Book of Mirrors I: The Celestials

Munich, Germany (June 2019) "I don't think she's here." LJ tried to convince his friend for the third time, but Haneul was determined. The Lilim, one of the Archdemon Lilith's half-human children, had taken off her cloak earlier and had overwhelmed Haneul's senses. She was so near it was making his head ache. Haneul did not blame LJ for not feeling her presence, though. LJ had been struggling with his assumed body for decades now. Angels did not usually need a human form, but warrior angels like Haneul and LJ molded one from light to hunt demons better. After all, the creatures were drawn to flesh and bone, always jumping at a chance to possess it.  Despite these advantages, a pure soul being clocked into a vessel that it does not need makes it disoriented. It certainly watered down some of their original senses, like feeling the pull of a demon. It became particularly more complex if they started assimilating human senses instead. Haneul suspec

Seoul, South Korea (June 1909) Around 2005, they already went through three storms. Minho flipped his wet hair back, annoyed. Traveling back in time was always messy as the weather could be unpredictable. Minho avoided it as much as he could. But the Celestial Police always met in the past, as tradition dictates. So he didn't have a choice. "Of all the times that you can screw up, you had to do it when all the Asian Principalities are here," Minho told LJ. The latter was sitting on the elevator floors, looking miserable. They could not use their wings to go further than the third celestial sphere as mere warriors, so they also had to be in such a confined space. "Stop making him feel worse. It wasn't his fault." Haneul replied, nervously pulling at his coat. "No, it was my fault." LJ countered, hanging his head back on the elevator walls, presumably to ease his misery. "Damn right, it was," Minho responded, still bent on berating LJ. "You had one job--" "Ugh. Can you not fig

Busan, South Korea (June 2019) LJ entered the beach house warily. One of the Virtues told him that Alice would be there. Knowing her, there was bound to be a prank. He stood in the center of the shed, waiting for her to show herself. The place looked like a summer faerie vomited into it. Alice probably did. Paint of different colors splattered its walls and the equipment inside it. Damn. Alice sure was taking her painting to the next level these days. "Boooo!" a light figure jumped into LJ's back, shrieking in his ear. "Alice Park! You skinny runt." LJ yelled at her. He took a few steps back, almost losing his balance. And he thought he was prepared for whatever antic she had in mind.  "Scared you, didn't I?" Alice said, snickering. She stretched her arms behind her and did a series of backflips until she was on a platform at the edge of the shed, disappearing behind the boxes stacked on it.  "Oh, come on, now. Do we have to

Between the 4th and 5th dimensions (Just Beyond Time)  The cottage hadn't been touched in years. Dust settled on the furniture, and the paintings on the walls had lost their original luster. As expected beyond the third dimension, the air was stagnant and silvered. After all, Aether, the celestial atmosphere, was bright and unsullied, perpetually moving in a circular motion. The complete opposite of Aer, the material that makes earth. Such differences became glaringly evident in the lower angelic spheres.  Haneul carefully placed Linthra on the table and looked at his watch, pacing from one side of the room to the other. Time did not exist where he was, but LJ and Alice were still back on earth, and according to his clock, they we

Paris, France (June 2019) The light flickered ominously overhead, casting a faint orange glow onto the corpse's pale skin as it laid cold and unmoving on the table. The wailing of creatures, both damned and graced, filled the room as they struggled with the chains on their bodies. Some screeched in pain as they touched the locks of their pens. All around, beakers, test tubes, and plastic tubings littered the place, along with books unreadable to humans and angels alike.  The lone figure at the center of the den hums to herself. Carefully reading a note in front of her, Monique daintily squeezed the tip of a plastic pipette. Emerald green liquid dripped into the corpse's exposed organs, burning where it touched.  "We lost five of the nobles and several of The Infected. Those who esca