Commander Henn stormed down the sterile hospital hallway, his boots echoing with every step. The gunfire still rang in his ears, a constant reminder of the chaos he had just unleashed. As he rounded the corner, his breath caught in his throat.
Blood.
A dark pool of it spread across the floor, stark against the pristine white tiles. A man lay motionless, riddled with bullets. His eyes stared blankly at the ceiling. His wife knelt beside him, cradling a screaming infant in her arms, her sobs raw and desperate.
Henn's soldiers stood in silent formation, their faces unreadable, watching the scene unfold. Henn's cold gaze fixed on the soldier still holding the smoking rifle.
"Explain," Henn's voice was like ice, cutting through the tension. "I gave no order to kill. Only to take the children. That was it."
The soldier's hand trembled around his weapon.
"Commander… He resisted. He wouldn't give up his child. Unlike the others, he fought back… he was stubborn, and I—"
Before the soldier could finish, footsteps thundered down the hallway. Doctors and nurses rushed into the room, their eyes widening as they took in the bloody scene.
A nurse gasped, placing her hand over her mouth.
"What have you done…?"
The woman, still clutching her child, reached out desperately to the doctor who had knelt beside her husband.
"Save him! Please, save my husband! Don't let him die!"
The lead doctor didn't hesitate.
"Get a stretcher! We need an emergency team, now!"
His voice was commanding, but there was no hiding the grim reality of the situation. The man's wounds were too severe.
As the medical team worked furiously to stabilize the dying man, one nurse, a sharp-eyed woman with short black hair, turned her venomous gaze toward Henn.
She put her hand on her wrist.
"So this is what soldiers have become," she spat. "Murderers. Stealing children and slaughtering parents. You have no heart. No soul."
Henn's jaw tightened, his patience wearing thin. His fingers curled into fists at his sides, but he fought to maintain control.
"You think I don't understand? You think I don't know what it feels like to lose everything?" he growled, his voice trembling with restrained anger."I lost my squad… a friend. You think I don't know what it means to carry that weight every day?"
The nurse's eyes were hard as stone.
"A pathetic excuse for what you just did."
Henn's anger flared, but before he could retort, the doctor intervened.
He swiped his left hand through the air.
"Enough, Tamana!" he snapped, his voice cutting through the air. "We save lives, not start fights."
The nurse fell silent, but her eyes never left Henn, burning with contempt.
As the doctors hurried down the hallway, the weight of what had just happened pressed heavily on Henn's chest. He stood still for a long moment, staring at the bloodstained tiles, a strange and unfamiliar guilt gnawing at him. The mission had been clear: take the children. Nothing more. But this… this was different. This wasn't supposed to happen.
Henn turned to the two soldiers who had been with him.
"Abort the mission," he ordered, his voice quieter now. "I'll handle it from here."
The soldiers nodded stiffly and moved to inform the others to stand down.
Henn's steps were heavy as he moved toward the next room. The guilt weighed on him, but he couldn't ignore the orders he'd been given. He reached for the doorknob, but as his fingers brushed it, a voice rang out from behind him.
"O Commander, Do not open that door."
Henn froze. He turned, his eyes narrowing as he found a doctor standing there, his expression unreadable.
"I will not allow you to take that child," the doctor said, his voice firm, unwavering.
Henn's hand lingered on the doorknob, and his patience snapped.
"Who do you think you are, giving me orders?" he demanded, stepping toward the doctor. "I've already aborted the mission. No one will be shot again, because I'm taking over this mission myself to retrieve the newborn baby."
The doctor didn't flinch.
"Do you not feel the weight of guilt upon your heart? You burden yourself with too much. This mission—it is becoming too great for you to bear. You fail to see the greater purpose."
Henn's eyes flared with frustration.
"What do you know about it? What do you know about what I've been through? Do you think I want this? Do you think I don't feel the weight of every life at risk because of my orders? You have no idea what it's like to lead, to make decisions that—"
The doctor interrupted, his voice calm but carrying an ancient weight.
"I know everything, Commander. And I know that you're carrying the weight of this war on your shoulders. But you can't keep going like this. Not without consequences."
Henn's breath caught in his throat.
"You know everything?" he echoed, incredulous. "What the hell does that mean?"
The doctor's gaze softened, though it held an intensity Henn couldn't ignore.
"I was there when the explosion happened. I witnessed everything. Your friend Touri—I saved him, but he spoke a name, and that name sealed his fate. I couldn't save him. And after that, you blame fate? Everything has a reason, maybe you won't see it for a while but one day you will understand."
Henn's voice trembled with anger and confusion.
"You were there??? Saved my friend??? Knows what's within my heart??? You are just a doctor?" He stepped closer. "What are you? Are you here to blame for what I just said?
"No," the doctor replied, his voice calm and steady. "I'm here to show you the truth. You need to understand the cost of your actions. You've been blinded by the mission. But you can't see what's really at stake."
Henn stared at the doctor, unsure of how to respond. Then, before he could speak, the doctor's form began to change. His clothes faded, threads dissolving into nothing, revealing something beyond human—a presence that radiated an otherworldly calm.
Henn took a step back, eyes wide.
"What are you?" His voice faltered.
"I am an Angel," the doctor said, his voice like a soft thunderclap. "A Guardian Angel. I was sent to this family by God Himself. I've watched over them because the father is righteous, and his wife is patient. And their child… Their child will fulfill a crucial role in the world, one that no one else could.."
Henn stood motionless, the words sinking into him.
"So you… you're here to stop me?"
The Angel nodded.
"Yes. The child you seek is in that room. But I cannot allow you to take him."
Henn's heart raced.
"Can I see him? The child?"
The Angel's gaze held a quiet resolve.
"No. But you will meet him in the future. You will know him, when the time is right."
Henn's mind spun.
"Can this child end our suffering? Can he defeat our enemies, can he stop his reign?"
The Angel's eyes shimmered with an ancient, unspoken wisdom.
"He will," he said softly. "God knows best."
He turned toward the door, extending his hand with graceful precision, fingers brushing against the wood as if sealing it with unseen power.
"By the way, I've silenced the world outside for this family," he said, his voice like a calm wind. "They heard nothing—not even the gunshots your soldiers fired in the adjacent room" He looked at him. "And be careful. The end of the world is near. You must stand beside him when he rises, and face the one who leads the darkness."
And then, without a sound, his form began to dissolve—light peeling from his silhouette like mist under sunlight—until he vanished, leaving behind only stillness and a lingering warmth in the air.
End of Chapter 6