"You must keep your promise to me, Ophelia…"
The voice was velvet and faceless. I couldn't see him, but I could feel him—his warmth, his presence. He touched me gently, and my body responded before my mind could catch up. My hands trembled as they reached out, clutching his robe, pulling him closer as if my soul already knew him.
"Take responsibility for me, Ophelia… letting you go won't be easy."
His words echoed through my veins like liquid fire. I could feel the heat of his chest against mine. Our noses brushed. His breath tickled my lips—warm, dangerously sweet. I was losing control, falling into something intoxicating.
Then—everything shattered.
The light vanished, swallowed by darkness. Screams echoed in the void. Blood. Everywhere. The man disappeared, ripped from reality like smoke in a storm. My hands were no longer clutching fabric—they were wrapped around a dagger, slick and weeping red. Crying blood.
What… what is this?
---
I jolted awake, choking on my breath. My lungs burned as I gasped for air. My heart pounded wildly in my chest. Sweat clung to my skin.
It was just a dream.
No—it felt too real. Too vivid. Like a memory.
I tried to sit up—only to find cold iron wrapped around my wrists and ankles. Shackles.
A cage. I'm inside a golden cage.
My pulse spiked as I looked around, disoriented. The bars glowed faintly with divine enchantments. In the distance, I heard voices—arguing.
"No! Listen to me, Aseya. You shouldn't protect Ophelia—she'll be the death of you!"
"Ophelia wouldn't do such things… Vesper, you know she couldn't possibly kill Noél. I— I removed her memories."
"But her hands aren't pure anymore. And you know that."
My stomach twisted. I gripped the chains in disbelief.
Noél... dead?
Why are they talking like I did it?
A sharp pain throbbed in my head. I winced, gripping my temples.
Why can't I remember anything? What happened?
The footsteps drew closer. I froze, quickly lying back down, pretending to be asleep.
"Ophelia…" Aseya's voice, gentle, urgent.
I opened my eyes slowly to see her kneeling just outside the cage, her golden eyes shimmering with worry. Her fingers reached through the bars and gently held my hand.
"I failed to protect you again…" she whispered, sorrow threading her words like rain.
"Aseya…" My throat was dry. "What do you mean? What are you hiding? Why am I locked in here?"
Her expression twisted with regret.
"The Higher Ones suspect… that you killed Noél."
My heart stopped.
"Wh-what? No! I swear on my wings, I didn't—I—Timothée… he asked me to find him in the east side of the Golden—"
Aseya's eyes went wide with horror.
"Timothée…?" she breathed.
I paused. "Yes… one of the High Seraphim, right?"
Aseya's grip on my hand tightened.
Aseya's face turned pale.
"That's impossible," she whispered. "Timothée has been dead for a long time. He was murdered."
The room seemed to spin.
Dead? But he spoke to me. He touched me…
"Listen, Ophelia," she said sharply, her voice now laced with urgency. "Never—never mention Timothée. Especially not to Vesper. Not to anyone. Promise me."
Before I could respond—
"That's enough, Aseya."
Vesper's voice cut through the silence like a blade.
She appeared like a shadow given form, her wings black-tipped and eyes gleaming with cruel intent. A predator in divine clothing. I felt her gaze on me—burning, venomous.
Aseya rose reluctantly, her grip slipping away.
"Go. Now," Vesper ordered.
Aseya vanished with a sorrowful glance—and the moment she was gone, the bars disappeared.
Vesper stepped in.
Then her hand was on my throat.
"SINNER!" she hissed, fury pouring from her like flame. "You are a calamity to this realm."
Her nails bit into my skin. I gasped, struggling, clawing at her arms as she lifted me partially from the ground.
"I'll make you pay for what you did to him."
Her words stabbed deeper than her grip.
What did I do?
Then she let go.
I collapsed to the floor, coughing, trembling. Before I could recover, she grabbed my wrists—tearing the shackles away—and dragged me out.
---
The hall of judgment was blinding.
Three thrones loomed high above, woven with feathers and divine gold. The Higher Ones sat still and silent, their faces obscured by radiant veils of downy white. Around me, rows of Seraphim lined the ivory benches on either side, whispering with disdain and curiosity.
I knelt at the center, bowing low, the weight of every gaze crushing my back.
Then, one of the Higher Ones stood. His voice boomed with quiet command.
"Seraphim Ophelia… explain yourself. You were found at the scene of Noél's death. No other Seraphim were unaccounted for—most were in the Covenant of Prayer."
"She doesn't need to explain!" Vesper snapped. "Only a Seraph can kill another—and she was the only one there."
"Peace, Vesper," the Higher One replied. "Innocence is not stripped by assumption. Ophelia, speak."
I forced myself to steady my breath.
"I went to the east side of the Golden tree to look for Noél. When I arrived, I saw a portal—one that led to the mortal realm. Noél was already… lying there."
The chamber fell into silence.
The Higher Ones turned to one another and murmured in a language older than wind.
Finally, the one in the center stepped forward, speaking again.
"I will give you a chance, Ophelia… a path to redemption."
Vesper's rage exploded.
"WHAT? No! You can't—she—"
"Enough!" Aseya's voice rang out from the crowd. "You fear her because you don't understand her."
The Higher One ignored them both.
"You will descend to the mortal realm. For three cycles, you will uncover the truth behind Noél's death. Fail, and your wings will be burned and cast away forever."
He raised his hand.
A portal split the air open—swirling, violent, hungry.
"You begin now."
Before I could scream, the portal pulled me into its depths. Wind roared in my ears. Light vanished.
And just before the dark swallowed me whole—I saw Vesper's face, her smile twisted in hate.
"This is your end," her voice echoed in my mind.