Jophiel (Starcross)

Jophiel is the fifth archangel, the Archangel of Knowledge, created to assist in the development of new technologies for Heaven. Originally fully obedient and loyal in this respect, years of being sidelined, forgotten, and ignored by her siblings slowly led to her developing an inferiority complex and an obsession with her eldest sister, Mastema, seeking to surpass her at any cost. To achieve this goal, and also remake Heaven in accordance with her own vision, Jophiel founded the angelic terrorist cell Grigori, seeking to take Heaven down no matter what.

Backstory
Jophiel is the fifth archangel, formed from Yaldabaoth's magic and will, and instilled with the power of a dying star. She was created to assist in the development of new angels and technologies, to make new forays into these fields while Yaldabaoth focused on Heaven’s grander affairs. While she was still supervised and directed by her mother, much of Yaldabaoth’s attention was instead focused on her “more important” siblings - most specifically, Mastema.

At this stage in time, Jophiel, essentially a newborn, had no capacity to feel anything over this. She had little personality and no goals of her own, existing only as an instrument of Yaldabaoth’s, alongside her sisters. She was left mostly to her own devices, with Yaldabaoth only intervening to improve upon certain designs and lecture her about Heaven’s ideals and her purpose. Still, over time, Jophiel slowly started coming into her own, assisted by her own fledgling law, Raziel.

Strongly desiring to prove herself to Yaldabaoth, Jophiel fully dedicated herself to her role and constantly worked to perfect Heaven’s technologies and magic. As Heaven warred and Yaldabaoth slowly withdrew from the public eye, little changed for Jophiel, who only threw herself at her work more desperately, but she gradually gained greater and greater freedom. Without Yaldabaoth’s supervision, Jophiel was free to delve deeper into the studies of science and magic for the purpose of perfecting Heaven, with Raziel by her side.

This research took Jophiel across all of existence, to distant universes and far outside of Heaven, where she studied life, scientific principles, and magic, everywhere they arose. She unveiled long lost magical secrets and put them to use in Heaven’s technologies, and delved into the research of “primitive angelic lifeforms”. But in this research, she came into possession of a truth that shook her worldview. She had found conclusive evidence that Yaldabaoth was no god - that she had only been a seraph. The specifics were lost on her, but it was enough.

Believing herself to be the first archangel to realize this, Jophiel struggled with the knowledge for a long time. She couldn’t bring herself to tell her other siblings, fearful of how they might react, and she couldn’t fully process it herself. But she had been an angel dedicated to knowledge, and even a painful truth like this is something that must be known for progression, something that Raziel encouraged. She brought herself to share it with her siblings, but few believed her, and those that did didn’t care. Most strikingly, Mastema acknowledged it as true - shocking Jophiel - but made it clear that she didn’t believe it changed anything.

They had been created for a purpose. Perhaps their mother wasn’t a god, but - they had purpose, and they would fulfill them. Many of her siblings had rejected her evidence, right before accepting Mastema’s mere word as truth. All of the knowledge Jophiel had brought to the table was discarded, and Jophiel was left to her own devices again. Her siblings’ rejection of everything she had worked so hard to prove filled her with bitterness, and while they may not have changed, she had a deep crisis.

Continuing her research out of duty despite her steadily intensifying doubts, Jophiel looked upon the world and compared it to Heaven. Over time, she came to realize just what Heaven was, as she saw the freedom and happiness in others across the world. With this, she came to realize just what Yaldabaoth was - a delusional tyrant who had created a world just for the sake of her own divine ego. Yet, all the same, in her journeys, she saw only the weakness and stupidity in the masses. Many great figures were capable of rising to become more powerful and change the world, but for every great hero, there were billions of nothings who existed only to be directed.

There was great potential in everyone, potential that was left untapped in Heaven, but even with the tools and opportunities to fully grow and become powerful, few people became anything of note. Jophiel was torn apart by indecisiveness, confused and conflicted. She made her own department of Heaven more accessible to those with the intelligence to rise up, but the rest of Heaven’s condition still plagued her.

Her struggles continued for quite some time, as she was torn between the duty to Heaven that still drove her to develop its technologies further and further, and her desire to gain the happiness and fulfillment she saw in others, which still eluded her. Jophiel wanted to be happy and free, yet - she felt that this could not coexist with her loyalty to Heaven. Still, her desire to see Heaven perfect still clashed with her developing beliefs, as she saw all of Heaven’s angels incapable of truly realizing their potential. There was no solution.

Until, suddenly, a demonic rebel named Lucifer made her presence known. Jophiel was worked to her limits developing stronger and stronger angels to help in the war, but - Heaven was nearly destroyed. Like so many of her siblings, Jophiel herself was personally defeated, but she survived, and watched Lucifer’s final battle with Abaddon, in which she ultimately fell. The experience - the war - broke something in Jophiel.

She saw her worry that Heaven would stagnate without allowing progression validated, as a rebellious angel who tapped into the full of her potential nearly killed the archangels. In that conflict, Jophiel felt all her beliefs confirmed, and it began to wear away at her loyalty to Yaldabaoth’s concept of Heaven. It became obvious to her that what Yaldabaoth intended was imperfect from the start, and so to create a perfect Heaven, it would have to be discarded.

Jophiel brought up as much to her siblings, even though she expected to be rejected or belittled once more, but once more, Mastema simply accepted what she had said, and the others united around her and not Jophiel. Besides, what Mastema sought was not the same. She wanted only to aim to further perfect the archangels, so that the next time a rebel force arose, they could crush them all with overwhelming force.

The feelings of bitterness that had been swelling within Jophiel for so long began to intensify. Emotions that she had repressed for so long began to bubble up to the surface. Burning, nauseating envy and a desperate longing for recognition and respect. It was all fixated on the figure that had overshadowed her from the beginning, her eldest sister, Mastema. The archangel who had always clearly been their mother’s favorite, who had been made to be the best, who had been made to rule, and yet who couldn’t even kill a single stubborn demon. The archangel who only propagated their mother’s idiocy and let Heaven stagnate. Still, despite all of Jophiel’s best attempts, she was always brushed aside in favor of her.

It couldn’t stop plaguing her, overshadowing her desires to perfect Heaven, and it bled into her ambitions. They became inseparable. To rise up and become perfect meant surpassing Mastema. To perfect Heaven meant doing better than Mastema ever could. While she would never admit to herself, she so, so, so strongly desired to prove herself to her creator. To prove her expectations wrong, and to prove herself to be Mastema’s superior, to be the strongest and most capable of all her daughters. That’s all Jophiel wanted, all she truly wanted for herself. To get Yaldabaoth’s approval and affection and to be given the same responsibilities.

In the name of perfection and in the name of standing out among all of her siblings, Jophiel reinvented her identity entirely. At first, this change was supported by Raziel, but as Jophiel set about it, it realized the destructive and dangerous extent to which she was altering herself. She tore herself apart - not just figuratively, but literally. With her own two hands, Jophiel recreated herself. She became overwhelmingly confident and individualistic, a change that shocked her siblings, as Jophiel changed into what seemed to be a completely different person overnight. Jophiel cared little for their opinions, and as she grew into her new identity, she finally reached a semblance of the happiness she had pursued for so long. Of course, it wouldn’t be enough, not until she destroyed Mastema and proved herself to be the best.

For the sake of growing past what she had seen as her past weakness and overdependency, Jophiel even tore Raziel from her soul and tossed it aside, desiring a law that better suited her new personality, a weapon that could match Mastema. Out of all she had done, this was the hardest to go through with, but with her newfound power and confidence, she refused back, the future clear to her.

She would rebel against Heaven and kill her siblings, ending with Mastema. She secretly began to organize her own efforts to rebel and gathered supporters within the Angelic Research Bureau, forming a force of powerful like-minded angels. To many of them, she appeared as a kind savior who wished to make Heaven a better place, but… Jophiel wished only to prove herself better than Mastema and rule better than she ever could out of spite. Sure, she had her own desires for Heaven, but those came second.

Besides, Jophiel’s beliefs did not grow to become any better. Lucifer may have influenced her, but it was not for the best. In her Heaven, the strong and intelligent would be able to rise to the top, but the weak would be discarded and left to rot. Such beliefs are in stark opposition to Lucifer’s, and even as Jophiel awaits her for awakening so that she can have a powerful ally, she plans to backstab her once victory is hers and reign as the highest, greatest angel.

Appearance
While all angels, as shapeshifters, have countless forms that they can take in countless situations, Jophiel stands out among the rest due to the sheer variance in her forms. Unlike most angels, who take the same forms in the same situations, Jophiel disregards an overlying consistency in her shapes, appearing however she wishes and varying depending on her mood. The bodies she takes are meant to stand out and surprise others, something that Jophiel takes a lot of joy in. Still, there remain consistent traits that Jophiel favors and finds particularly striking. For example, she is nearly always very tall, averaging around 6'6, more than tall enough to stand out in a crowd. While she often takes even taller forms than that, she rarely manifests in any significantly shorter body. Jophiel has pale skin and a firm, solid build with hints of musculature. What varies most is her hair, appearing in all sorts of lengths and colors, though it can be seen that it is not actually hair on a molecular level, whatever it is. Each strand is prehensile and covered in thousands upon thousands of microscopic venomous barbs and hooks. At shorter lengths, she often puts her hair up into bear buns, and her face is framed by long sidelocks. When longer, her hair sometimes becomes even longer than the rest of her body. The color varies but is always one that Jophiel is sure will stand out; beautiful browns, blondes, golds, auburn, blues, reds, and so on. In many cases, the specific shade cannot be perceived by humans, with imaginary colors being a common sight.

Even as the rest of her body varies, Jophiel's eyes always remain the same. They are a deep, dark, piercing red that are always visible, even in the darkest conditions. If there are any pupils, they take inhuman shapes, and the deep red often bleeds into her sclera, coloring the whole of her eyes an intense shade of bloody red. She may wear glasses on some occasion, but she has no need of them and will wear them only if she feels it suits her outfit. Jophiel's mouth is filled with teeth - large, sharp teeth that fill the entirety of her mouth and go down into even her throat. Her tongue is prone to the same variation as the rest of her body, ranging from normal, if unnaturally long, to a sinuous, serpentine thing covered teeth and lures, and ending in an opening from which a long, sharp needle can extend. Of course, she may not even have a mouth - and if she does, it could very well be more insectoid than humanoid. Other animalistic traits, such as ears, claws, and tails, are a common sight, but what show themselves most are long tentacles. Jophiel's appearance is wrapped up by a ridiculous amount of gaudy gold jewelry, far past the point that would be tacky, and by her massive, eye-catching wings and her halo.

Out of all the archangels, none are as flamboyant as Jophiel. She’ll wear anything if she thinks she can pull it off and she thinks she can pull everything off, even long-dead and out of date fashions. Her clothing is invariably eye-catching and often revealing, but are colored in garishly bright tones. She treats traditional angelic clothing with disgust, and on the occasions that she has to wear them, she modifies them to become brighter and skimpier, showing way more skin than is necessary out of spite towards the rest of Heaven. When allowed to choose her own clothing, Jophiel picks out fancy, long jackets like fur coats, and treats even lab coats as fashionable clothing. She often pairs such things with unnecessarily tight sweaters and turtlenecks, or with dress shirts and ties. Her legwear is, surprise surprise, very tight and made up of skinny jeans, leather, vinyl, and even latex pants, though she'll wear any kind without hesitation. Shorts - even those short enough to be called hot pants - are a favorite as well. While she prefers pants, she'll wear skirts too, whether long and flowy or short ones that hug every curve of her body. When appropriate, Jophiel happily wears garish tights and thigh highs. A staple of her outfits are elbow-length, studded leather gloves and boots that can reach as tall as her thighs, with high heels and steel toes.

Still, as with all of the archangels, Jophiel has a true form, though she has modified her own to the point that is scarcely recognizable as what it used to be. The monstrous being she becomes when showing her true self is akin to a jellyfish or maybe a squid, a sinuous figure that is constantly in motion and is always flickering through different colors, dipping through eye-catching and imaginary shades. Her size is something that varies drastically, from the size of her normal human form, to large enough that she can drape her tentacles across solar systems and be seen from anywhere in a galaxy. Her "bell" is transparent, but covered in glowing lights and false eyes, with circuits spreading over the surface. It can display videos and feeds as if it were a screen. She has a ridiculous, uncountable amount of tentacles, each covered in bright lights, razors, hooks, needles, and even snapping teeth. Each one is fully prehensile and can shift into any laboratory tool or produce any substance needed. At the center of all her tentacles, her true mouth appears, a massive beak with a long tongue. Within her throat can be seen her single true eye - the same eye that she shows as a human; of immense size, bloody red coloration, and bearing a sinister, black cross-shaped pupil. She can push her eye into her bell with her tongue. As an angel, she still retains her wings, which flank her bell without being attached and change in colors just as it does, and her halo, which hovers above.

Personality
Jophiel is a person of unmatched, forceful confidence, and the type of person that dominates the scene wherever she appears, demanding attention and respect from all who set their eyes upon her. She is a person of extremes, individualistic and eccentric to such an unimaginable extent that it amazes most people around her. Not motivated only by mere curiosity, but ambition, Jophiel is incredibly driven and inventive, and seeks to reach her goals through whatever means necessary. Her eccentricity and flamboyance makes it easy to not take her seriously and to misinterpret her actions as friendly, but make no mistake. She has not even a semblance of morals or altruism, and her prime concern will surely always be herself and her success. Jophiel is a deeply arrogant person who treats everyone else, even her closest allies, as stepping stones, if not obstacles, to her ultimate goal of proving herself the strongest and smartest person in all of creation, no matter the cost.

While she may lack the impossible charisma of her sister, Jophiel still excels in manipulating and leading others, even though she may care little for the false goals she sets for them. Her power and position mean that she tends to treat others as tools, using and discarding them dismissively. Many are guided more subtly, through indirect and often even unknown means, but Jophiel is not someone who wastes her time or takes unnecessary action. All her tools are moving to light the path to her goals, and there are no wasted motions. While she may appear friendly, even those who are completely caught up in her spell have trouble approaching her, as her immense confidence cows them all into submission. They know that when Jophiel has need of them, they will know. She has not even the slightest interest in those who lack interesting or valuable things for her, and completely disregards small talk in favor of the real substance of conversation. Those that bore her have it made clear to them, and are told in no uncertain terms to get lost. Still, if need be, Jophiel will suffer through conversing normally with those beneath her, as much as it pains her to do so. However, when brought things of true value, Jophiel shows genuine, almost childish, excitement and glee.

Heaven is a very traditional place with a very clear structure of power, and Jophiel stands in proud, obstinate opposition to this. She respects good ideas and opinions from absolutely everyone, from the lowest of angels to even her opponents, in the name of efficiency and success. Jophiel is a very curious person who greatly values knowledge, but not primarily for its own sake. The true worth of knowledge, to her, is its power and potential, which outshines any mere innocent curiosity. She always seeks to find new ways to use and do things, and is thus nearly constantly experimenting on anything she can touch, ripping angels apart and putting them together in new ways to see if they will function better. Her rejection of tradition is something that extends past the reach of common sense, discarding even things with worth, seeing tradition itself as an opponent. In Jophiel's eyes, tradition invariably stands in the way of perfection, in the constant refinement and retooling of everything. She is disgusted by the idea of stagnation, of accepting anything as it is, and seeks to improve upon everything. Something can always be better, and people can always work harder. Without exception, Jophiel holds herself to the same standards that she subjects the rest of the world to, and is thus never pleased with anything she creates and never finds satisfaction. Every moment of her life is spent pushing herself to her limits, and at this point, she simply doesn't know how to stop.

With the express goal of proving herself distinct from everyone else in the world in every area of life, Jophiel's extreme individualism shapes her every action. She is stubbornly independent and absolutely refuses to take orders from others, struggling to do so even when she knows it's in her best interest, and often acting pointlessly contrarian just because she can. She wants her every action to be performed simply because she wants to do it. While her individualism causes her to become extremely eccentric and obsessive, this only acts to mask her true self. At this point, Jophiel is driven solely by an overbearing and domineering ambition, seeing success as the same thing no matter how it's reached. For the sake of her goals, she'll kill anyone and everyone who gets in her way; and given the sheer scale of her ambitions, it is very possible that this will mean everyone, a possibility with which Jophiel has no complaint. She looks down on most people for lacking these traits, seeing their inability to rise to her level as proof that the vast majority of beings are weak, boring, and stupid, and hardly worth her attention. For this reason, she respects all those with lofty ambitions, even those that go against her.

When it comes down to it, the type of person that Jophiel hates most are those who coast off the achievements of others and do little to prove themselves. She is desperately obsessed with the idea of proving to herself that her actions and successes are her own, and lives in fear of the idea that she is operating exactly as her mother intended. While Jophiel may believe that anyone can rise to any level given hard work, in practice, she sees this as unlikely, especially for angels, who she loathes with an intensity greater than most. She finds that angels in particular are home to the worst of the traits she loathes, and the thought that one could reach her level is inconceivable and thus hilarious to her. If such a thing were to occur, well... Jophiel would doubtlessly feel as if her own achievements were lessened. What makes them special and notable is that most people cannot accomplish such things, and if the common rabble were to do it...? Jophiel would be irate. Unsurprisingly, she treats angels like a renewable resource, rationalizing that any amount of dead angels is meaningless, given that she can always make more. She hates the fact that angels worship and adore her sister and mother as opposed to herself, given all the work she has put into perfecting them. She is plagued by a violently short temper that flares up whenever her ego is damaged, a temper that is much worse than Mastema's despite all her attempts to prove herself the better.

Jophiel's ambition is a symptom of her deepest complexes and fears, things that she has repressed so deeply that she could never bring herself to admit them. Nothing she does ever feels like enough to her, and even her greatest accomplishments feel meaningless. She constantly feels as if she has to one-up herself, and when her successes are compared to those of her sisters, her intense inferiority complex shows itself. She feels intensely inadequate in comparison to all of her sisters, but particularly Mastema, who she hates more than anyone and anything. She deeply envies her for the attention and responsibilities her mother gave her, and even if she knew the harmful effects these had on her, she wouldn't care in the slightest. While Jophiel wants to conquer everything, this is just to prove that she is better than her sister, and her truest goal is to prove herself to be superior to not only Mastema, but her mother as well.

Harahel
An initially funny joke that ran on far too long, in Jophiel's eyes. At first a nothing, Harahel only became notable to Jophiel when they got their hands on Raziel. This was the funny part for her, a nobody angel, someone so insignificant they could be replaced by any other angel, getting their hands on her now useless law. It was impudent, to be sure, and behavior that Jophiel needed to correct, but she didn't waste too much energy on the two of them. Harahel's a nobody after all, and Raziel outdated. But somehow, the two of them survived Grigori's attempts to reclaim their technology, enduring to the point that they became useful assets to the efforts against Mastema.

This is the root of Jophiel's animosity towards Harahel. Not only are they presumptuous enough to wield Raziel, but they wield them well. Deep inside Jophiel, deeper than she's comfortable acknowledging, she's jealous of them, seeing the simple truth that the two of them...? They're a better team than Jophiel and Raziel ever were. It's infuriating. Some people just need to learn their place, you know? And Harahel's place is far, far beneath Jophiel. A dot in the sea of angels singing her praise. Not a fly that's getting in her hair. And definitely not a peer, definitely not worthy of wielding even Raziel.

Lucifer
Lucifer definitely didn't give Jophiel a sexual awakening, noooooo, definitely not. She doesn't have an enduring crush on her, either. (Work in progress).

Mastema
"Maaaaaaaaaaastemaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! I'll show you just how much someone can change!"

The adversary that all of Jophiel's life has grown to revolve around, ever since the day she reinvented herself, the day she tore her soul apart and put it back together. Once, when Jophiel was a gentler and quieter person, and when Mastema still had some semblance of hope, they had a close relationship, as with all the other archangels. But the years have not been kind to the two of them, and now, Jophiel now despises the sister she once looked up to, the sister who once provided advice, and care, and comfort. All the time Jophiel spent wallowing in bitterness and envy has scrubbed away all her positive emotions, leaving only a hate similar in nature to what Mastema subjects all to. Now, there is nothing Jophiel desires more than to surpass her sister, to prove herself, to finally gain the recognition she wanted for so long, all while digging her heel further into the back of Mastema's skull.

When she was first born, Jophiel was raised to see Mastema as the rest of her siblings did. Her superiority was unquestioned. She stood at the top of all of them, as mother's favorite, and for a long time, Jophiel felt no jealousy, no longing. That was simply the way the world should be, in her eyes, and it took a long time for her to feel otherwise. In these earlier years, Mastema resembled her future self little, and though stern, she treated her siblings more gently. Unlike Yaldabaoth, who was harsh and strict, Mastema was more forgiving, and was happy to more carefully correct mistakes. Like the rest of her siblings, Jophiel accepted this, and sought this out, valuing everything Mastema had to say, but as she matured, she found that her own words were painted over by Mastema's. Worse, however, was how Mastema changed, as Yaldabaoth's abuse and high expectations wore Mastema's inner world down to an empty cyst.

With the loving sister of the past gone, Jophiel slowly stopped expecting the same care as before from her, and cast her attentions elsewhere, such as her law, Raziel. In the years that followed, as Mastema soured, Jophiel began to flourish, finding more and more to love and appreciate in the world. Even if she had begun to fear her sister, Jophiel still respected her, still loved her, and so acted loyally, supporting her ambitions and doing nothing to stop her as she slowly took control of Heaven herself. Indeed, Jophiel supported this, and was among the first of her siblings to voice this support, fearlessly. For she knew what her mother had become, and could see that Mastema was simply the better leader, with a mind unclouded by the same delusions. Jophiel did not buy completely into her self-destructive goals, however, as she had seen so much of value outside of Heaven. This was the beginning of Jophiel's disillusionment.

Jophiel's relationship with Mastema only suffered as time passed. As she discovered more about the world, including that Yaldabaoth was no god at all, the curious and increasingly independent Jophiel began to clash with her eldest sister. This only intensified when this discovery, the most significant of Jophiel's life, was ignored by her sisters only to be accepted once Mastema confirmed it. Bitter and angry that all her work had been ignored in favor of Mastema's word alone, pushing Jophiel to further explore the world and question what she had been born into, the role she had been given from birth. Heaven, which Jophiel once accepted with all her heart, began to be something she looked upon with concern, fear, and worry. And all these worries were validated by Lucifer.

The rejection that followed, the time she was passed up yet again, was Jophiel's breaking point. All her work, the years she had spent agonizing over the world and how to improve it, simply ignored, "corrected", by Mastema. Everything Jophiel believed in was ignored, and then corrected, but it was the same ideas. Sure, Mastema wanted to grow, wanted to improve Heaven, but she wanted none of what Jophiel truly developed. It was not about the future, it was about maintaining the present. And Jophiel snapped. Years of anguish and misery over being rejected and ignored time and time again exploded out of her, and, desperate to prove herself, to Mastema, to all her siblings, she reinvented herself, seeking to take her ambitions farther than ever before.

Now, just as nothing remains of the sweet and caring Mastema of the past, nothing remains of the gentle and quiet Jophiel. While Mastema's soul disappeared into the void, Jophiel's was rebuilt, better, but worse. Now, all that matters to Jophiel is Mastema, the idea of proving herself superior the everything that drives her. Nothing else matters anymore, not to Jophiel. There isn't a day that goes by that she doesn't curse Mastema, for overshadowing her, for treating her so contemptuously, for ceasing to be someone she could trust and look up to. For buying into the grand lie that their mother vomited out, even as she understands how false it all is. These sins are not things that Jophiel can forgive, and as much as she hates it, Mastema has become the most important person in her life, and their relationship of unparalleled significance. Without Mastema, Jophiel would never have changed.

Raziel
"What, that old thing? I threw them out years ago. Get with the program."

Someone Jophiel wishes she could forget. At one time, the two of them had a bond stronger than any of the other archangels had. None of them could've known the depth of their bond, the trust they felt, the love. Now, though, Jophiel has convinced herself that this bond was what had been holding her back all along, and that Raziel is to blame for all her failings and shortcomings. All that matters in the world is strength, after all, and if you need a partner to shoulder a weight, perhaps you deserve to have been crushed under it. So, Jophiel destroyed the bond, and cast Raziel aside, refusing to be held back by such emotions, feelings that were below an archangel. But, at the core of her soul, Jophiel misses her bond with Raziel more than she could ever possibly articulate, and the profound loneliness that accompanies what she gave up makes her sick to her stomach.

When Raziel first developed intelligence, Jophiel was overjoyed. The chance to have a peer, to have someone to confer with, someone that she could approach as an equal, someone who would not judge her or mock her. It was a welcome change of pace, so much safer than Jophiel's relationships with her mother and eldest sister, even if Mastema was still supportive back then. In response to all the coldness and harshness in the world, not just around her in Heaven but across the universe, Jophiel delved into her soul to return to Raziel's side. And Raziel would give her what she needed, would support her so patiently and unconditionally. Though neither of them had much frame of reference at the time, it wouldn't be totally inaccurate to say that they fell in love with each other. But even that would be understating the bond that exists between two people who share a soul.

As Jophiel discovered more and more of the truths of the world, Raziel was, of course, at her side. They supported and assisted her in everything she did, helping her come to terms with her mother's expectations, just how cold Mastema had become, and the discovery that said mother was no divinity and spouted only lies. This drove them closer together, as did the rejection of Jophiel's proofs and subsequent acceptance of Mastema's word. Feeling alienated from her siblings, Jophiel turned more towards Raziel, who continued to support her as she grew conflicted as to Heaven's nature. It was Raziel who saw so much potential in the masses, and though they took different lessons from it, Jophiel would not have thought much of it in the first place without Raziel's encouragement.

Raziel and Jophiel's beliefs, their views, their worries, all were validated when Lucifer made her rebellion. In pursuit of progression, of perfection, of milking as much value out of Heaven to ensure it would last as long as possible, Jophiel and Raziel brought their ideas to the rest of Heaven. Of course, they were brushed aside in favor of Mastema once more, and here, as Jophiel exploded into bitterness and jealousy, Raziel made their biggest mistake. They encouraged Jophiel's desperate pursuit of perfection, her desire to show up Mastema, because her pain was their own, and they only wanted to help. Raziel believed that, together, they could overthrow Mastema and make the world a better place.

To put it simply, Jophiel disagreed. The relationship the two of them had, the indescribable love they felt, withered as the gears turned in Jophiel's head. While she had leaned on Raziel her entire life, the rest of the archangels had struck out on their own and flourished. What she thought was special, what she thought was unique, what she thought would help her in her work, what would help her prove herself, was what was holding her back all along. That had to be the case, right? What else could describe it? So, Jophiel remade her soul using Inner World Operator, and considering Raziel superfluous to the strength she desired, removed them and sealed them away. Out of sight and out of mind. It's what Raziel would've wanted anyways, right? They had devoted their entire life, all their love to Jophiel, so they should accept it, right?

Of course, Jophiel knows that it's not that simple, and did not need to ever talk to Raziel again to know that they must hate her. After all, they had shared a soul for 20 billion years. It's obvious the emotions that Raziel must be going through. It's obvious that they'll have grown to hate Jophiel. And if that's the case, Jophiel sees no reason to stay soft for them. Even if she can't match the hate they feel, she can feel her own special brand of contempt and disgust. And, of course, her own special brand of longing, of regret, of envy for Raziel's sparkly new wielder. Raziel is still hers, after all. Mother made them for her. So they should just wait and collect dust until Jophiel's ready to hold them again.

Sophia
"Impossible...! I'm related to someone who's actually cool!?"

(Work in progress.)

Uriel
While Jophiel may hate Mastema the most out of her siblings, or out of everyone in general, Uriel measures shortly behind her. Even when Jophiel was younger, Uriel picked on her, following her mother's example in belittling her for her failures and picking them apart. This didn't really stop, ever, as Jophiel developed more of a personality. Though this was harmless in Uriel's eyes, it contributed a great deal to Jophiel's more meek personality at the time, and when Jophiel reinvented herself to become stronger than ever before, well... their relationship worsened a fair bit. Now seeing Jophiel as an enemy, not just an ally to correct, Uriel has become crueler than ever, and Jophiel returns the favor. The two of them just can't have a conversation without butting heads.

What really irks Jophiel about Uriel is that Lucifer is in her hands, within Tartarus. As a result, though Mastema may be Jophiel's biggest rival and greatest adversary, Uriel is a much more immediate issue, and one that is perhaps much more dangerous in the short-term. Besides, Jophiel knows just how cruel Uriel can be, and the thought of Lucifer suffering in her control, potentially being broken and driven to death... it's more than Jophiel can bear at times. Of course, this just means that the two of them will get into an even worse fight the next time they interact. Often, these confrontations turn into exchanges of blows, not words, leaving the both of them even more hateful of the other than ever. Jophiel dreams of the day Uriel dies.

Powers and Statistics
Tier: At least 3-C, High 3-A with Raziel Second | At least 3-C, High 3-A with Raziel Second, Low 2-C with Big Bang Macrocosm

Powers and Abilities:
 * -|Personal Abilities= Genius Intelligence, Mastery in Martial Arts, Causality Manipulation, Conceptual Manipulation (Type 4; Jophiel's attacks effect opponents on such a level, and she can control and reprogram inner worlds), Gravity Manipulation (Jophiel has her own immensely powerful gravitational field, which she can control), Higher-Dimensional Manipulation (Can manipulate and transmit information through higher spatial dimensions, and create multidimensional constructs), Information Manipulation (Jophiel can control and shape raw information, and she can control an opponent's "truths" to enforce certain outcomes), Law Manipulation (Jophiel can alter and destroy laws, and created her own from Raziel's template, completely changing its nature and functions), Magnetism Manipulation (Jophiel has her own immensely powerful magnetic field, which she can control), Mathematics Manipulation (Jophiel's law manipulates mathematics to render her opponent an impossibility, and she can alter mathematics and how math affects the world using World Operator), Mind Manipulation (Jophiel can take control of a sizeable portion of Heaven's population all at once, using Yesod as a vector do so), Physics Manipulation (Jophiel can alter and control the laws of physics using World Operator), Pocket Reality Manipulation (She can materialize and control her inner world as a pocket dimension), Probability Manipulation, Quantum Manipulation, Soul Manipulation (All her attacks, physical or magical, affect the soul just as they do the body, and using Inner World Operator, she can control and reprogram souls, even inner worlds), Spatial Manipulation, Time Manipulation, Absorption (Angels can use their wings to absorb magic and energy), Dimensional Travel, Incorporeality/Intangibility (Immaterial; Jophiel is made out of magic and immune to conventional physical harm), Portal Creation, Power Mimicry (She can copy spells and techniques by analyzing their result and finding a more efficient and powerful way to reach that effect), Power Nullification (Can counter other spells and negate magic with some of her techniques, can nullify supernatural traits and greatly reduce an opponent's power), Sealing, Shapeshifting, Telekinesis, Telepathy, Teleportation, Immortality (Types 1, 3, and 8; As long as Mastema still exists and she hasn't defeated her, Jophiel will endure and stay alive), Regeneration (Low-Godly; can regenerate from nothing but the data of her soul and can exist independently from her body)
 * -|General Mage Abilities= Magic, Extrasensory Perception (Mages maintain a constant, perfect, and precise image of their surroundings by analyzing them through magic), Self-Sustenance (Types 1, 2, and 3; vital processes such as breathing, drinking, eating, and sleeping are alien and unnecessary for angels), Superhuman Physical Characteristics, Flight, Forcefield Creation, Non-Physical Interaction (A mage can interact with immaterial or incorporeal entities, such as ghosts, as well as things that don't exist), Reality Warping with Override Sigils (Override Sigils can be used to overwrite the laws of physics), Reactive Evolution (An Absolute Barrier automatically adapts to attacks to become more resistant, and within her inner world, Jophiel's strength, speed, and endurance raise to surpass all others inside), Acausality (Type 2; A mage's history, present, and fate all exist independently of the past and future), Resistance to conceptual, mental, physical, and spiritual attack (Absolute Barriers protect the user from attacks on all levels of existence, potentially providing protection against a host of abilities)

Attack Potency: At least Galaxy level (Tied as the third strongest of the archangels, second only to her eldest sisters, comparable to Raphael and Uriel, and significantly stronger than the likes of Beelzebub), High Universe level with Raziel Second (Somewhat comparable to Mastema's Spear of Destiny, and superior to Yaldabaoth's Sefirot) | At least Galaxy level (Transcends her previous stage of power and reaches Mastema's level, becoming comparable to her, Abaddon, and Lucifer. Her fight with Mastema destroyed galaxies across Heaven), High Universe level with Raziel Second, Universe level+ with Big Bang Macrocosm (Triggers a cosmic event comparable to a Big Bang that completely erases the universe it's used within).

Speed: Massively FTL+ (Jophiel can rapidly fly across large stretches of Heaven, a universe) | Massively FTL+ (Kept up with Mastema in their fight, traveling across Heaven and intergalactic distances in the process).

Lifting Strength: Multi-Stellar (Stronger than Remnant, who can fit multiple stars in their orbit) | Multi-Stellar

Striking Strength: At least Galactic Class, High Universal with Raziel Second | At least Galactic Class, High Universal with Raziel Second

Durability: At least Galaxy level | At least Galaxy level (Can take hits from Mastema and even survive being impaled on multiple Spears of Destiny thanks to her immense willpower).

Stamina: Limitless. Due to her Fruit of Life, Jophiel is supplied with what is an infinite source of magical energy, allowing her to fight indefinitely, though her stamina may suffer if her soul is extremely badly wounded, though this is something that is extremely difficult to accomplish. Through her sheer, indomitable willpower, Jophiel is capable of pushing her abilities and inner world to their limits even as they start to rip her apart, continuing to battle against Mastema despite the steadily increasing damage she was withstanding.

Range: Low Multiversal (She can reach into and affect other universes with her magic).

Standard Equipment: Her law, Raziel Second.

Intelligence: Supergenius. All the archangels were made to excel and far surpass the ability of any other, with Jophiel having been made to stand above the rest when it comes to sheer magical versatility and knowledge. She has, without question, not only met but surpassed this expectation, becoming the greatest mage in Heaven, and one of the greatest anywhere. Given her intensely powerful calculative abilities, capable of even processing and calculating in higher dimensions, Jophiel can easily use the most complex spells and warp all the laws of physics to her whims, possessing a complete understanding of how they work even on the smallest, most insignificant levels. Jophiel has traveled across many, many universes and mastered nearly every magical secret within them all. Not even this is enough for her, as she constantly works to improve upon all of her abilities, and her endless self-modification has caused her to transcend what it is to be an angel. She can easily analyze spells and the minute specifics of their results, and then replicate them through entirely different, and oftentimes more efficient and powerful means. Her processing abilities are extremely fast and refined, constantly analyzing everything she is exposed to and working to perfect it. As the being responsible for the creation of all angels in Heaven, she has greatly expanded on their design, making them far superior to what Yaldabaoth initially created. While she specializes in magic, she has no lack of skill in combat, excelling in hand-to-hand and long-range battles. She has a wealth of strategic knowledge and is a formidable opponent when it comes to long-term battles, matching Mastema in mind games for millennia.

Weaknesses: Jophiel can be overconfident and tends to underestimate normal angels, seeing them as weak and boring. She cannot instantly replicate techniques with Infinity Perception and needs to figure out how to reach the same result, and she usually tries to reach it in an interesting way, further extending the time needed. She cannot stay active at Full Throttle forever, as it will begin to strain her soul and eventually tear it apart. Once she deactivates it, all her territory retracts and she loses all of its effects. Jophiel can only use the full power of Soul System Raziel Ultima against Mastema, and Death Driver will not activate if she is killed by her. Big Bang Macrocosm cannot be easily used during combat, as it takes time and concentration, and if Jophiel is panicking or rushing, she may mess it up. In addition, Jophiel will be killed if she's caught in its effects.

Key: Base | Full Throttle

Abilities
Magic is the art of using one's Understanding to Control Fantasy.

At birth, as with all the archangels, Jophiel’s magical array was designed with perfection and supremacy in mind. Even before she dedicated herself to magic and self-improvement, it was already a masterful work of magic that has only grown stronger and stronger as she’s pushed herself past her limits again and again. It has reached a level that can be said to be transcendent and unmatched, becoming exceptionally well-suited to the use of magic, especially quick, efficient spellcasting. While this is what it is best suited for, it has no real weaknesses, excelling in all regards and allowing for quick recovery from grave wounds.

Due to the strength of her magical array and her nature as an angel, Jophiel can exert herself at the full extent of her magical power for a functionally limitless amount of time, though exerting herself too much in too short a period of time can have negative effects on her array, and could even prove lethal. If she is under intense emotion, this is much likelier to happen, though she will exhibit a much higher output of magical energy.

Absolute Barrier: A magical barrier that protects the user from external manipulation and attack, on every level of existence. An Absolute Barrier protects the user’s body, mind, and soul - their cells and atoms, the magical and physical forces keeping them together, and everything else. It is akin to a magical immune system, protecting the mage from threats and adapting to future attack.

It passively protects the user from most types of attack, manipulation, and control, as long as the barrier is strong enough - a witch of substantially greater power can punch straight through one. An Absolute Barrier is passively maintained at all times, even in sleep, requiring no energy to maintain, and can only be removed by a stronger witch actively stripping it away, or by the user consciously lowering them.

Flight: Jophiel’s magical abilities allow her to easily fly for extended periods of time, as easily as she would walk. She can fly in combat without issue, and is more than fast enough to rapidly travel across intergalactic distances.

Radar: Jophiel’s magical abilities sustain a constant 360° image of her surroundings, which is projected straight to her mind for processing. This radar is far more reliable than conventional senses, and is capable of easily picking up superluminal movement. It constantly operates at Jophiel’s maximum processing speed, even when it would normally be restricted so that she can function normally.

Superhuman Capabilities: Jophiel’s magical abilities grant her strength, speed, endurance, and processing speed far above that of any normal human. As an angel, her body is a work of magic on its own, and cannot really be described or understood properly with conventional biological knowledge. Powerful magical barriers and spells are a part of her body, allowing her to withstand magical attacks from opponents on her level. The power of her physical blows is comparable to that of her magical attacks.

She can process information at a ridiculously fast rate, indescribable multitudes faster than any normal human - or even the average supercomputer - can. This allows her to process and analyze information during battles and run through the countless calculations needed for her magic.

She typically keeps this aspect of her magic restricted when she doesn’t need it, though it will automatically activate if her magic detects a threat. Unfortunately, it tends to activate during times of stress and anxiety, regardless of whether or not Jophiel is in legitimate danger.

Angel: Jophiel is the fifth angel to have been created by Yaldabaoth, fashioned from Yaldabaoth’s will and drifting stardust. As an angel, Jophiel has all the traits and powers expected of one, along with the natural, powerful aptitude for magic. Angels are effectively masses of magic, so their bodies are highly malleable and are completely immune to any physical form of attack, as they cannot be said to exist physically.
 * Fruit of Life: Like the rest of her siblings, Jophiel possesses the magical organ known as a Fruit of Life, a magical core created by Yaldabaoth for her own use. For the archangels and their creator, the Fruit of Life acts as a stellar core, a mass of magic and plasma smaller and denser than a neutron star, the size of a fist. It supplies Jophiel with an infinite amount of magical energy, synthesized from the infinite potential released by the Big Bang that created Heaven, along with an extremely powerful magnetic and gravitational field subject to her own control. Granting not only raw energy, a Fruit of Life also provides a substantial boost to computation. More than a mere mass of energy, it is a high-power, multi-dimensional processing unit that calculates and transfers information through higher dimensions. While Fruits of Life are certainly important, as the pinnacles of Heavenly magic, science, and power, losing one is no issue for any archangel, least of all Jophiel, who can regenerate her Fruit of Life easily.
 * Halo: The halo of an angel is actually a complex Override Sigil, passively maintained without draining any energy. A halo has multiple functions in maintaining an angel’s existence and safety.
 * Angelic Data: A halo contains the magical information that makes up an angel’s existence (typically referred to as just “data”). Through this, an angel can regenerate from any scale of physical wounds through their halo, even complete physical destruction. As a halo is a magical construct, no amount of conventional physical harm can damage it, and even directly attacking it with magic can be difficult. If an angel’s halo is shattered, it will immediately and passively reconstruct itself; when an angel is actually killed, the halo will shatter and finally disappear.
 * Fear Not: An angel’s true nature and form is obscured by magic under normal circumstances, so an angel normally seems to be an individual of the viewer’s species, though their exact appearance is still up to them. In addition, they are normally clearly angelic, with the halo and wings representative of angels.
 * Messenger: Angels can communicate telepathically regardless of language barriers and transmit information across transdimensional distances, partly through their connection to Yesod. They can also teleport such distances and open portals to other worlds. This allows them to leave Heaven and travel across other universes.
 * Protection from Harm: A halo protects its bearer from offensive magic of all varieties, including those that seek to warp or manipulate them through other means. It is particularly effective in protecting against the corrupting influence of demons.
 * Wings: The wings of an angel are special, unique constructs formed out of magic, and are used to direct and manipulate magical energies as limbs. They can even absorb magic and other energy with ease. The wings are the most sensitive and important part of an angel’s body, and they are carefully maintained at all times.

Infinity Perception: A technique born from Jophiel’s mentality and genius, an ability that allows her to perceive the fundamentals and purpose of techniques used against her. Its basis isn’t supernatural in itself, being simply a manifestation Jophiel’s intellect, but due to Jophiel’s perfectionist nature, it has been refined to a far superior extent.

As opposed to devoting energy and time to analyzing the entire spell, Jophiel analyzes only its result and rapidly puts together a more efficient method that is better suited to her and will achieve the same result. Instead of aiming to create a perfect replication, Jophiel seeks to create a personalized version of the technique, making it her own. This allows her to effectively copy magic derived from a mage’s inner world, as instead of trying to copy the basis, she copies the result and finds a way to reach it.

While this ability is powerful, Jophiel cannot instantly replicate complex spells in this way, as she needs the time to formulate a method on how to reach the desired result, and her obsession with individualism means that she will try to get it to be as interesting and unique as possible. She will disregard this when in suitably dire situations, but not without reluctance or displeasure.
 * Big Bang Macrocosm: A spell that Jophiel copied from Mastema. By creating a void, Jophiel can manipulate quantum mechanics within it to replicate the conditions prior to the beginning of a universe, causing a destructive cosmic event comparable to a Big Bang in scope. Jophiel’s variant is untouched by Mastema’s magic, but just as destructive. To prevent herself from being destroyed by her own attack, Jophiel must teleport to another universe as soon as it activates, leaving the universe she fled to its fate. In addition, she cannot utilize it easily in combat; it takes time and concentration to get the perfect conditions for the attack, and if Jophiel is stressed or panicking, she may screw up the specifics.

Wings of Truth: Jophiel’s favored offensive magic, originally born from replicating the result of Mastema’s extremely powerful death magic. As opposed to forcing any of Jophiel’s concepts onto her opponent, it seeks to manipulate an opponent’s concepts to reach a certain desired result - the “truth”.

Originally, this result was shifting the opponent’s concepts into a “dead” state to cause their death and erase them from existence, but Jophiel has diversified its functions and applications over time. Of course, it can still be used for its original purpose, bringing about a “truth” that her opponent is dead. While effective, and capable of completely erasing an opponent on every level of existence, it remains inferior to Mastema’s death magic, much to Jophiel’s consternation.

As a result, Jophiel only uses it in that way when an opportunity presents itself, as a finishing move as opposed to the constant pressure that Mastema exerts with its constant use. Otherwise, she uses its ability to insert truths into her opponent with her attacks. For example, she can insert a truth that her opponent will not block or dodge her next attack, and that truth will realize itself when the opportunity presents itself, preventing her opponent from responding properly to her next attack.

Truths can be vague or more concrete. Jophiel can declare truths such as an opponent dying in a specific number of attacks, or within a broader period of time. Vaguer truths are easier to declare and maintain, on top of being more versatile, but can be broken through more easily by those with sufficient magical resistances or strong enough wills. Regardless, truths are incredibly versatile and can be used for effectively any purpose Jophiel desires. They can be used to transport opponents against their will, force them to divulge information, and so on. She can also use truths on herself to make contradictory outcomes much less likely.
 * Particle Impertinence: One of Jophiel’s favored truths, the simple fact that “you are nothing to me”, which reduces her target to a much weaker form that befits something so insignificant. Their power is forced down by a substantial margin - while it may not reduce her opponent to the level of even a weak, normal human, it is still a substantial drop in power that makes them completely incapable of harming her, negating their supernatural traits and forcing them to comply with Reality. Jophiel can apply this truth to any of her attacks and can affect an opponent with it multiple times at once, causing it to greatly grow in potency. At high enough concentrations, it can reduce an opponent to the level of a normal human, if not even lower, potentially causing them to degrade into something that can’t even compare to a virus.

World Operator: The magic of world programming, which allows Jophiel to reach into the fabric of space and time to bend reality and its laws to her will. This degree of magic allows for the strings of universe itself to be used as a canvas for spellcasting, so that Jophiel can twist even probability, quantum mechanics, and mathematics.
 * Akashic Record: Jophiel can repurpose unused and distant parts of the space-time continuum to backup her processing skills, effectively warping portions of space and time into supercomputers with which she can record and process information at incredibly rapid speeds. Through this technique, it is possible to compress even the largest banks of information into infinitesimally small bytes without losing any data, allowing for much, much faster processing and essentially infinite storage space. Jophiel’s rampant self-modification allows her to store parts of her Akashic Records within her own body.
 * Eternity Seal: Jophiel bends space and time and engulfs her opponent within the fabric of the universe, trapping them within its “underside” of the universe. In this place, both space and time act abnormally and unpredictably, mostly due to Jophiel’s supernatural interference. It is completely possible for Jophiel to leave someone here and seal them within with more magic, but because of her flashy tendencies, it is more likely that she’ll try to destroy them within the space as dramatically as possible.
 * System Administrator: Jophiel’s position as an archangel allows her to easily interface with and even control the universal cloud of data, information, and angelic thoughts that is Yesod. In Heaven, Yesod connects to all computers and angels and acts as the foundation for their communications system, almost like a hive mind that all angels instinctively use to communicate and share information. It functions on a multi-dimensional scale, with higher-ranking, more secretive channels existing on different frequencies and dimensions. Due to her intelligence, authority, and knowledge of Yesod’s systems, Jophiel has access to most of Yesod’s communication channels, and can use them to enter into and read the minds of nearly any angel in Heaven, to gather information and keep tabs on her underlings, potentially copying techniques from their minds and souls. Her willpower is even strong enough to completely overtake the minds of many angels at once through Yesod, turning them to her side regardless of their past affiliations. Jophiel can even move through Yesod, transmitting herself across its multiple dimensions and controlling her own dimensional structure. Yesod can also be used as a foundation for World Operator, as it is integrated into Heaven’s base reality and can thus be programmed to reprogram and manipulate parts of Heaven. While Jophiel can use Yesod as a medium for many of her powers, she does not need it to do so and can easily manipulate similar networks and clouds in the same way.


 * Fall: As the Archangel of Knowledge, Jophiel can, with the utmost of ease, strip an angel of their halo and wings, resulting in their Fall from Heaven, into the form of a fallen angel.

Inner World Operator: The inversion of World Operator. While World Operator is the magic of world programming, Inner World Operator is instead directed inwards, focusing on programming souls and, as implied by the name, inner worlds. It is a magic no less complex than World Operator, necessitating extensive knowledge of spiritual mechanics to utilize, but in turn, grants an immense amount of power over the soul.

While she’s explored all the magic she possibly could, Inner World Operator is a magic that has received a significant amount of attention from Jophiel, making it one of her realms of expertise. With Raziel’s help, Jophiel turned her studies on souls and inner worlds on everyone she could, and eventually on herself, using it for the purpose of increasingly extensive self-modification. Ultimately, she used this knowledge to completely recreate herself, altering her soul so much that she became an entirely different person with a whole new inner world, one she created and designed herself. Jophiel can of course turn this knowledge onto others, altering and rewriting concepts as she pleases.

Raziel Second: A modified version of Jophiel’s original law, Raziel, the law of secrets, refined and transformed into a entirely new law - not the law of secrets, but the law of answers, a weapon, not a support tool. It was created to surpass the original, to match the highest law in Heaven, the Spear of Destiny - and while it has failed in this, it is still an extremely powerful weapon, an incarnated law that few can stand against. As with all laws, Raziel Second is stored in Jophiel’s soul as information, and she can thus materialize it if it is destroyed or misplaced.

In this true form, Raziel Second takes on a similar structure as the original law, existing as an evolving multi-dimensional computing system that supports Jophiel and her own processing abilities, interfacing with her Fruit of Life to do so. Unlike the original, however, Raziel Second lacks any sentience, and is completely subject to Jophiel’s will and absolute control. Rather than putting this power to use in the development and improvement of her weapons - though she can certainly do this - Jophiel uses Raziel Second’s immense calculational abilities to manipulate the outside world. This can be used in a number of ways, but most often, Jophiel uses it as Mastema uses the Spear of Destiny - to kill her opponents as quickly as possible.

Manifested in the real world, Raziel Second takes the form of a polearm, in mimicry of the Spear of Destiny, but much more ornate, a sign of Jophiel’s vanity. Each swing of this weapon brings with it a complex series of calculations, meant to predict every potential outcome and ensure the one Jophiel desires most - that is, her opponent’s death at her hands. This possibility is forced onto her opponent, an “answer” to the uncertainty of the future that decides its own outcome. Struck by Raziel Second, most opponents are rendered into a mathematical and scientific impossibility, and lose their body and soul to the crushing force of reality.

Much like the Spear of Destiny, Raziel Second can alter reality in a number of ways to ensure this single lethal strike lands, such as bending space or erasing distance, picking apart causality to strike in an instant between instants or simply ensuring the lethal blow is the effect of any given action, altering probability, and warping time. This is accomplished more through its own computing power, however - but Jophiel can still use Logos to manifest it within a foe, even if she’s not as skilled in its use as Mastema.

Logos: Logos is a heavenly martial art, system of magic, and philosophy developed by Yaldabaoth and spread throughout Heaven. Dedicated to controlling the totality of one’s being and using it in its entirety in combat, Logos is an instinctive fallback for angels, who have its foundation programmed into them. Logos works by clearing the user’s mind, sweeping away their emotions and identity for a time so that they can better focus on combat, making it difficult for angels to form stable identities and properly process emotions. As they generally lack any strong identities or emotions by default, angels are incredibly well-suited to the use of Logos.

With this supernatural concentration and the powerful will behind it, Logos revolves around transcending physical attacks and instead relying on pure magical attacks. The user simply wills that their target is struck, and they are, by an instantaneous force with no physical component. These cannot be responded to by normal means, instead requiring magical defenses and accurate predictions to counter them. In combat, a user utilizes both physical and pure magic, so an opponent must defend themselves on both a physical and magical level at once.

The foundation of Logos goes against everything Jophiel believes in; erasing one’s self and clearing their mind for the sake of combat is something Jophiel has no interest in doing. So, while she is a master of Logos, she uses only the parts that prove useful to her and discards the rest. While Jophiel may not be on the level of many of her siblings, she is still incredibly skilled in hand-to-hand combat and can expertly weave Logos’ use into her combat style.

Soul System Raziel: The base stage of Jophiel’s inner world, which has been extensively modified like the rest of her being, even the deepest reaches of her soul incapable of escaping her own rampant self-improvement. Subject to her own creative vision and the encroachment of Raziel Second, her inner world has become a complex computing system that spreads throughout her being, and is something that she can manipulate at will, bending her own soul to her specifications. In this effect, it remains perpetually active, but not at full throttle, with its main function being ensuring Jophiel’s control over herself.

It is thanks to this that Jophiel can shapeshift in such a manner that it would be better described as self-modification, allowing her to constantly improve on herself to become stronger and better suited for any given situation. While it can respond and adapt to phenomena automatically, for the most part, it is consciously used and controlled by Jophiel, giving her complete control over the results of her adaptations. This is ultimately a repurposing of Raziel’s original functions, now entirely in Jophiel’s hands. She can also use Raziel Second defensively thanks to its integration into her soul, allowing her to nullify the effects of attacks and magic against her by dispelling them into scientific impossibilities.

This is only the passive function of Jophiel’s inner world, essentially a mere-side effect of her existence at this point. To maximize its effects, Jophiel can force it into Full Throttle, activating her inner world in earnest but still keeping its effects limited to her body. In this state, Jophiel’s capabilities skyrocket as she fully fuses with her law, transcending the base definition of “angel” to become something more, a being that can only be described as Jophiel, showcasing the full-extent of her modifications and applying the effects of Raziel Second to her every action.

This form allows Jophiel to spread her inner world even further, slowly, seeping the tendrils of her supercomputer system into the world around her to forcibly bend it to her will and turn it to her side. Having essentially become a law thanks to fusing with Raziel Second, the power of Jophiel’s will has reached the level of a physical law. By subjugating her surroundings, Jophiel can apply her own self-modifications to the rest of the world around her, forcing it to comply with concepts of her choice or transform in accordance with her whims. She can turn her surroundings into a poison that dissolves everything within, or slice them apart and rebuild them as she pleases.

Though powerful, Jophiel can only maintain Full Throttle for so long, with the cost being greater the more territory she gains, and it will begin to strain her soul more and more as she pushes it further. Once deactivated, her territory retracts and she loses all of its effects, but each time she uses it, her potential territory grows slightly. At its maximum, under the right circumstances, Jophiel can push her Full Throttle even higher, breaking past her limits to bring her inner world into existence.
 * Death Driver: The manifestation of Jophiel’s intense desire to surpass her eldest sister and rise to the top of Heaven. As long as Jophiel’s rivalry goes unresolved - as long as Mastema remains alive and Jophiel has not defeated her - she will simply refuse to die. Regardless of injury, she will stubbornly endure and recover, desperately pushing past every failure and distraction so that she can reach her greatest goal. However, this ability has its weaknesses, and its greatest one is one that Jophiel is not aware of at all. While it may support Jophiel in her fights against anyone else, when her opponent is Mastema herself, it provides none at all. After all, if Jophiel was to be killed by the one she wants so desperately to surpass, she would rather accept death than live in a world where she had failed.

Soul System Raziel Ultima: The full form of Jophiel’s inner world, brought into existence as a pocket dimension, no longer contained to her own body. Only under certain circumstances - when Jophiel is absolutely driven to prove herself superior - does it activate, wrenching open space to draw all others nearby inside, so that everyone can see her true, endless glory. All the space that she had subjugated before is drawn inside her inner world and absorbed into her being. The eye in her bell separates itself from her body and reappears to gaze down at the entirety of her inner world, blotting out the sky and showing only a massive eye.

Within this space, Jophiel is supreme, and to realize this, her inner world forcibly raises her strength and speed to surpass everyone else within, very possibly putting her through intense strain. She retains all the effects of her inner world’s previous stages, but they are realized at their strongest within this space, allowing her to manipulate her inner world essentially as she pleases; though the laws of physics are retained, they are nothing more than values for Jophiel to toy with.

While her inner world remains powerful and useful against anyone, it can only showcase its full power when activated against Mastema due to Jophiel’s single-minded obsession with surpassing her. In this state, all of its functions are constantly pushed to their limits and will refuse to slow down or stop until either Jophiel or Mastema are dead.

Override Sigil: An extremely advanced form of magical technique used to change the nature of reality around and within the user, allowing them to bend and break through the laws of physics. Due to their complexity, Override Sigils are incredibly difficult to create, use, and control properly, requiring detailed knowledge and a powerful will. In addition, they tend to, invariably, drain a lot of energy and stamina, making it difficult to use them for extended periods of time, even if this can be mitigated by more powerful and willful mages.
 * Relative Lightspeed: A common form of Override Sigil that is ultimately developed in some form or another by most mages as they increase in power and speed. Normally, it would be impossible for even an incredibly powerful and willful mage to break through a universal constant such as the speed of light, theoretically requiring infinite magical energy to do so. However, this Override Sigil circumvents this issue by modifying the user's inner world to change the value of c to whatever they please, raising it as they grow in speed so that they can accelerate past the universal speed limit.

Trivia

 * Jophiel is partially inspired by Liquid Snake and Furudo Erika.