Alex hesitated for a moment, hugged the bread, returned to the room, and tightly closed the wooden door.
Lighting the candle, the flickering yellow light dispelled the darkness in the small room, and he immediately saw Elias sitting by the table, his posture as elegant as a sculpted statue.
"Good evening, Alex." The white skeletal angel greeted him. His jaw did not move, but the voice appeared directly in Alex's mind, deep and resonant, as if emanating from the mark on his forehead.
"Are you not afraid of being discovered?" Alex lowered his voice, his heart pounding: "There are twelve people following me, six in the light and six in the dark."
"I know." These matters clearly could not escape Elias's notice; his empty eye sockets turned toward the door: "They cannot sense me, but they can hear sounds in here if you speak too loudly."
Alex started, hurriedly covering his mouth, using anxious eyes to ask Elias what he should do to communicate safely.
"There is no need to worry. Try using your spiritual sense to touch the mark on your forehead; you can complete the communication with me without opening your mouth," Elias instructed Alex patiently.
"Imagine your thought process is a thread, a thread extending from within your brain, traversing the space of consciousness, and connecting to the mark."
Alex closed his eyes, focused his mind, and tried following his instructions. Indeed, he felt a non-existent thread groping its way from his brain, finally touching a warm source of heat and connecting with the mark. Just as he was about to speak, a lapse in concentration caused the thread to snap abruptly.
"Try again." Elias calmly encouraged him, showing no signs of impatience.
Succeeding in one go was clearly impossible. Alex tried a few more times, beads of sweat forming on his forehead. Finally, he established a stable connection. He breathed a sigh of relief, then impatiently transmitted his thought: "Didn't you say you didn't need believers? Why give me this..."
Alex touched the flame on his forehead, and immediately the roar of a brutal battlefield rang in his ears - the sound of clashing metal, desperate screams. That ominous feeling once again spread through his heart, making the blood in his body feel as if it were freezing.
He seemed to understand why Elias did not want to share this power with His believers, why He did not want to be worshipped by people. This kind of power truly made one resist from the bottom of their heart; it made people feel fear and terror, bearing the scent of blood and destruction.
War. Alex silently recited Elias's title and shuddered.
He was clearly an angel of the Goddess of Light, representing holiness, yet he held such brutal power that it was incomprehensible.
Elias seemed to have long anticipated that Alex would ask this question; he sat silently, letting Alex feel the lingering effects of that power for himself.
"Judgment has intervened." he said, his tone becoming more serious: "He seems to have noticed something unusual from the recent energy fluctuations. If I do not stop him, it will be very troublesome."
"Judgment..." Alex was astonished, his eyes widening: "The Angel of Judgment in the legends?"
"Correct." Elias's voice betrayed no emotion, but it sounded somewhat distant: "My brother, the Angel of Judgment who serves the Goddess, the one who holds the scales of justice."
Are the relationships between angels also not very good? Or do they also have conflicts like humans?
Alex looked at Elias, somewhat failing to understand the meaning of the sentence "if Judgment finds out, it will be very troublesome" that he had just spoken.
Elias continued, answering his question: "I still have not completed the Goddess's oracle. My current state is unstable; for the time being, it is best not to let them know of my current condition."
"But if they knew, wouldn't they be able to lend you a hand? After all, you all serve the same master." Alex did not quite understand the logic of the gods.
Elias laughed softly, a gentle laugh but one containing many hidden meanings: "This is a mission the Goddess assigned to me alone, and the price to be paid is also mine alone."
Alex was stunned. When that laughter appeared in his head, it was so clear, not like an hallucination at all.
This was the first time Elias had laughed, or at least the first time he had heard his laughter since they met.
Alex looked up at the angel's face under the flickering candlelight. It was still a gloomy and terrifying white skeleton, yet it seemed to overlap with the handsome appearance he had glimpsed in the illusion within the Hall of Divine Selection.
"This is the first time I've seen you laugh..." Alex murmured, his fear of the skeletal frame seeming to dissipate somewhat.
Elias clearly paused at the boy's frank remark. He reached out to rub Alex's head; the finger bones were cold, but the gesture was incredibly gentle: "There will be a chance to see it."
Although he himself did not know when he would be able to break the curse and restore his original form.
Alex suppressed a smile, feeling a strange warmth from that skeletal hand. He looked up and extended a small finger: "It's decided then. You must show me your true smile."
This was an incredibly bold action. Alex felt that at this moment he must be borrowing courage from somewhere, otherwise, he would absolutely never do such a childish thing in front of a god. Fortunately, Elias did not blame him for his offense, nor did he show any annoyance.
He was the gentlest god Alex had ever met, completely different from the cold statues in the church; surely he would agree to a teenager's small request.
Sure enough, the tall angel mimicked Alex's posture, extending a stark white skeletal finger to hook onto the young man's soft finger. Two fingers, one of life, one of death, hooked together under the candlelight.
"Alex, these little tricks must not be used indiscriminately with other gods." he reminded, his tone like a big brother instructing a younger brother.
Not every god would overlook such an action. Alex had not yet seen the cruelty and horror of the Extraordinary World, where a single wrong look could lead to death.
"I don't want to know other gods." Alex received Elias's promise, his heart fluttering with joy, a sense of security spreading through him, not caring about anything else: "Knowing you is enough."
Elias looked at him, his dark eye sockets deep. Even though the sockets were empty, they still exuded a distinct emotion - seemingly touched, yet seemingly pitiful.
Finally, the deity shook his head slightly, dispelling these fluctuating emotions.
"Alex, go make dinner. You are hungry too."