Casius wasn't quite sure how to respond. He was too busy gazing, contemplating, even, on the undisguised look of malice which sat across Erin's face. In his eyes, the expression was unsuited and only served to taint her feminine features.

So, this was what betrayal resulted in.

There was no point in denying it, for this was a Mortal who claimed more sense and intelligence than him.

A lot more.

Casius' features hardened somewhat and he closed his eyes, forcing himself to avert his gaze. He could feel his stomach tightening under the strain of the guilt which surged throughout his entire being, causing both his head and his wings to willingly droop. Back in the Divine Empire, deceit was a crime. A sin punishable by exile.

But it was different here. Mortals resorted to deceit as though it was nothing to be ashamed of.

If only they knew... he thought.

'Come on!' Erin demanded. Her animosity showed no signs of diminishing anytime soon. 'Tell me the truth! Or are you thinking up more lies?'

Casius shook his head. 'No.'

'Then what is it? Why aren't you answering me?' She waved with the key. 'This...it belongs to your world. To the Divine Empire.'

He nodded. 'Yes.'

Erin paused, but only for a moment. Casius noted how her face mellowed slightly, although her eyes continued to blaze under the anger's influence. 'So, why are you here?' she asked, at last.

'I-'

'You're not here to learn about us, are you?'

'No...'

'Then what reason do you have for coming here?' She held up the key up so he could see it for himself: the pain and anguish he alone had caused. 'What reason do you have for lying to me?'

Inside, he was hurting. Casius' gaze wandered over to the window whilst he considered his options. Should he tell her the truth? What would she think of him if she knew the real reason behind his arrival? Shame consumed him from within, but he knew, deep down, that he had no choice.

She deserved to know the truth.

And that was what she was going to get.

The truth.

* * *

The Gathering Chamber was a single room dedicated to the Ten Province: a group of brave knights who had been personally elected by the Champion to fill the ten seats housed within the Chamber itself.

But today the seats were not filled by knights. Instead, the seats were occupied by an angel, a magus, a knight, and the Champion himself. Erin and Elric sat at one end of the Chamber, with Casius situated at the other. A long stretch of polished wood stood between them, though it did nothing to ease the situation at hand.

'So, Casius...' Elric spoke the name with a sense of question, as if he wasn't sure whether or not it truly belonged to the man he was addressing. 'Do you plan on answering the following questions with honesty and nothing but, regardless of how you may personally feel?'

Erin listened in as his voice echoed across the table and throughout the Chamber, reaching the ears of Casius and Darrius, who stood guard on the other side. She stared at the angel, who sat with his head bowed, his wings lousily drooping behind him.

'Yes.' His response was barely audible.

The Champion nodded. 'Good.' He pushed the chair back and stood up. The sound of wood pushing against stone carried across the spacious room, drawing back the silence which should have followed. 'You have upset my sister, someone I deeply care for and treasure,' he explained. 'I only wish for her to be content with what she has, so the fact that you have deceived her does not sit well with me.'

Erin's gaze was fixated on the angel, on the undisguised regret which sat upon his face. One part of her wanted to stand up and put an end to this interrogation, although the other part of her made a swift retaliation by reminding her of the fact that Casius had lied to her.

But she wasn't angry anymore. The anger had long since diminished, overwhelmed by the feelings of disgruntled confusion which now hung over her, filling her mind with so many unfounded thoughts and questions. What else was he hiding?

That's exactly what we intend to find out, she thought.

'Okay,' Elric said, 'I'll start off nice and simple. Who are you?'

This time, Casius looked up, ensuring their gazes locked together. 'My name is Casius,' he said.

The Champion nodded once again. 'Alright. And where do you originate from?'

'I come from the highest regions of The Divine Empire - a glorious city which resides above the clouds.'

'So...Heaven, in other words?'

'Yes.'

Elric's eyes flickered over to his sister, who nodded, silently encouraging him to proceed further. 'So, the details you gave my sister are true?'

'Everything I have said regarding my identity and whereabouts are true,' Casius explained, his tone precise and even. 'However, the details concerning my exact intentions are not.'

Elric's entire stance changed at that given moment. His body relaxed, the suspicion depicted on his face lessened somewhat and he acknowledged Casius' words with a curt nod. Perhaps he was glad that Casius had admitted to deceit, or maybe he was happy that his..."culprit"...was willing to cooperate. Erin wasn't entirely sure which it was.

'I see. What are these "exact intentions" of yours? Why are you here?'

Casius was clearly hiding something. Erin could see it. The way he averted his gaze and lowered his head, as if determined to avoid answering the question at all costs. She pursed her lips and stared, silently urging him to say something. Anything!

Then he spoke.

'I have come in search of the Sacred Keys,' he said.

The Maelstras siblings both exchanged quick looks of confusion. 'The Sacred Keys?' Elric asked.

Casius raised his head so that his gaze was level with the Champion's. 'Yes.' He nodded. 'I was ordered to find and retrieve them. Both of them.'

'Why?'

Fresh concern clouded the angel's face. 'Because I was the one who accidentally destroyed one of the Pillars of Heaven: the holy statues which encompass our world,' he explained. 'They are blessed monuments, reminding us angels of the sacrifices our Father made in order to forge both your world and ours. As you can probably imagine, my superiors were unimpressed with the consequences of my actions. So, in order to prove my worth as a holy servant, the Elders sent me on this voyage.'

The angel's words were enough to rid of the tension and feelings of distrust present within the Chamber. Elric leaned across the table, eyes closed, his head bowed, and Erin appeared to relax at that given moment. She leaned back in her chair and sighed. Although Casius' words had indeed satisfied her confusion, she couldn't help feeling a tad furious. Her fingers curled underneath the strain of the short bout of anger she came to experience.

However, that anger was no longer directed towards Casius, but instead towards his so-called superiors, the Elders who had dared cast him away and banish him from their midst's. And for what? Something as trivial as breaking a pillar!

No. She had to remind herself that, in their eyes, his actions might not have been deemed as trivial. After all, Casius himself had referred to the pillars as "blessed monuments".

But still, sending him away on such a quest? There are worse crimes he could have committed. Why do they have to shame him?

Elric sighed. 'So, you're here to retrieve the Sacred Keys?' he asked. His voice held broad traces of kindness; something it had previously been lacking prior to Casius' explanation. He stabbed a finger at the rusted key lying on the table before him. 'These ones?'

'Yes. The keys unlock a holy device known as the Seven Gates, which ultimately belongs to the Divine Empire, but which is located in this world.'

'Do you know its exact location?' Elric inquired.

Casius shook his head. 'That I do not. My superiors did not supply with me information regarding the gates whereabouts. All I know is that if I fail to complete this quest, I'll never get a chance to return home.' He paused for a moment, his head lowering. 'I'll never get a chance to see my family again...' he added, his voice a low, anguished whisper.

So, he has a family...

That particular revelation only served to ignite Erin's anger even further. Inside, she was seething whilst she thought about the importance of family. It was a gift bestowed upon by nature, something to be cherished. To be surrounded by people who would love and nurture you, who would even go so far as to give their lives for you...

It was everything.

But to take that gift away as though it was nothing...

Those mindless bastards! Erin gaze wandered towards the ceiling and her brows came together in a look of pure malevolence as she tried to picture the world which lay beyond the skies. The world Casius came to call his home. His Elders had only served to both shame and humiliate him by sending him on a near impossible mission.

A mission that would determine his entire future.

Erin closed her eyes and sighed. She had already made her choice. 'Look...Casius, I-'

Her words were abruptly cut off by the resounding crash which sounded, seemingly out of nowhere, taking her surprise and causing her eyes to snap open. Upon staring ahead and noticing Casius' overturned seat at the far end of the table, Erin's gaze began to wander in desperate search of the angel, who suddenly appeared beside her.

'I apologise for having lied to you.' He dropped to one knee and lowered his head, assuming the exact same position he had held the night she first met him. 'I will understand if you choose to abandon me, to forget of the promise you made,' he said. 'But, please know that what I originally told you was not necessarily a form of deceit. It's just that I have always been fascinated by your particular kind, and so I used this voyage as an opportunity to learn more about this unique world and its people...'

'Casius.'

'...of course, I understand if you dismiss my reasons...'

'Casius...'

'...and think of me as a lowly creature unworthy of-'

'Casius!' Erin pushed the chair back and stood to her full height, allowing herself to tower over the angel, who fell silent, his gaze wandering up to meet hers. 'Look, I forgive you, you big-winged buffoon! Okay? I forgive you! So, stop with the unnecessary lecturing and grovelling, because I wouldn't forget our promise and I certainly wouldn't abandon you. Not when there's so much at stake here.'

Casius' eyes widened, reflecting what appeared to be shock. Or was it possibly relief? Erin wasn't entirely sure. Still, she reached out, offering the startled angel her hand.

'We're allies now, right?'

'Of course.' Casius reached out with trembling fingers and took a hold of her hand, allowing her to pull him up.

'Well then, that means we stick together, no matter what.' A gracious smile played on the magus' lips and she looked round at Elric, who was watching on with a keen smile of his own. 'So,' she muttered, 'what do we do now?'

* * *

Silence fell over the Chamber as the four members reclaimed their seats. Erin, having accepted that the suspecting tensions had already passed on, took her place beside Casius at the right end of the table, while Elric and Darrius remained on the left. The stretch of polished wood was like an oversized barrier situated between them.

'Okay.' Elric's voice carried across the room. 'You've told me everything there is to know about these Sacred Keys. However, there's just one thing I wish to ask.'

Casius gave a curt nod. 'Please, go ahead.'

'How did these keys end up in this world if they're property of the Divine Empire?'

'Ah, now there is a story behind that particular question. You see, the Divine Empire is governed by the Archangels, the Elders of Heaven. Our history dates back when the First Elders were in a position of power. The First Elders consisted of eight original Archangels, who were personally selected by our dear Father. However, one of the First Elders was unveiled as a traitor. His name was...'

'...Lucifer.' It was Erin who completed the sentence.

The angel cast her a wide-eyed look. 'Yes. Lucifer. But how did-'

'Oh, we know of the tales surrounding Lucifer and how he was banished from Heaven.' Erin exchanged looks with her brother, who acknowledged her words with a mere wink. 'But, for some reason, I've got a feeling our version of events are going to differ slightly from yours...'

'Well now, Lucifer was stripped of his title and banished from the Empire when the other Elders discovered that he was planning to wipe out the Mortals using the Seven Gates. Because he saw Mortals as an inferior race, he thought of them as a nuisance, a mistake that our Father had created. But shortly after they banished him, the Elders discovered that Lucifer had stolen the Sacred Keys, although he was unaware of the Seven Gates' location, making the keys a useless asset. In a bid to prevent him from ever finding it, the seven Elders flew down to this realm and managed to overthrow him. However, they were unable to find the keys.'

'So, then what happened?' Elric asked.

'They returned to the Empire, having claimed victory over Lucifer. But now they want the keys returned: a quest I have been tasked with completing.'

Casius' words hung unanswered whilst the three Mortals took the time to contemplate upon what he had just told them. Erin, in particular, started thinking about the details surrounding Lucifer's untimely demise. To think that a great battle had taken place between the seven Elders and Lucifer, a traitor whose true colours were considered an abomination...

Finally, Elric spoke up. 'Alright,' he said. 'I've come to a conclusion regarding the unknown whereabouts of these keys.'

Darrius rose from his seat. 'Shall I rally the troops, sir?'

'No.' The Champion shook his head. 'No, this is far too complicated for the Serandonian knights. We need someone who is an expert in matters like this...' His gaze narrowed as he considered whatever options they had left to choose from. 'And I think I might know just the person.'

* * * *

At last, the discussion is over, and it looks as though the real conflict of the story has finally been revealed.

Poor Casius has to find and retrieve two keys which belong to Heaven. Now THAT'S a lot easier said than done, right?

Ah, well. Any thoughts on this chapter? Do you sympathize with Casius' reasons for lying about his mission, or are you perhaps a little sceptical?

If you enjoyed this chapter, don't forget to vote! :D