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His feet flattened the grass as he stared out into the open and endless Field of the Damned. A phantom breeze wove through his hair as he stared out at the wandering souls, doomed to be lost until the end of time. Their only crime being not pure enough for Paradise but not cursed enough for Eternal Punishment. He could fix this, he thought into the open gray, he could help them. That was his destiny. His purpose. The reason he was created was to bring balance and now he knew how. His gaze turned slowly to the right, where moments before was merely another empty spot now stood a deity. The Savior. He almost scoffed, did they think that would stop him? Did they not understand that this was beyond them? He was the balance. He was the answer to all trouble. The Maker told him that, why couldn’t anyone see that? The savior did not approach, did not speak, just watched silently. Their white cloak billowing slowly, moved by an otherworldly force for the stale breeze in the fields barely rustled the grass. He walked slowly toward the deity that stood in his way, stopping only a few feet before them. Many times had they stood like this, but never as enemies. Always as brothers. But that was before, before the Betrayal, before the Fall. No longer was he a fair-haired Angel with a halo of gold and white power, now he had dark red horns sprouting from his head. His skin was sickly gray, and shadows seemed to weave their way around his horns, face, and charred stumps where glorious wings used to sprout. He gave an emotionless smile as he spoke, his voice sounding unused as if he had simply forgotten to speak for a long time, “Greetings, Brother, how fare thee?” The Savior simply shook their head in a slow, graceful manner, as if this was just a minor inconvenience “What are you doing? You know you cannot enter.” He dropped his smile, speaking quickly now and full of vigor “You must listen to me, I can fix everything. All these souls, all the fighting, I can bring balance to all! You must let me see the Maker; he will understand! He said I was destined to bring balance! He will know!” The Savior at last took a step forward, their gaze scornful as they replied curtly “Do not dare tell me what the Maker has said, for you are a disgrace already. Must you tarnish your name more by speaking for the Maker?” He stiffened, the shadows growing taut around his horns as he said “Surely you know it was a mistake. I only ever meant to help, to bring the balance I was told was my destiny-” he was interrupted by a harsh laugh “Destiny?” The Savior smirked cruelly, an odd sight of a being who seemed so holy and pure, “You have no destiny. You have only ever brought destruction and strive. We all doubted the Maker capable of making mistakes until you came along.” The creature went still, the stiff breeze seeming to have disappeared along with all the wandering souls. The silence was deafening as the laugh from the Savior seemed to echo all around him, their words twisting their way into his mind. His thoughts ran wild, trying to think of reasons why they would ever say such things when they had laughed together not a decade ago. The Savior only stepped closer, crowding his area, making it harder and harder to breathe. His mind, a loud circus, giving him no reprieve to think or to gather himself. And over everything, he heard the words “You are a disgrace, Fallen One. Your soul is completely and truly beyond redemption.” And in an instant, all went quiet. His face was stricken, the realization sunk in… he would never be accepted, never recognized, “No..” was all he could say in a broken whisper “No..that…that cannot be true…” his gaze rose to the sky “I have done everything you asked of me! Everything! All this time, this effort..’’ he dropped his head “..and in the end, it was for nothing..” his inner turmoil almost consumed him as he grieved for lost time. But then something shifted, and a new feeling arose, a new idea but a dangerous one. But, he thought, he had tried, and they had left him no choice. This feeling spread, taking over his senses and ridding him of all other thoughts. It consumed him as he realized what had to be done. The silver dagger hidden in his tunic seemed to grow heavy as if it knew what was coming, as if it was preparing. He hadn’t wanted it to be this way, but it seemed the only solution. His demeanor shifted as he let out a breathy chuckle “I finally understand” he said quietly, and his eyes rose to meet the Saviors. A malicious glint now shone through them, gone was the sadness, the hope, the disappointment. Replaced with something new and something better. His voice shook slightly with barely controlled rage, “It is clear now what I must do.” He stepped closer to the deity, getting so close to their face that their noses almost touched. “To create a new order, we must rid of the old.” He moved so quickly that the Savior had no time to react before the dagger was thrusted into their heart. He clutched the hilt and held them up by their shoulders as he twisted it. They gasped, body spasming as they tried to get away, but the silver rendered them useless. Their hands grasped his neck weakly as it gasped out “You…have made…a….mistake…” the words cut off as the gurgling blood flooded their throat, it trickled slowly down his chin, marking a dirty path into the flawless flesh of the divine deity. With their last breath they let out a terrifying screech, a call to an unknown force, before it slowly faded along with the life in their eyes. The body slumped against him, and he dropped to his knees, letting the body roll away from where he kneeled. His eyes were alight with a new sort of glee as he stared at the bloodied dagger, the silence ringing in his ears as he was filled with triumph.
The flooded whispers of the Maker's words engulfed his conscience as he rose from where he knelt. He grasped his dagger tightly, before beginning his ascent allowing himself to start up the marble staircase which had materialized behind the Savior. “This is it; balance will finally be made here..the balance…. balance”. He repeated these words with growing desperation, his breath growing more ragged with each step. The gnawing feeling of anticipation took over, all the endless hours finally coming to their awaited conclusion. The last set of steps neared, and the Heavenly Gate shone brightly before him. A shiver crept its way down through his spine; the day had come. Before him landed a majestic being that flooded its surroundings with an angelic aura and seemed almost familiar in another sense. Its soft words echoed as it spoke. “Thou are forgiven, my child”. Those words, the ones he’d longed to hear for so long but now fell flat, “Thank the heavens, I have been granted forgiveness'' a smirk grew on his pale gray face. The angel stumbled back, its eyes squinting while folding up its wings. The angel hesitated, but quickly scrammed back to its holy ways and simply shook its head, “Perhaps thou soul in un-purify-able.” He grimaced, what could they mean? What wretched critter would call him such a thing? He simply shook his head in return, “all this time, and in the end” his voice faded as he seemed to fall into thought before letting out a sudden, broken shout, “ALL THIS TIME”. His mouth stretched to the far edges of his face as he began to cackle. “I thought I would bring peace throughout the land” he raised his head, voice growing in volume “But I understand now, my destiny is clearer than ever.” He slipped the dagger forward, slitting the holy being's throat without hesitation. The angel's eyes grew wide, shortly letting out a terrifying screech. A horn sound emerged from the distance as a blinding light cut through the sky, and an army of angels began their descent. The devilish entity rose from its knees, a drop of crimson blood trickling down its wrist, its clutch still focused on the silver dagger. His gaze upon the weapon only deepened, the silence grew alongside it, and the creeping reek of death drew near. Hundreds of angels sliced their way through the air, toward him, the enemy. Because that's what he was now. That's what they made him. Fine. If they wanted a fight, he would bring them a fight. He stood straight as he faced the oncoming army, as his arms raised slowly to the sky the air seemed to grow taut with tension and beyond the cliff's edge rose a dark beast; its structure towering over the rest, its unsettling deep growl giving the angel army an agonizing taste of their upcoming death. “This is no mistake.. This is a cleansing to make way for a new beginning.” The angels emitted a unified roar, some taking to the sky with remarkable speed, others ripping up the ground as they advanced toward the enemy. The shadow beast swarmed the sky, its suffocating dark fog leaving nothing in its wake, it seemed to feed on the wandering souls and only grew stronger. The creature was massive, he didn’t fully understand the power he contained within him, but this is only the beginning. He could do so much more. He gave a flick of his wrist, and a herd of demons escaped from the dark cloud. Their disfigured forms threw themselves forward and with crooked growls and screeches they attacked and disorientated the angels. The monster's pure craving for violence heightened, in Hell, there was a limit, though here, here it was endless. The angel's approach didn’t slow, they took on the corpses enveloping the flesh in the shadows of their wings, ripping it apart with the talons which sprouted from their eyes. In the sky above angels battle the suffocating fog with their blinding rays of light, solely borrowed from the holy spirit. The evil creatures began to retreat, the rays burning their flesh and releasing a horrid stench. Their boney limbs thudded over the crippled remains of angels, crunching their bones and breaking the bodies of their own kind which lay aside. A moment of peace came to space, the air abruptly rippled, and time appeared to still as a vague shape kneeled over the bodies of the Savior and Angel. The shape touched them, and the bodies shimmered in golden white colors before disappearing. The figure stood up, looking towards the demonic entity, its voice sounding of running water and roaring flames at the same time. “My child, has hatred consumed you so?” The demonic creature ignored the presence of the voice. It seemed somewhat soothing, but who could turn back now? He turned his head away, clenching his muscles as the anger returned. He shut his eyes as he debated his next course of action. His mind grew louder, louder than before and he started to breathe heavily at the clash of thoughts. Where did they all come from, he had made up his mind and yet…yet. He fell to his knees clutching his head in agony as he gasped “I must- must prevail..no-no-NO NONO”, his eyes frantically looking around at the carnage. Was this balance? Violence? He thought it was right but.. “I have.. disrupted the balance.” He mumbled something under his breath, something the shimmering form couldn't quite make out. The whispers became more frantic, “The oath is broken, and wings.. Yes, the wings.. Torn away from its beholder” the shadows began to fade in the background. The Maker faced his creation fully; if it could show sorrow, it might have offered words of solace, but it remained silent as it watched the creature become undone. It approached the creature silently, coming to a stop in front of the broken being that was staring at his hands, finally quiet. Even though he had killed the Son of God he seemed to realize his crimes, it decided. The Maker crouched to be face to face with him, though it spoke quietly, the whole world seemed to hold its breath to listen. “My Creation, there was never a balance, I have always and will always decide the outcome.” The angels retreated slowly, mirroring the shadows' withdrawal. The broken creature dropped the dagger, the silver tool clattering as it fell and leaving a sharp echo. “Please rid of it.'' His voice was hoarse from the cries and screams, although it seemed distant as well. The voices and rage had silenced as complete and utter, albeit unnatural silence befell his mind. He looked up, pleading “The nightmare…tell me it’s finally over…” His breaths were uneven, and his body felt foreign as he looked up. The Maker stared at him silently for a long moment before rising, motioning for him to rise as well. The surrendered dagger floated up, hovering between them. The Maker's shapeless hands rose and hovered at his cheek, almost comforting. “You have been through much, my creation, felt much and overloaded by the forces of evil. Though as you submit, you show great resilience to those who tempt you and therefore hope for redemption” The voice was softly said, calm and reassuring. The Maker lifted the creature's hand as it spoke, holding it between them. It led the dagger into his open palm, making the creature grasp the hilt. Unknowing to him the tip pointed inward. “But unfortunately, you have taken the life of the one who could show you this redemption.” The voice sharply turned low and dangerous as it whispered the next words. Its tight clasp on the creature's hand was unyielding and the Maker plunged the dagger into the beating heart of the fallen angel, holding him upright as it twisted and pierced the blade through his heart. A painful shock swept through the creature, blood dripping to the ground as his breath trembled, then falling into the arms of the very one who created him. As his sight blurred, he beheld the Makers’ cold, cruel eyes. How very cruel this life had been, immortality but another lie he had been fed. As he lost consciousness and felt his life fade away, he made a vow. He would not give up. He couldn’t let this unjust system continue, he would come back and tear it down. Tear it all down. But he will learn from his mistakes and start small. He must free the minds of the creations called ‘Humans’, lead them to the truth and spread the word.
Long into the future, once the Maker realizes that its failed creation is not as dead as it had thought, it will spread its own word. Its twisted version will spread far and wide and so begins the long-lasting battle. Good and Evil. Heaven and Hell. God and Lucifer. But is the story as simple as it seems? Is the distinction between the two sides as black and white as we are taught? For eternity humanity has fought on this front and for a further eternity they will continue. For how should we know who is right or wrong?