Celestia

When I next awoke, I had believed my **** to be a dream, but as my eyes opened, they saw that I was in an unfamiliar place. That in itself wasn’t unusual, I was an adventurer, waking up in unfamiliar places was a hazard of the work. But this did not look like an inn’s room. There were tall, vaulted ceilings of a light grey stone that almost seemed to be carved into their shapes. The room was spacious with arched open windows, from which the sound of birds chirping could be heard, and a bed that was fit for a king.

When I stood up from the bed, I felt unusually spry. Taking a look at my naked form, I found myself looking smooth and perfectly clean. I crossed the room and happened upon a mirror built into the wall. I almost missed it because of the perfection of the reflective surface. If not for seeing my own self looking back at me, I might have assumed this was simply a doorway leading to another room.

I was even more surprised by the sight that greeted me within the mirror. Gone were the silver hairs and the wrinkles around my eyes. I looked as I did when I was at my physical peak, the prime of my adventuring days when I had only two decades under my belt instead of three. My grey eyes sparkled brightly, and my teeth were perfectly white, a sight I had never truly seen.

I suddenly became aware of the sound of running water. The room had two open archways leading out, one of them was opposite the bed and went out into a circular hall. However, the other arch led into where the sound was coming from. I could tell because of the dancing lights and shadows on the walls of the conjoined room that betrayed the presence of water. Curious, I stepped toward that archway and peered inside the room.

It looked to be a bath. A pair of angelic statues held up large pitchers from which poured a constant stream of water into a shallow pool below. But the scenery wasn’t what caught my eye, for sitting upon what appeared to be a short privacy wall that extended some ways around the pool, was the most beautiful woman I had ever laid eyes upon.

She was slender and fair skinned with long curtains of lilac-colored hair. Her most striking features, however, were the pair of fluffy white wings that extended from her back, and a pair of brilliant, glittering gold eyes. She was nude, and had I not been absolutely stunned by her beauty, I would have averted my gaze and apologized. Instead I stared and she quickly turned to meet my gaze.

The look on her face was not one of anger or even annoyance at my intrusion, in fact, she looked just as shocked to see me as I was to see her.

“Valke,” she said, shakily. She already knew my name. “It’s really you.” In that moment, I could see the faintest hint of moisture in her eyes, but I had no time to react to this development, as she quickly left her spot on the privacy wall and immediately threw herself at me, wrapping her arms around me in a tight embrace.

“Oh, well, hello,” I said, unsure of what more I should be saying. Her skin was impossibly smooth, and I felt some degree of embarrassment at her insistence to do this without clothing.

“It truly is you, Valke,” she said joyously, finally prying herself off me to look me in the eyes. “I have been waiting for this day to come my whole life, and finally you are here!”

“All right, all right,” I said putting my arms up and putting my hands on your shoulders. “I’m glad to know that you are so happy to see me, enough that it has moved you to tears, but I must confess I have no idea who you are, or what is even happening.” Even as I said this, though, there was something about her that was very familiar. It wasn’t how she looked, because I was certain I would have remembered a woman with lilac hair had I met one, but more how it felt to be near her.

“I’m sorry, of course, we’ve never actually met,” She said and smiled bashfully. “My name is Ceraphetia, and I am an attendant angel in your service. And welcome to your own personal home in Mesolise, the third ring of Celestia.”

“My own— this place is my home!?” I looked around, bewildered. The only two rooms I had thus far seen were already fit for nobility. As a man who had grown up an orphan and spent his entire adult life adventuring, I could have only dreamed of living in a place such as this.

Ceraphetia nodded. “I will explain everything to you, but first,” she began looking bashful again, “may I make a selfish request of you?”

I looked at her, at her flushed cheeks and glittering golden eyes, “What is it?” I asked.

“May I… may I kiss you?”

I blinked, “I think I would have to be mad not to accept such a request from a beautiful woman like yourself, and an angel no less.”

She smiled brightly, an expression that by proxy caused untold happiness in my heart just from seeing it. She threw her arms around my neck and leaned in, pressing her lips to mine. Just like her skin, her lips were smooth and soft, and with her chest pressed against mine I could feel her heartbeat hammering away. This woman was in love with me, deeply so, and yet I had never met her.

After our kiss, as promised, Ceraphetia led me back into the bedroom and explained everything. The judgement angels had a challenging time assessing my fate. While they had all universally agreed that my soul should not be damned to Abyssia, they did not know to what degree I deserved to be rewarded in my afterlife. There were some who believed that my martyrdom only barely permitted me access to Celestia in wake of all the blood I had shed, so I should only be allowed the bare minimum. On the other hand, there were others of the thirteen who believed that I should be rewarded handsomely, because giving one’s life to save another was the ultimate selfless act. It seemed to me that martyrdom was quite a controversial virtue.

Ultimately, it was Ceraphetia herself who managed to sway them, making the case that while my path had been one of bloodshed, it was only to survive at worst, and at best it was to help those less fortunate. I never asked for more than was necessary and was otherwise perfectly content to spend my days travelling the world.

“How do you know all of that?” I asked finally.

“Each attendant angel has their own mortal soul that they watch over. Like all other attendants, I was created at the same moment your soul came into existence, and I have been your silent watcher ever since then.”

Suddenly, her reaction to seeing me and desire to kiss me had made sense. She had spent her entire life watching me from afar and slowly falling in love with me. She had been there with me through all of my adventures, hoping that one day we would get to meet. Had I known that this was the case I certainly would have been more morally conscious, but I suppose that may have been the point.

“And,” she began, “even though I’m not sure if it will hold much meaning to you since I am still a stranger from your perspective, I was so proud of you for saving that girl, the proudest I had ever been.” She had a warm smile.

I shook my head. “It was not a purely selfless act, if I had simply let her die when I knew I could have at least tried to save her, my conscience would be tormented for the rest of my life. It wouldn’t be a life worth living.” I did my best to be humble in light of this praise.

Ceraphetia finishing off by saying that her own impassioned speech before the thirteen judgements was what convinced them to reward me better than the bare minimum. She explained that Celestia rewarded souls of the selfless in life by allowing them to be as selfish as they desired in **** and giving them an afterlife of comfort and freedom. Because of this they are granted a home, and the size of that home depended on the good deeds they performed. Those who barely managed to make it were permitted a small cottage or loft with which to live in with their Attendant. The most virtuous, by contrast, were granted castles complete with entire pseudo-kingdoms to rule.

“You have landed somewhere in the middle of the spectrum,” Ceraphetia said, guiding me over to one of the windows so I could peer out. I suddenly found myself overlooking a bustling town with lofty and open architecture similar to the structure of my home. “You are the lord of this town, named Dawn’s Rest.”

I didn’t know what to say, I simply stared in bewilderment at the town below. I had never imagined in my wildest dreams that something like this would be my paradise.

“That being said, you are not required to have a direct hand in guiding this town if you do not desire it. This is your paradise, after all, and the degree to which you lead its inhabitants is yours to decide. Almost any of the more challenging aspects of governing can be delegated to others.”

“I see.”

There was a silence as I contemplated this. My thoughts were racing in excitement at the possibilities.

“Cera, I have returned!” A new voice called through the door leading into the hall. Before long a figure had appeared in the archway.