The Rescue

The Celestial Hall had never been so divided.

Since Aster and Lior's attack, angels whispered in the corridors.

Some said they should strike the Kingdom of Shadows with the whole army.

Others said Aster and Lior were already lost.

Tarus listened to no one.

He was on his knees before the Father, Aster's broken shield in his hands.

—Father… let me go for him. He was my brother in battle. I taught him how to hold a shield. I cannot leave him there.

Beside him, Leo held the two halves of Lior's sword.

—Lior was still fighting, Father. I saw him. His hands trembled. He did not want to attack me. He is still in there.

The Father looked at them with a deep sorrow.

—If you enter the Kingdom of Shadows, the darkness will try to enter you as well.

—Then let it enter —said Tarus—. If that is the price of bringing them back.

The Father kept silent and at last nodded.

—Then you will not go as warriors.

He paused.

—You will go as brothers.

That night, while Tarus and Leo prepared to leave, Agnis stopped them at the portal's entrance.

—You're going to rescue them? Like this, with no plan? Lucifer is waiting for you. It is a trap.

—We know —Leo answered.

—Then let me go. I will bring them. By force, if I must.

Nerea appeared behind them. She had heard everything.

—Agnis, your flame… it nearly went out yesterday. You cannot enter the darkness when your own light is faltering.

Agnis looked at her sword.

The blue flame now covered only half the blade.

The other half was gray, like ash.

—My flame does not matter. Justice matters.

—Justice without mercy is not justice —Nerea said softly—. It is vengeance.

Agnis did not answer.

She turned and walked away.

Tarus and Leo crossed the portal.

The Kingdom of Shadows struck them like an endless winter.

There was no sky.

There were no stars.

Only black rock, rivers of fire that gave no heat, and a wind that whispered doubts.

He will not come for you.

They abandoned you.

You are no longer welcome in Heaven.

—It's the place —Leo whispered—. It tries to make us doubt.

—Then let's laugh —Tarus answered, though his voice trembled—. Remember when Lior tried to teach an elephant to fly?

Leo, despite the fear, let out a small laugh.

And for an instant, the darkness stepped back.

At the center of the fortress, they found them.

Aster and Lior were standing, but not chained.

They were free.

Their new black wings were half-formed, and their eyes fought between light and shadow.

Before them, seated on his throne, was Lucifer.

—I knew you would come —said Lucifer—. Noble Tarus and joyful Leo. Always so predictable.

—Aster! —Tarus shouted.

Aster raised his head.

For a second, his eyes were the ones from before.

—Tarus…?

—We are here to take you home!

Lior took a step toward Leo, then stopped, clutching his head.

—No… don't come closer. He… he is in my head. He shows me everything I failed. Every life I did not save…

Hate appeared behind the throne and smiled.

—We only showed them the truth.

Lucifer rose slowly.

—Let me show you something more.

He swept his hand.

The black lake showed an image: Agnis, in Heaven, shouting at Nerea. Her sword was half extinguished.

—While you are here, your sister is breaking. Soon she will ask for what I will offer her: a justice without doubts. A sword that never trembles.

Tarus roared and lunged at Lucifer.

Aster stepped between them.

Master against pupil.

Tarus's hammer against Aster's shield.

Every blow shook the fortress, but Tarus did not strike to wound.

He struck to awaken.

—Remember who you are! You saved my life in the Orion Nebula! You said a shield is not for attacking, but so that others may live!

Aster fell to his knees, confused.

The black wings cracked, and for an instant a white feather appeared again.

At the same time, Leo did not draw his sword.

He ran and embraced Lior while Lior tried to stab him.

—I will not fight you! —Leo cried through tears—. If you want to hurt me, you will have to do it while I am holding you!

Lior trembled.

The sword fell from his hand.

—Leo… I can't… He made me see that… that if I had not failed, Zakiel would still be alive…

—We all fail —Leo whispered—. I do too. But the Father does not love us because we are perfect. He loves us because we are His.

That word —His— was stronger than any black chain.

The shadow in Lior's eyes retreated.

Lucifer saw he was losing control and, for the first time, rose in rage.

—Enough!

A wave of black fire hurled Tarus and Leo against the wall.

He approached Aster and Lior and placed his hands on their heads.

—If you will not serve me by will… you will serve me by pain.

But before he could corrupt them completely, a blue light tore through the Kingdom of Shadows.

It was Agnis.

She had disobeyed.

She had crossed the portal alone.

Her sword, half extinguished, shone with a white and dangerous fury.

—Let them go! —she shouted.

Lucifer smiled when he saw her.

It was exactly what he had expected.

—Look at her, brothers. Perfect Agnis. She came for justice. Tell me, sister… will you save them, or will you punish them for attacking our siblings? What is your justice today?

Agnis looked at Aster and Lior, with their black wings.

She saw Tarus and Leo wounded on the floor.

Her hand tightened on the sword.

The blue fire fought the white fire.

For an instant, she was about to raise the sword against Aster and Lior.

Tarus shouted from the ground:

—Agnis! They are not enemies! They are our brothers!

Nerea, who had felt from Heaven that something terrible was happening, cried through the portal that still hung open, though no one but Agnis could hear her:

—Agnis, remember what the Father said! That even the strongest need compassion!

Agnis closed her eyes.

A tear —the first she had shed in millions of years— fell upon her sword.

When it touched the steel, the white fire died at once.

The blue flame, small and trembling, covered the whole blade again.

She raised her eyes and looked at Lucifer, no longer with hate, but with a clarity he had not expected.

—I will not punish them.

She paused.

—I will carry them.

And, doing what Tarus had taught her, she sheathed her sword and lifted Aster and Lior onto her shoulders, as if they were wounded of war.

—Leo! Tarus! Home! Now!

Leo rose and took Tarus.

They ran toward the portal while the whole fortress collapsed under Lucifer's fury.

—You will not protect them forever! —Lucifer roared—. The doubt is already sown! They will return!

They crossed the portal just as it closed.

The four of them fell into the Celestial Hall.

Aster and Lior were unconscious, but their black wings were gone.

In their place remained only white stumps, wounded, but alive.

Nerea ran to them, weeping, and held them.

Her tears started healing the wounds.

Agnis fell to her knees, exhausted.

Her blue sword shone again, but softer than before.

It was no longer a flame that wanted to burn everything.

It was a flame that had learned to tremble.

Tarus placed a hand on her shoulder.

—Thank you for coming, sister.

—I almost punished them —she whispered—. I almost did what he wanted.

Leo smiled, his lip split from the fight.

—But you didn't. That is what matters.

In the Kingdom of Shadows, Lucifer struck his throne so hard the broken swords shattered further.

Hate approached in fear.

—My king… we failed.

—No —said Lucifer, watching the black lake that now showed the four siblings embracing—. We did not fail. We left them a scar.

His dark smile returned.

—And scars… always remember how they were made.

He sat again.

—Let them savor this rescue.

He looked at Agnis through the lake.

—Because the next time Agnis doubts… there will be no one to stop her.