Her Saviour

Chapter 41: Snow for Rin part 2

Aki’s Point of View

As Aki held Rin in his arms, his last feather went to Rin and he whispered.

“Maybe next time…You do not need to die right now. I am sorry I was not there for you when you decided this. I promised I will save you no matter what. And I did it. I have no regrets about saving you. The only regret that I have is that after what I have done, I might not be able to stay near you as a guardian angel. I am sorry. I love you Rin. Please live on. Stay strong and one day I am sure, you will be truly happy. Smile always.”

As he said this, more tears fell from his eyes. He kissed her forehead and placed her down on the ground.

He had felt their presence behind him before he started talking. He did not care that they have heard this. However, he was at least glad that they came to get him. Otherwise, he had no means of getting back to the heaven.

He looked at Rin one last time and touched her head. He smiled.

He then whispered, “I have to go now, dear. I do not know if I will get to see you again but know that I will always love you. No matter where you are and no matter where I am. I will always remember you. Take care of yourself. No matter how many times I say it, it does not feel enough. So, I love you.”

Then he turned his head towards the two senior angels the heaven had sent behind him. He looked at them and spoke, “I am ready.”

One of the senior angels nodded and signaled to the other angel. Then Aki watched as both of them walked towards him. They grabbed his arms on both sides and starting flying. As they flew, Aki’s eyes were watching Rin on the ground. He could see an ambulance coming to where Rin was lying. Then two nurses came out of the ambulance and rushed to Rin.

Aki thought, “You will be fine now.”

Just then, he was flown out of the human realm. They entered the heaven realm and reached the gate. The two angels who stood guard at the gate were shocked to see Aki in this state. Aki had lost his wings.

Hence, the reason he could not go to the heaven by himself. The two senior angels took to the hall where all the highest angels were waiting for him. As they entered the hallway of the hall, every passing by angels looked at him. Aki could see that they were shocked and scared.

"This is probably the first time an angel has lost his wings by reviving a human." Aki thought.

They reached the hall. As soon as they entered the hall, Aki could feel the gazes of the higher angels. Aki could make out that what he had done had angered them tremendously.

Aki took a deep breath and prepared himself for what was going to happen.

The two senior angels took him to the middle of the hall and let him in the designated place where an angel who has committed a sin or disobeyed the heaven was judged. The higher angels would give the verdict soon. Aki bowed down. He knew he was not going to be asked to raise his head. He was surrounded by the same number of angels that were present during the morning summon.

Then the voice of the highest angel boomed across the hall, “Do you know what you have done Aki?”

Aki remained silent, knowing well that if he spoke right now, they will be a lot more fuming than this.

The highest angel continued, "What you have done will be considered as the most severe sin an angel can commit, and because of that, you will get the most severe punishment. Look at you, not only did you revive a human who was dead but you also gave up your wings to save them. You have committed two grave sins. An angel's wings are a part of their identity and their loyalty to the heaven. You giving up your wings intentionally is evidence that you are no longer loyal and respectful to the heaven. Second, you have revived a human who had died. That is against the rules. Even if you are a guardian angel, you are not supposed to intervene to that extent.”

Aki remained silent. He knew what he had done and he did it knowing fully the severity of it. However, he did it to save the human he loves. The human he had loved since she was born. The human he loves with all his heart and with every fiber in his body. Due to this, he did not regret anything. If he would have to do it again, he would do it in a heartbeat.

Another higher angel spoke, “From your silence, it seems like you already know the severity of your sins and you look prepared to receive the verdict.”

He then signaled to the two senior angels to take Aki to the confinement room until the verdict is ready.

He spoke again, “We will let you know when your verdict is ready.”

The two senior angels then escorted Aki to a confinement room. It was darker than the solitary room of yesterday. However, he had no complaints. He watched as one of the senior angels locked the door from outside and stand near the door. He was confused that the higher angels made the senior angels guard him. There was no way he could flee from the heaven or abandon the heaven. For one, he had no wings.

For all the years that he had been an angel and served the heaven, he did not have any knowledge that an angel could use their wings to save a human. He had read stories of how angels revived humans by sharing their life force. However, he did not know how because the ones who knew were either the higher angels or those angels who had revived a human. They were banished from the heaven. Banishment from the heaven had two forms. One was banishment to the middle realm. The middle realm consisted of an entity that was neither human, angels nor demons. The second form of banishment was to the human realm.

Aki did not know which banishment he would face. The banishment to the middle realm was the more severe one. From this realm, there was no easy way you could come out. However, he did not mind. He did something that could not be reversed. He knew he would be punished and he was ready to accept it.

Right now, Aki was not worried about his punishment. He was worried about Rin. He was sure that he had lost the opportunity to be beside her but he was glad that she was alive. In midst of these thoughts, he noticed that the red string was still there. He was not stripped off from his position as her guardian angel yet. Which was why the string still existed. The color of the string was clearly visible. This meant that Rin was fine. He let out a sigh of relief.

He did know that he revived her. However, since he was in a hurry to revive her, he did not know if all her wounds were fully healed.

“I am sorry that I will not be there to heal your wounds from now on.” He whispered to the string as if Rin could hear it.

Another reason why he was worried was that what if the higher angels decide to reverse everything he has done. What if they decide to let Rin die?

However, he calmed himself down by reassuring himself that the humans who were revived by several angels before were left out of their punishments. They let the humans continue their revived life. He hoped this time too, they will let Rin live.

As he waited, he could feel some pain in his back where his wings were. Just then, he started to wonder how he revived her, and that too with his wings. Wings were the symbol of loyalty to the heaven as the higher angel told him before. He did not know if there was something more about it. So, he started to think about it.

Then it clicked. The only thing that makes guardian angels different from each other is because of the ability they are bestowed with. His ability: Akeso was different from the healing spells that every angel knows off. It was extremely powerful and more efficient. There was a possibility that it was due to that. Another possibility was because of the emotions he could feel even though he was an angel. It was something out of the norm. As soon as he thought that, the door to his room was opened. One of the senior angels came in and spoke, "Aki. It is time for your verdict. You are being summoned to the hall."

Aki nodded and stood up. He did not realize a lot of time had passed by since he was brought to the confinement room. Since the verdict was ready, Aki was glad. He wanted to be done with this fast.

As soon as they were out of the room, the two senior angels grabbed his arms on both sides and flew.

After they reached the hall, Aki was let into the designated place in the middle of the hall like before.

Aki took a deep breath and bowed down.

The highest angel spoke, “As a guardian angel, you were assigned to help the human but was warned not to intervene to this extent. You were aware of this. We discussed that you should be banished to the middle realm.”

Aki remained silent. He expected this.

He continued, “However we have discussed again and decided to change the punishment. As angels, we have a profound love for humans. You have a love for this human to the extent that you even sacrificed your wings and place in the heaven. Taking that into consideration, these are your punishment. First of all, you are no longer the guardian angel of the human named Rin.”

Aki felt his heart break as soon as he heard that. He knew it was going to happen but he could not help it.

The highest angel continued, “Second, the ability that was bestowed upon you will be taken away. Third, you will be banished to the human realm. You will become a human and experience the suffering the mortals do.”

Aki did not mind that.

He continued, "Do you accept it? If you do not accept this punishment, you will become a fallen angel and you will not belong in the heaven, human realm, middle realm, or the hell."

Aki, still bowing down, replied, "I accept the punishment."

The highest angels spoke again, "One more thing, do not worry about the human. We will not reverse what you have sacrificed."

As soon as Aki heard this, he was beyond relieved. This was what he was hoping for. He was glad that Rin will live.

However, nothing could have prepared Aki for what was going to happen next.