godsent

[azriel-delacroix]

"I went from thinking I was a normal kid, to thinking I was a witch, to now an... archangel?" It sounded ridiculous, even to him. Like his story kept evolving and whoever wrote his life couldn't decide where he was supposed to end up. It was hilarious that he was now supposed to be a part of the army of God when he'd long ago stopped believing. Azriel's brows furrowed the more that the woman spoke, knowing that there was no true reason for her to lie to him– not with something of this gravity. He ran a hand through his hair; it was all giving him a headache, but a part of him couldn't exactly deny that he was curious. "I wouldn't say that this was necessarily better," he said, gesturing to his bionic arm before crossing them, falling into the usual habit of hiding his metal arm from view. "So, say I believe you. That I was born into the Delacroix family to fulfill some goal and end up with my siblings. What changed? If I wasn't supposed to encounter this... divine purpose until years later– it means whatever that purpose is, it's happening now. Am I right?"

[angelicxcyriel]

"It's a little mind-boggling from your standpoint, I admit." No matter what she or Zachariel told themselves, there was never going to be a good time where they revealed the truth. Watching another version of pure evil incarnate gave the parents little choice remaining the spectators of their son's life. Cyriel remembered awaiting anxiously for the day she would travel to the mortal ground despite the dire circumstances and see Azriel with her own eyes, but never under this condition and never this soon. "Witnessing what they did to you and knowing I could do nothing, my darling, stung every breath I took." Cyri's gaze ran along the boy's metal arm, the barely there whirring silent for those with not as in-tune hearing. She pressed her lips together when Azriel crossed his arms, not guessing but knowing he did so to hide the arm out of shame. "You asked what changed. Henrik." The thought of him slightly screwed her expression in disgust. Had the vampire not been dead by the battle's end, she would have done it centuries earlier. "You have encountered the God of Time before, then I'm sure you've come across his adopted daughter Violet. Before Bellora's war ended on the battlefield, she and Henrik collided in an unsavory way true to his nature. His arrival wasn't meant to happen years down the road, but since he was early, that encounter will and has produced a child capable of disrupting the realms. You know him as the Anti-Christ." The woman exhaled a small sigh, pausing, "Your destiny ordained by God himself as his victor was eradicating the child before he caused mass destruction. By any means necessary."

[azriel-delacroix]

Az listened to the woman in utter disbelief, thinking maybe he was still stuck in his head, but no... it was all said in real time since he had truly never met her before. Yet all of this was... laughable. Him? An angel? He'd lived his life remembering his parents telling him that he was nothing but a demon. His parents-not-parents. "You have to understand that this seems really surreal, right?" the witch replied steadily, even if he felt anything but. "If I'm an angel, where are my wings, or why couldn't I fight the alternative version of me easily? None of this is adding up."

[angelicxcyriel]

Cyriel took the pause really look at at her son, noticing similarities she otherwise would not have garnered from her place in Heaven. The furrow of his eyebrows as he worked through the truth reminded her of Zach when he pondered a great length. His dark locks exactly like her husband's, but his striking blue eyes she shared stared back at her. "Of course, dear heart. You think yourself a dream witch one moment and the next, you're an angel. An archangel, if you want specifics." Cyri nodded once, clasping her hands together in front of her. "You haven't reached the full potential of your abilities, Azriel. There is a process, daunting and strenuous, to unlock your wings. What you can do right now is only a fraction of what you're capable of. Your father and I, well, we wanted better for you. That is why we let you be born into the Delacroix family. We've seen your time with them, but it led you to your siblings." The archangel glanced down and settled her gaze on her boy, "You are god-touched, Azriel. Chosen for a purpose you weren't supposed to encounter until years later."

[isabel-bishop]

That thought has already crossed his mind, but I don't necessarily agree with his thoughts about how he's going to save her. I definitely won't be the last one. People always think of angels as… smiles and wings, but once you tell Azriel, what does that mean for him? I don't know anything about where he came from before the coven, just enough to know that someone hurt him. Then the Foxwoods were Foxwoods, and Emilia just stabbed him in the back. The point is, I don't want him to go through another set of people getting close to him and then leaving him high and dry.

[angelicxcyriel]

While I understand where he is coming from and the why, the final decision who the goddess energy ends up with remains with the archangels. A common misconception for angels, certainly, but we are undoubtedly warriors carrying out the Almighty Father's plans for the realms. Isabel, your protection over my son and in extension, his siblings, warms every inch of my being. It's true that Azriel holds a place in the plan already unfolding, but please do not think we will drop his destiny in his lap and leave. We've watched him from afar, my husband and I both yearning to have our boy at our side again. To be a family. We are not the Delacroixs, we're not the Foxwoods, and don't mistake us for Emilia. If and when we leave at any point, he has the choice coming with us.

[gianna-foxwood]

No, no– I understand. I thought you were going to hurt him after what we witnessed happen to Henrik and Bellora, but you helped him instead. Did what no one else was managing to do. You're his mother, which means he's an... angel. I'm sure there's a reason why he grew up, but thank you. For giving me the opportunity to grow up with him and letting him be my brother. He really was an angel to Kai and me.

[angelicxcyriel]

I would see how our previous executions would come across giving you the wrong idea, little one. He is an archangel, yes, a guiding light for the two siblings I could not have chosen to remain loyally at my son's side than you and Kai. It's me who should be thanking you, Gianna, you've given him love and compassion when he has needed it the most in his life. I believe you three were brought as one unit for a reason, the Almighty's design. The voice of reason, the glue holding his siblings together. You are his family, his everything.

[gianna-foxwood]

There's always something around the corner. I can sense it better now– I thought I felt something when I first saw you and your husband, but I couldn't exactly pick it out with everything going on. You have an affection for my brother that a stranger would not. You know him personally.

[angelicxcyriel]

I really am sorry if it appeared you were shoved aside, Gianna, your protective love for your brother brings me a warm glow I cannot help let spread gleefully. In a way, I do know him personally. It may seem difficult to understand and believe me, I will answer all inquiries, but I'm his mother. And that man I came with, my husband, is his father.

[isabel-bishop]

Let's say I've upset them as much as they've upset me. His hypocrisy could soon be all for nothing, seeing as Jade's time is running out. Excuse my French, but the fuck? You're saying that Azriel– the one who I can count on my fingers and toes how many words he's said since he's joined the coven- is an angel. Somehow, it makes so much sense. He's not going to like it, that man does not like change.

[angelicxcyriel]

They tend to fall in a bad habit of that, dear one. Cronus surely intends on stating a case if it saves Jade's life should his intelligence prove more vast than how it has been quite recently. Well...I did expect such a reaction, Isabel, you won't be the last expressing such. Azriel's inability bending toward the changing new doesn't fly past my notice, healer, I know he will not take it well once I tell him.

[eternal-mikail]

No, it does not bring me comfort, but I'm glad that he's rotting in a hole in hell without his tongue. He won't be able to run his mouth anymore.

[angelicxcyriel]

A shame you were otherwise preoccupied to bask in the glory of his death. However, it is not the oxygen-wasting Henrik I come to speak about. You have a close bond with the Jameson girl, yes? Misfortune follows her and your connection has furthered that in a way you do not understand the gravity of.

[azriel-delacroix]

I guess you know my dad better than I do since I haven't seen him in years.

Beyond confusing. I don't even know you– what could we possibly have to talk about?

[angelicxcyriel]

If only you knew the irony of such a statement, my dearest boy.

You don't know me, no, yet I have watched the course your life has taken. The Delacroix's, the Foxwood's, your siblings, even the glimpse of your relationship with Lust. Your power travels beyond a mere dream witch, Azriel, because you are not quite a witch. You're an angel like your parents. You are my child, my son. Mine and Zachariel's.

[eternal-mikail]

You'll have to excuse my general lack of conversational skills on account of being tortured for I don't know how long.

[angelicxcyriel]

This does not bring you comfort or justify such, but your time with him is as always what's been designed. Don't worry, I took your father's tongue before stealing his head.

[protector-zachariel]

"It does make me wonder whether our father decided to send us down not just because of Azriel, but because he needed a break from us." He hummed in agreement with his wife's words, "you are by far my favorite being to worship, so I couldn't guarantee that I wouldn't throw the bet just to be able to be on my knees at your feet." His fingers trailed the hem of his shirt, slowly enough that he could make her think that he would disobey just to see her rip the fragile fabric– but they both knew that he would do anything she asked. He pulled the shirt up and over his head, then threw it aside. "No shirts need to be harmed on the quest of our mutual satisfaction, my love."

[angelicxcyriel]

"You offer an excellent point I would not be the least surprised was the case. We are annoyingly affectionate for the other." Their obsession rang boundless, overly stimulating when the situation called for its appeasement. It's a wonder anyone could stand them as a couple. "You know neither of us play fair and follows the rules at times, dearest, I grant you one look and you bow to the ground worshipping where I step." Cyri placed her hands on her hips and waited impatiently as her husband tempted and teased the reveal of his greatest asset, seconds from destroying his shirt before he finally removed the clothing. "What is to stop me from devouring you, darling? Certainly not a silly shirt." The woman trailed her fingers down the front of her blouse, widening the lapel to offer her husband a peek of her cleavage. A seductress working her magic. "Tell me, Zachariel," She hummed, her free hand brushing along the peak and valley of the male's bare muscles, "What is thy desire? How do you wish to have me tonight? On my knees? On my back?" The hand trailing his abdomen snaked between the band of his pants until she gripped his member, pumping gently, "It does not matter as long as you are inside me. Worshipping, tasting, while I make you scream."

[azriel-delacroix]

Castle Envy, great. I can't just be tortured to death by something else.

[angelicxcyriel]

Then allow my company as a distraction. It's heartwarming...you look so much like your father.

My apologies, Azriel, this must sound confusing to you. If you are feeling well enough, we should talk.

[varya-kuznetzova]

Then, as one mother to another, I would like to provide my protection to your son in the event that you are unable to. It's not every day that I witness angels descending from the heavens, so I would rather your mind be at ease.

[angelicxcyriel]

What mother would I be turning down the help of a woman who trusts me in her own son's protection? It's a generous offer I can't refuse you, Varya, my dear. Archangel...to be exact. Cosmic beings sweeping up what the gods started.

[isabel-bishop]

Others might see it that way, but it was necessary in my eyes. You have to be over-the-top to make sure those you care for are safe. I've done it myself multiple times, as you no doubt know. The question that's rattling around my mind is, why would someone as powerful as you want to thank me for doing what any rational and normal person should have done for Azriel?

[angelicxcyriel]

A woman willing to upset my dear brothers would find it necessary. Even Cronus shares a bite of hypocrisy doing what it took rewriting the Hawke girl's fate multiple times. Ah...I knew that question should arise. You see, Isabel, Azriel holds a very special place in my and my husband's heart. While I did not birth him myself, his essence and genetics are still mine. Az is my son.

[valentin-kuznetsov]

I'm sure there's some lesson to learn about almost dying in an incredibly painful way at the hands of a psychopath, but I don't really want to think about that at the moment.

[angelicxcyriel]

How easily life flashes before one's eyes being another notch on the vampire's kill list, yes, but you've survived another day. I know you and your Robin will be much happier, Valentin.

[gianna-foxwood]

All we can do is savor the calm before the inevitable next storm.

[angelicxcyriel]

While our appearance helped seal Bellora's and the other Azriel's fate, it's not the only storm we must weather.

[protector-zachariel]

Together. Their names were synonymous with the word, even their almighty Father knowing better than to separate them, sending them on their divine missions together when the need arose. Zachariel couldn't remember a time when it was anything but the two of them, and he couldn't wish for anything better. His heart beat for his wife. His lungs were created to breathe in the very air she breathed. His body was a finely tuned instrument in her hands and only hers, already warming at the prospect of the moment they would leave the battle in the rearview and he would finally get his hands on her; worship her in the way only he knew how to. The only thing that would make this moment better would be the presence of their son in their life, alive and whole. It was the only thought that overrode the sheer need to leave this absolute disaster to his siblings to clean up as any responsible god should when they created such a mess, and bury his head between his wife's thighs immediately. Yet they moved as one, as they were made to do, and focused on one enemy at a time.

The angel tsked at Henrik, feeling as though he was chastising a child instead of an ancient rapist fuck. "I suppose since you already have me, then banishing this vermin to the deepest pits of hell, where his cock will be melted off and re-grown for every woman he raped for the rest of eternity, is the next best thing, my love," Zach said with his gaze locked on the vampire who could no longer speak past his own ichor filling his mouth; the angel's lips stretching into a maniacal grin, his hand wrapping tighter just above the slippery nub of Henrik's arm, pulling with equal strength of his wife's– turning the vampire who terrorized others for centuries into a pinata bursting at the seams where the reward was all of the organs normally kept safe inside the cavity of the body spilling to the ground like a sacrificial ritual of old. Zachariel felt the sudden snap of Henrik's arm practically pop from the shoulder socket, the angel discarding it as nothing but trash. "Darling, you won our litter wager," he said hotly, leaning into his wife's kiss; his hands carding through her hair, nipping her lip lightly as she pulled away. "I can't wait to reward you greatly later," he murmured into her lips before his gaze followed hers towards their sister, his irritation spiking once again. If it wasn't for Bellora running errant, playing a game she had no part in playing, their son wouldn't have been pulled into the mess as nothing but a pawn when he was a king walking amongst mortals. Zachariel held his hand to the side, his glaive flying into his grip. "I tire of her, darling, and I don't wish for our baby sister to escape into whatever rock she climbed out of," the angel all but snarled, holding his wife's hand in his.

Bellora felt the change in the atmosphere even before the heavens opened and spat her older siblings onto the battlefield. While she'd been powerful enough to keep off the witches that turned against her, the sad excuses for demon royalties, and the other gods, even she knew that she was powerless against the married archangels the moment they decided to focus on anything else other than fucking each other. "Shit," she cursed under her breath, the goddess's eyes darting around the space the moment that Henrik fell– feeling the gaze of the angels lock onto hers. It was an immediate loss despite the power she felt thrumming in her veins from the chaos– she didn't need Henrik in the grand scheme of things; he and his family were nothing but fodder. Nothing but a rung in the ladder to her conquest of the god's realm. She turned and ran– a desperation clawing at her in a way that it's never had before. She wasn't a runner– she was a goddamn goddess. Just as the red mist of her powers built in her fingers to whisk her way into her cloaked refuge, a blast sent her flying into the tree line just before a blinding pain in her abdomen caused her to scream, pinning her to the tree behind her. Her hands fell to the long hilt of her brother's weapon, desperate to pull it from her body, yet it wouldn't budge. "So desperate to escape that you forget that no one can move our weapons except for us," Zachariel's voice startled her as he appeared in front of her. "Remove it this instant, Zachariel," Bellora demanded, only causing the archangel's head to tilt before he smiled, though no warmth met his eyes. "Sure," Zach drawled, his hand fisting in Bellora's long locks and yanking her over his glaive instead of removing it physically. Her screams met his ears, but it didn't stop him from slamming her to the ground the moment she was freed. "You just had to clamor for more power than you were worthy of," he hissed as he stomped savagely onto her spine, using his leverage on her her hair to bow her upwards to the point of either snapping her spine or ripping her hair from her skull– a few patches of red locks already ripping free from her skull with pieces of her scalp. "You messed up the moment you aided the discourse amongst the timelines, and involved people in your schemes that had no part to play in it. Now? Now you'll be punished, and the heavens, our father, have deemed you to die."

"Wait, wait– brother, please," Bellora begged, but the words died in her throat the moment his hand clamped around her trachea– the force cracking her larynx past the point of healing, tiring of her grating voice. How Cronus could ever debase himself to sleep with such a grating thing was beyond him, but Cronus wasn't exactly smart when his cock was involved. Zach hoisted the goddess upward, his free hand grabbing onto his wife's once more– channeling every bit of their energy into the goddess. Heaven's fire igniting from the inside out– blood boiling, organs popping, veins bursting until her skin began to melt into an explosion of fire in his hands. Within moments, where Bellora just occupied in his hands, was nothing but ash; only taking a moment to gather the essence that was the Goddess of Chaos into a red, pearl-like gem. A kernel of power was needed to create a new goddess to take her spot in the pantheon of the gods. The archangel pocketed the pearl, his gaze landing on Cronus with a clear message– he will need to talk to him if he wishes to have any input on who the next goddess would be. Zach turned to his wife, his face melting in adoration once more, bringing her hand to his, pressing his lips to her knuckles. "Let us go to our son now, my love. He still needs rescuing."

Gianna could only watch in utter fascination and horror as the two figures of biblical proportions laid waste to the enemies that were carving the forces of her side so easily, as if it were nothing. Mere minutes, and they've already taken out the two largest figureheads, everyone else from the Henrik and Bellora's side scattering, but she saw the moment their gazes moved to Azriel, where Marina, Kai, and the others were currently grappling and trying to subdue him, and the thought that ran through her head was instantaneous. What if he were next? Time seemed to slow down in her eyes, her head whipping to where Cronus was, but he wasn't budging when he'd promised that he would help, to where she saw Death standing by and watching, before turning to the others who were too focused on controlling the psychotic version of their brother to really understand what was going on. She was hyperventilating then, her limbs moving faster than her brain– propelling her towards where her brothers were, somehow evading any hands that tried to rip her back to where she was on the sidelines, right into the path that the angels were walking. The First Mother almost tumbled to a stop in front of the archangels, her legs Jell-O as every extremity trembled with fear, adrenaline tightly wrapped around her. "No," Gianna screamed, throwing her arms wide in front of her family, facing the almost blindingly beautiful creatures, voice even despite her shaking body. "He's not himself– Azriel is possessed, please. Please don't hurt him, he doesn't deserve to die," the witch begged, ignoring the tears that tracked down her cheeks. Zachariel stared at Gianna for a moment, his lips forming a soft smile as he moved his free hand to the crown of her head, patting it gently. "Worry not, brave one," the angel responded, wiping a tear from her cheek before pointing in the direction she'd come from, urging her to move. "We're only here to help."

[angelicxcyriel]

The clear confirmation she won the wager nearly caused Cyriel to forgo finishing what the pair started killing any villain who staggered along into their path and have her way with her husband, teasing and teasing until they both reached the apex of something as cosmic as their kind. They would have without hesitating, leave their siblings defenseless against a war they kickstarted. While Bellora's mayhem caught her and Zachariel's attention even from the height of heaven, she'd have left Cronus to pick up the pieces seeing as he seemed so fond of her in the past. Neither archangel really understood why or how the time god and the chaos goddess ever collided when they were both alarmingly different. She gathered the similarities between Bellora and Jadis, however, knowing what drew her brother to his little goddess are familiar traits shared by Jade was not lost on the woman. A discussion they will have in the near future. No, her concerns were and always would continue being her darling son she and Zach once breathed life into. Azriel is the reason they were there, he is the reason they pleaded their case to their father just to save the boy from an alternate version of himself. "She wasted oxygen long enough, my love, we shall remedy that and then save Azriel."

With her hand in his, the married couple proceeded in the direction Bellora ran, finding humor that her little sister actually believed she could make a made dash toward her freedom, and had Zachariel not thrown his glaive just to pin the goddess to a tree as if she were merely a scrap of paper, she would have lobbed off the miscreant's legs so so no longer could hide away as she was prone to doing. "Listen to that, Zachariel, our baby sister making demands of us as if we would magically lay down our weapons and listen. We are not your common underlings following your every demand, Bellora, did you not just seen what became of those you deemed your pawns?" Murdered, sacrificed, thrown to the side as if their lives were a piece in Bellora's game, not that the goddess cared about anyone but herself. She enacted revenge against Corson who only fell in love with a woman who wasn't Bellora herself, practically dragged Cronus down with her had he unsuccessfully pulled his head out of his rear-end to see the danger she posed. Cyriel accepted the role as spectator while she allowed Zach take the lead brutalizing their sister, each scream and trace of blood sparking the fierce adoration for her husband faster than the mere action of ripping his shirt off would. The pleading was delicious and as Zachariel took her hand yet again, the woman gripped it tight and funneled her magic into Bellora, the power pulsating until the Goddess of Mischief and Mayhem was no more. A pile of ash, dust to dust, her gaze falling upon the gem-like pearl containing the goddess' light. Her gaze too fell towards Cronus, not needing to read his expression from this distance to understand what shall become of that conversation. The archangel's fondness found Zach, a purr falling from her lips. "Yet, let us save our boy."

Cyriel's attention zeroed toward the cluster of bodies a small distance away that she knew was the family Azriel created surrounding the mentally insane version of their son, the vision growing closer as the pair walked towards them all with purpose. Marina, Cael, and Kai circled this stranger of a witch, subduing him the best that they could and nearly successfully defeating him. However, she caught a glimpse of movement from Gianna, the First Mother practically stumbling to plant herself between her brother and the archangels. How tragic should think they were there to kill him, understandable at least given the Foxwood's track record with the gods. "Oh, my child," Cyri displayed a look of sympathy, glancing between Gianna and her Prince who stepped closer with surely the intent to drag his Queen away if Zach didn't urge her to do so, "Hurting Azriel is the last thing we want, I promise you." Cyriel guided her and her husband toward the subdued male, taking a brief moment flickering her eyes along his features, and raised a hand to gently shoo away Kai and the girl her son seemed extremely fond of. "You do not belong in this timeline. Be gone, creature." Just as Zachariel did with Bellora, the woman clasped her husband's hand while her free one pressed against the side of Azriel's head, funneling their magic through the boy. Mending the invisible locks as they went, reversing most of the damage, but unable to fix nearly everything. "Be gone." She roared, sending one final burst of energy in order to push the alternate Azriel from her son's head. Banishing him straight into the timeline from whence he came. There was a massive click and the problem was eradicated. "There you are, my darling." Cyri opened her eyes and whispered. Her boy, her child, was free.

[protector-zachariel]

Forgotten an opportunity to sequester you all to myself and worship you like the goddess that you are after witnessing your magnificence in battle? Never, but that makes it sound like you want to make another bet when I could simply... remove my shirt now.

[angelicxcyriel]

Well, darling, you know there is no need waiting for a battle to come our way so you can witness my magnificence and sequester me when you can do that with a hint of begging. We could concoct a bet so I'll enjoy watching my dear husband drop to his knees, but you do that anyway for me. Remove it, or I will remove it for you and leave it in shreds.