[Archangel Michael ✞ ArchistrategosSucreSpiritus]

The air in the Pantheon remained still, but to an Archangel’s senses, it was vibrating with a new, complex frequency. Michael stood back, his arms folded loosely over his celestial robes, watching the scene unfold with the sharp, discerning eye of a father.

He didn’t miss a thing—the way Rory’s impulsive warmth left a lingering glow on her face, or the way Buddha, a man who had mastered the stillness of the void, seemed to be holding his breath for the first time in an eon. In that silent exchange of looks, Michael felt a ripple of something he hadn’t expected to find in the heart of his old friend.

A memory flickered in his mind: Noloty’s mischievous, knowing grin back at the Estate. Her voice echoed in his head, whispering her suspicions about the hidden depths of the Buddha’s heart. *“She’s usually right about these things,”* he thought with a silent, inward sigh, *“no matter how much I’d prefer she wasn’t.”*

Before he could dwell on the implications, a sharp, familiar resonance vibrated through his consciousness. It was Jean, her telepathic voice cutting through the celestial hum from the distance of the Borderlands. The message was brief: she needed him.

“Duties call,” Michael announced, his voice smooth and commanding, drawing their attention back to the present. “Jean is calling for me from the Borderlands. I’m needed at the front.”

He stepped toward them, his presence shifting from the imposing Archangel to the protective, slightly meddlesome father figure. He paused beside Rory, reaching out to give her shoulder a firm, affectionate squeeze. A playful, teasing glint sparked in his eyes.

“Behave yourself, little firebird,” he said with a wink, a subtle nod to her crimson blush. “Try not to knock any more deities off their feet while I’m gone.”

Turning to the Buddha, Michael’s expression softened into one of profound trust, though the protective edge remained. “I leave you in good hands, my friend. She knows this Sanctum better than most.”

With a final, knowing look at the pair of them, Michael’s form began to shimmer, dissolving into a streak of pure, golden light that shot upward toward the cosmic horizon.