TIME SKIP: 50 YEARS

Kilo grabbed his back as pain filled him. Here it comes...again. How many times has this happened? Kilo had lost count of how often the assaults of pain had consumed him. The angel swallowed a cry of pain as his back felt like it was on fire.

Kilo had lost count of the years that had passed. He was only aware that it had been a long time since he had been captured. The angel's face twisted with pain as the painful climax came. Thankfully, this round of pain held true to the previous rounds, and the pain drastically lessened as the climax passed.

The angel released a ragged breath as the pain resided and leaned his head against the cold, stone wall of his cell, his chest heaving as he caught his breath. Kilo's thoughts trailed to Castyr as they did most of the time during the years of Kilo's imprisonment. Is he alright? Where is he? What is he doing right now? 

A small smile came to Kilo's lips as he thought about Castyr sleeping in his warm, soothing residence. The angel hoped the star was not working himself too much and was living a happy, peaceful life.

Kilo shifted uneasily against the cold wall and slowly reached his hand to the center of his upper back to find the cause of his discomfort. The chains around his wrist clinked as he lifted his arm. What is this? Kilo's eyes widened as he ran his fingers over the bumps underneath his skin.

When the angel realized what the bumps likely were, he grew frantic. They're coming...so, that means it's been...sixty years. Although Kilo did not know the exact length of time he had been the demons' prisoner, his instincts told him it could not have been more than fifty years that had passed. 

They're coming early. Kilo had heard about angels' wings coming in early due to intense stress, and there had been no lack of stress. So, he assumed it was possible for his wings to come in a decade early.

Once he was sure his wings were working their way to the surface, Kilo's head began racing with thoughts of the escape he had been planning. He now had a glimpse of hope at a successful escape.

Approaching footsteps interrupted Kilo's thoughts of escape. He placed his hands by his side as the door to his cell was unlocked. What new hell do they have for me today? Kilo's expression grew cold as he saw his usual tormentor step into his cell.

"Don't worry; it's not me today. Someone else wants you," the demon told Kilo as he saw the angel's cold expression.

Kilo's heart sank when he heard the demon's words. The angel instinctively shrunk away as the commander of the prison entered behind his assigned interrogator. Two guards followed the commander into Kilo's cell and grabbed the angel by the arms. They then dragged Kilo out into the dark corridor and followed the commander to the prison's laboratory. Kilo was retrained to a chair in the lab as several demon scientists awaited the commander's orders.

Kilo struggled against the guards as they chained him to the chair, his heart pounding as he looked around at the many, glowing serums. This was new. They had yet to conduct experiments on Kilo. Normally, they would interrogate Kilo for information regarding Heaven's defenses, the location of troops, and secrets regarding Stardom. So, to say becoming an experiment was a shift in the regime would be an understatement. 

"It's been a while, Kilo," the commander greeted the angel with a sadistic smile. "Myrek was yet to extract information from you, so I decided you would be of better use helping us develop a new bioweapon. I hope our experiments do not disappoint."

Kilo yanked on his restraints as a scientist approached him with a vial of bright green liquid. The angel gritted his jaw as the scientist placed the sharp needle's tip against his skin. The pain in Kilo's back returned as his heart raced from fear. But, that fear quickly turned to rage when he saw the commander smirking evilly. What is it with these b*st*rds getting a high from tormenting someone?!

The rage boiled up in Kilo's throat, and he released a cry as his back burned fiercely. He could feel the skin rip open, but the pain was releasing. The angel let out a yell as black wings sprouted from his back, and a blast of light exploded throughout the prison.

Kilo's body surged with energy and power he had never felt. Gasping from the relief of pain, Kilo turned his head to the side. A black, feathered wing lay spread open, cantilevering off the edge of the chair. After turning to look at the other wing, Kilo then gazed around the room. Both the commander and the scientists were gone. They had been disintegrated from the angel's blast of light.

Kilo's chains had also vanished. Kilo had heard of the energy blasts that were shot out of the angel when their wings came in, but he did not know that it would be that strong. The angel raised himself up on his arms and sat up in the chair. He then stood to his feet, nearly falling as he took a step forward. 

Unused to the added weight, Kilo looked back at his wings. They were much bigger than he had expected. The angel stretched them out to their full length and gawked at their size. They were big enough to protect two, full-sized men from the elements. 

Now that he was freed from his restraints, Kilo's thoughts returned to his escape plan, and he slowly folded his wings. The feathers tickled his back as they folded together, and when he looked back to see nothing behind him, Kilo assumed he had succeeded in 'putting them up'.

Hurrying to the door, Kilo checked the corridor to ensure it was clear before racing down the hallway. Kilo furrowed his brows in confusion when there were no demons to be found. Did the blast clear out the entire prison?

After a couple of minutes of running through the maze of corridors, Kilo's question was answered when a group of demons rounded the corner. Although he was weaponless, Kilo charged toward the group. However, the next thing he knew, he was running on the other side of the demons. Did I just teleport?

Now that Kilo's wings had come in, he was beginning to unlock his angelic abilities. And, teleportation was a skill unique to guardian-class angels.

It did not take much longer for Kilo to find his way to the ground level of the prison, but he stopped in his tracks upon exiting through the thick doors. The angel looked around in horror only to find he was not in a prison on a demon-occupied planet; he was in Hades.

Red heat hit Kilo's face as he gazed at his surroundings. He was standing in a long hall made of slick, black stone. Barrels of red fire lined the call, and columns of black stone stood from the floor to the high ceiling. A clerestory carved into the upper portion let in red light.

Kilo hid behind a column as a door on the side of the hall was opened, and a group of demons entered. The angel let out a small breath of relief as he remained undetected while the demons crossed the hall. Kilo was about to slip out from behind the column and made a run for it when a demon toward the back of the group stopped the rest from exiting the hall.

He sniffed the air. "Do you guys smell something?"

"No," another demon answered.

"It smells like an angel," the first demon returned. 

"Ah, that's probably because they just dragged one through here. You're most likely smelling his blood trail. They just cleaned it, so his scent is still fresh," the second demon explained. 

"...Okay," the demon voiced with a nod of his head. He was convinced. "Let's go." The demon looked around the hall once more before following his comrades through the door.

After watching the door close, Kilo slowly came out from behind the column. He jerked in surprise when a blood-covered hand grabbed him. Whipping around, Kilo saw a tall man holding onto him. Kilo tried to break free from the stranger's grasp, but the man just pulled Kilo closer.

The man sniffed Kilo's scent before sighing in relief. "I was right."

Kilo stared at him in confusion. Who is this strange person? His face and arms were covered in blood, and his clothes were torn, revealing healing marks of torture. Specs of blood were splattered on his silver-blue head.

"Are you an angel?" The man stared at Kilo with a serious expression.

"Yes." Kilo nodded his head in confirmation.

"Okay, good. I thought I had smelled one," the man said with a breath of relief. "Follow me. I know how to get you out." Keeping a hold on Kilo's arm, the man dragged the guardian angel through a door in the wall.

"Who are you?" Kilo inquired as the man shut the door.

"Just know I am an angel." The man's answer was short and to the point. He turned and looked at Kilo after making sure the room on the other side of the door was vacant. "Do you have your sword?" He asked as he pulled Kilo further into the room. "They haven't cut it out, have they?"

"It wasn't in my back when they captured me," Kilo answered. "They took it, though, when they brought me here."

"Okay, that's good."

Kilo looked at the angel's back and noticed a gruesome scar running up the angel's neck from his back. The guardian shivered as he thought of the demons cutting his sword from his back. It was common practice for demons to forcefully extract angels' weapons from their backs where the holy weapons were hosted to prevent the angels from attacking them while imprisoned. Luckily for Kilo, his sword was not hosted within him when he and Rae were captured.

"What's your sword's name?" The strange angel inquired. When Kilo answered, "Ymir," the man closed his honey-golden eyes. His brows furrowed in concentration as he extended his hands by his side. Within a few seconds, Kilo's sword appeared in the man's hands.

Kilo's eyes widened in shock as he looked at the man. Only one type of angel could summon a holy weapon. "You're an actaeon!" Kilo exclaimed as the man handed the guardian his sword.

Actaeon-class angels were extremely rare. It was not often that they were created, and they were highly sought after by both the Heavens and Hades for their unique abilities.

"How long have you been imprisoned in Hades?" Kilo inquired as he grasped his sword in his hands.

"Many centuries. Now is not the time to explain," the actaeon replied. "You need to get out of here."

"How?" Kilo inquired. How does he plan to get me out of Hades?

"Transferral."

"Huh?" Kilo looked at the actaeon with confusion. Did the torture get to his head? Actaeons are powerful, but they don't have transferral skills. "How? We don't have a transferral device."

The man looked at Kilo in disappointment. "Don't doubt me. I have been alive for hundreds of your lifetime."

Kilo bowed his head in apology, but he quickly lifted it as sirens sounded and groups of demon soldiers ran past the door leading to the room in which the two angels were taking refuge.

"They found the bodies," the actaeon voiced as he heard the demons running past. "We need to do this now!" The angel exclaimed as the door to the room was ripped open.

The actaeon pulled Kilo close to him and opened his wings. Kilo gawked at the huge, dark-silver wings that surrounded him. Kilo heard the demons race toward them, but the actaeon ignored them and placed his hand on Kilo's head. He closed his eyes as bullets were shot into his wings; blood dripped from the man's shimmering feathers, but he solely concentrated on saving Kilo.

"Aren't you coming?" Kilo pulled the actaeon's hand away as a white glow surrounded the guardian but not the golden-eyed man. 

"No, there are others I need to save." The actaeon placed his hand back on Kilo's head, and the glow intensified. Kilo's body grew light as he began transcending space. The glow filled Kilo's vision as the transference began, but he could make out hands grabbing the actaeon as his body left Hades.

+++++++

Whizzing bullets woke Kilo. The guardian sat up gasping for air. Kilo opened his eyes to darkness. The chaos from the demons rushing him was gone. Instead, he lay in a war-shattered square in a prestigious city. Spotlights searching the ground shined on the bombed skyscrapers and towers. 

Kilo picked himself up as a searchlight neared him. Hurrying to escape the light, Kilo dashed into an abandoned skyscraper. The first level was a retail center that was mostly in ruins. Kilo looked down at his tattered clothes and then back out at the chaos in the surrounding city. Well, there is no one here, and I am cold.

After blessing the store and its owners with prosperity, Kilo began shopping silently. Gunfire sounded in the distance, but the battle seemed quite far away, so the angel continued his search for new attire. Kilo focused on selecting all-black attire, so he could stay in the shadows and remain unspotted. A simple, black, long-sleeved shirt grabbed the angel's eye. Taking the shirt from the display table, Kilo held it up to his chest. It should fit.

Kilo winced as he removed his tattered shirt. Bruises and gashes covered his body. A mirror mounted on a column in front of Kilo allowed him to see his blood-covered body. A sigh escaped the angel's lips as he gazed at his battered reflection. Kilo had not realized how slender he had become. With years of malnourishment, Kilo's body was extremely lean.

On the other hand, Kilo had grown. He looked down at his pants to see them rising above his ankles. He had grown roughly three to four inches (8 to 10cm) taller. A small smile appeared on Kilo's face as he focused on the positive. 

After slipping on the shirt, Kilo continued his search until he found a black, collared jacket and a pair of black cargo pants. As he changed into the new, clean clothes, Kilo noticed the wounds and burns from his head in Hades had begun to heal. However, the already-healed scars remained.

Exhaustion from the day's events consumed Kilo, so he found a sofa next to the fitting room in the back corner of the shop and curled up on the dust-covered cushions. The angel's thoughts trailed to Castyr, and he wondered where the star was. Was he alright? What was he doing? Kilo prayed that Castyr was somewhere safe as he fell into a deep sleep.

Bombs and the sound of combat jerked Kilo awake after six hours of rest. The battle had grown near the angel's place of refuge. Kilo cautiously made his way to the opening of the building and peered outside to see what the darkness had cloaked the night before.

Giant buildings and skyscrapers towered as far as the eye could see. Unlit signs of numerous languages decorated the sides of the tall buildings; a particularly tall building rose above all the other skyscrapers in the city. Kilo cocked his head as he gazed at the tower. Why did it seem so familiar? Like Kilo had been there before.

Wait... Kilo took a closer look at the war-torn city. How is this possible? The angel took a step back from the shattered window. There was no doubt about it. What once had been a vibrant, beautiful city was now a war zone. Kilo gasped quietly when he realized where he had been transferred.

This. Is. Earth.

Actaeon - An ancient angel who specializes in weapons, particularly archery. An actaeon can summon any holy weapon if they know the name.