The stars sprinkled on the night sky shimmered faintly like crystal dust. It was a tranquil night for the creatures of the forest, the moon partially hidden by the clouds, and only the rustling of leaves and sounds of crickets could be heard.
With a brief flash of light, tens of well-toned, pale-skinned youths with white feathery wings appeared over the forest. Though clad in soft armor and holding various weapons in their hands, each of their expressions were serene and holy, their beauty flawless, not a single strand of hair or feather out of place.
On this seemingly ordinary night, a group of angels successfully descended on the mortal realm.
However, their appearance did not catch the notice of any creature of the forest. Their arrival was quiet, and none of the animals could see them. They were protected by divine power, making them as if they both exist and not at the same time.
Their formation was orderly in front of the most beautiful angel standing in front who was holding a golden harp.
It was Petra leading the loyal servants of the Goddess Isis.
"Spread apart, but do not go too far that the others can no longer sense you. We must remain vigilant. The Sovereign has warned us. This time, we cannot disappoint the Sovereign and return without finding that child," Petra instructed, reiterating the plan they had made beforehand.
Petra then closed her eyes briefly, before gesturing for her brethren to follow her lead.
Soon, the group of angels reached a particularly deserted forest. It was devoid of living things aside from plants, but they could feel a faint trace of divine energy of the earth attribute coming from this place. If they were to arrive any later, this faint trace would have been gone.
"The trace ends here, but I feel another nearby. They must have made several fake trails to deceive us," one of the angels behind her commented. "Shall we disperse and scout the other trails separately, Petra?"
"We must stay and act together," another angel remarked. "They might be scheming to divide and conquer us."
"Let us simply follow another trail," Petra decided. "Tonight, no matter what they do, they won't be able to suppress those powers inside that child. Be it the Deity of Earth's inheritance or the Deity of Fire's hellfire, both of them are bound to show their presence. Time is on our side."
Petra and the other angels continued to follow the second trail with traces of divine power of the earth attribute. Petra casually looked at the sky and calculated the flow of time.
"The promised time is near. Everyone, stay sharp. We do not know what those banished ones are scheming this time."
One of the angels could not help but say, "We are following this trail for a while. It feels like this might be the real trail. The child is not kept in one place to hide but is currently on the move."
"Could they be fleeing in the night?"
"Those protecting her are not foolish. They should be staying, hiding, in a single place at such an important moment."
"Indeed. Once that child's powers burst and affect the mortal world, then the gods of the pantheon will notice her existence. They have hidden that child for so long, they would not want that to happen."
"But do you not find this suspicious, brother? Even if we are guided by the Sovereign, how easily we are able to sense this faint trace of Earth, as if it is a cleverly placed bait to divert our attention."
Petra's eyes narrowed as she felt her brethen's words made sense. They had been following this trail for a while now, but they still could neither reach the end nor did the trace disappear. It would always remain faint enough for their senses to capture, no matter how fast or slow they moved.
"Halt!"
Petra ordered, causing the angels behind her to stop in unison. They were like soldiers of a well-trained army, moving and stopping as if they shared a single body.
Moments passed in silence, and soon, the trace of Earth they were following disappeared.
Still, the angels continued to wait for Petra's next instructions.
Midnight came and went, and even the time of that child's birth had slipped by but the forest remained silent, not a single fluctuation of divine energy could be felt.
Petra's expression turned grim.
'Did they escape?'
She tried to recall if she missed anything earlier, but just then, she felt a very faint fluctuation of power coming from the direction they came from.
"Brothers and sisters, over there!"
It was as if time did not exist as the angels moved so fast, only a single beam of light could be seen of their remnant images..
Petra's expression was solemn.
'This time, I can finally please the Sovereign. Sierra and her daughter have caused enough troubles, and now, I can see the end of this long pursuit.' Petra thought as she prepared to attack whoever would come barring their way.
The source of that energy fluctuation was a barren hill, but Petra and those with her immediately realized it was but an illusion spell.
Just as the group of angels attacked to destroy that illusionary barrier, all they found in the end was a white-robed figure standing in the middle of the barren land. The woman's appearance was hidden by her hood, but the magic of the earth attribute could be felt on her body.
Aside from the white-robed figure, there was no one else in the vicinity.
Even in the dark, the angels could see the scales on her hand. It didn't take a time for Petra to realize who it was.
'Sierra, the banished Deity of Earth?' she chuckled inwardly. 'Then that should mean her daughter is nearby.'
"Why have you shown yourself? Are you no longer hiding, Sierra?" Petra asked as she gestured for the angels to surround the white-robed figure.
Sierra neither moved nor said anything.
"You are no longer a goddess now but a lowly witch, so you shouldn't be offended that I address you by your name, right?" Petra said, her tone serious, only to see Sierra raising an arm.
But even before she could do anything, Petra had plucked a string on her harp and Sierra was subdued by the divine power of the angel.
"Are you trying to run away, Sierra? And here I was thinking of asking you about how your life has been after losing your precious divinity? Has it been good living as a mortal?"
"Why ask me when soon, you and Isis will get to experience it yourself?"
"Watch your mouth, mortal! How dare a lowly being like you call my master's name so casually? To dare besmirch the name of my goddess, are you asking to be punished by the heavens again?"
A chuckle escaped the robed figure. "Do you think I care?"
"When it comes to your daughter, I believe you do," Petra replied. "Where is she?"
"Do you think that if you ask, I will answer you, angel?" Sierra mocked. "Use your mighty strength to figure it out. Why rely on a lowly witch?"
Petra gritted her teeth, but she really could not find traces of divine powers aside from those coming from her companions. Not only was the vicinity barren of humans, not even the presences of supernatural beings could be captured.
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