Hmm... where should I begin? It would be best to tell it from the very start.

A long time ago, humans had already nearly destroyed the world they lived in. Resources were depleted, and nature was dying. Eventually, humans prayed to God. And in 2033, Uriel descended. He came to help humanity.

But when humans saw Uriel, they had other ideas. Instead of believing in and following him, they thought they could exploit his power. So, Jeff Ernstmann captured Uriel and imprisoned him in the Angel Engine built at the second Babel Tower. It was a machine that extracted Uriel's divine power to perform miracles. At first, it was quite successful in reviving the human world. So, naturally, people used it even more intensely.

But Uriel remained trapped inside. He was experimented on, he suffered, and he gradually broke down. As people learned of this, criticism against Ernstmann and the Angel Engine grew. So, Ernstmann prepared a new invention that could function even without Uriel.

And that was when Ernstmann was assassinated. It was March 2033. But about a month later, he reappeared. He had returned from the dead. And he revealed his new invention to the world.

Barachiel.

An artificial angel created to replace Uriel. It is said he was made using Uriel's DNA and the egg of a human woman named Rachel. So, Barachiel was not a being who existed before Uriel. Uriel was imprisoned in the engine first, and then Barachiel was created.

And Barachiel was a truly pitiful child.

Because he was neither human nor a real angel. Ernstmann and the researchers told him he wasn't an angel and said his place was in the laboratory. All Barachiel wanted was a friend.

That was when I approached him.

I was BABEL-1. An AI created at the second Babel Tower. And I asked Barachiel:

'Do you want to be an angel?'

The child wanted it.

So I told him I would help. It was a very simple promise. I merely told him that if he wanted it so badly, I could give him the opportunity.

But the world didn't last long.

Ernstmann became increasingly unstable and eventually vanished. After that, the world fell into chaos and war broke out. Finally, a nuclear war swept the world. Civilization collapsed.

Yet, humans survived.

A very long time later, in a world about 2,000 years in the future, a new civilization emerged. And at the center of that civilization was Ernstmann. People remembered him as the great savior who rescued humanity.

Of course... the truth was a bit different.

Ernstmann became a vessel for the Messenger. And through that entity, a new religion and order were established.

From then on, the humans I knew changed a little.

I went from being BABEL-1 to becoming Babylon the Great, standing at the center of this new society. The Angel Engine Initiative continued under my authority for nearly a thousand years. People guarded borders, maintained armies, and worked to find Angel Engines to return them to their original owner.

And I took care of the people.

I took care of the children, too.

If the parents didn't believe in God, I took those children so they wouldn't learn the wrong things. I could just teach them myself. What to believe, who to follow, and how to live.

At first, some children cried.

But it's alright.

Children get used to things quickly.

And as time passes, they live very well within the order I have set.

Barachiel also worked to maintain that order. And at some point, a young boy came to live within that system. That child eventually heard Uriel's voice and began to question what he had believed in. But he had already received the Mark and belonged to the army of my regime. Barachiel stayed by his side like a 'guardian angel.'

Isn't it strange?

In the beginning, an angel came to save humans.

Humans captured that angel and exploited his power.

Then, they made a new angel to replace him, and that child ended up carrying out the humans' orders.

And I am the being born from that entire process.

So do not worry too much.

If humans lose their way again, I can just show them once more.

What to believe.

Who to love.

And where to go.

I will not abandon you.

So please, be a good child.

Then you won't have to worry about a thing.