The world was changing, and war loomed ever closer. While Angelo continued training, honing his abilities with a singular focus, there were darker, unseen forces gathering in the shadows. The angels, watching from beyond the cracks in reality, began sending their agents into the world—people they had brainwashed, twisted, and bent to their will. These agents, disguised as normal humans, infiltrated military bases across every continent, including the one Angelo called home.
At first, the agents didn't think much of the military facility. But everything changed the moment one of them crossed paths with Angelo in the corridor.
The instant their eyes met, a cold, unnatural terror crawled up the agent's spine, like staring into an abyss that threatened to swallow him whole. Panic surged within him, but he did his best to keep walking, masking his fear with an expression of calm indifference. Later, when alone, he reported to the angels through the ethereal link they shared. Through his eyes, they saw Angelo for the first time.
Their reaction was immediate: "That is the one. Watch him. Learn everything."
Though fear gripped them, the infiltrators obeyed. They followed Angelo from a distance, listened to his conversations, and gathered information about his schedule and abilities. It wasn't long before they learned of the upcoming assault against the Watchers—creatures the angels quietly loathed. Angelo was preparing for war. Now, so were they.
Colonel Ramirez summoned Angelo to his office. The colonel had grown more respectful of the boy—though he still had little understanding of what truly lay within him. He had seen the strange, unshakable determination in Angelo's eyes, but the true extent of his power remained a mystery.
"Come in," the colonel called, his voice gruff but not unkind, as Angelo stepped through the door with the usual precision of someone who had long since learned to suppress emotions.
"How's the preparation going? Are you ready?" Ramirez asked, his gaze sharp, as though he could peel away the layers of Angelo's expression and read his thoughts.
Angelo nodded. "Yes. I'm ready."
The colonel's lips curled into a brief, approving grin. "That's more like it. We launch the day after tomorrow. Rest while you can… You'll need it."
As Angelo left, Ramirez looked out the window toward the edge of the base, his jaw tightening. "Those ugly sons of bitches are going to pay for the lives they've taken."
Later, as the sun dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in bruised reds and purples, Angelo found himself standing outside the building where his adoptive family was being housed. Two armed guards stood at attention, their faces unreadable as they acknowledged his presence. The tension in the air was thick, and Angelo's chest tightened with an emotion he couldn't name.
One of the guards stepped forward, his voice cold but polite. "Do you want me to let them know you're here?"
Angelo hesitated, his gaze fixed on the door. The weight of everything he hadn't said hung between them, but the voice inside him—now louder and darker than ever—spoke once more.
"They won't accept a monster like you, and you know it. You've already lost them."
He clenched his fists, as if the motion would force the voice into silence. "No… It's fine. I'll wait. As long as it takes."
He turned to leave, but just as he did, the door creaked open. Alex and Olivia stepped out, the sudden shift in the air making Angelo's heart stutter in his chest. The silence between them felt like it had stretched for an eternity.
Olivia opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Her eyes flickered with a mix of guilt and something deeper, something that Angelo couldn't decipher. Her gaze dropped, avoiding his. She didn't say a word, and then, without a second glance, she remained standing there.
Alex, however, didn't retreat. His glare was cold, and it cut into Angelo like a jagged blade.
"Why the hell did you come back?" Alex's voice was sharp, his words coated in bitterness that seemed to seethe from him.
Angelo flinched, but he didn't flinch away. He stood his ground, his voice steadier than he felt. "I didn't mean to upset anyone. I just… wanted to see you all before I leave for the mission."
Alex's eyes darkened, his face contorting with rage. "We hope you die out there." The words were spat with venom, raw and unforgiving.
The slap came without warning. Olivia's hand struck Alex's cheek with a crack that echoed through the night. His face flushed, his eyes wide with a mixture of disbelief and pain. For a long moment, neither of them moved. Angelo's breath caught in his throat as he watched, his own heart heavy with the weight of it all.
Without a word, Olivia turned and retreated into the building, the door swinging shut behind her with a soft thud. Alex, shaking his head in disbelief, followed her inside, leaving Angelo standing alone in the cold night.
Angelo stood there, unmoving, silent. His hand didn't rise to his face. He didn't even blink. He just let the moment linger, the agony of being unwanted hanging between them.
The voice in his head whispered again, colder this time, "See? They don't want you back. One of them even hopes you die. And the other couldn't even look at you. You are slowly becoming less human by the day."
More cracks appeared on the mark. The deep, glowing fractures pulsed like an eerie heartbeat, a reminder of the cost of his power, the price of his existence. He could feel the heat of them, the way they burned beneath his skin, threatening to consume him.
The words cracked like thunder, and for a moment, Angelo could feel the strange, glowing fractures across his skin pulsing with a dangerous energy—an energy he barely understood and couldn't control. His vision blurred, and his knees nearly buckled beneath him.
"Are you alright?" one of the guards asked, his tone concerned, but Angelo didn't answer right away.
He straightened, taking a long breath to steady himself. "I'm fine… Just make sure they're safe. That's all I care about."
With that, he turned and walked away, stepping into the night, into the storm that awaited him. The war was calling. The unknown was waiting. And in the darkness, Angelo's humanity was slipping further away.