Chapter 4: The Fall

She then explained more about what made Porters special.

"I remember you saying that you don't like to see suffering. That's not going to be too much of a problem. After all, you'll be standing far away from the fighting. The only thing you have to do is haul their equipment.

After that, you can just stand back and watch as the Saviors massacre the Canzers. It's as easy as that!"

One of the teens from the group raised his hand and asked a question.

"Miss…if I have a different job, can I also be a porter? I don't want to fight Canzers. I don't want to die!"

Some of the teens expressed the same fear. After all, they didn't want to die just after they got drafted into a territory.

The woman chuckled. She forgot she was dealing with clueless kids from the Unclaimed Lands.

"First of all, you can't. Porters are rare for that very reason.

They have specialized powers that allow them to move quickly even while carrying tons of weight on their shoulders. Second of all, you don't have to worry about dying, silly kids.

In a God's Territory, no one can die, even in the Remedium."

They became even more confused. The concept of immortality was so foreign to them. Even Atlan wanted to know how immortality worked in a God's Territory.

She couldn't blame them. They didn't attend 3rd-grade history lessons like she did.

"After the 4th order dimension crashed into Earth, Gods and Myths descended upon the world.

These Gods, because of their power and majesty, could only manifest themselves as spirits who watch over and protect a territory.

One of their spirits is called ANGELS. They are the species–"

TING! BANG! DUG!

Just as she was about to explain how immortality worked, loud banging sounds erupted from the ceiling above.

It sounded like thousands of rocks hitting the roof.

The gymnasium roof was an oval shape made out of metal, amplifying the ruckus from outside.

The woman found this strange. There wasn't supposed to be anything in the Unclaimed Lands. There was no rain, no hail, and no sandstorm.

Her intuition told her to go out and investigate.

"Urgh! Loud sounds!"

"I can't dig down to safety! I hate this wooden floor!"

"Miss, what's that noise?"

She ignored the questions from the teens and walked over to the backdoor. The banging sounds got louder and louder the closer she got to the door.

She hesitated as she grabbed the doorknob. She was used to bizarre events happening in the Remedium. But not in the real world.

She didn't even have the safety of a God protecting her in the Unclaimed Lands. This whole thing was completely unusual.

Finally, she reminded herself that nothing bad could happen to her. She was immortal.

She finally got the courage to open it.

And just as she did, Atlan suddenly saw holographic words appear in front of him.

[There is death near you]

[You can reap the souls of the dead]

His eyes widened.

He and everyone else watched as the woman opened the door and walked outside.

The light from outside shone through the backdoor, leaving a diagonal pillar of light inside the gymnasium.

Her pace was measured as if she was treading on thin ice.

The banging on the roof hadn't stopped; it only got louder as she walked outside.

From the open door, they saw the bleak gray sands outside in the Unclaimed Lands. It wasn't anything different from what they were used to.

As the woman took a good look at her surroundings, the commotion led her head to turn upwards.

She followed whatever she saw towards the roof of the gymnasium.

She was now facing towards the door–her face clearly seen.

Everyone saw her face change. Her calm and serene expression brought by her natural beauty was nowhere to be seen.

Her eyes widened, her jaw dropped, and her eyebrows furrowed.

She couldn't take her eyes off what was happening in the sky.

What could make her react like that?

If it was something dangerous, she would have evacuated the rest of the teens immediately. But she didn't. She stayed there stunned in silence.

That meant that the disturbance was harmless.

It must be mentioned that she was an inhabitant of a City. She was a bona fide Savior in her own right with a hundred years of experience. Yet even she didn't know what was happening in front of her.

The rest of the teens couldn't take it anymore and dared to go outside too. Their curiosity got the better of them.

Atlan was one of those people.

He was intrigued by the words that lay floating in front of him.

[There is death near you]

The rest of the teens walked out of the gymnasium and onto the Unclaimed Lands.

The familiar gray, colorless skies entered their eyes.

However, just out of the corner of their eyes, they saw a glint of golden light come out of the sky.

TIK! DUG! BANG!

The knocking loud sounds from the roof led their eyes behind them.

And what they saw…made them exhibit surprise not dissimilar to the woman's expression.

They were speechless.

The desolate and empty skies of the Unclaimed Lands were replaced by white clouds, with golden rays of sunshine seeping out from the edges.

These golden cumulonimbus clouds littered the horizon.

And every second, thousands of miniature cavities appeared on the clouds as something fell from the heavens.

They didn't know what it was. She didn't know what it was.

But these things looked like humanoid specters with a golden aura surrounding them.

If one looked closely enough, they'd see a halo on their heads.

These 'things' fell through the skies and landed everywhere. They landed on the gray sands and they landed on the gymnasium roof, creating those banging sounds.

As it crashed into Earth, it disintegrated into golden particles that dispersed into the air. They couldn't see what it was before it disappeared.

The clouds moved closer to them.

The falling objects landed near the woman just enough for her to see what it was.

Her eyes, for a split second, glinted in recognition.

That can't be, she thought to herself.

The woman's mouth quivered. She tried to mutter out something, afraid that if she said it out loud, it would become true.

She seemed familiar with whatever she saw. But she couldn't believe it. She didn't want to.

"Angels…"

Atlan heard her mutter those words.

"What are Angels?"

She kept looking up, but she answered his question.

"Angels…angels are the invisible spirits that protect everyone inside God's Territory.

They are the hands of a God. Through them, they give life and blessings to Their citizens.

They follow every citizen like a shadow. They save them from harm, from disease…from death.

No matter where you are, no matter how severe your injuries are, an angel is there to inject you with life.

Even in the Remedium…"

She paused for a second, gulping her voice. She didn't want to complete the thought.

"Even in the Remedium, they prevent Saviors from taking their last breath."

She kept looking up, her eyes trying to discern the things that were falling out of the sky.

"They make everyone immortal?" Atlan tried to confirm.

She nodded. "Yes."

Atlan paused for a second. "What happens if Angels die?"

She looked at him as if he was crazy. His words were incredulous. There was absolutely no possibility of angels dying. After all, angels are intimately connected to their God. They were immortality itself.

"That's not possible." She shook her head fervently as if she also wanted to convince herself.

Atlan looked at her dead in the eyes. "But what if they do?"

She didn't answer.

The implications of that possibility were more than what she could take. She didn't want to imagine a world where angels died.

After all, if angels died…

What would happen to their immortality?

"Don't worry. Angels will never die," she assured herself.

And just as she said that, the bright golden rays on the clouds became duller. The pure white clouds dispersed into the dull and bleak sky.

Those things stopped falling from the sky.

Everything finally went back to normal. The woman smiled. This was good news.

"See, I told you. Angels can't die."

She looked back at Atlan, but his eyes were unfocused. He was clutching his chest in pain.

Atlan felt a strange pressure near his heart as if it was about to burst. His eyes got blurry. The call of unconsciousness got louder. The last thing he saw was a new set of words in front of his eyes.

[You have witnessed the extinction of Angels]

[10-star rarity Angelic Genus acquired!]

[Your Bloodline has evolved to Angelic Reaper of Gods]

[You have reaped the deaths of 10,000 Angels]

[You have gained 1,000,000 Upgrade points]

[You have gained 10,000 experience]

[Lightspeed Angel Wings body mutation acquired!]

[You have gained SSS class LifeSkill Cherubic Retribution]

Unbeknownst to him, Atlan's soul reaped all of the thousands of angel souls inside his very own.

But this was far too much for him to take in one go. His body shut down to accommodate his new powers.