Aftermath

The first thing I heard was the wind.

Not a storm. Not fire. Just wind—gentle, warm, and clean.

The second thing was the Compass.

“You’re awake,” he said in my thoughts, uncharacteristically gentle. I had no energy to answer as I made sense of my surroundings.

I opened my eyes slowly, blinking past the haze. A white ceiling curved above me, carved with thin golden filigree like veins through polished stone. Not a hospital. Not a temple either. Something between both — a keep, maybe.

My body ached like I’d been buried beneath time itself. Even breathing felt heavier than it should.

“You’ve been asleep for three days,” the Compass said. “That’s why everything feels…off."

Three days... I thought... then remembered, Yunjin, bound in flames, Kazuha, shattered wing, Sakura, shattered heart, Ignariel, snarling in defiance to Chaewon. And Chaewon, the Hollow Voice — once the Archangel of Will, the one who was said to have given free will to humanity only to be cast out in Heaven as a traitor — at least that was what legends say, the Compass says it isn't, and knowing Kazuha and Sakura, there's probably more underneath than the legend people see.

I sat up—or tried to. The room spun, then settled. A glass of water was waiting on the side table. Someone had tucked the sheets around me. My gear was gone. Clean robes wrapped around my chest and legs. It took me a second to realize I wasn’t in danger anymore.

But that only made me more tense.

“Where are we?” I asked aloud.

“Still in Dazkora.”

The name returned to me like ash on my tongue. Dazkora—the city of braziers and stone spires, the city nestled between two mountains, where Ignariel's mansion had stood like a monument to divine hubris. Where it had enslaved the populace under its hymn, stripping them of emotions. Where the Counter imprisoned Yunjin and nearly burned us all to cinders.

But this place… it was different. There were no screams. No fire. No hymn.

“What happened?” I asked.

“Chaewon happened,” the Compass’s voice grew quieter in reverence — and something else.

"You're afraid." I observed. "Of Chaewon."

The Compass huffed. "Of course I'm afraid. All six of us, wielders and relics, struggled against Ignariel, eight if you would count Yunjin and her ring. And she just bursts in from above and casually commands the pompous bastard to scram. Of course I'm afraid of her."

Good point, I thought. "She seemed... smaller than I imagined — around Sakura's height? Less archangel, more... scalpel." I chuckled.

"Don't let her hear that," he replied, also chuckling. “She remade the city in your sleep. Burned away its corrupted flame and replaced it with something else. Something structured. Serene, even. Orderly.”

I frowned, “She rewrote it?”

“Yes. Like a sculptor correcting a flawed statue. No violence. No war. Just… command. The people here call her Oracle now. They follow her because they want to." He paused. "Because she made them want to.” He finished.

"How is that different from Ignariel?"

"It's order, Seren — a lawful one — a necessary one. Not one borne out of the removal of free will and emotion. The city is once again alive — and it feels."

That's better, I thought. Though I'm still wary of Chaewon's power. Something like that, it's unnatural, maybe even overpowered.

I pushed the sheets off and stood. My balance wobbled, but held. Three days in bed was not enough to dull the memories.

Ignariel’s flames. Kazuha’s wing — shattered. Sakura — crumbling like sand as my memorues and pain tore through her. Yunjin’s ashen form as she was bound. And the truth about my village, why it was targeted, and who targeted it. I finally have a name, Seraphiniel.

And finally, Chaewon—descending through fire like judgment incarnate.

A soft knock interrupted my thoughts.

Then the door opened.

She stepped in like she belonged there. No armor. No diadem. No cold flame curling around her shoulders. Just soft white robes and black hair loosely braided down her back. She looked less like an archangel and more like a young lady who preferred playing with swords rather than dolls.

She was indeed Sakura's height. But to contrast Sakura's softness, she seemed more... confident, more sure of herself and of every action she takes. If Sakura moves with her heart, Chaewon moves with her mind — and her mind is never wrong.

"At least she had the decency to knock," the Compass commented.

“Good,” she said, voice calm. “You’re awake.”

I stared at her for a long moment as she sat on the chair by the table, “Did you come to finish what Ignariel couldn’t?”

A flicker of a smile touched her lips—brief, sharp. “No. If I had, you wouldn’t have woken up at all.”

"Heard you... freed... the city."

"You don't approve," it wasn't a question.

"Can I make a difference if I don't?"

"Perhaps."

"Perhaps?"

"It might be fun to see you try," Chaewon smirked.

I breathed heavily, "Fine, I'll humor you. The Compass said you made the people want to follow you. What does that mean?"

Chaewon nodded, "Exactly as it does. I showed them a better path, one where they are not mindless and heartless slaves —"

"But they're under your thrall." I interjected, which I probably shouldn't have done because Chaewon's glare could have made me leave Dazkora even without her commanding me.

"You insult me, Solari. I command them, but their free will in their daily lives, their mundane choices, it remains their own —"

"Daily lives?" I argued. "So there are times where you'll overwrite their free will?" I should shut up, I thought, but my mouth and brain weren't exactly cooperating with each other right now.

"If it is necessary," Chaewon replied without missing a beat.

"And when is it 'necessary'?"

"When their lives are at stake, when they’re forced to choose between the greater good and their selfish urge for self preservation—"

"And who determines that? You?"

"Who else has higher authority in here?" Chaewon replied nonchalantly, like she was stating a fact. "If you're in front of a Purity Wraith, frozen in place, peeing and shitting your pants with fear for your life, and I Commanded you to fight or to flee, anything just to defend yourself or keep yourself alive, wouldn't that be better than not trying? If you could save someone, wouldn't you do it? Whatever the cost."

"That's not the point —"

"Then what is, Solari?"

"I —" I stuttered, unsure what to reply.

"If I was there the night of the attack on your village, and I Commanded you to fight to the death to protect your family, wouldn't you allow me? Even if you die in the process?"

And that effectively shut me up. I still can't remember most of what happened that night, but I know I wasn't passive in protecting my family. It was my duty, and I know I'll do anything to do it. If Chaewon was there, even just to Command me, would the outcome be different? And would I sacrifice my free will, even just for that night, just to ensure my family remains safe. I knew the answer, but if I say it, Chaewon would have won, she always does and she knows it, but I won't give her the satisfaction of me saying it out loud.

"Why are you here anyway?" I asked, trying to keep some semblance of my pride.

She slowly folded her arms in front of her chest, “I came to check on you. I figured you’d have questions.”

"A lot," I replied.

"Fire away," she said. I felt power laced in her voice, I felt a compulsion to answer, but the hold was weak, or maybe it just didn't affect me, so I ignored it. Chaewon looked at me curiously, the same look she gave when I didn't kneel after her Command in the mansion.

I sat down across from her. "Your sisters, Kazuha, Sakura, and Yunjin, how are they?"

She tilted her head in curiosity, "Why do you ask?"

I considered her question despite my irritation at her for answering my question with another question. I figured I won't get anything from her if I don't do things her way.

"Because I care about them. I journeyed with them.."

"You journeyed with two of them, yes. Sakura and Kazuha. So I understand why you would ask for them," she interrupted me unceremoniously. "But Yunjin, why do you care? Pity?"

She's testing me. I thought. I reached out to the Compass for advise only to find... nothing. Not the usual silence, no, it feels like our connection did not exist, like it was severed.

"Don't bother connecting with your relic," Chaewon said. "I've severed its connection to you temporarily. It's just you and me right here, right now."

Rage built inside me. This short, little, vindictive angel is getting in my nerves and I had the urge to crumple her, place her in my pocket, and throw her out of the walls of Dazkora. I breathed to calm myself down.

"I care because she has suffered, needlessly," I answered, as concise as I can.

"Needlessly, you say," She echoed, a hint of amusement in her voice.

“Why?”

"One can say she needed that suffering. If only to reunite me and my sisters."

"That's bleak. Talking about your sisters' suffering like that," I retorted, my voice low.

"Do not mistake me." she raised a hand, "I love my sisters. They are the only ones that I do. What I'm doing is questioning your answer to my question."

Her response had me stumped.

"I don't know if she needed to suffer or not. I can't peer through time like Sakura. I'm a mortal who —"

"Exactly!" She exclaimed. "You're just a mortal. Who are you to meddle in the affairs of the divine." It was not a question.

I was speechless.

"I didn't... I didn't choose to be born right in time for that eclipse," I countered. "I didn't choose to be born right in time for one of your prophecies - if there even is one." My voice is now rising. "If I had not been born during that stupid eclipse, then Seraphiniel might not have woken up. Then my village..." I broke down. Tears well in my eyes as the memories flood back. A bloodied Wraith claw pierced through my bedroom door. "Father... mother... Soren... Neera..." I cried, the names of my family finally coming back to me. Probably not the best thing to do if you have the leader of the Fallen Seraphs right in front of you but, the floodgates are open, and they don't feel like closing anytime soon.

Chaewon rose from her seat softly to approach me. She placed a hand on my shoulder with surprising gentleness.

"Yunjin is.. recovering," she said tenderly. "Most of her powers were drained from her and her relic. Kazuha is, well, her wing is broken. As an angel of motion I assume that was not just a physical blow on her." She paused and sighed.

"And Sakura," her gaze was far. And even if she's trying to hide it — I can feel the pain in her voice. "Sakura's in isolation." My head tilted in alarm and concern. "She used too much power sifting through time to find out the truth about your family and Seraphiniel's involvement. That — and also everything else that happened inside the mansion. After that, she also used her power to heal Yunjin and Kazuha as much as she can. The Temporal Vow overloaded, destabilized..." Chaewon hesitated again for a heartbeat. "She is now wrestling with the many versions of herself trying to claw their way out of their respective timelines to take over her body. Each one thinks she is our Sakura. The Temporal Vow can barely hold them at bay," she said softly, almost comfortingly — like she's asking for help but is too prideful or awkward to say it out loud.

"Just ask," I said, partly because I want to get under her skin.

Chaewon smiled tenderly, "I don't have to." She then looked down to hold my gaze, her eyes were soft, a far contrast to the edge and power she had when she subdues Ignariel. "I know you're going to help them either way. Another smile, soft and... beautiful. It made me wonder whether I was talking to the same Chaewon that I saw Command the toughest opponent of my life to his knees.

"You can visit them anytime you like. They're here, in Dazkora's keep. But be warned, you're not the only one who was defeated during that fight." She finished and gave my shoulder a light squeeze. She moved cautiously out of my room.

Before she fully leaves however, she glanced back at me. "Do not blame the circumstances of your birth for what happened, Seren," she said. "If you were not born that day, I would have never been reunited with my sisters. Broken yes, but better broken and alive, at least you can always piece yourself back up. And also, I see how much Kazuha and Sakura love you. They were... happy, traveling with you. And for all of those, I, Chaewon of the Fallen Seraphs thank you, Seren Solari." She finishes and as she closed the door on her way out, I felt my connection with the Compass return.

"Seren," he called softly. Gingerly, as if I am a glass that is about to break. And break I did.