(This is long overdue: Thank you to all of those who have been reading this story since the prologue and thank you so much for your feedback. It is what keeps me on this story and excited to write the next chapter. Thank you.
Okay now on to chapter 19! PS. The scene with the roses came to me because of the music I am listening to just makes me think of roses bathed in the light of a full moon.)

Trinity Blood: Divergent Path
Chapter 19: Breaking Point

"Who are you?" the question seemed to haunt Abel every second of everyday. Even when Myles wasn't there, he could hear the question repeating over and over in his head. Why? Why did it matter so much? Then the response to this question Myles gave. Abel's eye twitched. Was it true, was he really such a monster? "Who are you?" Myles had entered the room while Abel had been thinking.

"I am," Abel's voice cracked. "I am," he repeated, "Abel Nightlord one of the three rulers of the Methuselah." Whack, a heavy, metal boot slammed into his stomach. Blood spilled from Abel's mouth, eyes watering in pain.

"Incorrect," snapped Myles, "you are not human. You're a vile monster who was doomed to hell the second you were born. You have no rights; you don't even have the right to live." Was it true? Was this all he was? "Who are you?"

"Abel Nightlord, one of the three rulers of the Methuselah," Abel repeated, closing his eyes tight. He was Abel Nightlord, he was not crusnik, crusnik was the nano-machine in him. The crusnik hissed in his mind. "I am Abel Nightlord—" he coughed, blood filling his mouth as Myles kicked him again.

"Incorrect," Myles snarled. "You are not human. You're a vile monster who was doomed to hell the second you were born. You have no rights; you don't even have the right to live." No, he wasn't, he wasn't, he just wasn't! There was no way this was true. "Who are you?"

"Lieutenant-colonel Abel Nightlord, attached to Red Mars Project security force. Recognized by UNASF94-8-RMOC-666-02ak," Abel said, repeating the words which had been drilled into his head so long ago. "I was created to serve the UN," he gasped, "I am not human. I was created purely through science. I am not human, I am not human," he kept repeating this, remembering the words General had uttered after their last trip through the maze. "I am not human. Humans are conceived not created through science."

For once Myles didn't interrupt as Abel repeated this over and over. It seemed Myles was at a loss on what to say. "Who are you?" Myles repeated, not seeming to think this as an incorrect answer.

"Lieutenant-colonel Abel Nightlord, attached to Red Mars Program security force. Recognized by UNASF94-8-RMOC-666-02ak," once more Abel said this. "I was created to serve the UN, I was created… I was created—"

Myles struck him. "Incorrect," Abel gasped, coughing up blood. "You are not human. You're a vile monster who was doomed to hell the second you were born. You have no rights; you don't even have the right to live." No, he was – he was – he was, AH! Who was he? He was Abel Nightlord, it was the name he had been given. He was not the crusnik! "Who are you?" He didn't know, he didn't know anymore, who the hell was he? "We'll leave at here for today," stated Myles. He then called, "Bring some food and water, he has made some progress this day."

Time passed by slowly. There were shadows in the darkest of night, but it was always night here. Abel let his mind stay blank, watching the dark shadows on the wall. It was easier not to think. It was just easier not to be. He didn't know how often Myles entered or how long it had been since Abel had arrived here. Honestly he didn't want to know. The simple numbness of the night was all Abel cared about. Always, it was always too soon when Myles returned. Some days Myles stayed longer and others he left after only a short time.

The door creaked open. It was always the same. Abel didn't look up; he kept his eyes on the shadows. It never changed. The sound of metal on stone echoed in his ears as Myles crossed the room. There was no deviation from this routine. There was only the harsh reality of this room, the cold, wet, stone floor, the chains and braces binding Abel, and the question, the damned question he could never answer correctly. Why couldn't he? Why?

Metal boots were before Abel. It was beginning again. This would never end, never. "Who are you?" Myles's question echoed through Abel's ears. It hurt; the question burned and seared his mind, ripping him apart from the inside out. Whack, "Who are you?" he repeated. Why should Abel answer? Pain came from both answering and not answering, so what was the point? "Who are you?" No one, "Who are you?" No one, "Who are you?" He was no one.

Abel wanted to shout, but he couldn't move. It felt as if someone had glued his mouth shut. Besides what was there to say. In the end, there was nothing. Nothing, there was only this harsh reality and the question, the unanswerable question.

"Who are you?" Abel was created, he wasn't human; he wasn't human. He just couldn't have been human. Why else would the crusnik have bonded to him and the other three? Why else – why else – why else…? Abel stared at the floor, his eyes focused on the amount of blood which coated the floor. It was everywhere, his blood. Was this it? Was this the end? A large part of him longed for it to end here; yet, somehow, he knew this wasn't the end. Somehow he just knew years of torment awaited him. There was no end in sight and there never would be.

Later:
It had been a year. Lilith sighed, and looked up at the night sky. It had been a year since she had overheard the conversation in which Myles had planned to capture a Nightlord. In this time she had been unable to gather any leads on if he had succeeded or not. She desperately hoped he hadn't.

Slowly Lilith bent back, the paperwork spread out on the desk before her. In the past year, the Methuselah seemed to have grown more cautious. The Nightlord siblings had actually pulled many of their forces to the board. It was a strange move and she was only just starting to see it. There had been reports coming in on Methuselah forces pulling back over the past year, but she had just taken it as them covering their tracks or preparing traps. After all, a year ago she had faced the twins in battle and even managed to defeat them. Granted it had only been because Abel had been blasted into the ocean by a tank, but she had managed to defeat Cain. He'd only escaped because Seth had appeared at the last moment and gotten her brother out of it. For this Lilith was thankful. She had no desire to kill any of them and would never have been able to forgive herself if she had. Perhaps the reasoning the forces were being pulled back was for a different matter entirely.

Lilith stood and walked over to the window. A shooting star streaked across the sky. It looked almost lonely as it flew between The Ark and the full moon. She looked away from the sky, a hollow filling in her heart. As her gaze fell, she noticed the rose bushes in the distance. Many of them were red this year, all of which remaindered her of vividly of blood. Oddly enough, in the center of the red roses one white rose shown through night. The sound of flapping filled the night. A single, black feather drifted down. It landed almost gracefully on white rose. Lilith stared at it, unable to take her eyes from it. Slowly her eyes focus behind the roses at the horse trotting through the dark night. The figure upon the horse was wrapped tightly in clothes, but Lilith could tell this person was female. There was an oddly familiar air about her which reminded Lilith of way Tabitha had been – Lilith raced from the room. It was Sara. There was no one else it could be. What was she doing here?

Stumbling as Lilith raced from the building, she only just managed to keep her balance before running for the horse as a guard approached the woman. "Lady Lilith," the guard paused, looking from Lilith to the woman on the horse, "do you know this travel? She claims to be here to speak with you." Sara looked down at Lilith, her dark eyes wide with an unspoken plea.

"She is," Lilith said, giving the man a small smile. "I will see to her," the guard hesitated before he nodded and walked off. Once Lilith was sure he was out of earshot she asked, "Why are you here, Sara? You are not a soldier."

Sara slid down from the horse. "I need to speak with you Lilith. You're the only one I know I can go to about this," there was a deep seeded fear in Sara's eyes which sent a jolt of worry and terror through Lilith. Hopefully she wasn't bearing too grave of news, but why else would she be here? "Can we go inside? The sun will be rising in a few hours," Sara explained.

"This way," Lilith said, turning and calling one of the stable boys over. The boy hesitated, giving Sara a fearful glance before taking the reins from her. Lilith led Sara back into her office and shut the blinds for when the sun rose. "What is it? What's wrong?" she asked as she poured a glass of water and offered it to Sara.

Sara took the glass gratefully and started to pull off some of the protective clothes she wore. "It's about Abel," Lilith stared at her, "he's been missing for a year now." Lilith's heart skipped a beat. Was it possible – could it be? "I didn't know who else in the Vatican would give me an answer to what was going on," Sara almost pleaded. "He was called way last year because a cardinal had been captured at the boarder." What? Lilith had heard no such news. All the cardinals were safe at this moment. "He promised to send a message if he would be more than a few nights, but I never received one. I've been asking around for the past year, but Cain won't talk about it and Seth has been out searching for him herself." There was panic in her voice now. Her eyes were wild with fear and worry. "I know he is strong and more than capable—"

Holding up her hand, Lilith cut off what Sara was saying. "I had thought Myles had given up, but I see now I was a fool to think this," Lilith leaned against her desk and folded her arms across her chest. There was a questioning look in Sara's eyes as the girl opened her mouth ready to ask a question. Before she could do so, Lilith explained, "A year ago I overheard Myles speaking with a Methuselah on capturing one of the Nightlords."

Horror appeared on Sara's features. "You're saying they got Abel!" she practically shouted, taking a step towards Lilith. "We have to do something, he's been a prisoner for a year now if this is true, Lilith," tears were filling Sara's eyes.

"Don't worry, we will do something," Lilith said, determined to make this so. "Listen," she said, thinking quickly on the matter, "tomorrow Myles and one of the cardinals had an announcement to make. I will go to this and see what I can find out from a few of Myles's soldiers. I want you to wait here. I will tell you what I discover and we will go from there, deal?"

Slowly Sara nodded. "Thank you, Lilith," she looked Lilith in the eye, hope mixing with her worry and fear for Abel. "I know you didn't have to go through this for Abel or for me." Lilith just smiled at her. The truth was Lilith would do anything for Abel, she would do anything for all three of them; anything but destroy this world and all the people on it, this was.