could fly but Sarveisa insisted on carrying him with her wings. They flew towards the capital.

"I thought most high angels lived just below the god zone-" Mihael said.

"You mean the royal zone-" She snickered. "Yes, however, I'm in the service of lord Xorax who happens to be a third-ranked god, thus we'd be spending time in his realm."

Every ranked god had a small realm of his own.

A world of sorts spanning hundreds of kilometers; somewhat akin to how mortal kings and emperors had kingdoms.

Even the lowest of lowest gods had at least a ten-kilometer radius worth of land.

"So, you said you wanted me as your disciple but what do you actually plan to do?"

The clouds were brimming with divine light. A little distracting but not uncomfortable. In fact, the temperature was just right.

"To tell you the truth, you're unique. Very much so. I've never encountered another being such as you. At first, I was merely curious. However, I truly believe- you have the potential to be a god."

"And you want to be favored by such a god, correct?"

"Yes. I have my own circumstances but once you reach godhood, I will need you to do something for me. And in return if you ask me to pledge my eternal loyalty to you, I shall do so."

"Quite confident, aren't you? And just saying such, is sacrilegious and yet-" He paused, snorting. "Very well. I shall award you with my word."

"That is enough." Satisfied, she nodded. "As for the first step, let's get you into the city and then assess you…"

They flew over the clouds-

The sky-

Below them- was clouds- and below the clouds- the mortal realms.

But in front-

The central- the Royal zone. Massive walls-

And inside those walls-

The city.

The Royal city of Asborn.

Led by the four Eternal Gods, Asborn was a city of dreams- at least to the angels.

And though the walls didn't really have much-

They did have carvings.

Carvings of gods creating mortals and giving them… life-

"Weren't mortals promised a place in heaven in the distant past?" Mihael said; in these two years, he didn't see a single mortal soul.

He'd read many books. But he never saw anything mentioning mortals-

Almost as though the knowledge had been purposefully erased.

"I'm not sure where you heard that from but yes, that was true. However, once we realized their greed ravaged their souls even after death, we've removed them from heaven and thus secluded them in the other side of this dimension. However, we do still train their heroes, in times of great need."

"Regardless, we must now enter through the gate?"

They could always just fly over the walls.

But-

There was a gate- a massive gate and judging by the guard angels there, it was evident-

They did indeed need to pass through the gate.

"My lady-"

Three guards.

Wearing light armor.

Black flowy hair, small wings.

Saluted, slamming their spears' hilts on the ground.

"I've returned and this is Mihael my new disciple. Would you mind opening the gates?"

"Disciple?" One of them said. "But… it's a lesser- my lady-"

"And so?" Sarveisa didn't glare but her voice did become slightly sharper.

The leader of the three cleared his throat. "Please wait just a minute my lady-" He moved closer to the gate- "Open the gates!" And shouted.

Moments later-

The gate- just- disappeared.

Revealing three more soldiers on the other side.

And a city-

The city of gods-

Asborn.

***

Angels walking, some flying, others just floating around.

Hard white ground- somewhat paved.

Houses, triangular.

Very, very bright.

But-

There something missing.

Something-

"No lesser angels live here, huh?" Mihael said, still in Saveisa's arms.

They were flying forward.

"Yes. Feel isolated?"

Almost all angels were just typical angels with high angels mixed in.

But so far, not a single lesser.

"Don't worry, if anyone dares to mock my lineage, I'll just ignore them."

"That's not what I-" Saveisa mumbled… "Rather, mature, aren't you?"

For a second there she got the feeling- he'd say- 'incinerate…' was it just her imagination?

"Not really. Torturing isn't as fun-" Mihael paused.

'Anymore? I used to torture?' he cleared his throat. "That aside- I'm guessing that big castle on that large cloud is our destination?"

The big castle being near the corner of the city and at least fifty or so kilos away.

"Yes…" Awfully confused and kind of intrigued but- for now- Sarveisa smiled and just flew.

***

Massive castle. At least a hundred floors. All white- with yellow windows and doors… on second glance- those were gold… and no, this wasn't the best castle of the royal zone… it was just 'one' of the castles….

And once there-

"Welcome to your new home."

Mihael didn't say a word.

Unnecessary.

Together they went in.

"Do we have to pay respects to Xorax?"

The floors were segregated by stairs and had open walls leading to the center of the castle.

The center being mostly empty for ten floors each with one platform at the top of every ten floors.

"Lord- Xorax…" Sarveisa corrected him. "Don't make that mistake again… and no. Unnecessary."

With that- Saveisa took him to the fourth floor and showed him his personal room. Definitely larger than the one back home- and quite empty at that too.

Leaving his things behind, Mihael went to the tenth floor with Sarveisa for one particular reason.

Namely-

"As I thought-" Saveisa said, holding the melon-sized white ball in her hand-

With that ball she was checking Mihael's aptitude.

They were in the center of the castle-

And the center had no ceiling till the 20th floor.

But it was surrounded by floors and rooms on all sides-

"If you put in the effort, you could easily be a low-tier god," she said.

Not only did Mihael have all sorts of affinity, but he was also gifted in innate arts said to have been lost for eons. Potential; limitless.

Some angels were around- awed.

Some were even clapping at the premonition-

"And?" Yet-

Mihael didn't show even an ounce of satisfaction.

"And what? You want more?" She said, puzzled.

A shrug. Mihael smiled. "What's the fun in being just a meager god when I can become-" Grin growing wider- eyes sharpening. "The best of the best!"

And he declared in one of the top god's houses no less…

"Really?" The voice came from above.

Flamboyant yellow hair- toned body- a teenager of sorts; shirtless.

He jumped-

Landed on his feet, with a meager thud. Dust flowing everywhere-

The moment he landed, the very air shook- his aura encompassed all-

'Definitely a god, that's for sure.'

"My lord-" Sarveisa bowed, as did every other angel around.

Mihael did not. He just stared. "Did I stutter?" A faint smile.