Gabriel smiled at Skylar as they flew around his room, looking at the various objects and furniture with extreme interest. The general sense of curiosity he could feel from his familiar had ramped up by orders of magnitude, now that they had been properly introduced. It seemed that they had very little knowledge of the Mortal plain because he got the distinct sense that everything here was unfamiliar and interesting to them.

"I can tell you about everything in here later, but I do have to sleep. Do you sleep?" Gabriel asked, suddenly realizing that he knew very little about Skylar. Even what type of Celestial they were.

Following his statement, Skylar zipped back over in front of him in an instant, moving much faster than Gabriel would have ever expected. He received a very slow nod and the sense that they didn't need to sleep right now.

"Hmm, well, I guess I don't exactly have to go to sleep right now." Gabriel mused. He didn't feel tired. Probably because of the changes from his Calling. "In which case, I suppose we should learn a bit more about each other besides just names, yeah?"

Skylar appeared thoughtful, with one hand cupping their chin, staring into space. Then they gestured from themself to Gabriel and pointed at their mouth.

It took Gabriel a moment, but he caught on. "Yeah, we are going to have to figure out a better way to communicate than charades. Any ideas?"

All he got was a head shake and a shrug.

"Well, maybe you show me what you can do, and we work from there? I'm sure we could work something out." Gabriel offered.

Skylar literally lit up at that, the subtle glow that constantly surrounded them blooming into a light bright enough to illuminate the entire room like it was the middle of the day. Then the light completely winked out, plunging the room into darkness, accompanied by the tinkling of bells. Then, in their place, a giant warrior in glowing armor appeared. Gabriel thought the figure was nearly as tall as Balthazar's Avatar, towering over him. Gabriel nearly jumped out of his bed before controlling his reactions. Though, the figure apparently caught onto his surprise because they started laughing uproariously, bending over and clutching their sides. Strangely, the sound coming from their mouth was the tinkling of bells.

"Wha? Skylar? You can transform?!" Gabriel exclaimed, much louder than he would have liked to, considering the late hour. In his defense, he was overwhelmingly surprised. Suddenly his small and unassuming familiar had become a warrior he doubted his mother would want to fight. It was incredibly impressive.

However, immediately following his exclamation, The figure, or rather Skylar, waved their hands back and forth while shaking their head and then gestured toward their armored torso.

"You want me to touch you?" Gabriel asked after a moment, connecting the gesture with the vague sensations he was getting from his familiar. Immediately, the armored giant nodded rapidly and clapped its hands, causing Gabriel to chuckle. It was funny to see this behemoth of a warrior with the same mannerisms as his tiny little companion.

Reaching out, Gabriel laid his hand on the incredibly elaborate filigree covering the armor of the warrior before him. Or rather, he tried too, only for his hand to pass right through their chest. There wasn't any sensation, his hand simply kept going.

"O-Oh? It's an illusion?" Gabriel muttered in surprise. He hadn't known what to expect, but this was still pretty great even compared to his original assumption. It was a pretty convincing illusion overall. "Is this all you can make?'

Skylar shook their head, and instantly, there was a solid stone sitting in front of him, roughly four feet tall. It looked incredibly worn, with moss covering part of its surface.

Once again, Gabriel honestly couldn't tell it was an illusion. Now, he had seen illusions before, from multiple sources. Some Callings had skills that allowed them to produce illusions, and obviously, magic could do the same. He had never seen an actual Illusion mage since those were rare, but several other concepts could do something similar. But this was a step above and beyond anything he had seen previously. It truly looked completely real. He told his familiar as much.

"Skylar, this is incredible. This level of illusion is amazing. Can you do more?" He asked, extremely excited.

The rock vanished, and Skylar reappeared, shaking their head. They spent the next few minutes just going through a series of questions, Gabriel trying to clarify the extent of their abilities. Eventually, Gabriel felt like he had the whole picture.

All told, Gabriel had a firm grasp of seven of Skylar's abilities, though they had informed him as best they could that there were a couple more that were hard to show or explain. Firstly, there was the obvious. Flying and their ability to produce visible illusions. Apparently, the light they produced wasn't its own ability but part of their illusions. Which Gabriel thought made very little sense since the light did actually illuminate things, but he wasn't about to complain about it. That left invisibility. Which wasn't an illusion, for some reason. It was its own ability, and it made Skylar completely undetectable, as far as they were aware. By any method, not just visual. That on its own was amazing, but they also had some minor control over air, water, and fire. It wasn't the same as the magic Gabriel was familiar with because instead of directly manipulating the given substance with a chant, Skylar had a fixed set of effects she could produce with each that had very strict rules about the way in which they could be used.

Finally, healing magic. That had been a bit harrowing to try out because had to stab himself. Man, was he glad he had, though. The small cut he made on his arm was sealed almost instantly. He wasn't an expert on healing, but that seemed pretty strong to him. Having an invisible, flying healer was already enough of a benefit for him to have absolutely no regrets about his class choices. That was just based on the first skill he had gotten. He was very hopeful about what other powers he might develop in the future.

By that point, though, Gabriel was beginning to feel the strain of the harrowing day he had had. As he felt the sleep coming onto him, He realized he was actually excited about the day ahead of him. He should begin to learn from whatever secret teacher his father managed to find, plus he might learn some priest powers along the way. It was supposed to be his class until everyone learned he was a hero, after all. He drifted off, a smile on his face.

{}

Halis Rahip traveled swiftly through the night, rage burning in his heart. His useless, waste of a younger brother had returned from his benediction with a Calling! He was supposed to be kicked out of the house or die! No beast bloodline, no skills in anything at all. He was a waste of air, not befitting the vaunted name of Light's Aegis. His house, His name. More than that, Balthazar had actually granted a name to that cancer on their house. Halis was not stupid, he knew what being named meant. His god had high plans for Gabriel now. Gabriel. He thought, practically frothing at the mouth. He was named Gabriel! Our hallowed progenitor's name, given to the most useless son our house has ever produced. There was an explosion of dust behind him. Looking back, he realized his anger had caused him to take his last step with too much force, shattering the concrete like paper. He reigned in his anger, focusing it down to a single point of absolute hatred, just like his mother had taught him.

Thinking of his mother caused him to snort. Genzana Medani was a Paladin to the core of her soul. Why she spent so much time trying to teach her useless, bleeding heart of a sun the intricacies of swordplay was beyond him. Her time was incredibly valuable, to give it up out of a maternal sense of duty was wasteful. It's not like she had babied him like that. He had had to prove his worth with every breath to just barely survive the training he had endured. And he had. He had proved himself in spades, exceeding expectations in the art of swordplay. And later, after he was Called as a Squire, he proved himself again. Only taking a measly twenty-two years to reach full Paladin. Four full Calling advancements in a mere twenty-two years. That was why his useless brother must be removed. That embarrassment wasted the time and resources of the family that should be funneled toward more deserving members. Like him. He deserved it. Gabriel absolutely did not.

Stopping in front of an alley in between two skyscrapers, Halis smiled to himself. He would prove it. He had managed to accumulate resources outside the family over the years through his activities and responsibilities as a Paladin. Some of them, less reputable than his family might normally allow. Halis had come to some realizations though. Sometimes to achieve the correct outcomes, one might have to take actions that could be considered… distasteful. The sight he saw before him was a perfect example of that. In the very back of the alley, there was something most members of his family would consider unthinkable. An unregistered floor transfer matrix. Halis was not privy to the methods that went into its construction, but it allowed for inter-floor transport without being tracked or even requiring a citizen's ID.

Halis walked up to the device, which was disguised to look like a trash bin, making a specific set of gestures that keyed it to his desired destination. In an instant, the world around him vanished into nothingness, only to return a moment later, completely different. His arrival was accompanied by a sudden lurch and pulling sensation. Such was the cost for traveling in secret. It wasn't exactly comfortable. At least compared to the sanctioned ones. If his Constitution wasn't so high, he might have thrown up. Apparently, that wasn't too odd an occurrence.

Looking around at his new surroundings, his lips curled in distaste. He had been to the negative floor before, both in his capacity as a Paladin of Balthazar and for occasions such as this, and every time it managed to be just as horrible as the last. He thought at a certain point he would become acclimated to it, but that had yet to happen over the past fifteen years. At this point he had just grown to accept that he was going to be disgusted with every moment he spent down here, and move on. At least time had allowed him to grow comfortable with travelling the dark, cramped tunnels and dirty corners of this miserable cesspit of crime and despair.

He at least knew where he was going tonight. Striding forward confidently, but carefully, Halis made his way ever deeper into the darkness. He might be leagues above anyone down here in terms of raw primary abilities, but one never knew when some esoteric skill would catch them off guard. Besides, he didn't feel like stepping into a random pile of shit, which was more of a possibility than he truly wanted to contemplate.

After several confusing and disorienting turns down curving tunnels, he came to the door he was looking for. It wasn't that hard to find, seeing as it was one of the few of the many shoddy doors lining every one of these pathways that actually had a lock. He had asked about that once, and the answer had been suitably depressing. Anything worth stealing down here was kept on your person. Why bother paying for a lock? The only people who had locks were organizations like the one he was visiting today. Groups with enough clout and fear that trying to steal from them was a guarantee of a slow and painful death. The lock was more symbolic than functional.

Knocking in a set pattern, Halis opened the door immediately after. A symbol indeed, since the door was never actually locked. Not that it was necessary, he contemplated, seeing the two men immediately inside the door, one to either side. From the vague sense he could get from the two, they were rather strong. Nothing compared to him, or any of his family, not even close. He figured somewhere in the range of Middle rank, at least for their primaries. Beyond that, he doubted they were much to write home about.

Nodding toward the pair of enforcers, Halis schooled his expression into a mask of neutrality. While he would much rather purge these filthy criminals, they could perform tasks that, while necessary, were beneath his bespoke personage. That alone prevented him from slaughtering him wholesale. That, and the fact that killing this group would be ultimately meaningless. They would be replaced within a day or two. The negative floors were teeming with criminals of all stripes.

The one to his left, a skinny man with a face that had been beaten in one too many times, nodded back before reaching onto his belt and pulling off a short range radio. It was a shoddy thing, but functional. One of the benefits this group had reaped from acting as Halis's hands in the darker side of things. "Boss, Paladin is here to see you." The man stated simply, before placing the radio back and nodding once again. Halis walked on. This group knew who was really in charge. He wasn't about to wait at the leisure of a man essentially under his employ.

{}

Quil cursed, rapidly pulling up his pants and throwing his shirt on. He had been in the middle of enjoying a rather friendly whore when the call came over the radio. That dumbass Paladin just had to drop by at the worst fucking time, literally. He so desperately wished for the day where he didn't have to listen to the smug bastard. He had even had to kill the lady. Such a shame, but if word got out that a Paladin had been here, he and his entire crew would be dead faster than he could blink. That snake eyed prick was terrifying.

Dashing out into his 'office', which was just a room with a few bits of paper tracking some of the protection fees owed by the locals, along with other odds and ends, Quil stood waiting for Halis to enter. Quil knew exactly who he was dealing with, unlike most of his crew. They thought some random Paladin was dipping his toes into the dirty side of things. Not all that uncommon really. Balthazar might be the most active god in the affairs of mortals, but even he only really cared about what went on in the normal floors of his cities. As always, the negatives were left in the dark and the dirt. Just the way Quil liked it. The last thing he wanted to deal with was a god peering over his shoulder, judging him.

Within seconds of entering the room, the other door opened, and in walked the single scariest man Quil had ever met in his forty five years of life. Tall and slim, with sharp features on his pale face, and bright, blood red hair, Quil thought he was rather handsome. Until he saw the eyes. Those cold, cold eyes that weighed everything he looked at without an ounce of care or compassion. Scared the shit out of him every time. Any response he might have had other than fear died when he saw those eyes.

"Welcome, welcome. What can Black Weld do for you today, Paladin?" He said as calmly as he could, gesturing to a few chairs. Among its other uses, this room also acted as a meeting place for Quil's small gang. Instead of moving, Halis just stared at Quil from under his hood, doing nothing. Just as Quil started to wonder whether or not he was going to leave this room alive, The Paladin finally spoke.

"You just killed someone, who?" He said in an empty, uncaring voice.

"Ahh, I had some, ah, personal company. She heard the radio. I figured you wouldn't want that." Quil stated, his nerves overcoming him. Halis nodded slowly, much to his relief.

"Yes. It is unfortunate, but I suppose it's necessary." Halis replied, finally walking over to one of the stone chairs and sitting down.

Ha, like you care. I could kill a hundred babies in front of you and one wouldn't care unless the blood stained your nice clothes, ya scary bastard. Quil, didn't say a word though. He just counted himself lucky he was still alive. Some days he wondered if this arrangement was worth it. Then he remembered that the only way out at this point was as a corpse, and he let it go.

"I require you to kidnap someone for me." Halis got right to the point. "You will make impossible demands, in an infinitesimal time frame, and then you will kill the target."

"Alright, who's the target?" Quil nodded. This was honestly pretty easy, as far as the orders Halis had made previously.

"Gabriel Godson." Halis spat, with the most malice Quil had ever seen the emotionless man show.

He nearly had a heart attack. "The youngest youngest son of Light's Aegis' main family?! Your- I mean, ahh. Wait didn't he used to be-" Quil stuttered out, nearly saying enough to get himself killed in the process until Halis cut him off.

"Yes, he has been named anew, as of this very night. I will arrange the scenario, you just need to take action." Halis waved away Quil's concerns, visibly annoyed.

"B-But, this is Light's Aegis! Not some little clan or house! Light's Aegis. I, I don't think we have the ability to hold someone like that." Quil stuttered, practically yelling. Halis slammed his fist into his knee with enough force to cause the air to ripple with a muffled whumph.

"You will do this. The boy is weak. No Calling could change that. He will be taken easily. Or do I need to remind you of the consequences of my anger?" Halis said menacingly. Streams of blood began flowing out of him circling menacingly. The chair he was sitting in began sizzling and melting from its proximity.

"No, no! It will get done! Just let us know how and when and we'll do it I promise!" Quil pleaded. He was very aware of Halis's abilities, being one of the few people to survive a raid he had done a few years ago. He had no desire to know what it felt like to be melted alive.

"Good. You will be informed within a week. This will be your compensation." Halis stated, the blood disappearing as he withdrew a sack from within his cloak. It clinked as he threw it to Quil. Looking inside, Quil found at least ten blood beads. He could tell just by looking that they were high quality. This amount of power… He would be able to expand massively.

Looking up all Quil saw was the door swinging closed. He sighed. This is gonna be a shit show no matter what happens. Then he looked at the chair across from him, slowly melting into sludge. Then he looked at the sack in his hand. And like he had done many times before, he let his greed and fear lead him.

"Bruce, Jack, get in here. We have planning to do!" He shouted into the hallway.