Millions of lights warmed up Kaufernis’ bustling cities like fireflies gathering in the night, with the collective hearty laughter and joyful chatter from the nearby pubs filling the streets with constant hums and playfulness. Despite the eternal dusk that immersed the entirety of the underworld, its comfortably warm atmosphere made even the most timid beings feel right at home, with all beings great and small being welcomed with open arms in every inch of the Realm.

Renatus dashed from one rooftop to another, cautiously avoiding being caught by the city’s watch as the thick smoke from the food stall below rose and filled the air with a savoury fragrance that made his mouth water. His heel became momentarily trapped within a small crevice in the stone wall that he had just begun to scale down from, causing him to awkwardly stumble and voice a quiet groan which alerted a nearby guard.

The guard rushed over and diligently inspected the area with a torch in hand, only to scratch his head when he found nothing there. As soon as he turned his back on the empty alleyway,

Renatus stepped away from the shadows of the building’s corner side and chewed on some freshly grilled kebab sticks, savouring the rich, tangy sauce that glazed the tender, juicy meat that melted into his mouth. He was definitely tweaking the heel of his boots at the Forge after his little errand - what if he was being chased by multiple Enforcers next time? There was no room for error if he were to make calculated moves in his line of work, especially if he were to face a certain tyrant. He properly disposed of the bamboo skewers into a nearby trash can after wiping them clean of the meat that strung onto them, and started scaling upwards onto a large marble pillar nearby.   

The golden suit of armour guarding Kaufernis’ oversized stone gate maintained a firm, steady grip on the hilt of his large sword as its tip rested against the ground before him, intimidating all those who wished to bypass him. Renatus initially thought that he was a mere statue at first, until he was immediately thrown against a wall trying to sneak past the Gate once - a fun surprise to say the least. The Gate was the only way to escape the Realm, and not many knew of what lay ahead of it since Realm dwellers weren’t able to cross outside their own respective jurisdictions without the permission of a GateKeeper in order to protect the Realms from potential invasion attempts, and mostly to protect its citizens. It was once rumoured that a pure angel tried to sneak their way into Kaufernis, only to be scorched alive as soon as they passed through the Gate.

The GateKeeper watched him scale the wall, sensing his sharp inescapable glare burn into the back of his head despite the golden helmet masking his facial features. 

“Your presence is requested by the Higher Authority in the Audience Chamber, effective immediately,” his deep voice thundered.

Renatus tilted his head as he puzzledly stared back at the GateKeeper. He was the only person he couldn’t stealthily sneak past in all of Kaufernis, and perhaps in all of the Realms despite mastering the art of silencing his footsteps. What really puzzled him was the fact that this individual actually had a voice.

“Huh. Weird, they never officially summon me even for odd jobs. Especially not through you.”  

The GateKeeper deeply exhaled and groaned in annoyance, which was the most expressive that he’d ever seen him despite the many years of throwing him out of the vicinity. “Move along then. Don’t keep them waiting longer than they already have been.”

“Chill. The letter only came in about 20 minutes ago.”

“Renatus. It’s the fifth letter this week,” his voice snapped, though his stance remained unmoved. “Good grief, I don't see why they bother letting you run around this city.”

Renatus shrugged and turned his back towards him, the sharp daggers still following him as the distance grew between them. “Whatever. See you never, maybe.” 

***

The light clanging of the skylight being unscrewed and tampered with alerted the Higher Beings of their guest’s presence as they irritatingly remained seated awaiting his appearance, especially given how high the walls were. The white marble only made it appear higher than it actually was, especially with the many pillars that connected to the spacious ceiling that had been meticulously hand painted for their viewing pleasure, along with rouge flags with golden trim that strung from the pillars.

On the ceiling was a large mural depicting their glorious era of creation, showcasing their truest (and in Renatus' eyes, the most unsightly) forms which had been kept perfectly pristine for aeons until his boot’s scuff marks imprinted it with several white etchings that were practically unerasable. The sheer unrest in the Audience Chamber grew intense with the banging of fists against the wooden benches and the deafening quarrelling beginning to echo in the large hall as Renatus cautiously scaled down the lengthy marble walls at a slow, but steady pace.

“It was useless calling the GateKeeper of Kaufernis to summon him. He didn’t even use the front door! It was literally right in front of him!”  

“I don’t know about ‘useless’... He’s finally here, after all.”

“This is going to be a waste of time…”

The three-winged fiend leapt from the rope he had been scaling the walls with and landed smoothly in front of the Higher Authority as they watched him with displeasure, their patience now paper thin. He dusted himself before raising an eyebrow at them. “What?”

“What do you mean.. ‘What?’ Don’t you have any basic mannerisms?” the pompous man with an overly styled beard boomed as he remained seated on his overly elevated regal throne. The voluminous facial hair clouded any angular facial features he had, further emphasising his large size.  

Renatus scratched the back of his head, his neck already feeling quite stiff from having to crane his head up to look them in the eye as they remained seated behind their elevated benches with bored glances. He circled the marble floor, noticing a small crack in the ground. “Get to the point, you already know that I don’t like hearing your unnecessary babbling. Whose blood is going to stain my hands now? Is it someone in power this time? Like, I don’t know…Godric?”

The being that wore a comically tall golden hat that curved at its tip seated beside the heavily bearded man exhaled with exhaustion, resting their chin against their closed fist. It didn’t help that they all wore cautiously tailored formal attire, as Renatus found it difficult to hold back a laugh at the get up. “Well as a matter of fact, Renatus van Reynes, it is about Godric this time. Though you have been long exiled, we invite you back into the Realm of angels. We need your help to help deal with the huge mess going on in Ylipeste. It’s already bleeding into Kaufernis, and now it’s starting to touch upon our jurisdiction.”

He briefly stopped in his tracks, lifting his head towards them to showcase his confusion, feeling the blazing lights hanging from the ceiling blinding him with its intensity. “You want me to help you, yet you continue to bark like a mad dog and remind everyone across the Realms that I’m a menace to society and the Realms as a whole. Funny.”

The Audience Chamber was once again filled with the echoes of disapproving murmurs, which was music to his ears. For a judicial authority figure, they weren’t exactly the most organised, let alone experienced compared to the Council themselves. To think that they’d turn to him of all people was amusing, especially considering their animosity towards him. 

“To be frank, you did recently leave a decapitated head on the Enforcer’s doorstep. So, yes, you are indeed still a menace, whether you like it or not,” the multi-winged being spoke. Their form represented closely to that of a Higher Angel’s, with their pale face concealed by the two pairs of wings that wrapped around their head.

He let out a small chuckle and shrugged in response. The Enforcer wasn’t exactly the best at his job, at least not to Renatus’ standards. No amount of reports could shake him out of his plush velvet seat, not even for the most heinous of crimes that overran the sluggish corners of Kaufernis. Yet somehow, he was still being generously paid to support his overly lavish lifestyle, boasting an overabundance of jewels and luxurious garments fit for kings. All Renatus did was send him a small message, but it seemed that it merely resulted in him whining about his freshly defiled doormat instead.

“I did everyone in the Underworld a favour by getting rid of him. If you knew how bad he was, you would’ve turned a blind eye. I know how you guys are.”

“Tch. You can keep up the vigilante antics so long you do your job. Just keep the mess to a minimum, since we still don’t have the Death Dealer to do this line of work for us. And as you know, no one but you can wield those Heavenly Blades of yours, so we have no one but you to turn to, whether we like it or not,” the heavily bearded man responded, waving around a dismissive hand as he spoke. “If we could handle those things without being incinerated to death in an instant - eternal peace and beyond to Joan, by the way - we wouldn’t have turned to the likes of you for such a significant matter.”

Although his sheaths weren’t currently carrying his blades, they suddenly felt heavy against his thighs. The Audience Chamber was the only place that he was forbidden from carrying them, in fear of an assassination attempt or simply due to an emotional outburst on Renatus’ part. They were the only known weapons across all the Realms capable of lethally harming beings, including the Higher Beings themselves. Without a Death Dealer, death itself was supposedly an impossible occurrence, until the blades came to be. Its sole purpose was to create death in the Realms in their place, and its form was able to be manipulated to its owner’s wishes. As a former angel of Ylipeste, he was able to wield them without any repercussions as he had rolled out of Ylipesten border with them tightly nestled in his arms, stealing them away from its creator in one last attempt of survival as he fell into the neverending nothingness that cradled even his loudest demons to sleep. 

I’m here now… I’m here to help you. 

The familiar, euphonic voice from the past brought him into a deep immersion of the fond recollection of the warmth and gentle kindness of an outreached hand wiping away his tears, pulling him away from his lifetime of misery as they invited him into their soothing arms every night since then and put his relentless terrors to rest.