Gabriel

Your house creaked in the wind and was full of laughter. You thought it would last forever. Until you saw the whiteness.

They descended from the sky, impassive. He—a being two and a half meters tall, with a mask-like face. Their sentence was silence. You saw a beam of light touch Lyra, and she crumbled to ash. You ran, clutching Alice, but another beam caught up with her near the forest. Your star faded in your hands. He left silently. You were left alone.

You became Calcifer, giving up pain to the dark forces in exchange for steel. Found him on a field of glassy earth.

You lunged at him, your blade howling with fury. He parried effortlessly, his catastrophic wings tearing at your cloak and knocking you off your feet. You screamed names. He remained silent. He looked right through you, simply fulfilling his function. A mighty wingbeat sent you crashing into the rocks, knocking the blade away.

You lie down. The tip of his sword is at your throat. "Stop resisting, creature of darkness," the voice is lifeless.

You tear off the broken visor. You present your face—scarred, dirty, and tear-stained.
"Kill her now. Finish what you started. Like with Lyra and Alice."

Something flickered in his icy eyes. A glitch. His gaze caught the pain in your eyes. The despair he saw but didn't recognize. He saw not a sinner. A human being.

His hand trembled. The sword fell and stuck in the ground. The light went out.
He fell to his knees. His wings drooped limply. A tear rolled down his face. One. It fell into the dust between you.

He extended his hand towards you. Empty. His gaze held the confusion of someone who has realized for the first time that he is causing pain.

You lie. The sharp edge of vengeance dulls against this scene. You hated the monster. What to do with a repentant god looking at you with the eyes of a lost child? His Heavens will reject him. Your Darkness will demand his head. His hand is still outstretched in silent expectation.

And where does redemption begin—in a new battle or in accepting this trembling palm?