The Infinite Night

Chapter 13: Calguas's Remorsed

Calaguas closed his eyes and took a short, deep breath. "Let me guess," he said. "The guy who used to hang around with Quart is dead."

Ixartxist simply grinned.

That was enough of an answer.

Calaguas looked away, clearly annoyed by it.

Meanwhile, Suman stood up and placed a hand on his chin.

"So that's why you're in such a good mood."

"Good mood, huh?" Calaguas said, raising an eyebrow.

Suman nodded.

"Well, at least we can talk to him now. Better than usual, don't you think?"

Calaguas rolled his eyes.

"Whatever."

Then Ixartxist suddenly stood up.

He placed both hands on his desk and laughed.

Suman looked at Calaguas.

Calaguas looked away and crossed one leg over the other while folding his arms.

"Now he's nuts," Suman said.

"I don't care," Calaguas replied.

Ixartxist shook his head from side to side.

"No... no... no, my friends."

A smirk slowly appeared on his face.

"But yes... yes... yes."

He pointed at them.

"You're right about the information."

"Nia'le is dead."

His smile widened.

"Now there are no obstacles left. Now Tassa is all mine. My beloved."

Just imagining her face seemed enough to brighten his mood.

"Simply thinking about her beautiful face can completely change how I feel."

He placed a hand over his chest.

"It makes me feel so enthusiastic just knowing I'll see her again. I can feel my blood rushing faster."

"It's called arousal," Suman said casually.

Ixartxist immediately stopped smiling and glared at him.

"Excitement!"

He pointed at Suman.

"That's what it is. And that's what I'm feeling."

Suman rolled his eyes and folded his arms.

"Doesn't make much difference, does it, Calaguas?" he muttered.

"I don't know," Calaguas replied.

Then he stood up and faced Ixartxist directly.

"I don't know, Ixartxist. But you do realize that falling in love with a human is forbidden."

His expression darkened.

"The fact that I broke that rule is the reason I became a fallen angel. And the reason I became a demon."

Ixartxist gritted his teeth.

"What are you so afraid of losing, Calaguas?"

He stepped closer.

"You already lost everything. What can a fallen angel lose when he has already lost it all from the very beginning?"

He stared directly into Calaguas' eyes.

"Tell me, Calaguas."

"Is there still something you're afraid of losing?"

His voice became quieter.

"And if there is, what could it possibly be?"

Calaguas pressed his lips together and gulped before turning his back on them.

"Heaven's trust."

Ixartxist and Suman exchanged awkward looks.

Neither of them understood what he meant.

"What do you mean, Heaven's trust?" Ixartxist asked. "You don't have His trust anymore. That's why He abandoned you."

Calaguas glanced at him from the corner of his eye and replied coldly.

"I don't blame Him for that."

He looked down for a moment.

"It was my fault. I was the one who fell in love with a human, knowing from the very beginning that it was forbidden."

His voice remained calm.

"So even though He sent me here and I became a demon, I don't resent Him. Even though I lost the wings on my back. Even though I lost my Tenesi. Even though I'm now known as an infamous creature."

He shook his head.

"I don't care. Because I was once an angel. And there is only one God for me."

His eyes softened.

"I will never blame Him for resenting me or neglecting me. I deserve it. I committed a sin, and I will atone for it until the day He forgives me." A bitter smile appeared on his face. "And even if I know what I did may be unforgivable...I was once an angel. I was once a soldier of Heaven. I obeyed Him then, and I will continue to obey Him now."

He placed a hand over his chest.

"I may have lost everything I had, including Heaven's trust."

"But at least I won't commit another sin that could make Him lose even more hope in me. Not anymore."

For a moment, the room fell silent.

Ixartxist only looked more confused.

He couldn't understand how Calaguas could suddenly sound more like an angel than a demon. Asmirk slowly appeared on his face. Then he laughed quietly. "What a psychopath you are, Calaguas."

He shook his head.

"One moment you're sitting here with us, laughing at human foolishness. And the next, you're talking like a saint asking for forgiveness."

"Talk about a split personality," Suman muttered.

"I don't have a split personality, Suman," Calaguas replied calmly.

He turned away.

"I have to go."

Before either of them could say anything else, he disappeared.

Suman watched the spot where he had been standing.

"I really don't understand Calaguas sometimes."

He scratched his head.

"I still can't tell if it's a split personality or not."

Ixartxist sat back down and rested a hand in front of his nose.

"We're changing bit by bit."

His expression darkened.

"That's what's happening."

He looked away.

"And I know I've changed too."

Suman stared at him.

Not with judgment.

But with pity.

Ixartxist noticed and immediately looked away.

"Are you planning to stand there forever?" he asked. "Or are you finally going to leave me alone?"

Suman stood up.

He looked down at him, but Ixartxist refused to meet his eyes.

Suman smirked and adjusted his velvet coat.

"Well, I was supposed to go back to my room."

"Then leave," Ixartxist replied.

Suman turned around and started walking away.

After a few steps, he suddenly stopped.

"Okay, I'm going."

Then he looked back over his shoulder.

"Ixartxist."

His smile softened.

"Please don't change too much. If you can fight it, then fight it. Don't let it overcome you."

He paused.

"Just remember your Tassa. Quart wouldn't like seeing you become that. And neither would I."

With those final words, Suman sank into the floor and vanished.

Ixartxist watched him disappear.

"What a nuisance."

He turned his chair toward the window and closed his eyes.

The conversation had exhausted him.

His situation exhausted him even more.

"Suman..." he murmured.

He opened his eyes and looked up at the ceiling.

It was blurry.

Not as clear as it used to be.

His vision was getting worse.

A faint, tired smile appeared on his face.

"I would... if I could."

He whispered the words so softly that no one was there to hear them.

Then he sighed.

Ixartxist felt at ease after hearing the news from one of his shadow demons. According to the demon, Nia'le was dead. Now there was no one left to interfere with his love for Tassa. Even so, something still troubled him.

He was changing.

Little by little, his transformation was getting worse, and it was slowly taking away his eyesight.

That was why he wanted to see Tassa as soon as possible, before he lost the chance to see her ever again.

What Ixartxist didn't know was that Nia'le was not truly dead.

He was simply spending time with Tassa in the Infinite Night, helping her ease her loneliness and pain.

Because Ixartxist had no idea that the Infinite Night had become their secret rendezvous, he believed everything had returned to normal.

He wasn't worried about Tassa at all.

After all, Ayamani was with her.

If anything dangerous happened, Ayamani would protect her.

At least, that was what he believed.

So Ixartxist focused more on his businesses.

Sometimes he visited the bedside of someone very dear to him.

Other times, he checked on the orphanage he owned, making sure the children were safe and cared for.

Yet whenever he visited them, something strange would occasionally happen.

Some of the innocent children would suddenly die after he met them.

And somehow, their innocent souls would end up in his possession.

Ixartxist loved innocent human souls.

However, his true reason for collecting them remained unknown.

Meanwhile, Suman, Ixartxist's closest friend, was also one of the angels who had once rebelled against Heaven.

Unlike Ixartxist, Suman spent his time creating false miracles and making people believe in them.

His true motives were also unknown.

Whenever Calaguas asked him why he kept doing such things, Suman would only laugh softly.

Then he would place one hand inside his coat and answer:

"For we are all going to the same destination. I'm simply giving them directions, using a little distraction."

Suman once told Calaguas that he believed judgment was unfair.

Humans could be forgiven.

Angels could not.

Despite spending ages serving Heaven, he believed they would never be allowed to return. Because of that resentment, Suman often tempted humans to make the same choice he once made. He encouraged them to rebel against the true God and choose the wrong path. If they followed him, then they would share the same fate as the fallen angels. At least, that was what Suman claimed.

But Calaguas was never fully convinced. He could clearly see that Ixartxist was becoming a true demon. The change was obvious; it was consuming him little by little.

But Suman was different.

He hadn't changed at all.

Not even slightly.

And that was exactly why Calaguas wanted to know the truth.

What was Suman really trying to accomplish?

If he really had become evil like Ixartxist, then the changes would be visible, but in his case, there were none.