The Ascent of the Angelic Ch. 04

Rhys stood near the unused road to the center. He hid himself away in the trees, not wanting to cause a ruckus in the off chance someone saw him walk off with an angelic being to a den of sin. He hefted his bag of food and miscellaneous supplies, bringing him some comfort. A simple scabbard clung to his side, holding the very same sword he used a mere day ago. It was poorly made, as he could only use what scraps of leather he could find in the splinters of his home, but for his first attempt it seemed well enough.

Mehira hadn't given him a precise time, merely when the 'sun reached its highest point in the sky'. He must've been standing there for several hours, and with good reason. Rhys didn't need anyone catching wind of his plans and talking him out of it, or worse, holding him back at the village. So he waited, and waited, looking out for any traces of the golden woman ready to journey with him to a place he wouldn't have dared venture to in all his dreams. It was exciting when put that way, so he held onto it as long as he could.

A glint of hope appeared on the road. Mehira had finally arrived. She spread her wings and bowed for Rhys.

"No formalities, please," he said, emerging from the brush.

"I think it pertinent when you seek to go with me on a dangerous task." She raised herself and folded back up. "Are you prepared?"

Rhys nodded.

"Then I suppose we should be going." She turned and began to march. Rhys trailed behind her, not wanting to interfere with her obviously strict regime.

The pair walked on and on without exchanging a word. Mehira was strictly focused on the road ahead, naturally. Rhys took the time to look around him. The forest had thinned out and had been replaced with squat hovels with fences around them. Most of them seemed untouched, and yet others were badly burnt to a crisp and ravaged to a black smear upon the ground. Occasionally a metal husk sat in one of the pathways of these hovels, completely stripped bare.

"Keep alert, Rhys, you do not know what lurks under every shadow," Mehira said.

"Yes, Mehira," he replied.

Her words made him worry there might be more to these innocent homes than meets the eye. As far as he knew, demons could only take hold of a lesser creature, but being so close to a center he supposed that sin could make itself known in any way. He placed a hand on the hilt of his sword, bringing him some comfort. He then looked back to Mehira, affording him a shred more of relaxation.

The towers in the distance grew closer, shining the blue sky clearly back out with their many windows. With such a dazzling bit of architecture it was hard to believe that it could harbor anything evil, or even the slightest bit malicious, but admittedly Rhys hadn't a clue what was actually in them. Perhaps a long, writhing mass of flesh made up a disgusting spine of the thing, with only an outer shell luring the innocent like a beacon of hope. Rhys shook his head. Most likely not that sinful.

Buildings grew in height, noises began to echo, the life that made up the road had vanished to a sparse trace of greenery here or there. No longer was there the hum of insects or the rush of wind. A feeling of dread crept up on Rhys, slicing up his spine and nestling itself in his head. Either this was the effect of sin or the stories spoken of the place were getting the better of him. Mehira hadn't changed, marching forward with conviction. Rhys briefly wondered what would happen if she were to somehow... die. Did she get safely returned to the heavens? Rhys left it at that, not wanting to think of what would happen to her in a place like this. Whatever the case, he would do his best to save her.

The buildings now towered over the couple, peering down at them. In the distance two figures stood guard. Fortunately their white and gold coloring confirmed their good nature, or at least their non-hostility. They were cherubim, and had Rhys not seen the others move, he would have assumed they were also statues. They made no movements upon Rhys and Mehira's approach, but she stopped all the same as if they did.

"As directed by the heavens, I have come to this center," Mehira said. She hit her spear against the ground, bringing the cherubim' attention to her. A moment later they snapped to Rhys. "This soul from the flock has--" Before Mehira could finish, the cherubim stepped aside. She nodded and continued forward, beckoning Rhys in the process.

Rhys glanced back at the cherubim as he followed her, expecting their heads focused on him, but they hadn't moved.

"I am surprised they let you past with no resistance," Mehira said. "Perhaps not even the cherubim are above service to your souls."

"That aside, what are you supposed to do here?" Rhys asked. "There doesn't seem to be anything here whatsoever." Nothing angelic or demonic, that is. More metal husks sat on the street, battered and broken. The buildings also received a spatter of carnage with dried blood and their own array of broken features. What was lacking were corpses. The way they were spoken about, Rhys expected the place to be littered with skeletons and the remains of the sinned. It was possible that the protectors kept the place clean. "Was there not sin to vanquish?"

"This is the first center to be cleared of evil," Mehira replied. "That's not to say nothing will creep in underneath."

Rhys wanted to keep on his guard, but he found himself gawking at everything. The sheer size of the buildings were impressive. At a distance they were a strange sight, but up close they were absolute behemoths. To think people used to live here was something alien in itself.

"I imagine my purpose will be revealed further in. Whether this is a test or not, I will seek it out. You may still leave if you wish," she said.

"And miss being the first human to step into a center in a long while? Come now, Mehira, I couldn't."

"I believe there is a special idiom about a feline for this occasion."

"I haven't heard of it." Rhys hefted his backpack and moved to Mehira's side.

"Then I suppose curiosity is not your weakness in this moment," she replied. He could hear a smile in her intonation. "Come now, we have a purpose to find."

And yet, Rhys felt as though he had already found his.

The pair continued walking forward for quite some time. Rhys hardly felt the toll, being wholly absorbed in the scenery in front of him. Were it not for some of the carnage on display, it would have felt like a frozen slice of time, showing pristine stores and large art. Though there was an odd lifelessness to it all. Not the lack of people, but rather the lack of greenery. He began to wonder how anyone actually managed to live so far away from nature. It must have been quite loud too.

"Was the kingdom like this?" Rhys asked. "Where you lived?"

Mehira stopped and turned to him. "I suppose, in a way." She looked up. "Perhaps not as grey."

"Ah, more... white and gold?"

Mehira chuckled. "No, no. I would see why you would hold such an image. While these are our uniform colors, they do not permeate every aspect of the heavens." She turned to a window, which displayed several ornate dresses in several colors. "Something more like these is what I would prefer for myself."

Rhys moved up to the window. He couldn't imagine trying to clean those. "I think you would look quite nice in a red." He leaned over and noticed the entrance to the building was slightly ajar. "Why not take a closer look at them?"

Mehira shook her head. "We could not. I have a duty to seek and accomplish."

"Perhaps this is your duty?"

"To drink in the sight of fabric? I doubt that very much."

"Then perhaps we might find what duty that lies within. I'm certain the heavens would send us a sign if it weren't." He walked over to the door and held it open. "You deserve some sort of break for the arduous undertaking, correct?" While Rhys was aware of the inherent danger within a center, being cleared out guaranteed some safety, right? The cherubim weren't too far either, so it wasn't as lonely a trip as expected.

Mehira stared at him for a moment before saying, "Keep on your guard." She went inside, ducking underneath the doorway.

The interior was darker than Rhys expected. Mehira quickly fixed that with a stamp of her spear, causing it to glow a brilliant white. Was there anything she couldn't do? Rhys looked about the room. The store had very clearly sold clothes, all arranged on walls or odd metal carousels. Several fake persons stood watch, dressed up in the clothing. They almost looked like cherubim themselves, just without the odd imagery plastered on them.

"What a large space for clothing," Rhys mumbled to himself. It was bigger than any room he had ever been in, and it was all dedicated to dazzling and cumbersome clothing.

Mehira walked silently through the space, running her fingers across the garments. Unfortunately none would fit her larger size. He figured she would manage to pull off some of the more feminine displays quite well. He followed after Mehira, noting again how untouched everything was, aside from some torn metal boxes at the entrance.

Mehira plucked a dress from one of the carousels and held it up. "A curious choice of designs to hide the form." She placed it against her chest and looked down before placing it back on the rack. "I do not see anything for the male physique."

"Then this place must be for females only," Rhys replied.

There was a sort of quaintness to the idea of a store directed at clothing for women. For a moment the fears of the modern world disappeared, replaced by gawking at female wear. There was supposed to be sin here, wasn't there? Rhys glanced about the store, trying to see what might be sinful about this place. Aside from some elaborately designed undergarments on a farther wall, there wasn't much in the way of demonic forces at work. Perhaps that washed away when the center was purified? The two continued to walk through the store, only trading glances every so often when Mehira would pick out something.

"I do not understand the purpose of this construction," she said. The guardian held up a feathery thing that almost looked like a fluffy snake. She shook it about.

"It looks like a scarf almost," Rhys said, tapping his chin.

Mehira looked at him, then to the feathered thing. Carefully she wrapped the thing around her neck, instantly transforming her into something haughty. In an odd way it was almost arousing. The softness of the material clashed with her armor, no doubt. The bright pink of the thing didn't help matters much. At the same time it helped to bring out a dash of feminine charm to Mehira, like it was drawing out all the curves in her body.

"Is something wrong?" she asked suddenly.

Rhys shook his head. Maybe that was the sin right there, showing itself through him. "Merely admiring the handiwork on that... thing," he replied. His mind debated with itself for a moment before saying, "It looks quite good on you."

"Truly?" Mehira ran her fingers through it. "Not fitting for a guardian in any case." She began pulling it off.

"Wait," Rhys said suddenly, stopping Mehira. His libido got the better of him. "Uhm, never mind." Mehira grasped at the thing some more, then placed it back in its place. "Do you like any of the dresses here?" he asked in a bid to change the subject.

"I do. Why do you ask?"

"I was thinking we could take one as a souvenir of sorts. Then fit it for you."

"That would be theft," Mehira said simply. "Theft from the dead at that."

Rhys opened his mouth to object, but he supposed she was right.

"But thank you for your consideration, dear Rhys," she said.

"Well, it is a store of sorts, perhaps I could trade something of value in turn?" The dead probably didn't care much for rations. "Not that I have the trading papers for it."

"Dollars," Mehira said with a nod. "I recall that detail specifically." She brought a dress to attention, presenting a small tag on its side with numbers. "They would trade paper dollars for this item. Fascinating is it not?"

"I never quite understood that. What value does paper have?" Rhys looked at the tag. "You would need over a hundred papers for this alone."

"That is part of the human connection. The desire to add value where none lingers. See to the dresses on display that aren't more than threads in elaborate forms."

That was poetic, but Rhys also thought that was ridiculous. That was a good part of humans though, he figured.

"Quite appealing elaborate forms," she said, running a hand across some fabric.

"Are you certain you wouldn't mind taking just one?" Rhys asked.

"While the dead are not interested in these earthly possessions, let us leave it where it lay out of respect, shall we?"

Rhys nodded. "We shall."

"Now we should keep our pace so I do not fawn over the spun threads of the past forever," she said with a giggle.