Angel - 5

His hand ghosted through the air, the sword at his side flaying the enemy in front of him, a silent cry to the gods, that his fate was not fair. Then a final death where he lay on the ground, merely watching as the blood poured from his neck.

Regretting the actions he had taken, not that he had done them, but that they forced the angel's hand.

A fluttering of white washed over him, feathers brilliantly glowing a pure white, his last sight. 

Gabriel turned to the side, barely even acknowledging the man's struggle. 

A ghostly gust fluttered through the air, an impassive face, filled with beauty and nothing more. She kneeled down and grabbed the key from the man's hand.

It was only then that she rose, her black hair fading into the dark as she too did, then with a jerk of her hand, threw the key to the angel.

He caught it with a deft hand, crouching and turning the key to the floor. A symbol made of multiple parts and circles appeared, creating a magic that could be unlocked only by the key he held.

It lit for a moment searching, then dimmed as it found the code it was looking for.

Opening it revealed a quiet dark, torches serving to only further contrast the dim hallway. Gabriel jumped down, disregarding the steep stairs.

Feet echoed across hollow steps, following the angel in his journey down the halls. Into the dark corridor and through the empty cells.

Each one of them holding blood and tools that seemed to grow more horrid the further they went. 

'It was about time,' Gabriel thought, letting his steps fade to unconscious thought as he dug through his cloak.

To describe the main scenario would be one of a scavenger hunt. Of ten keys, all placed in places of importance. Whether that was the kings throne, a vault in the depths of hell.

Or in the most sacred of items. It was a scavenger hunt of the highest order. But to complete the quest and proceed to the next floor all ten keys were needed, along with some special conditions that at the moment do not matter.

But even just collecting one was as dangerous as facing a kingdom. They were highly valued among those that had them.

If one was to be caught stealing them, or even just in possession of one, then none of the kingdoms would rest until the bearer was dead, and the key was in their hands.

An aggression that kept on giving, because even after the kingdom's placed their greedy fingers on the keys others would attack.

Causing a world war, where one could die at the smallest misstep, where the slightest suspicion would kill one.

And so it was no wonder that most failed, as to proceed to the next floor, after another had already gone, one would either need to be with the person or gather them once again.

Yet the second time was even harder, as the keys scattered throughout the world, finding places of the most hazardous conditions.

And because there was no reset, the king's and queen's would know of the keys, of their importance and scour the land.

It was for this reason that not more than a couple thousand had ever passed the first floor. Even out of the hundreds of millions that had tried.

One of the greatest reasons that this game was so highly hated, all for this difficulty.

But a laugh echoed from Gabriel as he remembered this, watching from higher floors at the wars that occurred after every ascension and during them.

If they thought the first floor was hard then there was no hope for them. As the difficulty was not linear, it was not as if the second floor was merely twice as hard, no it could not be put into numbers.

But what did this have to do with this prison, why did he suddenly reminisce about the past. Of his previous conquerings.

It was simple, this place held a certain item that he needed. Something essential to the next part of his plan.

…

…

…

For as long as he had been playing this game, this sudden reality, he had been solo. Never had he taken a companion for longer than a floor. 

But now there was an exception, for as identical as this game was to him. Gabriel could still feel the differences.

The biggest and greatest reason why he held companions around now was the sudden guilt. More intense than he had ever felt.

For context, the traits that one gained climbing the tower were not mental things, they gave skills and abilities that one could abuse.

It was never observed to have any other effect.

But that was being tested here, his trait Angel had affected him. Given Gabriel a deep sense of justice and an even greater sense of empathy. Of guilt at the consequences of his own actions.

It was why he held to those villagers when Gabriel could just abandon them. He felt so much guilt it had affected his judgment.

But that was not a bad thing, as even with them being deadweights now, under his command they would grow into a vast army that would eclipse even the greatest of the kingdoms.

He had already resolved to teach them, so why not go for another path to victory than the one he was used to.

After all, it would be supremely boring to stagger through the same plans. Where every part relied on him, and his abilities alone.

And that was why Gabriel was here, in this very prison. Not only because of the harsh empathy that was thrust into his existence, but because there was something very useful that he wanted to grab.

The owners of which knew nothing about it, otherwise there was no way that it would have gone unused. But as of now it was completely new, unused by any being.

So as Gabriel passed by another cell, a body clinging to life, blood scattered through her hair. Gabriel felt rage burn through his soul.

But there was nothing he could do, neither Gabriel nor Rosa had anything to heal the girl, nor did they know any healing magic.

Gabriel broke the lock, the deathly pale eyes of the girl blazing despite her imminent death. She grit her teeth and spat on the ground.

There was still that blaze of power in her eyes, roaring defiantly against those that she could see and even further beyond.

Yet as the flame within the cell flickered, unveiling the figure that had come up to her, she found herself stunned.

A hollow laugh echoing from her lips.

"This is it, I guess I couldn't last long enough to see you no?" Her voice was raspy, as if she had not drank a single drop of water throughout her days here.

"Well on with it angel, I know I had not done good to this world, but I know that it is my time. Take me, I am ready."

Gabriel shook his head, crouching down and to eye level with the girl. 

"I wish." He began, trailing his voice off as he clutched to his heart. An aching beat that seemed to bring tears to his eyes, "That I was able to heal you and save you from the clutches of death."

"What are you talking about, I'm already dead yes? There should be no reason for an angel to lament my death. It was inconsequential anyways."

Her eyes shot a downcast look to the dried blood on the floor. Then she gave a toothless smile to the angel. As if she was comforting him rather than what it was supposed to be.

"No, you are not dead, and I can not guarantee your journey to a fateful afterlife, I can not even ease your death. That is why I lament, because there is nothing that I can do for you. No matter how much I want to."

She looked back up once again, both pairs of eyes blazing furiously with passion into the other.

"Don't worry then, for such an angel to give me companionship in my death. That is the greatest prize I could ask for, especially after all of this."

With that final statement she broke down, her eyes closing as she coughed phlegms of blood onto the ground.

Her wounds flared and her deathly pale skin turned even more so. 

Gabriel cut her chains and brought her body into his lap. Gently he pat her hair and comforted her. His wings wrapped around her body as she fell from consciousness.

But even then she gave him one last smile as she parted from this world. One that brought sadness to the angel. 

"We need to leave, we can bury the girl later. But at this rate the owners will be back. We need to grab what we can and go."

Gabriel stood from his place on the ground, gently placing the girl on the ground. Letting her head fall onto the stone gently.

Then he merely shook his head, that same sad look in his eyes as he leaned against the wall.

"Damn the items, and damn the people here. They are no different than rodents, pests, rats, they must be executed, so damn the consequences."

Was it true empathy placed on his mind by his real thoughts, or merely faked. Yet whichever it was, there was no doubt that it had affected Gabriel. No longer was he going to skulk in the shadows and let these pests continue.

As he had already said, damn the consequences. Tonight they died.