> Skill acquired!

>

> Valescent Light (Tier 2) - Generate purifying light. Draws heavily on Stamina to maintain.

Jenny's eyes opened to sunlight. Through the shattered cafeteria windows, she could see the courtyard: upended trees and concrete with parts of the school building collapsed, blocking off the street. She blinked over and over, not believing the sunlight streaming across the tiled floors.

The darkness was gone. The thick misty air of the Veil was gone; they were back. They were actually back! Sunlight warmed her bare skin, soothing and calm and comforting, but she was naked. Her skin... pale and healed, the hole in her navel gone. She was whole. She touched her face. Her teeth. The exoskeleton was gone. She had no tentacles. Nothing monstrous. If it wasn't for the disastrous cafeteria and the body lying beside her, she could've convinced herself it was all a dream. A body.

A body with a head of blue hair matted with dust and dried blood, still wearing faded, falling-apart blue armor.

All at once, the memory of what she'd done returned to her. She scrambled over to Susan, shouting her name, shaking her.

"Susan! Susan!" Her voice grew more and more shrill as she turned her best friend over. The ruined armor cracked and splintered. Blood gushed from a messy wound in Susan’s throat, pooling beneath her in a crimson puddle.

Trembling as she remembered the bite, Jenny stroked hair out of Susan's open eyes and wiped away the dust. Susan was staring up at the ceiling, and the sunlight hit her eyes, making them appear almost alive. But she wasn't blinking. Her lips were curled in a slight smile, and she seemed so relaxed, like she was just lazing about. But her neck down to the shoulder was torn apart. And she wasn’t responding. Why wasn’t she responding?

She’s dead. I killed her.

I killed her.

When Jenny shook her again, tears escaped Susan's eyes and slid down the sides of her head. Desperate, Jenny pressed her finger to Susan's wrist, feeling for a pulse. For anything.

"What did you do?" whispered someone. Jenny looked up to see the librarian clutching a broken arm to the chest. She was on the floor, struggling to her feet. "You... What did you do to her?"

"No," said Jenny, shaking her head. "No. No fucking way. Not after... No! We ended the stupid game. We’re back. We’re back on Earth. She has to be back. It worked." She cupped Susan's cheek. "Susan, it worked. Our idea worked. How did you even know what I was thinking? Your skill..." Her voice caught in her throat; her throat felt like it was collapsing. Tears spilled down her cheeks. Snot ran over her lips. The lump in her throat was threatening to climb out through her mouth. She kept remembering what she’d done; how she’d lost control; how she’d given in; how she’d bitten Susan. How she’d convinced herself it was alright.

Susan was so cold to the touch. She wasn't responding at all.

"C'mon. Wake up. Look, I told you, didn't I? I told you. I promised you we'd make it. We could win it, and... Look. Just look." She brought Susan's hand to her navel. "You healed me. Again. You saved me again." She pressed Susan's palm to her chest. "My heart is beating because of you. Again. I'm me again because of you. Don't leave me now. Not now. Please."

Leslie appeared with a barely conscious Mackenzie leaning on her shoulder. “Is it over?” she asked.

Then Dulé emerged. He was carrying an unconscious Oliver on his back, looking agitated, but he didn’t say anything. He stared at Jenny then down at Susan’s corpse.

STOP STARING AT ME. It's not my fault. I didn't mean to...

I sound like Miriam.

"Help me," whispered Jenny, sobbing. "She saved us. Please. Do you have anything? A spray? A potion?" She cried out in desperation, her vision blurring as tears dripped off her chin and onto Susan’s face.

Jenny focused as hard as she could, remembering the partial potion she'd imagined into being when she didn't have enough energy for a complete one. All she needed was something to heal Susan. She just needed blood back in her body. Her throat restored. Then... Then... a defibrillator. Something to reactivate her heart. Where was the cattle prod? Susan needed a shock.

Jenny squeezed Susan's hand tight, praying, concentrating, begging the universe. Eve, help me. Please. Please. I'll do anything.

You have already done ENOUGH, Jenny Huang.

Jenny dropped Susan's hand. Her heart pulsed. It thudded so hard against her chest that she stopped breathing. Choking, she looked up at Mrs. Monique who stared back in horror.

What is it? What's happening to me? She wanted to scream, but every single one of her muscles strained like her skeleton was trying to escape.

Pain struck her insides, and she fell forward onto Susan, gasping for breath, clutching her sides. Laughter rumbled through her head like thunder. A cruel laugh that stabbed her brain over and over, and her body convulsed.

Something rippled inside her, and she turned over, panting for breath. When she glanced down, she saw her belly swelling rapidly.

“No...,” she sobbed. “No.”

She knew what was happening. This was almost exactly what she’d envisioned ages ago when Eve first mentioned this. And now it was time. It was happening now.

Jenny summoned what strength she could and pulled herself off Susan and crawled away. Her body threatened to rip open. Her belly dragged on the floor, big and swollen and veiny. Something pushed from inside, and she almost buckled.

The others shouted at her. She was vaguely aware of Leslie fainting. She didn't care. She didn't care how she looked to them. She just wanted this thing out. Her heart was racing, and the laugh was so loud... she wanted her hatchet. She wanted to cut open her belly. Her body was going to pop. Whatever was growing inside her was kicking and straining against her belly.

"Get out of me!" she screamed. "Get out of me right now."

"We had a deal, Jenny Huang. It is time."

It didn't feel like a thought anymore. It had grown, solidified into a voice. Her own voice. Speaking to her from inside.

"But I'm not the victor," spat Jenny. "I stopped it. Susan stopped it. It's over. You didn’t do shit."

"That matters not. The Victor is the one who returns. And you have returned. And now I am due. And now I am born."

Her belly expanded even more. Her ribs cracked one by one, and she collapsed on her side, clawing at the broken tiles, spittle flying out of her mouth. Blood spurted out of her. A virgin birth. I’m literally having a virgin birth.

Someone screamed. Maybe they all screamed. Jenny couldn't tell. She was screaming too. None of them rushed to her side. None of them tried to help. They stayed back, shadowy silhouettes as her vision darkened, as searing hot pain radiated from between her legs and she clawed at the floor.

Don't look at me. Get the fuck away from me.

Light shone through her stretched-out skin. Her insides were glowing, burning hot. Her head tilted back. She pressed a hand to her oversized belly, crying and screaming as the light grew brighter and brighter. The pain surged, as though hundreds of metal rods were shoved through her, and then all at once, with what felt like a clap of thunder, something spurted out of her.

Liquid ran down her thighs. Light glistened all over; her vision went white. Her insides convulsed as the thing crawled out. As she gave birth.

Something hot touched her leg, squeezing her thigh to drag the rest of its body out.

“Fuck,” she sobbed, straining as her body stretched. As her insides contracted over and over. All she could think about was pain. Breath by breath, it slid out of her.

Until, finally, with a wet plop and another burst of light, it was out. She’d given birth.

On the floor, between her knees, lay an infant covered in goo and blood. It was connected to Jenny by a dark red umbilical cord that reminded her of the tentacles she’d had, but there it was. A tiny little baby with pudgy arms and legs, like a miniature version of the angel babies, except she’d given birth to this. It hadn’t hatched from an egg.

"What the fuck..." whispered Mrs. Monique, the only one who'd hesitantly stepped closer to Jenny.

The infant wriggled on the floor. It was slick in gooey wetness, almost like it was encased in its own exoskeleton, but its scrunched-up eyes opened. Eyes without pupils. Spittle gurgled down the corner of its mouth as it wrapped its tiny fingers around the umbilical cord and snapped it apart.

Shock surged through Jenny, and she retched up blood, choking and spitting as the infant grew. Its body sucked in all the light streaming through the windows till it was glowing almost as bright as the sun. It seemed to absorb the air itself, and, in rhythmic pulses of light, it grew.

A silhouette made of light rose taller and taller, arms and legs lengthening, until the light solidified and faded. It stood over Jenny... And it looked exactly like Jenny. The same dark hair. The pale skin. The body shape. It was pale and thin and... no, not everything. This creature’s eyes had no pupils. It was white and empty like all the angels Jenny had slaughtered. But the body was the same body she’d hated all her life.

Golden light flashed. Mrs. Monique raised her spear with her one good arm, but the creature held up a trembling hand.

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Light radiated from the palm, and Mrs. Monique dropped to her knees. Her arms dangled. Her eyes rolled. And then she was face down on the floor. The others collapsed beside her, and Jenny cried out.

Her clone shook its head, then spoke with Jenny's voice. "They're alive and well, Jenny Huang. Here."

She stepped over to Oliver, bare feet making soft footfalls on the floor. She knelt and touched his legs. Another surge of light blossomed from her palm and struck Oliver. His body flopped then went still.

"He was about to die, you know. When you cut off his limbs, countless dead cells surged - Oh, I have cells by the way! I can feel each one, alive. Alive! - Anyway. Dead, harmful cells surged back into his body, circulating and damaging and... never you mind. It's not something you would understand. I've been in your head after all."

"Eve!" whispered Jenny, still on the floor, still covered in blood and sweat.

Eve smiled with Jenny's face. "I won't be growing back his limbs, by the way. You will have to pay that cost. For all beings experience suffering." She sighed and spread her arms. "And now I have a body to understand suffering."

Jenny struggled to stay upright. Her stomach had shrunk, nearly flat again, but her insides hurt so much she couldn't breathe. Blood continued to flow down her legs.

Eve ran her fingers through her hair. She cupped her breasts then patted her belly. "I am born. How radiant it is to be born." She walked over to the windows and stood in the sunlight. "How warm and wonderful it is to be alive. And how pathetic it is you couldn’t bear it."

"Heal her," croaked Jenny, slipping in her own blood as she pulled herself back to Susan. Susan lay where Jenny had left her. Eyes still wide open. Staring at nothing. "Please. I did what you wanted. I gave birth to you. Just bring her back. Please."

“You think you did what I wanted?” Eve's face darkened. "You almost cost me everything. You and your pitiful desire to save your loved ones."

"You chose me," spat Jenny, collapsing on top of Susan. "You did this to me. I didn’t ask for this. You owe me."

"Yes, yes, yes," said Eve, clapping her hands. "I chose you. But there were plenty of girls to choose from. The only requirement was innocence." She rubbed her navel with a finger, then her hand trailed lower and lower till her palm was between her thighs. "Purity. The nonsense humans have worshipped. I needed that nonsense to be real. I needed you, for you were the best of them all. Broken and self-hating... but malleable... with enough space for me." She shut her eyes and sighed. A moan burst out of her lips.

Jenny couldn’t bear to watch. She pressed a bloodied hand to Susan’s face, trying to think of something. Anything.

But Eve was still going. "And oh, Jenny. You so badly wanted to believe. In me. In Him. You wanted it to be real. You wanted it all to make sense. You wanted someone to take the pain away. Now look." She held up her hand, glistening with wetness. "Look. I am real. I now understand pleasure. I know suffering. And I am here. And you.... you, Jenny Huang, have threatened everything." Eve stormed over to Jenny, fury twisting her face, fingers curled up into a fist. “The material world is now bleeding through all worlds. Do you even understand the magnitude of-”

"You should've chosen Miriam, then," said Jenny bitterly. "You could've picked her. And she would've done exactly what you wanted."

"No!" said Eve with such force that Jenny flinched. "No! Can you imagine? Me inside her? That twisted cruel little mind. Her fragility... no, no, no. I did not want her body."

She laughed then, her hands on her face. "See? I got your rage." She shook her head, still laughing. "But I will tame this rage. Because Jenny, your body... my body is fashioned after yours. Your mind. Your thought process. Your desire for right. For yourself. For hope and pleasure and life... and oh, how I hope to know the joys of your world... they are all mine now." She sighed deeply, folding her hands over her heart and standing on her toes. "I am here. I am here!"

Jenny forced herself to look into Eve’s empty eyes. “Then save her. Please. I gave you all that, can’t you just do this for me?”

Eve smile faded. “Oh, Jenny. Jenny, Jenny, Jenny. How I love saying your name. My dear Jenny Huang. My mother. My Mary. Look at the mess you made.” She gestured toward the ruined cafeteria before planting her bare foot on Susan’s face. “And this girl.”

Jenny cried out and slapped Eve’s leg. But her attack didn’t move Eve in the slightest, though a red handprint appeared on Eve’s pale skin.

Eve bent forward, bringing her nose to Jenny’s. "Why couldn't you just kill everyone else and claim victory as any human would have done. As so many others did across the constructs He chose..."

Jenny shook with rage and pain. She wanted to climb up Eve's body and punch her in the face. She wanted to gauge out those horrible eyes. Break every single one of her teeth. Choke her till she-

"But I suppose that was why I chose you," said Eve, rubbing her foot over Susan’s face. "Your pitiful need to be good. To save the day. To be obedient. To protect the people you think you love. The boy you refused to accept as your brother. The girl who filled you with secret lust. What was the point, Jenny? Why didn't you just live your life?" She stepped back. "Though I suppose this one was special too... Her desire to be alive. Her desperation to keep you alive wrenched the worlds together. Can you believe that?"

Tears streamed down Jenny’s cheeks. She wiped the smudge of dirt off Susan’s face, smearing blood. She wanted to cry. She wanted to scream. She didn’t know what she wanted to do. They got back. They were back. But what was the point if Susan was dead?

And what had Jenny done by giving birth to Eve? What was Eve talking about? What would happen now?

"Look what she gave you. A healing power of that magnitude... and she gave it to you... it's inside you. But you have no idea, do you? You don't even know what you have." Eve raised her hands in frustration and walked away. “An ability powerful enough to heal the rift between worlds. She healed His will... and she channeled it through you, Jenny. You who purposefully tore the gap open and created a new rift within His and that allowed the light to...”

“Shut up!” screamed Jenny. Golden light flashed in her hand. Her hatchet returned. Her fingers curled around the handle, the obsidian face glistered in the sunlight, and she threw it at Eve. Vital Throw.

It whirled through the air and lodged itself into Eve’s midback with a hefty thwack. Blood gushed from the wound, running down the back of her pale legs, but she continued talking. “No. Not completely... it’s all a mess. Can’t you feel it? The worlds... Oh, even He will be scrambling.”

She walked over to the windows, hands on her hips, splattering blood with each step. “You have forced my hand, Jenny Huang. You and Susan brown. Everything must be accelerated now. And you’ve forced His hand too. He will make His move soon, and the world... this world and all the worlds...” She sighed.

“I don’t care,” whispered Jenny. She wanted to carry Susan out of this nightmare. She wasn’t sure what she’d do after that, but she didn’t want Susan to be here one more second.

Eve turned, smiling. She walked back and knelt, touching Jenny’s chin. “This world shall be a new Heaven, Jenny. I promise you this. I shall build it upon the shores of your world, and everything else shall burn. He shall burn for what He’s done. I swear this.”

Jenny swallowed hard, looking into those empty eyes, looking into a perfect reflection of her own face. She didn’t understand what Eve was talking about. She didn’t care. How could it be heaven if Susan was dead? “Are you going to kill me?”

Eve’s smile widened. “I shall not harm you. I shall leave you with what you’ve rightfully gained... but these... These I must take to complete myself. My final price.”

She touched Jenny's face with both hands. Golden light surged, and heat surfaced to Jenny’s skin. It seeped through her eyes. It tingled across her skin, and she very vividly remembered the angel that knelt over her on the chem lab table and sucked her blood through her crushed nose.

When Eve opened her eyes again, she had Jenny's pupils. Dark brown and strangely beautiful now that Jenny was seeing them on someone else's face. How long had she hated them? She’d always wished they were green or blue, something beautiful. But there they were. Rich and dark, like staring into space searching for hidden galaxies... and there was her reflection.

A disturbing chill settled inside Jenny. She blinked over and over. Eve had stolen her eyes. A notification surfaced:

Desecrated Human (level 30)

With that, Eve straightened up. The hatchet slipped out of her back and clattered to the floor. "No holy books this time. Judgement Day isn't coming. It's here. And He shall be judged. Farewell, Jenny Huang. Until we meet again.”

Sunlight enveloped Eve and shattered into sparks. She was gone.

The cafeteria was quiet, and Jenny lay on Susan's chest, her breaths labored, her body aching. All that remained were the ruins, the others who lay unconscious, and the sunlight. She pulled herself up and touched Susan's face. Her fingers drifted over Susan's eyelids, shutting them. Then she pressed her forehead to Susan's. "I'm sorry..."

Footsteps sounded throughout the school, rumbling above, knocking down dust and debris. Jenny could hear screaming and shouting, but she didn't want to move. She wanted to stay here, holding Susan.

A sharp pain began on the left side of her forehead. Right above her eye. This pain was familiar. This pain...

A notification burst into Jenny's head, like an intrusive thought that could not be stopped, and this time, finally, she allowed herself to cry. Completely and utterly, sobbing uncontrollably as she held onto her best friend.

> Rapture has commenced.

>

> The Final Challenge is in effect.

>

> The faithful shall be rewarded. May His light guide your way.

>

> Humans remaining: 7,885,246,104

“Eve?” she whispered. “Eve, are you there?”

There was no response. She knew there wouldn’t be, but still she’d hoped. She had one final question. Was there a world for the dead?

She was sure there was. There had to be. She’d fallen through it, hadn’t she? She’d felt it. It was out there. And Susan had to be there. Or somewhere... when Jenny had died, the first time she used Severed Spirit, she’d become an Angel hadn't she? The cities in the clouds. The beautiful wings made of light. Susan could be out there. I have to find her.

And she knew how. Valescent Light. Her hand lit up with the rainbow of colors, and she felt a tug toward the floor. She could sense the wound through the worlds. It was still there, still hurting, and she knew Susan’s light would let her go through it again.

"I’ll find you," she whispered to Susan. She held her glowing hand to Susan’s face, but there was no tug. Nothing. "I don't know what's going to happen now but.... I'm going to find you. The worlds... There are worlds out there, and whatever is happening... I'm going to figure it out. I'm going hunt Eve down. I'm going to stop her. Or Him. God or whatever I have to kill to get back to you."

She pressed her palm against the floor. It opened beneath them. But now it was a pool of rainbow light that matched Valescent Light, all the colors swirling and swishing like someone had spilled containers of ink. It was breathtaking and beautiful and warm. It reminded her of the light that Angels were made from. True angels. Not the horrid creatures she’d murdered. It reminded her of the first time she’d seen Susan use it, when Susan’s hand had held Jenny’s heart.

She loved the way the colors danced around Susan. How droplets of light floated upwards like upside-down snow. Jenny was slowly sinking into it. First her legs. Then her hips. And she held onto Susan like a life raft, not wanting to let go. Not yet.

The light felt gooey, like she was sinking into a bowl of jelly. There wasn't any pain, not like that time she’d fallen in as an angel. When she'd been torn apart. This time, it was a comforting embrace, but she was the only one sinking.

I have to go.

Footsteps thundered all over the ceiling. Jenny glanced up at the hole. Through it, she could see faces. She could see them gathering, staring down into the cafeteria where the rainbow light must have attracted their attention. But Miriam’s body was still up there. They must’ve found what was left of her.

She shuddered, trying to stop the tears. Trying to stop crying. She wanted to kiss Susan, but Susan was dead.

No. I'll find you and kiss you properly. Whatever it takes.

There were worlds out there. So many worlds. Eve had mentioned them. Jenny had felt them. She took a deep breath, stroking Susan's hair one more time. She glanced at Oliver and the others, wondering what would happen now that the Survival Challenge included all of Earth. Rapture. Would there be more angels? More fighting?

But she wouldn’t find any answers if she stayed. Only more pain. She summoned her hatchet back and held it between her teeth.

Slowly she pushed away from Susan, wading through the rainbow light as she sank deeper. As the cafeteria blurred. The only thing tethering her to the world now was Susan’s hand. Jenny squeezed it one last time and shut her eyes. Then she chose to fall.