A sense of serenity was overcoming his earlier worries as he looked over the floating Kingdom, its beauty on full display in the moonlight.
Lilac and golden trees litter the islands, their graceful colouring befitting an angelic kingdom.
Liliana sat sound and unmoving upon his back, peering into the void of black hovering above them. Her crimson eyes were tracking the constellations of stars twinkling in the night sky.
During their journey, Liliana would often fly alongside him, stretching her wings and staying in the form of a Potoo so as not to alarm any prying eyes.
Their journey, shrouded in silence, eventually came to its long-awaited end.
Ratella and Liliana stayed stationary high in the sky, looking over the expansive meadows of war and bloodshed.
Devils and Angels fought viciously beneath their feet, fighting for who deserved to survive and who deserved to die, becoming an ever-climbing number in a report.
The once-beautiful meadows were stained scarlet, the scent of blood and charred remains lingering.
Scattered remnants of a soldier's once hard-fought battle littered the battlefield, taking the shape of mostly severed wings.
Explosions and clangs of steel rang out throughout the meadows, reaching Ratella's ears despite his position.
Misery and death were the only things that existed upon this battlefield between the gods.
Liliana placed herself upon his head, surveying the battlefield, deep in thought.
"Don't let any Dominions come in proximity of us; they will sense my presence. Some of the Virtues who are more powerful may sense a looming danger when around me. I suggest you kill the powerful virtues and avoid the Dominions for now." Liliana stated, her sweet voice echoing in his ears.
"I didn't know you could talk in birdform. I didn't think birds had the capacity to speak our tongue."
"Of course they don't, but I'm no bird after all."
"As I know, there are two Dominions on this battlefield, Seraphina Vulcan, the Dominion of Sun, and Selvar Moonborne, the Dominion of Moon."
"As I am now, I am no match for Selvar, and I doubt you'll be able to put up much of a fight right now. Avoid him at all costs. Seraphina is a different story, but it'll be best to just avoid them."
"If I kill right now, I might burst into a rage, so I'd rather avoid killing directly until it's unavoidable. I'll aid in whatever way you suggest, though," said Ratella, his worries not born out of cowardice but the worry of exposing himself as a traitor too early in the game.
"I can accept that line of thought, very well. I'll kill our first target, but don't become complacent in your lack of bloodshed. You will have to kill eventually, remember that."
Although harsh, her words rang true in his mind. He wasn't naive enough not to expect to cause despair and death with his own hands in the search for safety for his beloved.
"Don't worry, I'm not naive enough to not grasp that myself."
"Good, we'll be joining Sloth in his battle against Temperance. He's currently losing, and I can't afford to lose a Sin this early in the battle. Although begrudgingly, she ordered her troops to leave them alone and draw the enemy away, making the battlefield around them deserted, perfect for our arrival."
"And where exactly are they located? I've never been here before."
"Right there," stated Liliana, drawing Ratella's eyes to a secluded part of the battlefield as she stated the surrounding land was devoid of any soldiers.
Completely isolated from reinforcements.
Without saying a word, Ratella flew down to the secluded area, displaying the majestic nature of his wings as he softly touched down upon a rather large stray boulder.
Liliana dismounted from him and perched herself upon a charred tree, watching the ongoing fight between Sloth and Temperance.
Ratella said not a word to the two, taking a watchful stance much like Liliana's, but his presence was known to them, drawing their gaze and caution.
"Urrr, a six-winged angel, are you serious!? How can my day get any worse? I'm super dead," grunted Sloth, his displeasure at the situation blatant to see.
Even in the heat of battle, he took a rather relaxed stance and was currently lounging against a rock. There were no injuries present on the man, but his mind was clearly rattled and fatigued.
Ratella doubted the man ever stood up or took a proactive approach in this battle, deciding his fate. There was only evidence of one set of footsteps in their little battleground.
Sloth wore a stained black suit, looking worn and well past its glory days, his black hair tied into a bun, which looked rather well-kept, unlike his outfit.
The man was nothing special to look at, looking rather average; perhaps he could pass for the prettiest man in a faraway village.
A grubby collection of hair lined his chin.
Two black wings surrounded his figure, blanketing him with their warmth, looking ready for a long-awaited rest.
Temperance gazed at Ratella, distancing himself from the lounging, coming closer to Ratella.
His appearance was a far cry from Sloth's: a well-kept beard and slicked-back hair, looking like the perfect representation of nobility.
His crystal blue eyes peered into Ratella's Edict of Time, looking fantasized but also wary at its presence.
A greatsword rested in his hands, its blade dug into the earth below.
"You're the Seraphim meant to be assisting us, right? Your presence is a welcome one. With our combined might, we'll be able to crush this Sin beneath our heels."
"Seraphim? Where are the Horsemen when you need them?"
"Squawk!" shouted Liliana, but her voice fell on deaf ears, not gaining the attention of Sloth.
"That's not very chivalrous of you, Temperance," stated Ratella, his voice growing authoritative, a certain tone of danger looming in the back of his words.
Temperance's face twisted in confusion and anger at his words for a moment before he lost his composure and returned to temperance.
"That is not how war works. You either win or you lose, discard any honor you may have; if we are to win this war, we'll need all the dirty tricks we can get."
Ratella sat down on the boulder, making his stance on their battle apparent to the two. From his position, he noticed a rather odd bird drifting through the sky, its colour pitch black, an oddity among its species.
A dove.
"I shall not interfere with your battle. Please continue," declared Ratella, a delightful smile spreading across his face, truly excited to watch two towering forces fight to the death.
Liliana looked at him curiously, her eyes drifting apart from one another, but she voiced no objection, staying as a bird.
"What?!" shouted Temperance, but his confusion was dispelled by an incoming attack from Sloth, taking the initiative.
Liliana tilted her head at her subordinate's proactive response to the situation.
The gravity around the virtue amplified tenfold, crushing his body and forcing him to his knees.
Sloth wasn't naive enough to expect this to work, launching multiple invisible chains, their intent to pierce and flay Temperance's flesh.
Their presence is known only to Ratella by their distinct sounds and the ripples in the air around their forms.
Temperance's death was imminent, the threats to his life closing in on his body, the gravity's effect only intensifying with his struggling.
"Edict of Light, Warding Shield," stammered Temperance, his breathing coarse and laboured. The effects of gravity broke a few of his bones, but he still stood tall.
Thick layers of radiant light surrounded his body slowly, but surely. He stood up now, completely ignoring the increasing pressure surrounding him.
With its target lost, it turned its attention to the earth below, shattering it into many pieces, scattering across the battlefield.
Temperance stood in the midst of the crumbling earth; despite its state, he did not flinch for a moment.
"Sublime Slash, fivefold," shouted Temperance, his vigour renewed in the face of his once looming death.
He held up five fingers, and from each a ray of crescent-shaped light materialized, barreling towards the Sin at an alarming speed.
Sloth brought the chains to his aid, trying to disrupt the light's path, but to no avail.
He amplified the gravity a hundred times that of its normal state, but this only slowed their approach just enough to allow Sloth to move, jumping out of harm's way.
The slashes of light impacted with the boulder, slashing it to ribbons, continuing their path onwards.
As a last-ditch effort, Sloth tried to ensnare Temperance with his invisible chains, but to no avail, breaking free with little effort.
Temperance brought his greatsword up to his shoulder, ready to slash down on the frail figure of Sloth cowering in front of him.
"Ray of Reckoning, coat my divine armament in your radiance."
Temperance's blade began to glow with a dazzling light, its luminance ever-growing, banishing the surrounding darkness into its void.
"Die by my hand, you cur," declared Temperance, slashing down at Sloth, his intent to behead and display the cowering man's head atop his dinner table.
Ratella obviously couldn't let his wish be actualised, freezing the flow of time and positioning his wing to shield the Sin standing in close proximity to the two men.
"One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve."
Twelve seconds was the limit of his Time Lord's Domain currently, although he wished it could be longer; there was a lot you could accomplish in the span of twelve seconds. So he wasn't too discouraged by his current limits, seeing limitless value in his ability.
After its effects wore off, he only felt a slight tiredness and an already-fading nausea.
Temperance's blade impacted with his hardened wings, acting as a stalwart shield to the Sin, rebounding the blade back towards Temperance.
His eyes were stricken with confusion, and an unbridled fury quickly replaced it after his realization that Ratella was the culprit.