ZOE

Ambrosia arrived just in time for Estheriel to be completely impatient. She started to rant like a typical villain, “So, you've come to stop me. But are your intentions as noble as God would have you believe? Ponder this for a minute. Every day, an innocent life is ended, because a human makes a wrong choice. Don't you think we, as angels should act?” Ambrosia said, “I don't disagree. There certainly is a lot of cruelty. But such people have gotta be punished, usually by the crimes themselves. You know, poetic justice, and all that.” Estheriel laughed, “Have you ever seen such justice happen? I've seen few real cases. In your own life, who saved you from the street? Who helped you?”

Ambrosia admitted, “I had to do it myself. Well, aside from that one guy who gave me money. Later, Nevras helped a bit, but originally it was just starting on this quest that improved my lot. Couldn't other people help themselves in the same way?” Estheriel shook their head dubiously, “Humans are so quick to blame others for their fortune, never taking true control over their lives. They quickly blame fate if things go wrong with them. Even if they should come to realize their failings, they wallow in despair instead of fixing things. Wouldn't it be better if someone did something for them instead?”

Ambrosia looked much like if someone had just explained socialism to her. She scowled, “I'm sure your intentions are okay. But if one day you want humans to do one thing, and another day, something completely different, what's to stop them from dancing to your tune?” Estheriel explained, “I would not control them. Think of it, all humans stripped of everything but love!” Earlier, Aqorm had told me a story of how Michael had tried to curse her by placing her into a perfect Valentine world. She quickly realized that far from being in love, her feelings were closer to wanting to die, until Lilith showed up.

With that in mind, I was about to tell Ambrosia not to take Estheriel up on this offer, but apparently she already disliked it, because she said, “Then, I need to stop you, since if everyone is in perfect love, people will try to hit on me. And I can't stand jerks that bother me about romance. Only Nevras can do that.” Everyone in the room sighed.

“It appears we cannot agree on this,” said Estheriel, “Very well, I will defeat you and complete the Universe Egg.” And suddenly there was a heavenly host. We hadn't fought many angels besides Michael, but they were collectively at least as challenging as he was. They had use of the Script, so they could do things like say, “Summon Object: Giant Boulder, 350 lb,” and suddenly we had to move out of the way. Michael countered them with Script as well, “Antimatter Hole: Radius - 30 ft.” This went back and forth with them playing word games with each other, and the entire thing feeling like an extended session of Scribblenauts. While this was going on, our thaumaturgy and sorcery was getting dodged, since they were not only effective with Script but also very agile. One might think this would go on forever, but Lilith blindsided them and blasted them with Hellfire. Next, Estheriel summoned elite archangels but these fell also, this time to some of our weapons. I got to use my Sword of Sorrow, which was usually story-breaking.

Seeing how particularly effective Azrael's sword and my sword were, Estheriel spoke a word of Script, “Reveal Past.” Suddenly, as though we were watching a film, all of us saw visions of the past. We saw how Azrael collected her sword. We saw how Tamashii was sent to Niraya, and what Azrael and I had done to resolve this. And we saw how I got my Sword of Sorrow. Estheriel was not a dumb angel, and quickly pieced together limits of our weapons that even I did not know about. “Lunar Phase - New Moon,” Estheriel said. Apparently this was possible for an upper-level archangel like Estheriel, even though it seemed unbelievable. I guess angels were different from the rest of us.

The moon that had given off steady light outside the Universe Egg suddenly went dim. This did three things. First, while the light outside had been bright enough to battle effectively, now it was difficult to see. Second, my Sword of Sorrow became chained up and I couldn't draw it. This is because of the third thing, the weakness of the Sword. The Sword of Sorrow became bound up because Azrael suddenly disappeared, and I didn't know then if he'd ever be back. The Eternal Moon fell to the strange visceral soil with soft thwack, and Azrael’s clothes dropped gently in a heap where she had been.

I was a mess. I was crying my eyes out, and was unable to cast a spell or move an inch from my spot. My best friend, my closest lover, and my soulmate had vanished suddenly without a trace. And I, knowing nothing at the time about Azrael's new lunar cycle, believed her gone forever. Since only Azrael herself or someone like Tamashii, could see Azrael in her ghost state, none of the rest of them could tell me otherwise.

Without our help, this was a difficult battle for them. Estheriel had serious regenerative powers, and even the Tao didn't seem to do much good, since Estheriel was here for the right reasons. The angel believed in this mission, and was doing it in order to make human lives more pleasant. Like idealists everywhere, maybe he was right?

Needless to say, the battle was weighted against us. Estheriel was a better fighter than even Michael, who was said to be the one who banished the demons from Heaven in the first place. As an angel, Estheriel's power had less to do with doing push-ups or crunches, and more to do with belief in oneself and one's purpose. Since Estheriel was an idealist, this made them virtually unstoppable. Or so it seemed, until at one point, Tamashii tried to heal our wounds. This was dangerous, because her Empathy hurt her whenever she tried. But for the moment, I was useless, Azrael was gone, and Elias was spent from keeping us alive with all the angels and archangels falling down before us. So while Elias rested and I tried desperately to cheer up, Tamashii tried her best to heal the others no matter the cost to herself. That sorta selflessness often gets held up as a model, but you haven’t seen someone bleeding because they refuse to care for themselves.

Then something happened. As Estheriel watched this, a tear formed in his/her eyes. The Script which had been blasting flames and lightning at us started to become more inaccurate. The wounds that we dealt to the archangel started to heal more slowly. Estheriel was getting weaker! Watching Tamashii sacrifice, even risk her own life like this, Estheriel couldn't retain fail in the goals they had. Their heart just wasn't in it. And yet, Tamashii wouldn't hold out much longer. I had to do something! While Ambrosia, Nevras, and the others continued to pummel away at Estheriel with their attacks, I realized that the Sword wouldn't unlock because I had a really bad case of the feels. I was never certain that I'd ever see Azrael again, and my heart was breaking. But the idea of also losing Tamashii filled me with fear. I couldn't allow this to happen! The Sword of Sorrow resonated like the beat of a heart, and suddenly the chains loosened. I drew the sword, and swung, releasing a shockwave attack. It wasn't instant death like a direct strike would be, but it was enough to put Estheriel on the floor. The battle was over.

Or was it? After a few minutes, Estheriel stood up again, pushing from the ground. “You may have beaten me, but you shall never destroy me!” the archangel declared. Ambrosia objected, “ Aww c'mon, already! I've practically killed you.” Estheriel explained, “You should be very glad that you did not, Ambrosia Brahman. I shall use your name, for you have proven yourself worthy of my attention. Look upon my countenance. Unlike Belial, I have not been transformed into a demon.” Estheriel's face was indeed pretty beautiful. I'm still not sure if that's a guy or a girl. She(?) went on to explain, “This is proof that despite a possible error, I have done no evil in this world. Killing a pure angel would be like murdering a child. The act would taint your soul.”

Ambrosia looked shocked and horrified, “I almost did that? Why didn't God tell me...?” In the mean time, the moon in the background wavered, and then returned to normal. I guess it was too much for anyone but God to permanently change the timing of lunar phases. Azrael's body reappeared, then as I called out her name, she noticed she was naked and she hid herself, hastily donning clothes while I ogled at her naked body. It wasn't anything I hadn't seen before. It was just so sudden that we blushed. The others were paying more attention to the conversation between those two, and thankfully didn't notice. Estheriel responded, “There are a great many things God likely has not told you, such as the true nature of the Oracle. In this world, all things fade and die. The worthwhile things are preserved through a cycle of renewal.” Ambrosia asked what Estheriel meant, and got this explanation, “Nature, Love, God, certain teachings. All of these pass on from generation, by rebirth or passing on to newer generations. It's not a question of how good or bad someone is, nobody is spared this fate.” So Ambrosia said, “So what?!? It’s not like God can die.” Estheriel laughed, as if to correct us.

Estheriel elaborated, “The reason God is eternal, is because God can choose an heir in order to be reborn. Well God doesn’t really die, so this isn’t accurate. It’s a rebirth if you want to call it that. But it’s more like a resetting or a memory wipe. The last of the Oracles was an experiment, but God realized that only a true incarnation would work. The Oracle can renew God, or they can become God. The former is done when the Oracle dies, but the latter can only be done by taking the role of God and abandoning one's earthly life.” Ambrosia fidgeted with some sort of tablet before returning it to her pockets. She seemed surprised she had it. I helped my beloved to her feet.

Ambrosia looked confused, “ I'm still not following. What will you do?” Then she asked as Estheriel coughed some blood, “You're about to die, aren't you?” After some strain, Estheriel mentioned, “As an angel, I have certain powers... Such as to possess bodies... I could easily become you and take over all existence, ruling as the new God.”

“I'm afraid not,” a voice to the side spoke. Looking that way, we saw the valkyrie leader, who said her name was something like Brunhilde. Brunhilde raised her spear and then tossed, skewering Estheriel right through the heart. Even for an angel, impaling was a nasty business, although Estheriel was able to talk with such a thing. “But why...?” Brunhilde sneered, “Why? You should know by now. We valkyries serve only women and the strongest of men. We function as troops to defend love and life. From my battles with Ambrosia, I have found her more deserving of our ranks than you. We valkyries are women of honor, and using gutless tactics like body-swapping to usurp God's throne is inexcusable. God, let me face punishment for betraying my purpose. I apologize, but I cannot abide cowardice.” She knelt to the ground and waited for God to make a decision. Since Ambrosia had been defined as God’s replacement, I wondered for a second if Ambrosia would talk to her or something, but eventually my question was answered. Ambrosia was not going to do it, this was gonna happen the right way.

And there was a great and might wind, that risked breaking this Egg, but God's heart was not in it. And somehow in midair there was an earthquake, but God's heart was not in it. And there was a fire, but God's heart was not in it. All of us were still alive. And then came a still small voice. And God said, You understand that you will be bound in sleep for the first man to come wake you up, and will be transformed into the weakest woman? She nodded, and suddenly the valkyrie was wrapped with flames.

The battle was over. We had all survived, and now we were looking at one girl surrounded by flames yet not burned. She was a tough lady. The latter said to us, “You've got me at your mercy. Now what will you do to me?”