One of the Fallen

'Someone has invoked one of our names. I wonder who it could be.'

'It has been so long since I have felt the Invocation. I did not even know there were still some of us that were awaiting an incarnation; I assumed the Creator had found them all.'

'Cassiel told me that though he spent millions of years travelling through this world, he had yet to return to the point where he started. If someone like him hasn't found everyone yet, there's no way to be sure who's incarnate and who isn't.'

'I'm fucked if it's Zadkiel; I know he always hated me. I hope it's Jophiel-- oh wait, Gabriel said he saw Jophiel somewhere near a volcano a few thousand years ago... Hm...'

'Fuck me. What if it's Sariel... oh no... I think I'd prefer Zadkiel over her... Yeah, I definitely would. When Sariel gets started, no one can shut her up. Oh boy, I really hope it isn't her."

|Azazel's Thoughts As She Flies To The Monilith|

"You are an angel?" Gilgamesh stepped forward and posed his question, his eyes trained on a levitating woman in the sky.

She was dressed in all white robes, but her feathered wings were of a nightmarish black, housing the desolation of an endless night within each feather. While hovering in the air, scant traces of a brightly glittering, reddish dust fell from her wings, and also from her robes.

As that dust scattered, it faded from view and then, in turn, from existence. It seemed as though it could not thrive once it was separated from her body.

Gilgamesh saw the pale-faced, gold-eyed angel turn her gaze upon him and giggle.

"Quite the temperament for a child, although I will admit your spirit is quite peculiar. It feels absent... Like there's less of it than there's supposed to be. Do you know why?"

While speaking, the angel descended further, putting Ishtar on edge. She took a step forward to be by Gilgamesh's side. Seeing her do this attracted the angel's attention, and she frowned.

"You are most peculiar. Of all the rest, I sense the least from you at all. If you weren't alive and physical, I wouldn't believe you had a spirit at all."

Ishtar took a breath, and Gilgamesh glanced at her for just a second, a smile creeping onto his face.

"Which one are you," Marshall asked, not even the slightest bit worried.

"Azazel, of the Fallen," she responded, without an ounce of emotion. It was as if she simply existed as a title, and nothing more, giving the impression that she had not just told them her name, but her make--- her model.

"Azazel? I think Cassiel mentioned you before he left the Academy."

Azazel nodded, "It makes sense that you know Cassiel. He's made it his mission to see every inch of this world."

"Oh," Sylvia turned to Gilgamesh and Ishtar, "Cassiel is this angel that's super fast. He tried teaching us how we could use our spiritual energy to run faster, and that ended up becoming a part of the syllabus.

"Sounds like Cassiel. Always convinced that everyone else just isn't trying hard enough, never realizing that he's just faster than us all."

"I know, right? He's so clueless about it." Marshall laughed.

Gilgamesh eyed the siblings a bit strangely.

"You two don't seem bothered by the fact that an angel just appeared before us, so I can only assume it's not at all strange for one to just show up unannounced."

Sylvia stuttered a bit, trying to explain but stopping once Azazel spoke up.

"We Angels are always drawn to the places we are needed. I was drawn to this place due to the fact that one of you performed the Invocation a short while ago."

"The Invocation?" Sylvia was the one who asked, meanwhile the others tried to think about what Azazel could be talking about. Their minds did not return to the fact that Gilgamesh had spoken of an angel until Azazel completed her explanation.

"One of my kin was invoked into incarnation by one of you. I do not wish to dole out any punishment, as I am always glad for another of my siblings to experience the Invocation. I simply wish to know which of my brothers or sisters it was. That is all."

This was the moment where Sylvia and Marshall's eyes lit up, and they looked to Gilgamesh with sparkling realization.

Gilgamesh reached for the sword on his back, and Azazel seemed to have only just noticed it truly. She stared at it, and her gaze went dim.

"The spirit within this sword does not remember much. All she knows is that the sword is now her physical self, and her new name is Samael." Once Gilgamesh was finished, everyone once again focused on Azazel.

Her expression was the same, but her eyes were almost devoid of light. She seemed to be dead-- upright, standing, but dead.

"What's up with her," Marshall walked forward and started to poke her body, and Sylvia quickly rushed over and pulled him back.

"Azazel," Sylvia called out from where she stood, then walked toward the angel and looked her in the eyes. "Azazel?"

With a gasp for air, Azazel returned to life and stumbled backwards. As soon as she was able to, she started speaking, repeating the words, "It's no use. No use. It's no use..."

"What do you mean," Gilgamesh asked, returning the sword to his back.

"I tried to see the spirit inside of the sword, but I couldn't. I was lost in the process of permeation; my spirit could not get past the blade's physicality. It negates all spirituality, which seems to be the only reason you can come into contact with that spirit."

"Whatever attribute your spirit possesses, it should not possess. I dare say that your spirit is not even a spirit at all."

Gilgamesh and Ishtar were taken aback, while Sylvia and Marshall were lost for words.

"What did you say the being within the sword was named? I believe I blacked out and did not hear."

"I do not know the name of the being within the sword since they could not recall it. All I know is that the sword was named Samael."

Azazel gasped.

"Does that name mean something to you?" Gilgamesh instantly probed, hoping to get more information."

"It... does not."

"Then what is it?"

Azazel turned to Sylvia and Marshall, seeing in their eyes that they understood.

"As an Angel, my purpose is deeply ingrained into my being. The Creator drafted our spirits to this world so that we would serve that purpose."

Gilgamesh folded his arms and looked around. "Inanna, why don't we have this discussion inside?"

"I was just thinking the same," Ishtar said, and withdrew the condo from her pouch.

Azazel's eyes sparkled as she saw the house appear, "That pouch is pretty cool."

Sylvia and Marshall rushed in, through the kitchen and into the living room. Azazel followed; Gilgamesh and Ishtar were the last to enter, and she shut the door behind them.

"It's... cool. Is that magic?" Azazel stuck her hand out and felt around, noting the change in temperature.

"Actually, it's that," Ishtar pointed to the AC unit on the wall, and Azazel marveled at it for a short while.

"I always thought it was magic," Marshall remarked, hopping out of his chair to go inspect the AC as well. Sylvia tried to restrain her own desire to do so, but she could not help but get a closer look.

"There's writing on it... Zamil...?"

"Whenever you're ready, Azazel, we can continue where we left off."

Azazel's head snapped back to Gilgamesh's direction and she chuckled, "Forgive me. I have a penchant for wondering after fascinating things."

"It's fine."

Gilgamesh and Ishtar sat together, with Marshall and Sylvia directly opposite to them. Azazel sat alone, one a single chair, and readied herself to begin her explanation properly.

"Like I said, Samael's physical body is impervious to spiritual power. If the spirit within the sword does not wish for you to come into contact with it, there is-- theoretically-- no possible way for you to do so."

"I was able to do it just fine," Gilgamesh said, referring to the time when he had forcefully taken control of the sword. At that time, he had assumed that he was suppressing the sword's will, but Samael had told him that she simply stepped back and allowed him to do as he needed.

"Like I said, there's something very wrong with your spirit. Miss Inanna. Try, if you will, to inspect that sword wholly."

Ishtar first looked to Gilgamesh, and once he nodded she attempted to probe the sword with her own spirit. The very moment she did this, her eyes lost their color and light much like Azazel's had. Gilgamesh had to give her a little push in order for her to come back to her senses.

"Please, tell us what happened," Azazel said softly.

"She's right. The instant my spirit touched the sword, it lost... everything. Its aspect, its volume, its power-- everything was just erased. It was like I was trapped in... In..."

"The technical term is 'Limbo.' It's what we call the state wherein one's spirit becomes a blank slate, and all they can do is exist aimlessly. In limbo, a person can live out the rest of their lives, grow old and die, yet their physical selves will have only experienced the passing of a day, an hour or a second." Azazel explained, and Marshall's mouth fell open.

"I wanna try!" He said this, and then immediately directed his spiritual power into the sword. In an instant, his body went rigid and his mouth fell open, releasing a torrential amount of droll that fell on his clothes.

"Ugh!" Sylvia extended her arm, reached back and swung, smacking Marshall right on the back of his head. He jolted awake and wiped his mouth, then his eyes found Azazel and he frowned.

"You made it sound so cool, but that sucked!"

"That's because you weren't actually in limbo. It doesn't happen instantly. Had you stayed in that state for long enough, though, you would have been thoroughly encapsulated in limbo, and a slap wouldn't be nearly enough to wake you."

Gilgamesh nodded, "You said that my spirit may not even be a spirit at all. What do you mean?"

Azazel bit down on her lip and twiddled her thumbs, then said, "This may sound crazy but... Have you ever died and been reincarnated?"

Ishtar tensed and shot Gilgamesh a glance; he merely nodded and gave Ishtar a smile.

Marshall and Sylvia both were stunned, and could not properly think.

"I see. Then, has your spirit ever been suppressed or weakened by an external force?"

Once again, Ishtar shot Gilgamesh a look, and he nodded in response to Azazel's question. When the angel saw this, she presented a smile of her own, and closed her eyes as if she was already sure of what was happening.

"Was it Heaven? Have you been locked in battle with Heaven all your life? Have you relied on nothing but your spirit to wage war on the Gods of the Highest World?"

Gilgamesh leaned forward and interlaced his fingers under his nose. His eyes narrowed, and he nodded once more. "It is as you say, but how could you have deduced all that from one detail?"

"It is because, as an Angel, I am permitted to tap into the knowledge of The Creator. We were instructed to be 'Teachers of Humanity,' and even though I am one of the Fallen, my lineage has remained intact. Thanks to that, I can see the outer shell of this thing we call existence, and take just a small glimpse at its workings."

"I can see now that I look at you. Now that I truly look at you, I understand."

Gilgamesh waited, but Azazel simply sat there and smiled with her eyes closed. Ishtar gave him a nudge, and when he looked at her she motioned with her eyes for him to say something more.

"Could you tell me what you see?"

Azazel chuckled, and she raised a single finger. When she opened her eyes, the friendliness in them was gone.

"I can do better than that. I will show you."

Her white robes morphed into a kind of black that closely resembled her wings, which had been tucked away. The finger that she held out toward Gilgamesh rapidly morphed, and expanded faster than most of them could react.

Gilgamesh saw the tip of a blackened finger heading to his chest, but his body could not keep up with his mind, even with his recent increase in spiritual power. Ishtar reached out and grabbed at that finger, but to her dismay it faded out of reality in order to bypass her hand.

By the time her spirit attempted to lock down Azazel's finger, it would be too late.

They had dropped their guard.