The Girls of Virtue

[04-2] Real or Fake, a Vision into a Distorted World

Beginning hesitantly follows Judgement back to the front of the church. The fire moves with the two of them, slithering along the floor behind Judgement, lapping at her ankles. Even while standing, Judgement carries herself with a distinct sort of pride, shoulders held tall and posture all but impeccable. She's downright regal, Beginning thinks.

By the time they reach the cemetery, the others have gathered. All of them stand almost paralyzed, just beyond what remains of the broken gate. For once, no one is shouting. Every eye is fixed on Judgement, something close to terror etched in every one of their faces. Beginning would have never imagined seeing any of them look so scared, but with Judgement standing right there, she suddenly understands every ounce of fear.

"Jealousy," Judgement begins, moving straight into the middle of their little group, "everyone is here, correct? No one has strayed behind?"

Jealousy stiffens, stuttering out her reply. Judgement smiles as she stumbles over her words, slowly eyeing the others. Even Hysteria has gone notably quiet, chewing on all three of her lips. Cowardly, far in the back, Beginning notices, is shaking so badly she can barely stand.

"Are we, um-- Are we going to check on the thing again now?" Cruelty asks, forcing a terror-stricken smile, blood-drenched chin trembling.

"Indeed." Judgement's smile stretches wider, showing far too many teeth. "Aren't you all excited? We're getting so close, my dear girls. We even have sweet Beginning with us today, such a pleasant new face. Now..."

Judgment flicks her right hand forwards, gesturing theatrically towards what might be the most intimidating headstone; a massive angel carved out of dark, worn stone. Her wings are the only part that hasn't been somehow damaged, stretching out a good five feet in either direction. Almost instantly, a spark of red flame flickers into being, centered on the angel's forehead.

Slowly, with so much tension in the air Beginning can all but feel it, the spark begins to grow. It expands outwards, carving a blazing circle into the fog until it's formed a wide ring hovering in the midpoint between the angel's wings. The inside of the ring, for an instant, is a smothering black.

But then, the view begins to clear.

The black ripples and parts. Beginning's breath catches in her throat. Little by little, a night sky-- rich, glittering blue-- comes into focus. Judgement swings her hand down, and the view shifts, angling towards a tapestry of brilliant light below. It's a city, she realizes, a real, living city without a dash of fog in sight. On some instinct, Beginning knows what belongs there. People. Real people, not like those within the fog.

And then, the view zooms in. Just as Beginning thought, there are thousands of humans amongst the light. Colorful, breathtaking, brown and peach humans whose jewel-tone world barely seems real.

"You see, Beginning. These are our enemies." Judgement croons, and Beginning's blood runs ice cold.

"Those are humans, as I'm sure you've been told. And their world is so much different than ours. It's chaos, simply chaos." Judgement shakes her head with sympathy, expression pitying. "They fight amongst themselves. They live crowded together like insects. They're arrogant. All they believe is that they're the ones who own this world. But you see, that's just not true. We live forever. We don't need to eat or sleep. We're perfect beings, my dear, and the humans are simply taking up space in our world."

Then, Judgement's voice runs very cold. "My point, Beginning, is that these humans simply don't deserve to live. We're worth so much more, you see, and... if we only did a little bit of population control, they'd learn so quickly. Wouldn't it be nice to put them in their place?"