Chapter 157: When Angels Fall

Grace dove through the clouds with Venus, Mara, and Petriel right behind her. The rainforest below had trees growing sideways. Flowers sprouted from thin air. Vines connected to nothing.

[What the heck is going on down there?]

“Watch the landing!” Venus called out. “This territory doesn’t exactly look stable.”

Grace’s feet hit solid ground. Then the piece of ground she’d landed on sprouted legs and ran away.

“What the—”

She stumbled forward and caught herself on a tree. The tree’s bark turned into feathers. Grace yanked her hand back.

“Oh I hate this already.” She brushed feathers off her palm.

Petriel landed beside her and immediately stepped on a mushroom. The mushroom grew ten feet tall in two seconds, launching her into the air.

“EEEEEP!”

Mara flew up and caught her before she could crash into a tree that had eyeballs for leaves.

“Everyone stay close.” Mara set Petriel down gently.

Venus pointed ahead where a path led deeper into the forest.

“According to the reports, there’s a village about a mile in.”

They started walking. Grace kept her hand on her rapier’s hilt. Every few steps, something new sprouted around them. A bush grew legs and walked away. A flower turned into a butterfly mid-bloom. A rock sprouted fur.

[This feels like the Root’s place, but worse.]

Grace remembered the Root’s forest. Everything there had been corrupted but still followed some kind of pattern. Plants were still plants, just twisted. Here? A tree trunk had fish scales. A vine grew backwards into the ground. Nothing made sense.

“What did Eternia dump into this one?” Grace asked.

“Seems to me like… creativity without restraint.” Venus ducked under a branch that suddenly grew spikes. “Pure, unfiltered creation impulse.”

A rabbit hopped past them. It had three heads and butterfly wings.

“That’s actually kind of cute—” Petriel started.

The rabbit opened its mouths and screamed like a human baby.

“Never mind!”

They picked up the pace. After twenty minutes of dodging random transformations, they finally saw smoke rising above the canopy.

“Thank Eternia.” Grace wiped sweat from her forehead. “Normal civilization.”

They emerged into a clearing where a small village sat surrounded by a wooden fence. The fence had flowers growing from it, but at least it stayed in one place.

“Halt!” A guard at the gate pointed a spear at them. “State your…!” He saw their wings and trailed off. Mara answered the question anyway.

“We’re angels from the Dominion.” Mara stepped forward with her hands raised. “We’re here about the Bloom situation.”

The guard’s eyes widened.

“Angels? Oh thank the light! Please, come in!”

He opened the gate and ushered them inside. The village looked normal enough. Wooden houses, dirt paths, people going about their business. Except for the occasional random sprouting. A mailbox grew wings and flew away. A door was made of cheese. A window became a mirror that showed the wrong reflection.

“How do you people live like this?” Grace asked.

“We adapt.” The guard shrugged. “Been dealing with the Bloom for decades. Used to be manageable, she’d mostly create harmless things. Pretty flowers, singing birds, glowing moss.”

“What changed?” Venus asked.

“About a month ago, her creations got… aggressive.” The guard pointed to a house with claw marks on the walls. “That was from a toy bear that grew fangs and tried to eat little Jimmy.”

“We need to see your village elder.” Mara said.

“This way.”

As they walked through the village, Grace noticed the exhausted looks on people’s faces. A woman swept her porch while eyeing a perfectly normal-looking flower pot with suspicion. A man carried water buckets while giving wide berth to a bench that kept changing colors.

They reached a larger house in the village center. The guard knocked.

“Elder May? The angels are here!”

An elderly woman opened the door. She had grey hair tied in a bun and sharp green eyes that immediately focused on Grace.

“You’re the one who can kill demons permanently.”

Grace blinked.

“How did you—”

“Word travels, even to places like this. We’d heard rumors of a white-haired angel who can cut demons down without having them stand back up again.” Elder May stepped aside. “Come in. We have much to discuss.”

They entered the house. It was cozy, with simple furniture and a fireplace. A cat slept on a cushion by the window. The cat had two tails, but otherwise seemed normal.

“Please, sit.” May gestured to chairs around a table. “Would you like tea?”

“That would be lovely.” Mara smiled.

May poured tea from a kettle. The liquid changed colors as it fell into each cup – red for Grace, blue for Mara, green for Venus, yellow for Petriel.

“Don’t worry, it’s just the Bloom’s influence.” May sat down. “The tea still tastes like tea.”

Grace took a cautious sip. It did taste like normal tea.

“So.” May folded her hands. “You’re here about the Bloom.”

“We’ve been sent to investigate the escalation in dangerous creations.” Venus leaned forward. “When did it start exactly?”

“Five weeks ago.” May’s expression darkened. “The Bloom’s creations suddenly turned hostile. Animals with too many teeth. Plants that strangle people who come close. Rocks that explode.”

“Any pattern to the, uh, attacks?” Grace asked.

“None that we can see. The Bloom creates randomly. Always has. But now her randomness includes violence.”

“Where is she located?”

“Deep in the forest, about three miles north.” May pointed out the window. “There’s an ancient grove where she’s taken root. We used to visit, bring offerings, ask for blessings. Now no one goes near it.”

“Has anyone tried talking to her recently?” Petriel asked softly.

“My grandson tried two weeks ago.” May’s voice cracked. “He came back changed. Kept talking about ’infinite possibilities’ and ’creation without limits.’ Then he walked into the forest and never returned.”

[Shit. The Bloom is affecting people’s minds.]

“We’ll handle this.” Grace stood up. “But first, I need to scout the area. Make sure there aren’t any demons taking advantage of the chaos.”

“Grace, you shouldn’t go alone.” Mara protested.

“I’ll be fine. I’m just doing a perimeter check.” Grace headed for the door. “Set up our base here. I’ll be back in an hour.”

Before anyone could argue further, Grace left the house. She needed to think, and she couldn’t do that with everyone hovering.

The village guard nodded as she passed through the gate.

“Be careful out there. The forest gets weird after dark.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Grace entered the forest again. This time, alone, she could move faster. She jumped over a puddle that turned into butterflies. Dodged a tree branch that tried to grab her. Ignored a rock that started singing opera.

[What kind of emotions create THIS?]

She thought about what Venus said. Creativity without restraint. But that didn’t feel like an emotion. More like… an impulse? A drive?

A rustling in the bushes made her stop. Grace drew her rapier, the golden blade humming with divine energy.

“Who’s there?”

The bushes parted. A figure stumbled out.

Grace’s breath caught.

It was an angel. Grey wings drooped behind her. Grey hair hung limp around her face. Her silver armor was cracked and stained with something dark.

“Hey!” Grace lowered her weapon slightly. “Are you okay? I’m Grace, from the Dominion. What happened to you?”

The angel’s head snapped up. Her eyes were completely black. No whites, no iris, just endless dark.

[Oh no.]

“The… possibilities…” The angel’s voice came out distorted, like multiple people speaking at once. “So many… creations… endless…”

“Listen, I can help you.” Grace activated her Aura Sight. The angel’s entire body pulsed with chaotic energy, the usual blue of corruption. “I might be able to—”

The angel screamed. Not a human scream. It sounded like breaking glass mixed with metal grinding.

Then she attacked.

Grace barely got her rapier up in time. The angel’s sword crashed against her blade. The impact sent Grace sliding backward.

“Stop! I don’t want to fight you!”

The angel didn’t respond. She swung again, her movements jerky and unnatural. Like a puppet on broken strings.

Grace dodged left. The angel’s sword hit a tree, which immediately turned into a giant mushroom.

[She’s completely gone.]

Grace tried once more.

“Please! Let me help you!”

The angel’s mouth opened impossibly wide. Flowers began growing from her throat, spilling out onto the ground. Each flower had a tiny mouth that whispered different words.

“Create—”

“Build—”

“Make—”

“Form—”

“Design—”

[I’m going to be sick.]

The angel charged again. This time, Grace didn’t hold back. She channeled divine energy into her rapier and met the attack head-on.

Their blades clashed. The angel was strong. Stronger than the “level 62” above her head said she should be. But her movements were wild, uncoordinated.

Grace ducked under a wide swing and drove her knee into the angel’s stomach. The angel doubled over, more flowers spilling from her mouth.

“I’m sorry.” Grace raised her rapier.

She drove the blade through the angel’s chest.

The angel’s black eyes widened. For just a moment, they flickered back to normal – beautiful brown eyes filled with pain and confusion.

Then she dissolved into golden light, like all angels did.

Grace stood there, breathing hard. Her hands shook as she sheathed her rapier.

[That was a Sister of Compassion. I could tell from her armor style. Probably kidnapped by the Veil… Did she escape? Maybe she escaped, made her way this far, before the corruption took hold of her.]

She’d just killed another angel. Not a fallen one working with demons. Not someone who attacked the Dominion. Just a victim of the Bloom’s chaotic influence.

“Dammit!”

She punched a tree. A web of cracks emerged where she’d hit it.

But, she took a few deep breaths, trying to calm down.

[Get it together, Grace. This is the job.]

She’d killed corrupted humans before. In Oakridge, when the fallen angel had transformed villagers beyond saving. She’d made the hard choice then.

This was no different.

[Except it is. That was a Sister. Someone like Mara. Like Petriel.]

Grace took deep breaths until her hands stopped shaking. She had a job to do. The Bloom was turning angels into… whatever that was. It had to stop.

But first, she needed to check the rest of the perimeter. There could be more angels wandering around, lost to the Bloom’s influence.

More angels she’d have to put down.

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