“To restate, our goals are to find a way to the Throne, take control of the Throne, and use the Throne to shut down the Seraphim.”

Alyssa found it a little odd that they were essentially planning a heist—or maybe a coup—right in front of the people they were about to steal from—or overthrow. The Seraphim were obviously the biggest threat, but they were just standing there. Alyssa really had no reason to believe that they would move at all until someone made to move toward the Throne. Even being connected to it as she and Kasita were wasn’t a problem for them. After all, they were connected to it in the same way angels were.

To them, Alyssa and Kasita might as well be regular angels.

The one who had attacked was likely under some wider-breadth orders, possibly because it was the leader of the Astral Authority. Or maybe it didn’t care about the connection itself, merely the act of penetrating the defenses. Whatever the case, it wasn’t here now.

But even the audience of regular angels didn’t seem to be that concerned with the presence of two who obviously didn’t fit in. Tenebrael had done something so that they might have a private conversation. But she was pretty sure that they were still visible given the growing number of eyes aimed in their direction. While Alyssa at least had some fake wings slapped on her back, Kasita was still standing in her human form, clutching Tenebrael’s arm. She wasn’t being attacked yet, so Alyssa didn’t think there would be any problem with lesser angels.

Especially if she could order them around.

“Any questions?”

“I understand what we’re doing for the first one,” Kasita said, pointing at herself. She was looking a lot better, though still holding onto Tenebrael. A few minutes of rest had helped quite a bit, it seemed. “But how do we actually accomplish the second?”

Alyssa didn’t really have an answer, unfortunately. She had thought about it a bit, wondering about the complexity of the machine beneath its chair-like facade. So far, she hadn’t reached any conclusions. “Best I’ve got is simply to sit on it,” she said with a glance to Tenebrael.

“That’s as good of an idea as I’ve got,” Tenebrael said. “Aside from my innate connection to the Throne, I’ve never once interacted with it.”

“Sitting seems like the thing one would do with a throne, but it just seems too simple for the Throne,” Kasita said with a small shake of her head. “I’ve been hearing about how important it is practically since meeting Alyssa. Sometimes directly, sometimes simply because I’ve been listening in to one-sided conversations. It seems like there should be a more… I don’t know. Just more.”

“Yeah,” Alyssa said. “I get that. If you have any ideas, let us know.”

“Mhm… And I presume we don’t have any further idea of how to get rid of the Seraphim should we actually manage to take control?”

“I don’t think that will be much of a problem. If the Throne is as powerful as I’ve been led to believe, I think there won’t be much more to it than simply waving our hands and wishing away the things we don’t like. Which are the Seraphim in this case. They might be strong enough to blast a hole straight to the core of a planet, but that is only a slim fraction of the Throne’s power… right?” Alyssa added with a glance to Tenebrael.

“That one, I do believe is accurate. Again, haven’t interacted with the Throne in any meaningful capacity, but I don’t know why it wouldn’t work.”

“Good. Now, is there anything else we need to add to that list? I, for one, would not mind being able to walk around here without coming apart at the seams. But, at the same time, I don’t really want to stay here either. I’d rather get home as soon as possible…” Alyssa trailed off, realizing that she might actually have to clarify that. “Home to Nod, that is.” It felt a bit weird to say it, but… that was how she felt. Ever since arriving on Nod, she had wanted to get home to Earth, but now, her first thoughts were for Lyria. There was still a big battle that could have gone on in her absence and could have resulted in the deaths of her friends and companions. Her mother was there as well—though not directly involved in the battle, if the absurd happened and the Juno Federation won, she would certainly be called upon as an associate of the guild to defend the city.

But… “I’d also like to visit Earth. And actually interact with people there. My father and brother deserve to know that mom and I are still alive.”

“That seems like something a little less of immediate importance,” Tenebrael said. “Not to disparage you for your desires, but you’ve gone months without contacting them. A few days more isn’t going to hurt. I imagine there will be a lot to figure out immediately after taking control. Like how to remove whatever… programming, as you put it. I’d rather not be forced to do anything I don’t want to.”

Alyssa was about to object, saying that Tenebrael had lived with that all her life, so a few more days wasn’t going to hurt… but that might not be true. If Alyssa sat on the Throne and that triggered some defense mechanism deep within Tenebrael that she couldn’t ignore, stopping that would be vital to avoid killing her along with the Seraphim. It wasn’t even something Alyssa had considered before, but it was a definite possibility. One that had her slightly more worried should Tenebrael be the one to slip past the Seraphim and take the Throne. She wanted to think that it was fine to trust Tenebrael… but there was always the risk of programming to worry about.

“I’d like to avoid being separated,” Kasita said before Alyssa could figure out a proper response to Tenebrael. Shaking the angel’s arm, she added. “And I don’t just mean physically. Although please don’t leave me in this place. I think I would just turn into a puddle of mush if you did. But I mean… I mentioned this before.” She looked directly at Alyssa. “Don’t you go disappearing, no matter what happens. Imagine the look on Brakkt’s face. Or Fela’s. Or Irulon’s. Or mom’s.”

“Yeah. I know…”

If she did disappear, it wouldn’t be because she chose to do so. But… Well, there might be things she couldn’t control. Who knew. None of them did, not even Tenebrael.

“We ready enough?” Alyssa asked, looking at the other two.

“Don’t know how else we might prepare,” Tenebrael said with a mild sigh. “You know, I wasn’t really planning on something like this today. Hadn’t even thought in my wildest dreams that I would try something like this ever. We’re probably going to die so horribly that the universe itself will forget that we ever existed.”

“Aren’t you a bundle of optimism.”

“Realism, I think.”

“Whatever, not like we have a choice unless you think that Seraphim has forgotten about us.”

“Even if it has, I don’t want to constantly be looking over my shoulder, worried I’ll be erased from existence if some aspect of it reactivates long enough to blow us to bits. Better to get it over with now, I suppose.”

“Yeah…” Really optimistic, Alyssa thought with no small amount of sarcasm. “Kasita?”

“I’ve already been doing what you asked,” Kasita said, straightening her back ever so slightly. “Trying to find a way in that avoids the Seraphim, that is. I’ve already said it, but it is really weird here. Like, I can see the Seraphim standing around the Throne, arm to arm with no gaps. Yet I can see so much stranger things at the same time. Like, does it look like there are Seraphim above or below the Throne?”

Frowning, Alyssa shook her head. “I can’t actually see below the Throne. The floor is in the way.”

“Exactly. Is there even floor here? I don’t know!”

“There is,” Tenebrael said with a confident nod… but looked uncertain almost immediately after. “Isn’t there?”

“Alyssa. Would you turn sideways then take a step toward me? Lift up your leg high when stepping, like you’re trying to move over an invisible bench.”

“One step?”

“One step.”

Alyssa took a breath. It wasn’t a very pleasant sensation to be destroyed and have to remake herself, but Kasita probably had a good reason for asking her to move. So, lifting her foot up high like she was trying to step over the garage door sensor while running out to her truck after closing the door, without the rush. The tip of her foot exploded into nothingness, but she had fixed that by the time she put the foot down. Moving a little more carefully, she managed to get her other foot over the invisible hazard and successfully moved…

Away from the others?

When Alyssa looked up, she found the two of them a good dozen paces away from her. “Did I do something wrong?” she asked, having to raise her voice a bit, but wondering if that was actually necessary. She was pretty sure that she hadn’t accidentally moved the wrong direction, so was she close to Kasita now but it just didn’t look like it?

But Kasita shook her head and called back. “That’s exactly what I wanted to see happen.”

“Oh…”

Kasita slowly removed her hand from Tenebrael’s arm. She just about toppled over, but a shimmer of static over her body had her properly upright once again. Then she took a step to the side. And vanished, reappearing off near one of the library shelves for a moment before stepping forward from there. Three Kasitas appeared in the room, but only for an instant. They simultaneously took a step forward and reemerged into one being right in front of Alyssa.

“There,” she said with a more confident smile.

Tenebrael just floated over directly. “You’re moving strangely. I can’t even follow how you got to here,” she said, eying Kasita.

“Ufuu~” That wasn’t her usual giggle. More of an exasperated sigh with the same tone as a giggle. “You’re the one who moves strangely. I think I’m beginning to put together exactly how this world is interconnected.”

“Great,” Alyssa said, feeling utterly useless all of a sudden. “I’m the only one who can’t freely move about.” Maybe if she could figure out how to do that translation thing that she managed earlier. At this point, she was pretty sure that it was more luck than anything that she had wound up where she did.

“Stick with me. Avoid traveling with Tenebrael. She seems to partially ignore the way the world is broken up.”

“I guess that works… Does this help us at all though?”

“I think it might. Just like in that place you keep calling adrift, I think there are spots where Seraphim should be but aren’t. Pathing to those points might not be the easiest thing in the world, but…”

“No choice.”

“I’m not sure that I can follow you,” Tenebrael said, sounding dejected. Even her wings slumped a bit.

“We might need a distraction,” Kasita said, nodding to herself with growing confidence. “I don’t think the Seraphim are as stationary as they might appear to the two of you. Or maybe it is this world that isn’t stationary. It’s hard to tell. Either way, opening a wider hole in their defenses might be needed.”

“So what, I punch one in the face? Then run away as fast as I can?”

“And we get to the Throne and shut them down before they catch you.”

“This plan is easily the worst I’ve heard in all my existence.”

Alyssa kind of agreed with that. It was kind of strange to admit this fully to herself, but she didn’t actually want Tenebrael to disappear. As… abrasive as their relationship had started, she had grown fairly fond of the angel. “Is there like a fire alarm you can pull elsewhere that might get them moving anywhere at all, if not directly toward you?”

“A fire alarm? In the Endless Expanse?”

“It was just an idea.”

“There’s nothing…” Tenebrael paused, trailing off. She looked around slowly for a moment before nodding to herself. “The Seraphim safeguard the Throne. I wonder if the archives count as part of it.”

“Going to go and knock down a few shelves?”

Kasita interjected before Tenebrael could answer. “Not yet. Don’t do anything yet. Alyssa and I should get into position first.”

Getting into position required several more hops over garage door sensors, ducking underneath invisible overhangs, turning sideways and shimmying through a thin alley that wasn’t there, and other such feats of acrobatics. Alyssa was pretty happy that she was quite athletic. The whole thing made her feel like she was in some kind of spy thriller movie where she had to slip past a laser grid that conveniently left enough space for a human body to fit through instead of just blocking the entire path with lasers. Some of the twists and bends became almost a puzzle to fit through. It was, however, a good thing that she could replace her leg or arms or even head should she stumble. She did more than once. And once, she decided to intentionally allow her arms to be destroyed simply because her shoulders were too wide for one particular passage that Kasita led her through.

Eventually, Kasita brought their progression to a halt. If it could be called progression. From Alyssa’s perspective, they had actually moved away from the Throne. Though, with the strange way this world worked, she also felt like she had moved closer. But that was just a feeling. Maybe even her imagination triggering because Kasita said that they were moving closer. The physical distance between her and the Seraphim appeared greater, whatever the truth actually was.

“Alright,” Kasita said, looking to Tenebrael—who had followed along the entire way, ignoring all the weird jumps that Alyssa had to make to move around. “Let me explain to Alyssa exactly how she is going to move. After that, start causing whatever havoc you can.”

“I’m pretty sure I have what humans call butterflies.”

“Butterflies?”

“In her stomach,” Alyssa said. “It means she’s nervous.”

“I don’t think I’ve heard that term before. And I’ve spent a lot of time around humans.”

“Might be an Earth thing. But just think about it like this. One way or another, we won’t have to worry about Seraphim or the Throne anymore.”

“Yeah… Right.”

“I’m really trying not to think of anything in general. Just move forward and ignore the fact that there are god-like beings just over there that were apparently designed to kill people like me. That’s all. And speaking of moving forward… Kasita?”

Nodding, the mimic pointed in the rough direction of the Throne. “There is a path that should only take about three steps. After that, I think you’ll be right on top of the Throne. Probably. After that… Well, hope you figure something out. I’m going to take a slightly different path,” she said, pointing off to the side. “It is a little longer, but I figure two shots at getting one of us there is better than one.”

“I don’t disagree with that at all.”

“Then here is what you need to do,” Kasita said, starting to explain the steps on how to get past the fractures in the reality of this world.

Perhaps they had gotten too close mentally. Perhaps explaining how to get closer triggered some latent defense. Perhaps the Seraphim on Nod called back home to see if any of the others had noticed the missing subjects of its ire. Whatever the case, Kasita didn’t get to the third step of the explanation.

The closest Seraphim to their group turned its head.

That tiny action went unnoticed by absolutely no one. Every angel in the room, from the lowliest of the Guardians to the Virtues along the walls, every single one dropped what they were doing. Literally, in some cases. Books fell to the floor. Soul gems slipped from loose fingers. Angels stared, mouths agape.

A voice like thunder crashed over the room. “In. Ter. Lop—”

Alyssa didn’t wait for it to finish. In a rush, she started along the path Kasita had outlined.

Tenebrael zoomed overhead, only noticeable as a streak of her black-white light. She was fast enough that she should have reached the Throne in less than a second, yet the Seraphim were already in front of her. Alyssa hadn’t even seen them move, but one held out a hand. Tenebrael bounced off it, reflected like a laser against a mirror. She went high up into the domed ceiling before crashing against the iridescent walls.

The Seraphim did not chase after Tenebrael. Maybe she was dead. Maybe they simply didn’t view her as a big a threat as Alyssa. Whatever the case, the two closest brandished golden spears.

Alyssa didn’t know what happened. She didn’t see a swing. She didn’t see a thrust. She didn’t see the Seraphim move. Yet, looking down, two spears, each as long as her arm, were embedded deep within her chest.

And she could feel a pull. A tearing at her soul. It wasn’t painful. It was warm. Almost inviting. She wondered if this was what it felt like when Tenebrael’s wings crossed over the body of a dying person.

But Alyssa wasn’t going to die here. She wasn’t going to let herself be reaped up by machine-like gods. Or god-like machines. With all the experience she had traversing as a soul through the land of adrift, Alyssa tore herself off those spears. Her body stayed behind, she could tell, but that wasn’t an issue. A simple thought created a new one.

She found herself closer to the Throne now. Beyond the ring of Seraphim, but off the path Kasita had laid out for her. She tried to move toward it, only to find herself moving further away with her arm and leg both missing. More of the Seraphim were becoming active as well. Around her, she watched three draw their spears.

Again, they hit her before they could possibly have hit. Three spears. This time from three different angles. Each pulling, tearing her soul into three directions. Alyssa tried to pull away again, to get some distance and time to think. As she did, she felt herself going toward one of the spears. Stopping and changing directions only had her going toward another of the spears, pulled into that angelic warmth that was starting to become a searing heat.

She drew herself further into her own body, trying to get away from the golden spears by hiding inside herself, doing all she could to keep herself in one piece.

Out of the corner of her eye, she watched as a fourth spear appeared in the hands of a Seraphim.

“Stop!” An angelic voice rang out over the halls of the Throne room, coming from a single soul gripping the arm of the Throne.

And the entire universe ground to a halt.