Closed eyes

Despite my primary objective being to seek a resolution to our pressing issue, the urgency of the matter began to dwindle.

As we journeyed homewards, Michael continuously offered counsel to the human Raphael, grooming him as though he was on the brink of joining our ranks. However, I could not match his enthusiasm. A sense of weakness, uncharacteristic of my nature, began to seep into me. Moreover, Raphael's susceptibility to influence, coupled with his untested powers as a potential fourth archangel, could potentially destabilize our group. Perhaps my thoughts were running wild, but in the midst of my contemplation, I failed to notice that the others had halted. Abruptly, Raphael lost his footing, teetering on the edge of consciousness for reasons unknown.

Thankfully, I remained unaffected. Swiftly, I returned to their side. Raphael's gaze was fixed on an unseen nothingless, a look of terror etched on his face. He seemed oblivious to our presence. Michael appeared equally clueless, so I took the initiative. With a wave of my hand, I induced sleep in Raphael. Michael instantly objected, claiming it might render him eternally unconscious. His concerns were unfounded. I held the power to awaken anyone I put to sleep at will, and if they were trapped in a dream or nightmare, I could usually peer into it and alter their reality. In this instance, however, Raphael was not dreaming. The moment his eyes closed, his vision ceased.

We relocated Raphael to a location where he could rest undisturbed until he regained consciousness. I was certain that he would awaken naturally without requiring my intervention, even if it took longer than a day, given that time behaves differently here than on earth. In this part of heaven, there is no concept of night. Only a few realms experience a cycle of day and night, and those who need to sleep do so during the night. Typically, most inhabitants do not feel the need to sleep, constantly engaged in activities or reveling in their afterlife. Some eventually join the ranks of angels, finding a renewed purpose, while others are given a second chance at life on earth, albeit with their memories erased. A handful of souls, however, refuse to move on, clinging to their past lives. These lost souls roam aimlessly, forever seeking something they can never find.

Shortly after we left Raphael to rest, a minor detail resurfaced in my mind. While Raphael's gaze was vacant, his eyes had transformed to resemble mine in my full angelic form, taking on the shape of a spiked sun, although without the glow. It's known that one of my involuntary abilities in my angelic form is to project the future into the minds of those who make direct eye contact with me. However, when I looked into Raphael's eyes, I remained unaffected. Perhaps he was entrapped in a vision of the future, a vision unlike a dream that I couldn't perceive even after inducing sleep in him.