It was a relatively sunny day. Despite that, and despite the fact that it was well into July, a slight chill had settled in, pricking at the arms and legs of those making their way through the city, and forcing them to rub at them in irritation to try and return a sensation of summer warmth.
It wasn't incredibly packed in the city today. The tourists who usually made this place so busy during the summer months were nowhere to be seen. Most likely they had stayed in their homes to escape the unseasonal chiill permeating the air, as well as the thin fog descending over the area; not quite enough to blot out the sun, but thick enough to be noticeable.
Yet where there were people, there was still the buzzing of conversation, the beeps of mobile phones and other such mechanisms. People lined up at food kiosks and shops to buy useless trinkets and "local delicacies" for twice their worth. Even those who weren't gathered in the busiest parts of town were lounging casually in the sparsely populated park, where the trees blocked out some of the worst of the cold.
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"I hope you're aware of the importance of today, Isis." The taller man fixed her with a stern look that chilled her ever so slightly. "For you to bring more people into God's embrace is truly a precious gift."
"Yes Father." Isis bowed with the respect her father commanded, the hem of her purple dress scraping the floor as she did so, and when she raised her head again, her father had returned to tinkering with the computer on his desk.
"Remember, Isis. This will turn the righteous onto His path, and the sinners will be burned in the holy flame. That holy flame with ignite tonight. You must use that holy flame to judge the sinners. That is why you are our exalted one."
"Yes Father," repeated Isis. This was the longest conversation she and her father had had in a while, sad though it sounded. They were so separated on the outside. She wasn't even allowed to call him Father in public, and in private...their schedules kept them apart. How long would they be apart now?
"Lady Isis?" She snapped out of her reverie to glance at the woman staring at her. "Are you alright? You look very pale."
"I'm fine." Isis smiled slightly. "You don't need to worry about me. Just get through this so that we can all go home."
"Yes, Lady Isis." The woman bowed. "The Lord be with you."
"And also with you," Isis said in response, which prompted the woman to continue with her work, seeming delighted that she had had a chance to speak with the exalted one. Soon that would be the least of the woman's concerns. She didn't even know what was going to happen yet, and she was so caught up in her adrenaline rush that it didn't hit her just how dangerous this would be. Isis' father had said that only the sinners would be purged, and that had convinced most of the Soulsavers of their own self assured safety.
How wrong they were.
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"Haha. Look at them. Gathered like lambs to the slaughter." The woman crinkled her nose in her repulsion of the Soulsavers below and released her hold on her scarlet curtains, letting them drape silently back into place.
She walked over to her desk, arms folded over her chest as she traipsed back and sat down, glancing up at her son, still staring at the curtains with a neutral expression etched onto his face. "Nero."
The boy shivered almost imperceptibly, and looked over at his mother, who had a playful smile on her face, a smile full of sadism, lust and a solid strength that would not be broken.
"This is our time, son. Watch them. Watch those God fearing imbeciles prattle on about their God. Their God who has forsaken us without provocation time and time again. Let's see how long they last."
Nero nodded, and even as he did, a muscle spasm twitched across his face, and he winced in pain, a motion only some people could pick out behind his mask of indifference. His mother gave a simpering smile and stood up, walking over to him and placing her hands firmly on his shoulders. "It'll be just fine. Even those pesky little side effects will fade with the coming of the new world."
The boy bit his lip, unsure and unfamiliar about his mother's touch and words. Rarely was she this maternal. Would all this change the world? Would this new world of hers really let him live a normal life again? Could things really ever go back to normal?
He doubted it, but he would do it anyway. He would change the world.
"It's time to go." Nero looked down at these words, but he knew it was necessary. "Go somewhere with plenty of people, and stay away from any of those Soulsavers out there. Those bible bashing imbeciles will almost certainly try to recruit you for their useless cause."
Nero nodded shakily and made his way towards the door, closing it behind him as his mother made her way back to the window.
She at first lifted the curtain to brush it aside, but then stared at the fabric and her own hand for a brief second, then tore the curtain down altogether, the metallic rail plummeting to the ground, scraping off the wall with a grating screech before landing with a dull thud on the pale red carpet.
"Summon your God if you can," she murmured to the window. "We will destroy him. This is our world now." She turned away from the window, and smiled, seemingly to thin air. "Isn't that right?"
______________________________
"What now?"
"We observe."
"Observe? It's a little dangerous to observe."
"We have no cause to intervene just yet. Let them bring this upon themselves. Some will survive. Our intervention will be a last resort. Is that quite clear?"
"But..."
"The girl is an exception. I would not have her tread along the path of her father's choosing. Man's sins must be judged by man, yes, but not by a fanatic. That would not be the will of the Lord."
"Yes, your Grace."
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"This should be fun."
"Fun is one way of putting it."
"Lighten up a little. This is what you've always wanted, isn't it?"
"Which is just why we have to be careful. And that aside, He won't like it."
"It's not in His nature to intervene before he absolutely has to. And by then it will be too late. Much too late."
"We'll see."
It wasn't incredibly packed in the city today. The tourists who usually made this place so busy during the summer months were nowhere to be seen. Most likely they had stayed in their homes to escape the unseasonal chiill permeating the air, as well as the thin fog descending over the area; not quite enough to blot out the sun, but thick enough to be noticeable.
Yet where there were people, there was still the buzzing of conversation, the beeps of mobile phones and other such mechanisms. People lined up at food kiosks and shops to buy useless trinkets and "local delicacies" for twice their worth. Even those who weren't gathered in the busiest parts of town were lounging casually in the sparsely populated park, where the trees blocked out some of the worst of the cold.
______________________________________________
"I hope you're aware of the importance of today, Isis." The taller man fixed her with a stern look that chilled her ever so slightly. "For you to bring more people into God's embrace is truly a precious gift."
"Yes Father." Isis bowed with the respect her father commanded, the hem of her purple dress scraping the floor as she did so, and when she raised her head again, her father had returned to tinkering with the computer on his desk.
"Remember, Isis. This will turn the righteous onto His path, and the sinners will be burned in the holy flame. That holy flame with ignite tonight. You must use that holy flame to judge the sinners. That is why you are our exalted one."
"Yes Father," repeated Isis. This was the longest conversation she and her father had had in a while, sad though it sounded. They were so separated on the outside. She wasn't even allowed to call him Father in public, and in private...their schedules kept them apart. How long would they be apart now?
"Lady Isis?" She snapped out of her reverie to glance at the woman staring at her. "Are you alright? You look very pale."
"I'm fine." Isis smiled slightly. "You don't need to worry about me. Just get through this so that we can all go home."
"Yes, Lady Isis." The woman bowed. "The Lord be with you."
"And also with you," Isis said in response, which prompted the woman to continue with her work, seeming delighted that she had had a chance to speak with the exalted one. Soon that would be the least of the woman's concerns. She didn't even know what was going to happen yet, and she was so caught up in her adrenaline rush that it didn't hit her just how dangerous this would be. Isis' father had said that only the sinners would be purged, and that had convinced most of the Soulsavers of their own self assured safety.
How wrong they were.
______________________________________
"Haha. Look at them. Gathered like lambs to the slaughter." The woman crinkled her nose in her repulsion of the Soulsavers below and released her hold on her scarlet curtains, letting them drape silently back into place.
She walked over to her desk, arms folded over her chest as she traipsed back and sat down, glancing up at her son, still staring at the curtains with a neutral expression etched onto his face. "Nero."
The boy shivered almost imperceptibly, and looked over at his mother, who had a playful smile on her face, a smile full of sadism, lust and a solid strength that would not be broken.
"This is our time, son. Watch them. Watch those God fearing imbeciles prattle on about their God. Their God who has forsaken us without provocation time and time again. Let's see how long they last."
Nero nodded, and even as he did, a muscle spasm twitched across his face, and he winced in pain, a motion only some people could pick out behind his mask of indifference. His mother gave a simpering smile and stood up, walking over to him and placing her hands firmly on his shoulders. "It'll be just fine. Even those pesky little side effects will fade with the coming of the new world."
The boy bit his lip, unsure and unfamiliar about his mother's touch and words. Rarely was she this maternal. Would all this change the world? Would this new world of hers really let him live a normal life again? Could things really ever go back to normal?
He doubted it, but he would do it anyway. He would change the world.
"It's time to go." Nero looked down at these words, but he knew it was necessary. "Go somewhere with plenty of people, and stay away from any of those Soulsavers out there. Those bible bashing imbeciles will almost certainly try to recruit you for their useless cause."
Nero nodded shakily and made his way towards the door, closing it behind him as his mother made her way back to the window.
She at first lifted the curtain to brush it aside, but then stared at the fabric and her own hand for a brief second, then tore the curtain down altogether, the metallic rail plummeting to the ground, scraping off the wall with a grating screech before landing with a dull thud on the pale red carpet.
"Summon your God if you can," she murmured to the window. "We will destroy him. This is our world now." She turned away from the window, and smiled, seemingly to thin air. "Isn't that right?"
______________________________
"What now?"
"We observe."
"Observe? It's a little dangerous to observe."
"We have no cause to intervene just yet. Let them bring this upon themselves. Some will survive. Our intervention will be a last resort. Is that quite clear?"
"But..."
"The girl is an exception. I would not have her tread along the path of her father's choosing. Man's sins must be judged by man, yes, but not by a fanatic. That would not be the will of the Lord."
"Yes, your Grace."
____________________________________
"This should be fun."
"Fun is one way of putting it."
"Lighten up a little. This is what you've always wanted, isn't it?"
"Which is just why we have to be careful. And that aside, He won't like it."
"It's not in His nature to intervene before he absolutely has to. And by then it will be too late. Much too late."
"We'll see."
