Prologue

She struggled, kicked, trashed. The locker was dark, narrow and stinky, filled to the brim with used hygiene products. Taylor barely had room to move. She pushed against the door in vain, kicked again. The stench was overwhelming and the filth on her skin and clothes only worsened her already disturbed mind.

"Let me out! Let me out!"

No one heard. No one came. Tears ran on her face. She was in pain, physically and mentally. She screamed until her throat was sore. Then she begged. She weakly pushed against the walls of her prison. She wanted out but she couldn't escape. She was trapped, an animal left to rot and die among the filth.

"Help… Please help!"

She curled on herself, her spirit broken. She had no idea how long she'd been trapped there. As her mind wandered from her body, the light dimmed outside. Forgotten, forsaken.

Help help help help help ~

A call whispered across the æther, carried by a shattered mind. Taylor's spirit meandered in places and realms, bearer of a plea for salvation. Many heard it. Less heeded it. Few minded it.

One answered it.

µ µ µ

Caritas was resting in the Gardens of Light. The Virtue of Kindness, his duty was to help others regardless of circumstances and he was at his happiest when others were happy. His gaze spread over his realm. It was the most peaceful of Heaven, the other Virtues knowing better than to stir trouble within. After all, his followers weren't the strongest, but many were the angels seeking respite in his Gardens and his patience, though near-endless still had its limits. Fortitudo had crossed it once. He wouldn't do it again, not even for the title of The Infinite One. Ira, on the other hand, would need a few millennia more to recover.

In the peace of his realm, a whisper reached his ear. It was a call he had heard countless times, coming from a world he knew perfectly. Earth. The Virtue sighed. Ever since the Golden Man had appeared, the Infinite One had forsaken any interaction with the world. This had saddened the Seven Virtues, who felt it their duty to reach out for the humans and answer their call. Spero, Sapientia and himself had taken it the worst, but he had kept to himself and retreated to his sanctuary in the Gardens, trying in vain to forget the plight of mankind and shut his urge to do something to soothe their hearts. A Joy approached him, having sensed his turmoil.

"Ti hoch tualb." (It feels different.)

Indeed, the Virtue could feel something strange about the whisper. It took him a moment to pinpoint it. It was a call, but not one like he had heard before. It bore the taint of the Golden Man. Someone, a Touched, was reaching out across the Realms, his mind carrying a call for –

"Help…"

The call was desperate. The pain he could feel in it touched him more than he wanted to admit. The Joy shook her head. She was scared. The Infinite One had closed the Gates of Heaven to the Golden Man and had made clear no interactions shall be had between Heaven and the people of the Earth – especially the humans gifted with his powers. The Touched. If he didn't know better, Caritas would've thought the Infinite One was scared. The Joy shook her head and he berated himself. Why would the Infinite One be scared of anything? The only being capable of rivaling the Ruler of Heaven was the Endless One, who ruled Inferno.

The call echoed again and Caritas shivered. Out of curiosity, he decided to see who it was that was reaching for Heaven with such despair in mind. What he felt made him freeze. It was a girl, a human teen who had been touched by the Golden Man and awakened the power in her. It was through his power that she was calling him, but he wasn't the only one. There were other beings that had felt the call and turned their attention to the girl, and he could tell not all of them had good intentions…

Beyond the taint, he could feel the girl's heart. There was darkness, of course. The shadow of betrayal, wear of a constant suffering, the blackness of despair, but he also felt light. Deep inside, the girl was kind. She wanted to help, turned to the others more than toward herself. He found the glow of selflessness and a steady flame that was her endurance. He found a tiny spark, almost extinguished that was her hope. If no one answered, it would flicker out. Caritas closed his eyes. The Infinite One would be furious, but enough was enough and he felt the girl as a kindred spirit.

His power rippled across the Gardens of Light and answered the call.

Hello! Yes, this is a new Worm story from me. Don't worry, I'm not giving up on Half-Light. I... just happen to prefer this one a bit more? Anyway...

The language used by the Selfless is Enochian. It is an actual language.
Selfless: a kind of angels belonging to the rank of Virtues.
Fortitudo, Spero, Sapientia: the Heavenly Virtues of Courage, Hope and Knowledge.
Ira: the Deadly Sin of Wrath, crushed by Caritas several centuries before for ransacking his Gardens.

More will be explained later.