Aria's POV
The wind outside howled like it remembered the wars of old.
Inside the safehouse, the air was still—but only on the surface. I sat by the dying fire, watching its embers twitch. Kai slept just a few feet away, curled up with sweat on his brow and a light golden flicker glowing faintly from his chest. He was changing. Every day, the fire within him took shape. Every day, it whispered louder.
And yet… it still might not be enough.
Cerberus stood near the wall, arms folded, his broad frame shadowed by the flickering light. His hellish aura, once so overwhelming, now felt oddly quiet. Tired, even. Like an old soldier awaiting a war he'd sworn never to return to.
"He's ready," Cerberus said softly, not looking at me.
"No," I replied, my voice barely above a breath. "But he's close."
Silence again. The kind of silence that came before a storm.
I closed my eyes.
It had been during the last days of the Celestial War.
Heaven's skies had burned. The Morning Star stood alone—his wings ablaze, his sword shattered. Angels surrounded him, swords drawn, faces conflicted.
And still… he spoke with love in his voice.
"There will come a day when light and shadow are not enemies, but brothers," Lucifer had said. "When the world is not ruled by fear, but by freedom. Even if I must fall for it to happen, I will fall knowing a future can still rise from my ashes."
He looked at me then.
"One day, if they come for my child... protect him. Even if Heaven commands otherwise."
Back then, I was a sword. A judge. No questions. No doubts.Because he had made me that way.
Lucifer forged my essence when he was still Heaven's Prince—an archangel of light. I was born not of flame or flesh, but of will and steel, crafted to uphold his vision of order and mercy. I was his blade, and he was the fire that tempered me.
Now I was neither.
Not a sword.Not a judge.Just a guardian holding onto ashes.
The boy stirred. He always did when I thought about that day.
I rose quietly and stepped outside. The moon was climbing—the seventh moon.
Cerberus followed me out. His eyes met mine.
"You haven't told him, have you?"
"No."
He grunted. "You planning to die with that secret?"
"If I have to."
He stepped beside me. "You know... I was there when it happened. When Lucifer defeated Michael."
I turned sharply. "You what?"
Cerberus's grin faded. "The brothers faced each other above the fractured Gates of Dawn. Both wielded flame, but Lucifer's burned with conviction. It changed. Took on colors Heaven had never seen."
"How did he lose then?"
"He didn't. He won." Cerberus's voice was bitter. "But the Seraphim feared him. Said his power came from pride. From rebellion. So they struck from behind. Betrayed him."
I looked away, heart heavy. "Michael gave me the order himself."
"I know."
I froze.
"I knew the moment I saw you with him. He chose you to do the deed. To kill Lucifer's heir. Just like he ordered the fall of Lucifer himself."
My hands trembled. "If I don't do it... Heaven will erase me. Name, form, soul. I'll vanish."
Cerberus was quiet for a long time.
"But you won't do it," he finally said.
"No," I whispered. "I won't."
He nodded once. "Good. Because I've seen what the boy's flame is becoming. It's not just Lucifer's will reborn. It's something new. Something right."
We both looked up at the sky.
The moon was full now. The seventh.
And the ground beneath us began to tremble.
Inside the hideout, the fire went out. The walls groaned. Light poured in—not golden, not hellish. Holy. Pure and terrifying.
I rushed inside just as the roof began to peel away like paper. The illusion broke. The veil shattered.
The cozy shelter we'd hidden in disintegrated, revealing a world already broken.
The city around us lay in ruins. Flames danced across fallen buildings. The sky cracked with divine thunder. In the heart of the crater, Kai stood—awake, confused, and glowing faintly.
And in the sky above, descending on wings of radiant flame, was Michael.
He looked untouched by time. Cloaked in silver-white armor, with eyes that burned like twin suns, he radiated judgment. Authority. Dominion.
Cerberus stepped protectively in front of Kai, snarling. I unsheathed my blade, though my limbs felt leaden.
Michael landed softly upon the earth. The holy wind around him stilled.
And he smiled.
"At last," he said, his voice echoing with divine weight, "we meet… dear nephew."