[Syliar’s point of view]

Michael’s Academy was quite far away from my family’s house. I had to fly at a speed of over 28 Mach and even slow down time a bit so I wouldn’t be late. Father made sure the ball would keep up with me no matter what, and as long as I didn’t decide to simply warp around the place, the sphere of light would constantly stay a few meters or so in front of me.

I flew at a high altitude too because I did not want to smash into any unsuspecting angelions or airplanes. Unlike in the mortal worlds, in this Universe, divine matter was tangible. The only thing that would have probably survived a direct impact with me would have been an energy shielded spaceship.

The sky had turned from blue to orange, showing the approach of night. I slowed down by applying some angelion magic energy and spreading my wings as far as I could. Thus, my speed went from hypersonic to subsonic in a matter of seconds.

Each academy had its own specific model, most likely influenced by the headmaster’s taste. Some were utterly demonic in appearance, holding even their very own graveyards. On the other hand, the angel ones were more or less a puke bucket for a demon. They had all sort of frills and cutesy items decorating them. I went to one of those, a decision I regretted even today.

The one Michael went to was remarkably similar to a human one. To be more specific, a typical European one from the XXI century without any specific characteristics to it. Honestly, if I did not know it was actually an academy, I would have mistaken it for a five stories high apartment building complex.

As I began to descend, I flew over it, led by my father’s guiding sphere of light. Looking down, I noticed there were still some kids around the campus, most likely because of clubs. The way I knew they were not adults was thanks to the color of their wings. They were gray. Any angelion who had yet to pick the type they wanted to become had gray wings.

I ignored them and continued to fly.

“Strike!” shouted one of the kids from the playing ground.

The bloody ball flew straight at me, but I managed to grab it with ease before it hit me on the head. I stopped in mid-fight and looked down at the brat who dared to target me.

“Sorry!” he shouted back.

Smirking, I threw the ball back, but I used just little bit of demonic energy to propel it. As a result, the ball exploded on impact, creating a small crater in the middle of their playing field.

“Next time, I’ll hit you in the face and drag you through an acid bath!” I shouted back at him, and boy did it feel good!

The kid gulped and nodded; no doubt scared by my display of power. As for the destruction I caused, well, they were angelions, if they couldn’t even fix a small pothole in their playing field, they were doomed to fail on day one of school.

As I continued my flight, I saw the sphere of light descending. It led me towards a single cherry tree on top of the tallest hill near the Academy. It was blooming, and the pink petals gave it a relaxing and pleasant view. It was utterly disgusting if you asked me.

The sphere vanished next to the tree. I landed and folded my wings.

“This must be the place.” I said as I placed my hand on the tree and looked around for him.

I couldn’t see him, but at least I made sure not to corrode the plant with my demonic energy. Michael wouldn’t have liked it if I did that.

Letting out a sigh, I looked up through the branches. A soft gust of wind blew through and gathered some of the loose petals. I watched the dance of colors as it flew farther and farther away from me.

“Will he really come?” I asked myself.

My heart clenched at the thought of him not showing up, but I didn’t lose hope yet. I let out a long sigh and waited for him.

Seconds turned to minutes and even if they dared to turn into hours, I would still be there, waiting for him, praying that he would soon grace me with his presence.

It felt like an eternity had passed since I last saw him.

Could there have been any way to describe the longing, the hope, the pain, the worry in my heart in these moments? Despite my power, despite my rank, I felt utterly hopeless in front of the upcoming event. There was no way for me to change it or influence it in any way for the better, but no matter how and in which manner it would end, I knew that I would finally have a definite and clear answer regarding my future together with my Soul Mate. Even so, I hoped it would be a good one.

I closed my eyes and let out a deep sigh. The sun was about to set, it was beautiful, but sitting there, alone, it was painful.

I felt forgotten.

Suddenly, I heard motion and felt another presence approaching me, it was a familiar one, but I didn’t know who it was. I wanted to open my eyes, but I feared it might not have been him. I clenched my jaw and fists, refusing to take a look.

The stranger stopped on the other side of the tree.

“You came...” he said with the same voice as that of the human Michael Kunosagi Asakura, no doubt he made it sound like that just to make me feel a bit familiar with him.

Hearing him made my heart skip a beat and scream in relief.

He’s here! Michael is here!

I opened my eyes and looked to my right. The only thing I could see were his beautiful angel wings spread about and embracing the area around me in a calming and peaceful light. As a demoness, I should have felt repulsed by it, utterly disgusted, or annoyed, but what I felt was a relaxing and peaceful feeling. My reaction in itself was my second sign that the one who stood here was indeed my Soul Mate and not someone else, an impostor.

“You are here...” I said with a trembling voice, but it wasn’t the one I used with my family, it was that of the human woman I used as host back then.

I felt so weird. So many emotions exploded in my heart, so many thoughts flooded my mind. After millions of years of not having seen or heard of him since we last spoke in the mortal world, I could finally hear his voice and feel his presence so close to me. For a moment, it felt as though that would be enough. I was happy, so happy that nothing else actually mattered anymore.

“When we met...” he started to talk, and I leaned with my back on the tree, listening to the sound of his calm voice, “you told me your name was Syliar Heartbreaker. Is that your angelion name?”

“Yes... Erm... what’s yours?” I asked as I closed my eyes.

“Serenor Whitesky... It’s funny, but I also have a name made of two English words.” he said with a soft laugh at the end.

“It’s beautiful.” I replied.

“Thank you.” he said, and a strange, calming silence formed between us.

A minute or so passed before either of us made a move, but the first to do so was him.

He walked around the tree and stepped in front of me. He was a bit changed when compared to the last time I saw him, more handsome and overall attractive. His eyes were of a stunning blue; his hair golden with white locks intertwined; he was my height and slim, with an athletic constitution.

“Syliar, I left without saying a word to you... I was confused and for that, I apologize.” he told me as he bowed his head down.

“You are forgiven, Serenor.” I said softly as I lifted his chin up.

“You, you really are my Soul Mate, aren’t you?” he asked with a bit of worry in his eyes.

Did he not know how to differentiate a normal soul from his one true Soul Mate or was he simply confused, overwhelmed just like I was?

Looking into his eyes, I didn’t know what to answer, so I did the first thing that came to my mind. I moved my hands over his shoulders and pulled him closer to me. He spread his wings but didn’t resist the pull. I spread my wings as well, and I parted my lips. Our eyes were locked, and we could not resist anymore. His hands moved around my waist and pulled himself closer.

“Yes...” I purred and then our lips touched.

We closed our eyes and savored the beautiful kiss. His wings wrapped around me and mine around him. In that sweet moment, in that gentle embrace, we savored our first real kiss ever since we met. There was no fear, no worry, nothing to stop it, and through it, we shared our feelings for each other. He was both worried and longing for me just like I did for him. His presence and energy told me how much he desired me in his arms just like mine did.

I had no idea how long we stayed like that, kissing each other, just savoring the moment of our reunion after such a long time. Honestly, I didn’t care and neither did he.

When our lips finally parted, we looked in each other’s eyes. We were entranced, mesmerized, but at the same time, we were happy. Although I could not read his mind, I knew the same must have been true for him. The embrace and kiss were not only felt by me to that exhilarating extent, but by him as well.

“You know...” I said with my real angelion voice “A long time ago, when I was still in the academy, my teacher asked me: Do you know why even a demon has a Soul Mate?”

“What did you answer?” he asked me with his real voice as he leaned close and grazed my lips with his own, so feverish was his desire to kiss me again.

I didn’t deny him a kiss and let him conquer my lips.

When it was over, I giggled “I shook my head, I didn’t know the reply because I simply didn’t know the answer. I didn’t know for an exceptionally long time, but now I do...” I told him and then looked up at the cherry petals.

The wind blew graciously through the branches, creating a most wonderful sight for us to behold.

“Every soul in existence has a Soul Mate, even a demon, no matter how dark and evil he or she might be. The reason is simple: every soul is entitled to feel love. While a demon naturally rejects God’s love, it cannot, under any circumstances, deny or forfeit their Soul Mate’s love. It’s so beautiful, so strong, so powerful that even in the darkest of nights, and in the most nightmarish of Hell’s realms, they will always find it like a beautiful bright beacon of light, always pulsing towards them, guiding them to meet the one they wish to be embraced and loved by. When God created us, that was the reason why he didn’t destroy us and created an entire Universe made only of light and love, because what use was there for love when it couldn’t even calm and tame the most heinous of dark hearts?” I said as I finished my tale.

“Syliar, there is no need to deny the feelings in my heart. Even back when I was the mortal Michael Asakura Kunosagi, I know that I must have fallen in love with you at one moment. No matter how dark and evil you might have appeared to others, I know that, deep down, in my heart, I loved you.” he confessed, and his words simply brought me to tears.

“Then don’t... Serenor, I want to be with you, now and forever! I love you!” I confessed.

“Then may this moment mark the eternity we are about to spend together, Syliar!” he declared.

I smiled to his sweet words and then kissed him.

Finally, after all the pain and agony I went through, my wish, my desire was fulfilled. There was no need for me to search and worry anymore, there was no need to fear an eternity of loneliness because Serenor helped me cast aside all of those doubts and negative emotions. Right there, in my arms, in my embrace, he decided of his own free will to stay by my side.

We had no idea what sort of future was in store for the two of us. Maybe we would be forced to move into this Universe. Maybe I would need to reduce the size of my Kingdom and let one of my idiotic Demon Lords have a piece of it. Maybe there would be times when for periods of millions of years, we wouldn’t be able to see each other, but it wouldn’t matter because from now on, in every moment of our eternal existence, we would know that our beloved and precious Soul Mate waited for our return.

“Serenor, I love you...”

“I love you too, Syliar.”

Our search had come to an end, from now on, there was only love...