Evangeline
A human with wings was flying in front of her, the being called Hector, her father's companion, the other one. He twists and distorts the space around them, blinding them from father’s view. Displeased and not in the mood to care, Evangeline continued to ignore him as usual. Yet, Hector spoke to her, saying something she couldn’t ignore.
“Drop the act. You should realize now just what you are.”
Emotionless and cold voice, an unfeeling and calculating gaze as he looks upon her.
“Oh, I don’t think you are in any position to say that to me.”
No irritants, no frustration on his face without an inch of care like looking at a dead corpse, he says with absolute certainty.
“You should have realized this time that you will never be able to co-exist with him. You are unnecessary.”
Evangeline tried to find the words to say, to retort, to tell him he was wrong as she thought about the first time he spoke to her and all that had happened.
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She didn’t remember much before being given a name. At first, a thought or instinct was all to her: to grow and thrive. But, some part of her knew that she needed everything, her and the others, to grow, and so she did.
She didn’t know why. It was illogical, and the benefits for her were scant. However, she felt she had a purpose, and this was achieving it.
Once she was chosen as the boss and given a name, she was flooded with knowledge of concepts and beings she had never seen or experienced before. A binding she was always aware of becoming something else, she was still a part of something like leaves to a tree, yet she was now a seed born from the tree yet capable and can be another.
A bond was created between something so vast and endless, the first feeling she ever felt and understood, the first true memory she had was of joy. Brilliant, blinding joy for her birth and creation. She recognized her creator, and showing joy and dependence on him was instinctual and intentional. To embrace the being more powerful and deadlier her life in his hands, to live instead of fight and perish.
As his creation, she acts in a way that allows her to survive and prove her worth. Yet, as time flew, as she learned from him, she truly began to understand what a ‘father’ is. No longer was it a word or concept she said but something she felt.
He was the sun for her, shining and warming everything. As she began to understand more, she learned to enjoy her time with her father. She began to love the moments when her father listened and laughed, answering every question she had. His focus was on her, and joy and excitement flooded her through him. She, too, learned to feel the same. It was warm and comforting, and her sun was always shining upon her.
Then, one day, the space around her shifted and changed instinctively, realizing such an act had isolated her from her father’s view and ear as a being approached. She tried to signal help through her bond yet was suppressed by a more prominent and more significant bond tied to her father.
“I know what you are.”
A human with wings flying near her, blue hair, and silver cold and aloof eyes. She knew of this existence, the being bonded with her father yet different from her. She knew yet ignored it, even though it had come to examine her multiple times because she instinctively felt he had the potential to threaten her existence.
So, she continued to ignore him because she knew nothing would get through to him no matter what was done.
“You're a monster. Beings whose greatest instincts are to devour and grow. No monster gaining sentience has been able to co-exist with civilization. Even dungeon-born monsters are the same, though made real by the dungeon, that instinct could never be taken away.”
She didn’t understand. She has certainly had the desire to grow and thrive. Destroying others was part of this, but she could control it. She felt uncomfortable. What was this feeling? Then, as her father's teaching came to mind, she realized.
‘Ah, so this is anger.’
“No, you are wrong.”
Hearing her speak, the being quirked his eyebrow, blatantly showing a look of disdain and annoyance. It was like watching his dying prey futilely struggle as if watching a corpse twitch and breathe its last.
“Your world is small. Of course, you wouldn’t have instictints to devour yourself. Time will tell, and you will realize that your existence is nothing more than a hindrance to him, or worse, he will devastated by the thing he created.”
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For the frist time, she actually saw general concern and worry on the being's face. She began to understand that everything else except for one didn’t matter to him.
“ I learned all that is needed in these past few days, your autonomy is but a hindrance and unneeded. You will be much more useful, becoming a tool he wields. He can never be so cruel as to end your existence, but I can, and once he sees what you really are, I can erase your existence. After all, it is much easier to gain forgiveness than to gain permission.”
And with that, the space was restored back to the way before as he left. A few minutes later, father returned from his work, and talked and shined like she forever knew.
“Evie, you alright? You seem distressed.”
‘Ah, father. Is what the being said true? Will it really come to, as he said? Will you truly forgive him for terminating my existence?’
Yet, she didn’t say what was on her mind. She could have told her everything that happened, everything that was said, but she rejected such actions because a part of her knew the truth about his words.
‘It won’t solve the problem.’
“Father, am I helping?”
She thought about what to do and what to be. She decided she would become irreplaceable, prove that being wrong, and survive to see another day and be with her father.
“Did she just ignore me?”
“Evie, why? Why be connected to everything?”
“Aiden, are you ignoring me, too? Your daughter is being rude and ignoring me. Aren’t you going to do something about it?”
She felt it through her bond, though not close enough to feel but enough to know. How warm the being is, unlike how she saw him before.
A concept came to mind: the moon. The moon couldn’t shine on its own, a cold stone floating in the sky. Only the sun could make it shine, and only the sun could make it warm. Her sun had a moon, a moon that would bring night upon her, the other one that she didn’t want to acknowledge.
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Something had happened. She felt that her father was acting differently than she knew, a side she never knew. He said that guests would be arriving, guests he had created this garden for.
She was displeased with the so-called ‘guests.’ They were in her world, her domain, and trespassing her territory. She couldn’t understand why her father would tolerate them, why lure them and go to such lengths when they could just kill and devour everything they had.
She knew now what the other one meant. It was flagrant and enticing these beings of walking meat bags filled with mana. She was aware killing them wouldn’t actually fill her but her father, yet something within her was hungry for them, something that made them seem so delicious.
What truly stopped her from acting was not her mind or rational thoughts, but she felt her father's gaze and emotion. It was love. He loved them, not like the love she felt and knew. It wasn’t as bright, it wasn’t quite as warm, it wasn’t profound or as intense. But, it was there, always shining upon them. It was a love so far and wide. Father loved them, he loved people.
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It was the first time she felt it, her father’s disappointment and anger. It was different than then. Back then, it was the sun burning too bright and hotter there was no intention to harm. But, this time, it was cold. It felt like he was getting further away.
She didn’t understand, she couldn’t understand.
‘If you love me, if you understand, then why would you forbid me? Why would you leave me?’
She was afraid for the first time in her life, she always thought that he would shine and warm her like forever, no matter what.
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“Now, let's get this over with.”
She felt the being manipulating the mana, changing it and taking form, and the moment she saw she knew it was made of soul mana, and it would break the bond and carve out everything that made her, her memories, thoughts, emotions, all her time in this place she has learned to love.
Her soul would become a husk, her only function maintaining this body.
“NO!!!”
Then mana surged around her as she brought forth all her power. She started her final evolution, gaining the attention of her father.
“Evie!”
She was relieved, and even though she knew it was not true, she worried that her father wouldn’t come, that he wouldn’t care.
‘You are shining upon me once more.’
“Father, I’m sorry. I cannot comprehend your views on them. I cannot feel the same way as father can.”
‘If I am a hindrance to father, then I will go out my way.’
Gathering the mana as she tried to make her body collapse into something that would fertilize this garden one last time.
“Evie! Listen to me and stop what you are doing. I don’t know what made you think into doing this, but this is not the solution. I don’t need or want you to become like me. You don’t have to like them; you can dislike them however you want. I just want you to not hate them without giving them a chance and only know to kill when it comes to them. I just want you to learn to co-exist with them. So, please, let’s stop what you are doing. Could we at least try?”
‘To co-exist with them?’
She thought it would be hard to suppress her instincts and tolerate people in her domain, but it didn’t seem impossible.
Soon, she began to calm her mana as it was being imbued into her and taking place. She couldn’t stop her evolution now as she felt her consciousness floating down to begin evolving. She began to think about just what to do, what to be to achieve her goal.
“Father, I’ll try.”
“Thank you, Evie.”
She thought whatever it was, she would do it. She would grow and thrive, and she would greet her father and proudly declare that she could control herself. She would prove to the other one, and father would shine and warm her just like before as she listened to his words and stories.