Heaven's Greatest Professor

One of her iridescent wings came forward and blocked Warden's strongest move. The wings shimmered with more light, completely obscuring any visibility to determine if the blow had hindered it at all. There were no visible signs of injury on her.

Warden's mouth opened to say something, but it remained hung open for several seconds. He had his suspicions when her younger form had healed him, but even with that, the reveal had left him dumbstruck. So much so that he forgot to attack.

Warden wasn't sure how much he had been involved with the celestial in the past, but to his knowledge, it was the first time he was experiencing a pureblood celestial at their full glory.

"And your time's up," she said. Her form shot at him. Before Warden's eyes could trace her movement, she crashed into him, her leg plunging into his chest, hurling him down to the ground.

Warden crashed into the stony ground, creating a large hole. The kick was strong enough that Warden lost all the swirls of the pattern in his control. Even his scripts got destroyed like scrapped papers.

He wheezed, feeling a burning pain in his chest where she attacked. Warden sat upright, or was just about to when she crashed down on him again. He sank further into the hole.

The celestial woman, whom he thought he was so familiar with, had her feet on top of his chest as she stared at him coldly.

"I..." Warden coughed, blood oozing out of his mouth.

"Shhh," she gestured for him to be silent.

Warden still coughed.

She flicked her fingers, and light shot out from them, sticking to his neck. The light pierced instantly without any restriction, as blood began to ooze out.

Warden tried to struggle out, but she had complete hold of him, restricting him completely.

Blood continued to bubble up. She leaned closer and released his essence, though still pinning him down. His radiance power introduced itself as whitish-golden light spilled from the wound. The cut closed up in seconds...

"As I thought," the woman muttered. "Close... Very close..."

She released him completely and crouched down to him, the iridescent celestial wings having disappeared from her back.

Without giving any pleasantries, she caught his left hand and began to unwrap the cloth which Warden used to hide his fate marks.

Her white pupils blazed in silver light as the fate marks unravelled before her eyes. She turned to him, understanding the implication of these marks. Perhaps she understood more than him.

"Who are you?" she asked. There was barely a few inches distance between their faces, his arm still clasped tightly by hers.

Warden swallowed a breath.

"You're not mute, answer my question," she said. "Who are you? Why haven't you gone insane yet?"

He didn't answer her question. "You mentioned you'll end me after the two minutes," Warden said instead. "Why haven't you?"

"I'm contemplating it," she narrowed her eyes on him.

Would she be done with him after he answered the questions? Warden thought darkly. Her eyes were cold, and she was indeed contemplating his life and death... Yet why did he feel a pang of regret and pain inside? Why?

"Do you hate a halfbreed that much?" he asked, eyes unwavering.

The celestial woman laughed coldly. "Halfbreed?" she said, letting go of his palm. "There's no such thing as a halfbreed celestial. No, you're no halfbreed. You're far more filthy. Heathens."

Warden frowned at her.

"Why do you look surprised?" she said and tilted her head.

"If I'm not a halfbreed, then what am I?" Warden asked.

"An experiment."

"An experiment?" Warden repeated, as dark thoughts crawled up in his mind.

"A successful one, as I see it," she said. Her eyes grew colder again, and she didn't give him any time to wallow in the dark thoughts. Her aura, augmented by the pattern, crashed onto him, restricting most of his essence. "How many hearts of my brothers and sisters have they ripped to transmute you?"

Warden didn't know what to say. The world was crashing down on him.

"You have the smell of primordial," she said and drew her finger on the blood on his neck. "And the radiance essence..." Her eyes widened in genuine surprise. "It's weak... yet... why does this feel so close to my..."

Warden didn't bother to sit upright. He wasn't sure if he could even do it. His whole world was shaken...

It's all false, he thought, his eyes tearing... It's all false... he wasn't a celestial... no. NO. If what this woman implied is the truth...

Transmutation, is that it? Is that what made me into this? Was I made from the corpses of Celestials? Is this why there was the corruption?

Warden had never even considered something like that. He didn't know if this was possible... but even Agnes implied it wasn't possible for a Celestial to conceive with any other race.

Warden didn't have to wallow in the dark thoughts for much longer, as the celestial woman turned her attention back on him again. Her angelic features split into one of pain and fury.

Chill spread all over his whole being, even his spirit churned under the pressure.

"I won't repeat myself again," she said in a chilly voice. "Answer my question, who are you? Who made you into... this?"

Warden didn't even look at her, his eyes vacant, teary, as he stared at nothing.

She shook him, turning him towards her. "I can use other methods to get my answer... I promise you won't like a single bit of it."

"I don't know," he whispered.

"You don't know?" Fury blinded her sight as she strangled his neck.

"Warden," he husked back... "I only know that much..."

"No!" growled the celestial woman as she flung him into the air. She leapt up from the hole to stand before him again, cold eyes shining with hostility. "No, it isn't enough. Warden of the Void Prison Realm..."

She drew closer to him. "You'll tell me what I desire to know, and I'll grant you a painless death," she growled, as Warden's face turned white as a sheet under the pressure. "Tell me, how many are transmuted into Celestial Abominations like you? Are they all given the position of Wardens?"

Tears poured out of his eyes. Warden covered his face with his palms. He had no answers to her questions. Or his own.

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