Clank. Clank. Clank.
Metal chains rattled and clinked through the pure white prison labyrinth as a man was dragged by his wrists.
Slam.
My body smashed against the white stone wall of the prison cell, my wings snapping outward from the impact. I spat on the floor. The angel who had dragged me into the cell looked me dead in the eyes with pure malice before closing the barred door behind him.
I settled down on the floor and watched the angelic jailor walk away.
To any unaware eye, I probably looked insane right now — crazy, or suffering from some form of mental illness. I was staring at empty air and moving my finger like I was navigating an invisible screen.
Synchronization Slots: 1
Synchronization Targets:
Raynare — 2%
Skills: —
Items: Starter Pack
Considering I had already been in this world for three years, I expected the system to show up far sooner. But aside from the timing, I didn't have many complaints.
A sex-triggered synchronization system? Given the sheer volume of women throwing themselves at me on a daily basis, I could have asked for nothing better. At this rate I'd be battling gods in no time.
If you couldn't tell, I was being sarcastic. Setting aside my recent entanglement, I had never once visited a lady's chamber and stayed past the next morning. Not once. Not in this life, and not in the one before it.
If it weren't for Raynare, my two-lifetime no-sex streak would still be perfectly intact. Thinking about her, I sighed. I still don't understand how she managed to make me fold so easily. She didn't have any special seduction powers — she was pretty, sure, but that's barely anything special. Most supernatural creatures were gorgeous, and I doubted many of them could have pierced through my all-powerful virginity armor.
Don't get me wrong, I don't regret sleeping with her. Aside from the fact that it apparently awakened a special system, she was just immaculate in the sheets. Like, genuinely immaculate. I would walk into this heavenly trial knowing she made me feel things no other person had ever made me feel, and I would consider that a win.
Anyway — I forgot to explain why I'm here.
As I said, I slept with Raynare. Normally, an angel will fall for even looking at a woman with lust. For some reason, that didn't happen to me. I stayed an angel despite going all the way with a mortal human girl — a girl whose name I wouldn't even know if the system hadn't revealed it to me.
After Heaven's detection system flagged the anomaly, I was arrested quickly. And now I'm sitting in this jail cell, awaiting the judgment of the Heavenly Court.
Given the crime, they'll probably throw me out of Heaven. I should start thinking about what to do when that happens.
I could go to Gregory and the other fallen angels — but honestly, they're too much. Too vengeful. Too loud about it. Destroying cathedrals, killing worshippers, selling intelligence on angel operations to enemy factions. And some of the female fallen even intentionally seduce angels just to make them fall. Imagine that — losing your wings over some black-wing cheeks.
I can't be bothered with a faction like that. They do too much. Way too much.
Maybe I should just go live with Raynare. Considering how rarely angels interact with human girls these days, I was probably the first one she ever laid eyes on. She's likely head over heels for my angelic looks by now.
Smiling at the thought of a possible life with the girl who took my purity, I went to sleep.
The next morning, before I could even wake up properly, the same jailor was already at my cell door.
"Move, filthy scum."
I felt the shove at my wrists, got up quickly, and fell into step behind him. Exiting the labyrinth, I looked up — and immediately forced my eyes back down, flinching from the raw light of the uncovered sun blazing across the entirety of Heaven.
After a while, when my eyes finally adjusted, I looked up again and took it all in. Heaven's sky, fully uncovered — no clouds, no atmosphere in the way. You could see the sun and the stars simultaneously just by looking up.
No matter how many times I saw it, it never got old. I absorbed every detail of it, knowing it was probably the last time I ever would.
Walking through the pure white city, I spotted angels at every corner staring at me with open disgust. The streets were packed. I hadn't expected such a high-profile turnout — apparently the entirety of Heaven had come out to watch.
I moved through the crowd slowly, the courthouse growing larger with every step, until I was standing directly in front of it — staring up at the enormous pure white building.
I stopped. Looked at the sky one final time.
Then I felt the tug of the chains.
Entering the court from the city streets was a jarring contrast. Outside: loud, the shouts of disgusted angels pressing in from every direction. Inside: silence. Complete silence, as if the building itself had swallowed all sound. It seemed like no one was here but me and the jailor.
He maneuvered me through the halls, through dozens of pure white doors, until we stood before a grand set of double doors.
The jailor looked at me. Took a breath. Then opened them.
The room beyond was pitch black. A single beam of light pointed straight down at a stage in the center. I felt a push from behind and walked up to it.
I looked around at the darkness, confused, and opened my mouth to ask a question — but before I could, a voice rang out. Not loud, not shouted. It simply was, the way gravity simply was — filling the room completely, speaking as if making a declaration to the universe itself.
"Let the trial commence."
A beam of light shot through the room, clearing the darkness and revealing the dozens of figures surrounding me on all sides. I turned slowly, taking them all in — and then my eyes found the center.
I saw — no. I witnessed.
The Alpha and the Omega. The Almighty. The All-Powerful.
Yahweh.