The Voodoo Doll

Chapter LXI: The real beginning

The more this story unfolded, the more Noah hated the angels. He had decided, the moment he saw Hitori shed her first tear because of them, that he will destroy every single feather of their cowardly backs.

Perhaps the war was a great opportunity, so why avoid it?

By the time his girl calmed down, they were away from the two corpses, huddled in a corner of the cave, Hitori resting her head on his chest, sound asleep, exhausted from all the emotional stress. He couldn't help but think she was stronger when he was just a nobody to her. She was stronger only because she kept showing a brave front to the world that abandoned her. Her only way of revenge. Now that she found someone who will never do what they did, she could finally lean on him and not worry about her safety anymore, as long as Noah was around.

Or at least, he hoped it was the case.

The boy's eyes glimmered in the dark with a stormy gray color, reflecting the hurricane of his thoughts. What had just happened? Was this real? Why did Typhon show them this? Did Adam and Eve really die before they could give birth to humanity, or was this another illusion of the demon-slash-Oracle, trying to mess with their heads once again?

If Typhon was telling the truth, why was he helping them?

They still haven't discussed their proper plan. Noah knew that all what Hitori wanted was to go back to her normal high school life, forget about oracles and angels and demons and their mischief. He was the same. Unfortunately, there was no going back. Their lives were doomed to the great fate of the Unknown. They weren't meant to be normal. They were meant to be abandoned children who were used as mere sources of power and corruption.

Remembering this made Noah grit his teeth with anger. If the Oracles were too powerful to twist the mere existence of reality, why would they need two teenagers to do their dirty work for them?

Nonsense.

For now, they shall see whatever truths Typhon wants to show them. Only then will they make up a plan for a counter attack.

This wasn't the time to rush. Observe, think, then make a reasonable decision.

Before his eyes, the corpses remained still, the only noise he heard was a faint sound of sea waves. It must be the red sea we found ourselves in, the last time we were here. The smell of ash burned his nostrils as if he was inside a great fire.

This whole cave reeked of Death. It didn't look like anything was budging before them. Perhaps they should get moving?

Just as the boy was about to wake Hitori up, what he feared most happened before his own eyes.

Noah froze. His lips quivered, his eyes blinked way more than he intended to, not believing the sight he was witnessing. It seemed like the sea sounds stopped too, the only noise he could hear was the loud beating of his heart.

Slowly, slowly, the two corpses began to move.

First was the woman, Eve.

She did not turn ash-gray or grass-green, she did not have her eyes bulging out of her skull, her tongue lashed out resting on her lower lip, her teeth turning into fangs, hungry for human flesh. She, indeed, did not turn into a zombie.

She got up, having the audacity to wipe her face out of dust, shake her shoulders as if she was waking up from a good morning sleep.

Her irises. Only her irises changed.

That's when the realization hit Noah like a slap in the face.

White. They were white. White like angel feathers, white like angel skin, white like angel irises.

"Bummer" , was the first thing she said. "That bastard got me good"

Her clothes shifted to a dress made of light, light that drew every single spec of darkness out of the cave. Now Noah could glimpse every rock, every small night lizard , hidden behind the stalactites above. He could hear the screeching of bats but could not see them. The boy knew, from an old animal instinct encrypted deep within him, that they were annoyed by this new source of light, corrupting their only hideout.

The dress reached the ground until he could no longer see Eve's bare feet. As expected, her wings grew behind her back. They weren't opal, not even tainted silver. It was rainbow-colored. Every feather was an art on its own.

If Noah wasn't creeped out, he would think this was a beautiful scene, like a butterfly emerging out of a long sleep inside a leech.

However, this was everything but a butterfly. Eve was the very first-born human, and the very first Oracle.

As if on cue, Adam showed the same signs of angel reincarnation. He grew wings, his eyes bathed in light, and his clothes turned the color of snow.

"I sure didn't expect this" , he said, half-frowning half-glaring at Eve.

She didn't even turn to face him. She only sat on the floor, cross-legged, then kept fidgeting with her feathers, discovering this new organ she was granted.

"Never thought it would happen, did you?" , she repeated as if she hadn't heard him.

He chuckled. Amusement was non-existent on his face.

"We were told not to trust each other, but our instincts wanted the opposite. In the end, our greed won over all."

"Human greed" , Eve sang in a light-hearted voice.

"Humans were greedy. That's why they ended the moment they began."

"Then they were reborn as gods"

"To fix what is fixable. To rewrite reality. To create better humans. Perfect humans, devoid of sin."

Adam and Eve were finishing each other's sentences. They were perfectly in sync as though deep inside them, they knew this was meant to happen, as though the knowledge of the worlds inhabited them as newborn gods.

"Well then" , Eve finally got up. She turned around to properly gaze at Adam. Her fists rested on her hips, her right foot tapped frantically on the floor in an impatient gesture. "Shall we get started? We have nations to build"

Adam nodded. "Let's create better humans. Hopefully this time, they won't kill each other."