Drained

  I woke to the sound of voices.

  My face pressed against something soft. A pillow. The floor beneath me was hard and cold. I tried to open my eyes, but my lids felt like they weighed a hundred pounds each.

  "He's stirring." That was Remy. His voice came from somewhere nearby.

  "About damn time." Az said. Irritated as always.

  I forced my eyes open. The ceiling of my office stared back at me. Morning light cut through the front windows at a sharp angle. I was still on the floor where I'd fallen, a blanket draped over my body, a pillow wedged under my head.

  I tried to push myself up. Every muscle in my body screamed in protest.

  I managed to get my elbows under me. The room swam for a moment, then steadied. Sarah sat in the chair behind my desk, still wearing her habit. Dark circles hung under her eyes. She looked like she hadn't slept at all.

  "How long have I been out?" My voice came out like gravel.

  "Almost twelve hours," Sarah said. "The sun came up a little while ago."

  Twelve hours. I'd been out cold on my office floor for twelve hours.

  I remembered the System window. The warning about the ward draining my Mana pool dry, then pulling the rest from my life force. I remembered the words clearly. Be warned Nephilim the use of blood for Arcane abilities can be dangerous or fatal.

  "How bad is it?" I asked.

  "You stopped breathing twice," Sarah said quietly. "The little... Angel told me not to worry. He said your body was healing itself. But I worried anyway."

  I looked around the room. Az sat on the windowsill, his tiny red form outlined against the morning light. Remy hovered near the corner of the desk, his small armored body flickering slightly.

  "The ward pulled from my life force," I said. "That's what the System told me. I didn't have enough Mana to power it, so it took what it needed from somewhere else."

  "You almost died, Mud," Az said. There was no humor in his voice. "That ward was meant for someone with a much bigger tank than you've got. You're lucky to be breathing."

  "I Didn't feel like I had a choice at the time." I said.

  I pushed myself up into a sitting position. My back found the wall, and I leaned against it. The office looked the same as it had last night. Salt lines across the doors and windows. The ward I'd drawn in blood was still visible on the wall near the entrance.

  Sarah was watching me. Those green eyes. The same eyes that had haunted me for so long.

  "You can see them," I said. "Az and Remy."

  "I've been watching them argue all night, The little red one’s an asshole." She said and I couldn't help but smile at the absurdity of hearing and nun curse.

  "That sounds about right."

  "He really is a demon?" Sarah asked, looking at Az. "That's what the angel told me. While you were unconscious.

  “Yeah he really is a demon, or at least he was. “

  “Azazel stood in the windowsill with his hands on his hips looking completely put out. "You know Mud, I prefer Fallen over demon."

  “Oh sure, dick head. I'll tell you what you stop calling me Mud, and then we can talk about what you prefer.” I said admonishingly.

  “You know what Mud,” Az said through a toothy grin. “Demon is fine.”

  He said his name was Azazel and that he was a demon lord before you stabbed him."

  "Recently promoted," Az said with a grin. "Thanks to Mud here killing my boss."

  Sarah turned her gaze to Remy. "And you're an angel?"

  "I was an Archangel," Remy said. His voice carried a weight I'd noticed before. Tired. Heavy. "Now I am something else. "We" Remy waved a hand towards Azazel and myself. "We are something else."

  "He explained some of it," Sarah said, looking back at me. "About what you are. What I am." She paused. "He said I'm like you. A Nephilim."

  "You are," I said. "That's why those angels were trying to kill you. I'm pretty sure that's why you can see Az and Remy when no one else can."

  "Because I have this celestial essence in my soul," Sarah said slowly. "Because somewhere in my family, an angel shared blood with a human."

  "That's how it works," Remy said. "The essence passes down through generations. Sometimes it manifests strongly. Sometimes it lies dormant. In your case, it was strong enough to draw Heaven's attention."

  "The church raised me," Sarah said. "I was left on the steps of the monastery as an infant. I never knew my parents."

  Sarah's hands gripped the arms of the chair. "You told me last night that you would explain everything. Before you collapsed."

  "I remember."

  "Then explain. Please. I need to understand what's happening."

  I took a breath. My body still ached, but the worst of it was fading. Whatever the Eternal Mend ability was doing, it was working.

  "How much did Remy tell you?" I asked.

  "He told me about Heaven and Hell. About the war between them. About how they fight over souls." She paused. "He told me that Nephilim are hunted by both sides. That Heaven sees us as abominations."

  "That's the short version," I said. "The truth is more complicated."

  So I told her everything. About the Arcane System. About the Sundering. About how Heaven and Hell had twisted the original purpose of creation to serve their own hunger for power. I was surprised to find that I could share some of my windows with her, the same way I could with Az and Remy. It was one thing to try and explain that she wasn't going crazy about seeing a miniature demon and angel bickering in front of her.

  It was another thing entirely to shrug off a glowing window of golden text floating in the middle of the room. This was the 1920s. In a more modern time, she might have tried to rationalize it as some kind of hologram or trick of light. But here, right now, there was no explanation she could reach for. To her, this was real magic.

  Sarah listened without interrupting. Her face grew paler as I spoke.

  "So everything I was taught," she said when I finished. "Everything the church told me about God's love and Heaven's protection..."

  "Not all of it is false," Remy said before I could answer. His small form drifted closer to Sarah, though he kept a respectful distance. "Much of what the church teaches bears truth. But there are things that have been kept from mortals. Things that were hidden or twisted over the ages. Your faith and doctrine are built on half-truths and manipulations. Not outright lies. The foundation is real. The structure built upon it is... compromised."

  Sarah's fingers traced the rosary beads at her hip.

  "I've spent my whole life in prayer," she said quietly. "Talking to God. Asking for guidance. And now you're telling me that every prayer was a signal to the beings trying to kill me."

  "Not directly," Remy said. "Prayer does not go to angels. It echoes. Faith and prayer ripple outward through the celestial kingdoms and beyond. There are those in Heaven who are attuned to sifting through those echoes. Listening. Cataloging. But prayer is not a direct line to any single entity."

  "So it's like radio waves," I said. "Broadcasting in all directions."

  "Yes," Remy said. "An imperfect analogy, but accurate enough."

  Az hopped down from the windowsill. "And it's not just Heaven picking up the signal. We hear them too. Every desperate plea. Every midnight bargain. Every whispered wish." He grinned, but there was something darker behind it. "Difference is, unlike the angels who haven't actually answered a prayer since the very beginning, Hell has no problem interfering. Taking a more direct approach. Using what we hear to our advantage."

  Sarah's face had gone pale.

  Remy was quiet for a moment.

  "There are beings above angels and demons," he said carefully. "The Powers. They exist in a higher order. Beyond what I was permitted to know, even as an Archangel.

  "But God," Sarah pressed. "The Creator. Is He real? Was anyone ever listening?"

  Remy's glowing eyes met hers.

  "I cannot say for certain," he said. "But there is no reason your prayers could not have been heard. The Powers are not the Creator. They are not God. Your words may have very well reached the Creator, Nephilim.."

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Sarah closed her eyes. I watched her struggle with it. A lifetime of faith, suddenly cast in a different light. Not shattered. But it was cracked. Uncertain.

  "I don't know what to believe anymore," she said.

  "You don't have to figure it out right now," I said. "Right now, we just need to keep you alive."

  A pulse of gold appeared in the corner of my vision. Soft and patient, waiting for me to acknowledge it.

  I focused on the notification. A window expanded before me.

  ?? ARCANE SYSTEM: QUEST UPDATE

  The Mystery Of St. Marys Cathedral

  Hidden Objective Revealed: Save the Nephilim. Sister Sarah has survived the angelic assassination attempt. The Nephilim hunted by Heaven's forces remains alive due to your intervention.

  Reward: 1,000 Experience Points:

  Combat Experience Awarded: You have defeated Principalities Hunters

  Reward: 2000 Experience Points.

  Total Experience Gained: 2,000. Current Experience: 3,000 out of 2,500 for Level 3.

  You have gained a level. Level 2 to Level 3.

  Reward: 1x Arcane-Rune.

  5 Attribute Points available for distribution.

  Quest Progress: 1 of 5 Primary Objectives Complete. 1 of 2 Hidden Objectives Complete.

  "I leveled up," I said.

  "What does that mean?" Sarah asked.

  "It means the System is rewarding me for keeping you alive." I looked at the numbers floating in my vision. "I'm Level Three now. Stronger than I was yesterday."

  "Can we see it?" Az asked. "The window?"

  I focused on sharing the notification. The text flickered, then stabilized.

  "Two thousand experience," Az said, reading. "Not bad, Mud."

  "There's another notification," I said. A second pulse had appeared.

  I opened it, this time sharing the window with everybody.

  ?? ARCANE SYSTEM: BALANCE SHIFT DETECTED.

  Ascension 54 –?— Damnation 46.

  Equilibrium. Both realms watch in silence.

  The celestial essence within you has grown stronger relative to the infernal. This shift was triggered by combat in protection of the innocent.

  Warning: At Equilibrium, you were invisible to both realms. As you drift toward Ascension, demonic entities will find it harder to sense your presence, but angelic entities will begin to detect you. Continued imbalance increases visibility to one side while decreasing it to the other.

  "That's a problem," I said.

  I shared the window with Az and Remy.

  "Fifty-four to forty-six," Az muttered. "If we're not careful it's going to get a lot harder to stay hidden let alone blend in."

  "The fight did this?" I asked.

  "I have to say that I'm finding this very curious," Remy said. "You defeated Principalities Hunters and the Arcane System sees this as a shift toward Ascension…

  "So every time I do something heroic, I become more visible to Heaven. I said with a huge grin."

  "That's one way to put it," Az said. “But I watched that fight, Mud, and it sure as Hell didn't look heroic. I mean yeah sure you save the girl.. The kind of fainted right after.”

  “I stared at the little shit for a minute and decided not to take the bait. Instead I pulled up my character window and distributed my available attribute points Putting two points in the strength, two points and a mind and one into dominance. I figured this would help increase my Mana pool and Grace while improving my strength for the next fight.

  ?? ARCANE SYSTEM:

  Jarek Donati, Level 3 Nephilim.

  Experience Points: 3,000 out of 4500 for Level 4.

  ? Health: 65 out of 80. – ? Stamina: 10 out of 20.

  ?? Mana: 15 out of 35. – Current State: Corporeal.

  Ascension 54 –?— Damnation 46.

  ? Grace: 21 out of 21. – ? Fury 19 out of 19

  BASE ATTRIBUTES:

  Strength: 8.

  Dexterity: 4.

  Fortitude: 8.

  Mind: 7.

  Instinct: 5.

  Dominance: 7.

  RACIAL SKILLS:

  - Arcane Cartography

  - Eternal Mend

  - Lumen Sight

  - Bloodlash

  - Arcane-Script

  - Arcane-Codex

  I dismissed the window and pushed myself to my feet. My legs wobbled for a moment, then steadied. The attribute points had helped. So had the rest.

  "I need to deal with those bodies," I said.

  "Bodies?" Sarah asked. Her face went pale.

  "The two angels I killed last night. Their corpses are in my inventory."

  "You can store bodies in there?" She said looking up at the inventory window that I had pulled up. I decided to share all of these windows with everybody for the moment. I could appreciate how extraordinary all of this must have been for her but honestly I was just too tired to continually try to convince her that she wasn't going crazy and this is real. So instead I was just letting her see everything.

  "Apparently." I looked at Az. "Can I get rid of them? Permanently?"

  "Yeah," Az said. "You can discard anything in your inventory. Just focus on the item and will it gone. It dissolves into the ether. No trace."

  I decided to try it out on the brass room key from the brain and a scrap of paper I still have floating around in my inventory. I focused on the key and paper and watched them both disappear.

  The two bodies currently took up almost all of my available space. Alongside them were wallets, coins, and two ornate daggers that had materialized when I'd stored them.

  I focused on the first body. Pictured it dissolving, And moments later it was gone.

  I did the same with the second.

  "Done," I said.

  Sarah was watching me with an expression I couldn't quite read.

  "You made them disappear," she said. "Like they never existed."

  "I didn't have a choice. Couldn't leave them lying around."

  "I'm not judging," Sarah said. "I'm trying to understand."

  "Those bodies belonged to real people once," I said. "Before the angels took them. Remy told me the possession kills the host. The men those angels were riding were already dead. "So you freed them," Sarah said quietly.

  I walked to the apartment's front window and looked out at the street below. People moved about their business. Cars rolled past. A normal morning in 1920 St. Cloud.

  "We need to figure out how to hide you," I said without turning around. "The balance I have keeps me invisible. Half angel, half demon. They cancel each other out. But you're human and an angel I'm guessing."

  "Is that how they found me?," Sarah asked.

  “We overheard them talking in the diner and they said they could detect your essence. I'm going to assume that's the angel part.” I said with a smile.

  Az tapped his chin thoughtfully. "You know, Mud, there might be something in the Codex of Wards that could help hide her."

  Remy nodded. "It's worth a look. The Codex contains a vast array of Arcane knowledge."

  I pulled up the Codex window and started scrolling through the pages. Sarah watched intently, her eyes wide with wonder.

  "This is incredible," she breathed. "It's like a book of magic."

  As we pored over the pages, Sarah turned to Remy. "Can I ask you something?"

  The small angel nodded. "Of course."

  "What's it like? Being an angel? Serving in Heaven?"

  Remy was quiet for a moment. "It was... fulfilling. Purposeful. We believed in our mission, in protecting creation. But it wasn't until very recently that I realized that mission had been twisted and manipulated. For the first time I'm struggling."

  Sarah nodded slowly. "I can understand that. Faith is... complicated. It's not always easy to know what's right."

  After a while, I found a promising entry. "Here, look at this. A ward for concealing objects or people from detection."

  Az leaned in. "That could work. But the inscription looks pretty damn intricate. Not sure how we'd get that on her."

  I frowned. "What if we put it on the apartment? Or the church?"

  Az shook his head. "No, that would be too conspicuous. A sudden blank spot where a building should be? It would be like a beacon, screaming that something's hidden there."

  I sighed. "So Might have found a solution, but no way to use it."

  "Let's take a break," Sarah suggested. "We're all exhausted. Maybe something will come to us after some rest."

  I nodded. "Okay. But Sarah, you realize you can't leave the apartment right now, right? I mean I'm not forcing you to stay but I have no way to protect you out there right now."

  She gave a tight smile. "I understand. I'm not going anywhere."

  As we sat in contemplative silence, Remy turned to me. "Jarek, what about that Arcane-Rune you received for leveling up? Perhaps it could open up some options."

  I blinked. I'd almost forgotten about the rune in the excitement of everything else. "Worth a shot."

  I focused on the rune in my inventory. As before, my body began to glow, light pouring from my eyes and mouth. Sarah gasped, but Az and Remy just watched intently.

  When the glow faded, I slumped back, exhausted. "Damn. That packs a punch."

  A new window appeared before me. I shared it with the others.

  ?? ARCANE SYSTEM: RACIAL ABILITY EVOLUTION

  Arcane-Script has evolved into Arcane-Inscription.

  Arcane-Inscription: The power to shape the Arcane-Script is now yours. What was once limited to the physical world can now be drawn from the ether. Your Inventory becomes a wellspring of components, fueling your inscriptions with the essence of items you've claimed.

  The Arcane-Codex expands within your mind. New chapters reveal themselves, detailing the use of Inventory reagents in your wards and sigils. Salt, ash, chalk, blood—these physical anchors can now be replaced with the concentrated essence of objects you've stored. Complexity and duration now answer to your level and the strength of the components you provide. The more powerful the item consumed, the greater the potency of your inscription. Choose your reagents wisely, for each carries its own nature into your Arcane-Script.

  Beware: The use of Inventory items in your inscriptions is an act of sacrifice. That which is consumed is forever lost, transmuted into Arcane power. Wield this ability with care, lest you find yourself without the tools you need most.

  Remy studied the window thoughtfully. "Interesting. It's as if the System knew we needed a way to implement the ward."

  Az chuckled darkly. "Of course it did. The whole damn point is to keep Mud here alive. Can't do that if we can't hide Goldilocks over there."

  I looked at Sarah apologetically. "He means you."

  She just shook her head, a small smile on her lips. "I gathered."

  Remy continued, "If the Arcane System is designed to help Nephilim survive and grow, it stands to reason it would tailor its rewards to the user's current needs."

  "So it's not going to just hand us a win," I said, "but it'll give us the tools to earn one."

  I looked at the Arcane-Inscription window again, then at Sarah. "Okay. Let's figure out how to use this. We've got a nun to hide."

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