My Soul card is a Reaper

Claire's voice was resolute. "Yes, Azzy. It is as simple as that."

Azzy stood there, his entire being demanding that he refuse to believe it. His fists clenched at his sides, his divine aura fluctuating with his emotions.

But then… he saw it.

A single tear, slipping from the corner of her eye.

She turned away quickly, her golden hair cascading like a veil, but it was too late. Azzy had already seen the truth.

His voice was calm, but it carried a depth that cut through her defenses like a blade.

"Then why are you crying?"

Claire froze. She reached out to the tear drop on her cheek and wiped it away.

Azzy took a step forward. His tone softened, but his words hit harder than any battle they had fought.

"Just admit it. You still love me."

She trembled slightly, but didn't turn around.

"I've already shown you my strength. Whatever is holding you back, whatever burdens you carry, you don't have to bear them alone." His voice held an unwavering conviction. "I will help you, Claire. I will stand by your side. All you have to do is believe in me."

For a moment, just a moment, her walls cracked. Her shoulders tensed, her breath hitched, and Azzy could almost feel her inner conflict.

But then, like a sudden storm, she hardened herself.

She turned back, her golden eyes cold once again. Her face was impassive, yet her voice was filled with a quiet fury. "No. I don't love you anymore."

Azzy felt like the wind had been knocked out of him.

But Claire wasn't done. "And even if there was anything left in my heart, I have no intention of being with you again."

Azzy staggered internally, but his face remained unreadable.

Claire's gaze was unwavering now. She had made her decision. "I am the daughter of Archangel Michael. I have my own path to walk. My own goals." She took a deep breath. "And I have chosen a life of celibacy."

Azzy's eyes widened slightly. "Celibacy?"

She nodded firmly. "I have ascended to a demigod. If I wanted to return to you, I would have. But I didn't. That alone should tell you where my heart stands."

Each word felt like a dagger to his soul.

She wasn't just rejecting him.

She was severing every last connection between them.

"Move on, Azzy." Her voice carried a chilling finality. "Live your life. Stay away from me."

Azzy felt numb.

But Claire wasn't finished. She stepped closer, her golden aura flaring with an unshakable resolve. "And hear me well, Azrael Crescent Garcia."

She had never used his full name like that before.

"If you ever interfere with my path… if you ever set foot in the Angel World again—" her voice turned sharp, laced with warning— "I will have no choice but to call upon my master… to imprison you."

Silence descended upon them.

Azzy's heartbeat thundered in his ears. Even the air felt heavy with the weight of her words.

But then, something sinister stirred.

In the depths of his mind, a cold, ancient voice whispered. "Kill her."

Azzy's eyes darkened for a brief second. "Throw her into the reincarnation cycle. Destroy the Supreme Angel's soul fragment before it grows beyond control." The Reaper's voice slithered through his consciousness, urging him to do what must be done.

But Azzy didn't flinch. He ignored the voice. He shut it out.

No matter what…

He would never harm Claire.

Even if she was the one breaking him apart piece by piece.

Claire walked past Azzy without another glance, her presence commanding the heavens themselves. With a mere motion of her fingers, a pillar of light erupted from the sky, descending upon Abaddon's lifeless body. The divine energy encased the fallen angel like a cage forged by celestial will.

Azzy remained still, his expression unreadable. His hands clenched at his sides, his knuckles turning white. He wanted to speak—to say something, anything—that could turn back time, that could rewrite what had just happened between them. But what was left to say?

Instead, he spoke words that weren't for his own heart, but for hers. "I'm sorry."

Claire's fingers faltered mid-air. The golden radiance in her hands flickered slightly.

Before she could respond, a dark, ethereal mist seeped from Abaddon's corpse, swirling in the air like liquid smoke. The Jinn—the true source of Abaddon's corruption—emerged from the fallen angel's remains.

Its hollow, piercing eyes stared at Azzy for a moment before it silently returned to him, vanishing into the depths of his mindscape.

Claire's breath caught in her throat.

She turned sharply to Azzy, her divine senses scanning the remains of the being she had come to subdue. What she saw made her blood run cold—Abaddon was nothing but a corpse. The entity that had once been a great and terrible force was now nothing more than an empty husk.

Her golden eyes flicked back to Azzy, demanding an answer.

But he gave her none. His face was carved from stone, his gaze steady but distant. Instead of an explanation, he simply said, "Do me a favor on the account we were once friends."

Claire narrowed her eyes. Azzy continued, his voice unnervingly quiet, like the remnants of a fading dream. "When you return… tell my teammates and your disciple that I'm dead."

A tense silence stretched between them. Claire stood frozen, her hands curled into trembling fists. For years, she had believed she was prepared for this. That if he ever found her, she would have the strength to turn away, to cut him from her life like a blade slicing through fate itself.

But nothing had prepared her for the ache in her chest.

Still, she refused to falter. Her answer was a barely audible whisper, carried away by the wind. "I will."

Azzy gave her one last glance—one last, lingering look—as if trying to memorize everything about her.

Then, without another word, he turned and flew away.

Claire watched his silhouette disappear into the rain-heavy sky.

The moment he was gone, the dam broke. Tears slipped from her eyes, tracing delicate paths down her pale cheeks. She didn't wipe them away. She let them fall, vanishing into the storm.

Her lips parted, a whisper lost in the downpour. "It's too late, Azzy. Even if I wanted to go back… my destiny is sealed."

Somewhere deep within her, in the sacred space where her soul and divinity intertwined, she felt it—the Creator's soul fragment growing stronger. The final, irreversible step of her ascension was nearing.

The path she had chosen was no longer just hers to walk. She couldn't turn back anymore.

Even if she still loved him.

Even if she had never stopped.