Ferin ascended to the night sky above. Spearing through patches of clouds, a light sensation trinkled on his forehead as he soared through the white mist. Between the clouds, he looked around his surroundings. He saw light lines going down like rain, tickling his body. A pine scent was also smelt, making him close his eyes and exhaling with delight.

He rubbed his hand around his arms, feeling his finger going down his arm. Laughing, Ferin mumbled to himself something incomprehensible. He stared above the sky, yet there was nothing but the purple sky with its clouds. He stopped his laughter and silenced himself.

“Oh… Oh no…” Ferin said to himself.

The man gulped. His mind pictured clouds with golden gates on the top. Yet, as he approached those doors, he started to fall to the ground, screaming for help. His blonde lover stood there, without any emotion, then turned his back on him. 

His throat caved in. Water started to fill his eyes. He blinked a few times, moving his head to the left and the right repeatedly. He moved his eyes towards the ground, nothing but the clouds. He took a deep breath. An ethereal sound from above started to ring in his ears.

Turning his head towards the sky, he saw clouds getting closer to him. Fluffier, the clouds were than the ones he went through before. His head felt as if he was about to hit something hard. 

A flash of white light blinded his eyes, ear ringing sound striking through his brain. The light and the sound started to fade away. As he could see again, he noticed that there weren’t any clouds above him, just the atmosphere.

Ferin looked around the sky, finding himself not ascending anymore. Moreso, he was on the endless flatscape of white puff. The moon stared at him from the opposite end, shining its light toward his face. Turning away from the light, it disappeared from him.

“W-What?” Ferin questioned.

He turned his face back. He was covered under shadows of circles, picking up his breath. Inhaling deeply, his chest raised, and his vision started to blur. Above, three, floating eyes stared down at him. All pupils eyed him. Rims had covered the outside of each eye, golden lights flashing his eyes. The middle angel moved closer to Ferin, and a tear went down his right eye.

“Ferin Corzent, you have quite the interesting story.” The angel’s rim glowed, “A story that wouldn’t like to be shared around the horizons of this sky. You understand how the judgement works, right?”

“I’m sorry… I-You can-” Ferin was interrupted.

“We will investigate your entire life from the beginning to the end.”

“Wait no-” 

“To start, you were a young child with ambitions to become one of the best healers throughout the land. Embraced by his parents, they sacrificed their lives for their son’s education. However, things changed as you entered accompliceship.”

“S-stop.”

“The Avergreen King suggested you to do genocides of species among the forest. You could have stopped with the killing. You could have joined the coalition, but you refused. Even when the opportunity was there, you denied the chance.”

“Pleas-”

“Then you became the opposite of what you dreamed of, the antithesis of being a healer. You became a warrior under nobody, becoming the mercenary that every kingdom fears. Known to everyone, you would kill people under any circumstance.”

“I-” Some tears ripped through his eyes.

“‘Mercy!’ some pleaded. ‘Spare me!’ some pleaded. You refused, slaughtering anybody that attempted to make peace with you. Anyone that cared about you; anyone that loved you; you had killed them with your dagger. You never wanted peace; why did you deserve some?”

His eyes widened, “I thought-”

“So that’s what you did, treating others the way you’ve always wanted to be treated. Brutality, even to the ones you cared about.”

Silence came from Ferin. His head down, shadows covering his eyes. Water teared down his face.

“However, something changed within you throughout the past year. Something changed that made you better.”

Ferin turned his head up. Tears stopped streaming down his face. His eyebrows were raised as he stared at the middle angel.

“During your time in prison, you’ve met Landen. Somehow, in some way, you’ve started to actually care about a person.” The right one moved closer, “After your failed attempt of rampage, you had a change of heart. This change had compelled us whilst we watched you. With this new leaf, you started to change for the better and, again, became the antithesis of your history.”

“W-What?” Ferin questioned.

“Have you not noticed yourself doing great deeds for others? From helping your soulmate get through his arrogance to doing this suicide mission of yours just to help people. Do you realize the greatness of these acts? Have you noticed?”

The left one floated to the side of Ferin, golden rings pulsed as they talked, “You’ve done so great for others that we couldn’t comprehend what was happening. Your encounter with Landen should have been like a rampage of your previous encounters. However, instead of continuing your manslaughter, you’ve freed yourself from your doubts into something else. Transcendence, I could call it.”

“G-Give me a moment.” Ferin said, a weak voice came out.

He blinked ferociously. Tears slid down his face. Taking in deep inhales through his nose and exhales out his mouth, streams of water came down his eyes. As those tears fell to the ground, a light, heavenly noise was played as it landed on the clouds. He stared at the angels again, tears still streaming down his face without any attempt to cover them.

“You should be proud of yourself, Ferin. No more need to doubt yourself anymore, you’ve transcended upon your past, apathetic self.” The left one voiced.

“W-What happens now?” Ferin asked, his blurry eye stared at its pulsing, golden rims.

“Well, we would send you to your soulmate’s cloud to live until the end of time… However, that is not the case we have decided.”

“What?” Ferin shouted, fear raised from his voice.

“Don’t you have a quest, Ferin?” The right one said, “A quest that involves you and Landen?”

“Yeah? Why?”

“We have decided to let you live once more to complete your quest. A chance to let the people live forever happily under the lapse of time.” The left one stated, “However, you only have a limited amount of time.”

“H-How long?”

“You have about some moments under the falling winter. There’s also a price involved if you do not complete your quest, a price that involves you and your loved one.”

“Would you want this price?” The middle asked.

Ferin stared at the angels. He composed himself, taking in deep breaths with slow pace. As he calmed himself down, he put his hands on his face and wiped the tears away. Fixing his hair back, a smirk came below his hair, and his eyes gleamed with pure confidence.

“No. I am ready to complete my quest.”

“Then you will be sent back to where you came from.”

A noise whispered below his feet. Suddenly, white fire began to form in a circle around him. It didn’t heat his legs at all, but was rising with each and every second. First, it was around his feet, then to his waist. He saw that parts of his feet are missing as well. Cracks formed from the heel to his legs, extending more. Pieces broke free from him, going by the breeze of the wind. As the fire reached his chest, his heart thumped as he saw someone walking closer to him.

The blonde-haired knight walked closer to him. Ferin’s heart began to flutter. The man stepped with such calculation, raising and lowering his toe first. His stomach roiled, but the fire reached his head. His eyes went down, chuckling at this misfortune. Suddenly, he felt a warm kiss on the side of his right cheek, making him flustered.

“Good luck, my love.” Landen whispered.

White light flashed in his eyes as the fire surrounded him. The cold welcomed itself, surrounding his entire body.