‘My liege, I don’t quite understand.’ A woman clad in a satin white dress spoke, kneeling on one leg with her arm resting on the other. Her dress was adorned with plates of iron armor, covering vital parts of her body. Her chest, elbows and knees. Iron boots decorated her feet with gusto, covering up to her shin. A bright gold tiara sat fittingly upon her forehead, allowing her luscious blonde locks to cascade like waves down toward her shoulders. Her hazel eyes reflected the bright light surrounding her being, gazing upon the subject of her attention. Sitting right by the spot she was kneeling at was a large sword, hilt casted in the same gold as her tiara, blade made of the darkest of steel. Jewels of different sizes and colours sat luxuriously on its hilt, decorating the gold with majestic shine. The sword was of similar height to her kneeling posture, almost towering over her tiny stature.

 

‘Yr, my child. Like I said, you shall have one final chance. Complete your mission and be awarded the highest of honor. Fail… and you shall be banished to the deepest depths of the abyss. Your time is not limitless, make haste my child. Make haste.’ a voice of unchallengeable authority boomed across the hall. The voice of the all knowing, parent to all, saviour of worlds. 

 

‘With pride and respect, your instructions have been received my liege.’ Yr responded, standing herself up before giving a polite bow. Spreading her large white feathery wings, she departs from the hall above clouds with grace.

 

******

 

Within the mortal realm, Yr was human. She had a human identity, a human job and a human’s fashion sense. Dressed in a pink hoodie coupled with blue denim jeans, Yr was heading to work, it was time for her shift at the cafe. As a human, Yr was known by the name: Jo Yuri. She had been living with this identity for close to four years now, something she deeply enjoyed. Being an angel, an archangel, was a job of the highest honor and the largest responsibility. Serving the all knowing was the only thing she knew all her life. Following it’s every instruction and completing it’s every mission. Being allowed to occasionally live the human life was her only joy. That was until she received her latest mission, to end the life of one Choi Yena. 

 

Don’t get Yuri wrong, she was used to it, used to being ordered to take a human life. It was part of her job and she had done so countless times. Each time carried its own reason but in general, it was always to prevent certain particular humans from wreaking chaos upon the world. But this time, she had made the mistake of forming a personal connection with her target. 

 

Archangels, some might call them the personal foot soldiers of the all knowing, some might call them angels who deserve the highest praise. But most angels of the upper realm referred to them as grim reapers. They were often given the most gruesome of jobs and the most cruel of tasks, killing one human was easy in comparison to all the other feats they have accomplished. But archangels were angels too, just like the rest of their species, they had emotions. Emotions that Yuri wished she didn’t possess when she first received her latest mission.

 

Arriving at the cafe, Yuri set her belongings in her locker and made her move to the front of the cashier. The cafe was a modern establishment that sat in the middle of a ghostly town. Furnished in black and white palette, the place had a monochrome vibe. Being in a less populated area didn’t stop floods of customers coming in just to catch a sight of the angelic barista though. Tying her hair in a bun, she put on her apron and began her long day of work. For Yuri, unlike humans, work was an enjoyable thing, being free of her duties and working like an ordinary human was everything she wanted. When the wind chime by the door rang and a black haired beauty walked in, Yuri’s heart sank.

 

‘Morning Yul! You’re early again today!’ Yena spoke with pep, the girl was always in a good mood and never seemed to let anything bother her. She too was dressed in a hoodie and a pair of denim jeans, but in black. Her outfit was completed with a white baseball cap that sat atop her head, making her look like a street dancer from the park a couple of blocks away. Yuri had known Yena for close to three years, she had joined the cafe as a barista shortly after Yuri. The two were nothing short of best friends.

 

‘Hey Yena.’ Yuri responded curtly, unable to bring herself to face the older girl. She had received the mission close to four months ago and with each passing day failed to bring it any closer to completion. The ultimatum the all knowing finally gave had been crushing her with pressure. ‘One final chance’ Yuri repeated in her head. Of course, she wasn’t given a clear deadline, just that it was her final warning. But as far as archangels went, nobody had ever failed to accomplish the all knowing’s commands and she certainly didn’t want to be the first. Yena headed to the counter after putting on her apron and stood next to Yuri, eyes glazed with a hint of worry.

 

‘Hey Yul, you okay there?’ 

 

‘Yea. Of course. I’m good. I need to speak to you after work if that’s okay.’ 

 

‘Sure thing.’

 

******

 

The two walked in comfortable silence as they strolled through the park. The trees were rustling from the strong wind of autumn, causing many birds to chirp as they flew about the evening sky. Yuri had felt extremely close to the older girl since they first met, she might even be the only human she has ever thought of as a friend. It wasn’t her first rodeo at living a human life, Yuri had done so several times for her missions before. But every life she has led as a human was led in solitude, never daring to get too comfortable with humans, she was after all an archangel. Yena was an absolutely different case. The first time they met, she came crashing in like a cannonball (quite literally) and forcefully found her place within the younger’s heart.

 

A short five minutes before the cafe was due to open, Yuri was prepared and waiting for the first flood of morning customers. She could never get used to how droves of humans would rush their way into the cafe so early in the morning for their coffee. Relaxing and simply enjoying her break from missions, Yuri stood dazingly, casually fiddling with her blonde hair. Her missions usually held great lengths of time in between, ranging from around fifty to a hundred years, but not every break or mission was spent as a human. Some of the missions were quick and simple, taking no more than an hour or two and some were slightly longer in duration, requiring her to track down her target. When something… or someone crashed into the cafe, Yuri was forced out of her daydream state and back into reality. ‘OH I’M SO SORRY. I WAS LATE AND I JUST-‘ the mysterious girl panted in between her harsh breathing, rushing to pick up the skateboard that was wedged into the wall. ‘I broke it… . I’m gonna get fired aren’t I. BUT I HAVEN'T EVEN STARTED WORKING!’ the girl exclaimed, burying her face into her palms in despair. The scene brought a slight chuckle into Yuri’s system, she had lived a long life both in the upper realm and the mortal realm and this was her first encounter with such chaotic behaviour. 

 

Turning to face her, the newcomer spoke. ‘Hi i’m so so sorry but could you help me patch this up and let’s pretend this never happened, I can’t lose this job.’ Yuri could see the distress on her face, especially indicated by her nervous pouting lips. She had a beautiful shine to her eyes that betrayed her panicked state. She was ethereal, just as much as angels were.

 

‘Err, yea sure. We have some spare wallpaper in the back. I’ll go grab it.’ Yuri responded as she tried to hold back her growing laughter.

 

‘Thank you so much, I’m Yena by the way, Choi Yena.’ Yena yelled toward the backroom, raising her volume just enough so Yuri could hear her. 

 

‘Hi. I’m Jo Yuri.’

 

After strolling for several minutes, Yena finally decided to break the ice. ‘So what did you need to talk about? It’s not about the coffee beans I misplaced last week right? Please don’t tell me you told the manager Yul.’ Yena questioned, worry evident on her face. It had become a common occurrence for Yena to make some sort of mistake at work and have Yuri cover for her since her first day. The younger never really had any gripes about covering for Yena’s unfortunately common mistakes which really helped solidify their friendship further.

 

‘No Yena. How many times have I cleaned up after you? You still can’t trust me?’ Yuri retorted with a slight pout. Despite being a successful archangel, Yuri could never seem to hold her emotions back when it came to Yena. She was getting upset that the older girl still didn’t have the level of trust she expected her to have. With quick light steps, Yena paced to Yuri’s side, slinging an arm over her shoulder.

 

‘Awww, my wittle Yul is upsetti? Don’t be, baby.’ Yena cooed at the younger girl, using her free hand to at her head smoothly. The action brought an unbecoming blush onto Yuri’s face, heating it up to unnatural temperature. 

 

‘G-get off me Yena, a-and who’s your b-b-baby .’ Yuri stuttered as she ducked her way out of Yena’s grip, quickly turning to keep her face out of the older girl’s sight. ‘I’ve lived for thousands of years and THIS makes me blush? I swear to- argh nevermind.’ She continued internally. Two thousand years old… or maybe six thousand. Angels don’t usually have the habit of keeping count of their age. Time and age are of no concern to them, a construct only mortals like humans would feel attached to. And in all those uncountable years, Yuri imagines that she has probably never blushed, even in human form. 

 

‘Yena… I have something serious to tell you.’ Yuri confessed, turning back to face Yena, meeting her eyes with intensity. There was something about the aura Yuri was exuding that kept Yena on her toes, instantly turning the mood serious. 

 

The cold breeze of autumn was kept at bay by the hoodies each of them had adorned, but the warmth was slowly turning into heat. The two stood exactly in the middle of the park’s grassy fields, each seemingly taking half the field as their personal backdrop. After what seemed like hours but were realistically just a few minutes, Yuri still couldn’t get her words out. Opening and closing periodically, Yena couldn’t help but to liken her to a gaping fish, which image was slowly bringing her tension down. Before she could break out into a wide grin, Yena bit down on her bottom lip and spoke. ‘So… you were gonna say?’

 

‘Yena, it’s… I’m…’ Yuri tries to respond, attempting to drag her heart’s notion out into the open. She desperately needed- wanted to tell the truth. Who she was. What she was there to do. She knew better than to drag things out further. Who knows when the all knowing would forcefully pull the plug on the mission and banish her to depths so far beneath the ground that no angel has ever experienced? Even if it pained her to do so, she has to. Her duty. ‘Yena. I’m so sorry.’ She mutters as holy energy gathered around her being, unrealistically illuminating the darkness surrounding her. Yena’s eyes widen at the sight, how could they not? The scene that played out before her was like a movie. A computer generated graphic. Under the dim light of the street lamps, the only sources of light in the darkness of the night, bright golden hues of sparks danced around Yuri, enveloping her ever so slightly as her silhouette took a change. A gold tiara making its appearance atop her head. Her once warm and comfortable hoodie took on the appearance of a thin white dress of satin. An unconventionally large sword appearing out of thin air within her grasp. Just as Yuri opened to explain, Yena gasped. A loud and extremely painful gasp. Clutching on to her head with both hands and screaming in pain, the older girl dropped to her knees, eyes rolling back as she lost consciousness.

 

Yr’s brows furrowed in shock and worry, quickly approaching the now unconscious girl. Before she could arrive by Yena’s side, a strong gust of wind blew Yr off her feet, sending her hurtling through the air and crashing into the ground. Her defensive instincts kicked in as she rapidly regained her posture, pulling her sword overhead and assuming a defensive stance. Directing her gaze to the source of the wind, fell agape at the familiar figure that floated above Yena’s body. A gold tiara extremely similar in design to Yr’s decorated her tiny head. Brown hair curled like soft waves beyond the shore flowed down toward her waist. A white satin dress with plates of armor larger than Yr’s was the outfit the figure had on. A shorter broadsword made of the same materials as Yr’s much larger sword sat fittingly by her waist.

 

‘Mj?! What are you doing here?’ Yr questioned, directed at the other archangel. Mj, an angel of similar rank to Yr. She was an archangel that also took on missions from the all knowing. The two had known each