Moonlight seeped into the chambers from every nook and cranny, melding into a sort of tapestry of alternating patterns of light and dark as it mingled with the pale luminescence of flickering lanterns. The scent of beef jerky and fresh milk overtook the room, endowing it with an air of homeliness like that of a cozy Christmas eve night.

Mari gobbled up the food that Gabriel had prepared for her at an ungodly speed.

"Erm... make sure to chew..."

At the remark, she coughed, and Gabriel rushed up to her to pat her back. Rakkah had excused himself to answer nature's call, and so the two of them were the only ones present in the chambers.

"Thank you, Jibrīl," the famished girl smiled.

After a short pause, she continued, "May I ask you something?"

"Mhm, go ahead."

"Yesterday at the dance, you were there.. no?"

He nodded reluctantly, unable to meet her gaze. Yet, unexpectedly, her eyes lit up.

"I knew I remembered you from somewhere!"

Gabriel was taken aback by how cheerful this girl had gotten despite all that had taken place. How pure a soul, he wondered, condemned to suffer such a terrible fate.

"That is why you knew my name. It shocked me, you know, back at the cliff!"

Gabriel smiled weakly, and Mari mirrored the expression.

"Thank you."

He looked up.

"Back then you made a promise to me, to take me somewhere safe.. so.. thank you."

"I have yet to fulfill that promise."

Mari tilted her head to the side, confused.

"This ship is not safe for you. Not as long as it's docked at the shores of purgatory."

"Then.." The young girl's eyes darted to the corner of the room.

"You shall travel to Saragossa first thing tomorrow morning. I shall make sure of it."

"Z-Zaragoza?" Mari scrunched her nose, trying hard to comprehend the unfamiliar word that escaped Gabriel's mouth.

Gabriel did not expect her to not know of an adjacent island, but then again she had most likely never step foot off of this island, and the name he had used was likely not of her lexicon.

"It's a freeport." Her puzzled look beckoned him to elaborate. "It means that no one Empire, Company or Religious Order has jurisdiction over it. It is the safest possible destination for you."

"And you?" Mari blurted, subconsciously reaching for Gabriel's hand.

Gabriel smiled warmly. "I shall remain here. I still have business here, but you do not", he placed his hand over hers, "You are free, Mari."

*

"Good decision." Daniel provided a hand to the exhausted, bloodied man at his feet.

The man accepted, for he had no strength left of his own.

The vice-general whistled to a nearby soldier, serving to jolt the remaining crowd who were still too baffled to comprehend what had just occurred.

"Quit standing around like pitiful swines and get this man to his fucking tent!" Daniel roared.

Two soldiers rushed to find a stretcher, and the rest dispersed, fearful that they would be next in line to their commander's wrath, yet still buzzing like bees about that which transpired.

Daniel turned back to the man with the crimson crest, allowing him a shoulder to rest on, when suddenly—

A burst of lightning struck in the distance, illuminating the night sky, causing Araqiel to wince and shudder backwards. Trees rustled as their inhabitants scattered restlessly from their branches.

"What's the matter?"

Turning to the source of the voice, Araqiel's catlike eyes widened with surprise. Not a single person gathered there seemed to acknowledge the blinding light that filled the distant skies. He turned once again to the sky, transfixed, ignoring the question posed unto him.

—A punch to the gut.

"Oi, I asked you a question."

Scowling in pain, he blinked, and in the next moment the light had gone, disappearing completely as if it had never even existed.

*

Pausing at the first rung of the rope ladder, Ezekiel looked towards his left, "Are you not coming?"

"Nay, I'll stand guard 'ere, ye never know when thieves be arrivin'!", Captain Mattheus responded confidently, convincing no one but himself of his true motives.

Ezekiel sighed, muttering under his breath, "Whatever, suit yourself."

Ascending the ladder, he tramped across the wooden floorboards. As he walked, he tried to think of all the reasons why Gabriel might call for him at such an hour. He had an inkling about what it might be, but he dreaded the thought. Either way, if it truly was as he suspected, he already knew what his response would be.

CREAK.

Flying into attention, Ezekiel's hand instinctively moved to the dagger at his belt.

Silence followed.

He clicked his tongue, easing his grip, "Must've been rats."

*

The first thought that graced Mari's mind upon hearing Gabriel's proposal was that of her sister. How could she possibly leave Gehenna with her sister still in captivity? How could she call herself free if she betrayed her own kin? Then again, she did not truly know if the place she was to depart to would be any safer.

"If it is your sister you are worried about, worry not. I shall purchase her immediately and bring her to safety at your side."

Mari's eyes lit up in awe, and Gabriel couldn't help but pat her head in response.

"Rest easy now," he smiled, "I shall get you some more rations."

Mari nodded, gulping down the rest of the jerky on her plate to give way for more.

As he walked to the barrel of food, he wondered to himself, was he truly doing all this out of the good of his heart? What did he seek to accomplish through all this besides merely as a way to absolve himself of his sins in the eyes of the Lord? A weakness overcame him, and he wished nothing more than to collapse onto his bedding. Accumulating the remaining portion of jerky, he tilted his head to look towards the cheerful girl eagerly waiting for her meal.

But instead, what greeted his eyes was a scene of utmost horror. He fell backwards, the food spilling onto the ground; he wished desperately to flee, but his eyes were transfixed upon the terrifying magnificence before him. Light that shone brighter than a thousand suns seared into his retinas, the sickening scent of ash and burning bronze overwhelmed his olfaction, and his ears rang taut with the clang and clamour of colossal burning wheels, interlocked and revolving in every direction like the cogs of an invisible machinery.

However, what truly horrified him, invoking a primeval sense of dread reverberating chills down his spine, were the vast cacophany of eyes chanting verses in a tongue unknown, affixed into the circumvolutory rings of flame that churned unceasing; a singular bulbous eyeball appearing fixed in place at the axis of the eldritch monstrosity, the veins within it clearly distinguishable as it stared into his very soul. He so desperately wished to close his eyes and welcome the dawn of a new day, yet the sheer perfectitude of the symmetric contortion beguiled his senses, evoking a desire for divine obeisance and servitude within his very being.

"B..E......

....N....O....T.......

.....A...F...R....A.....I...D........"

".......Jibrīl? Are you okay?" A soft voice fluttered into his ears, pulling Gabriel out of his entrancement. He was sat huddled in the corner of the room, rocking back and forth, tears overflowing from his eyes. Upon regaining his senses, he wondered how he ended up being where he was.

Quickly realizing his confusion, Mari continued, "...You suddenly dropped the food and crawled into the corner of the room..."

"When did I...?" Gabriel's voice cracked.

"Just a few seconds ago... you frightened me... are you okay?"

The ringing sound of the evermoving wheels and angelic chorus still filled his mind. He pressed his hand to his face, trying to harken himself back to reality.

CREAK.

Both the inhahitants of the chamber turned to the door. There isn't supposed to be anyone here, he thought, and I explicitly showed Rakkah how to conceal his footsteps over wooden planks.

"Listen, Mari," his voice still unsteady.

Mari shivered into attention as she turned towards him.

"I want you to hide under the bed for a while, can you do that for me?"

The girl nodded, grabbing a piece of jerky and sliding beneath the warm wooden berth.

Gabriel walked up to the door, but before he could open it, it creaked ajar of its own volition.