With the ceremony concluded earlier that night, Silas and Qetsiyah had entered the bridal chamber.
I followed them, of course—but not because I was a pervert. I followed because I knew what was going to happen.
What I was curious about was simple: Qetsiyah created the immortality elixir herself. If there were only two doses… how exactly was Silas planning to take them?
I honestly didn't have to wait long to find out.
Qetsiyah suddenly collapsed onto the bed, unconscious; if I had to guess, the wine was laced with a sleeping agent.
On the bedside table stood the serum that was prepared for them to drink.
Silas checked her breathing, making sure she was only asleep, then quickly took both bottles and left the room, moving fast toward the outskirts of the settlement.
I stepped into the Void and followed him.
— Silas POV —
After dealing with Qetsiyah, I quickly arrived at the prearranged meeting place. Amara was already there, pacing back and forth nervously.
She must have arrived early.
"Amara," I said, walking toward her. "I succeeded, my love. Now we can be together for all eternity."
She froze when she heard that.
"Silas… is it really done? I'm still not sure if this is right…"
"Amara," I said softly, holding her shoulders, "look at me. You are the one I love. We will be together forever. Don't you want that?"
"Of course I want it," she said quietly. "But Lady Qetsiyah—"
"Love," I interrupted gently, "she is no longer your lady. And now that we have this chance… we cannot turn back."
She looked at the bottles, then at me. I saw the moment her hesitation broke.
She took a deep breath.
"You're right," she said. "Let's do it."
We opened the bottles and drank.
The change was immediate.
I could feel it. Nature no longer held a leash on me. Death had never felt so far away. My mind felt better, sharper, stronger.
It worked.
It actually worked.
After a few minutes, the transition stabilises. I interlocked my fingers with Amara's, and we smiled at each other.
We had succeeded.
Or at least… that's what I thought.
"Well, well," a voice came from behind me: "now that this is done, it's time for judgement."
I turned around instantly.
I didn't even see him move.
The only thing I felt was the metallic touch of something sharp carving across my face, leaving a long, burning wound. Before I could react, two more strikes followed, crossing my chest and forming an X.
The pain—
The pain that followed nearly broke me.
It wasn't just physical pain. It felt like something was tearing at the deepest part of my existence. Like my soul itself was being cut open.
I dropped to my knees.
I felt Amara grab me, trying to support me, and it was that warmth that gave me the strength to look up.
Floating a few centimetres above the ground was a man with wings, holding an ancient sword.
I recognised him immediately.
Michael.
He looked at me as if I were an insect.
And then everything went dark.
The last thing I heard before losing consciousness was Amara screaming.
— Michael's POV —
Watching Silas and Amara meet in the forest, clearly having planned every step carefully, did not surprise me very much. If they were capable of scheming for immortality itself, then planning a theft and escape was well within their abilities. It was probably Silas who arranged everything.
Amara did not seem like the type. Especially now, as she paced back and forth, clearly nervous and anxious.
I waited for them to finish their conversation before taking action.
As for why I decided to act, the answer was simple. Part of it was a gift for Qetsiyah—and perhaps an apology, even if she would never know it. The other part was judgement.
Silas had committed betrayal, theft of immortality, and destruction of natural order out of selfish desire. By any standard, human or divine, that was a sin.
And I am an archangel.
Judgement is part of my nature.
Even if I could not kill Silas, my sword—the sword that kills souls and immortals—would still serve its purpose. My other abilities could no longer kill him now that he had become a true immortal since they were not at their full power, and the sword itself was sealed, so I could not erase him completely right now and probably in the near future as well.
But I could still injure him.
And not the kind of injury that heals.
The kind that remains.
For a lifetime.
For an immortal… That's a very long time.
As for why I chose to intervene now, even though I had decided to mostly observe, the answer was time.
In the original timeline, Silas and Amara escaped. Qetsiyah spent years—maybe decades—creating the Cure, creating the Other Side, capturing Amara, and burying Silas alive.
All I was doing now… was saving time.
The future would remain the same. Vampires would still be born. The Other Side would still be created. Doppelgängers would still exist.
But I would accelerate the process.
And if I helped Qetsiyah create the Cure and the Other Side, I would gain synchronisation. Especially the Other Side—it was very similar to Hell. Just another dimension created to contain souls.
So in the end, this was both judgement… and efficiency.
As I watched Silas and Amara finish drinking the elixir and hold hands while the nature around them was like an enraged mum who had just been defied of her orders, believing they had succeeded, I stepped out of the void and appeared behind Silas.
Looking at his joyful expression made me smile slightly when I imagined what he would look like in a few seconds.
"Well, well," I said, my voice clear in the silent forest. "Now that this is done, it's time for judgement."
I summoned my sword. In its current sealed state, it looked ordinary—old, slightly rusted, and nothing special.
Then I slashed.
Silas barely managed to turn around before the blade carved across his face. Two more slashes followed across his chest, forming an X.
Three slashes were enough.
The wounds did not bleed like normal injuries. Instead, faint golden light remained inside the cuts, forming a clear cross-shaped mark across Silas's face and chest.
He screamed, but the sound was not just from pain. The wound was not on his body.
It was on his soul.
"The Cross of Michael," I said calmly, looking down at him. "A mark carried by those who have been judged and found guilty."
The golden lines burnt slowly into his existence, not healing, not fading, branding him in a way immortality could not erase.
"This mark is not a wound," I continued. "It is a sentence."
Silas tried to speak, but the moment he attempted to lie, the mark glowed and he screamed again, his voice breaking into a hoarse cry.
"It will not kill you," I said. "Death would be mercy. This mark will remain on your soul for all eternity."
I looked directly into his eyes.
"You will feel pain when you break balance.
You will feel pain when you take innocent life.
You will feel pain when you lie in my presence.
And no matter where you go in this world… I will always be able to find you."
The golden cross slowly dimmed, but it did not disappear. It sank beneath his skin, into something deeper, something that would follow him forever.
"This is my judgement," I said. "Carry it for the rest of your immortal life."
He collapsed completely after that, his body unable to endure the pain of a wound that could not heal and a mark that could not be removed. This mark was one of the benefits of the new memory that I received when I reached 10%.
It was simplified from the real cross of Michael in my memories, but it still did its work, so I am pleased. As for using the real deal, don't joke; this technique is probably something I will find challenging to use even 2000 years later; it is considered one of the high-end skills.
Then I looked at Amara.
She was holding him, protecting him, looking at me in pure horror.
"What kind of monster are you?" she asked, staring at my wings.
"For you, Amara," I said calmly, "I am the worst kind."
I slashed once.
The blade cut across her face, leaving a scar that would never heal.
It pained me slightly to destroy such beauty—but my reasoning was simple.
To suffer a little in my hands… was to suffer less in Qetsiyah's.
Because Qetsiyah's revenge would be far worse than anything I could do to them tonight.