I face a quandary I couldn’t comprehend but I’ll explain the events that followed from the previous post.
The halo spun within the cup, its edges threatening to bump into the sides. My hands trembled in trepidation. As I brought the cup up to my lips, I could smell the blood. The coppery scent in the water assaults my nostrils as I breathe it in.
I glance to Samael from the rim of the cup., “And my soul is mine, my mind, my body?”
Samael nods. “Thy soul is thine, not mine. Thou mind will expand. Thine body, altered to something more useful to Saint Timothy.”
I frown, my brow furrowing. “Will I… become like Tim? Like, the scaly version?”
Samael tilts his head back, looking down his nose at me. “Would that be thine only reason thou doth not aid the world? Thy vanity?”
I pinched my nose and knocked back the water and blood, swallowing as much as I could in one gulp. I gasp as it hits my stomach. At first, a sense of calm washes over me, as if I had just slipped into a relaxing bath.
My heart hammers in my chest and then my ears. I close my eyes, and as I do, light fills my vision coming from Samael. It’s a dim light at first, then it grows brighter and more formed. Soon I witness Samael standing before me but his form isn’t human.
His shape grows and fills my vision until he’s a massive tower of eyes, wings, and mouths.
I open my eyes, still seeing his spirit before me, while also seeing the transparent angle form. My eyes are wide. “W-What are you?” I shout before the pit of my stomach drops.
As if someone had sucker punched me in the gut, I crumble to my knees. Pain radiates out from my midsection into my back, then spreads through my upper body. Unable to suppress the pain, I let out a bloodcurdling scream.
I stare at Samael, looking up to him as I fall face first to the floor. “What have you done to me!” I screech before a piercing pain just under my shoulders distracts me.
Flesh rips and tears audibly and I wail in agony. A new pair of appendages grow from my back. To my right, through the searing pain, a pair of white feathery wings spreading from my back is visible. The flesh growing still, bones cracking as they spread, new muscles forming and aching as I spread them as far as I can, gaining new sensation in them.
Sweat covers my body, the pain not subsiding, the aching in my gut savage and intense. It makes any of my monthly cycles seems like a cakewalk. I am paralyzed by torment, shivering and shaking as it wracks my body.
I face Samael again. “Make this stop!” I beg.
Samael ‘s smile fades, the eyes behind his blindfold glowing, the tower of energy and eyes surrounding him mimic his dower mood. “I can… but if I do… thou shalt only be as the others are.” His eyes narrow. “I thought more of thee.”
My teeth grit down, I get to my hands and knees, one hand over my abdomen as I try to get up. Another pain stabs into my body, rocking the breath out of me, radiating from under the first set of wings. My arm gives out and I fall on my shoulder.
The same agony repeats, a stabbing sensation in my back, but this one I can tell is different. The appendages are not the same, more bone and flesh are spreading out from my back. I turn to the left, seeing my first set of wings quivering as a second set, a feathery black pair, spread out faster. The black feathers shine like obsidian, each feather thin and blade-like. I gasp as these wings spread out further.
I wince at Samael through pleading eyes. “P-please, tell me what’s happening?”
“The physical pain thou experiences now is nothing compared to what will occur soon.”
“Then stop it!” I scream. “Stop this before I go insane–” At that moment something happened, I cannot explain it, but I will do my best.
It was an epiphany, my pupils dilate fully as my frame of mind changes. The pain of my body increased ten fold and I could hear myself scream, a scream that seemed like it came from somewhere else, yet I knew it was me, my body, letting loose an involuntary gut wrenching scream of anguish.
But, while I know my body is suffering in agony, I’m detached from the physical sensation. I glare at Samael and as I do, each of his eyes dipped deep into the infinite, shifting and turning. I wasn’t going down a single tunnel anymore — no, they now drew me down into them all at once.
My mind is splintering, experiencing each eye as an individual experience, all at once, all of Samael’s knowledge tainting a different consciousness.
Every synapse firing at once, my brain is on fire as new neurons branch outward, and grow. My head spins as membranes bend, break and rupture. Literal heat radiates from inside my head and my hands grasp either side of my skull as if there was something I could do for the fire burning inside.
Wetness drips from my eyes, not tears, but something thicker. Some dripped onto my lips and familiar coppery flavor graces my tongue.
My neck tried to save me, the tiny part of my lizard brain did its best to save me from some unknown danger, but Samael’s voice echoes through the pain.
“Do not look away. Doth thou wishes to aid Saint Timothy?”
My body is shaking as my mind struggles to comprehend everything that’s happening. I keep my eyes open before another stabbing pain causes me to cry out again.
The third set of wings are ripping out of my body. This time something breaks inside my abdomen. Wetness gushes from the waist down, the third set of wings pushing out at a sluggish pace.
Another scream ripped out of me as a pair of red feathered wings cross my vision—which vision I was unsure since my head was spinning as Samael’s eyes filled so much of my consciousness.
Then, the different splinters of thought became too much. Without warning, it all stopped. My mind, stopped as if all of my thoughts collapsed in on each other. I froze in place, suffering as I my mortality slips away. More blood dripped from my eyes as the light of Samael shifted, and every surface within the room seemed to have a light to it. The surrounding marble wasn’t marble; it was barely physical.
Everything in the room had an aura, a light, a bright and burning purpose. Unearthly beings, Cherubim, Seraphim, even God created everything in this room.
With that last observation, Samael’s angel form and the physical room grew blurry, and my thoughts came back.
An explosion burst before me. Gas smashing into gas and collapsing into itself and burning in a furnace of unimaginable power and glory. The light was so bright it burns my eyes, and then it burst again.
So much amazing power and before my vision appeared a temple, floating in nothing, surrounded by light, and creatures fretting around it, building things, adding things.
Something pulled me back to the present from the infinite past and closed my physical eyes. As my eyes closed, a heat appears behind my head. I wasn’t unsure of what it was, but it was soft, warm, and comforting.
Hot wetness dripped from my eyelids as the agony subsided. Only dull aches where my new flesh had grown, where my body had broken my uterus and my eyes.
Yet I wasn’t blind—my eyes, Samael has opened my true eyes! I saw everything. Samael’s true form didn’t appear monstrous and frightening, but beautiful.
I gasped, “L-Lord Samael," I said as I kneel before him.
Samael’s gigantic hand reaches down. “I am not Lord, I am not thy Master, I guided you to the truth, to light, as no other did…” he trailed off, “… though thou has impressed me. Thy has sacrificed more than I expected.” Hs aura pulses. “Thou shalt serve God well.”
I shudder as I stagger up to my feet. “Yes, Sorry just… you’re his most potent angel, aren’t you?”
Samael’s form wavers and bends as if bowing. “Despite displeasing my Lord upon occasion, yes, I am his greatest weapon in heaven. He hath pulled me from flames before.”
Behind me, from the doorway, I could hear Tim’s panicked cries as he pounds on the door.
“Sofia! Open the door!” Tim’s fists collide with the door so hard, I feared he would break his hand.
As I faced the doorway, I realized it was more than a door, as everything in the Temple was. It had an ethereal visage, a lock, a barricade almost unbreakable, fused with the temple’s structure. There was so much more to the temple as I observed it. All around, the walls, the ceiling, lights that had were off for years.
Samael’s voice faded. “I leave you, my avatar, I know thou shall have the means to achieve what God wishes,” his voice whispers, “the means to save Timothy from oblivion.”
“Zepherina! Break it down!” Tim shouts.
“B-But Timothy you said-” Zepherina protests.
“Break it down!” Tim growls.
I can sense them all behind the door. As if the door were transparent. A grin comes over my face as I can view Zepherina’s apprehension, dedication and caring. Tasha’s worry and great concern, her tower of purity funneling into the temple, feeding her.
Yet I can’t help but pity poor Tasha, as I can view the curse upon her soul. Her succubus form forcing her to a single demonic form, yet she too would have one similar to Tim’s Seraphim form without it.
In contrast, as I focus on Demond, his curse is not a curse at all, not to him. His spirit is his wolf form, his control over it has made it a part of who he is. His dedication, control, and even his mild concern show through, and I can’t help but beam at the vision.
The one that floors me is Timothy. Can an aura fuel desire? The answer is “yes”. Not just the potency and purity of his spirit, but his great compassion, even now, for me. My heart leaps as his form steps aside to allow Zepherina to charge the door.
A mischievous mood takes me and I lift my hand, half folding my wings behind me. I send my spirit to the door and unlock it, cracking the door open in the process.
Zepherina barrels through the door, stopping in front of me by a few feet, “Oh my…. God… Sofia… what…?” Zepherina’s aura pulses, her wings appear to be the source of her power. Strength, endurance, a huge hidden power pulses untapped within them.
I can’t help but laugh. “Sorry, I couldn’t help it.”
Tim rushes to my side. He hugs me and I can sense he’s in his cherubim form, yet still, his face appears as if it were his Seraphim shape, the scaled muzzle with a look of anguish on it. “I heard you screaming…” He pulls back, touching my face. “Sofia? You’re bleeding… what happened?”
As he touches my face, I realize my bloodied face must be a horrific sight for him. My wings spread proudly, all three sets. “Sorry, Tim, I am.” I smile, caressing his cheek. “I wasn’t in any danger.”
Tasha approaches now and I can sense her apprehension. “You… became Samael’s avatar?”
Tim faces Tasha, then me.
“Yes, I accepted his offer,” I smile.
Tasha places her hand on my shoulder, appraising me. As I appraise her, I notice that both of her eyes are opened. Her other eye, the one that is always physically shut I realize, can sense the spiritual world as I experienced now. “You have his halo.”
My hands reach over to the back of my head, where I felt the heat, and I chuckle, “Oh, that’s what that is? I haven’t seen myself in the mirror.”
“Sofia, why are your eyes closed?” Tim asks.
I frown and face Tim. “Why are yours? You need to open them already, you’re missing a lot around here!” I chastise.
Tasha relaxes and hugs me. “I feared you would lose who you were.”
I hug her back, “No… he promised me I would not lose… well…” I looked down, “… well, I lost something but… I wasn’t using it.”
Tim’s mood was shifting. Before he could react, I figured it was time to explain.
“The Angel Samael, he was visiting me, showing me your past, Tim, and guiding me to help you.” I spread all my wings wide. “I did it, to help.”
Tim’s mood is that of guilt, and in that instant, I grabbed his cheeks, pull him towards me, and kiss him.
He holds me tight, his wings wrapping around my waist.
We broke the kiss, and I placed my forehead against his lips, “I chose this, I had every opportunity to back down. I knew what I was getting into.”
Tim’s mood calms. “Sofia… what do you mean, open my eyes? You realize yours are closed… and… are you still bleeding? Please… open your eyes Sofia.”
I lifted my eyelids, a blurry world overlapping the light of the temple, Tim, and everyone around me. The visions of everyone’s soul was still visible, but overlaying it was their blurry physical silhouettes.
Tim’s blue eyes dimmed. “Oh My God, Sofia… your eyes… w-what happened?”
“I traded vanity for purity,” I explain.
Tasha examined me, frowning, “Her… irises are… they look torn, and burned.”
“Can you heal them?” I ask as I close them.
“M-maybe…” Tasha whispers, “Irfan needs to have a look at you.”
Tim picks me up and rushes me past everyone.
I wrap my arms around his neck and lean against him. “Tim, without my physical eyes I’m still fine.” The Temple’s lights, I realize, the original lights were still out. “Oh, that reminds me… I don’t think Tasha knows how to work this… or she was too afraid to but, you realize you have half the temple turned off, right?”
“What?” Tim says as he faces me.
My white wings twitch as I send my spirit upwards and turn on the lights of the temple.
Tim stops dead as I notice a white light beam down from the ceiling.
We’re in the foyer, and I turn to the statue of Saint Dinah, illuminated, and smile to it.
To my shock, the statue faces me and it smiles back.
“What… how? I’ve been running generators and spotlights how…?” Tim says in shock.
I hop out of his arms, “It’s because your eyes are closed.” I start towards the medical wing, spotting Irfan deep inside, mixing more than just physical potions, but pouring his spirit into them. “Come on, let’s see if Irfan can fix my eyes. I think I surprised even Samael how long I stared at him. Must be like looking at the sun.”
Tim ran alongside me. “Slow down, you can’t watch where you’re going Sofia!”
A laugh escapes my lips as I wonder why Tim can’t understand. “Tim,” I explain, “I don’t need them.” I walk through the door with ease. “Hey, Irfan, I think I broke something!” I shout as I walk in.
Tim runs ahead of me as Irfan stands up and rushes over.
Irfan is amazing, nothing but compassion and complete selflessness. It’s clear why he’s an avatar of Raphael. He only cares for everyone’s wellbeing. A rare soul and potent in that ability.
“Sofia? You’re bleeding!” He guides me to a bed and sits me down, cleaning my cheeks.
“Her eyes, I’m not sure what happened,” Tim explains.
Irfan moves to look at my wings, “Well… uh, congratulations Sofia? Welcome to the Temple.” he says as he cleans my face. “Do your eyes hurt?”
I shake my head. “They’re a little sore. Like I’ve been up all night, you know? Tired almost.”
He opens one of my eyes and the blurry world overlays the lights of his spirit. “Looks like someone stabbed your iris from the inside.”
“Huh, it was worse than that, trust me,” I joke.
Tim’s not amused.
“Tim,” I scold. “Lighten up. I’m fine.”
Tim turns to Irfan. “Is she going to see again? Is she okay?”
Irfan checks my pulse and runs his hand over my back, checking my wings and such. “I mean… heart rate is normal…” He continues to give me a basic evaluation before he walks over to his desk and mixes and grinding things. As he does, I can watch him imbue the mixture with healing prayers.
As we wait, I swing my legs over the table, beaming to Tim. “So you realize what this means for us, right?”
Tim faces me, still concerned. “What?”
I take his hand in mine. “You’re mine, forever.”
Tim’s eyes brighten his spirit surges. “Wait, you mean…?”
Beaming back, I pull him closer. “Yep, forever…” I grin.
Tim pulls me close. “Assuming neither of us gets killed.”
Irfan comes over with a liquid glowing with healing properties. He tilts my head up, opening each of my eyes and placing a drop in each. “Keep them closed, use these twice daily, all right? The less light the better. Be in a dark room when you apply them. You should have something to cover your eyes.” He pulls out a few cotton-balls and a gauze, wrapping my head.
I shiver as I realize I’m wearing a blindfold now, like Samael. “Maybe… I’m not meant to use them anymore?”
Irfan smiles. “Let us hope not. I’d hope an angel wouldn’t rob you of your sight.”
“No, he didn’t, he improved my vision, tenfold,” I explain.
Irfan pushes the bottle into my hands. “Regardless, Sofia, please take your medicine.”
I nod. “Yes, doctor.” I hop down from the bed, folding my wings tight against my back. I face Tim. “Happy? I saw the doctor.”
Irfan frowns. “Sofia… are you… menstruating?”
“Hm?”
“There is some blood where you sat.” He motions to where I was sitting.
As I turn to the bed, I observe that my blood leaves a trace of my spirit behind. It has an energy all its own, a neutral one, however. “Oh, I guess I should wash up.”
…
Tim washes me in a shower. Well, he washes me in one of the temple’s showers. The ones he had set-up, which worked off of pumps and electric heaters, were useless compared to the existing showers for the barracks of the Temple.
Again, something I had activated. The entire temple was coming to life again like it was in the visions of the past.
“You’ve got to explain how you’re doing this,” Tim requests.
“Well, first, you’ve got to see the spiritual world, Tim. You aren’t even half in tune with it. Tasha should be able to show you, although granted she’s half in, half out most of the time. I think she can only experience it when she’s praying,” I explain as he soaps me up. I press against him, shivering, “Tim, when was the last time we made love in the shower?”
Tim laughs. “No offense, love, but I’m washing the blood off every inch of you down there. It’s not something that sparks the mood.”
“Ugh…” I groan. “Fine.” I smile. “A rain check then.”
Tim nods in agreement. “Yes.” His hands slide over all of my wings
A different reaction happens as he touches each, the white ones giving me a tender sensation, the black ones sending waves of pleasure over my body, and the red ones giving me a serene and sweet sensation. “You could keep doing that, but with no follow-up, love, it’s just torture,” I inform.
“Something I’ll keep in mind for later,” Tim says with a grin.
I sense something coming from Tim once more, something additional, and I focus on it, noticing it again on his shoulder.
As I push my spirit to it and feel not connection. But I then try something else, reaching out with my mind, and now I can see it clearly! There’s a small woman, almost like a fairy, with little yellow wings wrapped up in my thoughts.
“There you are,” I speak to her. “Who the Hell are you?”
“You can see me?” The small woman shouts. “Timothy she spotted me! Problem! Huge Problem!”
Tim stops caressing my wings. “Sofia, what’s going on?”
“I should ask you two the same question.” I turn to face him, not releasing the small woman, “Who is this? Why does she only exist in the realm of the mind?” I motion to the tiny woman.
Tim frowns and I see the weak aura of the small woman leading to his right eye.
I reach out and touch that side of his face and realize something. “Your eye is a fake. The right one, it’s not your original.”
Tim shakes his head. “I lost it when I was younger when I saved Colonel Anderson. The ‘woman’ you see is named Synchronous. She’s Artificial Intelligence that my father made.” He sighs. “To restore my eye, she converted herself into an implant.” He taps the right side of his head and continues, “She repaired damaged nerves and muscle on my right side. Without her, I wouldn’t be able to fly.”
“Or strategize.” Synchronous interrupts.
I let her go, watching as she vanishes, becoming a wisp again. “She’s got very weak… presence.”
“She’s not a spiritual being, she’s artificial.” Tim clarifies. “But the eye she’s made for me, the nerves she rebuilt, it’s all a part of me, manipulated by her.”
I tease, “And do you have feelings for this woman, Tim?” I slide my hands over his shoulders.
Tim smiles. “She’s a friend, almost a sister, but you know I love you.”
I pull myself up by his shoulders and kiss him, my legs wrapping around his hips. I want to make love to him but something teases at the corner of my consciousness and I realize something is happening in the foyer. “Tim… dry off, quick.”
“Why?” Tim asks.
“Something is coming in through the front door,” I explain.
We both head out of the showers, dry, and dress. I slip on fresh pants and Tim helps me get a shirt on with some difficulty. He guides my wings through a hole out the back.
“These… are awkward…” I complain.
Tim grumbles. “You get used to it when you have shirts that button on the back…”
I’d laugh but something is coming through the doorway and it’s not Jason or Jorge. “The doors are opening up, Tim.”
Before long, we’re both running into the foyer. Two men walk in through the doors just as I managed to secure my blindfold.
On their hands are pair rings between them, each of immense spiritual power, pulsing with an energy I’ve only seen Tasha wield.
“Holy shit, it’s real,” one man’s voice comments. “It was real, it’s not just a dream.”
“Told you brother, not to lose faith.” another voice says.
Tim stares dumbfounded. “That can’t be…”
I can’t see them, not their faces, but I see their spirits.
Both humans, brothers, one far more pious than the other. Their bodies, I notice, are pure, virginally pure, the astonished man less pure than his older brother.
It’s at this moment Tasha squeals in delight.
“You boys came back!” she laughs, rushing over to them.
“Tasha?” One of them shouts. “Okay, you, I thought was a dream,” says the older brother.
The younger one shakes his head. “She hates when you compliment her looks, remember, Colin?”
Tim’s spirit is beaming as I face him.
“Tim, who are they?”
He faces me, his eyes pulsing with energy. “They’re the children of a dear old friend of mine.” He faces both of them again. “Colin Macaione and his younger brother Trevor.”