Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The friar was told that the pastor of his church suddenly passed away last night. As he helped with the deacon’s funeral not long ago, he was assigned to assist the pastor’s funeral service today as well.

“The funeral service is about to begin,” called a voice coming from the chapel’s sanctuary. “All guests of the funeral, please find your way over to the seats. For all service assistants, please make sure to review the procedures of the ceremony thoroughly.”

“Remember, everything must be perfect.”

Wiping his hands on his robes, the friar made his way to the table with the list of procedures he must do so the funeral will go as smoothly as possible. His memory had never been the best, so he was thankful that he would be granted a guide to the process. He also thought about praying to the heavens to help him not make any mistakes during the ceremony.

While looking for the guide list, he found a couple of books. One of them was a book of saints. Opening to a certain page, he saw St. Robert, the man that he chose as his personal patron that he would pray to in times of need. Putting it down, another book caught his eye- Study of Angels (2). The page that the friar opened to wrote about an angel’s appearance.

“The true appearance of an Angel is impossible to describe with the use of human tongue. Human beings who see their original form will have their minds broken, their flesh burn, and eventually lead to their death due to their overwhelmingly holy presence. Therefore, when Angels communicate with humans, they must appear as an acceptable illusion or in a vessel that the human mind can comprehend. Most Angels choose to appear in the form of animals or humans. The vessel of an Angel in the human world is gifted by the Lord, however. This privilege is no longer given after the fall of an Angel. Angels who have fallen have their vessel taken and are banished from heaven without having an acceptable form to properly exist on our world.”

After finishing the passage and scanning the table one last time, the friar realized that the memo was probably at the table directly mirroring the one he was currently standing at. He hopped over to the other side of the aisle. He plucked the memo from the table before feeling something warm trickling over his lips.

“A-ah, another nosebleed!” he muttered. “When will I get used to…” The friar paused at the statement. Used to… what? Have I bled like this before?

Looking back down at the slip of paper, he saw splotches of his blood covering the final event on the list.

Order of Service

1. Opening Speech
2. Prayers
3. Chanting Hymns
4. Wreath-laying
5. R—urec——

A few symbols were scribbled on the back.

“Prayer hands = candle”

“Music notes = 1234567890?”

There was also a sketch of a flower drawn beneath the messages.

The friar smiled. This is all the preparation I need, he thought. He slipped the paper up his sleeve and noticed something else hidden there. From his sleeve he pulled out a partially burned photograph of… himself? He wasn’t sure who it was- the face had been cut out, but the body shape seemed to match his own. The hairstyle of the person in the photograph also matched his own, but it was platinum blonde in color, not like his own chestnut hair. The phrase “DON’T FORGET” was written on the front in black pen. On the back, “HADS” was written in… no, no, no, it couldn’t have been written in blood. The friar nervously shoved the photo back into his sleeve and carried on. This funeral had to go perfectly.

He began walking down the aisle toward his assigned spot near the altar. Looking at the attendants, he saw nothing but their eyes poring into his soul. He felt uneasy. Halfway down the aisle, a strange voice suddenly started to ring in his head.

“Be not afraid, Human.”

The friar’s vision went dark. He frantically looked around, but the chapel had vanished. Surrounded by the sounds of whispers, he waited for the voice to continue.

“Wow, that was way too slow and dramatic for my taste. Yeah, no- if I keep speaking like this we’ll be here all day. So you know what? Go, be free- I will release you from this pain and start speaking normally. Give a huge round of applause for my thoughtfulness, everybody. Oh- and turn this weird background ambience off too, it’s kind of killing the mood.”

With a click the whispers surrounding the friar ceased.

“Now that all that’s out of the way, can you hear my oh so friendly and soft voice that just makes your heart melt away from all the trustworthiness?”

The friar stood in stunned silence. He was simply trying to wrap his head around the situation, but the voice didn’t seem to interpret the silence correctly. “Wait a minute,” it stumbled, “do you genuinely not hear me?” The friar heard a succession of clanging noises before the voice spoke again. “How about now? You hear me now, right? Yeah?” Still not receiving a response, the voice continued nonetheless. “Welp, I tried my best. I’m just gonna continue assuming you do hear me.”

“Now, how about it- aren’t you curious on how I look now that you’ve heard my voice?” The friar admitted to himself that he was in fact wondering who the source of the voice was, especially with the air of confidence that it had.

“Alright, alright- Everyone gather around for the grand entrance of yours truly!”

A sudden bright light flashed before the friar’s eyes, along with an angelic choir and a single toot! of a party horn to welcome the man that the friar had been speaking to.

The voice belonged to a disheveled man who appeared to be in his early forties. He bore a massive black trench coat with the left side slumping off of his shoulder. He had a loose grey necktie and his white-collared shirt was hastily and partially tucked into his slacks. Half of a glasses frame sat on the left half of his face, while his right eye was covered with a bandage that wrapped beneath his hair, dark curls that reflected the holy light shining behind him.

The friar smirked, and the man seemed to notice this. “Aren’t you too disappointed? What, did you expect me to be more… well, ‘holy’ looking? Aw come on, chin up now. No one besides me even wanted to try and come and meet you- I personally came to help you out since I’m super nice and proper like that. You should be GRATEFUL, kid!” The friar opened his mouth to ask what any of that meant, but the mystery man rambled onward.

“Before we start getting attached to each other, I need you to answer something for me first- SURPRISE QUIZ!! Guess what I’m supposed to be. Feel free to answer however you like, you’re not getting punished or anything. I’m just an illusion in your head, how could I ever hurt you?” The friar realized that it was going to take a long time for him to get answers out of this guy. The man continued, “Ah, that doesn’t mean I want to hurt you If I could, by the by- so don’t start assuming I’m evil just yet.”

What.

This worried the friar. What if it was a demon attempting to possess him to commit terrible deeds? But if he were a demon, then why would he come to him in holy light and escorted by a choir of angels? Was he… God? No, he couldn’t have been, God wouldn’t be as cocky as this man was. He concluded that the only being with that kind of arrogance would have to be human.

“Oh-? Then I assume you also talk to other humans telepathically and show them illusions in their head? Woah, I didn’t know humanity has evolved this much already. Oh, how the time flies…” The friar remained silent. He hadn’t necessarily thought about the fact that this entire conversation was in his head. The… being chuckled nervously. “You’re joking right- Tell me you didn’t actually think I was a human-“

But before the friar could respond, the being proudly declared, “I’m an Angel. That’s right- an angel. Well- Guardian Angel, to be specific. You know, the ones that get assigned to a specific human and look after them so they don’t die. I think we’re also called ‘The Silent Protector’ sometimes? But don’t call me that. Too pretentious of a title, don’t you think? So just call me by my name. It’s Ramin.”

Ramin flashed a smile at the friar. The friar didn’t know whether to smile back.

“Anyways- I believe this is the point where you’re starting to wonder: ‘Why is this suspicious angel reeking of old man energy suddenly talking to me? Why does he talk like that? His characterization sucks.’ What, am I not allowed to talk to people when I’m bored? Are you saying angels should shut up and only stand around looking pretty?!” The friar had, in fact, not said a word, so he wasn’t certain where Ramin had gotten this idea from. He interjected, “I didn’t say anyth-“ but was once again cut off by Ramin. “Oh well,” the angel continued, “I’m not here because I’m bored anyway. I’m here for business. The human I’ve been assigned to look over got tied up with this obviously suspicious church. Now, it would be really convenient for me if someone who’s already in the site were to help me…”

Ramin took a step toward the friar. “Kid, how about we make a deal?” The friar took a step back. This certainly sounded like a deal with the devil, and Ramin seemed to notice as well. “Hm,” the angel muttered as he recoiled. “Alright, what I just said sounds a lot like I’m supposed to be something else that’s not an angel. But like I told you before and am telling you again now… I’m a one-hundred percent pure Angel! Don’t forget that!” The friar took another step backward, so Ramin reigned himself in.

“Anyway, you’ll even get a prize if you do your part well. It’s… drum rolls, please… Ta-daaah- Me!!!”

The friar snickered. Ramin seemed hurt for a moment, but quickly regained his confidence.

“Yowch, aren’t you being too harsh? Wait a minute, aren’t you supposed to be a friar? How can you even act like that toward me?! I’m a very serious and graceful Angel, you know?!”

The friar raised an eyebrow and Ramin sighed. “You still don’t get why me being around you will be the best thing that can ever happen to you? Listen here- I’m a Guardian Angel, yeah? Think of everything a Guardian Angel can do for their human. You’ll never get hurt, all troubling things in your life- POOF, gone. How useful is that? Well, how ‘bout it? Pretty neat, eh?”

But the friar still seemed skeptical. “Isn’t that your responsibility in the first place?” he asked. Ramin’s face fell grim. His dark brown eye began to glow a more amber color as he bluntly said, “I’m doing you a favor. You aren’t my original responsibility, kid.” The friar’s throat went dry, and the angel blinked a couple times as if he was shocked at what he himself just said, the natural brown color returning to his eye. “Nevermind. What I mean is- yes, that’s my job- BUT I’ll upgrade those perks by eleven. Like a bonus package! Guardian Angel Premium, you could say!”

Ramin laughed at his own joke, but the friar stopped him by getting straight to the point. “What do you even want?”

“What I want is fairly simple,” Ramin said, “No matter what happens, I want you to focus and finish today’s funeral perfectly all the way from start to finish.”

“I was already going to do that,” the friar chuckled. Ramin laughed triumphantly at this. “Well isn’t that convenient, you just need to do what you planned then!”

“Oh, and don’t forget- Never think about escaping, or helping someone. Ignore them. Focus only on what you’re doing.” The amber glow returned to Ramin’s eye as he issued the warning. But just as quickly, it vanished as a nervous smile returned to his face. “Haha, was that too specific? Are you suspicious of me now?”

The friar nervously asked, “You sure you’re not a demon?”

Ramin put his head in his hands and groaned. “HOW MUCH MORE DO I HAVE TO MAKE MYSELF CLEAR ON THIS TOPIC, KID?! DO YOU EVEN REALIZE HOW MUCH LIKABILITY POINTS FROM ME TO YOU HAVE BEEN DROPPING SO FAR?!” Once again noticing how the friar jumped at his outburst, Ramin collected himself. “I do want to make you trust me from the get-go, believe me, but you know how it is, the boss upstairs is pretty strict about this kind of thing.”

“Listen- all Angels have rules we must follow. We cannot let humans know what kind of crisis or problems they’re going to be facing directly. Boss isn’t much of a fan of the classic ‘showing illusions to warn what’s about to come’ method anymore. Didn’t really like the idea when I proposed to meet you this way. But you know, since I’m a nice Angel I begged and begged- so here I am. This is as good as it gets. Meaning… I can only help you through vague lessons and never the direct answer. You must figure out the rest on your own and overcome it.”

Ramin paused his monologue and scoffed. “I know right? It suuuuucks that I’m basically some kind of a pet rather than an actual assistant. But I guess it’s fair. Characters with know-it-all mentor positions like me are supposed to be enigmatic after all, or else we won’t be popular. But anyway- since I’ve eaten up a lot of time, I’ll let you go for now. If you want to talk to me again, come find me. Ah- how about this? If you find yourself stuck or clueless, just send up a ‘prayer’ and I’ll come right down. Good luck, kid. I’ll be cheering you on. Remember my words. I’m on your side.”

And with that, Ramin disappeared and the friar found himself back in the chapel. The bells calling for the ceremony to begin rang, and he realized just how much time he had spent speaking with the strange voice. I need to focus and go to my assigned spot , he thought. He took a few steps forward before stopping again. Where was that again? He sighed soberly. Why do I feel like I’ve been forgetting things more often lately. Even now, I feel that I’m missing something very important… For now, I’ll just use the other assistants as an example and figure something out!

He made his way toward the sanctuary where he saw the pastor laid in a coffin. He looked more closely, then flinched. Did… the pastor’s chest move up and down just now? He shook his head and laughed anxiously at himself. Must’ve been my imagination…

He nervously turned around and found an empty spot between two of his brothers, which he assumed was his assigned spot. Just in front of him to the left, the friar saw a cage covered in a black cloth. Something breathed heavily inside it, but because of the cloth, he couldn’t see what. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to know.

The lights of the chapel dimmed. “We will now begin the funeral service.”

Chapter Text

“First of all,” announced the brother standing to the friar’s right, “I would like to express my sincere appreciations to everyone who gathered here today. Not long after our deacon has passed, our pastor has followed behind in his footsteps. But, everyone, this is not a thing to be sad about. As the faithful servant of the Lord has told us before: Our pastor will never abandon us even after death. At this moment, the pastor is very happy to see how many of his followers have gathered here for him. Just like how the deacon has yet to leave and has been protecting us, the pastor will do the same and take care of us. Let us all pray in appreciation of his kindness and thoughtfulness. Let us all pray in appreciation of his kindness and thoughtfulness.”

The chapel was entirely silent except for the weathered breathing from the cage in front of the friar.

“… Hello?” whispered a voice from beneath the cloth. “Please… look this way… anyone…”

The friar glanced at the iron cage and shuffled slightly closer.

The voice whispered again, “Is anyone there? Please, someone help me… I’m so scared… help…”

The friar’s heart thumped. He was nervous enough as is; he didn’t need to get himself involved with what the business regarding the cage, for it wasn’t his place. He shifted back to his assigned spot and faced the congregation.

“A-ah… I swore that he looked towards my direction! Please! Don’t ignore me! Please help!” But the friar remained steadfast in his position. The voice begged again, “Even if it isn’t now… just once! Please talk to me!”

The friar felt a burning on the right side of his head. Looking to his right, he saw the head brother boring holes into his skull with his eyes. The head brother then faced the laity again and declared, “It is time for the next procedure.”

The friar felt dizzy. Wh-whatever is happening, he decided, I need to focus on progressing the funeral for now. The next event is… prayers, yes? He subtly slipped the memo out of his pocket and looked at the back, where there was a drawn symbol of hands put together and a candle. How should I go about this?

An idea quickly came to mind. Scurrying back down the aisle, the friar picked up a few simple candlesticks from a table. Of course! he thought, I need these to light up the candles!

He took a step back into the aisle, but heard a click! echo from off the wooden floor and reverberate around the room. He stumbled backwards in shock, letting out a small yelp along the way. Fortunately for him, nobody seemed to notice. Were my footsteps always this loud?

“Oops, was that audio too over the top?”

“AAA-“

“SHshhSHSHHshSH- IT’S ME KID, IT’S ME!!!”

In an instant, the friar was pulled from the chapel and returned to a world of pure light. “See? It’s me, your friendly neighborhood guardian angel…”

The friar grimaced. “Ramin.”

The angel clapped in excitement. “Congrats, you got it!! That’s an A+, served just for you!”

“You surprised me!” screamed the friar. “Does this mean the loud footstep must now was-“

“An Auditory Hallucination played by me!” Ramin seemed proud of his work, but it was clear by the expression on the friar’s face that he thought otherwise.

Ramin frowned. “Aw- don’t look so annoyed, you think I pulled that off just to mess with you?” He paused to snicker a little bit. “I mean it was pretty hilarious seeing you about to bawl your eyes out…”

The friar silenced him with another glare. He seemed to be getting good at that

“Right, right- sorry.” Ramin put his hands in his coat pocket and shifted his weight. “The people here are pretty obsessed with everything being perfect, huh? Even a single mistake could make them think you ruined their entire parade.” He leaned closer into the friar. “For example… you making a noise when they’re going at it during their hardcore praying session. They’ll hear your footsteps the same volume as how I just played it to you- or hey, maybe even worse . Heh, they’ll think it’s as loud as the sound of the entire building collapsing down!”

“Anyways, long story short- watch your step.”

Ramin looked at his wrist as if he were wearing a watch, and declared, “Welp, that’s enough life lessons from me! Good luck, kid! You’re killin’ it so far!” And with that, he was gone.

The friar was back in the chapel in the blink of an eye, slightly peeved at the angel’s antics. He definitely did that just to mess with me. He resettled his grip on the candlesticks and thought for a moment. Watch my step? Ramin was clearly hinting that his footsteps would made noise. It would be safest to return to the front by moving while there is other noises occurring. But what…?

The friar heard the whispers around him and an idea struck him. When people are praying, my footsteps will be covered by their voices! Which means they won’t notice me! I need to light all the candles without drawing attention to myself.

Even stepping as quietly as he could, the friar’s footsteps seemed to echo throughout the hall. But underneath the voices of the crowd, nobody seemed to notice him. By the time he lit the final candles, the crowd had concluded with a great “Amen.”

The head brother smiled. “Thank you everyone for your sincere prayers.” The friar sighed. Phew! Now that that’s out of the way, the next procedure is sure to begin soon. Deep in thought about what to do next, he returned to his spot.

“Let us now sing praise of blessings for the pastor, the deacon and us, the remaining followers of the church and our future. To make the preparations for the next procedure easy, all guests, please take out the chrysanthemums you were asked to prepare and hold them up as we all sing.”

“A-ah, the friar from earlier!” The friar heard a shrill voice call. “Here, over here!”

Once again, the being in the cloth-covered cage was calling over to him. “You… you came back! I was worried something might’ve happened to you! Please- I noticed that there’s a lock on the cage with a passcode! It seems like you need to enter four numbers. Please… help me figure this out!” A bead of sweat trailed down the friar’s face. Whatever- no, whoever was beneath that cloth was scared for their life. His heart wanted him to come closer and look into the eye’s of the captive. But everything was going so well… he needed to continue to do his duty. With a hint of regret in his eyes, the friar once again turned away from the cage.

“A-aah! NO! PLEASE… WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO TO MAKE YOU LOOK MY WAY?! HELP! I DON’T KNOW WHAT THEY’RE PLANNING TO DO TO ME! HELP ME! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP!” The friar’s breath quickened, and the clarion chorus of voices surrounding him didn’t help to relieve his stress. but before he could consider what to do next, the head brother called out, “It is time for the next procedure.”

The friar snapped back to focus on his job. I need to stay calm! Especially at a time like this. Looking at the memo, he saw a musical note, flower, and list of numbers. It’s hard to tell what the numbers mean yet, so does that mean I should check the flowers first? He looked out into the congregation. Each and every pew was filled. Well, I am pretty  curious if everyone did bring their chrysanthemums or not. I should take a look around for that.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the cage and remembered what the person inside had said about a passcode. Is there something with numbers on it in this church in the first place? Steeling his nerve, he went out to the congregation to inspect their flowers.

Despite the elaborate windows next to every pew, the friar struggled to see anything but a congregant’s eyes. But everyone appeared to have a chrysanthemum. But at the back of the church, he felt someone tug on his robe.

An old man fearfully looked into the friar’s eyes. “I… I swear I brought it… Please believe me… I- I did bring it! You need to believe me! It was right here next to me! It was right here- until just a moment ago- I’m sorry… I’m sorry… I won’t make a mistake next time! Please… don’t report me!” The friar stepped away and continued his count.

A question lingered in the back of his mind. Do I tell the truth? Or lie and count the chrysanthemum as if it were here? Everything had been going so well up until now… but the best way to make sure things continued smoothly was to be honest. Even if meant the old man would be punished.

The friar returned to the sanctuary to deliver the final count, but the head brother wasn’t who he found. Instead, Ramin awaited him in a dark void, once again isolated from the church. The friar blinked in confusion, as if it would refocus his eyes and see the head brother. But it didn’t work. Ramin was the only one there.

“Why do you look so surprised? It’s me.” With a wide smile, he ran his hand through his hair. “How ‘bout it, did you miss me? I’m not here to mess with you again so don’t give me the” -he paused to imitate the friar’s favorite disapproving expression- “just yet.”

“I just… wanted to let you know that I’m, well… proud of you.” He smiled again, but this time, he seemed sincere. “Share you some good news too- Did you know? Your ‘trial’ is about to end soon. I know you must’ve been in doubt a lot during this whole thing but- you’re doing great. Just keep going at it like how you’ve been doing and you’ll be fine. Wishing you my luck ‘till the end, kid. Thank you for putting your faith in me.”

With a final salute, Ramin disappeared. The friar once again found himself in front of the head brother.

“From my perspective, how many chrysanthemums are there on the left?”

“24.”

“Confirmed. From my perspective, how many chrysanthemums are there on the right?”

“…23.”

The head brother’s already intense glare was fueled with a hidden outrage. “… Are you sure?”

“…Yes. I’m sure.”

“This means someone didn’t prepare the flower. Confirmed. Well done. You may return to your spot and wait for further instructions while I go check if there are any leftover chrysanthemums to use instead. The ceremony must be perfect…”

The head brother left his position to search for another flower in the back of the church. With nothing left to do, the friar returned to his spot, trying to ignore how clammy his hands were. He took a deep breath and composed himself. No matter what happens, I came this far, I must make it through to the end!

I need to put my faith in the guardian angel!

“With the followers carefully giving up their flowers to the front of the altar onto the pastor’s coffin, we mark the end of today’s funeral service. And now…”

The chapel turned pitch black. The friar was once again left in complete darkness, but it was different than when he was taken to the void with Ramin. He felt the ground beneath his feet and heard the breath of his brothers, the congregants… and the person in the cage. Just as soon as they had disappeared, the light returned to the room- only now the world was coated in a sinister red tint.

“We continue with the possession ritual of the pastor’s soul to merge with a sacrificial body for his resurrection. We thank the holy angel who has prepared a lovely body to be passed on to the pastor today. For the pastor’s soul to easily find his way onto the new body, we must first drag the sacrifice out of the cage and lie them up on the altar.

The person in the cage shrieked with terror. They grasped the cold bars of their prison and looked into the friar’s eyes with sheer, unbridled fear. “AAHH!!! NO!!! SO YOU WERE JUST ANOTHER CULTIST AFTER ALL?! PLEASE!!! HOW CAN YOU DO THIS TO ANOTHER PERSON!!! I AM A PERSON, NOT A SACRIFICE!!! HELP!!! I SAID HELP!!!”

As he was the one closest to the cage, the friar came to realize that the task of bringing the sacrifice to the altar fell upon him. He stepped closer to the cage, but the captive screeched, “GET AWAY FROM ME!!! I WON’T MOVE AN INCH!!!” The friar grimaced. I need to drag them out somehow!

He frantically tore the fabric away from the cage and yanked at the door. Surely enough, the rusty cage door flew open. The friar grabbed the sacrifice by the shoulders. They tried to pull themself out of his grip, fighting to stay in the cage; imprisonment was at least a better fate than death.

The friar felt the blood boiling in his body. Everything was going so well. It needed to. But this damn sacrifice just won’t comply. He didn’t care. He was going to make sure this service went perfectly .

With all of the pent-up anger in his heart, he yanked the sacrifice out of the cage and snarled, “JUST STOP AND GET OUT OF HERE ALREADY!!!”

The chapel was silent. The captive stilled. The friar loosened his grip as he watched the sacrifice’s face contort and their body transfigure.

“Why- why are you smiling…?”

“Congratulations, sir!” cheered the sacrifice. They didn’t look a person, but a person-shaped mass of dazzling light. They had no features except for a wide smile and eyes closed in glee. But in a blink, they were gone.

The friar found himself in the realm of light once again. But it wasn’t Ramin who awaited him, but hundreds of hands applauding him and disembodied voices rejoicing, “He passed the test!” Another voice spoke up, “As it was expected- I mean, the deacon appointed by our wise pastor would never fall for cheap tricks like this!

“We apologize for suddenly making you go through this fake funeral. It’s just that you weren’t acting like… well, yourself lately! We were worried that the ritual earlier wasn’t completed properly; we thought we’d have to do it again! Please forgive us for ever suspecting you, sir! But at least we are absolutely sure now! The angel who blessed us with the power of resurrection… they were right!”

Once again, a myriad of voices joined in to celebrate. “It’s him! The beloved deacon really has come back to life!”

The friar felt his head spinning. Fake funeral? Ritual? Deacon? Resurrection? None of it made any sense. It was all too much. Once again, he felt his eyes drift closed and found himself in darkness.

This time, only one voice called out to him, saying, “Congratulations!”

Ramin.

The friar’s breath quickened. Could Ramin have been this “angel of resurrection” that guided the brothers- no, the cultists - to go along with their twisted plot?

“You have no idea what’s going on, don’t you? First off- relax. I’m not on the same side as those cultists. Since you passed the trial, I think I can tell you now.”

Ramin broke out into a fit of laughter. The friar couldn’t see him this time, nor did he know if Ramin could see him as well, but he made his trademark disapproving face just in case. He didn’t seem to notice, though, as he continued, “Finally! I was going crazy trying not to spill anything to you this whole time.”

Ramin cleared his throat. “You know how Angels can fall from grace, yeah? Humans typically think that when an angel falls they immediately become a demon, but that isn’t always the case. Most Fallen Angels feel the sense of superiority from the fact that they were an Angel once. So sometimes they obsess over maintaining the image of being ‘holy’ and ‘powerful’ even after their corruption. If they are banished from heaven and they choose not to go to hell, where do you think they end up? That’s right- the world of humans.”

“Now, when Angels descend to Earth, we can’t let our true forms be seen. So we are given a vessel from God to possess so that we can use them to appear and exist alongside humans without harming them. But that’s the case for Angels who are still on the job. What about the Fallen? God immediately doesn’t want anything to do with them, so naturally their originally assigned vessels are taken away from them too. Then how can they exist on Earth? The answer is obvious if you think about it.”

“They steal a living human’s body.  Targeting those who are desperate, targeting those who are unstable, targeting those who are lost- ‘I will be your salvation, just let me in your mind. I will bring your loved one back to life, sacrifice me a body of a person and I will let your loved one take over it instead.’ Using their angelic voices, they convince those people to perform a ritual and possess their body before completely taking over. And when they wake up… well, they put up an act as if they are whoever that was the original host of the human body, or the loved one that was brought back to life and lives on that way.”

The friar stood in silence, comprehending what the angel just said.  He thought about everything he had ever known, every memory he had ever had, but he couldn’t recall anything from before the deacon’s funeral. And even then, he felt like there were significant portions of his life eternally lost in his subconscious. If all of what Ramin told him was true, then that means…

“That’s right. You… just like how you in that boy’s body… are playing your part as the ‘beloved deacon who miraculously came back to life.’”

The friar could tell that, despite how incredulous it seemed, that this was the truth. He raised his hands to look at them. On his left wrist, he felt… something. It was like the impression of someone grabbing his wrist, someone who was never really there. The phantom touch moved his hand back down to his side and did the same for his right. The wide-eyed friar tried to call out to Ramin, but his voice caught in his throat. He felt his heart racing and slowly moved his trembling hand to his chest to feel his pulse. Ba-dunk. Ba-dunk. Ba-dunk. His body still could listen to his will, and it still worked just fine. It’s just that now he knew that he wasn’t its only inhabitant.

Ramin let out a long sigh. “Who knew an Angel could go low enough to take over the human they were supposed to look after. You disgust me.” The friar’s body jerked around to find the source of the voice. A tingling sensation ran up and down his spine and all through his limbs as his body spun around. There was nothing he could do about it. His mind was intact, but his body was a slave to the Fallen Guardian.

“Everyone else said you were a lost cause,” Ramin spat, “but I could feel it. Your human- he’s somehow still conscious even after you possessed him. As if you two were spiritually fighting in the inside on who gets to control the body. If you failed to complete the funeral service today, these people would have performed yet another ritual to your body, thinking that the one from last time during the deacon’s funeral wasn’t completed properly. Then the original host… Hadley would have been completely erased. That’s why I insisted him to follow along, to trick him into thinking he’s on their side. That way, even if it isn’t now, but slowly and carefully…”

The friar couldn’t see Ramin, but he felt the ghost of his hand squeeze his shoulder. The Angel inside of him had the body recoil, but his own soul warmed at the gesture.

“Guide Hadley to his salvation. Even if you are the host now, Hadley will gain back control.”

And how do you know this? The voice rang from within his head, but it wasn’t his own. Ramin heard it as well and chuckled. “How do I know? The fact that you listened to me is enough proof.” Hadley felt the ghost of Ramin touch his shoulder again as he said this. The friar felt him embrace his soul alone, briefly separating him from the twisted Fallen Angel. He had never felt this free before. He clutched onto Ramin, holding him to shield himself from danger, like a real Guardian Angel.

“I’m sorry, Hadley. It will be painful, but until the day I can properly salvage you, you must persevere.” Ramin cupped his face for a moment, pressed their foreheads together, then slipped from his arms.

It was lonely.

The friar quickly returned to his own body, where he felt the unwelcome presence of the Fallen Guardian.

It was cold.

“Until then…”

Ramin’s voice faded. The friar never got to hear the end of his sentence, but he knew what to do. It was the only path toward salvation he had.

Opening his eyes, he faced his congregation. Every single crazed, ecstatic eye was watching him. He forced a smile. It was time for the deacon to return to his congregation.