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They continued on to the tower and began climbing it together. With all the darkness, it was slow going, but as they made progress, Roman was getting the distinct feeling that they would indeed be reaching the surface soon.

Which, in a strange way, was almost a disappointment. They’d never discovered what the actual cause of this abnormal darkness was, but he supposed if it was that easy, someone else would’ve found it and told the world ages ago.

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“We’re near the edge of my range. You’ll have to go on without me.”

Koh came to a halt, halfway up a mountain. He plopped down against the side of a sheer cliff face, unbothered by the fact that he was sitting at a ninety degree angle.

He turned to the angel behind him and growled.

“Don’t you growl at me. I’ll tell your master.”

Koh just huffed at him. Unlikely.

“Look, I’d love to keep helping, but let’s be honest. You don’t even need it. And I have too many things on my plate, as is.” The angel wasn’t even using a proper avatar now, perhaps knowing there was little point. He was just a ball of light and ethereal feathers, hovering in the air.

Frustrating. Did the angel not realize how much easier he made things for Koh? Being able to interpret for him? To actually communicate with people?

“It’s not as simple as you’re making it out to be,” said the angel. “I can’t read everything perfectly. I can get broad concepts and feelings from you, but most of the nuance is still lost on me, I think. So in a sense, you might actually be better off without my help, sometimes. You have a complex mind. There’s always a danger of me misinterpreting you and making a situation worse.”

Koh snorted. What nonsense. The angel was just making excuses now.

But it was to be expected, he supposed. The angels had always been allies of convenience, more than anything. Technically, they were on the same side, but they’d also butted heads on plenty of occasions, too.

Fine. Go, Koh thought. Tend to your hapless flock.

“Hold true, old friend.” And just like that, the angel was gone, back to his more worldly concerns, no doubt.

At least he hadn’t completely disregarded the old ways. That was always a worry with them. They indulged much more deeply in this world than he ever did, and so it was no surprise that they sometimes became entangled in its sprawling webs.

Even he wasn’t immune to that, he knew.