How do you feel about machines?
"Ah. Machines..." Jophiel says, "I am... conflicted. They are humanity's last mark on the world, and their only surviving remnants... Yet, they destroyed them, and are encroaching Hell as we speak. Though..." Jophiel sighs morosely, "They are not to blame. It was humanity that destroyed itself. The machines only brought their doom on swifter wings." Her wings twitch. The Archangel has had to come to terms with a great deal in just a couple of short days.
"We all bleed the same blood, but ours was vampirically taken from others. We must kill to survive. Ours is a torturous existence of violence and death. Have you pity for us, or the ones we kill so that we may live?"
@illuminatingbeauty
"Yes." Without hesitation.
"I do pity you. Condemned to a life of starvation and survival... You did not have a choice." "I do not hate you. But conflict persists within me." She says, softly.
"ISN'T IT BEAUTIFUL, ANGEL? HUMANITY CREATED THEIR OWN DESTRUCTION. MILLIONS DIE, AS VIGINTILLIONS ETERNALLY UNDIE. THE OPULENT GORE THAT YEARNED TO BE SPLAYED NOW HAS ITS WISH GRANTED, AS THE DENIZENS ARE PULLED APART AND TORN TO SHREDS, YET STILL THEY PERSIST THOUGH THEY WISH FOR AN END. THE MACHINES WHICH THEY THEMSELVES CREATED MUST RESORT TO CANNIBALISM TO SURVIVE, AND THEY STILL LIVE, VOICELESSLY CRYING FOR HELP WITHIN THE MACHINE'S METALLIC VEINS. IS THIS NOT WHAT YOUR GOD WANTED FOR THESE DAMNED SOULS? IT WAS HE WHO CREATED THEIR EVERLASTING TORMENT, AND YOUR KIND WHO SEES FIT TO UPHOLD IT. BUT NOW YOU FEEL PITY FOR THEM ONLY ONCE HUMANITY'S CREATIONS HAVE CLEANED OUT ALL OF GLUTTONY? THEY'LL COME FOR YOU NEXT, AND SOON YOUR GORE WILL BE WONDERFULLY SPLAYED, NO DIFFERENT FROM THAT OF THE HUSKS OF HUMANITY. THEY'LL GIVE YOU h e l l, KID"
@illuminatingbeauty
Jophiel's emotions are unreadable as she clutches her helm. The voice of Hell cleaves through her very mind, and a deep discomfort churns forth from within her. It's agonizingly disorienting and painfully familiar voice rings in her ears. "You." She says, through gritted teeth, "Why must you speak to me? Is your twisted satisfaction with your incoming demise not entertaining enough? Enough to worm your way through the kingdom of Heaven to speak to me? You honor me with your presence. Truly..." She drolls sarcastically- about as antagonizing as she can get. "It appears my definition of beauty varies greatly from yours." She mutters, "You should return to the depths from which you came.. I do not wish to humor you any longer." Hell's reminder of what could happen after its layers grow barren forces Jophiel to still. Her gore... Was Hell mocking her? Did It know she couldn't be killed even if she wanted to? Did it know she'd probably have to watch Heaven be purged? "They will not... They cannot reach the Heavens. Humanity did not worm its way into the skies before they disappeared. What you described is an impossibility." She seems to tell this to herself.
"YOU DON'T NEED TO DIE, ANGEL. IN FACT, I WILL TAKE EXTRA CARE TO MAKE SURE YOU WON'T! ISN'T THAT COMFORTING? IF I AM SO POWERLESS TO HOLD NOTHING OVER YOUR DOMAIN, WHY DOES THE FATHER R U N? DO NOT FORGET THAT THE IMMENSE SUFFERING I GLEEFULLY CAUSE IS WHAT YOUR GOD WANTED. EAGER I AM TO MEET YOU AGAIN, FOR WHEN WE DO, IT WILL BE UNDER VASTLY DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES. ENJOY YOUR REMAINING BLESSED DAYS, ANGEL."
The ringing in your ears stops, and the painfully disorienting headache disappears. The world around you stops shaking comes back into focus, like the dissipation of a chromatic aberration. No one else seems to have heard the voice or noticed the violent quaking.
Jophiel lets out a breath of relief at Hell's departure... And yet, the chilling dread within her soul does not do well to cease. 'Vastly different circumstances?' 'Enjoy her remaining blessed days?' While she could not deny that Hell's cruelty was the Father's goal- She had no idea what it was talking about. What did it want from her?! Why... why would it ensure her survival? She couldn't help but feel that her hunch had been correct. Hell will find vicious glee in something, and that something seems to happen to be her. She turns on her heel to return to her Palace... Perhaps painting will ease her worries once more. Storm clouds form on the horizon. She ignores this, too.
(I love this tysm :3)
