She opened her eyes.
The sky parted with white half circles... half rings? A beautiful red sky, morning sky. A light, warm breeze that almost gently wove around her figure, like a blanket, both warming and blissfully cool, keeping her from getting lost in the sweltering heat.
Her chest was enveloped in a warm-cold stream of air, so uncontaminated, so "right," like it should be. It didn't penetrate to her back, not because of her hair, but...
She blinked, inhaling it... strangely clean, even suspiciously clean air... For some reason she didn't think there should be such a thing. A double sense of deception...? Where did words like that even come from in that order? She raised herself slightly on her elbows, which felt so strong and sturdy. She looked around at the sky around her.
The light wasn't blinding, but it gave her peace, the smell of morning... "Morning," that one. Gentle, pleasant and so soulful, when you know everything is alright, life is pre....
It was as if she were in a dream, but also as if she had just awakened from it. Everything around her was at once so native, so pleasant and so... alien, as if long abandoned, as if....
Soft, what she could understand even being on the ground, clouds, of different shapes and sizes, of different colors. From white and snow-white to the reddish children of sunset... or morning, if she wasn't confused as to whether it was sunset or sunrise, which was clearly bigger than usual... even brighter? More pleasant?
That cloud right there reminded her of a bunny! So cute that it was about to start hopping... And that one...! That one? A crocodile or a saber-tooth! She wasn't sure, so proudly calling this cloud creature "crocodile" that now would bear that name and give it the meaning she had laid down!
She watched the clouds so mesmerized, then one pair, then the other, floating by like a lonely traveler walking alongside... As if losing himself... As if ready to drown in his lack-
She shook her head, simultaneously removing from her face the black hair that somehow looked as if she'd washed and styled it only yesterday, though she'd been shampooing or gelling it for a long time....
"What is shampoo? Something Adam invented?", she frowned as the thought raced through her head. She sat up on her buttocks, her back feeling....
She turned around to face the cause of the strange sensation.
A torn navy blue cloak. It covered her back, but only partially, for there were decent-sized holes, cuts and slashes in it. Mostly along the edges, though the back, loin area had its own ugly cuts as well.
"This is definitely not Aklima's work... Did I... Lose her new pelt?!", a panicked thought made her grab her head, covering it with her palms.
"But how could I!!! I just recently...!", the thoughts left her and her eyes widened in amazement.
She stood up abruptly. Standing up so easily, so elegantly and simply, as if she hadn't even slept, as if she didn't need to knead her old bones, as if she didn't have those damn roots in her veins.
Really... why would roots be in anyone's veins? Stupid.
The cloak rippled with her sudden jerk. It was big for her, clearly not to her shoulder and height.
She swiveled her head, amazed to see such strange clouds, with rings or half-rings of, she no longer knew, light or something else crossing them!
At the same time, the cloak did not let go of her. She didn't hold it, it just hung on her shoulders, not constraining her movements in any way, it was as if it was gently encircling her shoulders, almost protecting her.
"Virgil told me about this!", the thought came to her as the wide smile didn't want to leave her face.
She couldn't remember exactly, not who this 'Virgil' was, not the reason for their acquaintance or whatever...
No, what was more important than all this nonsense was these beautiful clouds that were right next to her!
Spellbound, like Azura as a child, she walked quickly but carefully, almost warily, to the edge, leaning over slightly.
She couldn't see the bottom, there were clouds floating everywhere, which she was mesmerized by... The ones on the right looked like... fish. What kind, she didn't know, but it didn't matter! Those "fish" were swimming on the "sea" of colorful "ocean", gathering their schools! Not the ones smoked by mobsters or just bad kids, no....
She again shook off the silly thoughts that never graved to leave her alone. The wide smile never left her face, and her eyes, the color of the sky and beautiful rivers, didn't miss a single "fish" that the shark was approaching... A big shark with no teeth! She had no idea of the name of this marvel, nor was it her husband, but that didn't stop her from enjoying the spectacle of the "games of the fishes" with her feet hanging down from that strangely smooth rock.
It wasn't even cold, so she didn't need to tuck the edges of the cloak under her butt. She fidgeted a bit in her seat, kicking her feet cheerfully in the "river" of clouds, which made them feel... strange! Like it really was a river, but so... airy!
Something told her to turn somewhere, something asked her to pay attention to herself, but she just waved it away, waving her hand naturally, because what was more important was what was visible in the sky! Or rather, the ground?
Those strange 'lines' that almost completely filled the sky and... the earth sky? Earth sky? What do you call the sky that's below and not above? That's why they call it the sky, isn't it?
She caught her breath! One of the "fish" flew toward her, swim-swimming right up to her feet! She slowly, very carefully, so as not to scare it away, reached out her hand toward this strange creature...
"It's not a fish...", she thought slightly disappointed. Her smile faded slightly and the joy in her eyes diminished, but....
To the touch, this "fish" was strangely-good-unclearly-gorgeous! She held back a burst of laughter as she stroked the fish, whose body wrinkled under her touch, but immediately regained its shape as soon as she removed her hand. Another chuckle escaped her lips.
"What if...?", an idea occurred to her.
Just a brilliant idea! Opulent, awesome, and just plain cool...!
"...I wouldn't advise you to 'dive in'... and thus ruin your first impressions... miss." - came a cheerful and definitely not tired voice from somewhere to her right. She couldn't understand the reason, but for some reason, she could also hear irritation in the voice.
Blinking, the woman turned her head to....
A LARGE GOLDEN GATE!
...Which didn't evoke much emotion, for some reason. Though that big eye, hanging by strings, made her suspicious.
The old days were forgotten, for there was a new "interesting animal".
The Great Golden Gate... "GGG"?
"Virgil said they were called something there... Rainbow... Pearl... Perlamutor...?", she gazed with genuine interest at this new enigma of this strange but very beautiful and interesting place, rubbing her chin thoughtfully, crumpling the sleeves of her fallen cloak....
"I beg your pardon?" - Normally, such a question should be an embarrassed, polite one, but then again... somehow, she thought her voice sounded annoyed, tired and just... "why does she want to say the word 'fucked up'? What is it anyway and where did she come from..." - "Dear new soul?" - Her eyes lowered to the source of the noise in her head.
Next to the Gate, to the right of the entrance, was a stone pedestal, of very smooth and high quality colored stone, decorated with strange patterns, behind which (or on which?) was the source of the sound.
"A blond bugger that's obviously chiseling..." - one thought in my head. A strange and scary one.
"Such a friendly young man, a soft smile, a kind and big heart that forgives even the harshest of treatment!" - a second thought flashed through her mind. Kind and wise.
She tilted her head examining this... son, descendant, Elahim? Blond hair styled in a strange and bizarre way... A strange letter... an octopus tentacle? A whirlwind? She couldn't...
"I welcome this soul to Heaven." - Elohim said softly, looking at her with kindness. She had the feeling that she had never been smiled at so sweetly and kindly... though she knew that wasn't true! - "Please tell me your name, and you can start a new life." - Elohim continued, pulling out some large white book with golden ornaments and designs, smiling, looking at her expectantly.
He looked at her. She stared back.
" ... " - Elahim was still watching, with the same friendly smile and green-blue eyes that held nothing but understanding.
" ... " - the woman, eyes slightly covered, looked at Elahim with disbelief.
She looked at him, he looked at her.
Elahim's smile had become... not real. He was baring all his teeth at all, so much so that the woman could see the details of his back gums of his mouth.
The woman's eyes squinted. Elahim's smile was almost tearing at his cheeks, by the feel of it.
A light, cool wind, smelling of fresh snow and pine needles, caught up with them. The woman's cloak billowed in the wind, somehow covering her breasts while her long curls, as if by God's will, covered her bottom. Neither Elahim nor the woman herself paid any attention to it.
"...Can you tell me your name, new soul?" - The woman thought it was physically painful for him to speak, but he seemed to ignore his ailment. - "...Please?" - He tilted his head, trying to make himself seem smaller and cuter.
The woman folded her arms across her chest, cocking her head and covering her eyes, and turned her head away, snickering.
" No." - The woman said firmly, confidently, and just right. She couldn't see, but she clearly heard some whispering, as well as the suppression of a heavy sigh.
" ...oh this 'so-so' soul..." - Without losing the smile she could feel even with her eyes closed, Elahim fell silent for a couple moments.
She didn't want to, but she opened one eye, just a little bit, turning her head towards Elahim. He... just stood there, hands folded in prayer, eyes closed. A moment and as if nothing had happened, Elahim was as he had been a moment ago, even the smile was in place, more alive and real.
"But why don't you tell me your name, new soul?" - Elahim asked softly, strangely softly, clearly blessed by God with the patience of a thousand Four-Winged Elahim.
She would have liked to continue her childishness, but now she really felt sorry for this Elahim, and shame for her wicked...
"Why is that word so nasty...?"
...The deed grabbed her soul.
"...I don't know you, O Elahim?" - The woman said, rubbing her forearm, lowering her gaze slightly. Silence was her answer, forcing her to raise her gaze to the almost dumbfounded Elahim.
"...Can you say that again, please?" - Elahim's smile faded and his eyes were full of ignorance and incomprehension.
"I don't know you, O Elahim?" - The woman repeated her own words, looking questioningly at the figure of the servant of God. His eyes gave her no answers, though she could have guessed that he just didn't...!
...Okay, she doesn't know why Elahim doesn't understand her. Just the very thought that she could, by word and will, decide and find out something, somehow stirred her.
Elahim, on the other hand, just stared at her, blinking slowly. She tilted her head, waving her hand slightly. A moment and Elahim came to his senses.
"...Oh, my name is Peter Simon, or St. Peter the Apostle, though you could just call me St. Peter!" - Again that strained smile, but now, the woman clearly felt embarrassment and excitement. - "Since my name has been called, how about yours?" - Elahim leaned toward her, flying a little closer on his wings.
She lowered her eyelids for a moment. She had to... She was curious to find out herself. She seemed to know her name perfectly well, but it seemed to elude her... As if it were a needle in a haystack, as if....
Eli, Elizabeth, Olesira, Adarela, Enasa, Gavrilavir, Endurasi, Shaar, Kore, Putchi, Alice... Olga, Anna, Maria....
Something pricked her mind, some kind of needle or something... Eve frowned.
Evazira, Evalura, Evavorichila, Evosminuk, Yunoetree, Shirospira, Elitra...
But, as if bouncing off something or just she remembered what was needed...just her name....
"...Eve." - Eve said on her way out, feeling the same incomprehension from Peter, but now he didn't say anything, just opened the book.
"...Great!" - A wide smile, a good-natured look, as if nothing had happened. The book opened with a small golden glow, and Elahim immediately whispered something to himself. - "'E', 'E', 'E', 'E'... Oh, 'Eve'!" - The smile became softer and calmer. Elahim lifted his gaze from the parchments and turned to Eve.
" Can you tell me your last name and middle name?" - Elahim almost sang, hesitating slightly as he met her incomprehensive gaze.
Eva's eyes raced over the area, as if trying to find nearby answers, but .
"...Eve of Eden? First Mother, Adam's Wife ?" - Eve answered Elahim in confusion, playing nervously with her long curls. Elahim's eyes widened in amazement and he blinked quickly, lowering his eyes to the parchment again.
" Eve of Eden... noooo." - Elahim ran his finger across the parchments, as if working with a quill or charcoal, almost, crossing out unnecessary names. - "Eva of Eden... Eva Zhenavich, Eva Zelich... Eva Edeli... Eva Eden..." - Elahim searched and searched, now without his smile, just flipping through the pages, speaking in a multitude of languages unknown to Eva. Two minutes later, when Eve began to recognize a few words, literally half a dozen of the many, Elahim stopped.
The raised eyes reflected not kindness or support. Now there was panic, worry and anxiety.
"...I can't find your name in my book." - Elahim said with a semblance of a smile, a mere shadow of the one he'd had earlier. His eyes darted between her face, her... breasts, and his book.
He was searching for something, looking for something that...
"Could prove there's been a mistake.", Eve realized a strange thought to herself, opening her eyes. She scrutinized Elahim from bottom to top as she thrashed about.
Taking a deep breath and muttering another short prayer, Peter opened his eyes, which glowed with golden energy for a moment.
"...May I ask, this is very important." - his former cheerfulness was replaced by an iron determination. Peter's words were clear, unstretched, and the smile was almost gone from his face. - "...What's the last thing you remember?"
Eve's thoughts seemed to pierce through her mind again, like predatory fish, they tried to attack her... But she stood her ground....
Eva swayed, which immediately flustered Elahim, who immediately flew over to her, holding her by the forearms, a look of genuine concern, but not because of some name in some book, but simple kindness for another. Truly, this Elahim is faithfully serving his Virtue.
Eve's thoughts were confused, it was like... it was like she was trying to enter the forest, but the stubborn branches just wouldn't let her through. Like a blockage blocking the path to the light... or the darkness she couldn't approach.
There wasn't much she could remember at all. It seemed to elude her, and she felt as if she could barely name the events of the last few days... She had, after all, just decided to lie down... under....
" I was just sitting under a tree, like Elahim told me, and then it caught fire, and I ended up in this strange place." - Eve said, taking a new look at this strange place.
Whatever language she spoke, or rather the one Elahim Peter understood, was becoming easier and easier for her to communicate in. One way or another. Somehow.
But then her eyes rose to the possible cause of her headaches....
"...Nimbus..." - Eve whispered, looking shudderingly at the hovering circle frozen above her head. She paid no attention to Peter's worried gaze, retreating into the depths of her thoughts.
"Exactly as it was given to me... by him... Pink color, three sticks, with a special central one that looks like a cross, having its outline, slightly darkened...", Eve did her best not to cry from the multitude of emotions that swept over her in a flash.
Happiness, grief, loss, joy... Just a shadow of all that she was immersed in. There seemed to be a whole story hidden in that mere circle flying above her head... no, a story that would overwhelm her.
Eve blinked.
She couldn't remember exactly where she'd gotten that strange thing, especially on her head... Over her head? What do you call a thing that flew above your head following her?
Shaking her head, Eve shied away from other thoughts. The almost destroyed wall enclosing her... The wall she'd almost destroyed by giving in... for the umpteenth fucking time, giving in to her curiosity.
Eve shook her head, her long black curls catching Elahim's eye, who didn't even pay attention as he scrutinized the Book of Life Virgil had told her about.
Peter was feverishly leafing through the book, constantly whispering something to himself. Eve could feel a familiar sensation as she watched Adam searching amusedly for his golden mask, the one that children loved so much when Adam acted out a performance he might have made up or heard from somewhere. Really, it didn't seem funny now. Peter was frantically searching for something in a book, he even flew off somewhere behind his pedestal, pulling out some strange parchments from somewhere. Too white, too... good.
Paper. A document. Important.
"WOT!" - abruptly extended his hand with some sort of waste paper, Peter looking at that one like a drowning man at a lifeboat. He lowered the newly inflamed gaze, in which there was a determination-request-order. - "Try reading the text on this... piece of paper. To yourself, out loud, whatever!" - Peter went down again to Eve, who took the document with a kind of detachment. It looked like a document. She looked perplexed at Elahim, who only exhaled in relief.
"These are the instructions for the 'Old' souls, left by the First himself." - Peter smiled broadly, to which Eve only nodded absently, reading the paper.
"Really... it looks like parchment? A strange mixture of two... Worlds...", she shook her head again, feeling a slight headache coming on.
Eve ran her eyes over the familiar symbols, pleased. Just a little guidance here, something her children were so fond of compiling following their father's example. Azura and Enos... there's even a couple from Sif! So cute!
She grinned as she read the parchment document, under the watchful gaze of Peter, who watched her every move with an eagle eye, whispering something to himself. Not all of the words were prayers, or she didn't recognize them.
With each line she read, Eve was able to recognize the difference between the two languages more and more clearly, and with each line, her heart calmed and her mood lifted. Whether it was the prayer of the Holy Apostle, His help, or simply the Will of the Lord that had come down to them, Eve felt a little better.
"...May he descend upon us! Amen." - Eve read the parchment paper to the end, looking up at a visibly relaxed Peter, who was looking at her with a smile. " Did I pass?" - she blurted out, and Peter just laughed softly.
"With flying colors, honorable priestess of Elahim." - Peter nodded, taking the old prayer book from her hands.
"...Priestess?" - Eve blinked, looking at Elahim flying back to his seat.
" It's alright, new soul." - Peter's smile was tired. Not real. "On duty," as her mind suggested, prompted or whispered to by Virgil, which worked... She knew, anyway, she'd just forgotten.
Eve hummed her very joke, but it was as if Peter hadn't noticed....
"Adam said the Elahim could look into the soul, knowing our thoughts. Why can't this esteemed Elahim do that?", thought Eve, while Peter was doing something there with his Book of Life.
"...There. And. That's it!" - With a loud sigh, Peter let go of some strange feather, which immediately shattered into golden particles, and the Book of Life slammed shut. - "Now you, Eve, may go!" - Peter pointed to the Pearly Gates.
Eve turned toward the Gates of Paradise as they... as if expecting it, swung open, revealing a view of...
"Golden City," a new thought, a new gift from her guardian angel that kept her mind from herself. She doesn't trust herself, but she trusts the one who...
Eva simply bowed gratefully to Peter, which just chuckled and responded with a similar, more inept and wrong, but Eva somehow liked the attempt.
Eve stepped beyond the threshold of the Gate, feeling a certain displacement. Another one she was aware of thanks to her guardian angel.
Eve immediately sensed a change in the air. Not for the worse, just different. Urban or something. Eve wasn't strong... probably wasn't strong at this sort of thing.
She gazed in fascination at the monumental buildings that seemed to rise to the clouds. The sturdy, very sturdy stones or whatever it was that the structures were made of, outclassed all of their earthly crafts in a flash, it was silly to even compare. The difference was between the handiwork of a child of twenty and Adam, who could create, it seemed, anything. Perhaps these buildings were his slave, too....
"Excuse me?" - A sweet child's voice interrupted her. Eve turned sharply toward the voice coming from three hours away from her, forty-five degrees up.
"Heruv, those little darlings!", Eve thought happily, examining this... lamb, almost a lamb! She had heard Virgil's short stories of such creatures, but to see one in person!
Dark gray skin, with a couple of white dots on its muzzle, smiling happily at her like an old friend! Wool like hair, small pants with two pairs of gold buttons, a blue shirt with a white bow, with a purple "center"... A fluffy tail and sleeves in the form of his own wool!
"CUTE! Just a criminally cute creature!", Eve didn't even try to start a dialog as she tried to grab-hug the little angel, but he dodged, escaping her arms with a pleasant laugh.
" Sorry, ma'am, but I'm at work." - laughed the lamb.
"Come. This way." - Eve said demandingly, looking straight into the eyes of the lamb-cock. He blinked, his smile became more fake, and he flew a little farther away from her.
"Madam..." - Awkwardly, almost timidly, Heruve began. - "I should just answer your..." - His eyes, which had so carefully escaped her gaze until then, met hers.
Herve's pupils flickered, his eyebrows rose pleadingly. Eve stared.
Heruv's face changed emotions in an instant. Obligation, duty, request, plea... Eve stared. Straight on. Into. Eyes.
"...Perhaps I can..." - With a heavy sigh, Heruve lowered himself into the reach of Eve's hands, which immediately grasped the naive Heruve. - "Mfadaha..." - Heruve wheezed.
Eve hugged the baby, trying to emulate her children when they had not yet entered adolescence and maturity, playing and falling asleep with the toys Adam had made or somehow created. Those thoughts warmed her, she continued her embrace of the toy Adam had created.
A minute, maybe two, only when that embrace no longer brought comfort did Eve let go of poor Heruve, in whose gaze there was only doom.
He took off slowly on his small wings, muttering something about "quota" and "fines." The animals passing nearby, strange two-legged animals looked at her with strange looks, and other such little ones looked at her companion sympathetically.
Anyway, first and foremost she wanted to find her husband.
" And where can I find my husband, Adam?" - With a soft smile, in a most good-natured voice, from which the lamb recoiled fearfully, almost, turning away from her, dabbing at the papers that he had pulled from somewhere in his small pocket... though the paper was somewhere about the size of his.
"...Madama." - Heruva's voice wasn't bold, but even so, that high childish voice continued to delight her ears. She would call him Yagi! - "...First, I must answer your questions about your new life and only then..." - Yagi made a terrible mistake, lifting his eyes from his papers for a moment.
Eva stared. Eva looked at Yagi unblinkingly with a wide smile. Yagi groaned painfully.
"...Which one of the Adams?" - Yagi almost painfully muttered, raising his head to the sky.
"...My Adam? " - Eve awkwardly replied, blinking, noticing Yagi's discomfort.
"Creator's little mistake..." - was the first thought, a stupid and cruel one that brought only a barely perceptible headache.
Eva's face wrinkled for a moment, but the pain went away as soon as Eva shook her head. Eva looked at Yagi apologetically.
" Yagi, I meant to say..."
" My name isn't Yagi." - Mumbled Yagi, blinking, looking down at his papers.
" ...Yagi. " Eve nodded importantly, looking at Yagi carefully. - "Okay, I was wondering..."
A smile immediately appeared on Yagi's face.
"Where are the people, my children? Why are there so many animals here?" - Eva pointed at the figures of animals passing by, and even going behind the Gate.
Yagi groaned loudly.
...
"I can't, Adam." - Eve sighed dramatically, turning her head slightly to the side.
Silence surrounded them, as if time itself had stopped so that they could express all their feelings. Even if this was their breakup.
" After everything that has happened, after all these years... I just can't look at you the way I used to, my once favorite man. " - Eva's beautiful voice sounded sad, as if those words were causing her pain too. - "I'm sorry, my sweet husband, I just can't..." - Tears appeared on her cheeks, and Eva herself turned away....
" It's okay, Eva. I understand." - Adam said, trying to keep the emotion out of his voice. - "You're free, free to do what you want, even if you want to find someone else..." - Adam wrinkled his nose, but the mask didn't let his feelings out, maintaining a small kind smile. - "Я..."
"But we can be friends!" - Turned sharply Eva... Frigg, Sister of the Shield, who immediately ran up to him, hugging him. - "My sweet husband, I...!" - Adam sighed heavily, stroking Frigg.
" Fucking cut..." - Adam sighed, kneading the bridge of his helmet, which completely transferred to his face.
" Sorry, Sir." - Frigg said guiltily stepping away from her Commander, lowering her gaze. Sigryun came over to her immediately, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Adam only stroked Frigg's curly white hair again, which was squinting contentedly under his palm. - "I just couldn't bear to watch you..."
" Nothing, Fluffy. " - Adam said softly but tiredly, lifting the tips of his lips slightly. - "It's just..." - Adam wrinkled his nose.
He loved his subordinates. The Valkyries as daughters, the Shield Sisters as mistresses and just very close souls, where Lute stands above them all, almost on a level with...
Ney. His wife, who should be here any minute.
"Just, let's get the fuck over with for today." - Adam sighed, gesturing to the next Shield Sister. Sanchi, what's supposed to be 'evil Eve'...
Yeah, Adam was so... no, he wasn't worried. He's not a sucker. He's not William, that he even "walked" with Emily for about six months before he took his balls in his fist and talked to her about her feelings. Adam isn't worried. He knows Eve well enough, he's going to set up the perfect meeting. Their first meeting in nine thousand years.
Nine thousand years of her suffering, which without the intervention of one fucking Righteous Man, would have threatened to bring his wife to the end of her life.
"Fucking six-winged assholes with their fucking Rules and Laws...", Adam thought irritably as he watched Sanchi's preparation, which was actively tuning in to their 'rehearsal'.
No excitement or worry at all. He's Adam. First dick, first Man. He created marriage, he created family relationships. He can handle it, because he has more experience in this, more dick, more everything. He can handle it. He's the First Dick. He's Adam. He's...
"Adam..." - Sanchi's voice, that had taken on the role of Eve, trying to adjust her voice to the one Adam had given those listening in. - "You're here." - San...Eve said dryly. Adam put other thoughts aside, trying to dive into the situation.
Thousands of years of suffering. A broken promise. He had given up. He'd given up the search. He wanted to kill her rather than help her.
"Eve." - Adam said jerkily. The Shield Sisters twitched, even Sanchi, who had stepped out of character for a moment. Adam rarely let his inner problems come out, he would have left the Sisters out of it, but Lut, and William, insisted on at least some way for him to 'discharge'. No matter how much he told them to fuck off, the two faggots had a point.
So he chose this.
"...Is that all you have to say?" - Eve folded her arms across her chest, frowning at his tall figure. Her gaze deliberately caught on his helmet-mask. - "What's with the masquerade? Afraid to show your face? Afraid to talk to your favorite wife face to face?" - Eve's malicious sneer struck at Adam's very soul, every word hitting its target. Adam made an effort not to clench his palm until it bled or twitch at each new word.
"I failed you, Eve." - Adam's voice was quiet. Unaccustomedly timid. Adam had forgotten the feeling by now. Guilt. - "I failed you..."
"Are you going to repeat yourself like a parrot or are you going to say something coherent?" - Eve stepped a little closer, looking up at him from below. Sanchi was able to perfectly capture the look that Eva would look at him with.
"Which is alarming, by the way. Bitch has some kind of problem or is that one on her period...? Fuck, do they have periods in Paradise, I'd forgotten.", Adam thought as he evened out his breathing.
The Shield Sisters surrounding them supported him as best they could. Adam didn't know, or rather didn't want to know, for he just didn't give a fuck what Lute had said to those about their future meeting, but Adam wasn't stupid either.
What they needed were short skirts that barely concealed their panties or whatever they wore, tops that would show off their breasts, and some bushes, maybe even the stuff he'd planted for Moses. Then they would be able to support his morale even better during the "meeting with Eve". It would have been better if they'd just stood behind him, Adam was sick enough as it was.
"I've been looking for you. Been looking for you until now." - Adam muttered, covering his eyes. Sanchie's hand twitched, but she continued the game. - "I'm glad you're finally here, Eve..." - Adam lowered his gaze to Eve, who was looking at him with a strange look.....
Adam's face creased. Sanchie became nervous.
"And I'm glad you're finally admitting it...?" - Eva spoke angrily and fiercely....
"Fuu-ya-cckk." - Adam exhaled, naturally arching his back. Lut, coming from his left, patted him encouragingly on the shoulder. -" It's all fucked up, Sanchi, let's do it again..." - Adam grumbled, straightening up as Lut nodded silently with his arms at his sides.
During this "training" where the Shield Sisters, including Lute, played various "Eve" who had just met Adam...
Adam himself is fucked up.
It's all wrong. Wrong voice, wrong intonation, wrong words, his wife would never say that. Wrong height, wrong smell, wrong eyes, wrong laugh, wrong tears, wrong EVERYTHING.
The original idea, to "prepare" himself for all the feelings he would surely... probably experience when he met his second wife, who for about ten thousand years, at the will and permission (more like laziness and laxity) of some arrogant assholes... had suffered.
Adam clenched his palm tightly, almost to the point of bleeding, into a fist, despite the gloves.
"First me personally, was overturned by one of God's Perfect Creatures, then my wife Eve, was tricked, thrown out and cursed, doomed to torment and suffering while I was in a fucking golden cage.... Watched my children fall into that Asshole that Faggot called 'paradise'... And die, deceived by the lies of the Prince of Deception...", Adam covered his eyes, trying to catch his heavy breathing as Lut and his sisters wrapped up their 'little theater circle'.
Sometimes, Adam wanted to ask God - "Why?"
Why had he condemned him to this, why had he condemned his family to all those trials, why had he condemned his wife to all...this!
One day Adam will just walk in on Metatron, lay him on his back, and tell God to fuck off until the Athanim or other Seraphim tie him up, punishing him somehow.
"Ah... I've already done that. True in a much milder form, and a different meaning then.", Adam thought, taking a seat at his desk.
No, he wouldn't be naturally kicking dicks, those adult toys that had accumulated in his "secret place" of the office, for sex "in the boss's office". Yes, it's one of his hobbies, and he also loves to explain to naive and morally stiff angels that he really does what he says. He's a man of his word, he's Adam, for fuck's sake.
Adam chuckled quietly as Lute commanded the rest of the Shield Sisters, bringing back the general working attitude that had 'haunted' them for the last... Adam even found it hard to say exactly.
"Almost ten years since this fucking thing actively started...", Adam naturally got a shiver.
That HE. Adam. Just take and... work? In Heaven? No, he's an Archangel for taking his duties truly seriously, but not to the point of stupidity, where Sera was now, where it stopped being fun.
Right now, he was... truly... Seriously.... Intended to finish his work... On time, on schedule, and... do that quality one so he wouldn't have to redo it or give it to Sera's handy assistant!
Yes, Adam had been living like that for almost ten years now, while the other Seraphim, especially the ones he was very close to, were fucking around while his Lute, the Shield Sisters were contemplating sabotage to get him some sort of vacation, and the rest of the Valkyries had already started to breed conspiracy theories about him being replaced by another soul...
Adam just wanted to get his mind off all the thoughts that had haunted him over the years. Which he had long since forgotten, for he was almost certain that he would never meet his Eve again... Until William fucked him over the head with a sack, bringing Eve, except without the bow around her naked body, on a white and blue tray.
Adam continued to work. He filled out paper after paper. Personally, pen by pen, methodically, pondering each piece of paper seriously and with all his might. He just wanted to skip all the "unnecessary" stuff and meet his wife.
He feels her closer than ever. The last few days had been spent in just such... "tension", not sexual tension that could be taken away with just a hard fuck, but mental tension.
And Adam hated it with all his soul while at the same time he was trying to prepare himself for it. He hated emotional swings like that.
"Adam, we need to..." - said the returning Lute, but was immediately interrupted by another soul that was affected by his 'positive' changes.
"Adam, Sera requires samples of A12 and A23 for lunch, and to prepare material for the Seraphim meeting...!" - Exclaimed Emily who had piled into his office.
The little girl, ever since William's 'passing' from life, becoming negatively alive by him, according to Sera's version for little ones, that is Emily, had been trying to get into work. Just like him, only...in her own way.
She was tirelessly "secretly" and "surreptitiously" climbing through the Cherubim libraries, ancient records and "relatively secret, but if found out - okay" records. Adam, frankly, was sick of covering Emily's ass, even though she wasn't exactly brazen.
"Cool it, Amy. "- Adam sighed, leaning back in his chair. The "Junior" Seraphim obediently froze. Exactly in the pose she was in, that is, airborne in some variation of gesticulation. Adam would have praised the expression, but he was too fucked up and tense. - "It'll be done, your squeals won't help the cause."
"Oh you...!" - Emily exclaimed, having successfully taken the bait.
She hadn't stopped yammering, but now, at least, she was simply outraged at his behavior, with the tacit support of Lut, the traitor and new supporter of female solidarity, even though she could have told him to fuck off before.
The paperwork, Sera and her requests that should have been ready yesterday, the rest of the Seraphim, Emily, who was now in constant contact with him, though previously it had been entirely on William's shoulders, and the more irritated Lut....
A lot of fucked up shit, but it was enough to keep Adam from thinking about all the things he had to say to Eve. That would be enough for now.
...
Eve was in Paradise. A place where all her problems, all her troubles were supposed to disappear. There should be no burdens or worries, only eternal bliss.
Apparently...her children had taken those words too...literally....
In other words, Eve was confused, and as her favorite great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great...
She was walking through the streets of a certain Golden City that marveled with its beauty, monumentality and style. Big buildings, voluminous... everything. Everywhere you looked, you'd find a small work of art. That building was as if taken from Greece, bringing it under the "style" of Paradise... the overall scale, design, color.
Everywhere you could look there was this... strange sense of rightness. You couldn't understand why, but it was so pleasant to look at, you could see that it was made with love, attention and respect for those who would use it. It only made her sad that it wasn't Adam's work, but the work of others... "Angels". A strange "new" word for the Elahim, but Eve didn't mind. She just wasn't used to it. Also... as her great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson would say.....
...great-great-grandson, favorite son Virgil about the Golden City her children inhabited - "A place of permissiveness, limited only by imagination and the darkness hidden in the soul." She couldn't have said it better! Maybe Adam would make something up, but she was okay with that!
Really... she doesn't remember exactly... why this "Virgil" is her favorite "son" and "great-great-great-great-grandson"... It's just that, at the thought of this angel, she gets mixed feelings. Mixed feelings, unlike... her children.
The thing is that these beautiful and clean streets, made of some very good stone, yes, so that even the reflection can be seen... Filled with animals. Bipedal, upright animals, creatures, and just plain strange Elahim.....
Somehow, she could definitely distinguish between the "born" Elahim that and her children that had made... strange decisions for their appearances.
Two small, strange 'birds' flew over her. Also bipedal, in robes or dresses... To be honest, Eve didn't like the way that "bird" looked in that beige dress, it didn't even have arms, and three eyes!
And that skinny "cyclops"?! She wasn't even sure if it was a woman or a man! She really couldn't tell where her gifts to the children were. For the women, beauty worthy of Jophiel herself, and for the men, Adam's blood to help them create like her husband!
"A bunch of freaks, idiots, faggots, and naive children that just forgot about all the things that made them human," Eve thought... it was a bad thought!
She stopped, freezing. The small 'fog' accompanying her consciousness was gradually dissipating, yes, but at the same time....
She noticed that this cloak, given to her by... someone, was getting more and more worn. With each new thought, with each new dip into the past, her thoughts grew more and more...
"Excuse me, are you feeling ill?" - Cautiously asked... asked? Asked her child, looking like a strange golden bird... muzzle... head in the form of open wings with eyes on them, strange body shape, with pants and stockings....
"You're not feeling well, you stupid whore, are you!" - A rough, husky voice came to her ears.
Eva shook her head, taking away the slight, almost imperceptible headache, smiling embarrassedly at the worried Ela... Righteous, as Yagi's children called her.
" Nothing, I just forgot... forget... forget!" - Eve said sharply, quickening her step, trying to get her bearings in this beautiful, but horribly incomprehensible city. Greatness is greatness, but there were no signposts, or at least no signs understandable for such "old ladies" as her.
Eva wrapped herself more tightly in her dark blue cloak, which was a little more tattered than before, with strange white patterns on it that glowed dimly on the inside. She just wanted to get to Adam's house, the direction to which Yagi had so kindly pointed.
He'd said something else about holidays or a house or some such nonsense, but she didn't care. Her children were waiting, and she had kept them waiting!
Filled with cheer, definitely not trying once again to avoid the strange animal or creature... her child, she walked on with a smile.
"Excuse me, but would you like to taste Rainbow Ice Cream flavored with the rainbow itself, a gift from God?" - came the voice of some... human?
"Excuse me?" - Eve said a little awkwardly, a little stammered. She turned around a little too sharply, so that her cloak and hair exposed her body, where the eyes of the... male-female were immediately drawn to her.
Eve could not understand who was in front of her, but not from the "skin" of the animal that the soul had put on, but... The woman's face, which was "flattened" in the likeness of a man's, the man's body, and even the muscles! A strange hairstyle that did not fit a woman, especially one who took care of her hair!
Eva loved long hair and couldn't stand it when her children wasted their beauty like that, especially her daughters!
"Ice cream that only recently..." - this-this-is-righteous... God, how unaccustomed she was, took up... took up explanations that Eva didn't listen to half an ear, but just skipped over. All that mattered was that she had gotten this "ice cream" and now, seated at a table from which a small canopy in the shape of a circle emerged, she began to sample the product.
Other... children (God, she should be used to this sight, but...), were sitting nearby at other tables. They were chatting about something, gesticulating, even humming!
The image of a tired white-haired Elahim with a strange God's Grace, going through some papers, saying something to her. She couldn't make out all the words, couldn't even remember the subject of the conversation, but a couple of words sounded clearly in her ears.
" These Righteous like to sing. Singing to make a point, to prove a point..." Elahim said moodily, almost irritably, looking away. - "If you get in there, be prepared to be dragged into their 'net,' we're in a fucking musical, just so you know..."
The headache intensified, and the "fog" that "enveloped" her mind seemed to dissipate even more, on the one hand, allowing her to think even better, operating with more information, but....
It seemed to her that something was looking at her from the other side. Something scary.
Eve just started eating the 'ice cream', which was simply frozen water, what was that...
She licked, taking a small bite of the ice.
Eva's eyes widened in amazement, and a whole bunch of flavors literally "exploded" in her mouth. Apricot, plum, raspberry, strawberry... Something else she couldn't even name! Smiling widely, Eva began to devour... or rather, slowly lick and bite a little, for when she decided to take a bigger bite, she immediately got a headache.
"Brain freeze," as they said as they approached... Righteous asked to sit down next to her. She didn't refuse, just concentrating on absorbing that frozen water, answering something to this company of three Righteous....
She was splashed in the face with water.
Laughter, some words in the background talking about some 'fun' there, laughter from the other tables... The laughter steeled stronger. Laughter filled her mind. The laughter became...
Screams. Screams and water. The water came unexpectedly. Instead of morning prayers, the laughter of children and the sound of cattle, there were only screams of terror and the approaching shadow of a huge wave, followed by another...and then another...and another...and another. And another. AND MORE.... И...
Eva dropped the unfinished chocolate cone, standing up abruptly with a quick stride heading in the approximate direction Yagi had pointed her.
She didn't listen to the apology or concern. The moisture on her face had evaporated and her eyes were no longer paying attention to anything else. She just wanted to get away from these fuckers who were mistakenly thought to be her children.
...
Adam reached out, almost, tossing the last piece of paper to the top of the pile. A third, though not a big one, somewhere under ten centimeters, just crumbs, but still, there were three stacks here that couldn't be mixed. Wrapped in folders, yes, but not mixed amongst themselves, or there would be drastically more work.
The robe strained badly, threatening if not to tear then at least to lose its shape, so Adam was forced to address the elephant, or rather 'bird' in the room.
"How long are you going to play offense and try to get me?" he asked with one eyebrow raised, looking down not so much at the floor as under his robe.
Where Lut was sitting on his lap, writhing in his pants, grasping his turtleneck with her hands, sticking her head through his collar, wearing the mask she had put on before.
Lute didn't say anything, just made herself comfortable, rubbing her cheek against his helmet. A confused expression on his face, small "lines" on the "cheeks" of the mask. Lut had been studiously ignoring his words for the last ten minutes, rubbing her groin, her breasts, against his body.
"You've been fucking annoying lately, Lute." - Adam grumbled, holding her in place, preventing her from making any unnecessary movements that would further ruin the look and quality of his favorite robe.
"It's your fault, Sir." - Lut replied in his tone, continuing to do her 'job'.
Yes, he and Lut had not fucked much in the last... six months. Lut understood Adam's state of mind: the constant thoughts of his wife, the constant worrying about his wife, the planning of the meeting was taking its toll on the First Man's mood. Lut, being an ideal woman, proving once again the correctness of her appointment to the position of Lieutenant, the second after him, understood everything, and therefore did not arrange anything for him, did not say anything, but just silently supported him.
...True, she did not forget about her own needs. The constant unnecessary touching, the tantalizing sights and flirtations, the "sit-downs" with the tightest possible body contact... and she'd taught the other Shield Sisters, so Adam had to dance with six more souls!
No, he didn't mind, he didn't leave them without a release, but it was annoying.
" I'm gonna fuck you, Psycho." - Adam whispered threateningly, frowning, pressing his fingers lightly on the top of Lute's head.
"That's on the count, Sir." - Lut smirked, twirling her ass even harder around his groin. Adam growled.
"You won't get out of the range and the paperwork will reap your soul, Bitch." - Adam growled, squeezing his hand tighter around Lute's body, but she only turned on harder, practically rumbling.
"...It'll be worth it." - Lut acknowledged with hesitation, "coming to her senses" for a moment, but immediately regained her grin, working her arms vigorously. - "Sir, just a quick..."
" You're fucked up." - Adam exhaled, running his hands under his robe, pulling it back a little. It would need sewing and adjusting anyway, but that would come later. Right now, he needed to bring one needy bitch to a couple orgasms....
The moans, the heavy breathing, and the smell of the woman turned Adam on.
...But not tonight. Not when he could practically "touch" Eve. He feels their connection more and more strongly; she's about to come here. He's like a child in old Jesus' birthday party, waiting for his present, all his thoughts have been on Eve in one way or another.
Even now, as she worked her fingers, mouth and just a good knowledge of the body of the woman sitting in his lap, he was... indulging in spacey musings. Adam didn't think he'd ever even gotten to this point, that even a horny woman would stop distracting his mind.
Thoughts of the past, thoughts of family, thoughts of children...and those who remained below, having perished there. All things that Adam would normally walk away from...not into a 'binge' as William called these 'fits', but just some sort of 'time off'.
He was thinking of the children. The ones who accepted his offer, the ones who got Heaven and more, the ones he cared for. Not like his wife Eve, not like his half, that knew the measure, knew when and how to help or give attention. It's not that Adam is a bad father...just not as good as he was with Eve. He just can't be a "mother" when he was just made that way.
He thought about it, thought about his mistakes, his past life, the Fall, while he was pleasuring the woman he loved like some kind of stooge! He has Lute moaning in pleasure on his lap and he's just thinking about the past!
That in the hope of distracting himself, he's gone to work, also paying more attention to his children than usual. No, he's a good father, he's not squeamish about the ones he busted his ass for, he just....
Lute groaned, body collapsing and a new train of thought in Adam's mind.
He hated this kind of thing. He hated being so weak, so worthless, so incapable of noticing his wife being taken away from him, so incapable of deciding to follow the offended woman right the fuck away, instead sitting under a fucking tree somewhere, "making music" on some jalopy!
...But he thought about it.
He hated his excellent memory, those 'reminders' that cause 'flashes'. He hated remembering all the details of Lilith's banishment, all the details of losing Eve when she changed, when their bond broke... hated the details of those feelings and sensations.
Lute snuggled up against him, sleeping peacefully while Adam stroked her body, cleaning their soiled clothes with Miracle. A small prayer, their sins probably forgiven, but Adam hadn't given a shit for a long time.
Adam leaned his head back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling with a blank expression on his face. Other than Lute, a few of the Shield Sisters, no one had ever seen 'that' Adam.
Lilith would call "that" Adam a weak-willed wimp, maybe make up something else, she was always sharp with her tongue. Lucifer would call him 'Piece of Filth', looking him politely in the eye until he got it from his siblings. Sera, Emily, and indeed the other Seraphim called "that Adam" the youth. Metatron, may he choke on God's dick that he sucked daily - "The perfect version of man, what Adam should be."
Adam, on the other hand, knew "that" Adam best. He had lived through all the shit Lucifer had condemned him to, the trials God had sent him. He could tell who "that" Adam was.
"Happy," one word flashed through Adam's mind. One word that fit perfectly with his naive and very kind version of himself.
...Sometimes, Adam wanted to imagine that he could look "that" Adam in the eye, ask him many things... Just talk to that innocent and naive man who had simply been told one day that "You are King of Eden and the Earth Kingdom, you will command and create, for this is My Will" or something like that.
"What would "He" say about me now? Would He condemn? Accept? Maybe just want all the power and opportunity I have now?", this was the thousandth, maybe even the millionth thought of its kind. He'd thought it more than once, more than once he'd tried to reflect on the past.
About that Adam who, at the First Rebellion, had shielded all humans in general, on Earth and those in Paradise, for it had been his war, between him, Lilith, and Lucifer.
About that Adam, thinking that he could, with a word, change Lilith's mind, who "took the path of Evil", and later "deceived"... The naive fool did not even realize the depth of her character, did not understand all that she was....
If "that" Adam would have wanted to be in the place of "present" Adam, wanting to get all those opportunities he admired, then "present" Adam... Just wanted to go back to that time when everything was simpler, when there was no Sin, Death, Evil... on Earth for sure....
Adam just wanted to get back something, even a piece, of the past and find happiness.
"...Sir, the High Seraphim asked that these documents be dropped off to her before lunch..." - whispered Lute, who, as usual, was closely following his workflow, even as she rested after a couple of orgasms.
Adam didn't say anything, just stroked her head, slightly delaying the moment when he would have to get up, collect the fuck, call Emily, who had to add the fuck and go to the Seraphim's.
Right now Adam just wanted to be quiet.
...
Eve got lost.
Just like that, she was lost!
No, she genuinely admired this Golden City, its beauty-schmooze, its poetry-figgery, but here. Just. Dick. You'll find it. Theroad.
She'd been forced to walk up to these beasts that mistakenly call themselves humans and her children three times just to ask for directions to the place she wanted, a turn she'd taken three fucking times! THREE TIMES!
Okay still that weird gray-skinned woman, with white hair tips in her equally gray hair, she was still tolerable! But even that woman had "weirdness", if you can even call it that!
Here is someone who would walk around in some work clothes that had real blood on them, and her halo, the symbol of her Holiness, part of her soul, would be black!
And her demeanor?! She didn't even say a word, just looked at me with wide eyes, opened her mouth as if she'd taken on water, and immediately flew the hell away!
"The mouth of this City loved...", frowned Eve, walking briskly through the streets of this City. The cloak, which earlier seemed to be just a damaged thing, sewed up and even for the parade, now looked more like an ancient relic, whose colors were almost faded, sleeves untied, but this strange piece of clothing, stubbornly did not want to let go of her shoulders, and Eva did not want to throw away this piece of cloth.
"Last gift from him, after all...", Eve calmed down a bit, slowing down, exhaling and looking around.
There were still the same animals-almost humans-weird creatures and only a couple of humans around, still an air of fun, of happiness that almost made her want to...
Eve stopped.
"...And why all of a sudden do they all deserve this kind of attitude... Why do I keep thinking that?", Eva pondered, standing somewhere in the middle of the street, causing people to walk around her, looking at her naked body now and then. No one said anything, she had also seen 'creatures' that wore no clothes, so she was no exception.
Eve... Something inside her, somewhere behind this fog that was increasingly dissipating around her mind, was saying that all these souls... deserved her hatred, her dislike, but Eve herself... just didn't understand why.
She took a deep breath as she continued walking in the approximate direction towards the so-called 'Third Circle' where home... her... home of Adam and his children should be.
She didn't know how the children would react to her, the first children, her sons and daughters that she had personally raised, that had received her and Adam's legacy... Maybe that was why she was taking all her stress out on these people, just walking around enjoying their eternal bliss? Who was she to dictate how they should live their lives? She wasn't their mother, she didn't give them her teachings, she didn't protect them. She is nothing to them, and they are nothing to her.
A strange thought for Eve, seeming so foreign, yet... so adult. These were the questions Uriel had asked her and Adam, so fond of such amusements and "trials"... her least favorite activities in Eden, Adam was older and wiser, it was easier for him, but for her....
Eve giggled, moving from the "stone" streets, to some "urban" or just slightly smaller buildings and structures, the noise and noise, and simply the density of the crowd through which Eve passed slightly decreased. The key word was "slightly," there were still a lot of people.
Eve's mind relaxed, and that "fog" didn't seem like a bad thing anymore. It somehow seemed to "control" or influence her thoughts, allowing Eve herself a little more control over her thoughts.
The image of the bars, the cell in which she seemed to be imprisoned for all eternity and only one angel, only his kind words, words transmitted from God himself, came out of his mouth.
He was telling her to get up, telling her to take her fate and her life into her own hands. After all, no one else would live her life, no one but her.
And so it was as if Eva had a second wind when she came to such a simple, yet complex thought.
Eve could choose. Choose how to behave, how to think of others.
It's her choice.
Not some arrogant Seraphim, not her husband, not her children, not his. It is hers, Eve, the Second Woman and Mother of Humanity. She alone chooses how to treat those around her, how she perceives their actions towards her.
She could be angry at that water, at that splash... but she would not. Those Righteous didn't know her, didn't know how she would react, to them, she was just a strange woman walking naked with a cloak around the Golden City, they knew nothing, and so their only fault was that they didn't recognize her desires.
"Though... maybe I shouldn't have 'thought out loud' while agreeing to everything they said...?", the awkward thought finally killed the anger and rage that was in her.
Those Righties weren't to blame, and Eve had just been inattentive, that's all.
...True, she remembered, remembered their faces very well, and so once she met Adam and her first children...she would show the little tomboys why you shouldn't mess with the First Mother, the Mother of Mothers!
Eve giggled again and was apparently rewarded by the Almighty for being so pleased with her thoughts that he sent her Elahim. A real one. Or rather, a real one, though Eve wasn't sure of the gender of this-this Elahim(s).
The real one... Eve could barely-barely recognize the old Elahim that once there, a long time ago, in another life, in Eden, had once there caught her eye when she'd been habitually hiding, watching the Seraphim, saying something to Lord Kamael. Two pairs of golden wings, one emerging from her hips, the other from under her shoulder blades, and the rest replacing Elahim's head. That was normal, that was how she recognized the long glimpsed Elahima... That was the fact that she had a female figure, with a tight-fitting dark and white suit, with a half-open dress coming from her hips, the inside of which was painted in green colors and small stars, the front exposing her... slender legs, on those "shoes" shaped like Elahima's own feet.
She certainly wasn't jealous of her breasts, which the black suit expressively emphasized, it was almost a crime, it was like they were naked!
"I-excuse me, oh Elahim?" - Eva's uneven, almost trembling voice immediately caught Elahim's attention, even though Eva had spoken the words in a near whisper.
" Child?" - The voice resonating with itself was like many women speaking at once. It was difficult to understand Elahima without eye contact, but Eve immediately felt the 'look' of the woman. - "Is something bothering you?" - Softly, as softly as one could even hear this strange chorus, asked Elahim, whose name Eve never recognized.
"Other than your bedongs and the 'cross' on your groin that almost falls out from under your 'cape'? Nothing.", a thought ran through Eve's mind, to which she nodded.
"I'm looking for the First Man's home." - At those words, Eve felt a small sigh from Elahima. It wasn't a tired sigh. - "I am... his wife and I would like to see him. To talk." - Eve was very apprehensive about the upcoming meeting, but that one was to talk to her husband...perhaps her ex.
"Child, there's a reason the First's family lives apart from the rest of God's servants." - Eva was sure that even the ordinary soul of her child could detect the slight irritation in Elahima's voice. - "If you have a request to the First, however, you can file it with the Earth Department, in the First's Division." - Somehow, Elahima sighed, though more likely just 'made' the sound of a sigh.
Eve had to make some effort, 'dipping' into the fog, to consciously 'change' her language, something she had previously done on a single intention.
"Please, oh Elahim, I really want to see my husband." - Eve's pleading, "Primary" language words and Elahim flinches, "looking" at Eve in a new way. If Elahim were her child, the one would definitely sigh. The latter, after a slight hesitation, as if coming to her senses, immediately changed her "voice" to a more polite and favorable one, even a little nervous.
"...Dear Old Soul, I don't..." - Elahim hesitated, "looking" somewhere. - " You may pass into the 'New Eden', the park for your souls that the First of Men himself created." - Elahim did not point, but simply touched Eve's shoulder, herself flinching slightly, imparting the knowledge of the path. - "Just pass the new park where your soul can rest, this shortcut will allow you to find the place of your desire even faster." - Elahima's words brought a wide grateful smile to Eve's face as she bowed to the servant of God.
" Highest thanks, O Elahim." - said Eve, straightening up.
"God bless you, Old Soul." - Elahim "nodded" to her, immediately disappearing in a flash of golden light, which Eve followed with a glance, watching the falling particles mesmerized until they finally settled on the Earth.
Eve, a little while later, remembered the path to Adam's house that had been entrusted to her. She turned in the direction her memory had pointed her, heading in a quick step, almost immediately noticing...
The park.
She had only walked for nothing, half an hour, immediately stumbling upon this... "water park". Blue color palette, watery design of decorations and decorations, lots of "sea animals"... though, Eve saw each Righteous One walk up to some sort of booth, where they became one of the "fish".
Eve tried not to look at the attractions, not to look at the "sea world", which was like a Mosesian miracle with the sea, which was lined up like a seabed, on which booths, buildings and other thematic paraphernalia were built, all imitating the sea.
The walls of the park were in the form of water in which the Righteous could see all the other creatures of the deep, like fish, sharks and octopuses, but she didn't look any further, for she wanted to get past this nightmare and just get to this "New Eden" that interested her much more, for it was Adam's creation.
Thankfully, the park walls were not as high as Moses', so she quickly came to the second part of the park, where there was ... a huge lake.
The waves were beating the shore, much to the delight of the angel children and other Righteous. On the waves rode her children, saddling some boards, doing something with the waves and hands....
Eve's breathing quickened when one of the waves hit particularly close. She almost screamed, tacitly restraining herself, but immediately backed away, not letting the sea surface touch herself even a drop.
She quickly looked around the "lake" that was actually separated by a strange bridge made up of girders with about half a meter between them. She hated bridges like that, they were unreliable!
Quelling the trembling in her hands, she looked around, still finding no other way around. The only good solution, her stupid mind, chose to approach the "head" angel, who looked a lot like the organizer.
She didn't remember or look at the Righteous One's features, all she remembered was that he was red, had an octopus face instead of a normal head, and was wearing some sort of robe. She didn't look at him, wary of the waves that hadn't hit in that direction yet, growing larger and drowning other souls.
"Did you want something, señorita?" - Octopus, who didn't deserve a name from her, asked softly.
"I was told that you can get to New Eden from here." - Eve said briefly, in an almost firm voice, letting just a little bit of anxiety into that one. The octopus, apparently understanding her voice in his own way, grinned slightly.
"That's right, señora, just beyond the Seventh Lake is the New Eden, but they don't let the regular Righteous in there, leaving that one for the Old Souls." - Octopus' eyes were interested in her body, her hair and, strangely enough, her cloak, which had almost lost its color.
"...A-a k-how do you get to the park..." - Eve turned wary of the wave that had gotten too close to their booth, located near the beginning of the rope bridge that almost touched the water surface. - "...No water?" - Eve exhaled, looking hopefully at the Octopus, who chuckled a little.
"Only across the bridge, señora, no other way." - Octopus answered her with his hands folded in a lock, placing them on the table where he was sitting. Eve clenched her fists, looking away from the bridge.
"Then... maybe you can take me to the other side on wings? I'm only recently in Heaven and I don't... fly yet." - Eve closed her eyes, turning away from the water, almost completely immersed in the salvific mist that gave her much needed peace and comfort. It was dry, quiet, and nothing squeezed her chest.
"...I apologize, but I don't have time to teach you, and other visitors have come here for rest." - The insolent Octopus opened his arms, trying to encompass the horror park surrounding them. - "Yeah and what's the big deal about just walking across the bridge?" - grinned the son of a dog who had just lost his right to be called his child.
"I don't want to, that's all." - Eve even stomped her foot, eliciting only a sigh from the octopus. - "Please can you get me to the other side, I need to meet my husband?" - The sincere plea in Eva's voice brought the octopus to his senses. He took a new look at Eva, looking her exactly in the eye.
"...Then I suggest you cross the bridge, there's nothing wrong with that, I assure you." - The octopus nodded, burying himself even deeper in the eyes of the First Mother. - "Even children and those who don't know how to swim learn to swim here, it's natural, it's enough to just let a child go to a shallow depth and he will learn to swim by himself." - grinned the octopus, gesturing to some Heruve. The little shit looked like some kind of small octopus, she certainly wouldn't want to hug that.
"All mothers that leave their children to the mercy of the water forfeit their right to motherhood and upbringing by the will of the First Mother." - Eve's firm voice, with nothing but determination in it, only caused the two angels to laugh.
"Good thing it's usually the fathers who do it!" - laughed the octopus, giving something to Cherub, and she could hear the whisper even through the noise of the waves.
"We have an NP type soul, so use the SU script." - Heruv nodded at the words of the octopus that she liked less and less.
"...I'll talk to Adam about it..." - Eve muttered to herself, looking expectantly at the octopus. - "Can you get me to the other shore? Even by boat?" - hopeful words were taken as a new shukta.
"Just walk across the bridge, my assistant will make sure you don't drown." - The creature told her softly. Herve, the little bugger, nodded vigorously, making nasty, high-pitched noises that only mistakenly could be mistaken for a cute squeak. - "We'll even raise and reduce the distance between the boards, just for you. - The creature's words reassured Eve, but only slightly."
Eve looked again at the waves that were hitting the bridge itself with force, which, following the creature's words, immediately rose half a meter out of the water, now not touching it, and the white boards immediately widened, leaving only a couple of centimeters between them.
Eve nodded gratefully, still staring at the empty bridge, from which everyone was fundamentally off, using the Nightmare Lake, doing something there. Maybe they were drowning themselves, maybe they had just decided to kill themselves, she didn't care. She just wanted to get across the bridge as quickly as possible.
"Please, señora." - The octopus creature laughed a little, pointing at the bridge with his hand. - "Be careful not to drown." - He waved his hand, though the soft voice of the creature did not reassure her, but rather alarmed her.
With a short nod, Eva sprinted away, hearing the flapping of the small Heruve's wings as it followed her.
Eve's breathing quickened, her heart threatened to jump out of her chest, and sweat dripped from her eyes. Her bare feet pounded desperately on the boards that didn't make a single squeak, carefully avoiding new waves as they were lit up by the rain that had somehow fucked up the clear day.
It started with a little rain that poured over a couple days. It never stopped, and the prayers of the priestesses found no answers. The hunters returned with less and less prey, and the children stopped going outside almost immediately. Each day, the downpour grew heavier, and the rivers overflowed their banks, drowning the fields and spoiling their crops. It seemed that the God was angry, causing the priestesses and shamans to bring lambs and gifts, but nothing helped.
Eve's eyes darted around, frantically searching for new breaking waves, which, as luck would have it, were hitting all too often while the other fools only laughed. They were having fucking fun in the storm.
She barely made it to the first quarter of the bridge because of those damned waves that she was skirting and waiting it out.
Her children appealed to her, but her prayers were not answered either. All her help had gone to waste. Nothing worked, and the rain kept not stopping, only getting heavier. It went on like this until they saw ...
Eve finally made it to the middle, where she froze, gingerly looking under her feet, for she had just nearly slipped. Her cloak was almost gone, now a dark blue cloth with only a couple of symbols on it.
She already wanted to step further, seeing the waves recede as the ground disappeared from beneath her feet.
Time slowed down. She could see the small drops of water falling from the sky, see the thicker water slowly approaching where she was supposed to be standing.
She turned around to see Heruvu, who was looking at her with a reassuring smile. He's the one...
She fell into the water, immediately starting to twitch her limbs in panic, not listening to the nonsense the little thing was screaming at her.
SHE JUST WANTED TO SAVE HERSELF!
Terror gripped her, she couldn't remember anything that would save her, save her children, any fucking way that could save everyone!
...When she was half a dozen meters deep, she gave up. She couldn't. She'd lost again and fucked up her Paradise. A scream came from above and the noise of her children stopped. She was slowly sinking into-.
Water. Water that seemed to fill even the sky. Terror that spared no one, not children, not women, not the elderly.
She tried to use everything Adam could teach her. Tried to build something, but they didn't have the time or energy.
Despair consumed them, consumed everyone's mind, including the loving mother whom God had forced to watch this nightmare.
A nightmare that consumed her as well.
They were all swallowed up by the water. The water that engulfed everyone, taking away their structures, their temples, their gifts to the Lord. Everything was destroyed and swallowed by a huge layer of water.
For days, she thrashed about on the sea floor. For days, she felt the rushing and panicked bites of the sea-dwellers that tried to escape. For days, she couldn't take a single breath, enduring horrible pain that wouldn't end.
Until, almost as it came, it was over, leaving her with....
"Are you okay?!" - a scream, almost at her ear, woke her up, causing Eve to immediately open her eyes.
Staring at her was a strange effeminate bipedal fish, with a large red fin instead of hair, no clothes, holding her by the arm, looking at her anxiously and worriedly.
Beside her flew that evil-faced squid, chirping something panickedly as a small crowd of creatures gathered not far from them.
Eve covered her eyes for a moment.
"Miss, are you alright, how are you feeling, did you spend..." - Eve pulled her hand from the fish's grip, immediately standing up without feeling any discomfort. - "Ma'am, with you...?!" - Eve simply brushed the fish away, almost running towards New Eden.
"Ma'am!" - The fish was echoed by Heruve's squeak and a couple other voices, but Eve wasn't listening to those degenerates anymore.
"Virgil, of course, warned that Heaven is full of infantile idiots who have long since forgotten fear, but to do this...", Eve thought gloomily, not feeling the cloak she liked so much.
"They fucked up his present too, the bastards."
Eva already just wanted to find that fucking park, find a tree there, in the pear tree itself, without a single soul and...
JUST BE ALONE!
...
"One more word and I'll throw you out the window, Emily." - Adam grumbled irritably, carrying three fucking large stacks that were almost as big as Lute, on which Emily sat, waving her legs happily.
The asshole had gotten all the postage for Sera from somewhere and from some fucking place, not caring at all that Adam only had a small portion of it, which he was obligated to bring, not drag fucking mountains of.
It was only somewhere behind that muffled thumping could be heard. Apparently someone was in a hurry.
"I would advise you to take the advice of the First, your Holiness." - Lut said in a neutral voice that had Adam's support.
"That's what sex does to a woman, okay petting... she's not acting like an evil bitch anymore," Adam thought, trying not to drop Emily, giving her a little leeway to enjoy the 'posedness'.
"But Adam..." - Emily stretched out, looking wistfully at the First.
They were approaching Sera's office, having dragged the fucking documents to the asshole of the world where the Supreme Seraphim herself, Lord Commander Michael, Lord Acolyte Camael, and Lord Apothecary Raphael were now sitting. Adam was getting sick of saying those titles, though it wasn't even the first one, stringing together those "names" that changed almost every millennium, after the "fashion" of the of humans.
The sounds were getting closer, and Adam was already getting ready for another fucking conversation with yet another retard that was clearly very important and definitely carrying a very urgent message... Like he didn't give a fuck.
"I'm not in the mood, Baby, seriously." - Adam growled, out of the blue, almost furious. It was as if something had irritated him, as if something had been forgotten.....
"What's in there?" - Emily jabbed a finger at him, tilting her head thoughtfully, sharply out of her joking mode.
Those thuds, as if someone was banging against the walls all the time, should have alerted Adam to the fact that he had been so shamefully distracted by emotion.
Adam and Lute stopped, turning slightly in the opposite direction from them, a couple corridors away from Sera's office. The sounds were only getting closer, very rapidly.
Adam had ideas, but it would be too .
"...Astrid?" - Lute muttered, looking anxiously at the Shield Sister who had literally fallen in with them, breathing heavily, trying to regain her breath as she got up from the floor.
"Shouldn't she be three cunts away from here, on the other side of the Golden City altogether, on those fucking Stardust Crusaders: Requiem?"
No, Adam certainly hadn't memorized and studied his girls' favorite subject to please those, no. He sure as hell didn't like that stuff about pumped up men who were always getting into weird poses and playing childish battles.
Adam shook his head with a flap of his wing, giving Astrid a second breath, and she nodded gratefully, swallowing her saliva as she regained her breath more easily.
"Sir, she...!" - was all the Shield Sister could squeeze out as she flew halfway across the Golden City in half an hour, three times the speed limit for Valkyries.
But Adam understood.
He threw the paper sharply at Lute, dropping Emily, who fell beside him with an indignant shriek, crushing his lieutenant, shouting something angrily to him, helping Lute out.
Adam didn't give a shit.
He could feel it.
Virgil, that fucking asshole, was right.
The very connection, the thing he'd long forgotten, the thing that had long since faded into oblivion, together... He could feel it. He could feel her again...
She's here.
Adam's body ignited slightly, the floor beneath him melted, and Adam himself, punching through the wall, flew at high speed in the direction he wanted to go, paying no attention to Emily's screams or anything else.
He could feel her again, and now no creature, not even Lucifer himself, could take her from him.