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Year 16 AL, Encroaching Darkness
Eden soared through the lower levels of Heaven, anxiety fully displayed on her face. Her head still rang with the confused cries of the Angels who had been in the Temple, the strange disturbance having thrown them into an uproar. They were confused, scared, and looking for answers.
Answers that the Right Hand of Heaven took upon herself to find.
The closer she got to Ilias's throne room, the more she heard some of the Higher Order Angels calling out to her. The first, predictably, was Archangel Ariel.
"Eden, have you any information on what is happening? The Archangels and I heard a voice speak to us, and then the very walls of Heaven started to DISTORT!"
Eden grimaced at the mental shout before replying to her.
"No, not yet, Ariel, I am going to the Goddess right away!"
Another voice chimed in her head, this one being Heaven's sole Angel of the Third Order, Throne Eggiel.
"Seraph Eden, did you hear that voice as well? Who was that?"
Eden burst through a layer of cloud before answering, tuffs of Golden fluff flying all around her.
"I will give you an answer as soon as I can, Eggiel, I give you my word!"
Eden quickly cut through more and more layers of clouds, appearing and dissapearing like a bolt of lightning.
"Ooo, was that the fabled Prophet? He sounded cute~"
Eden faltered in her flight path, somehow tripping while in mid-air.
"Dominion Endiel, what is that supposed to mean!?"
The one infamously known as the "Angel Whore" giggled at Eden's expense.
"Oh, keep your mind out of the gutter, Eden. I was just curious. I knew that he looks adorable, but I hadn't realized that he sounded so scrumptious~"
Eden scoffed, 'Scrumptious? What a bizarre way to describe someone.' Eden thought as she burst through her Garden's floor, arriving at the Level of the Seraphim. For a moment, Eden considered stopping to pray for permission to enter Ilias's throne room, but she shook the idea away.
Normally, Eden would not hesitate to uphold such Holy practices, but this would have to be an exception.
The Seraph's long sage-colored hair wildly flared behind her as her large wings fluttered. Then, she broke through the last row of clouds and rose into the topmost domain of Heaven. "My Goddess!" Eden declared, immediately dropping to her hands and knees to prostrate in the direction she felt Ilias was in. "I am SO sorry to interlope into your throne room without permission, but I MUST speak with you! I-"
The Seraph stopped talking as, for a quick moment, Eden sensed something. She was struck with horror, for what she felt was very strong and very Dark.
"Huh!?" She exclaimed, her eyes opening wide to glance around the Heavenly realm. However, all that was in the room was her and Ilias, who was asleep on the ground. 'Wait, sleeping on the ground?' Eden thought once giving a double-take. Indeed, Ilias was lying on the ground, her limbs sprawled across the golden cloud as if she had fallen unconscious.
"ILIAS!" Eden screamed, darting towards her Goddess with a great and sudden fear clenching her heart. The Seraph dropped to her knees once she reached Ilias's side and began reaching out towards the Goddess. But she stopped, hissing in surprise at what she felt. The peculiarity in question was the fact that the air around Ilias was hot, as if an intense fire was surrounding Ilias.
Eden brushed the thought away, reaching out to start shaking the Goddess by her shoulders. "Ilias, Ilias! Please, wake up!" The Seraph's efforts only caused the taller woman to grumble lightly in her sleep.
Eden started to panic, looking up and down Ilias for a sign of what happened. The Sage-haired Seraph's gaze fell on Ilias's neck, where she noticed something strange. "Huh, that wasn't like that before." Eden said, peering down on the jewel on the Goddess's neck. Her confusion was caused by the fact that the jewel, which was formerly red, was now glowing violet. 'Nevermind the necklace, Eden! The Goddess is more important right now!' The Seraph berated before renewing her efforts.
Stranger yet, was what came from Ilias next...
"Mmm, Luka~" The Goddess moaned as she squirmed around in her sleep.
Eden stopped upon hearing this, peering down to stare at Ilias's face. Eden was a bit surprised to see that Ilias's face was flushed and that her mouth was formed into a soft grin.
Eden smiled, Aww," She cooed while she clasped her hands together, "She's dreaming of the Prophet! How nice, it must be a very pleasing dream if she were to smile like that!" The Seraph's face fell, her smile quickly turning into a frown again, "However, no matter how Holy your dreams must be, I have to wake you up!" Eden declared, redoubled her efforts by shaking Ilias more vigorously.
What the Third Great Seraph did not know was that the dream Ilias was in the middle of having with Luka was far from Holy. As, once again, Ilias's mind was being nudged into depravity. At the moment, Ilias was dreaming of Luka's Baptism, where things were starting to become more and more deviant...
"Ilias! Are you alright?" Luka's head turned, the young Prophet trying his best to look up at Ilias. Her bright blue eyes met his pale-blue ones, her heart throbbing in her chest so hard that the carnal pulse went throughout her entire body.
Ilias was kneeling behind Luka, with her hands on his shoulders, rubbing away at them in an act that was not a part of the Baptism. She suddenly became acutely aware of how this could be interpreted and began to pull back.
"No..." The Goddess gasped, "...No, I'm not alright, Luka." Ilias leaned away from him, her chest leaving his bare back. Immediately, her body ached as her body left his. It was almost concerning how good it felt being pressed up against him like a needy kitten.
Ilias looked up into the sky, the Moon having long since passed its peak. Ilias had missed her chance; Luka couldn't be baptized now...
...But that doesn't mean that he had to leave, did it?
Ilias willed for the clouds to dim completely their already faded light disappearing completely, the Heavenly constructs no longer giving any illumination to the room. Now, the only object shining down on the two was the hypnotic Full Moon.
Yes, that was perfect. Just her, Luka, and the purifying water.
Ilias heard some splashing as Luka turned to face her fully. Her face blushed heavily now, her pale skin turning dark red at the sight of his naked flesh being presented to her...
...Just for her.
Thump Thump
"Wh-What's wrong? I'll do whatever I can to help you." Luka said.
Ilias gasped, his words igniting something inside of her. The Goddess could feel the flames growing as she stared down at him. He was as bare as the day he was born as he stood inside the pool made for his Baptism. He was...
...Perfect.
Ilias felt hot sweat pouring down her body as if she were melting. The more she gazed upon him, the greater the flames of something passionate, something primal, would flare. She glanced down at the pool Luka stood in, the water reaching just above his waist.
Oddly, Ilias found herself wishing that she had made the water just a bit shallower.
Thump Thump
"Yes, I think you can h-help me, my Prophet..." Ilias shuddered mid-sentence, waves of something foreign and strange hitting her body. It was like electricity shooting throughout her entire body. She had never felt so excited before.
Luka stepped closer, looking up at her with a look of concern. "W-Well, just tell me..."
"...I want to help you, my Goddess."
Thump Thump
Ilias felt lightheaded, how he spoke to her making it so hard to think. She loved the way he talked. How lovingly submissive it was, the way he would proclaim such a thing. But, was it not true? He was her Prophet, in the same way, she was his Goddess.
Yes, that sounded right. Ilias was his and Luka was her's. It just made sense. That was how close they were, as Goddess and Prophet...
...However...
Thump Thump-Thump
...She brought her hands up to her shoulders, hooking her fingers beneath the straps of her dress...
THUMP THUMP-THUMP
...They really could be closer, couldn't they?
"Yes Luka, I need you..." She pulled at the straps, removing her restrictive garments with a quick flick. Luka gasped lightly and averted his eyes as her body was made bare of cloth, her dress falling onto the clouds below soundlessly. Her body was red, heat radiating off of her in waves. "...I need you to help me, for you are not the only one who needs to be cleansed."
Thump-Thump Thump-Thump
"Wh-What do y-y-you m-mean?" Luka stammered, backing away as he kept his eyes on the water.
Ilias stepped off the edge of the dimmed clouds, dipping a foot into the water. The inflamed Goddess shivered, but not from the water. Luka took another step back as she sank into the pool with him. "I-I-Ilias, wh-what are you-"
The Goddess cut him off by lifting a finger up to her lips. "Shhhh..." She hushed, turning around and falling to her knees in the middle of the pool. The water came up to her bountiful chest, the cooling liquid licking at her warm skin. "...Come, help purify your Goddess."
Ilias waited for an impossibly long stretch of seconds before she heard her Prophet approach her from behind. She giggled, the blanket of haze engulfing her mind making it difficult to think straight. He was right behind her now, his breathing tickling the back of her neck.
His naked body was right behind her now, mere centimeters away.
Idly, she realized that this was not fixing the fact that Luka was still not Baptized. In fact, this had nothing to do with his Baptism anymore. Ilias should really just stop this before...
...Before...
THUMP-THUMP
THUMP-THUMP
THUMP-THUMP
"N-Now, Prophet Luka, do to me what I did to you. Come and cleanse me." Ilias said. Her body shuddered again as she heard and felt his breathing quicken.
Ilias listened as Luka dipped his hands into the water, and the Goddess nearly moaned out as his wet hands started to rub her shoulders. "Y-Yes, Luka. J-Just like... just like that..."
It felt better than anything else she had ever felt. Her kneeling legs felt weak, her thighs trembling under the sensation of his fingers trailing down her back. Ilias's large wings twitched as Luka's hands fell down past them and traveled lower toward her love handles.
"O-Ohh~" The Goddess finally moaned out, leaning back into the young boy's hands. She felt Luka quiver behind her and shortly after his voice rang out.
"A-Am I d-doing this right, Ilias?" Luka's voice trembled, his voice wavering somewhere between nervousness and discomfort. The Goddess frowned at this discovery, the haze of pleasure lifting just a little bit. She reall should stop this before things got too, out of hand...
...But her body did not listen to her brain.
In one swift movement, the blonde-haired Goddess reached behind her with both hands and grabbed his wrists. Luka gasped at the sudden contact, before being pulled forward into Ilias.
She felt his smaller body collide ram her back, the impact causing the two to grind up against each other.
Once he leaned into her, she felt it. Something hard prodded into her back, and right after a light moan came from from her Prophet's lips. Ilias gave a loud and staggered gasp, the contact with the boy's growing erection not having been expected.
And just like that, the last walls of her restraint crumbled.
That was reason enough to continue, wasn't it? Luka seemed to like it, and she definitely liked it.. They obviously both wanted something more from this.
"I-Ilias?" Luka whispered, confusion evident in his voice as she started to slide his hands from her back to her stomach.
"You are doing Heavenly, Luka. B-But I need you to go further. I need you to clean... all of me..." She said, an edge of lust to her voice as she navigated the boy's hands further up her stomach. Higher and higher, until-
SLAP
"GAH!" Ilias yelled as she thrashed around madly, her right cheek feeling very much violated. Her bright blue eyes opened in visceral anger before finding that the offending hand belonged to known other than her third Daughter, the Seraph Eden.
"Wh-What!? Eden, what is the meaning of this!?" Ilias questioned as she started to push herself off the ground. The Goddess was heated, the combination of her own confusing excitement clashing with indignation.
"S-Sorry, M-My Goddess!" Eden exclaimed, her face pale with regret while she stood to back away. Ilias only got a second to look over Eden's frightened expression before an explanation began to regurgitate from the Seraph's mouth. "I-I didn't wish to slap you, my Lord, but y-you wouldn't wake up otherwise and then you started moaning as if you were in pain, s-s-so I had to do something to wake you!"
Ilias peered at Eden in confusion, not quite knowing why she would be moaning...
...Until she remembered her dream.
Instantly, Ilias's face turned a bright red, all of her former anger melting away and morphing into shame and embarrassment as she realized that Eden was misunderstanding Ilias's "pain".
"O-Oh, I see. Th-Thank you, Eden. I appreciate your efforts greatly." Ilias quickly righted herself, her stance a bit wobbly from her current lustful affliction.
"W-Well now that you've helped me, you may leave now, Eden." The Goddess said, wanting very much so to be alone, her distress growing due to the lewd dream she had just been having. To Ilias's surprise - and partial frustration - The Seraph shook her head. "I can't, not yet, I must inform you of somewhat peculiar that happened while I was conducting Midday Mass!"
Ilias tried to keep her cool, but a bit of annoyance came out as she replied. "Oh... Well, whatever was the problem?" She asked, her teeth gritting as an unexpected pang of pleasure hit her as she thought of her Prophet pressing up against her back.
Eden missed her Goddess's annoyance, walking forward with a look of concern. "My Goddess, during my Holy Sermon, there was a disturbance on Heaven itself! The clouds themselves changed, and I, along with all the Angels in attendance, were spoken to!"
To her credit, Ilias was of sound enough mind to snap from the final remnants of her lust to take the news with genuine surprise. "Wh-What? Heaven itself was changing?" Eden's sage-colored hair flew around as she nodded and she gestured to the clouds below her sandaled feet.
"My Goddess, the golden clouds flickered as if their very Light was being tampered with! And then, we heard a voice..." She looked up to Ilias, her blue eyes holding a bit of confliction on this detail. "...I believe that it was the Prophet, Luka!"
Ilias twitched at the name but quickly covered her reaction with a facade of calm curiosity. "Is that so?" Eden watched as her Goddess mulled over the information. "Don't worry, my Daughter. This is... expected." Ilias carefully finished.
"It is?" Eden asked as Ilias brought her hands together in an effort to appear wise about the development.
The Goddess replied sagely, "Of course, as My Prophet of Light, he is to be familiar with my Angels." Ilias folded her hands over her waist, turning away to start pacing towards one of the walls of clouds. Eden followed, looking on with great interest as she asked, "Really? I did not think we would have contact with him until after he destroys the Monster Lord."
Ilias shook her head lightly and replied, "Not quite. I do want my Angels to be familiar with their Prophet now that he is beginning his journey." Ilias waved her hand, opening up a rift in Heaven to display the Earth below. The Goddess sighed, a gentle smile as she looked down upon the Earth. As always, her bright blue eyes immediately locked onto Luka's soul down below.
The Goddess shook, having to force her legs to stay stable despite the urge to quiver.
"So... will we all be able to meet the Prophet?" Eden asked, a bit of hopefulness in her tone. Ilias nodded and replied, "Of course, my Daughter. You all will be able to meet him."
The Third Great Seraph beamed as she stared down at the World along with Ilias. She folded her hands together, "Ahh, that sounds wonderful! I hope that I get to meet him soon!" Eden gasped, an idea coming to her mind. "Perhaps, I can help him study your Heavenly Wisdoms! I can already imagine all the hours we would spend reading your doctrines together, O the joy he and I would have!"
Curiously, the idea of Eden and Luka spending hours together in private to study together... bothered Ilias.
"Well, these meetings can't be too lengthy, Eden. Luka will be busy, so he can only spend so much time here with us." The Goddess said, not-so-subtly imposing her over her Third Seraph. Eden deflated at Ilias's words, "Oh, yes, of course. I wouldn't wish to distract him..."
Ilias smiled, "Do not fret, Eden. I will make sure everyone will have adequate time to know Luka..." The Goddess paused, "...With proper supervision, of course..."
A sickening thud of wet flesh hitting hard concrete ground resounded through the small and dimly lit "training room" of the underground Biolabs.
The young creature created from Luka's DNA tried to push herself to her feet, but her strength failed to get her off the ground. Her pale-blue eyes were blurry, unfocused, and wild as they searched for the discarded weapon.
Scratch-Scratch Scratch-Scratch
Doppel gasped at hearing the noise of her mentor dashing towards her. The small girl panted furiously as she clawed to where she thought her knife was, hoping to herself that she'd reach the weapon in time before-
CRUNCH
"EEEHH!" Doppel screeched out as a large black foot stomped down on her left hand, the limb being just a few more moments away from grabbing the discarded knife. The poor girl looked up in terror as the owner of the foot glared down at her with her horrible magenta eyes.
The last couple of days have gone much like this. Doppel would be taken from her white padded cell of a living quarter by this creature she now knew as Assassinroid, and the Monster in question would pummel her nearly to death until she was dragged back to her room to "rest" from the ordeal.
Doppel frantically beat at Assassinroid's foot with her free limb, trying in vain to release her injured hand from the crushing grip. Unsurprisingly, this had little effect on the much-stronger Monster standing above her.
Assassinroid eventually lifted her foot but only did so in order to stomp back down with even greater force. This time, Doppel couldn't muster even a hiss, her mouth opening to let out a strangled but silent cry of agony as the bones in her left hand were surely broken now.
"Fight... Harder..." Assassinroid's low and raspy voice hissed out as she released the girl's hand for good this time. The Human-Monster Hybrid was wise to scramble for her knife despite her injury, knowing by now if that she hesitated that she'd be punished even worse by the merciless creature.
Doppel dove for her weapon, grabbing the unguarded black grip fiercely before rolling to stand. She turned to Assassinroid with a pained grimace, and they faced each other in silence, Assassinroid content to merely stand there and wait for Doppel to attack once more.
The hybrid born from Luka's DNA despised her position. Doppel could feel her blood dripping from the gashes on her limbs and the cuts on her face, each warm trail painting her pale skin red. Her head rang like a bell, her mind teetering on exhaustion. It was brutal. It was demented. It was unfair. What had she done to deserve this? She didn't want this.
Doppel didn't even understand what she was or why she was there, other than this Monster was Hell-bent on getting to fight.
At first, she had been hesitant to engage with this Monster. She didn't like the idea of fighting, but Assassinroid taught her quickly that such an attitude would only result in further floggings. And so, Doppel quickly adapted, deciding to herself that she'd have to fight back or get punished.
And so, even when knowing that it would be easily countered, Doppel charged Assassinroid.
Her dash was awkward as she had to keep her left hand tucked in due to her injury, but it was an admirable attempt, nonetheless. Doppel frantically slashed her meager blade towards the Chimera, but Assassinroid side-stepped to the right with ease. Doppel reacted swiftly with a backhanded swipe towards the Monster's side, but this also missed its mark.
"Slow..." Assassinroid spat, quickly jabbing out her clawed hand towards the girl.
As a reward for her failure, the Monster's razor-sharp claws dug into Doppel, right in the soft and vulnerable flesh below her ribs. The poor Hybrid cried out, dropping to the ground as new rivers of blood poured out of her abdomen. The purple-haired girl dropped and hit the ground hard, unable to stop her head from cracking against the hard floor.
Doppel curled up on the ground, her defeat once again easily handed to her once again at the expert hands of her "mentor". Assassinroid paced over to her slowly, sensing that the Human-Monster Hybrid was finally truly finished. The teal-haired Chimera glared down at Doppel, her face showing disappointment at the poor creature lying at her feet.
The sound of a heavy door opening broke through the room, and Assassinroid turned to face the interruption.
Slink, Thud. Slink, Thud. Slink, Thud.
Doppel cringed, knowing just by that noise who had arrived.
Assassinroid let out a light growl as the crazed-looking Lamiaroid slunk into the room, her creepy grin on full display. "Ahhh, Assassinroid, I sssee you've defeated the child once again! How impressssive..." The mocking tone in the Monster's voice was quite plain and caused Assassinroid to curl her lip in annoyance. "...However, I do believe that your time here with the child is over. Is it not? Or..."
Slink... Thud. Slink... Thud.
Lamiaroid smirked, her dark green eyes nearly glowing in delight. "...Would you like to continue beatinnng out your own frustrationssss?" The Lamia Chimera snickered out loudly, causing Doppel to flinch on the ground. The movement was quickly noticed by Lamiaroid, who focused her attention on the young girl now. "Ah, you really did a number on her thisss time, didn't you?"
Slink, Thud. Slink, Thud.
Lamiaroid approached the girl slowly, the grin never leaving her face. Assassinroid gave the fellow Chimera a wide berth, having to fight down the temptation to instigate the Lamia Hybrid. Lamiaroid addressed the Monster without looking away from Doppel, "You may leave, Assassinroid. I will returnnn the child to her cage." Assassinroid did not require a second thought to do so, rushing out the door in an instant.
Doppel very slowly began to uncurl, shakily pushing herself up onto her knees. Lamiaroid chuckled at the sight, "Fufufuuu, and yet after all that, you still push yourself up? That is surprissssing enough, at least." Doppel eyed the Chimera warily, not liking the look in her cold, unblinking eyes. The small girl hobbled to her feet and made sure to retrieve her knife.
She already found out the second day what happens when she forgets it.
Without further fanfare, Doppel followed as Lamiaroid turned and left through the door, her horrible steps echoing through the room and halls.
Slink, Thud. Slink, Thud.
They walked for a little while before Lamiaroid opened her mouth again. "Sssso, how it it, being Assassinroid's personal punching bag?" Lamiaroid cooed, uncaring of the limp Doppel had to do to keep up, the still-bleeding stab wounds in her side giving her a massive amount of pain. Doppel did not reply, as she wanted to get to her sanctuary as soon as possible.
"Fufufuuu, not a fan of chit-chat? How boring, Assassinroid is the same way..." The Chimera hummed, placing her lone mechanical arm to her chin in thought. "...Although, I suppossse that she was programmed that way for a reason. You, on the other hand, have no such inhibitionsss."
The purple-haired girl was lost as to why the Chimera was rambling about such things but wisely decided to simply allow the Monster to go on.
They walked for only a little while longer before the Lamia laughed again and spouted off, "She despises you, you know." Doppel finched at the comment, the idea causing her some grief. Why did the Monster hate her? What did she do?
"W-Why?" Doppel croaked, somewhat shocked that her voice was so raspy and broken. The Lamia Hybrid was all too eager to elaborate.
"Becaussse," Lamiaroid began, "You aren't what she wants, you aren't Luka." Doppel flinched again, but this time not out of pain. It was out of shock. Shock, because she knew this name. She remembered this name, from when she was born.
"She would only be able to be a pathetic mimic of what Luka will eventually be capable of doing."
"Who is, Luka?" Doppel asked, hesitantly looking up towards Lamiaroid as she asked the question.
Lamiaroid again, somewhat carelessly, provided an answer. "Luka is the one you were born from, his genesss were what gave you life." The Lamia Hybrid burst into a cackling fit once again, before giving another bizarre comment. "To put it bluntly, Assassinroid very much so wanted to have his genesss as well. Although, not in the same way you have them..."
Doppel did not understand the innuendo, and so made no remark towards the lewd comment. Eventually, the two came to the bright white door designating Doppel's "cage" and Lamiaroid then opened the door before roughly pushing her in.
The young Hybrid cried out in surprise and pain as she tumbled into the room, splattering her still-wet blood all over the white padded floor in front of the door. Her knife flew from her grip, landing somewhere across the room where her toys were. "Nighty Night, Doppy!~" Lamiaroid exclaimed, closing the door loudly behind her as she cackled away at her little joke.
Doppel lay on the padded floor for a moment, her breaths coming out raggedly from her burning lungs. At the back of her mind, the Human-Monster Hybrid wondered if it was actually nighttime, or if that was just a joke on the Lamia's part.
Doppel wouldn't have any way of telling, she had never been outside before.
The purple-haired girl fought herself up to her feet again, pushing forward to trudge towards the meager washroom she had. Blood continued to trail down her body, the thick red liquid covered most of her right side now from the puncture wounds that had already begun to close up.
Leaving a trail of dark-red footprints behind her, Doppel walked through her padded room and entered her washroom. It was a dingy room, only housing the bare essentials that one would expect. The Human-Monster Hybrid walked right past the aging mirror on the gray wall.
She didn't need it to know tell how hideous she looked right now.
Doppel approached the small shower of the washroom and leaned over to start turning the water. The knob turned with a loud squeak, the water rushing down from the shower faucet just a second later. Doppel slid her arms inside the ripped-up sleeves and then pushed the wet and bloody rags over her head. The Hybrid let them drop to the ground, the wet slap of wet cloth eliciting a quick "Eep!" of surprise from her, as the sound was much louder than what she had expected.
The Human-Monster Hybrid stared at the cloth for a couple seconds, the surreal nature of the rags soaked in her own blood catching her off guard.
Was she already getting used to this? Those ugly brown rags for clothing were covered in her blood, her life essence. She had just been beaten by some demented Monster minutes before, and now she was going to take a shower to clean off her wounds. This wasn't normal, it couldn't be.
But Doppel knew nothing else. This was it, and she didn't even understand what it was.
Doppel turned back to the shower and began daintily stepping inside to feel the one saving grace of her day. That saving grace is the fact that this place had warm water. She stepped into the small shower with just a twinge of happiness as the waves of warmth ran over her. The Hybrid sighed as the heat grew by the second, her skin gaining a slight tinge of red.
Doppel's happiness faded as another tinge of red became more and more prevalent on the shower floor. This red being the excess blood washing off her body and swirling down the shower drain. Doppel tilted her head up, letting the water pour down her face now. The sensation of the water caressing her face pushed away the wave of nausea that had threatened to overtake her.
After allowing herself a moment of rest, Doppel carefully ran her left hand through her mangled, dirty locks of purple hair. It was an arduous and painful process; one made all the more difficult because she still had no hairbrush.
Eventually, Doppel began to "wash" the rest of her body, which really just meant that she worked to make sure that any remnants of dirt or blood were rinsed away. It wasn't much, but without any type of actual soap, it was the best she could do. Doppel glanced down, noticing that the water finally ran clear of blood once more. She leaned forward once again and turned the faucet off.
The Hybrid stood still for a couple of seconds, merely listening to her own heartbeat in her chest. Her mind tried to process everything, but it was difficult to do so when so many thoughts ran through her at once. Once realizing that standing there in the shower would not quell this feeling, she turned and stepped out of the shower. Her bare and wet feet placed themselves on the uneven tile flooring, and Doppel crept carefully towards the small cabinet beside the door to retrieve a towel.
Her only towel.
Before doing so, however, Doppel decided to evaluate herself in the mirror. As expected, the Human-Monster Hybrid looked awful. Even with all the blood washed away, the scars of cuts old and new scattered across her sickly white skin. She was thin and frail, with no excessive shapeliness or feminine curves to be found other than the bare minimum one would expect from a girl her age...
...Whatever that age may be. Doppel wouldn't know. She had never had a birthday before.
In addition to that, her pale skin was offset in many places by dark purple - almost black - bruising that littered her petite body. Doppel's face wasn't much better, with many cuts running along her cheeks as evidence of the fact that even the face wasn't something that could be protected during her training sessions. Her purple hair fell down her face in mangled knots, her combing attempt in the shower only helping to straighten them so much.
The last notable detail, the only one Doppel took some pride in, was her eyes. The pale-blue gaze staring back at her in the mirror was the only part of her she could consider truly beautiful. The way they seemed to almost glow was something to admire, although the effect was more likely than not enhanced by the graying circles around her eyes.
Finally, Doppel looked away from the mirror and opened the cabinet to grab her towel. It was bright white, much like the rest of her living quarters. At this point, it really should be stained red with her blood. However, much like the stains of blood she left in front of the door and the rags on the ground, any messes left behind by her injuries would be cleaned up after she fell asleep.
They always were... somehow.
Doppel wrapped the large white towel around her small body and left the washroom to return to the main area of her living quarters. She tried to ignore the dull metallic smell of the blood by the entrance of the room and carefully maneuvered around her own trail of blood whilst moving towards her three-quarters of the way to her bed, Doppel stopped and - for the first time in a very long time - looked down at the colored blocks that had been left there for her years ago.
They all had various letters and shapes on them, their intent being to educate while being played with. They were made for a child younger than her, but they had been her only form of entertainment, although she had forgone playing with them for a long time now. However, something spurred her to them. Doppel dropped to the ground, landing cross-legged on the white padded floor.
Still draped in the white towel, she stared down at them with a curious glance. With her left hand she reached over and raked the blocks closer, causing them to roll and hop along the floor quietly. Doppel then turned each over, searching the letters until she found the red "L". She took it and placed it down in front of her. Her pale-blue eyes searched until finding the blue "U" and set it beside the "L", and quickly found the "K" which was also red.
So far, so good.
The purple-haired Hybrid had some issue finding the last letter of her little quest, almost becoming a bit frantic before spotting the final letter. She grabbed it, feeling it in her injured hand with her fingers, the smooth but graining wood gripping at her drying skin pleasingly. She placed the final letter, a blue "A", down beside the rest of them.
Before Doppel, the four colored blocks spelled out a name she had heard twice now. A name that realistically, she shouldn't be able to know how to spell, but yet she had done so just now without a problem.
"L...U...K...A..." Doppel spelled out slowly, before saying the name "Luka."
"Luka is the one you were born from, his genesss were what gave you life."
It was a roundabout way of putting it, but from what Lamiaroid had said, it implied that she was born from him. Was he, her Father? If so, then where was he right now? Is he locked up here in this horrible place with her, or was he free? Did he even know about her?
All unanswerable questions.
Doppel frowned at the blocks below, eyeing the name Luka for a while longer before thinking about her own "name".
Doppel.
It wasn't a very inspiring name, not for a young girl like her. It was more of a title or - due to how everything else in the place seemed to be named - a designation. A short, one-word description. It made sense for things such as her blocks, but not for living beings.
Again, Doppel's pale blue eyes scanned over the name spelled out in blocks, wondering what her true name would be. What Luka would've named her. Would it be similar to his? Experimentally, she began switching the letters around, testing the different anagrams of "Luka". First, she flipped it completely around.
Akul.
Doppel grimaced, that sounded horrendous. She restarted by fixing it to say "Luka" again, changing it in a more subdued way this time.
Laku.
Not as horrendous, but not very great either. Again.
Kula.
It seemed a bit cooler now, but only by so much. Again.
Kalu.
Back to horrendous. Again.
Ulka.
...This wasn't working.
Doppel returned the blocks to spelling "Luka" again, content to leave it like that for now. She pulled her knees up to her budding chest and wrapped the white towel tighter around herself. The poor Human-Monster Hybrid felt her eyelids getting heavy, the exhaustion of her training and injuries getting the best of her.
Shakily, Doppel stood to her feet, letting the towel fall from her body. She stumbled over to her unmade bed and crept beneath the covers, pulling the sheets up over her head and naked body completely.
Soon, she finally fell asleep.
An hour or so later, the door to Doppel's room opened. A pair of softly glowing magenta eyes peered inside the small crack, making sure the girl was truly asleep. The owner of these eyes was not of the Chimera Assassinroid, however. Instead it was a much smaller and more harmless creature, one that had known of Doppel for much longer.
She had been there when she was born, in fact.
Diligently, the small maid-outfit-wearing Hybrid rolled in on the somewhat flimsy stalk of a gyro-cycle she had to move with and began to clean up the blood on the floor. After doing this, she would clean the girl's bathroom, get her new rags, and wash her towel.
They were small acts of kindness, but it was the best she could give at the moment...
Probably a bit of a different chapter compared to what I've given so far. I wanted to delve just a bit deeper in Ilias's depravity, as it is in full swing g now. That I wanted to introduce the idea of Luka not only popping into Heaven from time-to-time to meet with Ilias but also to meet with the Angels as well. Some interesting interactions are to be had, and we'll explore the various Levels of Heaven a bit more...
...And all that may entail.
Also worth noting is my excitement to give a bit more on the Doppel side-story here. I hope it lends itself to being an interesting break from the main stuff. It may get a bit angsty, but I think it'll be worth it for when we get to the part where she and Luka meet. I know, I know, more setting up being done here for a payoff that is very-far-off but I have a bit of fondness for where this is leading. Characterization and interaction is my bread and butter, after all.
Guest: I wanted to do something for Luka and Micaela's relationship, but it couldn't be too much. More likely than not, they won't be seeing each other until we get to the "Chapter 3" section, but who knows. Other than me, of course.
Guest: To be completely honest, I don't know off the top of my head how long the journey actually takes in-game wise so my time frame for this is sketchy at best. I've been toying with idea and starting from the first chapter designated with Year 16 AL and adding a Day 1, Night 1, Day 2, Night 2, etc so that there is a "timeline" of sorts. But I'm not sure if that would be a worthwhile addition or not.