The Heavenly Ruins

[yinsukin]

Aruna

The demon's eyes traced over his body, looking for any tells of his true intentions, yet she found none.  "Vision comes from light huh?  Thats your answer?  Let me tell you the story of the origin of humans.  You see, humans consider themselves above other animals, but once upon a time they were no smarter than primapes.  One day, the angel's came from the heavens and granted them the power of light.  This power granted them fire, a simple technological boost that jumpstarted everything.  Yes, just as the flame can augment life, so can it corrode other lives.  In the end, through the flame the light consumed all, a gift wrapped in the bone marrow of corpses and colored with the blood of the fallen."

Aruna sighed.  "I suppose I can't disagree.  If love and hate are merely colored by other things, then light is the basis for black and white.  Then.... what is the light of the light?  What colors the darkness and light?"

The truth was, Aruna might have already known the answer.  The demon had never once thought about her biological identity, or rather, never reconciled it with the rest of her.  It was simply easier to put it aside and consider the social constructs that defined her.  This grace, it whispered at her sometimes, fueling her rage towards the angels, even pushing her own frustration with others and herself. 

[YOLF]

Orcus

"What a curious story. And who gave angels their fire?" The immortal leaned down until his shadow covered Aruna in her entirety, and his sneer bore down on the demon like a knife caressing her face. "The light comes from behind your own eyes, and everyone's colors are different."

[yinsukin]

Aruna

Aruna took a deep breath and said, "God."

The demon folded her arms over her exposed chest and sighed once again.  It was as if this revelations itself was burdensome.  "Supposedly the light is its own force, created by god and used by all who have access to its power.  I suppose an argument could be made that we all see everything differently."

Another pause.  "Then how is your world colored then?  What are you exactly anyway?  I do not think I have been exposed to your species before."

[YOLF]

Orcus

In life, there were many things to beggar comprehension in the minds of those who had the capacity to ponder. But there were few so ancient and universal that in every century in every people had an inescapable pull, that provided a mystery so vast and complex that they could possess lives from beginning to end, swallowing countless spirits in devoted inquiry even when there was no answer in sight, and no clue that could be yielded came any close to making sense of what surrounded them.

God was one of these, but seeing Orcus now, it was as if it amounted to nothing more than a bad joke.

He distanced his face from Aruna, straightening himself, but his shoulders shivered as from the cold. They trembled softly, his cheeks becoming swollen with restraint, and then rattled in tune with his laughter. Gentle and pitying, the sound suddenly peaked like a tsunami spilled from the depths, and the Primal supported his roaring chest with a spread hand.

"What is a God?" He asked. The laughter ceased at once, and he twirled once, showing her his back. In an instant, there was only the onyx curtain of his cloak, but the next, great fans of blades and iron hooks opened before the demon. Bellicose wings riddled with gaps, like a warlike mockery of the limbs of angels and demons alike. "I am what I am, but I was made as something else. The prelude to light and darkness."

[yinsukin]

Aruna

"What is a God?"  The demon couldn't help but be stifled by the question.  Who questions god?  A god's very nature is incomprehensible.  How could one ever hope to understand god.  Even with centuries, many consider such a thing an impossible task.  It was only natural that Aruna did not answer the question.

Aruna took a step back upon seeing the wings.  She stood between Orcus and the statue, staring at the wings.  To think there was such a thing, a prelude to light and darkness.  In theory it made sense.  Who could say that light and darkness was the beginning?  Perhaps there was something before that.

"Exactly how old are you?" she asked, placing a finger on her lower lip.

[YOLF]

Orcus

His metal-tipped shoes echoed on the worn pavement, and Orcus turned with a knowing smile to Aruna. But his eyes smoldered like smoke, and whether he saw the abyss or paradise within was beyond anyone else to discern.

"Before a universe can be divided, it must be conquered," he said, sword-feathered wings bending close to his shoulders. "Before the laws can be written, it must accept only one lawgiver. When the final verse is sung at the eve of a new concert, only one voice must remain. That is the egotism of God. But the light and dark that came after me, I was not there to see. It's either funny or fortunate that I should find traces of it here."

He flicked away golden locks, sticking to his face beneath the cloak, and his blond braids swayed after it.

[yinsukin]

Aruna

Aruna stood firm, her own red hair ruffling in the breeze.  With a soft voice she said, "Well then if you are the prototype and we angels and demons are mere second models, then maybe I seek to evolve into the next version, something beyond light and dark."

The wings on Aruna's back expanded, the one side turned to angelic feathers, glowing with light.  The other was coated with a dark energy.  "You know, maybe god's voice is the only true one, but echoes are hard to distinguish from a true voice.  One day, god will fall to one of his creations.  I am sure of this, but it won't be a demon, nor an angel.  I think... it will be a human."

[YOLF]

Orcus

Orcus chuckled. "You will melt away, caught between them. As long as they are black and white, damnation and glory."

The words hung, floating between the two like a banner of challenge. The immortal's mood made them flutter with a life of their own, like a mischievous wind. More questions followed, but they danced with tones of approval. "What a thought. Don't you think that sounds outrageous? Aren't you proposing that demons and angels have no free will outside the creator's designs?"

If it was, then her impossible desire for evolution was the correct answer, he did not say. Correct because one has no ability to change the world if they can only act within its axioms. Impossible because to fulfill it, one would cease to be the same creature.

"Ah, but dear demon. What do you think god was, before they were god?"

[yinsukin]

Aruna

"Melt away....." Aruna repeated, thinking of the mixture of light and dark.  They were consuming one another.  Having both... it was unnatural.  Perhaps that could be her fate if she kept abusing that power.  To take the graces... that was her goal, but she didn't consider what would happen to her as a result.  Perhaps she would die instead.

"God huh?" she repeated the lingering thought, wondering how exactly to answer it.  "Odd for a mortal to ask such a question.  God alone is beyond your comprehension yet you ask what existed before god?  Why exactly do you ponder an existence before god?"

[YOLF]

Orcus

He hummed, a pleased tremor echoing like a tiger's contentment. "Because my god is already torn to pieces."

[yinsukin]

Aruna

Aruna's eyes widened, another breeze howling through the empty ruins.  She backed up, tilting her head and softening her eyes, a frown on her face.  "I see.  In that case, I could tell you what I know about ascending to the level of a god.  However, this information won't come cheap.  You need to help me with something in return."

[YOLF]

Orcus

His expression narrowed, and through his smile teeth glinted like knives. "And what qualifies you to offer a boon like that? The gift within your body, that grace of heaven, which has enlightened you?"

The steel feathers flexed and bent but did not retreat, and their master drew a deep, unbothered breath.

"I am roused by the proposal, and intrigued by your motive." He said, and opened his tanned palm, where black mist rushed to gather and crackle. "But before I accept, we must make sure you can trust the skills of your aid. It won't do for me to cause disappointment."

The metallic clack of a black halberd around his fingers announced the primal's intention.

[yinsukin]

Aruna

He knows about the grace?

"I am Aruna, demon of the guardian clan.  The qualifications are built into my very way of life.  Although telling a mortal such as yourself such things is likely to lead to some unforseen consequences, but i've made worse choices since coming to this city."

Another few steps back and this time grimaced.  "You insult me with your bravado.  For your hubris I wall happily take advantage of your naivete," she said, flapping her wings, sending her soaring into the sky.  "Very well Orcus, godless mortal.  If you survive this skirmish then you would have proved your worth."

And thus, her lips began to move, yet no words came out.  She had begun her first chant of the battle.

[YOLF]

Orcus

"A man once said hubris is a coward's word. Let's see if you can fashion yourself my nemesis, then."

Tiles split beneath his feet, and Orcus launched himself after Aruna. In an instant he'd closed the distance, an awful hiss of wind on his heels, thrusting the blunt tip of his weapon at the demon's throat.

[yinsukin]

Aruna

And just as the tip approached Aruna's neck, she vanished, disappearing into the void.  The only evidence of her presence was a voice that echoed through the sky.  "I can't imagine a man who said such a thing with confidence is still alive.  Try not to die too easily."

Though Orcus could not see it, another chant had started.  "Orcus.... you seem to harbor the "honor" of a warrior.  Although I have my own sense of morality, I do not share some warrior's code.  I will fight to win, or erase you if you prove to be unworthy.  I hope you do the same."