The man was veiled in a black cloak that hooded the upper half of his face and covered his entire body. Rae tightened his hold around Genyr as the foreign man stepped closer toward the unit.

"What is your identity? Reveal yourself," Rae commanded sternly as he prepared to release Genyr.

"Fear not; I am not your enemy," the man said as he stopped in his tracks and lifted his hands to remove the hood covering his face. Upon seeing the man's face, Kilo immediately lowered his sword and dropped to one knee.

"Seraph," the guardian angel said as he balled his right fist and set it over his heart in a sign of respect.

Rae furrowed his brows at the guardian's action. He did not recognize the man. Even though Kilo addressed him as "Seraph", Rae remained wary. He did not wish to lower his guard for even a second. His unit and Axel could be harmed should he unknowingly allow the enemy past his defenses.

"As cautious as ever, I see," the man said as he turned his golden-honey eyes to Unit R's commander. "You do not remember, Rae, but I fought alongside you five hundred years ago when Castyr defeated the demon king."

There it was. Another person from his past whom Rae had no recollection of. Rae's eyes slanted as he observed the man. He had amber eyes that seemed to glow in the night and silver-blue hair that hung just above his eyes. He was not exceptionally tall, but he had a sturdy build and a strong chest.

The man's gaze suddenly shifted to the sword in Rae's hand before landing on Axel who had come to stand beside the colonel. A curious tint entered the man's eyes as he moved his gaze back to Rae's sword. "Although he is no longer white, I would recognize Genyr without fail. You wield a powerful blade, Rae."

Eyes falling back on Axel, the man furrowed his brows and said, "Interesting. I did not expect you to be a perfect replica. You are only half-angel after all."

Now that the man's attention had turned to Axel, Rae stepped to the right to block the hangel from the man's view. Noticing Rae's remaining wariness, Kilo rose to his feet and assured Rae that the man would not harm them. "He is Orion — Actaeon Class and *Seraph of the Heavens. He is a good friend."

Seraph Orion... The name did ring a bell, but since Rae did not have a single memory of the man, he wanted to remain guarded around the intruder. However, Kilo did not speak up for others lightly. After fighting alongside Kilo for a few centuries, Rae had learned to trust the guardian's word. So, he lowered Genyr and did not stop the man from advancing toward the unit.

Although he had lowered his weapon and allowed the man to approach his unit, Rae refused to step away from Axel, so the man walked around him to reach Axel. Sensing no ill will from the strange angel, Axel did not back away as the man came to him.

"What is your name, hangel?" Orion inquired as he locked eyes with the hangel's silver orbs. The seraph's gaze softened as he looked into Axel's eyes.

"Axel," the hangel answered confidently.

Hearing the hangel's reply, Orion leaned down toward Axel to be just a few inches away as he closely observed the hangel's eyes. "They are the same...but different."

What is he talking about? What did he mean when he said I am a perfect replica and that my eyes are different but the same? Is the man senile? Axel did not stop the man from observing him from such a close distance, but he was relieved when Rae spoke up, breaking the man's interaction with him.

"What brings you to Unit R, Seraph?"

"Axel, of course," Orion answered as he stood up straight. "Ellessi said I can find him if I find you," he said, turning to face Rae. "I am here to help him unlock Angel's Landing."

Axel's ears pricked up at the man's words. "You know how to find Angel's Landing?" He inquired, drawing the seraph's attention back to him.

"Yes, and I will show it to you, but on one condition."

"I'll do whatever you need. If this will end the war, I will fulfill your condition," Axel returned. This time, it was Axel who stepped toward the seraph.

Orion seemed pleased by Axel's response, and he nodded in agreement. "Very good. My condition is simple. I need you to rescue someone."

Before Orion could explain who, what, where, and why, Kilo spoke up, "Aklys. We need to find him, don't we?"

Aklys?! There it was again. That name. The name that started everything. Axel suddenly recalled hearing the name for the first time just over four months ago on his way to school the morning of the invasion. He had nearly forgotten the name until Kilo mentioned it.

"Sharp as ever, Kilo," Orion said with a bittersweet smile. The seraph's expression saddened as he thought of Aklys, the demon king who had vanished from the world just before Hades began its war on the universe.

"Who is Aklys?" Axel inquired. He had been wondering who the name belonged to, and now seemed like his chance to ask.

"The demon king who restored peace between Heaven and Hades upon the fall of Demon King Vitrius five hundred years ago," Orion explained. "The battle with Vitrius is where Star Castyr fell from grace and where the great warrior, Ilios perished."

Oh...so Aklys is likely being held by the demon who usurped Hades...

Orion paused for a moment before explaining further, "Both Aklys and I fought with Kilo, Castyr, and Rae to free the universe from Vitrius' terror. The human Devyn and demon Denzyl also fought with us. Following the fall of Vitrius, Aklys and I restored peace between Hades and Heaven, beginning the Age of Concord."

"Kilo took Castyr back to Earth to recover from his fall where they lived with Denzyl and Devyn for some time. Then, Rae lost his memories, and Kilo and Castyr returned to the Heavens. And now, here we are, back at war." Orion's face had completely fallen when he completed his explanation.

Axel was at a loss for words. So much had happened in the past five hundred years, and he suddenly felt insignificant. Kilo, Castyr, Orion, and Rae had all known each other for centuries. They shared so much history. And he had only known them for four months. Will they remember me after another five hundred years have passed?

However, Axel's saddening thoughts were suddenly halted when he noticed something odd about Orion's cloak. Eyes widening, Axel realized what was wrong. He's injured!

Reaching out, Axel threw back Orion's long cloak to reveal red stains on the seraph's clothes beneath the cape. "You're hurt," he said as he gestured to the angel's wounds.

"Oh, right. I had forgotten about that," Orion said as he looked down at his wound-covered body.

"Zetha," Rae said immediately upon seeing Orion's injuries. Hearing his colonel's call, Zetha spurred into action. Minhyuk also went to the seraph and joined Zetha in healing Orion.

"What caused your injuries?" Rae inquired as the two healers from his unit tended to the actaeon.

"What do you think I've been doing all this time, Rae?" Orion asked matter-of-factly. Although his wording could easily have come across as sarcastic, Orion did not portray any sarcasm in his reply. "It would not have taken me this long to find you if chasing you was the only thing I had been doing for four months."

"You were trying to rescue him," Axel said when he realized how the angel had come to sustain so many wounds. "How could you be so powerful to be able to reach us without either Kilo or Rae noticing but not powerful enough to rescue Aklys?" He knew it was a rather rude question, but Axel was curious as to why Orion, who was an angel that had existed for thousands of years, could not rescue Aklys.

Fighting through the demons Hades was sending to Earth should have been as easy as swatting flies for Orion.

Orion looked up at Axel with trauma-filled eyes and answered, "They kill him every time I get close."

"What do you mean 'kill'?" Orion's answer confused Axel. Shouldn't he be dead, then? Why do we need to rescue him?

"Aklys' life force is tied to mine. No matter how many times he dies, he will revive so long as I am alive," Orion explained. "Of course, that does not take away the pain and terror of death. And, each time he dies, I receive a shadow of the killing blow."

The gruesomeness of the many wounds now made sense to Axel. And his heart ached at the thought of Orion watching Aklys die over and over again.

"If I sustain much more, I will die, and so will Aklys."

"What causes you to be tied together so cruelly?" Axel inquired as Zetha and Minhyuk continued to work together to heal the seraph.

Orion fell silent. He released a breath before agreeing, "Ae. It is cruel. But it is necessary. Aklys and I would have perished long ago if not for the connection we share. He is my everything. Even if our life forces were not tied together, I would not want to live on without him."

"We have always been there for the other. I can't imagine life without him. He is my other half, if you will."

Seraph - A highest ranking angel of the Heavenly realm. There are twelve seraphs.