"Kid, I will only tell you this once! DO. NOT. TOUCH. ANYTHING. DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME!? I have no obligation to get you out of here alive in the event that you set off a trap!"

"Yes sir!"

This guy is so mean! I'm not an idiot! Of course you don't touch random objects in a crypt! That’s like, the first rule of adventuring!

*mutter* "Why'd I even let her convince me to bring her along? She's just dead weight..."

...I'll just pretend I didn't hear that.

Idiot.

"Hey, mister Travis! I found a slab with writing on it! For real this time!"

"I told you, there are NO SLA- nevermind I guess there is one. Hmmm..."

"...what's it say?"

"Well... lemme write it down for you. It's a bit weird."

When a worthy subject kneels before the throne

With a blade from time immemorial placed upon it

The Lord of Balance shall rise

The evils that walk upon the Earth shall be struck down

The Dragons shall sound out their final cry

The Rivers shall run Red with blood

And from the rui-s wi- -come f-rth a ne- era of -----

"At least, I think that's what it says. The language used is a bit different from ours, but close enough to be readable. The bottom’s a bit scuffed though."

"Ooooh! A prophecy!"

"Slow down kid! For all we know, this thing isn't even real! Or worse, this 'lord of balance' is actually an ancient evil that's sealed in the throne over there, and this 'prophecy' was just made to trick some chumps into releasing 'em! Especially with how much it emphasizes them killing things."

"But it's so cool! And it specifically mentions striking down evil! This is for the good of the world!"

"No."

"Hmph!"

Who cares what he says anyways! I'm totally gonna do this when he's gone, that'll show him!

"Kid, if I wake up and you aren't here, you're going to be banned from coming along with me again."

"Mhm! I understand."

This idiot will never know what hit 'im!

Just gotta... set this here...

And once I kneel here, it should work, right? I'm obviously worthy, since I actually found the prophecy!

...Here goes nothing!

...

I said, here goes nothing!

*cricket noises*

"Dang it..."

I was so sure it'd work too...

...Guess I'll just go sleep then.

Hmmm... a dream? I don't usually have dreams. Where is this anyways? I don't think people usually dream of endless white voids.

"E-excuse me? Could you tell me who you are? A-are you real? Please tell me you're real... It has been so long since I last talked to someone..."

"Eeek!"

"I'm sorry... I guess I'm still scary, even when I'm not trying to be..." *droop*¹This was originally in reference to a scrapped character detail, back when this was still an isekai. I kept it in because of the obligatory 'be not afraid' joke.

NoNoNoDon'tMakeThePrettyAngelLadySad

"No! You're very beautiful! And my name is Azrael! My dream is to be an adventurer!"

"B-beautiful? ...No one's ever called me that before...
...Azrael? Were you named that because of your black wings?"

"Why would you think that?"

"I-it is the name of the angel of death, is it not? Though, I could very well be mistaken... I-I'm sorry if I am being presumptuous!"

"Really!? I didn't know my name was that cool! What's yours?"

"...I- I would tell you, b- but..."

*drip*

"...i- it's been so long that I don't even remember it anymore..." *sob*

"O-oh... I'm sorry... W-would you like me to give you a name?

*brighten* "Yes! Thankyouthankyouthankyo-"

Gah! WHY DOES SHE GLOW!?

"I haven't even given it to you yet, calm down!"

"O-oh... okay..." *droop*

I'll have to hurry, I don't think my heart can take much more of her sad face.

Hmmm... she looks like an angel... Seriel? Nah. Auriel? ...maybe. Ooh, what about-²Seriel is an alternate spelling of Sariel, while Auriel is an alternate spelling of Uriel. Azrael does not know this, and is just coming up with names that end with -iel.

"Remiel! Your name shall henceforth be Remiel!"

"...’God shall have mercy’?"³The Archangel Remiel (also known as Jeremiel) is the Archangel of Hope. His name means ‘God shall have mercy’. Do not confuse Remiel with Ramiel. That doesn’t end well.

"Wait, that's what that means? I was just coming up with names that sounded like angel na-"

*hug* "I love it! Thank you!"

"Y-you're we-"

"-lcome."

...was that all real? I hope it was. The alternative is that I’m actually insane.

"So you actually listened to me, kid. I never woulda' thought that you were capable of behaving."

"Hey! That is an affront on my honor!”

“Heh, I’m just messing with ya’.”

“…it wasn’t amusing.”

“Fine, fine. Let’s get outta here.”

…why’s my hand so itc- oh. Pretty sure that wasn’t there before.

What the hell is that?

Hmm… it does look pretty cool…

I’m fine with this!

Might have to get a glove though.

And I'm back!

"I'm HOOOMMMEE!"

...good, no one answered.

I do live alone, so if someone did answer, it'd be a problem.

...Well, I guess I might not be living alone anymore, if that whole thing wasn't a dream.

"How does this work anyways? Do I just... will Remiel to appear?"

*plop*  "uuuuuu..." *crying*

"W-wait, please don't cry, why are you crying!?"

"I- I thought I w-was alone again..."

Yeah, maybe that wouldn't be the best experience...

*hug* "I won't leave again, don't worry..."

*sniffle* "...okay..."

"...are you alright no-"

Nevermind, she's fallen asleep.

Insomniologist

You might be wondering what the hell is going on here. Well, it all started when I was writing a chapter of my other story, and I thought about trying to write in the MC there only having one friend her age. The idea kept evolving and devolving until it basically had no resemblance to the original idea. Unfortunately, I ended up a bit too attached to the characters I had just spent the better part of three weeks making, and now this is a thing. A thing that not even I asked for. But, as they say, "The show must go on", and go on it shall. Since I have an actual idea of what the story is going to be, I should be able to get at least one chapter out every week. Hopefully. Here's Remiel and Azrael if you're wondering what they look like (I got surprisingly lucky with the AI and didn't want to ruin them by actually drawing something myself. And, yes. Remiel's skin is supposed to be that pale.)

Insomniologist