He came to again, this time plunging into pleasantly warm water. Disoriented, he quickly realized where he was: the same lake as before.

  Did I die again? The thought flashed through his mind as he dragged himself, soaking wet, onto the shore. Behind him, he saw beams of Light among countless bodies. Waiting on the bank was Raphael.

  “Welcome back, reborn guardian. May your Light shine true! You can return to your barracks now,” Raphael announced.

  As he finished speaking, a small glowing Lumion floated down to Viktor.

  So, it comes back on its own.

  “And may yours shine true as well!” Viktor said. “But I have no idea where my barracks are, or how to get there.”

  Raphael looked at him, about to reply, but Elion came running over.

  “May your Light shine true, Raphael. Sorry, we were sent straight to the Fifth Gate and there was no time to show our new arrival how things work,” he explained.

  Raphael nodded in understanding. “And may yours shine true as well.”

  “Come on,” Elion said, beckoning to Viktor. “I figured your rebirth would be quick, and I was right. Exactly twenty-eight hours. Let’s talk in the barracks.”

  They walked together to the same doors as before. The city felt different now: quieter. The streets were emptier, and people moved with their heads bowed. When Viktor looked up, he could hardly believe his eyes. The blue Light above the city now had a reddish tint, and tiny yellow sparks drifted down, fading as they fell.

  “It’s bad,” Elion said as they entered the barracks.

  At the counter, Elion ordered honey-glazed rabbit and a large jug of beer, then headed to an empty table. Viktor chose a ham baguette and a beer as well. They sat and started eating. Viktor, irritated and lost in thought, set down what remained of his meal and said, “The food tastes different from yesterday... I mean, it’s good, but...”

  Elion’s face fell. “What you have before you isn’t real food. It’s Light from the Heavens, recharging us. Now that the Light is weakened, you can taste the difference. But finish your plate, then we’ll talk.”

  They ate in silence for a while. Finally, Elion spoke: “It was a massacre. We don’t know exactly how it happened. Things were already bad, and then word came that Archangel Sandalphon had fallen. An entire front collapsed. After that, it was all downhill; they took every fortress, one by one.”

  Viktor's brow furrowed. “So why did you run and leave us there?”

  Elion looked down, head slowly shaking. “The battle was lost, and the captain did what he thought was best. To help you understand, let me explain how the Light you see everywhere works.”

  Viktor nodded, holding his breath.

  “It's a force from the heavenly Kingdom that connects the worlds beyond the Gates and is linked to the lakes. The more lakes and Gates we control, the stronger the Light is, and the faster rebirth is at the lakes. When a soldier falls, their soul is bound to the regeneration lakes we control, and after death, they're reborn at the nearest lake.”

  Yes, I fell into that water already twice. Viktor frowned. “Regeneration lakes? Aren't those the Lakes of Resurrection?”

  “Reincarnation, regeneration, rebirth, we call it all kinds of things. Even the 'healing' has a dozen names. If you want to get technical, the lakes themselves have very little to do with actual rebirth.”

  Viktor leaned forward slightly, elbows on the table.

  “It's the Light, like a tree, with bodies growing from it, that brings you back.” Elion pointed upward.

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  Viktor followed his gesture, thinking of the hanging bodies he'd seen. He was steady and focused; he wanted to absorb all the information the lieutenant gave him. It felt like a training session in the world of the living.

  “All of them are connected by the great blue Light above us. There’s something else that affects how long rebirth takes: the power of the fallen. There are certain conditions you have to meet to awaken the angelic power that lies dormant in each of us. I only know the ones for awakening a halo, and I’ve been here almost a thousand years.”

  “What are they?” Viktor asked.

  “I can’t tell you; you have to discover that for yourself. The stronger you are, the harder it is for the Light to recreate you, and the longer the process takes. Losing the Fifth Gate and its lakes made things even worse.”

  “So he saved you to conserve resources for regenerating the others?”

  Elion smiled. “Precisely!”

  Viktor's voice hardened: “He’s an angel and a captain! Couldn’t you have stayed and fought?”

  Elion sighed again. “Even if we’d combined all our strength, we couldn’t have beaten Azazel. To take down a demon like that, you need an archangel or dozens of high angels.”

  Viktor lowered his head. He finally understood. The captain had tried to make the best of a bad situation and made the only logical choice.

  “Why did they close the doors on us? We could have retreated too!”

  Elion shook his head. “I don’t mean to diminish you, but the risk of leaving the doors open and giving the demons a shortcut to the Gate was too great. It wasn’t worth it to save only a few guardians.”

  Viktor's jaw tightened. “Why? Are we worthless?”

  “No,” Regret weighted Elion's voice. “We're all extremely important here. But guardians die most and are reborn fastest without spending much resources. I'm sorry, but that's the reality.”

  So even here the hierarchy is clear, and I'm on the expendable list.

  His fists tightened on the wooden table. “How long does it take for the others?”

  Elion continued, “Our squad members will need at least one to two months to reincarnate. My own regeneration would take more than a year.”

  “An entire year?” Viktor blurted.

  Elion nodded. “The stronger you are, the longer it takes. With the current state of the Light, I estimate angels recover in nearly two decades, high angels in more than a hundred years, and archangels take centuries.”

  “Centuries?” Viktor's eyes widened. “Then the cost of Light to recreate them must be truly incredible compared to others.”

  “That's right!” Elion said. “That's why it's so important for you to start training as soon as possible. But I've never heard of a human soul reaching higher than the level of an angel, which is already an incredible feat, to reach the rank of captain. Just to give you an idea: there are only ten defending archangels left in the city.”

  “Defending?” Viktor's brow furrowed.

  “Yes, there are others, but they have tasks assigned by the Father that they must fulfill elsewhere. You can read about them in the Great Library in the main tower when you have time. That’s not really my area.”

  “So Sandalphon won’t be battle-ready for hundreds of years?”

  “No,” Elion said sadly. “That’s the worst part. The forces of Hell don’t try to kill the archangels. They drag them down to Hell.”

  Viktor's gaze intensified. “Are they trying to torture them?”

  “They can only imprison them.” A shadow crossed Elion's face. He shook his head. “But that’s not the topic for today. Start with training. Later, we’ll go over the hierarchy and the size of our forces.”

  “So let me make sure I understand,” Viktor said, working through it. “The blue Light that looks like a tree connects everything here. It provides energy as food, recharging us like a giant battery. The weaker the energy, the weaker the taste and strength of the food.” Viktor looked at Elion thoughtfully. “I need to train and reach certain unknown milestones to awaken angelic powers within me? The first is the halo, which comes with the rank of lieutenant?”

  "Yes!" Elion beamed.

  “What does it take to become a captain? Do I have to grow angel wings?” He grabbed his mug and drank from it.

  Elion leaned forward. “A few people have managed that. They don’t grow directly, but somehow emerge from the Light that gives you your armor.”

  “From the Light?” Viktor straightened.

  Elion nodded. “When my halo awakened, my gear and weapons changed with it. It’s different for everyone; it all depends on what’s inside you, on how you see yourself. I can’t say exactly how it works, but when my halo appeared, I gained an ax as well.”

  Viktor's gaze drifted upward, his mind already wandering.

  I wonder what my other weapon would be.

  “Your protection and weapons will evolve with each new stage of your growth, gaining new abilities and power. The more angelic potential you unlock, the brighter and more impressive your Light becomes. You’ve probably noticed that the captain’s equipment is much more majestic than mine, and mine stands out more than yours.” Elion’s face brightened.

  Viktor nodded. “That’s pretty hard to miss.”

  Elion chuckled. “And just imagine the radiant gear of the high angels and archangels!”

  He glanced around the room before continuing, “Anyway, I think that’s more than enough information for one day. Take some time to look around; this is your home now. Get to know the others, play some chess, my favorite Hnefatafl, or any other activities you like. Feel free to explore. But for now, come on, let me show you your room.” The chair creaked under him as he stood up.