Grey: The Angel of Illusion

Brooke Malone. The beginning and end of his existence. He was her twin brother, in a sense- when she was born, he was born not long after, alongside the birth of her ego. He could see her, and reached out to her. He could not touch her- he could only touch the strings of fate that wrapped around her and the rest of the world. I feel a great affection towards her, he thought. If this is what it is like to feel love, then I love her. He knew the voice of the Legion and could feel their collective joy at her birth. He understood that every human on Earth, including Brooke's mother and father, had angels of their own who protected them. Though he loved all humans, Brooke was the one it was his duty to favor over all else. And so he did favor her, even recording her life's story in his library. Yet no matter how hard he worked for her, he was scorned by other angels. He respected her wild heart. He had no dreams for his life with her after his death. He simply wanted her to be happy and to spend time with her. A stark contrast from most angels, who demanded a romantic and sexual love and whose jealousy pervaded their attitudes towards humanity. Some would even tamper with a human's memories in order to keep them under their control. He couldn't understand the scorn that the other angels had for him. Eventually, ostracized by everyone, he committed two great sins. It was by dint of those sins that he was eventually invited to serve as the commander of NFNT. And it was in that capacity that he now marched upon the Stronghold. The Stronghold's military, XERO, was not a loose association of humans, but rather a highly structured and organized army. It was that organization that made them strong against the angels, who would just attack their own bound humans, making them easy pickings. Grey convinced them to attack in an organized way- just try it once, he said. They still failed, but the opposing side's casualties were five times what they usually were- that was enough to convince the entire army to follow him. This was their second attack after that initial battle. This time, Grey had a more targeted approach in mind. A rigid hierarchy had its own faults- topple an important commander or general, and the hierarchy beneath it would crumble, if not collapse entirely. An illusory clone of himself led the charge- it was that which his bound human, Brooke, would probably attack as fast as possible. He, hidden towards the western edge of the crowd, had a different target in mind. The war's front was now approaching the Stronghold's walls. The tall buildings of the city and the stone walls that formed the city's border contrasted against each other, like two structures ripped from different times. From the Stronghold's walls, bullets and arrows hailed down, decimating the angels in their path. Some conjured barriers while others managed to dodge through the onslaught and attack the ranged attackers on the front lines. Good, Grey thought- no one would be paying attention to him. He called upon the Legion to locate a herd of animals which he could use to get into the city. He got a response quickly- near his location, a herd of deer-like cagebeasts had taken off running towards one of the forests surrounding the city. NFNT was willing to destroy the natural world for the sake of their humans- while he didn't agree, he was willing to take advantage of that. Transforming into his animal form, an owl, he flew alongside the herd, following it so that his body was completely hidden by its approach. In the chaos of the battle, no shots were aimed at his unwitting shields. Within fifteen minutes, he ended up in one of the city's surrounding forests. The war was going as planned, at least on the human end. But that would change within three hours. Flying towards the city's western walls, he pondered how to infiltrate the city itself. Surely an angel could not enter- they would be attacked on sight. However, the humans knew well that angels could take the form of animals, and would be wary of any that crossed the walls for no reason. However, he also knew that the Strongholdians were naturalistic adepts. They knew the signs of the earth. One who wished to disguise themselves as part of the world needed to obey its rules. He took on his owl form once again and chased some of the city's small game. A flock of birds panicked at his approach- he chased the birds into the city, flying into the walls with no human the wiser. Owls did like to eat small birds, after all. Once inside, he landed within the outer walls and hid before he transformed back into his humanoid form. He wasn't an angel who could use both their animal form and their Gift at the same time- it was a handicap, but one that he couldn't let stop him. Alternating between owl and angel form, he dodged the patrols until he was inside the city proper. The walk was long. Grey thought that Brooke could probably endure the strenuous exercise, but he on the other hand had a hard time going the distance. If only he could fly on his angel wings, but such a thing would be counterproductive. Humans would sometimes leave their homes during the wars, but most merely sheltered in place. He was aware of that. Still, he would need to pose as a human, even if he could not fully hide his angelic nature. He was barely a kilometer into the city proper when a civilian guard pointed a gun at him. He knows, Grey thought. Grey's soul pulsed in his chest. He directed his gaze at the guard before he unleashed his Gift. In his eyes, he saw what the guard saw, heard what the guard heard. He superimposed his own illusions onto the scene before him. This area is unchanged, Grey thought to himself, weaving his illusion around his target's sensory perception. You don't see an angel before you- you see a nervous human. All will be well, and the block is safe. Technically, he was forcing the guard into a waking dream. However, he was hijacking the guard's own memories to do so, and manipulating specific aspects of the dream to make him believe whatever he wanted. Sights, smells, sensory feelings like hot and cold, and even the general "vibes" of the area- all of those could be manipulated within the illusion. Ordinarily, he'd use that power to force his targets to move however he wanted. However, illusion was a versatile power- he had pondered long on its usage. The guard's mouth opened. "Oh, I'm sorry. I thought you were an angel. Get home safe, okay?" Grey kept his illusions trained on the guard as he passed the corner, before digging deeper into the guard's memories. He could see that the guard was once an ordinary man trying to live an ordinary life, and offered him an illusion of a familiar bed and comforting music. Behind him, he could hear the guard collapse to the ground, fast asleep. As Grey walked on, incapacitating many other guards the same way, he mused to himself. The humans he used his power on weren't all warmongers. Many of them were people whose desire it was to protect the only source of happiness they knew. Mixed in with their memories of soulbound angels was fear, humiliation, and loneliness- feelings that they didn't know in the Stronghold. In many ways, this Stronghold had saved them, at the cost of decimating their angels' hearts. But that was true of many of their regular lives too. So many humans were happier when they had walked away from their homes, keenly aware that their homes missed them. To only have happiness at the cost of another. Was that really peace? Grey was not allied with these humans, but it was through their hearts that he understood why the Stronghold had to exist, and why the angelic way of life- to keep a human captive for eternity and continually feed it pleasures- was completely unsustainable for their happiness. Still, was there no way to open up the Stronghold to angels? Grey wondered if that was his impartial justice speaking, or the sadness at having lost his bound human for the same reason. There had to be a way for humans to live and love as they please with the blessing of angels. They deserve the world- and we deserve the things they give us. These beautiful human memories, which I twist for cruel ends, must not be caged in the arms of an angel, nor reserved for a city of humans- they belong to the world. The entire city was asleep now, and most of those who would chase him too far away to reach him. Grey spread his four wings and gazed towards the pinnacle of XERO- the very center of the human world. There, he would find his target. His sacrifice for the brighter future he craved. The human commander and her two deputies stood upon the pinnacle, their eyes frozen at the sight of an angel with four white wings, flying before her. To him, it seemed as though the humans thought that no angel could approach it this closely- or that no angel would even survive the flight up on account of snipers and guards. Clearly, they were mistaken. "My name is Grey de Aur," Grey said, "and I shall take your life, Commander of the XERO army." "Grey de Aur?" The commander repeated his name. "Isn't that the name of the NFNT commander?" "Yes, it is. For the future I desire, I do what I must." The commander and the deputies pointed their guns at Grey, hate filling their eyes. "I cannot begrudge you," Grey said, placing his hand over his heart. "but I desire a world where humans and angels can coexist. I believe we can work together towards that conclusion. You, warmonger- your elimination is necessary for that end." Grey's soul pulsed again. The deputies were easy to incapacitate. One after the other, they were caught in the throes of a ship rocking across the waves. Their struggle to maintain their balance forced them both to jump and dodge sliding boxes while minding the tumult of the ground beneath them- and within a few seconds, they had jumped off the edge of the balcony. The commander's memories- Grey struggled to unravel them. She was conscious long enough to watch her two men seemingly commit suicide by themselves, and struggled desperately against the infiltration of her mind. He saw her memories. She had lived in a war-torn part of the world for as long as she could remember. Without family. Without anyone. Enduring every type of humiliation. Even though she loved her people, she couldn't walk among them, so what she chose to do was fight. Her own memories from back then had propelled her to being an effective XERO commander now. The lack of any major sources of pleasure in her life, and her fear of always being killed- there was little he could do, and few memories he could manipulate, to control her mind. She fought back against everything within moments. Some source of pleasure, Grey thought, cycling his illusions through colors, laughter, freedom, family, and the blue sky. Anything. Any memory, and any illusion. Happiness is beyond no human. Suddenly, he found something that elicited a reaction. Thirst and hunger, plus food and water? He evoked an image of her homeland, with its war-torn buildings. The smell of smoke and the lack of noise. The knowledge that the enemy had retreated. The ache of her muscles, the taste of food in her belly, the parched itch of her throat. One building stood tall, despite the destruction. And on the side of that building was a tap- a tap that was running clear, cool, fresh water. The woman was thirsty. Thirsty, and her belly was full. She needed water to wash it down, to digest, to distribute the nutrients through her body. And there was so much water pouring out of that tap, like a liquid miracle. So much, and she couldn't let it go to waste. She stumbled towards the tap, her hands outstretched. Her hands cupped as she approached the tap. It was only a few meters away. A few feet. A few inches. One step, and she fell away.