Hours after the event that led to the destruction of the Souls-Corps base, in which many lost their lives, and the few who survived were placed on an indefinite medical leave, Teon and his friends, as well as Lucius and the others who engaged in the fight with Aziel, arrive at Lucius's island. Max, Percy, and Lloyd are mostly unharmed, except for a few small burns. Managing to leave the base before its utter destruction, they also warned and managed to help others escape.

  Once the island came into view, Max couldn't believe her eyes and asked Kai and Teon if they really trained and lived on this paradise of an island. For the whole flight Teon was carrying the still unconscious Kaia in his arms. They land in the soft white sand of the beach. Max's wide eyes scan the area, and she fidgets around excitedly. As the group walks towards Lucius's estate, Kaia flinches and moves for the first time in hours. She grunts and rubs her head. Once she opens her eyes and the sun reflects in them, Teon stops. The others do likewise and look at him.

  "Why did you stop?"

  Teon doesn't respond to Lucius's question, his gaze fixed on Kaias's eyes. Where once there were two flawless blue eyes, only one remains. The other turned bright orange, the same color as the light that came from the gaps between Aziel's scales. But that is not the only thing that changed. Her pupil is slit. Kaia blinks a few times to get used to the brightness of the sun and looks around. She moves and nearly falls out of Teon's arms.

  "Hey, slowly."

  Exhausted Kaia sighs, and her body relaxes again, giving up the attempt to move on her own. Teon carries her all the way into the estate. While their friends bring their few belongings into their new rooms, Teon, followed by Kai, brings Kaia into a big living room and sets her down on a couch. She sinks slightly into the cushions and rests her head back against it. Max sticks her head through the doorway to let the three know that she and the others are going to the training field already.

  "Alright, good luck, Max."

  Max's eyes wander from Teon and Kai to Kaia, and smiles hurt. As she disappears into the hallway again, Kai turns to his friend.

  "I'm going with them. When even Lucius struggled against... that thing. Everyone of us has to become stronger."

  He gives Teon one last hug before leaving. Teon turns around to look at Kaia. Her posture changed the moment Kai mentioned Aziel. She cowers on the couch, legs pulled against her chest, tears welling up in her eyes.

  "Kaia... what is it?"

  Teon asks before slowly moving to sit down next to her. She clenches her jaw for a moment, trying to hold back the urge to break down and just cry. Waiting for her to calm down, Teon remains silent. Following the silence is a long sigh from Kaia, and after she wipes the tears from her eyes, she speaks up, barely audible.

  "T...the voice is back. It's calling my name... telling me to kill you. Kill everyone on the island."

  "You're strong, Kaia. I believe in you; you can hold her back."

  "No... I can't take this anymore, Teon. Please... help me."

  The desperate plea for help from one of his best friends breaks him inside. He breaks the promise he made to himself to be strong in front of and for his friends. Now his eyes start to fill with tears.

  "I wish I could... I wish I was able to do something, anything, to help you."

  "Look at him, girl. Look how pathetic he is, crying because of you."

  Aziel's words echo through Kaias head.

  "He is not pathetic. He is strong. Stronger than I'll ever be."

  A few weeks go by, and it turns out that the reason why Aziel's soul resides within Kaias body is her ability to switch at will with the beats. The moment Kaia was born, Aziel's soul was dragged out of hell and into her body. The hell dragon's mind was sealed till Kaia became strong enough to physically endure the torment coming from it. While Aziel is undoubtedly stronger, Kaia is the one who decides which of them controls the body. The reason she couldn't during Aziel's first appearance was because she fell unconscious from blood loss, and her soul gave way for Aziel to take over.

  Atop the island's mountain, Lucius collapses to his knees. For the weeks since his fight with Aziel, he trained again, his training partner the only person suitable for it. Ragnar.

  "It's been weeks, and this bit still takes a toll on you?"

  "Yes, it does."

  Lucius responds as he takes a breath to stand up.

  "I'm past my prime. That's exactly why we're training."

  Ragnar shakes his head and sighs before telling Lucius to get ready for another round. Lucius pants exhaustedly and goes along. Attacking Ragnar with everything he got, knowing that even in his prime he would've never been able to even leave a scratch on this man's body. At the foot of the mountain, Max, Percy, Lloyd, and Kai are all teaming up against Rumi. Kaia and Teon sit on the side on one of the many fallen tree trunks, observing. The forest clearing they use as a training ground shows much more battle damage than before. A testament to how hard everyone works to improve.

  "Do you want to join them, Kaia?"

  Teon asks with a calm tone, his eyes never leaving the movements of the six fighters in front of them, analyzing all their patterns. Kaia shakes her head in response, the possibility of what might happen when she engages and the guilt of what Aziel has done with her body weighing heavy on her soul.

  "Come on, girl. Let me out; I beat them all. I promise I won't kill anyone."

  The dragon mocks.

  "No, I'll never give up control again!"

  "Fine, if you don't want to. But I'll go; I can't get too rusty, or the gap between Kai and me becomes too great."

  He stands up and slowly makes his way to the rest. They stop and look at him. Kai smirks, asking if he finally came to help them beat Rumi. Teon grins and denies, saying that he aims for another challenge. He stretches a bit before he squats down and jumps high up to reach the top of the mountain. Kais eyes follow him, the smirk on his lips never wavering. Teon lands right between Ragnar and Lucius. The landing breaks the stone beneath his feet, and without giving himself the time to even think why he's up there with them, he attacks Lucius. The old man is taken by surprise and seems to struggle defending himself from the incoming attacks at first. Ragnar's look of surprise turns into one of interest, and he sits down at the edge of the peak to watch.

  "Well, if this isn't an interesting match. Humanities Guardian Angel versus his copy, the Blood Angel."

  The two fighters clash, palmy pressing against another, as each tries to push the other backwards. It only takes a thought's length for Lucius to get the upper hand.

  "Come on, you two, stop just pushing each other around and use your powers."

  "Have you lost your mind?! I'd like to still have an island after training!"

  "Don't worry. I'll take care of that."

  Lucius sighs at Ragnar's insistence, and with one powerful push, he shoves Teon away from himself and transforms. The whole area is swallowed in a bright, seemingly godly light. Shortly after, it tones down, and Lucius hovers slightly above the ground, wings, halo, and everything.

  This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

  Teon watches him eagerly before tagging along. After his transformation is complete and Ragnar gets to see the equivalent of a holy warrior facing off a hellish being, he rests his face between his hands, elbows propped up on his legs; he feels like a child watching its favorite show all over again.

  The group at the foot of the mountain stops their sparring once again as they feel the change in atmosphere. Kaia stands up from the trunk, and Aziel tells her to climb the mountain to find out what's going on.

  "This is going to be so much fun to watch."

  Ragnar thinks to himself. Teon starts off the fight by drawing his upside-down cross, but Lucius cancels it out with his own, normal one. As a follow-up, Teon dashes at Lucius, spreading blood all over the small mountain peak. Lucius's wings block, parry, or counter any incoming attack, but each time they get covered more and more in blood. Never stopping his onslaught of attacks, Teon snaps, and all the blood bursts into black flames. Lucius is stunned by the pain they cause. This gives Teon enough time to take hold of one wing, and while pressing with one foot against Lucius's side, he rips the burning wing off. Lucius gasps out, the pain from losing a wing overwriting the one from the fire. Teon lets the wing fall to the ground, where it turns into ash.

  "Either Lucius has gotten way weaker than I expected, or this boy is way stronger than we all thought!"

  Lucius pants and gathers some distance between him and Teon. After a brief pause, he stands up straight and puts the palms of his hands together in a praying motion. A circle of light forms around Teon. He recognizes it from the battle against Aziel. His last thought is to get away before a beacon of light comes from the sky and hits him before he even has the chance to move. His legs give in, and he falls. His wings break, and the blood on them dries. After a moment Lucius lets his hands fall to his side, and the attack stops. Coughing up blood, Teon struggles to get back on his feet. Wings hanging limp down and dragging over the floor, he limps forward.

  "Let's stop this here."

  "No! I'll stop when I beat you."

  His wings begin to heal.

  "If I want to help others and keep my friends safe from things like Aziel, I have to surpass even the likes of you. And I'll do anything to achieve it!"

  Lucius ignores his words. His attention, just as Ragnar's, lay on something completely different. In this exact moment they share the same thought: When did Teon learn to use his soul to heal his body? Teon continues.

  "If I want to help Kaia, I need to be more. If not... what kind of friend am I? What kind of son to my parents would I be... if I can't keep the ones closest to me safe? Tell me!"

  As he yells the last two words, his energy output skyrockets. Ragnar's eyes widen in shock and excitement alike.

  "It's increasing at an incredible pace. Where is his limit?"

  "No, I won't stop. Not even on the verge of death. I will not stop. Not even if it means facing the likes of you two in a serious fight!"

  With each word, Teon limps closer towards Lucius. Each step leaves blood in its wake, which starts burning without the need of his snap. His halo cracks more, and more blood comes dripping down into his hair. And then, as he stops right in front of his teacher and uses all his strength to straighten up, a new pair of wings sprouts from behind him right below the other.

  "Let's continue!"

  Unfazed by the evolution in front of him, Lucius puts his right hand flat against Teon's chest. A bright light fades in between them, and Teon is sent flying. With all air pushed out of his lungs, he crashes into a nearby rock. It takes no time for him to recover and look at where Lucius stood before. The man gone puts his hand on the boy's shoulder from behind, just like the day they met. Gentle, without any weight to it, still it lets Teon's legs give in once again.

  "Fine, you woke up my competitive spirit."

  He slowly walks back in front of Teon and places his palm against the boy's face, just as gentle as before.

  "I'm sorry for what's about to happen, but you wanted this."

  Bright light emits from his hand once again. Teon's skin burns, and the boy screams in pain. It feels like someone dove into the surface of the hottest star in the universe. In the moments of this mind-shattering pain, Teon is forced to endure; something switches inside. His wings start to wildly swing around, throwing blood everywhere. Lucius reacts and dodges backwards; still, he comes in contact with the dangerous liquid. On Teon's face is now a big burn mark in the form of Lucius's hand.

  "Your wings may block my attacks, but they can't prevent themselves from being covered in my blood."

  Lucius understands the meaning of his words in an instant and rips his own wings off. Gritting his teeth through the pain of this action. The two clash again and again, throwing punches, dodging, or countering attacks. It becomes a battle of endurance and which soul-energy lasts longer. And to no surprise, Lucius does. Teon's guard weakens, and Lucius sees the opening.

  "Don't overdo it, Lucius; just knock him out while you have the chance."

  He thinks to himself. His hand is just about to hit its target as it gets redirected away, and he receives an uppercut with so much force that his head is forced on its back. A loud shockwave travels over the whole island. For less than a second everything is silent. Not a single sound coming from anywhere. Lucius's head moves down, and right in front of him stands Kaia.

  "Please... stop."

  Her whispered words break the silence.

  "No..."

  Teon responds, kneeling behind her, breathing heavily.

  "I need to continue; I have to become stronger."

  "For what? You're going to kill yourself like this!"

  She snaps at him.

  "To keep you and the others safe."

  He repeats the words he said to Lucius and Ragnar moments ago. The meaning behind them and the conviction that this is the only important thing at the moment burned into the boys' consciousness.

  "I can't lose again. What am I good for if I always lose? Who can I save when every time I fight a strong opponent, I need to be saved by someone else? I'm useless. If I were more... if I just noticed the signs... how bad the state of your mental health was... if... I-I..."

  His words subside and turn into a senseless sobbing blabber. Kaia kneels down in front of him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders.

  "It's not your fault. Even if you noticed, you could not have helped me. Try to calm down."

  In this moment the other reaches the peak. As they heard the sound of the shockwave and noticed that Kaia wasn't on the trunk anymore, they made their way up. The sight before them spread shocks and confusion. Kai looks at his best friend with concern and something more and opens his mouth. But before a sound leaves his lips, he is silenced by Kaias gaze and a shake of her head. Teon continues to sob into her shoulder.

  Lucius, in the meantime, steps aside, the halo slowly disappearing. Ragnar approaches and whispers to him.

  "The boy really pushed you there. Why are you not like this when you spar with me?"

  After that, he walks past Lucius.

  "Let's end training for now; you've all done enough for the day."

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