Where did this calamitous power come from?

When did the inferno surging through my veins start to thrash through my vessel?

The heat in my hands could melt diamonds.

The fire in my feet left the marks of my passage.

The lucidity of my perception that disrupted my mind cost me my stuttered speaking.

I can hear someone's death coming, I can smell the fear in one's sweat, and I can see the darkness of one's soul.

But what were these powers meant for?

Where will I use the conflagration that kept on trying to burst through the weakening seal of my body?

I did not wish to hear the cry of death.

I did not wish to smell the scent of blood.

I did not wish to see the world end.

Let this fire die.

Let this power weaken.

Let me perish with it.

The world must not know about Hell.

I must search for the rightful owner of this power.

I must search for the suitable vessel of this power.

I did not want to continue to bear this strength that had no relation with peace but was the mother of destruction.

I must continue to flap my wings and find them.

I must continue to soar through the skies to discover my purpose.

Because despite this strength that I possess... I felt very tired.

The world was very cruel.

There were many gruesome gruesome things that my eyes could not see directly but managed to see clearly.

The world was a very sad place.

I could hear the pained cries of children from a mile away and bitter goodbyes from love ones who lost their lives to the edge of the sword.

The world was a very scary place.

I could smell the scent of blood, the scent of rotting corpses and the scent of smoldered lives.

Then the world was suddenly a very bright place.

"This is peach. Peach tastes good. Have you had one?"

I could see light that was not too blinding. I could smell the sweetness of the fruit offered before me. I could hear the tender beating of a tender person's heart right in front of me.

I had flown for a long time.

Felt for a long time.

Hid for a long time.

But now I have found my purpose.

It was time to seek shelter.

It was time to nestle down.

It was time to protect my nest.

And I will do it with all my power.

I will not let this light die down.

I will not let this sweetness fade away.

I will not let this heart stop beating.

"Swak, come to me. We must escape for now," I heard Lucian from below.

His low voice could still reach my ears but he knew that I could hear him despite the distance between us. Darkness pierced through the bodies of hooded skeletons and their bones scattered to the ground. After I was sure that there was nothing left but the giant, I connected my eyes with Lucian and observed his features.

He still had a blank expression on his face.

His clothes were dirty and tattered from battle.

His leg was broken and so were his eyes.

Two bodies of corpses were laid behind him and those two bodies were the keys to break the seal of this strength's confinements.

"You know what to do don't you?" I heard that little boy's voice speak to my mind.

My eyes spotted him sitting on one of the debris with his clouded eyes staring at me directly.

"It is now time to give birth to Akuma."

"Skwak will protect Lucian even if it is a God that Skwak is against," I spoke, sensing the tremendous power that the giant was emitting. "Will you help Skwak?"

The child stared at the turning pages of his book like he was reading the right choices for the plot of his story.  From the first time I saw him, I thought that his energy field was erratic. He would usually emit such a frangible emanation and even now, I felt little to no threat from him. He was like an infant. 

But this child was no regular infant.

Normal infants did not fall from skies.

"You have my blessing." 

I knew from the moment that I saw him that he had the same modest strength, a modest strength that was greater than mine. 

I looked back at Lucian and landed lightly beside him. I intertwined our fingers one last time.

"Skwak must protect the nest."

Lucian tightened his hold on me and a slight frown formed on his unwrinkled face.

"You have done enough. Let us go together."

I swayed my head in disagreement. "Skwak must keep your heart beating. Skwak is grateful. Skwak is ready to go now."

I felt Lucian's hand tremble and the wolf creature whined.

"Will you let me follow you?" he asked, he was trying his very hardest to keep his features unbothered.

"Not this time. This time, Skwak must go alone now."

I slowly let go of Lucian's hand who still kept a tight hold on me.

"Lucian must let go of Skwak now," I persisted even if his hold on me was soothing.

I did not want to leave but sooner or later Skwak will have to go because Skwak was only a piece.

The beat of his heart hastened that I was afraid that it would break at any time. I leaned my head against his shoulder to feel him one last time.

"Skwak will come back. Will Lucian wait for me?"

The shaking of his body lessened and he looked ahead, thinking it over. He released my hand and let it fall limply beside him. The wolf transformed into someone with human-like features and took one of Lucian's hands.

"Come back in one piece," Lucian murmured and stumbled forward. The wolf was there to catch him.

"That...Skwak can promise."

"We need to go now Lucian. It's not safe."

"I agree with Caleb, that thing isn't something we can handle," Crowley commented before placing his hand over my shoulder and nodding at me in acknowledgement. "I misjudged you. Good luck out there."

I picked up the two keys and my wings stretched before fluttering down, lifting us up towards the giant.

"Oi, warugaki and bony kid! Let's go!" Crowley yelled. "Where the heck is Kox?!"

The giant had noticed our incoming presence and a smirk spread across his lips. He hurled his spear and aimed at us and I looked back, finding Lucian and his group still there.

"The world will split and the earth will tremble with my thunder. Die!"

Worry thumped in my chest and I charged ahead and let my black fire shoot out from my hips. The giant hurled the spear and my fire wrapped around its shaft. I was shoved back but with all my might, I kept us in the air, I halted the spear's pierce and then tossed the weapon away. Lightning shot out from the skies to strike us and I dodged the attack and kept moving forward.

"What is your purpose for going against me? Kneel, kneel!" he yelled.

Electricity surged through his body and spheres of lightning came about and caged me. My body felt the severe intensity of bolt that gave me a shock of needles. A scream erupted from my throat and I did my hardest to dispel the electricity.

The strength of lightning became even more intense and I was beginning to lose consciousness.

I made a promise to come back in one piece.

I will keep that promise no matter what!

"Ease," Kox voice ordered.

The electricity dispersed and I took a second to regain my composure before charging forward.

"How...dare you!"

Another sphere of electricity stopped me in my pace and Kox relieved each one of them with that one word.

"Ease."

"Ease."

"Ease."

"Which God do you serve?! Which God is interfering with my ruling?!"

"You call yourself a God?" Kox questioned which seemed to be also heard by the giant who began to frantically search for him. "Gods aren't so weak. Guardian must be laughing his arse by now."

"Where are you? Reveal yourself!"

"You're dying, so just die."

The giant became even more frenetic, letting out a scream of frustration before beginning to flee.

"Be careful not to get pricked."

A steel bar pierced through the ground and skewered the giant up through his mouth. I twirled around and found Lucian and the others still standing from where I left them. Lucian, who had his left hand lifted, rotated his wrist and snapped his fingers gracefully. The tip of the bar started to peel by itself before twisting like a drill and slowing down into an elegant bloom of a steel rose.

It was brutal in a form of beauty.

"Do what you have to do...and come back to me, okay?" he murmured with a gentle voice.

Tears trailed my eyes and the thumping of my chest became even harder.

I protected my nest and in return, my nest protected me back.

At the giant's atrocious imprisonment from Lucian's steel rose, I took the advantage and rocketed towards him. I landed right on top of his forehead and placed the two keys down before staring at the dark skies that was smoked with terror. My feet burned the front of his head. The warmth I produced melted his skin like ice and the bones protecting his structure started to disintegrate into ashes. I released a wave of scalding hot steam and the giant's eyes zoned out from agony.

His exterior bones collapsed. His eyes dried and reddened. His mighty armor rusted. He wanted to kneel but he could not from the steel rose keeping him up.

I was the reaper's strength. His strength was meant to be dark and potent yet humble. It must not be seen as strength instead, it should be seen as a privilege given by God. One's strength must not be abused. One's strength must not be misused. I must return to Saint—the instrument that was given the right to use this power and Sin—the instrument who had the capability to utilize this power. 

"God of Creation

God of Love

God of Mercy

God of Light

I am your humble servant."

Thunder clamored the heavens and the winds heave ho. My body emitted a darkened aura and the two keys were pulled into a standing by the force that I had called.

"There is no greater God than you.

I have sinned.

I have sorrowed.

I served you with shame."

The dark and sorrowful clouds parted ways and a ray of light illuminated us. Saint and Sin started to speak with me and our hands intertwined.

"I ask for your forgiveness.

I ask for your enlightenment.

I am your creation.

I am your reaper.

Bestow your power once again.

Here we stand before you as Sin, Saint, and Strength.

And now we are ready to be one.

Let us continue to feed Hell.

Let us be Samael."

The ray of bright light swirled with a scarlet red tint and a downpour of fire engulfed us including the giant we were standing on.

The bright scarlet fire became sinister and scorched my skin. The power of my creator that I requested with my strength was consuming. It could be spine-chilling from how He had bestowed us His blessing but this was how we were offered to become the Akuma.

We were siblings of three. Our mother had died and our father became devoted to serving His Grace. One day he was given an order from the heavens to lock his children in the house and set it on fire. He did so with no regrets. He did not tear. He did not shake. He was ecstatic.

He had brought glory to His Lord. His fidelity was unrivaled. He was promoted into an angel.

The three of us cried to our deaths. We were scared. Smoke had conquered our lungs and the fire licked our skin so painfully.

But now I was at ease.

I did not feel any sorrow.

My long flight had finally ended.

I can rest my wings now.

The voices and the memories of the other keys joined mine and despite not feeling my cheeks, I knew that I was shedding tears. It wasn't out of sadness. It wasn't out of anger.

It was out of love.

It was out of excitement.

It was out of relief.

We each had our own share of painful journeys.

The three of us were lost in our way.

There was more pain than pleasure living as a fragment.

We were all finding a way of escape.

Yet we ended up finding a new way to start our lives even if we knew that it would inevitably end.

We were the parts of someone.

We were the pieces of someone who lost his dignity.

He who did not experience companionship.

He who did not experience the meaning of life.

He who was betrayed.

He who was hurt.

He who had lived in isolation.

He was feared.

He was unloved.

He was hated.

No one wanted to be cursed.

No one wanted Death.

And he was a bringer of both.

"Samael...hear your fragments..." the three of us spoke in unison.

"I was respected..." Saint murmured.

"I was accepted," Sin spoke.

"I was protected," I ended.

"Know that you were loved and cared by someone special," we told him.

So protect him and his dreams.

A huge magic seal formed outside the monsoon of fire and a two-horned and one tailed being emerged from behind the seal. The blaze dispersed and showed the damaged giant that was scalded with hellfire.

"Guardian...can you see what I'm seeing?"

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A/N: Do you guys still remember good ol' Guardian?