Trigger warnings : Suicide.
Temperance and the Devil
Day 0:
What was it? This feeling.
This feeling he can barely remember.
The wind blows through his hair, it's cold. He pulls his jacket over himself and suppresses a shiver. Pulls his hood over his hair and leans a little bit closer.
In front of him is nothing but air and the city below, glowing in the night.
Nothing to support him from below and nothing to hold him from above.
Only the abyss below, unfolding in his eyes, the faint glimmer of city lights lost in the darkness.
There isn't much time left.
Neither for this world, nor for me.
In his ear, he could hear the girl scream, a mix of static and desperation. He taps the phone, turns down the volume more and when there's total silence, he closes his eyes.
No time left.
He takes another step.
No time left.
He spreads his arms.
No time left.
And he falls, he surrenders himself to the abyss.
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Once upon a time, there existed the City of Light.
A city on an island that floats in the sky, shrouded by the love of the rays of the sun.
He clicks his tongue as the the light flickers again. He hears a screech and it's moving again, running towards him with frightening speed.
His only response is to flip his hood up, a grin on his face.
In this City of Light, angels and humans lived in harmony.
"Ah, it's another starless night out today."
"It's fine. There'll be plenty enough lights for them to see you onstage."
The angels protected humans from the wrath of their fallen brethren-
Shards of glass shine in the dim light as she hears a scream right in her ear and they fall back, through the window and into the night below.
Before she could even think, she holds her breath and closes her eyes.
And the humans worshiped the angels and powered them through their prayer.
"Everyooooonneeeeee!"
Like clockwork, they all glanced at the screen and it flickers, they feel the flicker of electricity on their skin and in their hands, their phones start to flicker and glow.
In this land ruled a girl, the princess of angels.
In this land lived a boy, the most powerful of humans.
"I can't hold on for much longer..." He whispers, looking at the sky. The roads stretch out endlessly in front of him.
"Where am I?"
The boy stayed by the girl's side, a powerful fighter.
The girl stayed by the boy's side, a graceful ruler.
And slowly, but surely they fell in love.
"Mmm...was that a dream?" She asks the empty room.
Her book has slipped from her hands and fallen on the floor.
But one day, the boy's heart turned to stone.
He betrayed his kingdom and killed the girl.
"Hah...ha...h...shit..."
He swears as he uses the wall to support himself, pulling himself up. He can't feel his lip, there's blood trickling down his nose.
It's too dark for him to see.
And as he leaps off the precipice and falls through the sky,
The Sun weeps tears for her fallen queen and sinks past the horizon as well.
He grits his teeth and lunges at the monsters but never meets his target.
He's thrown against the wall, his shoulder hurts and he's about to scream when the monster tears into his skin.
But this story is not about this sordid legend.
This story takes place afterwards, in a different time, a different land.
Or it would have, if something hadn't knocked it off right away.
There's a soft glow right in front of him and he opens his eyes to see...
Wings.
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This story is about City of the Blind and its inhabitants.
Of the humans that are stranded in its darkness and the angels that vanished from view.
"An..." His throat is dry, but it's loud enough to get his attention. The white-haired boy looks back at him with a blank expression, but he only has eyes for the boy's back
This story is about a cowardly human and an boy that should have disappeared long ago.
What happened next would change the world around them.
For better-
"An angel?"
Or for worse.
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Temperance and the Devil
Prologue: The dead help the dying, by killing the monsters.
End.
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