Location: Terra, Athens

Michael held his daughter securely as they landed on top of the acropolis of Athens. His eight wings unfolded fully in a majestic breathtaking way as a few mortal spectators gathered to glance up to the angelic beings that visited them so rarely. Others simply went on their way as their busy schedule didn’t allow them to greet the otherworldly visitors.

The Archangel took a deep breath to not glare down at the mortals, instead he turned back around to his daughter. He crouched down in front of her as his wings folded back up on his back with the soft ruffling of golden feathers. “We are here, Sera. But before we fly down and walk around with the mortals, you need to know some rules we have to sustain on our visits here. Do you understand?” He asked her seriously as his golden eyes drilled into hers.

Seraphina gulped down her curiosity and excitement for now as she nodded with a rather adorable serious expression. “Yes, I understand, papa. What are these rules about?” She asked slowly, feeling like this might end up being more complicated than first expected.

Michael smiled at her serious expression and ruffled her hair affectionately. “Rule Number one is to never teach the mortals anything unless the gods and elders allowed it beforehand. This is a very important rule. Do you know why?” He asked her with hidden curiosity.

The girl seemed surprised to hear about such a rule, but as soon as she thought more about it, she understood it completely. “Because our culture is far more advanced than the mortals. They are progressing slowly, but the gods wish for them to do it mostly on their own and only have us angels teach them what is necessary.” She concluded with a soft nod of her head.

With a chuckle, the King of Angels pulled her into a hug. “That’s right! You truly understand quickly, huh? Then the other rules will be self-explanatory for you.” Michael told her softly, letting go of her as he rose to his feet to glance over the busy city that was protected by the young goddess Athena. “We are not allowed to give them any insight to Heaven, heavenly beings, and what power we hold. We aren’t allowed to help them if it involves healing without permission or anything that would give away our powers. We aren’t allowed to interfere with their death unless it is caused by demonic beings. We are there to protect them from evil, not to protect them from their fate.” He stated coldly, making Seraphina frown and shudder lightly.

The young angel stared to the ground as she tried to comprehend the reasons for such rules. ‘But aren’t we the guardians of mortals? Why can’t we save them then? And what was that about fate… Does father mean we can’t even save someone from an accident? What if a mother is dying next to her child? Why can’t we help? The child would die without the mother, or worse…’ Her frown deepened as her eyes turned to lost pools of sadness. ‘Do we really have the right to be this cruel? Why can the gods decide so easily about who is allowed to live or not…? Everyone deserves to live!’

Michael sighed gently as he looked back to his daughter. He knew she wouldn’t understand the reason for this rule, because there were no reasons. Their reasons were the words of the gods and elders and they will have to follow their orders for the rest of their existence. It’s what the gods and elders decided. They were simply not allowed to interrupt the natural flow of things and the lower in rank they were, the less their opinion matters. 

“Sera… You are too kind.” He spoke to her softly, his eyes loving even when his features had hardened. “There is only so much we can do, only so much we are allowed to do. We Archangels and Angels might be individuals with our own emotions, thoughts, morals...reasons to live. But… We are just pawns of those higher than us. We have no voice in deciding what’s wrong or not. That is the burden of us angels- to be used so the world can function in safety.” He told her seriously, knowing it must be hard for her to believe this. But, this was something every young angel had to learn. Yet... this was also the reason why so many angels rebel against their system and fight for their freedom.

Seraphina’s eyes widened at her father’s words, shaking her head in disbelief as she stared up at him with sad eyes. “But, this is not fair-” She wanted to protest before her eyes widened as she realized it. ‘Life isn’t fair.’ The words the Cherub told her in his riddle, these words she used to decipher the password sounded through her head again as a shiver ran down her back. ‘I didn’t even realize it… I used these words so lightheartedly and brushed them away after finding no use for them for the sake of the password. I didn’t think about them twice and completely missed their deeper meaning and hidden pain.’ The young girl stared to the ground as her brows furrowed upwards in sadness. “If that is the case for us… What about the ones higher than us? The Thrones, Cherubim, Seraphim?” She asked slowly as she had a feeling their suffering might be worse than the usual angels who were allowed some freedom with their lives.  

Michael paused in surprise, glancing back to his daughter before he closed his eyes in sadness. “I’m surprised you realized it, my little dove. The ones lower than us think we have it better than them, that we have more privileges, power, freedom... When actually… The higher ranked the angel, the more of themselves is lost.” He said grimly, glancing back over the city with an expression Seraphina had never seen upon his features. It was pain and sadness, running so deep that there had to be more to it than he would tell her.

Seraphina stepped closer to him in sadness, gently wrapping her arms around his leg before hugging him with an expression of equal sadness and pain. Her eyes shone with empathy as she stared up at her father who she had believed was so strong with no weakness at all. “The more power you have… the bigger your burden will be… right?” She asked him softly as she hugged his leg tightly, for once wishing she would be a bit taller to give him a better hug.

A sad smile spread on Michael’s features as he nodded lightly, placing his hand on her head affectionately while keeping his gaze on the crowd of busy mortals below. “You can say it like this, yes… We sacrifice our life for our duty. But, even this burden is small compared to our higher-ups.” He whispered to her as the breeze ruffled through their hair and wings.

“What do they have to go through?” Seraphina asked silently as her silver eyes settled upon the city below them as well.

“It depends on their rank. The Thrones for example overlook everything. They need to have their eyes everywhere at every second, not allowed to miss a single thing that is happening. While we Archangels might be buried in our work, at least we keep our free will. The Thrones on the other hand… They have no will. Their will is the gods’ will. They are not allowed to love either. The only love they can hold is the love to the gods, which keeps their loyalty absolute. They are the Third Choir of Angels, those who have no voice over their will nor love. And thus they are the embodiment of the love for the gods, the ones who will worship them for eternity.” He explained seriously yet with a hint of sadness.