“Can you actually do this?”

Tenebrael stared down at the angelic script covering every inch of every tome in her private quarters. Enochian was a dense language. Each individual character could hold a bounty of information. Hundreds of filled tomes were laid out, open with the efforts of countless hours of research and investigation. Of discovering exactly what the true nature of angels really was.

She still wasn’t sure she understood everything perfectly. But she hoped that what she understood was enough to fulfill her desires. A new beginning. A new lease on life. Freedom. The ability to do whatever it was that came to mind without worrying about restrictions and impediments. No need to maintain a diet of human souls to fuel her free will.

Technically, she probably didn’t need to do anything. Alyssa had proclaimed new orders for Tenebrael in specific. She essentially said that Tenebrael was free to do as she wished, using any amount of power of the Throne at will. But, perhaps like how Alyssa wanted to get out from under angelic influences, Tenebrael wanted to maintain her own independence independent of Alyssa’s whims. Though she probably wouldn’t do anything.

“Alyssa could probably have done this an eon ago. But she’s afraid of changing people into people who they aren’t. But I’m pretty sure that I’ve designed a method to do the same thing without needing her involvement.”

Iosefael shrunk in on herself, shoulders slumping as her back hunched. “You’re going to use me as a test subject?”

“A test subject? My dear friend? How could I?”

Crossing her arms, Iosefael turned her expression to a hard glare. “Somehow, I don’t imagine it would be that difficult for you.”

“Well, I hate to dampen your hopes, but I’ve already tested this on myself first.” Tenebrael spread her arms and wings wide, gesturing to herself after a moment. “Can’t you tell?”

Iosefael didn’t respond right away, looking Tenebrael up and down first. She slowly shook her head. “You seem the same to me.”

“Good. Then it is working… I think. Probably. I mean, I don’t feel a need to return to Nod and oversee anything, so I think it is working.”

“Is that a good thing? Shouldn’t you be there, collecting souls?”

“Did you hear? I’ve got a fleet of Principalities working for me now. I exiled them originally because I didn’t want them reporting back here what I was doing, but there is no need to worry about that anymore. So I’m sure they can handle things in my absence.”

“Then you should be doing your original duties, managing the world and… You don’t care. Do you?”

“Nope! Managing the world? Unnecessary in today’s day and age. If anything slips, who cares? The Throne doesn’t. Even better, although you say nothing has changed with me, that isn’t true in the slightest! I don’t care.”

“You’ve never cared.”

“Not true. I’ve just ignored how much I cared in the past thanks to a certain deal with a devil and a healthy diet. Now, I need neither and I still don’t care! Isn’t it great?”

“Is it?” Iosefael didn’t look impressed. Rather, she looked disappointed. “And you want to do that to me? Make me not care about things? I don’t want that.”

Tenebrael shook her head slowly. “You’re misunderstanding. With our change in leadership, we’re not beholden to our old raison d'etre. We can have a choice. I can give us a choice, all of us. I mean, Alyssa could give it too, but she’s all worried about taking away who we are. Also she’s busy pretending to be mortal. But the point is, you can continue to care about souls or mortals or whatever it is that you want to care about. You’ll just be able to choose against that if you want.”

“And you think that is a good idea?”

Iosefael was still against it? Even after the explanation? Now Tenebrael was frowning, wondering just what the Principality was thinking. “How could it not be a good idea? You don’t want agency?”

Walking around the distant tower of the Endless Expanse, Iosefael didn’t answer right away. She moved up to the wall, gently grazing her fingers across its smooth surface. When she spoke, she didn’t turn around to face Tenebrael. “It isn’t me I’m worried about. I think I know myself well enough. But I can’t say that every angel out there is as… pleasant as you and I. Adrael harmed a mortal even with everything in place. We are high above humans. If one of us gets in our heads that it would be a good idea to harm mortals, no one could stop us but other angels. A battle like that would hardly be pleasant for anyone in the vicinity.”

“Alyssa could stop any such nonsense.”

“Could she? Before it starts?”

“The Throne—”

“She isn’t on the Throne. You said it yourself. She’s off playing as a mortal.”

That… might be a good point, Tenebrael thought with a frown. Alyssa had said that there were some protections to keep certain things from happening while she was away. But did those protections include a way to stop a bunch of angels from rampantly running about, causing havoc? Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all. At least not now. In time, Alyssa would surely abandon the mortal act. Then experimenting further would be a good idea.

But until she came back…

“You aren’t going to go kill mortals. You love mortals!”

Iosefael turned back, frowning at Tenebrael. “You don’t know that! What if I’m made to be this way?”

“I don’t think that matters. You are you. My discovery will simply let you act as you wish you could act. Instead of bearing witness to some atrocity without intervening because even Alyssa’s orders to guide the worlds down a gentler path aren’t enough to act on some things, you’ll be able to step in and stop some poor human child from being hit by a car. Or whatever crisis catches your attention.”

“What if I shove a child in front of a car!”

Tenebrael blinked, feeling somewhat exhausted with the Principality’s protests. “Do you want to do that?”

“No!” Iosefael practically wailed.

“Then… You won’t. Simple as that.” Taking in a long breath, Tenebrael decided to put an end to the discussion where it was. She had wanted to offer a gift to her fellow angels. Agency. Complete and total agency—barring direct orders from Alyssa, which was something that she didn’t think would ever be able to change simply because of the Throne. However, if they were going to act like this… Maybe they weren’t quite ready for the responsibility? That sounded like a wise way to put it.

“Just think about it, alright?” Tenebrael said. “Nothing is going to happen today. Maybe we can even go talk to Alyssa about it. What is she up to anyway?”

Ever since deciding to head back to the mortal worlds, things around Alyssa had been pure chaos. Literally. Even with her connected to the Throne, nothing could actually predict her actions. Or maybe, she was unpredictable especially because she was connected to the Throne.

But being what she was, every angel was constantly aware of exactly where she was at any given time. That information filtered through the Throne and to each of them, ready to update them whenever they asked.

And at the moment, she was on Nod.

In a flash of feathers, Tenebrael vanished from the Endless Expanse, leaving Iosefael behind. The Principality would catch up if she wanted. The place she appeared in was familiar. Most of Nod was familiar. All of it, really. But it was not where she really expected to find Alyssa.

“Out in the woods alone?”

At one point in time, a sudden voice from behind would have startled the former mortal. Or at least given her a little surprise until she recognized the voice. But not anymore. Alyssa didn’t even look around the cascade of feathers for an single moment before honing in on Tenebrael’s position nearby. Iridescence gleamed in her eyes for a brief instant before they settled to a natural brown.

But, despite making eye contact, she didn’t answer Tenebrael’s questions. In lieu, she put a finger over her mouth before turning back slowly and carefully, watching through the trees. At what, Tenebrael could hardly say. There were things around of all shapes and sizes, but she had scarcely been able to predict Alyssa before. Now it was absolutely impossible.

Still, the situation was a bit odd. Alyssa was covered in leaves and mud. Enough to rustle when she made small movements. Just turning her head around caused quite a bit of noise, though it was mostly drowned out by a mild breeze rustling the leaves of all the trees. The hand she had used to shush Tenebrael was up still, pointed in a way that made Tenebrael think she was going to cast a spell of some sort. And she was slowly scanning the area, turning her head back and forth.

Hunting?

Tenebrael didn’t think that Alyssa had any need to hunt. She had been able to create food before well enough. Now, even split from the Throne in the strange way that she was, she could still create everything that came to mind.

Before Tenebrael could ponder the strange situation any further, the breaking of a branch snapped through the air. Alyssa whirled, but it was too late. A beast leaped from the shadows of the woods, maw wide open, ready to catch Alyssa’s spell-casting arm. The teeth bit down, though they failed to puncture Alyssa’s skin. It did afford the relic enough of a grip to swing Alyssa up into the air as it thrashed its head.

Alyssa hit the ground on her side with a mild groan—far less than would be expected from any other mortal in the same situation. The relic pounced while she was down, landing a taloned foot right on her chest.

Tenebrael considered intervening at several different points. None of which actually resulted in any action. Alyssa was in no danger. Even if she wasn’t part of the Throne, she would probably still be in no danger; Tenebrael recognized this particular relic.

“Alright, alright. You got me this time Izsha.”

With that, the draken promptly got off Alyssa, affording her the space needed to stand.

“No?” Alyssa said, brushing the mud and plants off herself. She just made a few motions with her hand, but it all cleared away. “I wasn’t going easy on you. What makes you say that?”

The draken made a few noises that sounded a lot like whining in Tenebrael’s perfect opinion. But apparently Alyssa had bothered to figure out how to decipher them.

“You thought I had you? I didn’t look right at you. I…” Alyssa narrowed her eyes, shooting Tenebrael a glare. “I got distracted with something else. It must have blocked my line of sight. We have a visitor.”

The moment Alyssa spoke, Tenebrael felt it. A wash of power greater than any she had ever witnessed. Some fundamental facet of reality had just changed. She knew that in her very core. What, exactly, changed did not elude her for long. The draken turned its head, looking directly at her. She was on full display for more than just Alyssa’s eyes.

“Please,” Tenebrael said with an intentional sarcastic note. She puffed herself up and spread out her wings just a little. Enough to hopefully be a little more impressive. “You can’t do things like that without warning me. What if I’m not looking my best?”

“You always look the same to me. You were even wearing that same black dress when I first met you.”

Tenebrael grinned. “You’re saying that I’m always at my best? Why thank you. You’re looking rather… Your face still has some green and brown paint all over it.”

Sighing, Alyssa shook her head. Her hair, much longer now than it had been before, obscured her face for just an instant before the paint vanished. Tenebrael wasn’t sure why she bothered with the theatrics. Both the shaking head thing and the brushing herself off earlier. Neither should have been necessary. She was just having fun? Or maybe it was for the benefit of the other mortals? The draken, for instance. Tenebrael didn’t know what benefit it might be, but presumably it was some mortal thing that Tenebrael just didn’t understand.

“So? What’s up?” Alyssa asked, leaning up against and resting an arm on Izsha’s side. She gave it a few rough pats before stopping to simply scratch the scales idly.

Tenebrael stopped just short of telling Alyssa what had just transpired. It wasn’t an immediate concern. Angels did not have the constraints of time applied to them as mortals did. The Endless Expanse would still be there. The mortals, on the other hand, had limited time. Unless Alyssa decided to do something about that. But near as Tenebrael could tell, all the mortals around Alyssa were still just that: Mortal. Tenebrael didn’t know what her plans were and hadn’t asked. She was pretty sure that not even Alyssa knew the answer.

So instead of bringing up Iosefael, Tenebrael just shrugged her shoulders. “Nothing much. Just a little bored.”

“Bored.” Alyssa spoke in a flat tone of voice as if she couldn’t believe such a thing. But, after a moment, she made a soft humming noise. “Irulon has been asking about you a whole bunch ever since I came back. If you are interested in spending time with a mortal, I’m sure she would be happy to endlessly question you.”

“Question me? About what? I would have thought that, with you here, she would have all the answers that she could ever want.”

“I might be pretending to know less than I actually do,” Alyssa said, speaking a whole lot softer than she normally did. “She is so driven with her magic research… I’d hate to take that away from her by parading around like I know all the mysteries of the universe. Maybe someday, after I’ve thought a bit more, we can have a chat about… various things. Until then, she seems perfectly happy to investigate me. Which might be part of why I’m hiding out here at the moment.” Patting Izsha once again, Alyssa let out a small chuckle that ended in more of an exasperated sigh than anything else.

“Mhm… And she isn’t completely disillusioned with me being the god of this realm after finding out that I’m just one of many Dominions? After having seen the Endless Expanse? After… everything, I guess.”

“Not as disillusioned as you might suspect. You are still her god, after all.” Alyssa put on a bright grin. “Though, I’m sure that if you keep popping up and talking to her in the same way that you did with me, she’ll quickly see you for what you truly are.”

“A menace?”

“A bit. But maybe also something of a friend.”

Tenebrael had to scoff at that. “A friend with some random mortal? Not likely.”

“Really? You were so excited when you found me. At least after the whole assuming I was just going to die on Earth thing. And didn’t you have a mortal friend long ago? Someone else like me who could talk to you?”

“You are and he was vastly different from any random mortal.”

“Were we?”

“Of course! You are… well… you. He was the king of the First City.”

“Really? I hadn’t heard that part of the story.”

“I’m sure the Throne knew.”

Alyssa shrugged. “If it did, I forgot.”

Says the person who just admitted to knowing more than she said she knew. Not that it was that big of a deal. “He is… well, the person who made me who I am today. A special one to me. The first soul I consumed too—a deal with the devil granted me the knowledge of how to do that. And… well, that same deal gave me the power to affect the world, which I promptly used to… found my own religion.” Among other things. Alyssa probably knew the whole story now, but if she didn’t, she would know eventually. “Although my contract with the demons ran out, I did maintain my diet. That gave me the agency to break some of my restrictions. Enough so that I was able to find you.”

“Sorry,” Alyssa said softly. “Didn’t mean to bring up bad memories.”

Tenebrael waved her off. “They’re hardly bad. I’m just trying to say that the two of you are easily the only two mortals I have ever viewed as important. I just have a feeling that anyone else will be hard pressed to live up to your… youness. And, you two could see me without being on death’s door. That is quite an attractive attribute, in my opinion.”

In response, Alyssa merely patted Izsha right on top of its head… with enough force to get the draken to growl a little, looking in her direction before settling its slit-pupil eyes back on Tenebrael. After waiting a moment more, Alyssa raised an eyebrow.

“You aren’t restricted anymore.”

The words hit Tenebrael. Hard enough that Iosefael would probably have had an idiom for the situation. She was free to do as she wished. She was free as any mortal, able to make decisions even if they went against the predictions of the Tree Diagram, something she now knew that she had been unable to go against in the past. She could truly become the god of this world. Do more than just be a name behind an empty religion, created for no particular reason other than her own vanity.

Before she could think more, Alyssa continued.

“Sure, nobody might be as important as me or that king to you, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t interesting folk out there. You could go be seen by the whole world, if you want. All mortals should be able to see you just like I could, if you want. So why not run around? Talk with a few mortals. See if you find anyone interesting.”

“I doubt I’ll find anyone as interesting as you,” Tenebrael said, momentarily finding some words.

“True. But I’ll always be around. You know how to find me.”

Tenebrael looked off into the distance. A young girl had just fallen into a water well in Teneville. Guardian Angels were already trying to direct the people who could help into position to rescue her, per Alyssa’s orders toward a softer existence.

But what if she went instead? What if Dominion Tenebrael manifested to save the life of a young innocent girl instead of only coming after death to retrieve the soul? Tenebrael would have everyone’s eyes, everyone’s attention. And, for the first time, perhaps she might actually be worthy of the title all the mortals gave her.

A new temple needed to be erected anyway. She could do that while she was in the area.

“Maybe…” Alyssa’s smile turned to a pained cringe. “Maybe don’t do anything that’s going to get a million questions thrown my way? Things have only just started calming down since my return and I still get enough as it is.”

“That doesn’t sound like my problem. I’m sure that someone of your prestige can handle whatever gets sent your way.”

Alyssa sighed. Looking at Izsha, she said, “How do you feel about a vacation? Maybe to a whole new planet? Doesn’t that sound fun and exciting?”

Fun, Tenebrael thought to herself as she exploded into a thousand black feathers.

This will be fun.