Michael stood by the floor-to-ceiling window of the living room in his suite at Primo Albergo dell'Angelo, the city lights of New York flickering below like restless stars. His posture was still, rigid... almost statuesque... hands clasped loosely behind his back.
"Young Master," Francois said quietly from behind him. "You have a visitor."
Michael turned toward the door.
Behind Francois stood Uriel.
"Hello, big brother," Uriel greeted with a bright smile, lifting a hand in a casual wave. "I left you a message that I would visit."
Michael's expression remained unreadable.
"Leave us," he instructed Francois.
The butler bowed immediately and exited the living room area, the bodyguards following without a sound.
Uriel waited until the door shut before speaking again.
"That butler of yours is quite rude. Do you know what he was thinking earlier?" she asked, strolling inside without waiting to be invited. She took a seat as if the suite belonged to her. "He was thinking, 'You look older than me. And you call my Young Master big brother?' Doesn't he know it's rude to question a lady's age? And for your information, I age like fine, exquisite wine."
"If you are going to be offended by being called old," Michael replied evenly as he took the seat across from her, "why maintain an old form?"
"No wonder your people are rude. They learned it from their master," Uriel retorted. In a blink of light, she shed her elderly doctor persona and transformed into her youthful appearance... silver hair cascading over her shoulders, golden eyes gleaming. "And do you always do that? Stand by the window? Stare at the horizon? Do you not have anything more meaningful to do? You took a human vessel. The least you can do is enjoy it. Act like a real human. Not stare into nothingness waiting for Him to speak. He is not going to talk to you, Mikael. If any of us hears from Him first, it will be Gabriel."
"I do not need to live like a human," Michael answered calmly.
"Then why take a human vessel time and time again if you refuse to live as one?" Uriel countered. "Eternity is very long, brother, to spend it waiting for Him to show Himself again."
"How I spend my eternity is none of your concern, Uriel," Michael replied, his tone sharpening slightly.
Uriel merely shook her head.
"So tell me," Michael continued, "why did you interfere with my warrior angels while they were carrying out my command?"
"Your warrior angels?" Uriel echoed, lifting a brow. "And when exactly did they become yours? I must have missed that memo."
"They are warrior angels. They fall under my command," Michael said firmly.
"And that makes them yours?" she challenged.
"Did you stop Eryxiel from following my orders and come here to see me after a thousand years just to argue?" Michael asked, irritation threading through his otherwise calm voice.
Uriel laughed softly at that.
"No. I was simply testing you. Seeing whether, after countless human vessels, you have finally developed actual human emotion."
"Why did you stop them?" Michael repeated, ignoring her teasing.
Uriel folded her hands neatly on her lap.
"Eryxiel and the others could not hear Casadin and Hades's thoughts. That is why you ordered them watched, correct?" she asked... but did not wait for his answer. She knew him too well. He never repeated himself, never answered until the other had finished speaking. Typical Mikael.
"They are damned," she said simply.
One of Michael's brows lifted slightly.
"They were angels?" he asked, disbelief slipping into his voice. "I remember every damned angel punished for committing the ultimate sin of betrayal after the war that followed the Great Divide. I do not recall them."
Uriel shrugged.
"I did not recognize them either. Evadne was once my patient. During one of our sessions, Hades came with her. That was when I saw it... the Mark of Betrayal etched into his soul. I did not know him. So I spoke to the one who would."
"Azrael," Michael said quietly.
Uriel nodded.
"He confirmed it. They were Blackhearts. They were damned after the Great Divide but before the War at the Gates of the Celestials. They never fought in that war."
"They chose to follow Samael but betrayed each other," Michael said, voice cold. "Being Blackhearts suits them."
"And Evadne?" he added. "Eryxiel reported that he could not enter the room she occupied. A celestial force barred them."
Uriel's gaze sharpened.
"Evadne is a reincarnated soul from Solmara."
Michael's eyes widened slightly... a rare break in his composure.
"Solmara?" he repeated.
"And Samael made a deal with her," Uriel continued. "Her soul would leave her body in Solmara, and in return, Samael promised her a rebirth... a life she deserved."
"She made a deal with Samael?" Michael asked, incredulous.
Uriel held his gaze steadily.
"Eryxiel said you feel an unexplainable pull toward her. It is because of her connection to Samael. Nothing more."
"That's not possible," Michael said, a faint crack of disbelief threading through his usually controlled tone. He was not entirely sure whether he was speaking to Uriel... or trying to convince himself. "I would have known if Samael transferred a soul from his world to Earth. Or the other way around."
Uriel merely shrugged.
"How would you have known?" she countered lightly. "He did it while you were asleep in your human vessel. In case you've forgotten, you always block your memory when you enter your vessel as an infant. You remain disconnected until your eighteenth summer. You would not have known anything during that time."
She leaned back in her seat, studying him.
"And your warrior angels? They cannot question anyone of our rank about soul transfers. They have no authority to challenge an Archangel. You were cut off from the Hallway of the Celestials the moment you tethered yourself to that body, Mikael."
A knowing smile curved her lips.
"Coincidence? Perhaps. Or perhaps Samael simply waited for you to leave the Hall before making his move. Who knows? The rest of us merely observe your eternal feud. It makes eternity less dull."
Silence stretched between them.
Then Uriel's golden gaze sharpened.
"There is something different about you, brother," she said after a long pause.
"Different?" Michael repeated evenly.
Uriel's teasing smile returned.
"Yes. The reason I usually avoid visiting you while you're in your human vessel is because you become even more insufferable than usual. A human acting high and mighty... it tempts me to strike you. And I would rather not join the Damned."
She tilted her head thoughtfully.
"But now… you're different."
Michael said nothing.
"For one," she continued, "you have repeated my words several times tonight. You never repeat yourself. You despise repetition. Two... you feel uncertain. About something. Or someone."
Her eyes widened slightly as realization dawned. Then she chuckled.
"Don't tell me. The unexplainable pull you feel toward Evadne... that isn't the only reason you sent your most loyal warrior angel to watch her, is it?"
Michael's jaw tightened.
"Of course not," Uriel continued mercilessly. "Watching a human so closely would normally be beneath you. So tell me… have you fallen in love with your twin's human?"
"That is absurd!" Michael shot to his feet, the sharpness of his denial echoing through the suite.
Uriel laughed... this time openly.
"I had Eryxiel keep watch because she is an anomaly," Michael said through clenched composure. "An enigma I do not yet understand."
Uriel rose slowly, circling him like a cat amused by its prey.
"Your human vessel is quite convenient, isn't it?" she said softly. "It gives you a free pass to feel human emotion. And a free pass to lie. Lie to me. Lie to yourself."
She stepped closer.
"Look at you. Feeling rage. Indignation. Did taking a human vessel make you feel human… or was it Evadne?"
Michael's silence was answer enough to amuse her further.
"Since when have you ever cared about a human enigma?" Uriel pressed. "You are Father's greatest protector. You refused to create your own world because Earth was enough for you... because you believed you needed to guard it. But that's the truth, isn't it? You don't care about humans. You care about Father's creation."
She smiled gently, though her words cut.
"To you, humans are sheep. You are the shepherd. If one wanders away, you never grieve. Another sheep will take its place."
Uriel smiled wickedly.
"So tell me, Mikael… have you fallen for Evadne? You can confide in me. I will keep it a secret. Unless, of course, someone asks." She shrugged. "Unlike you in your human vessel, I cannot lie in my true form."
"Enough," Michael said quietly.
His voice was low. Calm.
Too calm.
Uriel instinctively stepped back.
"Fine," she said lightly, raising her hands in surrender before returning to her seat. "I will stop teasing you."
A beat passed.
"Anyway," she added casually, "why were you hovering around the Falcon estate?"
Michael looked at her coldly. She continued smiling as if she had not just struck at his core.
After a moment, he exhaled.
He did have questions... questions he could not answer while bound to his human vessel. And the only being who could answer them sat before him.
"There was a Celestial Blessing on that property," Michael said at last. "And the woman Ceres... I discovered she carries a Celestial Soul."
Uriel nodded.
"Samael's deal with Evadne was because of Ceres," Uriel explained. "Ceres died before her appointed time. Before the Fates could determine which world she would be sent to in order to continue accumulating karma, Samael intervened. He took her soul and sent it to Solmara."
Michael's eyes narrowed.
"And her soul now occupies the original body of Evadne in Solmara," Uriel finished calmly.
"But I have a feeling you already knew that Ceres was sent to Solmara," Uriel said thoughtfully. "It is not exactly a secret among the Archangels."
"Gabriel told me," Michael replied quietly.
Uriel nodded.
"But not about Evadne," Michael added.
"That makes sense," Uriel admitted. "I did not know about her either until she came to my clinic and became my patient."
She leaned back slightly in her chair.
"The Celestial aura within her is faint... but it is there. And her memories from her previous life are clawing their way back to the surface. That is a sign she never passed through the Chamber of Judgment. Her past was not erased because no one tried to erase them."
Michael's gaze sharpened.
"And when I entered her mind during our first session," Uriel continued, "I saw it. A memory of Solmara. Clear as daylight."
Silence lingered for a moment before Michael spoke again.
"Why would Father create a new Celestial Soul?" he asked. "Why did I not know about Ceres? And what did Samael want with her?"
Uriel shrugged lightly.
"Who can say why Father creates anything? Perhaps He intended to replace one of us. Is there truly any among us who understands His plans... especially now, when He has not spoken a word in ages?"
She tilted her head.
"As for you not knowing about Ceres… perhaps you should ask yourself why. There have been many instances where we sensed Celestial Souls among humans. None ever ascended... but you never cared. You never showed interest."
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
"But now? You have been hovering around the late Zeus Falcon's estate for days. And forgive me, brother, but I do not believe for a moment that it is only because of the Celestial Blessing embedded in that land."
She leaned forward.
"So what is it?"
Michael did not answer.
"If you wish to know what Samael wanted with Ceres' soul," Uriel added lightly, "ask him."
Michael's gaze drifted to the floor-to-ceiling glass wall overlooking the city once again.
He stood there for a long while.
Uriel did not interrupt. Eternity had taught them patience. Waiting minutes... or hours... was nothing.
Finally, Michael turned back toward her.
"Do you remember how I named my blade?" he asked.
Uriel frowned slightly.
"You named it before the Great Divide," she said slowly. "You told us we should name our weapons so they would respond when called. You said, 'How can they answer if they do not know the name they should answer to?'"
"That is what I remember as well," Michael said.
He paused.
"But a few months ago, I began having recurring dreams. Of another Archangel. Her name was Seraphadneel."
Uriel's expression shifted subtly.
"At first, the dreams would slip away when I woke," Michael continued. "But I knew they existed because I would awaken screaming her name."
He exhaled slowly.
"I do not remember her. She has no face in my dreams. But Calyndris knew of her. And she said Samael knew of her as well."
Uriel's lips curved faintly.
"And you never considered that a Blackheart might simply be playing with your mind? They would revel in knowing they unsettled you."
Michael shook his head.
"At Zeus Falcon's estate, when I touched Ceres' tomb… I saw her again."
His voice lowered.
"Seraphadneel. Still faceless. But it was not merely a dream. It was a memory. I felt it in my bones."
Uriel's golden eyes studied him carefully.
"We were sparring," Michael said. "And she… she was the one who helped me name my blade. She told me that a blade cannot answer if it does not know the name it must answer to."
His jaw tightened.
"At first I believed the memory random. But each time I returned to that tomb, it grew clearer. More vivid."
He paused.
"She remained faceless… until the day I met Evadne."
Uriel did not move.
"When I saw her," Michael continued, "Seraphadneel appeared in my mind... and she bore Evadne's face."
Silence fell heavily between them.
"Have you never felt it, Uriel?" Michael asked quietly. "A gap in our memories? Something missing from before the Great Divide… before the War at the Gates?"
Uriel's brows drew together.
"You think," she said carefully, "that Father cast another Archangel out of Heaven besides Samael?"
"Let us assume it is true," she continued. "Where would He cast her? I have never heard that name before, Mikael."
Michael's eyes darkened.
"What if He cast her into the Veil?"
Uriel stilled.
"There was only one being He cast into the Veil, Mikael," she said slowly.
"And you know who that was."