How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
I've never been fool enough to expect redemption, but even a tiny spark of recognition of my drudging toil—or even my mere existence—would have been nice. For thousands upon thousands of years I've labored under a slowly fading hope. (1.5)
Isn't it funny how humans want immortality, but those who have it don't want to live forever? It turns out it's a blessing and a curse. Kiriel gets to experience more, but he also has to suffering for much longer than humans. Doesn't sound like all it's cracked up to be.
Quote #2
After a while, it was just too much. Even a being like me—no, especially a being like me—has its breaking point. (1.6)
We can't help but wonder whether that breaking point is because he's been around forever. The fact that he lives indefinitely means that things get to him more. Which makes sense, right? We don't think we'd last thousands of years if we had to watch people suffer continuously either.
Quote #3
I could see exactly what was going to happen. And although technically there's free will and anything could have interfered with his death, like a timely muscle cramp to make him pause on the curb—or heck, a bird could have been flying overhead and suddenly taken ill in midair and fallen on his head and knocked him out the second before he stepped into the street—there are laws of physics, and trust me, after millions of millennia, I can spot an inevitability. (1.11)
Since he's been around the block a couple thousand times, Kiriel can anticipate what's about to happen. Good thing, too, because he ends up saving Shaun's life. His knowledge comes from loads of experience, which means there's some positive stuff about being immortal, too.
Quote #4
Anyway, he stepped out into space and I jerked his foot back, and there I was on the curb while he was making his whooshy tunnel-of-light way to the hereafter. (1.13)
Shaun is not immortal, but on the brink of death, which separates him from Kiriel and the other Fallen and Unfallen angels. In fact, that's exactly why Kiriel is able to steal Shaun's body in the first place. So yeah, kind of a big deal.
Quote #5
The difference between us and the angels who didn't fall from grace is that the Unfallen were, are, and always will be faithful, stalwart, and obedient. That is their nature, just as it is their nature to rejoice in worship and contemplation of the vastness of the Creator's perfection. We, the Fallen, wondered, questioned, confronted, eventually demanded, and in general pushed the edges of the envelope till the envelope burst. (2.1)
Check out that word always. Even if you consider yourself a good person, you can't be obedient and faithful every single second of every single day; there's just no way. Plus, the Unfallen angels live forever, so that's even harder. No wonder they're the good guys.
Quote #6
The only uplifting times are when, usually after millennia of suffering, a single soul suddenly, for no reason that's apparent to me, decides that it's had enough, that it's paid the price for its wrongs, and it sort of twists itself inside out, shedding its misery to go free. It's a beautiful, memorable, and very rare event. (2.11)
Think about how long you've been alive. Now multiple that times one hundred. That doesn't even compare to the amount of time Kiriel says people are suffering down below. It's tough for us to imagine, but millennia (read: multiple millennium) is how long Kiriel has been doing his job.
Quote #7
I'd seen thousands, millions, of these beings. I'd spent too many depressing eons with them after they were dead. After they were weighed down with guilt over the hurt they'd caused others. (11.46)
Reed shoving people around might not seem like a big deal, but it is to Kiriel since he figures this guy will have to pay for his behavior later, which he'll end up regretting. Sure, it seems like an easy move for a bully to mock people while he's doing it, but later on, he suffers indefinitely.
Quote #8
I put the photos down and turned away. I didn't want to feel grief for the loss of Shaun. Didn't want to feel guilt. Of all beings, I knew how pointless it was. Shaun would have died whether I'd stepped in or not. Those last moments I took from him would have been filled with either pain or nothingness. (12.118)
When Shaun's bro and friend are playing video games and he sees photos of Shaun with his buddy, Kiriel imagines what's left of Shaun. Nothing—he took the guy's last moments, along with his family and friends. To Kiriel, it was no biggie stealing a body since he's lived forever, but now he thinks taking a short life away from someone isn't the best idea he's ever had. What's that phrase? Oh right… you live, you learn.
Quote #9
One of the aspects of my function is to reflect sorrow. For a long time, I had only felt the sorrow of others. I'd forgotten how blunted and deadened that is, compared to the sorrow that comes from one's own heart. (21.102)
Part of Kiriel's existence is helping other people feel badly about themselves, which he's gotten quite good at. After all this time of doing that, he's not used to experiencing something for himself. Guess being immortal but watching from the sidelines is nothing like being the starting quarterback.
Quote #10
"Kiriel. I'm here because you took part of a life that wasn't yours."
"I only took Shaun's body when he didn't need it anymore."
"You took it before he was to leave it behind."
"Just a few seconds before."
"Those few seconds weren't yours to take."
"They would have been filled with pain anyway."
"Nevertheless, they were his. They were not yours. You have interfered with what was to be." (24.38)
Humans get to experience their own deaths, so Kiriel doesn't have the right to mess with Shaun's. According to the Unfallen angel, Kiriel messed up because Shaun isn't immortal like they are. Oops.