In a world already beginning to fall apart, two figures hovered above a dark, endless expanse.
There was no sky.
No ground.
Just emptiness stretching in every direction.
One of them shone.
A soft, radiant light wrapped around her slender figure, calm yet overwhelming. She looked like something meant to protect the world itself.
But her face said otherwise.
Cold. Focused.
"What are you doing here, Samayel?"
Her voice cut clean through the void.
The other figure stood a short distance away, tall, relaxed—almost careless.
Tattered robes hung loosely from his body, barely hiding the strength beneath. His posture was loose. Confident.
A devilish smile rested on his lips.
"Uri…" he said, almost amused. "It's been a while."
"Man… you've grown."
Her expression hardened instantly.
A blade of pure light formed in her hand.
"Stop dodging the question," she said, stepping forward. "I'll ask again—what are you doing here?"
Samayel sighed.
"C'mon… can't I come visit my baby sister—"
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"
Her voice exploded across the void.
"You were banished," she continued, her tone dropping dangerously low. "You were told never to come near the gates of Heaven."
A step forward.
"So what are you doing here?"
Samayel didn't answer immediately.
Instead—
He took a single step forward.
The space around him distorted.
"You already know why I'm here," he said quietly.
"And you know what I want."
Uriel didn't hesitate.
"You're not getting the key," she said. "If Mayel were here, he would've killed you by now."
Samayel let out a short laugh.
"As if."
Then he tilted his head slightly.
"And besides… who do you think taught you all how to fight?"
Uriel's grip tightened.
"Not everything I know came from you."
Her voice stayed steady.
Controlled.
"Some things…"
A pause.
"…I learned on my own."
Samayel smirked faintly.
"Well then," he said softly, "let's see how much you really learned."
He pulled his tattered robes aside.
What stood beneath wasn't broken.
It was refined.
A body shaped by endless battle—controlled, precise, dangerous.
Uriel moved instantly.
Her blade cut upward—
But Samayel caught it.
Just like that.
His fist struck her stomach, sending her back through the fractured void.
She stabilized mid-air, breathing sharply.
"…You're faster than before," she muttered.
"I had time," he said.
A lot of it.
Then he vanished.
Reappearing in front of her instantly.
A sword rested in his hand now.
Not light.
Not divine.
Something else.
Something that made the void feel heavier just by existing.
Uriel froze.
Her breath tightened.
"…The Blade of Death…"
Samayel finally looked at the weapon.
His tone shifted—calmer, more serious.
"You still recognize it."
He turned it slightly.
"This blade doesn't belong to angels or demons," he said quietly. "It ignores what you are."
His eyes lifted.
"It kills both."
A pause.
Then, almost casually—
"Funny thing is… it was forged for our bloodline."
His gaze sharpened slightly.
"And you trusted it to our brother… to keep me in line."
The faintest smile returned.
"Things change."
Uriel's expression shifted.
Not fear.
Not hesitation.
Decision.
Her light began to surge again—but it was no longer stable.
Heavy.
Uncontrolled.
Final.
She lowered her stance slightly.
A long silence.
Then—
"…Damn it."
The void trembled.
She poured everything into her blade.
"If I can't defeat you…"
Her eyes locked onto him completely.
"…at least I'll take you down with me."
The void shattered.
Light exploded outward.
Silence.
Fragments of broken reality drifted through nothingness.
Uriel stood trembling, still upright.
Across from her—
Samayel stood.
Wounded.
But smiling.
"Damn…" he said quietly. "You really have grown."
His gaze lingered on her.
Then his smirk returned, lighter now.
"…And who taught you how to swear?"
For the first time, Uriel's composure cracked.
Just slightly.
A faint blush touched her face.
"Shut up," she snapped immediately, turning her head away. "I didn't say anything."
Samayel chuckled under his breath.
"Sure you didn't."
His expression shifted again.
The humor faded.
"…I know I'm not supposed to be here," he said.
"For now."
A pause.
"But things have changed."
His eyes glowed faint purple.
"So do me a favor…"
Uriel didn't move.
But she listened.
Samayel smiled faintly.
"Tell our 'Father'…"
His voice dropped.
"…that the holy war has already begun."
And then—
he was gone.
Far beyond that shattered expanse—
A throne stood in silence.
A figure sat upon it.
Still.
Watching.
Gray hair.
Calm expression.
Eyes that had seen too much.
Behind him—
an endless army knelt in perfect silence.
He rose slowly.
A faint smile touched his lips.
"You heard the boy," he said.
No anger.
No shock.
Only certainty.
"Let's go to war"