The king opened his eyes to see there was someone staring at him at his bedside. His indigo eyes were bright with innocence and curiosity, looking at him like some kind of a rare artifact. The sunlight fell upon his silver hair, creating an ethereal glow. He also saw a pair of pure white wings on the youth's back.

An…angel?

"Who are you?" the king asked.

"I'm Aria," the little angel answered, "Are you the king of this country?"

"Yes, I am." The king sat up. his long golden hair flowed down, pooling on his pillow.

"Why is your palace empty?"

"Because I am alone in here."

Aria frowned, "Isn't that boring?"

"Boring means peace."

"Then, do you want to play with me?"

The king was silent for a while before nodding, "Sure."

The little angel became friends with the king. He would come down from heaven every day to play. He would braid the king's hair and embellish them with flowers, bake him star-shaped cookies with ingredients from heaven, play hide and seek in the vast palace, and do other activities the little angel was in the mood to do that day.

The king indulged the little angel in his childish activity. He has conquered the world and there were no wars or conflicts in the world that needed him to handle personally. His only duty now was to stay alive until the end of his life. Might as well play around with the little angel to spend his time.

There was only one problem the little angel was never able to solve. He tried many games and told him many jokes that made him laugh in heaven, but the king never broke a smile.

Unknowingly, the little angel has matured into a charming man. He let his silver hair grow to match with the king. The king would braid his hair in return from time to time.

One day, the angel was lying on the grass with the king reading a book by his side. The angel moved to the king's lap and stared up at him. The king closed the book he was reading and looked down.

"What is the matter, Aria?" he combed through the angel's silver hair.

"My king, why does smile never blooms upon your face? What distress you so?"

The king's movement paused before continuing, "Why? Do you not like me who cannot smile?

"My king, don't you believe me? My eyes only linger on your figure."

The king caressed the angel's face, "Your smile is enough to carry both mine and yours. I am always blessed every time I see you smile."

"My king, do you like my smile?" the angel looked at him expectantly.

The king bowed his head and kissed the angel's lips, "I love it very much."

The angel touched his lips, "My king, what did you just do?"

"It's a sign that I love your lips that constantly smiled at me."

The angel brightened, "Then, my king, do you like my hair?"

The king kissed a lock of the angel's silver hair, "I love it very much."

The angel laughed enchantingly and continued asking. The king indulgingly answered his every question and gently kissed every part the angel asked him to even if he said it twice, three times, ten times, the king tirelessly answered him.

In heaven, a pair of jealous eyes watched them resentfully.

One day, a group of rebels suddenly arise, aiming to topple the eternal king. Their motive was because he has reigned for far too long without taking care of his people. They accused him of indulging in debauchery and hedonism inside the palace using the tax he collected from the people.

Rapidly, the allegations spread like a virus, corrupting people's mind with hatred towards the king. But there were still many people with a pure and clean soul, unable to be corrupted. War broke out between the king's faction and the people's faction.

The king woke up one day not seeing his angel sitting at his bedside as usual. He gazed out the window, unknown what he was seeing nor thinking. He got out of his bed and left his room.

Just like the day when the angel first came, he opened every door of the castle. One by one, he opened to see the emptiness which had once enveloped him until his angel came. Unfortunately, unlike his angel who found him, he didn't find a sliver of his pure white wings nor his silver hair.

He stood at the last door for a full minute before walking out from his castle with long strides. It was then, he saw his angel descending to his garden of white roses in front of him. The king stood still, watching him from afar.

The angel was standing in the garden, seemingly distressed. He turned around and noticed his king who was standing behind him. His smile bloomed more gorgeously than the flowers around him.

"My king, are you looking for me?"

The king and the angel walked closer to one another and met in the middle. The king spoke to him, "Aria, stay in heaven in this period of time. I promise to fix this as soon as possible."

"My king, my heart and body belong to you. Always have been and always will be," the angel took the king's hand to rub it on his face, "This is caused by someone from heaven. I now will stay here with you to be by your side."

"Aria…"

The king knew it was for the best if his angel stayed in heaven. His angel never saw the cruelty of humans and the horror of wars. But his hand which caressed the angel's skin only clung tighter and his other hand froze in place, unable to push him away.

The indigo eyes looked at him pitifully, "My king, please don't push me away."

The king pulled him to his embrace, "My sweet Aria, I swear with my life that I will protect you."

The angel rested his face on his king's shoulder, "And I you, my king."

The two of them went to the battlefield hand in hand to help those who were faithful. The news that an angel was helping the eternal king spread and those who were religious immediately moved sides.

The king's faction had the upper hand until the mastermind from heaven descended to try taking the angel away. Not only that, they even tried to brainwash him to oppose the king.

The angel wasn't as powerful as them and he became scared that one day they might succeed. Eventually, he decided to put a seal in his blessing every time it was intended to harm his king. As for his telepathic ability, he limited it to be used by his active command and only once a day maximum.

The king of course objected to such practice, but his angel was determined to do so. He couldn't stop him.

The war continued, and as the angel feared, he was successfully captured by their enemy. They tried to use him as a tool, but because of the seal and limitation, he was useless to them.

The king moved heaven and earth to take his angel back. Men and angels fell down one by one by his hands. Until their enemy threatened him to cease his resistance or else the cost would be his angel's life.

The angel used his one chance to tell his king that he shouldn't surrender. The enemy's main objective was him. It didn't matter if his king surrendered or not. He would be killed either way.

The king also knew that with all the blood that has been spilled, he couldn't stop now. But when he saw his angel collapse after speaking to him telepathically, caught in the enemy's hand with a sword on his neck, drawing bright golden blood from him, he couldn't continue. This world and his life already mean nothing to him without his angel by his side. The glory he once had only gave him loneliness and emptiness until his angel appeared by his bedside.

When the angel woke up, he was shown the death of his king by his enemy. He was overcome with grief and resentment. They amplified the power of his blessing and massacred every being standing in his way towards his king.

He brought his king back to their castle and placed him on his bed. He piously prayed to heaven. He knew this world couldn't bring his king the happiness he needed, so the angel didn't pray for his revival despite his sadness and longing.

"My king…I will sacrifice my wings for you. I wish you glory and happiness in your next life."

With his king's sword, the angel cut off his wings. His glimmering hair with the color of moonlight was swallowed by the night and his indigo eyes darkened into obsidian. Heaven accepted his prayer and showered his king with golden light.