Given the altitude of the Avenger’s target, this deployment went much more quickly than the drops to Carnival Town, Markarth, and Peach’s Castle. Perked up by her extra-strong morning coffee, Sandalphon withstood the bumpy ride down as best she could, but even the stolid archangel could not steel herself for what she saw when her bullet-like hellpod hit the ground. When its lid popped off, blindingly brilliant sunlight flooded in, and as Sandalphon recoiled from its radiance the floor panel beneath her automatically lifted her up into the day’s warmth. Her eyes adjusted quickly, and when they did she could begin to behold the stunning beauty of Skyworld at dawn, in all its glory.
Floating high above the Sandswept Sky’s eastern coast, Skyworld took the form of a gargantuan array of interconnected sky islands, sprawled out both horizontally and vertically, their mountainous landmasses of pale stone contrasted against the rich yellows and oranges of lush, perennially autumnal foliage. A number of the islands featured a more
natural appearance, with pools of pristine water, golden grasses, and placid herbivores interspersed among their untouched deciduous sentinels. Most, however, featured at least some semblance of deliberate masonry, and many of the largest islands featured architectural achievements of astonishing size and grandeur.
Holy spires,
breathtaking cathedrals, and lovely temples could be found all over, surrounded by elaborate monuments and serving as the centerpieces of angelic colonies of a uniform Greco-Roman style. Over everything towered several
minor erdtrees, the most massive of which could be found on the centermost and largest sky island of all,
Eden, surrounded by concentric rings of idyllic waterfall terraces. As divine as it all looked, especially that immense tree with its luminous leaves, this was no perfect paradise. Its many fortified bastions, ramparts, and winged soldiers spoke of plentiful turmoil, and nowhere seemed more active than the acropolis stronghold of
Palutena’s Temple, sheltered beneath the wings of the goddess of light herself.
The reason for Skyworld’s standing army became clear after a little more searching. Not all of the archipelago’s islands were autumnal parks or angelic townships. In sharp contrast, some of them -on the far side opposite Eden and Palutena’s Temple- were stained pitch-black and sickly yellow-green, infested and overgrown by some form of inky, oozy corruption with a tendency to form
crystalline deposits and
eye-like growths. From here it was hard to make out the details, but even at a distance it inspired a strong aversion in anything healthy and/or holy. No doubt the denizens of this airborne realm kept those islands as isolated and quarantined as possible, on guard against possible vectors of infection around the clock.
Sandalphon looked around. She and the other Seekers had dropped into the middle of a
small forested island at a high altitude, which she had to thank for the good view she’d gotten of Skyworld itself. Both Eden and Palutena’s Temple weren’t all that far off. Everything about this place appealed to the archangel’s aesthetic sense immensely, and it was hard to suppress her excitement as she absorbed the awe-inspiring scenery. Given her typical nonchalance, Sandalphon was practically giddy. “It would be a shame to rush through this place,” she remarked to the others. “Though we’re here to find Palutena, let us not disregard Skyworld’s wondrous beauty in the process.”
"Heheh, it is pretty great isn't it?" Pit stood with his hands at hips and his wings spread proudly. He breathed the air in deeply, beaming at his friends and companions before looking out over the various islands again and throwing his hands up, open and wide.
"Welcome to Skyworld! This is where me, the Centurions, and Lady Palutena live. And Pittoo sometimes, but since he joined up with Viridi he hasn't really visited."Pit took in the whole of Skyworld, everything that it had been combined with, what was different and what was still the same. His gaze lingered on Palutena's Temple, his home, more than once. There were a lot more islands, though many of them didn't look out of place at all. Bridges connected some, others were free floating. Compared to the eternal summer usually found in the realm, it now appeared to be autumn, which was an interesting change. He noted the legions of Palutena's Army, the army he was captain of, flitting around in the distance, as well as the corroded islands they had fortified against. He squinted at these corrupted spaces, finding some had a disturbing resemblance to the Chaos Kin, but from here he couldn't be sure.
Is this what they've been dealing with up here? Lady Palutena was too busy with the army to reach out to me? the young angel thought. He was still worried over the goddess, but just being back in Skyworld alleviated a lot of his fears.
"It's not exactly the same though. Hmm... honestly, I kinda like some of the changes," he said, his eyes tracing the trunk of the largest erdtree. After a moment, and another glance at the temple, he finally tore his attention away from the area and put it back on the other Seekers.
"We can island hop! Plus I want to get a closer look at what that dark stuff is. It can't be good."”Yes, look, definitely a thing I can do right now,” Midna replied, a hand raised to try and shield her eyes from the sun, the combination of helmet, mask, and literal blindfold apparently not doing much to protect the twilight princess’ dark adapted sight. Her desert adapted flygon, despite its twilight-ification, meanwhile, was more than happy to sun itself by her side while it waited to take her to the skies.
”Hmmm. I suppose we should’ve expected some kind of battleground here as well… I suppose if we need to island hop I can carry one of you non fliers.” Sectonia said, looking at the situation before her. She’d prefer more flowers and less architecture, perhaps more gemstones, but Pit was right, this place wasn’t half bad.
Luckily for Roxas, he still had his Jackal mask which he could wear to shield his eyes from the sun for the most part. [gold=gold]”So this is like a land of angels?”[/color] Roxas asked. It did seem pretty appropriate that angels would inhabit a kingdom of floating sky islands way up in the clouds like this. Something about this also reminded him a lot of a place that existed in his own world too, but since Roxas had never personally visited that place he couldn’t completely confirm the similarities.
Since Midna was taller than him now, Pit couldn't do much to provide her with extra shade (if it would have even helped). Which was a shame since she wouldn't be able to really appreciate the area. They had to get her some sunglasses. At Roxas' question he looked at the other boy, started to nod, and then turned to shaking his head... and then paused and nodded again.
"It probably is now? I mean, back home I'm the only angel that lives here. Lady Palutena mentioned the Centurions aren't really, and she doesn't count 'cause she's a goddess. Sandalphon was the first actual angel I've met besides me!" He looked back out towards the main island.
"I wonder what other kinds of angels are here now!"While her new surroundings interested her the most, Sandalphon kept an eye on her allies as well. Pit seemed to be full of energy and pride, eager to show off this aerial archipelago and its wonders despite the drastic departures from the Skyworld he knew and loved. If he were a tour guide, then she, Roxas, and Sectonia were certainly the tourists. The same couldn’t be said for Midna, whose natural loathing of light had not, unfortunately, been mitigated by her many fusions. Inwardly, Sandalphon both wondered why she chose to come here and lauded her tenacity for doing so. Weighing Midna’s discomfort against her own desire to explore, and keeping in mind the possibility that surprise visitors might not be welcome in high-security areas, the archangel quickly calculated a route through the sky islands. Among the members of this group, only Sectonia could fly freely, but the rest could at least slow-fall or long jump, which opened up a lot of paths. “Let’s be off, then. We’ll have ample time for admiration in transit.”
Just as Pit said, the Seekers began to island hop. Though Sandalphon prescribed a reasonably efficient route toward Palutena’s Temple for Midna’s sake, it would be difficult for any trip through Skyworld to not be scenic. The high-altitude wind practically sang through the trees decked out in fall colors, and each sculpture they passed seemed more impressive than the next. Various creatures could be found all over, especially in the untouched autumn woods, including curious egg-shaped
paissa, mischievous
gaelicats, two-faced
remlits, eerie
seraphaces, and moody
bansheep. As the newcomers marched up and down well-worn stone stairs, past pillars, and through ancient archways, they could scarcely ignore the patrols of the well-armed angels that Pit had been so curious about. Every squad featured at least one formidable
Feathershield, each one possessed of brawn as grand as his sterling silver armor and towering greatshield polished to a mirror sheen. In their company one could find a handful of gallant
Featherswords, keen
Featherbows, and slight
Featherstaffs, all wearing either helmets or silvery masks. Rarer but more impressive still were the elites, the
Storm Wardens with wings of light and heavy cannons, as well as the
Champions so heavily armed and armored that they might as well have been holy mechs. Though vigilant as they flew about, these angels did not regard the newcomers with hostility, especially once they got a good look at Sandalphon’s remarkable triple halo and Pit’s own white-feathered wings. Instead they treated the newcomers with courtesy, nodding politely as they flapped past. Somewhat relieved, Sandalphon continued to keep up with her energetic young charge as well as she could as the team drew closer to Palutena’s Temple.
”So, you said your lady Palutena is a goddess, yes?” Midna asked Pit, casually, and then gave a touch too much away by adding
”as in an actual goddess?” with just a hint of need before controlling for that and asking
”what’s she like?”"Oh man, where do I start?" he replied without looking over at Midna, starry eyed gaze fixed on the unfamiliar angelic soldiers and the next island they'd have to hop down to. He probably would have launched into the same speech he gave Sandalphon about her the day before, if no one had cut him off.
”Hmph, if her beauty doesn’t eclipse or even come close to mine, I’ll be very disappointed.” Sectonia said, having power that rivaled the gods or so she thought, and then having absorbed the power of one just recently. Although to her it was more about beauty.
”Although so far, things have been… fine. I could see places to work on, but so far things are acceptable.”"Acceptable" was high praise coming from the Queen of Floralia, but it was overridden by her first comment, at least in Pit's ears. He whirled around to face Sectonia, pale pink color spreading on his cheeks.
"It definitely does! Lady Palutena is perfect! She's—whoa!"Moving backward, Pit nearly slipped from the edge of the floating rock they were on. He caught himself before falling, pushing off the side and spreading his wings to glide down to the nearest island. When he landed he huffed, then waited for the others to swoop down and join him. Once everyone met Lady Palutena, they would understand how wonderful she was. And it would be soon, hopefully. The thought was energizing Pit, but he reigned it in as best he could, and once the others joined him again he gave Midna a serious answer.
"Lady Palutena is the Goddess of Light. She's awesome - strong, smart and kind. You'll like her! Just, maybe don't look directly at her halo."Sectonia gave a bit of a chuckle at hearing that. She had just absorbed a light goddess herself.
”Hm… that's interesting. I do hope she doesn’t dislike our princess here like the Guardian of the Under would.” Sectonia mused.
”She targeted Ganondorf quite often…”Not quite sure of the logical connection behind Sectonia’s thought process, Sandalphon focused on the road ahead, as well as the person of interest who the quartet would find at the end. “It sounds like Palutena and I will get along. Although I often assume directorial duties in combat operations, my role is primarily dictated by necessity, due to my talents in logistics, communication, and calculation. I would offer no reservations about ceding the role to someone who’s similarly capable but also displays true leadership qualities, such as the charisma to inspire strength and loyalty in the troops.” After brushing back a few strands of hair teased out of place by the wind, Sandalphon slipped her hands in her pockets as she continued on. “Objectively speaking, somebody like me could be replaced with a sufficiently powerful computer. Someone like this Palutena, however, sounds irreplaceable.”
”Then she might be just what we need” Midna concluded based on all this, even if her desire was more for a hand wise and true enough to be trusted to hold Galeem’s power than specifically a leader to dictate how to claim it. She Seekers were no nation or army, and they were held together by a shared interest and shared foe, rather than any kind of loyalty to any sort of leader after all.
Flurries of falling leaves blew overhead and scraped softly across the ground as the team proceeded over an arched stone bridge. The closer they got to Palutena’s Temple, the more built up these islands were, to the point where they became less like free-floating masses and more like supports for the structures built atop them. At this point, most of the angel soldiers the newcomers encountered appeared to either be on guard duty, preparing to deploy, or returning from assignment. Though wary of the unfamiliar faces, they behaved no less cordially than the patrols encountered earlier; evidently Sandalphon’s halo did a lot of talking. It wasn’t long before the Seekers’ road brought them to a heavily fortified gate that barred the way to the temple grounds, where they found a
Feathershield captain running drills. Boasting a remarkably burly physique but unusually small wings, the man noticed the strangers immediately, and turned away from his soldiers with a stern, stony face.
“Peace be with you,” he greeted in a flat but proper English accent. “You must be new here. On behalf of Skyworld’s angels, welcome. I am Fodoquia, a humble blade of the Father and soldier of Palutena’s Army. If you please, state your names, affiliations, and business here at the seat of Skyworld’s power.”
The Archangel bowed her head respectfully. “Peace be with you, Fodoquia. I am Sandalphon, servant of the goddess Illia. Though I lack wings in this form, I too am an angel, as is young Pit here.” She gestured toward her companion. “And these are Midna, Roxas, and Sectonia, our friends and comrades. Though I understand her to be a busy woman, we seek to meet with Lady Palutena.”
“Illia?” A much deeper voice rang out as another formidable angel descended from the top of the gate on great white wings. He stood even taller than Fodoquia, and made for a striking sight in heavy gold-and-white armor. Though bald-headed, he sported a white goatee, and a symbol on his forehead that shone with inner light. This
angel was ever bit a no-nonsense professional as his counterpart, and after he alighted he and Fodoquia on either side of the gate made for an imposing pair of gate guards indeed. “Never heard of her,” he declared, crossing his arms.
Sandalphon shifted her weight slightly. “Long ago, she made the first-ever pact with a dragon, in this case the Holywyrm Elysium. Their divine accord quelled the conflict between man and dragon to create the foundation of society across Grastaea. Though she is worshiped as a goddess and the progenitor of the Illian Church, which I serve as the leader of a peacekeeping group called the Apostles. I must confess that she is not a creator deity like many that I’ve learned of during my time in this World of Light, making her more akin to a saint, and by the time I came to be she was long gone.” She tilted her head slightly, her pupils becoming inverted triangles. “So, perhaps you might understand why I am eager to meet a ‘goddess’ in the flesh.”
The angel nodded his head. “Well said. I do understand your curiosity, and share it. Though all angels like myself revere the Creator, or Father as some call him, we have yet to see him face to face. I am Nathaniel, soldier of the Hellguard and direct subordinate to Uriel, who stands alongside Lady Palutena to safeguard Skyworld from evil. If you would be so kind as to wait, I will send word that you request an audience.”
At that moment, though, a third angel descended from the sky, her long straight-cut blonde hair flowing in the wind. Unlike the other two, her wings and armor featured a more cybernetic technological appearance, and she seemed less like a soldier. “You big dummies!” she called out as she landed, a teasing smile on her face. “All this dithering about beliefs and protocols. Did the name ‘Pit’ mean nothing to you!?” As Fodoquia and Nathaniel exchanged a confused glance, the lady angel planted her palm against her face. “Ugh, unbelievable.” She then turned a smile at Pit, winking. “Sorry about all that. You and your friends should come with me!” Turning on a dime toward her compatriots, her voice became harsh again. “Hurry up and open the gates!”
Fodoquia cleared his throat, lips pursed, and called up to the soldiers on the wall. “...Open the gates.”
"That's more like it," Pit grinned. In all honesty he was a little starstruck to see so many angels, so it was a good thing that Sandalphon had taken charge of the introduction. That the soldiers hadn't recognized him wasn't a shock, but things were set straight without him even having to say anything! It was a relief that even after merging with some other army he still held his rank.
A moment later the gates opened wide, admitted the Seekers to Palutena’s Temple with the lady angel as their guide. “My name is Celia,” she introduced herself. “Don’t mind those stuffy soldiers. We’ve been expecting you, a certain someone in particular. Better not keep her waiting~” She beckoned the newcomers to follow her, then took off, flying fast and low through the temple grounds.
”Convenient” Midna noted, before dismissing her draconic escort, tensing, and then taking off at a jog after their fast flying guide, calling back
”let’s not keep her waiting.””She’s a goddess right?” Roxas replied.
”And the Avenger’s a big ship, so… it can’t be that weird if she saw us coming… right?”"Of course not! She can see pretty much everything!"Sectonia observed the chatter and she didn’t really say much of anything as the others had this well in hand. And she was learning quite a bit by just watching. Well, it was interesting, but also a bit concerning, that Pit outranked all these angels with how boyish he was. But then that led to more thoughts and overall she’d need to still see Palutena, but Sectonia was interested now.
”Wonder why those other Angels didn’t know you.” Roxas said to Pit as they were escorted.
”Shouldn’t they have been told to be on the lookout for your return or something?””Factionalism, maybe?” Midna suggested, as she wondered what it must be like to act in the name of an absent god when a real one was right there.
”Maybe there’s some disagreement or rift between these followers of the ‘Father’ and those who serve Lady Palutena?” ”Makes sense…. These Consuls are stirring up conflict everywhere even if they themselves aren’t here. And the world itself causes conflict as well, so conflict among factions would mesh well with what we know.” Sectonia said, agreeing with Midna.
Sandalphon considered the situation. “Or perhaps they were given a physical description that is no longer applicable.”
”A mix of both perhaps.””Maybe,” Roxas said.
”but that doesn't explain why they didn't at least recognize his name.”"They were definitely newbies, but whatever it was it's fine now," Pit said, shrugging the whole thing off. After all, there was only one person that he cared about recognizing him right now. In anticipation he sped up even more to catch up with Celia, eyes on the familiar rising temple.
"It hasn't been that long, right?" To him it didn't feel like it, but in light of everything they'd learned yesterday he couldn't be sure. He hoped that Lady Palutena hadn't been stressed and looking for him at least.
"Are you part of her army too, Celia? Has she been doing okay? ...and are you a robot angel?"After crossing a handful of bridges and climbing a lot of stairs, the group was getting close to Palutena’s Temple, and their pace began to slow somewhat. When Pit took the chance to talk to her, Celia replied with a cheeky smile. “Oh no, wrong on both accounts I’m afraid~. I’m more of a…well, spy, heehee. While the others flap around with their heads in the clouds, I keep my ear to the ground for juicy secrets. I’m pretty good, too. Lady Palutena trusted
me to keep an eye out for her favorite little angel, after all~” She giggled. “And no, I’m not a robot. Whatever gave you that idea?”
Her wings of course, but by that time the six had reached the temple’s grand main entrance, so the conversation came to an end. With a nod from Celia, the angel guards on duty threw wide the doors to admit the newcomers into Palutena’s Temple. Sandalphon composed herself and followed the two inside at a more dignified pace than the hyper-excited Pit, ready to meet his goddess.
The temple was constructed in much the same way as the rest of Skyworld, but being its seat of power the area was polished and immaculate. Pools and streams of crystal blue water decorated the temple, along with some features new to Pit like stained glass fixtures. Emboldened by it looking mostly the same he led the group deeper in, his flapping wings urging them to go faster even if he didn't say it aloud. It wasn't far from the entrance that they came upon a wide open room with a doorway on two other sides, just as pristine as the rest of the temple. Tall marble columns stood along each wall of cool colored tile mosaics, holding up a high tiered ceiling with a glass window at the top letting plenty of sunlight in. Beautiful fabric drapes covered the far walls behind the room's only real feature: a large, marble double staircase with a raised landing. At the top of it, a floating
cherub spoke with a slender woman clothed in white robes and gold accessories. She held a gold and lapis staff taller than she was in one hand, a reflective buckler shield strapped to her other arm. Silken green hair cascaded down her back, topped by an elegant laurel crown, and at the back of her head, a radiant blue
winged halo shone. Though human in appearance, her very presence seemed so much larger. There was no doubt about who this woman was even if Pit hadn't called out to her, his voice full of mixed emotion.
"Lady Palutena!"She turned, giving everyone a full view of the illustrious
Goddess of Light. She didn't seem surprised; rather her expression was serene and welcoming, as befitting a divine being... and then she smiled widely, clearly as elated to see her loyal angel as he was to see her.
"Pit!" Palutena ceased her conversation and stepped off of the landing, floating down to the floor. At the same time Pit had all but sprinted the extra distance and flung himself towards her. She caught the angel in her arms, sharing a hug with him before stepping back and ruffling his hair affectionately. "It's about time you got here."
"I know, I know! I'm sorry Lady Palutena. I was busy with world saving stuff, and I couldn't exactly get back up here on my own you know."The two of them grinned at each other. Although looking up at her, Pit could see that her emerald green eyes were covered by the sunset red film denoted by the Gleaming, just like the rest of the angels they'd passed. He had hoped that somehow she would already have been freed, but since she hadn't contacted him he knew that wouldn't be the case. It was probably what caused the interference in the first place.
"What's the matter?"
"Oh, um, nothing. It just... feels really good to be back here and see you again, Lady Palutena."The goddess wasn't fooled, but she let it slide so that she could turn her attention to the four people Pit had brought along with him. There was a flicker of something similar to recognition in her gaze as she looked at them, like she had some second hand knowledge about some of the group, but she didn't assume anything - instead gesturing to the Seekers and glancing down at Pit. "New friends of yours?"
"Yup!" He happily introduced each person in turn this time, pointing them out as he went.
"This is Roxas, Princess Midna, Queen Sectonia, and Sandalphon, an angel of the goddess Illia!"Palutena smiled warmly, nodding a greeting at the group. "It's nice to meet you."
Despite her divine bearing, up close she seemed more down to earth than what the newcomers might have expected.
Roxas seemed to instinctively straighten up his posture. A habit he no doubt inherited from Sora - would often do the same thing when interacting with Master Yen Sid or the King.
”It’s nice to meet you too, Lady Palutena. I’ve never seen a place like this before. The islands up here all look beautiful.”Since setting foot in here, Sandalphon maintained her composure, her stride deliberately slow and her manner stiffly proper. Only her eyes moved quickly, absorbing everything in sight. The moment that her gaze landed on Palutena, she studied the goddess intently, practically transfixed. In a surprising turn of events, Palutena looked human, much more so than even Sandalphon herself. Her white robes and golden ornaments gave her an appearance of purity and regality, though perhaps most incredible was her hair–having hair that long and perfect, without a tangle or muss in sight, was a supernatural feat in and of itself. Sandalphon also admired Palutena’s halo, though maybe ‘halo’ was the wrong word. ‘Corona’, perhaps? If angels possessed halos, it made sense that a goddess would shine with something even more glorious. Though she hadn’t known what to expect, Pit’s deity really wasn’t what the archangel expected. Then again, she barely had any idea what her own goddess should look like, let alone someone else’s. Sandalphon decided that she was honored to meet this woman, a harmony of human and heavenly virtues.
“The pleasure is mine,” she declared after Roxas, her pupils briefly becoming upward carets.
Sectonia observed this so-called ‘Goddess of Light’, and her initial observation was that she wasn’t impressive. But if anything, this new world proved that even the most unassuming could be dangerous.
”I see that the angels are fighting some sort of evil corruption in the sky here. Care to explain the situation?” If they were going to somehow use this place as a base, there was a lot that had to be done here to ensure the safety of those who resided here.
Minda meanwhile had the divinity of the goddess the least shattered by her humanity, mainly because she could barely see it. The glowing radiance hovering behind the goddess left her more silhouette than anything in the twilight princess’ eyes. Given that trying to shield them from it would have been pretty disrespectful, she mostly had to grin and bear the glare, thankful that the helmet prevented people seeing her squinting, which made Sectonia’s tactless attitude pretty frustrating to her, prompting her to sarcastically snip that the queen’s question was
”very diplomatic””Hm? Pit has said he's the commander of her royal guards is he not? He has said as much. Unless they have some kind of other relationship?” Sectonia quipped back. This was something she suspected a bit as things have been unfolding. Besides, she doubted a gleaming goddess would think about anything but war at this moment.
Midna’s quip and Sectonia’s defensiveness cut in just when Palutena was poised to respond, but judging by her serene expression and faint smile of amusement the goddess didn’t seem too bothered. “Neither situation is complicated,” she assured the royals. “The Gloom is simply a manifestation of evil. A weed in the Garden, and like all weeds a little trimming now and again.” She smirked just a tiny bit, evidently pleased with herself for her wordplay, though even Sandalphon had a hard time detecting it. When she looked at Pit, though, the goddess was all smiles. “Pit is indeed my commander, but in his absence I’ve had to lean on a couple others. Like Uriel, the commander of the Hellguard. She’s quite capable, too…but no substitute for my most loyal retainer.”
At that point, Sandalphon spoke up. “Lady Palutena,” she began, using the same title and deferential tone that Palutena’s soldiers did. “While I cannot speak for Pit, given that his place seems to be at your side, the rest of us hope to stay in Skyworld for a time, and freely travel its breadth, if you’ll permit us. A day or two for myself, but longer for the others. “In exchange, we are willing to lend our strength to your army and combat the Gloom. Though your forces clearly boast both strength and numbers, not to mention a capable leader, it appears that this corruption has been difficult to wholly expunge.” She said and meant it matter-of-factly, not at all to challenge anyone’s abilities, but the archangel was cognizant that her words could be taken that way. “When it comes to hunting down high-priority, high-risk targets, our organization has an excellent track record. You will not find us lacking.”
”Indeed. Our group managed to end a century long plague afflicting the underground. Something… fairly similar to what you're dealing with here, come to think of it.” That did lead to the question, Sectonia had the Radiance within her, as disgusting as it could be, could she control the gloom and send it against their enemies?
The less said about the other team’s mission the better meanwhile, which inevitably meant that Midna opened her mouth to say that
”We also fought all sorts of horrible corruption in Midgar, so we’ve got a wide range of experience when it comes to different kinds of evils, be they otherworldly or all too grounded.”All the self-advertising elicited a titter from the goddess of light. “My, I can see that Pit’s found some friends who’re almost as eager to help as he is.” She nodded, then made a sweeping motion with her arm as if delivering a pronouncement. “Very well. Any friend of Pit’s is a friend of mine, after all, and who am I to decline a generous offer from friends in need? Celia here can find you a place to stay. Once you’re settled, I’ll be eager to accompany you to the front and see just what you can do.”
Sandalphon bowed her head. “Thank you, Lady Palutena. You will not regret it.”
“Right this way then~” Celia turned to lead the Seekers back out, and in quick succession all the newcomers went to follow her. Only Sandalphon lingered, her eyes locked with Palutena’s for a moment longer. No matter what she said, the archangel knew that the goddess couldn’t truly be an ally until Galeem’s corruption was gone from her eyes. After another moment, Sandalphon turned without a word and accompanied the others back out into Skyworld’s radiant light.
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