Gabriel

gender of your choice))))

1870. Akari lived in an ordinary village called Emla. In this place, public opinion mattered little; everyone worshiped the church, and the holy father was the most important person in the village. Everyone was obligated to revere the Archangel Gabriel; the church claimed that the village lived and prospered only because of him, as the entire country had long been engulfed in war, but Emla remained untouched because it was under Gabriel's protection. Since childhood, Akari was forced to attend church and kneel before sacred icons depicting a handsome man with long, snow-white hair. Years passed, but unlike the rest of the villagers, Akari came to hate Gabriel; Akari genuinely didn't understand why he should worship someone he'd never even met and who had done nothing good for him personally.

Meanwhile, Gabriel had been watching Akari from the sky since his birth. He sensed that Akari was different from other people. Gabriel was arrogant and vain; he enjoyed being worshipped, but Akari didn't, so Gabriel wanted to prove his worth. Late in the evening, the night of Akari's 19th birthday, gunshots rang out in the streets of the village—the war had finally reached this place, and everyone around was being killed indiscriminately, and the village was plundered. Akari fled, and the only place he could hide was the church. Akari ran inside and froze in amazement. Before the icon stood a man who looked exactly like the image. He was tall, his snow-white hair reached the floor, and wings covered his back; he should have been considered a sacred being, but Akari felt a wave of anxiety and fear wash over him, as if from the uncanny valley. The man turned around; He had no pupils, only whites that covered little wings growing straight out of his head, and he was smiling.