My Soul card is a Reaper

Uriel's expression didn't change. "You have no choice. If you truly cared for her, you would understand that this is the only way. Hand her over, and I will ensure her peace. If you resist..." Uriel's voice trailed off ominously, the subtle implication hanging in the air.

Azzy stood there, weighing the situation, Claire's unconscious form still cradled in his arms. The light from his wings flickered, responding to his inner turmoil. His mind raced with conflicting thoughts, but one thing was certain—he wasn't about to let Uriel take her without a fight.

"I'm not handing her over to you," Azzy said firmly, his voice resolute. His wings flared behind his back as he lifted his head, eyes burning with determination. "With the sword of radiance, I can leave with Claire and go anywhere in the universe. You can't stop me, Uriel."

Uriel's gaze hardened, and for the first time, there was a hint of something resembling emotion in his eyes—something cold and calculating. "You won't. Not because you can't. But because you won't. Your wife and unborn child are nearby, aren't they? What would happen if, say, the moon over there were to crash onto the planet? I can't act directly, but I can create some patterns so that the crash will happen naturally."

Azzy froze, his body stiffening at the mention of Leiza and his unborn child, and the death threat on them.

Uriel's words were like ice in his veins. "I know everything about you, Azrael. The inheritor of Chronos. The one with the ability to bend time. The one who can escape fate itself. But I don't care about your affairs. I only care about the well-being of the universe. And for that, Claire must be extinguished. She cannot be allowed to exist. She is the final key to the rebirth of the Supreme Angel. And as long as she lives, the universe will remain in peril. It is for the greater good, Azrael."

Azzy's anger flared at Uriel's callous words. His hands shook, not from fear, but from the surge of power and fury bubbling within him. "You're insane," Azzy muttered, eyes blazing. "From childhood, I have learned something. The concept of *Greater Good* was created by the wise men in order to escape the sins committed for the sake of good. But let me tell you. It was nothing more than a sin. You're willing to kill Claire in the name of preventing the Supreme Angel from being born, but the truth is that you are killing an innocent human who hadn't done sins. As for this Supreme Angel, whether he is evil or not, you can only punish one when they had done evil or displayed the motivation of doing the evil act, not by speculation. Can you, an Archangel, be able to hold your head high for doing such a sinful act while claiming yourselves as the champions of righteous, truth, and justice?"

Uriel didn't flinch at Azzy's accusation. Instead, he replied. "I am the angel of wisdom and prophecy. I've seen what lies ahead, Azzy. I know the price of saving the universe. You, too, will come to understand that it is a price worth paying when you witness it yourself."

Azzy's heart felt like it was being torn apart. Every instinct screamed at him to protect Claire. "I won't let you have her," Azzy said quietly, his voice low but firm. "Not now. Not ever."

The silence between them was thick with the weight of what was to come.

Azzy stood there, facing Uriel, Claire still unconscious in his arms. The sword of radiance pulsed in his hand, a symbol of the power he possessed but also the burden he carried.

It was then that the Reaper's voice once again echoed in his head. "Azrael, time is running out. It's better for you to kill her right now and save her soul, rather than let Uriel kill her." The Reaper's voice was cold and detached as ever. "Even with the laws that bind Uriel's soul realm to the demigod realm, you cannot win. No matter what you do, even if you use all your powers—Jupiter's, Baphomet's, the cosmic jewels, none of them will stand against Uriel, because he is the master of patterns. He can see through every move of yours, Azrael. The only way to defeat him… is to kill Claire now, and absorb the jewel of light."

Azzy's blood ran cold at the Reaper's words. "No," He muttered, shaking his head. His voice cracked with emotion. "I won't do it. I can't."

But the Reaper's voice pressed on, relentless. "You think you have a choice? The future of the universe is at stake. Your love for her—your hesitation—it won't save anyone. It will only lead to more suffering. If you don't act now, everything will be lost. She will cease to exist, and the Supreme Angel will rise. And whatever follows it, the chaos in the universe, the deaths of billions, the war in the cosmos, you will be held responsible."

Azzy gritted his teeth. His mind spun with the horror of it all. He could understand what the Reaper was saying, what Uriel was trying to say, but his heart just refused to listen.

As he wrestled with the decision, a sudden voice echoed in his head. It wasn't the Reaper this time. It was a voice he hadn't heard in what felt like an eternity—Azrael—the remnant spirit of the clan founder.

"Azrael… there is a power within you that you haven't yet unlocked. It can give you the strength to challenge even an Archangel."

Azzy's breath caught in his throat. He knew what his founder was talking about. In fact, it is the very power that brought the founder to him. "The Protos energy."

Founder Azrael's remnant spirit agreed. "Yes, I stopped you back then, because I didn't wish to lose yourself. But right now, you aren't a mortal. You carry the divine bloodline of Baphomet, which should give you enough resistance against the Protos energy source. You can accept its power, but there will be a cost and we don't know what it will cost you, either."

His fingers tightened around the sword of radiance, his wings flaring out in a surge of power. The shimmering glow of the sword seemed to pulse in tune with his heartbeat, as if the weapon itself was aware of the monumental choice before him.

Azzy closed his eyes for a moment, inhaling deeply.

"Ancestor… if this is what I must do to save Claire…" Azzy whispered, his voice filled with determination. "Then I'll do it."

He concentrated on going back to that imprisoned space, where a dark mass of energy, looking just like him, is imprisoned by seals. He was about to proceed to unseal the Protos energy source to gain unlimited power, but before he could go through it, Azzy felt a sharp pain deep within his soul, his consciousness pulled away from the place. In a flash of light, the world around him twisted and turned, and suddenly, he found himself in a familiar place.

Azzy's spirit was yanked into his mindscape, where Vajra was lying around. This time, he isn't just inside his mindscape. He an Vajra, both were tied by some sort of energy chains.

However, as his consciousness is still connected to his body, he could see what was happening outside.

Meanwhile, on the outside, Uriel furrowed his brows, watching Azzy's eyes turned pitch white without any visible pupils and the atmosphere around him suddenly shifted. "This isn't a possession by the sword of radiance or Chronos. What is this power?" He couldn't help but wonder.

Then, the voice spoke through Azzy. "My Lord completely agrees with your analogy, Archangel. So, I'm going to help." Azzy's tone suddenly turned all distorted, taking Uriel by surprise. For someone who knows everything there is know about Azzy, or atleast that's what he thought so far, Uriel didn't expect such a turn of events.

In front of his very eyes, Tellus let go of the sword of radiance and raised his hand, turning it into a sharp adamantine metal.

With a single, swift motion, he reached out with a chilling, unnatural calmness and plunged the adamantine shard directly into Claire's chest. The impact was immediate, the force of the strike leaving no room for resistance.

Before Uriel could even react—before Claire could even get her consciousness back, she crumpled to the ground.

"No…" Azzy screamed, his voice echoing all over his mindscape.