Elusive Religion By spheeris1 Pairing: Anthy/various Warnings: Anthy POV, rambling poetic mess of mythical mish-mosh *** *** I fell through the stars and laid upon the cold, cold ground. I walked amongst the dust and dirt and mud and slime. I saw the world in the light of reality, no longer shielded by rose-hued vision. Millions of years, billions of seconds..all in a moment, all in a flash of light. I saw the future. I saw the damned and the wounded. I saw thousands of people, flesh that was not impervious like mine... Damaged by time, by war, by famine. Ruined skin.too close to the fire did they stand..and I could smell them as they burned. Watched the eyes grow dim as life simply fled from slack mouths. One single breath. Gone. My fingers pinched the amber wick. I inhaled the smoke of wasted youth at my alter. A statue of me, marble and cold, to which they lay their lives. A form of me, lifeless and dead, to which they pledge their very souls. Rivers of red spilled in my name, rivers of saltwater shed on my stone feet. They call me a goddess. They call me a tender rose. They call me the holiest of powers.. .to be grasped, to be worshipped, to shelter them from harm. I come to them in dreams, whispers of glory to fill nighttime journeys. I show them the stars. I tell them each glorious blue-white torch in the black sky shines for them. I have kissed many virgin lips, touched many trembling bodies. All to vanish with the dawn. They believe in me even when I abandon them. Leave them penniless and wasted, starving and dirty.. They believe. And I give them nothing but false images. Sometimes, I wish I could believe. Take back the battles and take back the pain, reshape the past and shower them with happiness. Then...then I could be free. Truly a goddess. Truly a flower that blooms. I would be worth the devotion.. ..if I believed. Another warrior falls. Slain. Words dying on lips. Another candle goes out. Another believer learns the bitter truth. The pinkish tint leaves their eyes and they finally see the darkness. They finally see what I see. *** *** END