Unknown [Chapter IX]

[Miracle]

Miracle was starting to come to, her eyes opening up to see the familiar bright blue sky and an arm quickly shot up to shield her eyes from the blinding rays of the sun.

Blinding rays of the sun....

The sun!?

Miracle quickly got up to her feet and realized that there was only one sun in the sky and that was not the only thing that raised her alarms. Before her eyes was the holy temple of Yahweh, as it once stood proudly, overshadowing the rest of Aircano. The recently forsaken city rebuilt under the name Crystal City. It was back as if it was never destroyed. As if the events to happen nearly a year ago never happened at all. But how?

How?

[Ayen]

“I thought you'd like a familiar setting.”

Maricul stood behind the High Priestess, appearing as she did during their first encounter in this spot. Dressed in her old attire of a sleeveless black shirt that buttoned in the front, matching black pants and boots with a white trench coat over it instead of the usual blue. Taking a couple of steps forward, The Seductress stopped on the right side of Miracle, now looking up at the Holy Temple that her father ran six centuries ago.

“It was my home too, you know. Despite it leaving a bad taste in my mouth. It was always home to me and it will always be home to us. The Arashi can't take that away.”

[Miracle]

Miracle was silent for a moment, sorrow seen on her face from the memory of the lost of her home but then a smile to all the good times she had in this place. Both expressions were soon replaced with a hardened one as the young High Priestess turned around and walked away from Maricul, creating a reasonable amount of distance between the two in case the Seductress tried anything. Like molesting her again.

"No more games!"

Miracle glared at Maricul.

"I only answer to God so don't even bother trying to lead me astray. If God sees it just to wipe you and all outsiders off the face of Genesis then so be it."

[Ayen]

Maricul turned around to face Miracle where she now stood, disheartened by the words that came out of her lips.

“Do you hear yourself at all? Do you not realize the madness you are uttering?”

Was Miracle really a lost cause? Maricul shudder to think about such a thing. If there was no other choice available then The Seductress would have no issue with killing the High Priestess but that was an option that Maricul didn't want to go through with. It was an option she hoped she would never have to consider.

“Miracle, I know you. And I know that deep down inside your heart you know this is wrong! Are you so reliant on Him that you're incapable of thinking for yourself? Is that it?”

[Miracle]

"Thou shalt not suffer a witch to live."

Came Miracle's reply, but it was not her words she spoke. It was the ever-lasting words that she has memorized in both her mind and heart which were uttered from her lips towards the avatar of her temptation.

"Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them: I am the Lord your God. If a person turns to mediums and necromancers, whoring after them, I will set my face against that person and will cut him off from among his people."

Miracle held onto the handle of her sword and readied herself. If she had to fight through Maricul to get out of here then so be it.

"And I will cut off sorceries from your hand, and you shall have no more tellers of fortunes."

[Ayen]

Maricul simply stared at Miracle, after a moment of silence The Seductress' lips parted to speak one single word.

“Why?”

It was a word often associated with scripture. Especially where the old laws were concerned and furthermore it was a question that many followers could not answer, some claiming to have the answer and others refusing to give an answer and continue to follow The Word blindly. Maricul did wonder which Miracle was. They never had enough time together to get into the topic of religion before.

“Why does thou not suffer a witch to live? Why does seeking out a medium make one unclean? Are they not God's children? Does he not love them?”

[Miracle]

Miracle didn't answer. She wouldn't. She knew all too well what Maricul was trying to do, drag her into a religious debate and then use God's own word to put doubt in her mind. Much like Satan attempted to do with Jesus. Miracle wouldn't allow the vampire to play Satan any longer.

"No more games... The others may have forgotten what you are but I haven't. You're my enemy, a danger to this world and an abomination against God!"

The High Priestess drew her sword and despite the fact her connection to Yahweh was broken this world, despite the fact she was more or less just an average 13 year old girl in this world, she charged forward and raised the short blade swinging it down swiftly in a diagonal angle from right to leg to cut the Seductress down where she stood.

[Ayen]

With a single thought Miracle was bounced back by an invisible force leaving neither one of them harm in any way. It proved to be a painful reminder that as long as the High Priestess was here she was at the whim of Maricul's will and no God could save her. There were many things Maricul could have done in a single instance but none of them were things The Seductress could bring herself to do which led her to one idea in particular that could hopefully help Miracle see the errors of her ways.

“Very well. If I cannot convince you with words then perhaps the world I'm about to show you will.”

Maricul snapped her fingers and Miracle was quickly swallowed up by a bright light. The world around the child faded quickly and she would be able to faint voices in the distance that grew louder and louder until Miracle's body was no longer in the presence of The Seductress.

“Let us pray that this works.”