In the instant that the Functionary died, Tarah lived.
The battle had been epic, unprecedented. No one had ever conceived that two angels might face each other in combat, certainly not two as powerful as the Functionary and her brother. But there they had stood in the empty woods, drawing upon the life of Creation itself to fuel their strikes against one another. She had bruised him, but in the end her passion for revenge failed her; he had a need to be rid of her, or else his plan would not succeed. And so it was that the Messenger had struck the final blow, calling together the molecules of the air into a blade so thin, so sharp, that it had nearly cut her in half before she saw it coming.
As she fell to the ground, divinity draining from her body like blood, she looked in horror at her hands. Where once had been the purity of monochrome, glowing with the light of God in all the colors she could emote, now came color in all of its Humanity. Red arteries and blue veins, yellow and pink and brown all layered upon one another. The need to sleep suddenly began to overtake her, under the agonizing pain of having the life she'd known since before time began ripped from her.
"Thou traitorous wretch," she began, through gritted teeth, but found she could not finish. The gift of Speech, as she had known it for so long, was being taken from her as well.
"My dearest sister," the Messenger said softly, kneeling next to her writhing form. He brushed the hair back from her face and kissed her forehead. "I'm afraid you're powerless now."
With that, he vanished, leaving her to her last moments of agony. With her last breath, she let loose a piercing scream, heard in Paradise itself, then fell limp and silent, the transformation complete.
She awoke three days later in the same location, curled around herself, newborn. The only pain left was the insistent aching in her soul, which she knew would never leave. Her body shivered, freezing as she stood naked in the early morning mist. Her mind did not yet comprehend what it meant to feel cold, or what the growling in her stomach meant. She only knew that it made her unhappy and frustrated, and that her legs could no longer support her. So she sank to the ground and wept.
This was how Lilith found her. The Anomaly had been searching at the request of her mother, but had not been able to locate another divine presence on Earth besides her own and that of the Prophet and his daughter. When she saw what the Functionary had become, she understood. Dodging trees at whiplash speed, she ran to the grove the woman sat in, stopping a small distance away. It took Lilith a moment to think of how to address her; she was no longer an angel, but as a human had no name that she knew of.
"Aunt," Lilith finally said. "I've been looking for you."
"kill me Now to, a grant kindness me," the woman tried, but only served to make herself cry more at her own ineptitude. Lilith held out her arms, a warm quilt appearing in them, and moved to wrap her aunt in it.
"I've come to take you home," she whispered, holding her close. The woman who would soon call herself Tarah relinquished herself into the warming embrace, too tired to do much more.
Lilith understood. In an instant, they were gone.
As she fell to the ground, divinity draining from her body like blood, she looked in horror at her hands. Where once had been the purity of monochrome, glowing with the light of God in all the colors she could emote, now came color in all of its Humanity. Red arteries and blue veins, yellow and pink and brown all layered upon one another. The need to sleep suddenly began to overtake her, under the agonizing pain of having the life she'd known since before time began ripped from her.
"Thou traitorous wretch," she began, through gritted teeth, but found she could not finish. The gift of Speech, as she had known it for so long, was being taken from her as well.
"My dearest sister," the Messenger said softly, kneeling next to her writhing form. He brushed the hair back from her face and kissed her forehead. "I'm afraid you're powerless now."
With that, he vanished, leaving her to her last moments of agony. With her last breath, she let loose a piercing scream, heard in Paradise itself, then fell limp and silent, the transformation complete.
She awoke three days later in the same location, curled around herself, newborn. The only pain left was the insistent aching in her soul, which she knew would never leave. Her body shivered, freezing as she stood naked in the early morning mist. Her mind did not yet comprehend what it meant to feel cold, or what the growling in her stomach meant. She only knew that it made her unhappy and frustrated, and that her legs could no longer support her. So she sank to the ground and wept.
This was how Lilith found her. The Anomaly had been searching at the request of her mother, but had not been able to locate another divine presence on Earth besides her own and that of the Prophet and his daughter. When she saw what the Functionary had become, she understood. Dodging trees at whiplash speed, she ran to the grove the woman sat in, stopping a small distance away. It took Lilith a moment to think of how to address her; she was no longer an angel, but as a human had no name that she knew of.
"Aunt," Lilith finally said. "I've been looking for you."
"kill me Now to, a grant kindness me," the woman tried, but only served to make herself cry more at her own ineptitude. Lilith held out her arms, a warm quilt appearing in them, and moved to wrap her aunt in it.
"I've come to take you home," she whispered, holding her close. The woman who would soon call herself Tarah relinquished herself into the warming embrace, too tired to do much more.
Lilith understood. In an instant, they were gone.