The large hall of fate gleamed with shining marble pillars that stretched up towards a ceiling of stars.
The people in the room were no different from humans, but if you look closely, large beautiful wings in the shade of gold or silver lined their backs, a sign that revealed they weren't merely humans.
They spoke in loud voices as they animatedly discussed the elaborate love story they were about to create.
However, among the excited chatter, a brooding presence sat right at the center, watching them all with a chilling gaze
Azrael Li, the demon of love, sat behind a massive mahogany desk carved with swirling designs of roses and arrows.
His figure was both tall and foreboding.
A long black coat hung on his wide shoulders contrasting with his pale smooth skin. His piercing, cold emerald eyes watched those around him with detached aloofness.
His pale long fingers, adorned with a single tattooed symbol on the middle finger, tapped quietly against the polished wood of the desk. With his presence, the air became dangerously cold, the total opposite of the excitement in the air.
Every movement he made exuded dominance as he watched the scene before him with cold indifference.
One of the working demons fearfully approached him, clutching a scroll to his chest. As he stood in Azrael Li's presence, his face fell into a mix of awe and terror.
"Azrael…" He bowed as he extended a scroll with both hands, not daring to look at the older demon in front of him.
Azrael's eyes skimmed over the scroll with little interest before his hand wrapped around it. He unwrapped it slowly, the parchment crackling in the silence. He coldly stared at the names written on the paper, his vivid green eyes displaying no emotion whatsoever.
"They are to be fated?" He spoke in a deep, smooth voice, with an undertone of authority which sent a shiver up the demon's spine.
"Y-yes … yes, sir," he stammered, nodding vigorously.
Azrael Li stood up, his tall intimidating figure looming above the smaller beings in the room. He walked with powerful calculated steps, every movement careful and controlled. The faint click of his well-polished boots echoed on the marble floor as he strode toward a huge screen that magically hung suspended in mid-air, glimmering like molten silver.
"Details Tang Chen," he ordered the smaller demon without looking, his eyes trained on the mirror.
"Yes...Yes Azrael", The demon answered, nodding fervently.
Tang Chen, stepped forward and waved his hand towards the mirror with a slight fumble. The surface of the mirror rippled, and an image of Earth appeared. It zoomed in on two figures sitting in a crowded college lecture hall.
They sat near each other but were unaware of each other's presence.
"The boy and the girl," Tang Chen began nervously, "went to the same high school but they never really crossed paths. Now in college, they take similar classes as well as share a friend group, but they still don't know each other."
Azrael Li tilted his head slightly, emerald eyes narrowing as he watched the figures. The girl had long blond hair that curled softly over her shoulders, framing her delicate features with wisps that broke free of her braid. She wore a plain lavender jumper, highlighting her soft curves, paired with a skirt that blew in a slight breeze every time she shuffled in her seat.
She sat furrowing her brow, pen moving quickly on paper as she wrote.
The boy, on the other hand, had a quiet confidence about him. His dark hair was a little tousled, as though he had run a hand through it just seconds before. He wore a black hoodie and jeans that made him look lean. Although his eyes flicked towards the girl from time to time, he shook his head quickly looking away as if he was trying to focus on anything else apart from the blonde.
As he gained confidence, Tang Chen went on, his voice becoming steadier.
"Though the boy has noticed her a few times — thanks mostly to the natural vibrations of his calling — but he thinks the only reason is drawn to her was because of his vague recognition of her from high school."
"Hmm." Azrael Li's hum was low and Noncommittal, though his eyes stayed glued to the scene.
Tang Chen paused and added, "The best part is their story unfolds today.
We have suggested starting the encounter between them with a natural event— a typhoon.
It's one of the ways we can get the girl to leave her strict schedule, because on a normal day, she is very focused on going home immediately after school, with no chance for them to talk.
Azrael Li's eyes gleamed a bit — it wasn't out of happiness, but intrigue. "A typhoon."
"Yes, sir," Tang Chen confirmed, nodding. "She's going to be delayed by it, and the boy is going to see her standing outside a park in his neighborhood. Concerned for her safety, he'll warn her about the storm. Before she's able to leave, the weather advisory is going to ramp up, and she won't be able to drive home."
Furrowing his brow, Azrael Li leaned in closer to the mirror, his piercing green orbs absorbing every inch of Tang Chen's explanation as he watched it unfold in the images.
"He'll invite her to stay at his place — a small gesture, but one that must be made to lay the foundation for the connection between them. Once they arrive at his place they'll naturally want to talk and through their conversations, they start to realize just how intertwined their lives already are.
From faded memories to shared experiences, they'll discover the threads that bind them and eventually be free around each other,"
The demons in the hall whispered to each other happily, secretly praising Tang Chen's daring act to lay out his plan for Azrael Li to follow.
Azrael Li raised a hand, and the whispers stopped in a heartbeat. "And from there?"
Tang Chen swallowed hard. "After that, they'll become friends. Gradually, they will transition from friends to deep crushes, to…" He let his words die, unfinished.
Azrael's face didn't change, but his emerald eyes sparkled with an unreadable emotion. He extended his long pale fingers, gliding the surface of the mirror. The image changed to the boy and girl again in another scene.
This time, they leaned in for a kiss.
"Very well," he finally said, his voice holding a finality that made Tang Chen's wings shiver.
Azrael Li turned, his black coat brushing against the floor. He moved calmly to a large glowing portal — a pearlescent, round gateway to Earth — and turned to look back at the demons.
"It's showtime," he ordered, with an impassive but commending tone.
With a rush, the demons sprang forward, wings flapping as they began to spin the threads of fate. Glittery threads of gold and silver that float through the air and intertwine as they tell the story that will transform two lives forever.
Azrael Li passed through the portal and his form disappeared in that whirl of light.
The demons watched in awe.
"A new story is about to unfold," Tang Chen whispered, hope blooming in his eyes as the first strands of love began to weave together..