As time passed, Val's corruption convinced him that Ace had harmed him on purpose.

  Val was able to calm himself enough to return home, maybe because now he had a clear goal in mind. The servant from before spotted Val and glared with a dejected look.

  Now that he had regained control over himself, he could finally reflect on what had happened in the last day. Once Val reached his own room, he sat on his bed and stared at nothing.

  What had just happened?

  His recollection of events was blurry, but clear enough to remember. Only now could he notice his unusual drive to find and explore, and he found it strange, even though in the moment it felt so natural. His face took an expression that suggested confusion; Alas, no answer could be found. He realized he knew much less than what he would like to know. Maybe he should read up on some of the books he had in his room. Thinking about them, Val turned his head sideways and gave a quick gaze toward his book collection. They were many, but less than half were actually read by him. Now was not the time to digress, though.

  Val returned to his thoughtful state of before. He was determined to 'defend himself'.

  By doing so, he would be assured that Ace would not harm him, nor any other angel.

  Val wanted to kill Ace.

  Val is an intelligent angel; He couldn't simply attack in broad daylight. His instinctual thoughts put pressure on finding a solution, preferring quickness over quality. This would have bothered Val in any other case, for example, if these new ideas were a separate person. But he seemed to agree with this.

  An idea quickly came to Val's mind. He would bring Ace to a secluded location, and after making him distracted, he would strike with a weapon. Val nodded with a hurried attitude, agreeing with himself. Returning from a state of deep thought, Val noticed his heavy and fast breathing, and calmed down a little. Upon deciding on a plan, he got up and headed to the kitchen.

  Though it was around lunch time, Val thought it was a good idea to head to the kitchen anyways.

  Ace had to be stopped immediately. Various servants and/or cooks were out and about, so Val tried to be stealthy. Right after, he slipped. His corrupt mind was making him as clumsy as ever.

  The servant was alerted; Val heard footsteps approaching. He silenced himself after realizing he was breathing heavily and in an irregular manner. Shhh.

  Val: [--]

  10 steps in, the servant halted. Was Val safe? He waited...

  After what felt like eternity, another servant came in from the rear entrance and distracted the imminent threat. Val was safe. But why was he hiding from the servants in his own house? If he nonchalantly strolled in and grabbed a knife, no one would bat an eye. Maybe it was because he didn't want to reveal his intentions, even though he knew no one would ask.

  He finally got a hold of a weapon. A simple knife, used for cutting vegetables, and or fruits. That would be far from the intention of its' next use. Apart from a knife, he also grabbed an apple, so to not raise suspicion against him.

  Val walked toward his room with a calm and composed posture, even though his heart was beating fast. A servant spotted him in the hall, but didn't think much of it since Val was also holding an apple. Seems like his trick worked. Upon entering his room, he searched for a way to conceal his weapon in public. He was able to find a larger coat than usual, and because of the hurry he had, he used that. With the coat on and the knife hidden, Val took a deep breath. He was now more in control than he has ever been since he opened that book. And still, he could not for the life of him suppress his violent instincts. It would take much more time to regain full control; Like learning to ride a bike, you are gonna fall the first times. But the level of difficulty of what Val was going through was like learning how to fly a plane without any instructions. He would learn to control it eventually.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Val walked fast. His breathing irregular. Though he was determined to kill Ace, who had caused hurt to an innocent angel, he couldn't yet realize that what he was doing was very wrong; The only thought that he had in his mind was that Ace had purposefully harmed him. And that meant that he had to return the favor and kill him. Even though his reasoning wasn't very logical, which for Val was extremely unusual, he couldn't help but give in to the intruder inside his head.

  Val stepped foot in the playground. He was blissfully ignorant about the consequences his actions would bring. Val spotted Ace, and walked faster. He would bring his victim in that alleyway with the nice gem shop, and then take his life. That was the 'rock solid' plan he had thought of-- He might be able to pull it off.

  Val: [there he is, that-- that bastard. he'll pay for what he did.]

  Val was about to kill another angel.

  When he had learned about violence, he didn't think of it neither as negative nor positive. He was quite neutral on the topic. He thought of it as something that is necessary in certain situations. Much like this one.

  Val was in talking range with Ace.

  Ace: [Woah there! Be careful around me, you might fall! Haha]

  Ace had no ill intention behind those words, just mere playfulness.

  Val let out a laugh, playing along with that comment, which frankly, he found quite offensive.

  Not for himself, but something someone sensible could be offended by.

  Val: [Hey, i need to tell you something, in private. Could you follow me?]

  Ace: [Uhh sure! I'll come with you.]

  Ace, like everyone else in heaven, did not know violence or anything related. This is something Val did not realize. This could not be seen as malicious by Ace, since maliciousness did not exist.

  Not far away, an angel of similar age, was observing the situation.

  ???: [--Huh.]

  He was considered the 'outcast'. Not because he was excluded by the others, but by his own decision. Others saw him as someone difficult to approach, or as someone who was weird.

  If he came up to them, they would not reject them or anything close to that. he would easily be accepted.

  The outcast, who had the name Echo, was the only one who saw the interaction between Ace and Val. Obviously, he didn't suspect Val of anything.

  Moving back to Val, him and Ace had almost reached the aforementioned alley. Val started gripping the handle of the knife firmly from within his coat. Val directed Ace until the end of the alley, where he stopped and slowly turned around. This was a dead end, and since the alley turned before this point, no one could see what would happen. Val's breathing became faster.

  Ace: [So, what was it you wanted to tell me about?]

  Val: [Yeah, so uhh..]

  Val pulled the knife out.

  Ace: [Oh, a knife? What do you need that for?]

  Not a sliver of fear could be heard from Ace's voice.

  He started looking around, quite confused.

  Ace: [Is there something you need help with that has to do with that?]

  Ace turned to look behind him, while speaking, probably searching the reason he was lured here.

  Ace: [Just tell me what it is and i'll help gladl--]

  Val stabbed Ace in the head.

  Blood started dripping from the wound, and Val's face showed anger.

  Ace was silenced immetiately.

  This was for his own safety. This was to protect himself and the people he cared for.

  This was for his own good. This was what he thought was best. This was what his instincts told him. A new doubt arose though;

  Were his instincts correct?