The Ascendance

Chapter 10 - Disguise

Joffiel gave Anna a very tight hug. Anna will now proceed to train for combat for a year. Angels that are training on that thing are separated from the rest, they are being trained to a far area in Heaven. After the training they would be sent down to the human world, so this would be the one of the last opportunities for Joffiel to hug Anna.

“We will see each other after we finish our tasks. I expect that both of us will become a true angel,” Anna spoke to Joffiel happily.

“Of course! I can’t wait for that moment to happen. I’m pretty sure that we will be together with the other angels as we finish all of our tasks. I promised, I will try my best to finish all of my tasks so I could be a true angel as fast as I could,” Joffiel replied.

“You don’t need to hurry, Joffiel. I will patiently wait for you. Also, there could be a chance that we will see each other in the human world if destiny would let it happen,” Anna said.

“I hope so. I’m very happy for you, Anna. In just a year, you could start your main tasks. Do your best!” Joffiel cheered Anna.

At the last moment, they hug each other tightly and send each other out with a big smile on their faces.

Joffiel came where her mentor was. It’s the start of the third year of her training, she knows that she will gain other tasks from her mentor.

“That’s good that you are already here. I’m about to call you since we will discuss your new task,” Angel Zai said.

Joffiel, as usual, is very excited to know her new task. “Let’s get this started, Angel Zai,” Joffiel said.

Angel Zai smiled at how enthusiastic Joffiel is. She said, “Since you already master controlling your emotions, you need to learn how you would act if you were disguised as a human.”

Joffiel became astonished as she heard what Angel Zai said. She exclaimed, “This means that for my final tasks, instead of just guiding a human, I will be disguised just like then.”

“Yes, the Creator already discussed this with me. He said that it is the best course for your tasks,” Angel Zai confirmed.

Angel Zai signaled Joffiel to follow her. They went to a certain place in Heaven that Joffiel is not familiar with. As they passed through a large door, their wings and halo disappeared.

From their place, they could see the large area that encompassed their training area. It is so wide that Joffiel couldn’t see where it ends from their perspective.

“This training area is as large as a city in the human world. In this task, you will also be with other angels that you didn’t know. They are also disguising as human beings. This city has a total population of 50,000 and there would only be 1000 angels. The other inhabitants are just an illusion that were programmed to act like human beings,” Angel Zai explained.

“Our main goal is to successfully disguise ourselves as a human, right?” Joffiel asked.

“Well, the training is for you to look and act like a human. However, for you to be effective as much as possible, you should not be recognized as an angel by the other angels that are also training. Since at the end of the training, you will be asked if you could recognize someone as an angel, but being recognized would not mean you fail the training, it is just for reflection,” Angel Zai answered.

“That means that even though I know that a certain being is an illusion, I should still interact so that the other angels would not recognize me,” Joffiel said.

“That’s right, also, this would make you familiarize yourself with how humans behave. The illusions were given a different personality so that as you train to disguise as human, you could also train to control your emotions,” Angel Zai said.

Joffiel just gazed upon the big city. She thought deeply on how she could pull this off.

Angel Zai gets the attention of Joffiel. She said, “In these tasks, you need to show human emotions. For example, if there’s a sad moment during your training, you need to show it on your face that you are sad even though through your heart, you are not sad.”

Joffiel was amazed at how the tasks became so complicated.

“From the human perspective, this act could be called deceiving rather than being disguising. However, for us angels, this act is needed as we need to hide our identity for our safety. As long as we’re not hurting someone, we are good,” Angel Zai added.

Joffiel just nodded.

“The duration of this training is one year, however, the two months will only be a trial. After that, you will be distributed to other cities to officially start your task. Of course, the angels from the trial will not be the same for your official training,” Angel Zaid continued to explain.

“So first the first two months, it’s alright if I talk with the other angels that I could recognize?” Joffiel asked.

“Yes, it is still alright. You could exchange tips on how to handle things, you might also be with angels that already finished their tasks. Some of the angels decided to repeat the task even though they don’t need to, so try to gain some knowledge for them during the trial period,” Angel Zai replied.

As Angel Zai finishes all the things that are needed to be said, she guides Joffiel to an entrance where in just a moment, she’s already inside a bedroom. This marks the start of the trial.

Joffiel noticed that she’s inside an apartment. As she goes out of her room, she notices that she has housemates.

As she’s walking towards a girl that is busy using her laptop, someone bumps into her making her fall on her feet.

“I am so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you,” a guy said in a very apologetic voice.

Joffiel just smiled as she did not feel any kind of pain. She said “It’s okay, I’m fine. How about you? Are you okay?”

“Really? That didn’t hurt you? I’m also fine and also, my name is Elor. You’re our new housemate, right?” the guy introduced himself.

Joffiel became aware that she should try her best to act like a human. Should I act that I felt hurt that time, did I mess up at the start of this trial? Well, I’ll just be more careful on how I move from now on. Joffiel thought by herself.

Joffiel accepted the hand offered by Elor and they shook hands afterwards. Just like what she watched from her previous training, she’s copying the gestures of the human beings.

“Joffiel,” she replied very sparingly.

She noticed that Elor had a different kind of smile. She’s not thinking that it's a bad thing but she’s very puzzled on how the guy stares at her.

"You look so beautiful. Do you have a boyfriend?" Elor asked.

Now, Joffiel understands why the guy looks at her in that manner. She knows that the guy is just an illusion that manifests how a true human being acts.

Joffiel smiled at Elor. She prankly said, “Thank you, you also look good. But I am not interested in entertaining suitors. We could still be friends as we are housemates and it will be awkward for us to not be friends, right?”

Elor just scratched his head. He shyly bowed his head and apologized again to Joffiel.

Joffiel could see how anxious Elor was. Joffiel speaks with her mind. It’s amazing how a single illusion of human being could manifest different kinds of emotion. This training is very cool as the way the illusion acts is very realistic. At first, I’m totally convinced that he’s a human but he’s just an illusion.

Joffiel watches Elor as he walks toward his own bedroom. Joffiel was confused on why Elor suddenly stopped walking.

“Did I get you?” Elor asked as he turned around to speak with Joffiel.

Joffiel became more confused. She just asked, “What? I don’t understand you.”

Elor smiled and said, “You’re also an angel, right? You’re not hurt even though you fall on your feet.”

Joffiel was amazed. She exclaimed, “Wow! You’re so great. No, I can’t believe this. I am so confident that you are just an illusion, how did you do that?”

“Years of practice, This is my third time doing this trial,” Elor answered.

“Why did you spend so much time on this trial? You’re so good at this task,” Joffiel said.

“On the part of being able to blend with the humans, I could say that I already mastered it. However, the reason that’s holding me back to proceed to my next tasks is that I’m afraid,” Elor replied.

“But that's-” Joffiel was interrupted before she could finish her sentence.

“That’s one of the human emotions, I know. Even though they said that it’s alright to proceed, I feel that I should control that emotion first,” Elor continued.

“Could you tell me more about how it happened to you?” Joffiel politely asked.

Both of them were seated on a sofa in the living room of the apartment, far enough so that the busy girl on her laptop could not hear them.

“It started during my first training on this task. I know I’m doing well, however, as I was blending with the human illusions, I saw one of them die in front of me. I didn’t feel any sadness or sorrow, what I felt was different,” Elor explained.

“And that’s being afraid,” Joffiel said.

“Yes, but not because I don’t want that thing to happen to me. I’m afraid that someone in my care would experience that same thing that happened to the human illusion,” Elor expounded.

“You’re afraid that it could be your fault?” Joffiel asked.

“Maybe, I’m not sure. That’s why I’m still training using this task so I would overcome it,” Elor replied.

“I see, did it occur to you that those things could happen for a reason. Like they already serve their purpose and their soul could transcend,” Joffiel said.

Elor was enlightened on what Joffiel has said. He replied, “I think there’s already some angels that said that to me, but the way you said that to me made me realize that I should be alright even though those things could happen.”

“I’m glad that I could help you out there,” Joffiel said.

“I’m really thankful, you’ve changed me. As a thank you, I will help you and guide you so you could master disguising as a human through these two months given to us. After this trial, I will finish this task and proceed to my next task,” Elor replied.

Joffiel became excited as nothing excites her than having new knowledge.

Elor helps out Joffiel and gives many tips that would be helpful for Joffiel. As two months passed by, Joffiel learned many things from Elor.

“So this will be the last day for our two months trial. I hope I become helpful to you and I hope that you will finish your task successfully,” Elor bid farewell to Joffiel.

“Ofcourse, you help me more than enough. I’m so thankful that I met you during this trial. Let’s do our best,” as Joffiel finished her words, she teleported to where her mentor is.

“How’s your two months trial, Joffiel?” Angel Zai asked.

“It’s full of lessons, I’m excited to do the real deal,” Joffiel answered.

Angel Zai just smiled as she knew what was happening during the two-month trial.

“So for your training, you will start as a daughter from a regular family. Unlike the trial, you needed to go out to many places. You need to go to the school and spend time with other students. Make sure you control your emotions and you could be perfectly disguised as a human being,” Angel Zai instructed.

“I understand, Angel Zai,” Joffiel replied.

“For now, just do what you want, the training will start tomorrow so be ready and make sure you are on time,” Angel Zai said.

As the time passed by, the day of the official training started.

As Angel Zai watched over Joffiel, she was amazed that Joffiel was doing well. She thought that if she doesn’t know Joffiel she might be convinced that she’s just an illusion.

As Joffiel was blending with the human beings, she recognized many angels. She could do it by the help of the things she learned from Elor.

As the training goes by, Joffiel would still learn new knowledge on human emotions. She would perfectly react to everything that’s happening around her. She shows effort but not too much, no overreacting and no dead moment. A perfect normal human, that what Angel Zai would describe Joffiel in her training.

One year has passed and without a doubt, Joffiel successfully finished her task.

All of the angels from the city were gathered in one place and many angels were surprised when they saw Joffiel being there. No guess that she’s an angel. Having three angels to guess one’s identity is considered to be very good, that’s why everyone was amazed on how Joffiel disguised.

Groups were separated according to how much time they interacted with each other during the training, they discussed how they were able to recognize others as an angel. This serves as a post-training discussion for them to analyze everyone’s behavior. Joffiel contributed so much to other angels on how they could do the same thing she did.

As the discussion ended, everyone thanked each other and went back to their respective mentors.

“You did well, Joffiel. Aside from doing your tasks perfectly, you managed to give lessons to others. You could be a mentor at your age,” Angel Zai joked to Joffiel.

“Thank you, Angel Zai. I’m looking forward to the next tasks,” Joffiel replied.