Angel Monarch

A week went by in relative peace. None of the city-states suffered any attacks, which almost made everyone forget about the crisis happening all across the planet.

However, while no actual fight happened, the week didn't pass by with everyone doing nothing. They all had jobs to do, mostly preparing the defensive measures of each city.

For example, Bea traveled between cities and grew giant Trees of Light, which connected to the Aegis System. They provided a near-inexhaustible energy source, which increased the shield's overload capacity.

It drained most of Bea's energy, but each time she returned home, her perfect children greeted her. With just a single grin from little Nick, all her exhaustion disappeared.

Sera and Bea played together with Nick and Jo each afternoon. While in the mornings, Damien and Agnes took care of the children.

This schedule worked perfectly for everyone, but it had one tiny problem... they couldn't go on a second date. However, since both mothers deemed spending time with their children more important, this wasn't a genuine problem.

While Bea grew trees in the morning and early afternoon, Sera had a less pleasant job. With Vicky's help, she traveled around the city-states and killed herself to get her usual power boost.

With its help, she pumped large amounts of essence into the previously made Angelic Metal walls. She filled them with energy, then connected them to the Aegis System.

In combination with Sera's Angelic Metal and Bea's Trees of Light, the shields could maybe survive a minute of constant barrage of attacks from an Ethereal, but since only Valerie tested them out, results could differ.

Sera also had a second, arguably more important job, which also needed her to die daily. She needed to increase her power to satisfy her Evolutionary Challenge.

Each death strengthened her soul, yet the process was painfully slow, and she wasn't certain when the Challenge would be satisfied. Maybe she needed to die hundreds of times to complete it. Either way, she felt herself grow more powerful, which made her hopeful.

She needed a lot more strength before fighting any of the primordial gods became a possibility. And since they could attack whenever they desired, her time was running out.

The others worked hard in the past week too.

Mary and James continued connecting more cities with the help of Vicky. Now, most of the Antarctican and South American city-states were under Aegis System protection and had Gates leading to New Athens, the Angelic Order's capital.

The city had only about 16 million residents, but it served as a hub for the Gateways. Every city-state could be reached from New Athens, which had a strange effect on the city.

After decades, maybe even hundreds of years, tourism reappeared on Earth. People from different cities traveled to spend time in New Athens or some other city-state.

The public didn't have access to these Gateways. The threat of war restricted travel for now, but special envoys and their families happily traveled between cities.

By the week's end, they opened the first Gate to the safest city in Asia. Xinya tested the Gateway and stepped through as the special envoy sent by the Asian city-states.

The gathered people cheered as the woman stood beside Lilith and Adam, who had personally come to greet her. At first, Sera and Vicky were supposed to come, but they declined and instead played with Nick and Jo.

However, Xinya didn't care. She came to New Athens with only one quest... to finally meet and explain everything to Lin, her son...

And that's exactly what Xinya did. Lilith took her to Thea's mansion, where Lin moved into.

Yvonne and Yannick were on scouting missions in Northern Europe, while Luzia, Marc and Marko were at work. Only Lydia, Thea and Lin were at home, and as usual they stayed in the giant underground gym.

Xinya's dark blue eyes glanced around the mansion, scrutinizing every detail. She raised an eyebrow at the abundance of statues depicting a familiar Angelic woman.

"Luzia and her family are devout believers and followers of our Goddess." said Lilith, her voice barely louder than a whisper.

The dark-robed woman stopped before a statue depicting Sera standing with a straight back and small smile. She bowed her head while touching the seven-pointed star embroidered on her heart.

The warm early summer breeze felt strangely tranquil while standing beside the statue. Even though Xinya knew the person depicted there wasn't an actual Goddess, Lilith's reverence made her question her beliefs.

"Hey, Lilith. Why're you praying to a Transcended?... I mean, why do you and many others treat her as their Goddess?" asked Xinya while they continued walking towards the gym.

Lilith's swirling purple eyes glanced up at the glowing Tree of Light's giant branches. The sky couldn't be seen from New Athens anymore, but many would argue that Bea's creation is much more magnificent.

"We pray and love our Goddess because she has helped and saved us many times. She suffered for years, so we could live... you included, believe it or not. She always answers our prayers with kindness and continues to protect everybody equally. The least we can do is treat her as a Goddess, even though she's not omnipotent...

"Gods and goddesses are just powerful creatures who love being worshipped. Our Lady is benevolent and perfect, unlike those frauds! She never asked to be worshipped and acted the same, regardless... She's someone above gods and goddesses!"

Xinya still didn't quite understand the minds of these believers. However, she understood why they would worship Lady Seraphine.

She heard the stories the preachers spout in Asia. How Lady Seraphine united and saved Europe. How she killed Harold, an evil scientist. How she got tortured for years, while silently planning to save everyone.

Those preachers certainly over-exaggerated Lady Seraphine's accomplishments, but there had to be truths within the boasting. Xinya wasn't certain where the truth began and lies ended, yet she knew the Last Angel wasn't someone she should trifle with.

They walked on in silence for a few minutes until they finally reached the underground gym.

That's where Lilith said her goodbyes and went on her way. Xinya watched her leave and a few seconds later began walking down the long staircase.

The sound of laughter echoed from the enormous gym. It mixed with some strange electric noise, like the sound a holo-screen makes. It reminded Xinya of those Old World cars, which ran on gasoline.

With slow steps, she came closer to the gym entrance. Her hands shook wildly, and her breathing became frantic.

Three distinct voices reached her ear, and since two were feminine, she recognized Lin's voice instantly. It got deeper since the last time they met, which was only natural for a fourteen-year-old boy.

Eventually, after steeling her will, Xinya stepped down the last steps and entered the gym. She glanced around the workout machines and large metal dueling mat, but soon her eyes landed on the right corner.

On a long sofa, three teenagers sat. They held some controllers while focusing on the wide holo-screen. It seemed they were controlling those Old World cars in a racing game.

They were so focused, nobody noticed Xinya's presence. This complicated the situation and made her feel extremely awkward, as if she was interrupting her son's fun.

Xinya watched them play for a few minutes before turning to leave. However, just as she glanced away, a large weight fell down from its rack, near Xinya.

The Asian woman's dark blue eyes snapped towards the weight rack, and for a moment she saw a dark tendril disappear into the shadows. In the next second, she felt a warm breath on her neck, in the shadows of her hair.

"Don't be stupid and give up. Go! Talk to your son!" ordered the shadow's commanding voice.

A shiver went down Xinya's spine, but soon she noticed how the room turned absolutely silent. The teenagers weren't shouting anymore, and the constant car noise stopped.

With terrified eyes, Xinya glanced around. All three teens were staring right at her with mixed expressions.

Thea stared with narrowed, judgmental silver eyes. She moved before Lin, as if protecting the young boy from Xinya's presence. Her body language clearly suggested her distrust of Xinya.

Lydia's facial expression stayed bored, but Xinya saw the threatening look in her gleaming light blue eyes. She was less defensive about Lin, but not because she didn't care, quite the opposite. Her body language suggested her willingness to attack the moment Xinya got too close.

Lin, unlike the two girls, looked confused. He seemed to be stuck between joy and sadness. He wanted to run and hug his mother, yet his body was rooted in fear.

He was afraid Xinya would take him away from his only friends. The terror of losing his newfound freedom made the young boy terrified. Especially since his friends might die if it comes to fighting between them and his mother!

They were stuck in an emotional stalemate. Xinya couldn't force herself to talk, same with her son. Thea and Lydia felt no need to speak, so the silence remained in control.

However, after a minute passed, a familiar noise echoed through the enormous room... The sound of cars racing...

All four people's heads snapped towards the holo-screen. The game unpaused itself, and one car continued the race.

"Damn, this game's pretty good!" said a feminine voice sitting in a nearby armchair.

Her long legs draped on one side, while her perfect golden hair fell down the other. Her golden petal dress scrunched up as she leaned back and watched the holo-screen.

"Hey, Faith! Tell Hestia to rig up a holo-screen and a game console in my room! I'm sure Nick will enjoy some more engaging games!"

A pale hand rose from the shadows on Sera's chest, showing a thumbs-up.

A few seconds later, Sera went through the finish line and won the race. Afterward, she jumped to her feet and, with a wide grin, she glanced around at the shocked expressions.

"Hi, everyone! I've been meaning to talk to you, and I think this is the perfect time!"