First book of a series I have planned and I am trying to build a community and get quality feed back. I update regularly (if the job allows). Would love if you check it out! I would love for you to check my story out at : Wattpad or Patreon Synopsis: It started with nightmares. When Nabla begins having severely disturbing dreams, it doesn't seem like anything out of the ordinary. But when his two friends turn out to be more than human, a battle bigger than humanity breaks out and Nabla is forced to figure out his origins and how they relate to the eternal conflict between heaven and hell. Released Chapters: Prologe Chapter 1 - June 4, 2026 Chapter 2 - Strange Happenings Chapter 3 - School Chapter 4 - Cleo Chapter 5 - Awakening Chapter 6 - The Mission Chapter 7 - The Other Side Chapter 8 - Dreaming of the Past Chapter 9 - Beginning of Training Chapter 10 - Hunger Chapter 11 - Properties Author Remarks One Chapter 12 - Happy Birthday Chapter 13 - Heaven Chapter 14 - Not my Blood Chapter 15 - Confrontation Chapter 16 - Haunted by the Past Genre: Action, Adventure, Horror, Little Romance,
Spoiler: Prologe In a room dimly lit by five blood-red candles, all arranged in a circular formation, a stunningly beautiful woman gracefully glides in. Two large, but gorgeous jet-black wings flap gently as she lands silently, her flowing black dress remaining undisturbed. Strangely enough, no wind is produced from the flapping of her wings and the candle flames do not flicker as she enters. Red wax runs down the length of the candles before pooling into puddles on the floor. A sickening metallic smell, mirroring that of fresh blood, hangs in the air.The origin of the smell is seemingly the ever-burning candles. The woman shifts her arms to reveal an infant, no older than five months old, and carefully places it down on the worn wooden floor ever so gently. "I am sorry, child; I do this not out of malice but out of love." Looking into the child's big grey eyes, the woman reaches behind the child's back to stroke the undeveloped wings growing from between his shoulder blades. "You were born of malignant Sin, and as your mother it is my sacred duty to root it out," she whispers, her son's wings soft beneath her fingertips. Giggling, the baby reaches up and plays with a stray black feather that slowly falls from her own pair of wings. "You love the color of your mother's wings?" she asks, casting a big grin towards the child. The grin showcases her jagged teeth, sharp and glinting like shards of glass. "That color signifies my... our devotion to our kind and our beloved lord." Distress quickly replaces her grin as she returns her attention to the child's wings. There, right between his shoulder blades, what should have been a pair of black wings mirroring her own was instead a pair of brilliant white wings. Everything would be easier if his feathers were black as her own, but fate has always been cruel ... Her eyes narrow at the blissfully-ignorant little one before her. "Why, O God, have you cursed him so?!" With renewed conviction, she flips the baby over, firmly grasping both of the wings in her left hand as she holds his tiny body down with her right. A sharp pain in her left wing briefly draws her attention away from the child's wings. Looking down, she realizes the child has firmly grasped a long black feather from her left wing, a sliver of tissue and blood still attached to the feather. His giggles ring out as he delights at his achievement. He had plucked one of his mother's feathers! A mix of horror and revulsion swirls in her onyx eyes and, in a shaky voice that even startles her, she growls, "Time to sleep, O son of mine, Reficul." With her hands outstretched towards the child she softly chants Somnum and black sparks of electricity fall from her hands and onto Reficul’s back. His eyes to grow heavy until he succumbs to a deep sleep. Her hand holding his wings start twisting and turning, up and down, left and right exerting increasing amounts of strength with every movement. Then with a sharp jerk to the bottom left, then the right, two audible snaps ring out. Reficul convulses and stirs despite the sleep spell, the pain almost enough to break the enchantment. I must finish this quickly if I am to spare him from great pain, she realizes. With renewed determination, using her left hand, she grabs his left wing and yanks it hard enough that it removes the ball from the socket in one quick movement, ripping it from his back. Ignoring the shrill, pained shriek that escapes Reficul's lips and the bright red blood gushing from the small hole where his left wing once was, she quickly grasps his right wing and yanks upward, but her hand slips and the bone snaps in half, a small portion of the bone remaining in his back. The woman looks down at the mangled white wings covered in sticky blood, horror filling her eyes once more as she realizes what she has just done. Was I wrong? Have I made a grave mistake? Another blood-curdling scream from Reficul rips her from her guilt-induced stupor. Glancing at the poor child currently squirming around on his belly, still screaming and whimpering with blood and dirtied white feathers smeared all over his back, she remarks softly, "That spell should have had enough potency to put you to sleep for hours. I guess it's God's will for you to be lucid during your cleansing and subsequent rebirth as one of our own." She pries the big black feather out of Reficul's hand, the one he'd ripped from her own wing, and carefully removes the still-squirming black flesh from the end. Taking the flesh and the shards of his broken wings into her hand, she shoves it into her mouth and starts chewing. As mahogany blood dribbles down her chin, she spits a mess of flesh, broken feathers, and blood onto Reficul's back and smears it onto the two uneven wing stumps. Sweat begins to bead on her forehead as she chants Os Sanguis Pluma and black lightning engulfs her wings, only for lightning to take the shape of a two black beads within her left palm. Not wasting any time, she breaks the first bead and black viscous liquid flows from it into the left stump filling the concave where the wing was removed. Black smoke rises from the wound. No longer able to bear the pain, Reficul falls into unconsciousness. Smiling for the first time since beginning the ritual, she watches as a glossy, pitch-black bone shoots out, and flesh covers it at a speed hardly visible to the naked eye. Upon examination, she sees small black feathers slowly covering the new wing in its entirety. Satisfied with the new wing, she grimly turns her attention to the jagged bone sticking form his right shoulder blade and, with a sliver of apprehension, she repeats the process. As the black liquid touches the stump, black smoke starts gushing out. Sighing in relief, the woman waits for the bone to emerge, but to her unease, nothing happens. As she begins to worry, a dull grey bone shoots out and forms skin at twice the rate the black one did. Hissing in anger, she reaches down to wrench the abomination from her child's back. "This time I will cut all the sin away, even if I have to dig so deeply into your back that I rip a lung out. Once you have a heartbeat, I am sure he can bring you back!" Her words and the inverted cross hanging from her neck feed her determination. Grabbing his leathery right wing and noticing the small grey feathers slowly growing, she prepares to yank it out when his left wing stirs and the black feathers start to turn grey. With no warning a grey watery substance surges out of both wings with the force of a broken dam. With a startled hiss, she jumps back, flapping her wings urgently to get out of range of the fast-spreading grey liquid. Landing beyond the circular formation of candles she looks down, to her horror there are skeletal remains where her right hand use to be. Barely suppressing a horrified cry, she looks up to see Reficul in the center of a rippling pool if grey. Suddenly all the grey fluid rushes back to him and, with sound of breaking glass, the wooden floor beneath him becomes a swirling vortex, just about to swallow Reficul whole. "NOOO!" she screams, racing towards him. She reaches out to grab him and pull him from the vortex, but just before her hand can reach him, the vortex and Reficul fades into nothingness. With a loud crash, she slams into the hardwood floor still wet with Reficul's warm blood. With her head turned skyward, she screeches, " I CURSE YOU FOR ALL ETERNITY! RETURN MY SON TO ME REDEEMER!" Still the red candles continue to burn. Faintly within the flames of every candle, a hideous face with two horns protruding from its forehead becomes visible. The evil intentions radiating from the entity are so strong that they can be seen wafting off in black waves. Slowly the flames are corrupted and the flames grow darker until they turn completely black. And then, just like that, all becomes dark. ------------------------- Just wanted to give a big thanks to my editor, @prettylittlesiren! Definitely knows how to work the magic. (final edit done) -------------------------- You can reach out to me on : https://www.facebook.com/nabla.talon. https://absoluteacedia.tumblr.com https://twitter.com/AbsoluteAcedia reddit: r/Reficul_First_Sin Discord Server: Reficul First Sin You can view readings of the book on (when i do them): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzlPaaLVgk0oidLkG0nqyBA If you find it in you heart and are able to give or just want to read the book on a different platform: https://www.patreon.com/absoulteacedia https://www.wattpad.com/story/169981783-reficul-first-sin https://forum.novelupdates.com/threads/reficul-first-sin.83440/#post-4789513
Not bad, in fact I quite like it, except why do I have a strong feeling that this story is going to turn to some huge drama ?
Spoiler: Chapter 1 - June 4, 2026 What is a nightmare? Like an itch, I felt a nagging desire to look down. Looking left, right and then up, there is absolute darkness but my gut is telling me if I look down, something is going to be there — and anything is better than the nothingness of my surroundings. There is a slight tapping noise and then a weird pressure on my foot. My head moves to look down, but after barely moving a inch, a feeling of complete dread envelops me. As I stand there not daring to move and barely breathing, a soft and sweet voice that is almost female — but most definitely not — enters my ears. "Look down." There is something so familiar yet terrifying about the voice, and I'm so afraid at this point that my thoughts become a jumbled mess. I feel sick and want to vomit. Shutting my eyes tightly, I try to calm myself down, and just when I feel my sanity returning... I sense it. I feel it. Someone is behind me. Their warm breath hits the back of my neck as they exhale. The jarring smell of rotting flesh, iron, and human waste is so magically twisted into sickening miasma that I immediately empty my stomach's contents. Strangely enough, I have the ability to hurl while managing to keep myself from looking down, much to the obvious displeasure of whatever entity is behind me. I can hear their gentle breathing get rougher as it slowly moves to my left ear. "Look down," it whispers in a demanding tone. It is so close that if I turn my head to the side, its lips, if it has any, will touch my cheek. Against my will, my head slowly starts to tilt down to where it wants me to look. NO! The scream reverberates through my head, but my body does not listen. There, at my feet, on this hard floor that looks like rotting wood, is a child covered in fresh blood and bile from head to toe, screeching inhumanly at the top of its lungs. How I didn't hear it or notice it before is beyond my comprehension; it is squirming left and right, trying to crawl up my leg, the blood and bile soaking my pants as the squirming child grips the denim with its bloody fists. With each jerk of its filth-covered body, whatever sanity I started to regain slips from my grasp. I notice that on the child's back are two broken white wings twisted in unnatural angles. "See, that was not so hard, was it, Reficul?" the thing behind me asks in a teasing tone, its rancid breath tickling my ear. "AH!" A scream rips through me as I bolt upright in bed. It doesn't take long for my parents to burst through the door, both looking completely frazzled. "Nabla, are you alright?!" My mother's sweet voice does nothing to calm my nerves. Sweating profusely, I feel the back of my neck. There's nothing behind me; it was just a dream, but it felt so real... It was real, I KNOW it was real... "Hey, your mom is asking you a question." Looking up, I finally realize my mom and dad are standing in the doorway with concern plastered on their faces. That's right... I screamed, I realize. Probably scared the crap out of them. "I'm sorry, Mom and Dad, it's just..." I trail off, not wanting to cause more concern, but I have to be honest. They're the only ones that know about these nightmares and only they can offer comfort; or, at least, rational explanations. After a moment of catching my breath, I continue, "I had that dream again. I swear it gets more and more vivid every time. I know I sound crazy, but I'm scared that whoever or whatever keeps calling out to me is trying to send a message or something." My parents briefly flash each other a look I can't decipher, but it is probably a mix of apprehension and doubt. They always seem to have an explanation for these dreams, but ever since they started getting worse, both of my parents are at a loss of what to say or do. The dreams started around 6 years ago after I came to the realization — on my birthday nonetheless — that my parents, whom I love with all my heart, are not my biological parents. Looking at them it should be obvious; my father stands at six feet tall with ramrod-straight posture and looks like he hails from Colombia, with tan skin, dark hair, and chocolate-brown eyes. My dad also has a very youthful disposition, overflowing with strength even at the age of 42. My mother is a slight contrast to my father in that she has flowing blonde hair, intelligent amber eyes, and flawless porcelain skin, all a product of her European heritage. That being said, I myself am African American; how it took me 10 years to figure out I was adopted is a mystery in and of itself. The most tell-tale sign that I am adopted— if my skin color wasn't enough — is my pale grey eyes. When I asked my parents for the truth, they were straightforward with me and explained that I was found on their doorstep after they heard a loud bang outside. To their horror, I was butt-naked and covered in grey mucus, as if a monster just strolled over and spat me out. Contrary to what they obviously think, I only asked about my origins out of curiosity. Maybe kids that find out they are adopted so they can look for their biological parents (in lots of cases, to find a better set of parents), but I am not one of them. I'm completely content with the parents I have, biologically-related or not. "Hey, stop zoning out, Nabla." My father's stern voice draws me from my thoughts. Sometimes, when it comes to these particular nightmares, his usual carefree attitude becomes more strict. Sometimes I think these dreams rattle him more than me. He and my mother are both still wearing concerned expressions, but now that I'm awake and I know it was just a dream, I feel a little better. The reality is that they're here with me, we're fine, and even though these dreams are getting worse, I know that I'll always wake up to them. "Listen, kiddo, it was a nightmare," Dad assures. "We all have them every now and then. I told you to pray before you go to sleep; you've been keeping up with your Bible studies too, right? You probably forgot to pray or read a few verses and that's why you had that dream." His words make sense, as usual. The dream is starting to fade; what did I dream about again? I know it was bad, but... Dad comes in and sits next to me, placing a reassuring hand on my shoulder. "It was just a dream. Don't read too much into it, alright? Besides, you've got other things to worry about, like making sure you're on-time for school for once." Mom smiles and suddenly, everything is okay. Everything feels normal and safe again. "He's right, you know. You've got a little over an hour before the bus gets here, so knowing you, it's about time you get a move-on." I nod. I know they're right, and honestly, school will help distract me from the nightmares. I'm still having trouble remembering exactly what happens in them, especially the one I just woke up from, but they always leave lingering feelings of anxiety and dread, like something really bad is going to happen. To appease them, though, I force a smile. "Thanks, guys. I think I'm okay now. Sorry I woke you up." Dad ruffles my hair. "No problem, just try not to scream so loudly next time, yeah? You scared the crap out of your mom." Once they're convinced that I'm fine, Mom and Dad leave to get ready for work. I can hear dad say something about struggling through adversity while chuckling under his breath and my mother hitting him on his back while chiding him for not waking me up sooner. By the time I'm finished day dreaming I really have to get moving or I'll miss the bus. I grab towel and head to the shower. I can hear my parents shuffling downstairs probably getting ready to head out. I contently stroll into the bathroom the dream already out of my mind. ------------------------- Edited by @prettylittlesiren. Much thanks! (Final edit done) ------------------------- https://www.facebook.com/nabla.talon. https://absoluteacedia.tumblr.com https://twitter.com/AbsoluteAcedia reddit: r/Reficul_First_Sin Discord Server: Reficul First Sin You can view readings of the book on (when I do them): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzlPaaLVgk0oidLkG0nqyBA If you find it in you heart and are able to give or just want to read the book on a different platform: https://www.patreon.com/absoulteacedia https://www.wattpad.com/story/169981783-reficul-first-sin https://forum.novelupdates.com/threads/reficul-first-sin.83440/#post-4789513
Spoiler: Chapter 2 - Strange Happenings After showering and getting ready for the day, I head downstairs and immediately notice the front door has been left ajar. Mom and Dad almost never leave the door open after leaving unless they are in a big rush, so I figure they may have been running late for work and simply forgot to close the door properly on their way out. Walking into the kitchen, I hear a sound and notice the TV in the living room has been left on. Strange… Dad must have forgotten to turn it off before he left. Both of my parents must have been in quite a rush to forget little things like these. However, as I go to grab my backpack, the program currently blaring on TV catches my eye and I pause to give the screen my full attention. “...And now let’s tune in to our reporter Jean Ashburn who is currently making her way to the scene of the possible terrorist attack in downtown Manhattan, New York. Jean, what exactly is going on there?” There is a pause before the screen switches to a female reporter. She and her crew of cameramen are jogging down a street where people — some injured and soaked in blood — are rushing past her. A mix of fear and dread can be seen on their faces as they stumble and trample over each other in a desperate frenzy to get as far away as possible from some unseen horror seemingly right behind them. “As you can see, Henry, it’s madness out here,” the reporter explains, somewhat out of breath, “I tried questioning someone and they were too hysterical to respond coherently. Here's another person right now that appears to be more rational; lets see what she has to say.” Right in the middle of all the fleeing people an elderly lady is walking slowly looking at the ground with a dazed look on her face. “Ma’am! MA’AM!” The reporter power walks towards the lady, microphone at the ready. “Ma’am, can you tell us what is going on? Was there a terrorist attack? What is everyone fleeing from?” The reporter aggressively pushes the mic in her face and moves to block the lady from getting past her. The elderly woman starts to show signs of extreme distress and tries her best the get past the reporter, all the while looking over her shoulder in fear and muttering incoherent nonsense. The only discernible words that can be picked up is the phrase “never ending hunger,” which she continues to repeat. Showing obvious displeasure at the lack of information, the reporter turns away from the babbling old lady, instead trying to save her own image by smiling sheepishly. “Henry, whatever is happening downtown is clearly serious, and — What’s this?” One of the cameramen shouts something indiscernible and the entire crew follows him. The reporter starts to follow them, glancing back at the camera currently trained on her. “Hold on, I think we’ve found a better vantage point to figure out the source of the chaos.” The reporter and her crew weave through the mayhem, pushing their way through the masses of terrified, screaming, bloodied people. Once they find an abandoned car, they climb onto it and try to see what’s going on at what is presumably the source of the city’s terror. “GRRR….” An inhuman gurgling sound echoes in the distance. Turning the camera in that direction, the reporter and cameraman subconsciously gasp. Down the block is a dense sea of thick black smoke slowly creeping forward. The smoke seems to ignore the rules that normal airborne substances follow and actively reaches out to wrap around anything nearby, be it the shrieking humans or the tall skyscrapers. The camera focuses on a man too close to the smokey, wisp-like substance. One of its tendrils follows him as he is running, waiting for an opportunity to strike, and that exact opportunity presents itself when he trips and falls right onto the hood of the car the reporter is on. The smoke slowly works its way up and around the man’s abdomen, pure desperation and terror in his expression. “PLEASE! HELP ME!” The man reaches out a hand towards the reporter, utter despair and pain etched into his face as he continues to plead, over and over as the smoke continues to hover around his legs and abdomen. Then, like a person who is caught in a lie, the smoke begins to retreat back to wherever it came from. In a mere moment, it all disappears. Laying on the hood of the car, the man still has a look of despair on his face. The camera moves down to get a better look at what exactly had happened to this poor man, but the cameraman quickly moves the camera back up as if to shield viewers from whatever atrocity has occurred. However, he doesn’t move the camera up fast enough because as soon as the scene comes into focus, viewers are able to see just what has happened to cause this grown man to beg and plead for help. The lower half of the man’s body is bloody, twisted and mangled beyond belief; it even looks like chunks of flesh were ripped off of him, leaving shards of bone and muscle tissue visible while blood spills from the open wounds. The reporter lets out a noise of distress before fainting and falling off the car —and then the scene abruptly cuts to commercials. Shocked, I can only blink at the TV. “What a weird movie.” My stomach growls and churns painfully, almost enough to make me hunch over. That’s weird… What the hell am I so hungry for? I literally just ate twenty minutes ago… When I’m okay again, I make sure the house is locked and hear the bus drive past. Cursing under my breath, I run down the driveway and try to flag down the bus driver, screaming for him to stop. By some miracle, he hears me and brings the bus to a halt, the old vehicle groaning in protest as it comes to a stop and the doors open. I hurry up the stairs panting like a dog and covered in sweat. So much for taking a shower, I think, hoping I won’t smell gross later on. I pass the scowling driver and make my way to the back amidst the jeering and laughter of the other students to sit next to my best friend, Rose Mary, who is currently staring out the window. I sit down and shift my bag so that it’s in my lap, and I sigh, happy to have made the bus. I don’t know what I would’ve done if I’d missed it again; Mom probably would have given me an earful if she had to leave work just to give me a ride to school. However, something is different today. Our bus driver, while not usually the most talkative person, iss not usually this on-edge or aggravated. I nudge Rose. “What’s up his butt this morning?” Instantly, a scowl marrs her expression, making the bus driver seem like he was in a good mood compared to her. She scoffs quietly and opts to look out the window instead of answering me or acknowledging my attempt to start a conversation. I frown at her, pity welling up in my chest; it’s moments like these when I can see why I’m one of her only friends. Rose is just a little shorter than me with a skin tone almost as tan as my father’s, but her attitude is much less carefree. She’s no-nonsense, a lot more moody than most people, but she has her moments when she can be kind and give good advice. Her medium-length blonde hair is up in a military-style bun as it usually is, not a stray hair out of place. Her cerulean eyes are sharp with intellect, just a small preview of the wit and intelligence that lie behind her pretty face. While other girls in our school like to dress up or wear outfits that reflect their own personal style, Rose generally likes to keep it simple, usually donning a pair of jeans, a graphic T-shirt, and a pair of black boots and today is no exception: she’s dressed in a simple pair of skinny jeans, her usual black boots, and a camo-themed graphic tee. Even though she doesn’t usually deviate from wearing jeans and relatively-plain shirts, her style suits her well. We’ve been friends since forever but lately, there’s been a growing rift between us. For some reason, Rose and I have been butting heads a lot more lately. I don’t know what her problem is, but once more, I try to lighten the obvious tension by jokingly remarking, “Still dressing like you are going to war, I see.” She whirls on me and I know I’ve crossed some kind of line. “Oh, piss off, Nabla!” I narrow my eyes. “What the heck is your problem? I’m just trying to talk to you!” “Yeah, well, I’m sick of you always trying to be funny when you’re just being an ass! Knock it off!” “Where is all this coming from?” “Because! You’ve been getting on my nerves for a while now!” “And what am I doing to get on your nerves?” I challenge. She huffs. “You’re just not the same friend I grew up with!” “Uh-huh.” Clearly, something’s up with her. She’s bouncing her leg anxiously despite the bus hitting a few bumps as we round the curve that will bring us closer to the school building. I don’t know what’s bothering her, but with Rose, it’s usually best to let her open up on her own terms. More often than not, Rose is pretty hot-headed so I’m used to her moody nature. Lots of people in our school tend to label Rose as a bitch, but that isn’t the case at all. She’s a little rough around the edges, but she’s one of the best people I know. When she truly cares about someone, she’s the type of person who would do anything to ensure her loved ones are happy. She’s sweet, but she can be overly-sensitive… Or moody, like I said, but she’s not a bad person. Rose’s main thing is that she’s not afraid to speak her mind. If she thinks that something is immoral or wrong, she has no problem calling it out and giving her opinion, and a lot of people don’t really like that about her, but I don’t really mind it; I’ve known Rose for so long that I’m used to her being blunt. Around her neck, as always, a cross dangles right in the valley between her perfect breasts. I glance at them once, twice, then a third time, admiring the view even though I know she’ll probably yell at me if she catches me. “Look,” she says, and I lift my gaze back up to her face. “I’m just not having a good day, okay?” I’m actually surprised that she’s still looking outside and not about to scream at me for looking at her chest. “And Nabla, if you keep staring at my boobs, you will regret it.” Yikes. I know Rose will make good on that so I decide to stop staring at her chest and instead focus on picking at a loose thread on my jeans. Even so, I ask, “Do you wanna talk about it?” “Not really. It’s hard to explain.” “Well, maybe things will get better as the day goes on,” I offer. “Even though your morning isn’t going so great, maybe something good will happen later today. It’s always good to stay positive, no?” “Maybe.” She doesn’t seem convinced, but at least she isn’t angry anymore. “I’m sorry about this morning; like I said, I’m not having a good day and I don’t feel so great. I didn’t mean what I said about you not being the same person when we were kids. I don’t even know where that came from, honestly.” “Apology accepted. We’re cool.” I sling an arm around her and pull her into a hug. “Just know that you can always come talk to me about anything. You know I’ve got your back.” A hint of a smile tugs at the corner of her lips and she hugs me back. “Thanks, Nabla.” The bus stops at a cozy little Victorian cottage and the most beautiful girl in all of creation boards the bus. Cleo Patricia, the girl of — and sometimes in — my dreams (that is, when I'm not being tormented by nightmares). Cleo is a gorgeous asian girl with flawless cream-colored skin, hypnotic black eyes, long, luscious black hair that falls to the middle of her back, and decent-sized breasts. She’s the same height as me with a killer figure. She tends to wear clothing that compliments her figure, i.e. low-cut shirts, low-rise jeans that always make her butt look fine as hell, and usually a necklace that draws attention to her bust (I’m cool with any excuse to look at her, really; damn, does she have it going on). She’s prettier than Rose, if I’m being honest, but the biggest difference between Rose and Cleo is that Rose is almost prudish, never wanting to talk about anything relating to sex whereas Cleo has apparently been with almost every guy in school. If the rumors are correct, she’s comfortable with her sexuality whereas Rose seems to be non-sexual, not wanting anything to do with that stuff. The only guys in school that are not attracted to her are Jerry and Felix, the school’s most popular gay couple. However, rumor has it that at a party, Cleo cornered Felix in a room alone and, after a few hours alone with her, he started saying that he is bisexual instead of gay. Jerry has been upset about it ever since because not only did his boyfriend cheat on him, but now he and Felix aren’t quite as close and happy with each other as they once were. Felix seems to cares about Jerry but now, everytime a girl walks by, Jerry feels insecure and it almost always leads to them bickering. Maybe it’s stupid, but I would give anything to be with Cleo, even if it meant spending only one night with her and letting her rock my world. Speaking of the goddess-like girl, she notices me looking at her, offers me a warm smile, and waves. It feels like my heart has moved into my throat. Er… How do you wave again? I lift my arm and move my hand up and down. Realizing that is not correct, I try moving it left to right but my damn hand is refusing to comply with my commands. Cleo giggles and chooses a seat close to the front, and we continue our journey towards one of the stops that lets on lots of students. Dazedly, I ask Rose, “Do you think I have a shot at her?” “Only if you’re interested in her and not just her body,” Rose replies, narrowing her eyes slightly at the beautiful noirette. “It’s a disease of the mind and soul to think of someone you like as just a body to vent your sexual desires on.” “Yeah, Rose, I get it.” Sometimes she says weird stuff like that; I’ve learned to just roll with it. “And yeah, I like her for more than just her body. It’d be sweet if I could take her on a date. I’d make sure to pick the best restaurant in town.” Rose nods in approval, turning her attention back to the outside world passing by in a blur. “Then yeah, I think you’ve got a shot at her. She seems to be interested in you.” “But I mean, you’ve heard the rumors,” I murmur, my gaze still on Cleo. She’s currently looking out the window. “I wouldn’t mind it if she wanted to hook up, even if it was just a one-time thing.” Without any warning, a hand grabs my shoulder and shoves me hard. My butt hits the aisle hard and I groan, rubbing my sore backside to ease the pain. But I’m more pissed off than anything because Rose didn’t have to shove me like that. “Dammit, Rose, what's your problem today?!” Rose is generally moody but today, she’s like a volcano ready to erupt at anything. I glare up at her only to find that she is staring me dead in the eye, contempt and judgement clear in her gaze. A brilliant white light suddenly engulfs Rose and the entirety of the bus, and I am immediately forced to squint, holding up a hand to shield my eyes from the light. It lasts for a few seconds and the entire bus is gone, just consumed by white light, but when I look up again, Rose is just sitting there pouting while looking out the window, as if nothing had happened. The usual chatter of the bus continues like nothing happened and I get up, still the stinging in my eyes reminds me of that bright light. What was that light? Sometimes when the sun bounces off of something and it’s bright, it’s only bright for a moment. The sun has never been so bright that it completely filled my vision and left me seeing white. What the heck was that? The sun must’ve reflected off of a car window or something, I reason. Whatever light it was, maybe it reflected directly into my eyes. Today is really not going well so far. Reluctantly, I move into the seat across from Rose so she can’t push me again. I’m still looking at Rose when someone taps on my shoulder, causing me to jump. I turn to see Cno, my other best friend aside from Rose, sit down next to me and slouch down so he can prop his knees against the back of the seat in front of us. ‘Cno’ is a nickname that I have for him but his actual name is Marcus. I call him Cno because he’s the type of guy to blend into the background until you ‘see no’ more of him, really. He has decent muscles from years of working on his family’s farm and he’s fairly attractive for someone who’s sort of cynical and obnoxious. Oddly enough, despite always working outside, Cno’s skin always remains pale. While he’s attractive, Cno also has this weird aura about him. I don’t know how to describe it; some people seem to be afraid of him and actively avoid him. I’ve actually seen some people take one look at him and immediately walk in the other direction. “What’s got her panties in a twist?” he asks, nodding towards the upset blonde. He and Rose tolerate each other, but they’re not close. Sometimes Cno will purposely annoy her just for kicks. He seemed to have a huge crush on her in middle school, but he started teasing her to the point of being mean once we hit high school. Even though he can be an ass, I’ve caught him staring at Rose on multiple occasions with a weird expression on his face, so I don’t know if he still likes her or if his feelings have changed. Anytime I try to ask him about it, he immediately changes the subject or shuts the conversation down. “She’s not feeling well today,” I reply. “Ah. That time of the month?” “No, she’s just not having a good day.” He scoffs, muttering something under his breath that kind of sounded like, “Yeah, I wouldn’t either if my scent was disgustingly sweet like hers.” I make a face at him. “What?” “Nothing.” He waves me off. “If she’s having a hissy fit, let her be.” I turn my attention to the front to glance at Cleo, who is now playing on her phone. She is just so mesmerizing that I start to wonder what it would actually be like to be with her. She’s just so perfect that I could stare at her for hours. Cno snorts, snapping me out of my thoughts. “Yo Nabla, stop spacing out while you stare at that slut. It’s gross.” Seriously? What’s with him and Rose today? “You can say that to me when you stop staring at Rose like a hungry wolf,” I fire back, slightly offended. “And Cleo’s not a slut, so don’t call her that.” Cno panics and looks over at Rose to make sure she didn’t hear us, sighing in relief when he sees that she’s still staring out the window. Whatever we were talking about was drowned out by the loud chatter of the other teens. “Dammit, Nabla, what if she’d heard you?” he growls under his breath. “So what if she did? You’ve been nursing this crush on her since middle school.” “No, I haven’t!” He looks bewildered, but I figure it’s because maybe he does have a crush on her. Other than him genuinely not liking Rose, that’s got to be a viable reason for why he’s constantly picking on her. “Right. So that’s why you’re constantly making moon eyes at her.” Cno is seething. “Seriously, Nabla, shut up. I don’t like her like that.” “And why you tease the crap out of her when she bothers to wear a skirt or something girly.” “I mean it, Nabla. Knock it off.” “Who knows? Maybe I’d actually be doing a favor for you by telling her right now. You know, get the ball rolling for you two,” I tease, turning around to peer at Rose. “Hey, Rose!” “I SAID I DON’T LIKE HER!” Cno’s voice becomes distorted, as if there are several darker, more malevolent voices combined with his. His words don’t match the movement of his mouth and I thought he was seething before, but now he looks like he’s out for blood. The teasing smirk that was on my face is instantly wiped off as the pale guy before me changes into something more grotesque. His eyes go from dark brown to pitch black, scleras included. The air around us seems to distort as though I was looking at him through a storm. He starts to lift his hand out of his pocket, and just like that, another burst of bright light blinds me, forcing me to shut my eyes. When I open them again, blinking to get everything back into focus, Cno looks as he always does, staring at me with a slightly bewildered, confused expression. His eyes are back to their usual dark brown. He’s just Cno, my irritating best friend. What the hell was that? Am I going crazy? Looking and me with concern, he inquires, “You okay, Nab? You look a little pale.” This time, his mouth moves in time with his words. Everything is normal again. Feeling mentally drained, I slouch back into my chair. I don’t know what’s going on today, but I’m ready to go back home, get back into bed, and call it a day. Everyone seems to be in a bad mood anyway. “I’m alright, Cno, I guess I’m just a little tired. Sorry for going too far; I didn’t mean to piss you off.” He gives me an unreadable look before shrugging and muttering a ‘whatever, it’s cool’ before turning to his phone, playing some kind of mobile game as we wait to get to school. What was that bright light with Rose, and why did Cno suddenly look like a monster? None of it makes sense, but I chalk it up to being tired. Maybe my eyes are just playing tricks on me. Yeah… Maybe I just imagined all that stuff. Maybe it was all in my head. ------------------------- Edited by @prettylittlesiren. As always thanks for your help this would not be possible without your help! ------------------------- https://www.facebook.com/nabla.talon. https://absoluteacedia.tumblr.com https://twitter.com/AbsoluteAcedia reddit: r/Reficul_First_Sin Discord Server: Reficul First Sin You can view readings of the book on (when I do them): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzlPaaLVgk0oidLkG0nqyBA If you find it in you heart and are able to give or just want to read the book on a different platform: https://www.patreon.com/absoulteacedia https://www.wattpad.com/story/169981783-reficul-first-sin https://forum.novelupdates.com/threads/reficul-first-sin.83440/#post-4789513
Spoiler: Chapter 3 - School The bus pulls into its assigned spot in the school parking lot and is put into park. Peeking over the seats, I can see students are packed around the school entrance as per usual, some spending their last twenty minutes of freedom with their friends, others already entering the building. As I move down the aisle along with the other teens on the bus, I can see the bus driver staring at me through the rearview mirror. He seemed aggravated when I boarded the bus earlier but now he looks downright furious. What the hell? I continue shuffling down the aisle with the other students crammed around me, but as soon as I get to the white line, the bus driver scoffs at me, shaking his head in disdain. Seriously, what the hell is his problem with me? I’m getting annoyed by his glaring so I decide to turn around and give him the finger as I walk off. Fuming, the bus driver shoves a freshman out of the way and stumbles off the bus. “Stop, you little rascal!” Oh shit. He’s actually coming after me! I take off through the crowds of students, a few protests of ‘hey!’ and ‘watch it!’ rising up after me when I shove past a few people. “I said stop, you stupid kid!” I flip him off again. “Like hell I will, asshole!” There is no way I am going to let some fat old bus driver in his forties catch me. I don’t know what his problem is, but he’s clearly looking for a fight and I don’t need that kind of shit on my record. WHAM! As I round the bus, I run into something and stumble back, barely managing to catch my footing. Standing before me is a tall figure wearing a black hoodie with the hood up. He is slightly hunched over from me running into him but slowly rights himself, standing up almost stiffly. I'm not sure what's up with him, but his hoodie is rippling like something is squirming beneath it. Because of the angle, I can't really see his face under the hood. Why is he wearing a hoodie on a hot day like today? He must be a drug dealer or something; better keep my distance. “Hey!” The bus driver is quickly closing in on me. Time to go. “Sorry, dude, you look like you’re okay, so I gotta split!” I rush out, dashing past the hooded figure. The bus driver was getting too close for comfort, but luckily, he stopped and started to question that strange dude which gave me a chance to slip away into the crowd heading into the building. Crowds of students are gathered together in their various cliques. The cheerleaders are leaning against their lockers with jocks surrounding them, each of them wearing fake smiles and offering fake laughter. The goths are near the water fountains, looking as dismal and gloomy as they always do, with the computer nerds right around the corner geeking out over some new video game. Rose, Cno, and I stop at our lockers to get our books for the day before we head to our first class, English. Luckily, we all share that class so group projects are a breeze. Today, however, the lesson is so boring that I can barely keep my eyes open. Ugh, I hate this class. This boring ass teacher, as always, has his back towards the class and is writing notes on the board for everyone to copy. His monotone voice drones on and on about some book we were supposed to read but I’m having trouble paying attention. It’s so much easier to daydream or tune his voice out, but I know if I get another bad grade, my parents will chew me out. Begrudgingly, I try to pay attention to what’s written on the board. I copy down as much as I can until he starts erasing half of his notes to start on a new topic. Man, why does he write so fast? I can barely keep up! The more I write, the more the dull pain in my wrist slowly intensifies as the minutes tick by. I’m trying my hardest to keep up with his writing that I accidentally drop my pen. Bending down to pick it up, I glance towards the front. He’s already erasing his next set of notes, this time moving towards his desk to retrieve the book he’s been lecturing about. Looking at the clock, I realize there are still 15 minutes of torture left. I sigh and lean back in my seat, twirling my pen between two fingers as my gaze drifts towards the window. It looks like such a nice day out, yet we’re all stuck inside, doomed to listen to some guy drone on and on about a book we’ll probably never even think about again, let alone want to write a paper on. As my thoughts wander, I slowly start to doze off. It’s only when my eyes start to close that something hits me in the back of the head, startling me awake. I turn and notice a neatly-folded piece of paper on the floor beside my desk, so I lean down and retrieve it. There’s a cute little cat doodled on it, along with pretty handwriting that says, “If you’re having trouble keeping up with notes, you can borrow mine later.” Glancing behind me, I realize Cleo is smiling knowingly to herself while diligently taking down notes. The rest of the class passes at light speed as my thoughts shift to Cleo. DIIIIIIIIING! The bell jolts me out of my stupor and I grab my stuff to make my way out the class. Cleo is waiting right outside, leaning against the wall as she checks her nails. As soon as she sees me, she smiles… and maybe I am imagining this, but it looks like she’s blushing. “Hey, Cleo,” I greet, my voice kind of shaky. I scratch the back of my neck and look away as my heart speeds up. Her smile becomes downright radiant as she tucks her hair behind her ear. “Hey, Nabs.” Her use of my nickname causes warmth to spread throughout my chest. I can feel my confidence welling up as we walk down the hall towards our lockers. “So, when do you want to meet up to exchange notes?” I ask. “Well, I’m not doing anything after school. What about you?” Thinking about my plans for after school, nothing comes to mind. “Nope, no activities or plans.” “How about we meet up in the library, then?” Cleo suggests. “Does that sound okay?” “Yep, that sounds great!” I chirp a little too excitedly. Just ahead of us, I notice that Jerry is leaning against the lockers with a bunch of his friends surrounding him. The guys are checking out Cleo while the girls are whispering while giving her catty looks. Cleo’s demeanor instantly changes when she catches sight of them, her expression becoming fearful as she holds her books closer to her chest. She begins to walk a little faster, making it harder for me keep up with her. “What’s this?” Jerry suddenly pipes up, stepping in front of Cleo. She stops in her tracks and takes a tentative step back, curling in on herself. “So suddenly the school slut is too good to acknowledge other people?” Anger building I step in front of Cleo protectively. “Hey, leave her alone!” “Get out of the way, dipshit, this is between me and the smelly slut behind you,” he barks, getting in my face. Though Jerry wouldn’t be considered a muscle head, he’s still pretty well-built for a sixteen year-old. I’m still standing in front of Cleo and I have no intention of moving until they let her pass in peace. Jerry shoves me out of the way and I trip head first into one of the lockers, slamming my head against the metal. The back of my head is throbbing hard and as I look around my vision is swimming and it is hard to focus. “Jerry, stop!” Cleo shouts. I look up just in time to see him yank Cleo’s books out of her hands and throw them to the floor, spitting on them. “Come on, Cleo, what are you hiding your tits for? You had the audacity to show Felix; you might as well show everyone else here, too.” His friends hoot and holler at this statement then chant “whore” over and over while stomping their feet. Other students are starting to gather around them and Cleo, curious at the commotion. Where the hell are the teachers? Cleo backs up while glancing over at me with concern. She quickly turns back to Jerry, hands raised up in front of her. “Why are you doing this?” she whimpers. “I never did anything and you know it!” “You sure about that?” Jerry cuts his eyes at her. “I find it funny how Felix and I are great, then all of a sudden he spends one night with you and he doesn’t want to be with me anymore.” “She must’ve been really good, dude,” one of Jerry’s guy friends chimes in. “How many times do I have to tell you I didn’t do anything to Felix at that party?!” she cries. “He said he had a question for me then asked to go somewhere quieter because it was loud, and then he made a move on me! I didn’t do anything!” “Yeah right, bitch,” Felix says with a chuckle, breaking through the crowd to stand next to Jerry. He points at Cleo accusingly. “You sucked me off and you know it.” Face distorted in anger, Jerry reaches towards Cleo’s shirt. She tries to push him away but he grabs the material of her shirt and yanks her forward. She fights against his grip but he tugs the article of clothing upward, revealing her stomach. Wolf whistles rise up and she elbows Jerry in the face while she is struggling. Jerry stumbles back slightly from the unexpected blow, holding his cheek. “You fucking bitch!” He reaches toward Cleo again when someone grabs his arm. “Did you attack Nabla?” I'm not sure when he showed up but Cno is standing next to Jerry holding his arm firmly by the elbow. Startled, Jerry tries to shake off Cno’s hand to no avail. “I believe I asked you a question,” Cno states flatly. Jerry turns and spits squarely into his face. “Let go of my hand! Who cares if I pushed that retard?!” There is a sound like paper ripping, a loud, agonized cry, and then screams of panic from the surrounding students. I’m still on the floor so I can’t really see what’s going on through all the chaos of everyone backing away from where Cleo, Cno, and Jerry were. As the crowd moves, some students running away while screaming and shouting, I manage to get a glimpse of what happened and it’s not pretty at all. Cno still has a firm grip on Jerry’s arm, but Jerry seems to be unconscious, hanging limply in Cno’s grip. Blood coats the unconscious teen’s skin, rushing down towards the linoleum floor in thick rivulets. The meat on Jerry's arm from the wrist to the shoulder is flayed and is sloughing off from the bloody bone visible beneath. The cuts are so clean that the layers of skin, muscle and fat can be distinguished easily, or that would be the case if blood was not wildy gushing from the grisly wound. Jerry’s arm is still attached, but only by a few strands of muscle. Cno’s eyes are black again. He lets go of Jerry’s bloodied, practically-dismembered arm, letting Jerry and his limb fall onto the floor with a wet plop. He then begins to slowly reach down towards Jerry’s neck, then stops and looks around at all the students gawking at him. Black wings burst out from his back and he reaches his hands out to both sides of the hallway. “Obliviscor Somnus,” he growls while the feathers on his wings flutter as though from strong winds. The air ripples and distorts around his hands. All throughout the hallway, students begin to fall unconscious, slipping to the floor lifelessly. I can’t tell if they’re dead or just sleeping, but either way, my gaze is locked on Cno. I can’t really wrap my head around what just happened… Jerry was antagonizing Cleo, Cleo was just trying to stand up for herself, and then Cno… Cno ripped his arm off! The more I try to make sense of everything, the more my thoughts become muddled and my eyelids grow heavy. My entire body begins to feel heavy and I yawn, letting myself go lax against the lockers. As my eyes close and I give into my exhaustion, I swear I see Rose rounding the bend. She screams something, but I can’t make out her words. I’m already too far gone, and the bright light behind her looks nice… almost comforting.. “What beautiful white wings...” I whisper to myself before I succumb to sleep embrace. ------------------------- Chapter edited by @prettylittlesiren great work as alway and you are very much appreciated! (Final edit done) ------------------------- https://www.facebook.com/nabla.talon. https://absoluteacedia.tumblr.com https://twitter.com/AbsoluteAcedia reddit: r/Reficul_First_Sin Discord Server: Reficul First Sin You can view readings of the book on (when I do them): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzlPaaLVgk0oidLkG0nqyBA If you find it in you heart and are able to give or just want to read the book on a different platform: https://www.patreon.com/absoulteacedia https://www.wattpad.com/story/169981783-reficul-first-sin https://forum.novelupdates.com/threads/reficul-first-sin.83440/#post-4789513
Spoiler: Chapter 4 - Cleo "AHH!" Sitting up and looking around, I realize I am laying in a bed in the nurse's office, which is located on the second floor of the school. What the hell am I doing here? I take my phone out to check the time, but it is dead. Thinking back, the last thing I remember is walking down the hall with Cleo after first period and then Jerry made a snarky comment. But what was it again? I am trying hard to recall when a sharp headache courses through my skull. I wince and reach a hand up to clutch my head when a small voice pipes up. "Hey, Nab... Are you alright?" I look up to see Cleo lingering near the doorway. When she sees that I'm still in pain, she rushes over to the bedside and pulls up one of the spare plastic chairs to sit next to me. "I'm fine," I assure her, removing my hands from my head and forcing a smile on my face. The last thing I want to do is make her worry. Strangely my head stops throbbing as soon as she's close to me, and I'm able to think somewhat clearly again. "Cleo, what happened? Why am I in the nurse's office and how did I get here?" She looks at me inquisitively. "You don't remember anything?" "Just bits and pieces... Anytime I try hard to recall anything, my head starts hurting. The last solid thing I recall is Jerry pushing me into a locker. The rest is fuzzy." As I think further about the incident, a dull pain starts to creep into my head again. Cleo wrings her hands anxiously. "The police were called and they claimed there was a gas leak somewhere. What happened afterwards is frightening... After a majority of the school passed out, they think an intruder snuck in and attacked some of the students. Jerry got the worst of it; he was found on the floor in a puddle of his own blood with his right arm shredded." A look of pity is on her face as she recounts the information she gathered. It's astounding to me that she can feel any sort of sympathy for the guy. I can't remember what exactly he said, but I know it was enough for me to try to step in on her behalf. "Why do you care if he's injured? He is always being a complete dickhead to you." And just like that, I recall him trying to grab Cleo and undress her. I recall her terror, her attempt to fend him off, raising her hands to protect herself... My blood begins to boil. "Don't you realize he tried to forcefully strip you in front of everyone?" The question explodes from my mouth before I can filter myself. "Aren't you pissed at him? Why would you ever feel sorry for someone who acts like such a prick to you?" Cleo initially looks taken aback at my questions, but then she shrugs. The expression on her face is not quite defeat, but it's definitely acceptance. Almost like she accepts people are going to treat her unkindly. "I forgive him," she states. "I appreciate you feeling angry on my behalf, but I don't believe that just because someone treats me like crap that I should stoop to their level and do the same." Any anger I felt dissipates because, well... That's a very mature way to look at things. I can't really be mad at her when she's just trying to look at the situation from a mature angle. "You sound like my parents and my friend Rose," I remark, trying to not sound as doubtful as I feel. "Look, as a Christian, I understand what you are saying, but it doesn't sound reasonable to me to just forgive and forget. You can't just leave it to God! You need to stand up for yourself, Cleo, and it's okay to be pissed at people who treat you like shit." Cleo chuckles and retorts, "As a Christian myself, I know that and I agree with you. I never said I'd just sit there and let people treat me like crap, Nabla, I'm not against standing up for myself. I'm just saying that you don't have to take a bullet for me; I can handle my own problems. And honestly? Of course I can leave it up to God; He always comes through for me and He's one of the reasons why I still get up and come to school everyday even when I don't want to keep going." She looks out the window and lets out a soft sigh. Kids of all grades can be seen running out from the school's main entrance and they're moving quickly, clearly alarmed by something. More cop cars are pulling into the school, too. Strange I thought they cleared up the gas leak and the cops were leaving. Why is more coming and why is all the students fleeing ... Turning away from the window, Cleo returns her gaze to me. The calm spell that was over us breaks and worry creases her brow. "Why are we even talking about this in the first place? Something strange is going on outside Nab, we need to get out of here." She stands up and holds out her hand to me. I sit up on my own and take her hand, but before she can help me stand, I feel like I have something I need to get off my chest. "Cleo, I like you," I blurt out, before I can even think about my words. Um, what did I just say? Cleo is looking at me strangely. I feel embarrassment heat my cheeks and I look at anything but her. "S-sorry, I didn't mean to say that... I mean I don't take it back, um... unless you want me to?" Stumbling over my words, I shift my gaze from my hands to my feet and sometimes peek up at Cleo. I'm scared to see her reaction but I'm also curious. Cleo pauses before sitting next to me again. Trying hard to stifle a laugh, she says, "you really aren't good at this, are you?" A sense of defeat starts to well up in my heart and I feel myself deflate. "Yeah, I guess I am lack luster in this department." For a few minutes, it's awkward and we don't meet each other's eyes. Cleo and I are looking at everything but each other, and I'm getting ready to apologize again for my confession when she tucks a lock of hair behind her ear and begins, "In all honesty, Nab, I--" CRASH! The window that Cleo was looking out of shatters and instinctively, I cover my face. Shards of glass graze me but, thankfully, don't embed themselves into my skin. What the hell?! Did someone hit a baseball through the window? "You okay, Cleo? Can't believe some idiot would break a window while we're at school." She doesn't answer. Lowering my hands from my face, I open my eyes to check on Cleo. I hear a cough and something wet splatters onto my face, and I cringe, shielding myself with my hands again. I wipe at my eyes to get the weird, warm liquid off and squint, trying to see. Red. dup-dup Everything is red. Including the sheets my legs are under. dup-dup "Cleo?" dup-dup I look up, my vision finally coming back to me and I almost wish it didn't. dup-dup Cleo is wheezing with utter agony etched on her face, her eyes shut tightly in her pain. A long metal object is protruding from the right side of her chest and it looks like it totally impaled her. With great effort, she reaches up to grasp the object with both her hands and tears slide down her cheeks, mixing with the few blood that splattered up onto her face. I can only watch in frozen horror as she tries to wrench the object from her chest, but she only succeeds in making herself whimper loudly, her hand falling away from the metal spear as she silently cries, blood beginning to pool in her mouth and dribble down her chin. "Cleo?" My words come out as barely a whisper, as if I'm afraid to even say her name for fear of adding to her pain, but she hears me and looks up. She offers me a weak smile despite her pain before she coughs again, expelling thick splatters of blood, and falls back against the floor, the life leaving her eyes as her breath quickly grows slower and slower. I scramble off the bed and kneel over her, my mind completely blank even as my body moves on its own accord. T-there has to be something I can do to save her, there has to be! "Cleo? Cleo, come on, speak to me." I touch her arm and realize her skin is growing cooler with each passing moment, and her breathing is getting shallow. "Cleo, no... Please, Cleo, wake up..." She's dying. She's dying in my arms, bleeding out . "What should I do? Oh god, what should I do?!" Panic and desperation lace my voice and before I know it, I'm screaming, "HELP! ANYONE, PLEASE, HELP!" Something blurs into the room from the open window to stand right behind Cleo's chair. Cno stands there and takes a second to look between the spear, Cleo, and me. Jet-black wings extend from his back. Suddenly, a memory of Cno holding a bloodied arm flashes through my head, bringing with it a splitting headache. Clutching my head, I whirl on him. "What the FUCK is going on?!" He ignores me and instead grips the metal spear that's embedded in Cleo's chest. He twists the spear. "W-what are you doing?" I cry. "Don't twist it! If you remove that, she'll die for sure, we need to get her to a hospital!!" Cno smirks in amusement. Moving his hand to grip the spear shaft, he nudges Cleo with his boot and she makes the faintest of sounds. "Oh, she's still alive. Look at that." I immediately get to my feet and try to shove him away from Cleo, but before I can touch him, he slams his fist into my stomach, forcing me to my knees. I cough and fight to get air back into my lungs. Laughing, Cno finally looks at me. "You really have feelings for this human? You are a failure. I guess she messed up after all." On my knees, I am face to face with Cleo. I can see the whites of her eyes, but her mouth is opening and closing as she fights to get air into her only good lung, she's fighting to stay alive but if we don't get help soon... My vision grows watery and I let the tears flow freely down my face. I push past Cno's feet, crawling to get to the doorway. "HELP! ANYONE!" The hallways are completely empty but if there's someone, anyone in here who can help... "I'll help her, Nabla, don't worry." I turn back to Cno, but he has his back to me. I'm able to get a better view of his wings and I'm dumbfounded because they look like they just burst through his shirt; they're really attached to his back but the tattered pieces of his T-shirt cover the space around them. Right now, though, the last thing I'm worried about is how he somehow grew wings; Cleo needs my help. I get up stumbling towards her. I need to move her; she can still make it, I know she can! I gently place my hands underneath her shoulders and get ready to lift her. Cno places a hand on Cleo's back and suddenly the air around him ripples, a sharp breeze whips around the nurse's office and scattering stray papers. "MARCUS, NO!" Rose rushes into the room via the window, beautiful white wings extended from her back while her right hand grips a sword. Time seems to stops for a split second as Cno looks up, a nasty grin lighting up his face. "Too late." Cleo's body inflates as if she's taking a deep breath, and then BOOM! I am showered head to toe in bits and pieces of flesh, fragments of bone, and warm blood. I can only stare at the gory human remains of what used to be Cleo. An enraged cry pierces the air as Rose charges at Cno. Cno is on his feet quick as a whip, flipping the spear up to block Rose's oncoming attack. The tip of the spear ignites in a crimson flame as they trade blows with each other. At every thrust of Cno's spear, a trail of blood-red flames follow. At one point, the spear nicks Rose's arm and draws blood, the flames licking at her wound and burn relentlessly at the blood coming from the wound. She yelps and jumps back from Cno to glance at her injury, then grits her teeth together, takes up her sword and, without hesitation, easily slices off the flesh that is still consumed by those strange red flames. On the floor, the flames completely engulf the piece of flesh. Strangely, it isn't charred black, but all the blood is burned to nothingness leaving just flesh. The flame actively jumps to any near by blood and continues to burn until there is no blood left near and then the flame just disappears. It jumps to Cleo's bloody remains and burns vigorously. Flapping her wings furiously, Rose closes the the gap almost instantly. As she swings her blade at Cno, a brilliant light erupts from her wings and the sword. Cno manages to block the heavy blow at the last second, but is sent flying through the wall and into the hallway from the impact. Rose's sword is still shining as she runs to me and grabs my hand. "Nabla, we have to run! He has the Spear of Areadbhar and I am no match for him right now." The light fades from her sword and it becomes melted and deformed. She tosses it to the ground and pulls me towards the window. Pulling out of Rose's grip, I turn around. "We have to save Cleo, Rose. She was injured." I reach to where she was just a second ago. All that's left is bloodless flesh and broken bone. I still see that pretty silver name necklace she always wore, and I grasp it. "There's no time, Nabla!" Rose grabs my hand, forces me to the window, and then we're both falling. I expect to land and break my legs, but that doesn't happen. In fact, we don't hit the ground at all. Rose is flapping her wings furiously and soon, we're gaining altitude. As I look down at the school, the part we were in explodes, resulting in terrified screams from the onlooking students and faculty that had evacuated. There seems to be a black tornado forming from the nurses room and in the center of the dark winds, Cno stands with that, flaming spear in his hands, watching us escape. --------------------- Thanks to my editor @prettylittlesiren! (Final edit done) --------------------- https://www.facebook.com/nabla.talon. https://absoluteacedia.tumblr.com https://twitter.com/AbsoluteAcedia reddit: r/Reficul_First_Sin Discord Server: Reficul First Sin You can view readings of the book on (when I do them): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzlPaaLVgk0oidLkG0nqyBA If you find it in you heart and are able to give or just want to read the book on a different platform: https://www.patreon.com/absoulteacedia https://www.wattpad.com/story/169981783-reficul-first-sin https://forum.novelupdates.com/threads/reficul-first-sin.83440/#post-4789513
Spoiler: Chapter 5 - Awakening We’re so high up! At this height, everything below me and Rose is tiny; we’re practically soaring through the clouds. With every flap of her wings, Rose carries us even faster to whatever destination we’re headed for. Every once in a while, light bursts from Rose’s wings, illuminating the darkening sky. It was hard to tell at first but after a few times, I noticed that during those bursts of light, we would travel a great distance. I came to this conclusion because the scenery around us would completely change after every burst. After what feels like hours of flight, tall mountains and trees appear on the horizon. With one final burst of light, the mountains are right under us. Rose slows down and we start to descend, landing right in the middle of the woods on the side of one of the taller mountains. Panting and out of breath, she turns to face me. “Are you alright, Nabla?” I don’t answer her, and I’m sure my expression is blank as I look down at Cleo’s silver necklace with the small cross attached to it. If feels like she just had this around her neck a few moments ago; I can still picture her wearing it, she always wore this necklace for as long as I had known Cleo. I can’t stop picturing what happened in my head, her face, the awful explosion, the impaling, Cleo’s heartbreaking, pained whines... “Nabla?” Rose implores. I finally snap out of my thoughts and shake my head. “I must be having another vivid nightmare.” When Rose is able to catch her breath, she sighs. “I’m sorry, Nabla, but this is no dream. We must find shelter. Cno… Marcus is surely going to try to track us down now that he’s got that accursed spear. He is no match for me in flight speed so we have a few days to recover, but there is much planning to be done.” Still staring at Cleo's necklace, I mutter, “Any moment now, my parents will wake me up and this nightmare will end.” The blonde is giving me an incredulous look but I’m not really paying attention to her. “Nabla, did you hear me? This isn’t a dream, we have to use this time wisely.” I can’t stop picturing Cleo and Jerry’s mangled arm. None of this makes sense; nothing like this would ever happen in reality, so it has to be a dream. “I know they will, I just have to be patient and then Mom will wake me up, and everything will be--” WHAP! A hard slap to the face knocks me off my feet and onto the ground, landing harshly on my back. My head swims; I can taste the blood and feel the broken flesh where my teeth cut into my cheek. The sharp pain radiating from the wound in my mouth quickly clears away any of my dizziness, reminding me that this really isn’t a dream. I rub my sore cheek and see that Rose is massaging her hand, her eyes filled with disdain and scorn as she regards me. “I can assure you, this is no dream,” she snaps. “Do not belittle Cleo’s death. She found everlasting life at the Lord's side. To pretend her death did not happen is to have derision for God’s plan and it is disrespectful towards Cleo.” Fury the likes of which I have never experienced surges through me and suddenly I no longer feel the pain of when Rose backhanded me. A strange, deep voice I can barely call my own bursts from my mouth: “God’s plan was for an innocent girl to be impaled by a spear and subsequently tortured before being brutally murdered?” I struggle to get to my feet. At this point, I am so angry that I’m seeing red; how dare she! “If that is truly his plan, then what is the difference between him and Lucifer?! They both seem evil in my eyes,” I sneer. Bright light engulfs Rose and a sword made completely of light manifests into her outstretched hand. It glows, looking menacing and beautiful at the same time. Rose narrows her eyes at me and points her swords at my face. “Repent. Now.” “You want to strike me down the same way your fellow winged friend Cno did to Cleo? GO AHEAD” I scream holding my arms outstretched exposing my chest. Cleo’s necklace feels like it is shearing hot and burning my hand, but I clamp down hard refusing to left it go. My blind anger directed at everything grows by the second. After a moment of silence, the light fades from Rose’s wings and the sword slowly dims and fades away. “Nabla I am not your enemy. I understand you are upset and that none of this makes sense but know that it was never my intention to hurt you and that Marcus will atone for his crimes.” The mention of Cno’s name gives rise to a feeling of extreme betrayal. “Why did he do that? I thought we were friends. I don’t understand. I don’t understand anything anymore.” all the anger and frustration welled up in me fizzes out giving way to emptiness and profound sadness. Feeling devoid of energy I collapse. The dirt below me is soft and wet and soaks through my clothing. Unable to hold back anymore I burst into tears. I feel a hand rest onto my back. “I am truly sorry Nabla. If only I made a move earlier. If only I prevented Marcus from being corrupted then none of this would have happened. I will do all I can to make up for my sins.” As I laid there sobbing I felt a warmth enter me and spread throughout my body from Rose’s hand on my back. It was extremely comforting and it felt like I was floating. The wound in my mouth stopped throbbing and the pain was replaced by an itch and then nothing. Rousing myself I get up and rub my forearm across my face in a attempt to wipe away some of the dirt on my tear soaked face. I face Rose after cleaning myself a little more. Her wings had a slight glow to them but that faded quickly. I guess she healed me. “What should I do now Rose? I want to go home and see my parents.” A pained and hesitant look is on Rose’s face after hearing my request. A slight bit of foreboding and dread starts to creep into my head seeing her make that expression. “Why are you making that face Rose… I want to go home and see my parents.” “Nabla… Listen… I can’t bring you home right now. Marcus is sure to be searching for you in areas like that.” “That is all the more reason for me to go home and warn my parents Rose. So can you please fly me back to my house” I plead with her. Looking down she says in a barely discernible voice, “even if I bring you home right now you will not find your parents there.” Dread fills my entire being and it is almost too much to bear. “ Why would my parents not be there Rose. Don’t lie to me!” Looking up at me with a stoic face she states, “Sense it has come to this point I will tell you everything. Nabla just like me, both of your parents are angels. Their mission was to keep watch over you until the day you awaken, but a very powerful entity showed up in New York and started to wreak havoc so I gave them the mission to investigate and destroy the entity if possible. I lost contact with them after they reported seeing a strange child with black wings covered in smoke. I was too late to tell them to retreat.” I stare right into her eyes with a dumbfounded expression. “So you're telling me you, Marcus and my parents are angels… and my parent were just there to watch me? You expect me to believe any of this?” “I do believe you have seen sufficient proof already today. And, you are wrong about certain things. Marcus… Marcus was an angel, and not only was he an angel , he was the Arc Angel of Patience and stood strong and unmoving alongside his fellow arc angels.” Sighing a look of profound sadness and longing appears on her face. “That is all in the past now. He is now the fallen angel of Wrath after the antichrist managed to somehow capture and corrupt him. That is besides the point. Your parents mission was indeed to watch you... but they loved you regardless of what you are or at least what you were suppose to be.” There is an itching feeling at my shoulder blades and I now notice that my palm holding Cleo’s necklace is extremely sweaty. Ignoring all of this I try and process everything Rose is telling me. “Rose what am I supposed to be?” “... No one knows Nabla.” The itch on my back is getting unbearable and I struggle to reach and scratch it with my unoccupied left hand. Rose looks at me with a questioning look. “Are you ok Nabla?” The itchiness intensifies to the point is feels like ants are crawling under my skin on my back. I curl over groaning and trying my best to claw at the skin on my back. “NABLA!” Rose rushes up to me. Light starts to shine from her wings again as she reaches out her hand, but she stops with shock written on her face. She then flaps hard shooting backwards away from me. Right as she escapes, from the right side of my back, a white luminescent wing bursts out of the skin. Seconds later, from the left side, a glossy black wing bursts out. Both wings are large and covered in a grey viscous liquid. With a scream my wings start shining their respective colors of white and black and all the gray liquid evaporates. Overhead grey clouds form and it begins to rain. Strangely as I look up the world is seemingly split into two. The rain on the right side is crystal clear, and all the vegetation seemed to be faintly shining and growing at a rapid pace. On the left side, the rain was pitch black and everything it touches sizzles like acid is being poured onto it and everything is melting into black puddles. Suddenly the equilibrium is broken, and starting from where they meet, both sides slowly overlays turning grey. The world around me changed again. This time both sides showed both signs of being eaten away from acid and rapidly growing. Along with this change the wings on my back that I could not physically see but somehow knew was there started to change. Just like the rain falling around me, starting from the base of the wing they both started to change and turn grey. When both turned completely grey the rain came to an abrupt stop. I felt a searing pain in my right palm. Looking down the necklace was covered in the gray rain and was melting into my hand. After it completely disappeared into my hand there was a sudden stinging pain originating from the back of my hand. On my skin a tattoo of white cross wrapped in black chains appeared. I felt a warmth coming from the tattoo and it felt like Cleo was there holding my hand and leading me the strength I would need to keep going. Rose flies back and lands close by. She examines me for a moment then says, “Now I know why someone of seemingly african origins has gray eyes... Nabla though I am not sure what or who you are I do not think you are evil. I still very much consider you my friend. Our first priority is to safely get away from this area. Because of your awakening, every spiritual attuned creature for miles on end will be able to pinpoint this location. We must relocate deeper into the mountains now.” I felt so much calmer now. “I understand Rose I will follow you.” She flashes me a smile. “Good. I am guessing that you instinctively know the basics of how to fly now right?” Thinking about it I try and flap my wings. At first the are not synced and I tumble into the dirt. Getting up, I give it another try and unsteadily I hover off the ground. “Ok I think I got it Rose.” “Alright, let us move.” She flies up past me with ease and I follow her slowly, trying to get the hang of flight. After climbing a good distance into the air I look back at the mountain we were on. There is a round circle at the summit. The ground is gray and the vegetation is quickly decomposing into ash that is being blown away by the wind. ----------------------- Thank you @prettylittlesiren for editing this chapter! (final edit done) ------------------------ https://www.facebook.com/nabla.talon. https://absoluteacedia.tumblr.com https://twitter.com/AbsoluteAcedia reddit: r/Reficul_First_Sin Discord Server: Reficul First Sin You can view readings of the book on (when I do them): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzlPaaLVgk0oidLkG0nqyBA If you find it in you heart and are able to give or just want to read the book on a different platform: https://www.patreon.com/absoulteacedia https://www.wattpad.com/story/169981783-reficul-first-sin https://forum.novelupdates.com/threads/reficul-first-sin.83440/#post-4789513
Spoiler: Chapter 6 - The Mission [ Morning in the Talon’s suburban house in Clermont, Florida.] "Thanks, guys. I think I'm okay now. Sorry I woke you up." "No problem, just try not to scream so loudly next time, yeah? You scared the crap out of your mom." After we check on him for awhile longer, Nabla seems like he is fine so me and Linda decide it is time for us to go get ready for our pretend jobs while Nabla gets ready for school. Walking down the hall I laugh under my breath turn and say, “It sure is inspiring to watch him and other humans struggle though their adversity ain’t it Linda?” Smacking me on the back she chides me softly, “Jhon keep it down! What if he hears you? You should have just woke him up on time but you were so preoccupied exploring your dreams as usual.” “Dreaming is so much more chaotic when you are mortal. It is almost addicting! When we were angels we had our dreams but we did not require sleep. We just used it as a method to quickly regain our grace.” She smiles while she thinks of all the dreams she has had and forgotten since coming to earth. “You are right honey. In all the years we have been here the one thing I never get tired of is dreaming.” Her smile disappears after a few seconds of thought. “But, just like Nabla, I can do without the nightmares. Though my nightmares are just memories of the past.” “Fret not about that again honey. Some day we will find him with the grace of god. Of that I know.” “I know… what I do fret about is your change in speech. Even now you still switch to old english every once in a while!” “... I did that on purpose. It is called swag darling. And, I am nothing if not a man of swagger.” Giving a hearty laugh she punches me on the arm while not paying attention to her strength. The force ripples through my arm and throughout my body. I immediately cough up blood. “Dammit Linda control your gift” I say between coughing blood into my hand. I feel ripples continue to reverberate inside of me like a bell is continuously ringing within my body. “Sorry you know how hard it is to control our gifts without showing our wings, and even then it is very difficult with fragile mortal bodies!” She checks to make sure Nabla is not near and turns back to me stretching out her arms towards me she snaps her fingers. SANO White wings spread out behind her and visible ripples spread out slowly towards me. As they touch me the familiar feeling of gentle waves wash over me. Any internal wounds that her gift may have done heals as the vibrations pass through me. We clean up any traces and I look up at the clock. There is a little over 60 minutes before Nabla is completely ready and gone for school so I stop in the living room, sit down on the sofa and turn on the television to the news. Linda sits down next to me and nestles into my arms. Looking down at her, my heart swells with love and I can't help but feel blessed. She sure is beautiful in every way. We were brought into existence as a pair destined to be with each other, but the wonder in our relationship truly blossomed when we were given mortal forms… and mortal problems. Thinking of all we have been through right before we were given the mission to monitor one of the unawakened, Nabla, a look of great sorrow appears on my face. Noticing my silence Linda asks, “what is on your mind for you to make such a sad face Jhon are you mad about earlier?” “I was just thinking of our lost child Dear. I have had this thought lately that maybe … just maybe Nabla is that child.” Scowling she chides me, “though Nabla resembled that child, it is impossible for him to be that child, our child. Our baby was already awakened as an angel, and a powerful one at that. Though he shares the dark complection that our baby had, his eyes are grey while our child's eyes were a luminescent silver.” A sudden burst of light came through the nearby window and formed into a ball before floating in front of the couple. Knowing this was a message sent to them from their direct supervisor, Jhon wastes no time reaching out and tapping the ball. The ball of light ruptures at his touch causing the light to spill out blinding them for a second. After the light fades coordinates and a short message was clear in their head. [Sharp spike in evil energy was detected with these coordinates being the source. Because this is an emergency, full use of Jhon’s gift is authorized. Priority of observation and if possible elimination.] Simultaneously they both get up and head to the front door. My wings emerge as I open it.Thinking of the coordinates given, I channel the grace stored in my wings to my hands where it enters the door. The outside scene ripples and melts like white paint is being poured onto a completed painting turning everything blank. While that is happening I reach towards my pants pocket and channel my grace again. Reaching inside I pull out a large wooden club the size of my leg. It is so heavy I have to grasp it with two hands to keep it from slipping back into the dimension I opened. Barely able to get it out, I hand it to Linda. Happily she takes it from me with one hand not showing any sign of exerting herself. Looking at her gently stroking the club that dwarfed her I feel sorry for any miserable demon who has the misfortune of encountering her today. I reach into my pocket again and pull out my longtime companion a 44 magnum. Engraved on either side of the handle is angel wings. Opening the cylinder I focus my gift and all six empty spots blur then is filled with bullets. Done with my preparations, I look back at Linda. “You ready dear?” Adorning her entire body is a shining silver armor. “Yes honey. I can hear Nabla in the shower let's leave before he comes out.” We both focus our grace into the crosses at around our neck and a membrane covers us so we will go unnoticed by any humans. With that Linda takes the lead and walks through the door into the blankness and disappears. Magnum at the ready I follow after her. As I walk through the door the scenery immediately changes and we are on a paved sidewalk. Skyscrapers tower above us and people are everywhere scrambling to their next destination while the roads are congested with vehicles honking. I take in the smells and noise of the city that never sleeps, one of the places legendary for human achievement, and feel invigorated. Linda flaps her wings and take to the skies and I follow. We hover right above the busy intersection. Club resting on her shoulder she scans the surroundings trying to feel for any evil presence. “Focus Jhon I know you love the city but we can enjoy that after we destroy the demon. Your senses are better than mine do you feel anything?” Closing my eyes I tune out everything. To the north I feel a faint presence. Sweating I feel my cheek. On my hand is something sticky that resembles saliva. As I focus on once more the presence, it feels like my face is being licked by a wet ice cold tongue causing me to shiver. I open my eyes and point in the direction I felt that thing. “Something feels wrong about that presence Linda I think we should retreat and call Rose for backup.” “You are always so cautious. How can we go back without even identifying the demons attributes and gift?” With that Linda sped off in the direction I pointed with me hot on her heels. ----------------------- Shorter Chapter would love if you guys left a comment telling me how you feel about the story so far. (final edit done) ------------------------ https://www.facebook.com/nabla.talon. https://absoluteacedia.tumblr.com https://twitter.com/AbsoluteAcedia reddit: r/Reficul_First_Sin Discord Server: Reficul First Sin You can view readings of the book on (when I do them): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzlPaaLVgk0oidLkG0nqyBA If you find it in you heart and are able to give or just want to read the book on a different platform: https://www.patreon.com/absoulteacedia https://www.wattpad.com/story/169981783-reficul-first-sin https://forum.novelupdates.com/threads/reficul-first-sin.83440/#post-4789513
Spoiler: Chapter 7 - The Other Side Pitch black. I hear nothing. I see nothing. I feel nothing. This goes on for an indeterminate amount of time. Yet... I can think and therefore I exist. Who am I? As if spurred by my thoughts everything changes. There is a slight pain and then there is light! Startled at the abrupt change from comfortable darkness I scream. WHAAA WHAAA WHAA “Congratulations Ma’am she is a healthy baby girl!” I feel a familiar presence like the darkness that has always comforted me and therefore I open my eyes. In front of me is a woman. She resembles someone I knew. Who was it again? “What will you name her?” The woman looks at me lovingly like I am the most precious thing in existence. “Her name is Cleo, Cleo Patricia.” Cleo? … Cleo! Thats my name! The world around me blurs. The images fading into nothingness. WAIT PLEASE! WAIT! THAT WAS MY MOTHER! No voice comes out of my mouth and everything continues to fade...then it reforms, and I am sitting in a classroom. I remember this! It was my elementary school. After living the beginning part of my life in an orphanage after the of the death of my mother in childbirth, I was finally adopted by my foster parents Mr and Mrs Xing. Adamantly, I decided to keep my name listed on my birth certificate and not take on the name of Xing. It was the only thing my mother had the time to give me before her death. As for my biological father, I never met him, nor has he ever bothered to make himself known to me. Therefore I never bothered to care. If I am recalling right, today is the my foster father stormed into the school drunk calling me a cursed child or something along those lines. It was not always like this. At first we three were very happy but after awhile unfortunate things started to happen and then kept on happening. It started with small thing like things breaking around the house, but then Mr Xing lost his job. Eventually, it culminated into the loss of the every quiet and submissive Ms Xing’s life in a freak car accident. The force of the blow was so strong that the seat belt decapitated Ms Xing. The details of which Mr. Xing made sure to remind me of every night before bed. He always had a very deep dislike of me. When I found out my mother was a christian I decided I wanted to be a Christian to; much to the Xings displeasure. The Xings was a family that followed Confucian beliefs. To that end, the father rules the mother and the mother the son and so on. This left me at the bottom of the totem pole in hierarchy. Needless to say, my willfulness and my desire to follow christian beliefs did not sit well with them especially with Mr Xing. Therefore every misfortune to every hit the house after they adopted me was pinned on me. Right on cue, the door to the classroom is violently pushed open and in storms Mr Xing. He grabs me forcefully by the arm and drags me outside to the car where he opens the door and tosses me inside like luggage. He reeks of alcohol, as usual, and the whole time from classroom to the car he is spewing profanities and calling me the cursed child. The world blurs into nothingness and reforms again. I immediately recognize this as my middle school this time. I remember we moved here to Clermont, Florida because my foster father found a job in the area. As usual, I was in the back looking at the ever entertainer and class clown Nabla getting yelled at by the teacher for dozing off again in class. He makes some silly excuse of some lady haunting him in his dreams so he can’t sleep. I am not sure when it happened but watching him became my only source of happiness in this dim cruel world. The antics he gets into with Marcus and watching him getting scolded by his friend Rose fills me with longing for a life I never had. I want to go be friends with them... but the feeling I get from Marus is the same feeling I get from Mr Xing, cold and dark. Right on cue the worst moment to date in my life happens. I get a funny feeling and look down. There is a faint red mark on the front of my jeans. And so begins my first period. I remember giving a lame excuse of being sick to the school and walking briskly home trying to cover myself just to find Mr Xing there extremely drunk and belligerent. When he asked me why I was home so early I told him the truth. He honored me in giving me truth too. He said, “ when you turn 18, I will take what is rightfully mine after being cursed by you for all these years. After that you can make your own living.” I didn't cry. Knowing my future before it happened gave me a sense of peace and determination. Before my 18th birthday, I will take my life one way or another. At least I get to watch Nabla for awhile longer. The world blurs again into nothing and reforms. I am at a party. I vividly remember this day. The only reason I went was to escape Mr. Xing. Lately he has this look in his eyes, when he is drinking, like he will pounce on me at any moment so I try my best to avoid him. “Hey Cleo can I ask you something really quick?” I am approached by Felix. He is caucasian with an average build, dark blue eyes and a kind smile. I have never talked to him and as far as I understand he and Jerry is a couple. Lowering my guard I reply , “sure.” “It sure is loud in here. It's important so can we find somewhere a little more quiet?” Having no reason to not comply I agree and follow him to an adjacent unoccupied room. After I go in, he closes the door behind me. This strikes me as odd but I decide to ignore it and hear him out. He reaches down and starts undoing his pants. “Whoa I don't know what you are doing, but I am not interested.” Slightly frightened I try and squeeze past him. He grabs my arm. I look back and he has this knowing smile plastered on his face, and his eyes… they are silver and it was almost as if light was shining from within them. I break free from his grasp and run out the door and all the way home scared out of my wits at those mesmerizing silver eyes. Afterwards the rumors of me being a slut started. And , yet Nabla never once looked at me differently. Thinking of him, warmth fills my entire being. Then everything is blurry again but this time it lasts longed. I can hear voices. They sound muffled and distant. “Cleo, I like you.” Hearing those words warmth and happiness spreads throughout my entire body. Before I can reply, a sharp excruciating pain erupts from my chest and then everything goes dark. I opened my eyes groggily. Where am I? Last thing I remember is …. GASP. The pain the unbearable pain oh god I can't take it. I grab my chest searching for the object of the pain but there is nothing there. My last memories flood in and the horror of them makes me short of breath. I could almost feel the searing pain of the object as it was embedded inside of me… as it devoured me. Then I remember that last moment when I felt that hand rest onto my back and the sensation of blades entering me continuously… filling me up and the pain of them slicing me from the inside out. At the thought I immediately hurl but there is nothing inside my stomach so I just sit there dry heaving for minutes on end. A sudden thought scares me out of my mental breakdown. Nabla! He is in danger while I am sitting here having a fit. Get a hold of yourself Cleo! Eyes watery I look up and attempt to get my bearings. I am on a little patch of sand and stretched out before me is a vast expanse of water. The water is inky black and menacing waves crash to and fro. In the distance I see a small row boat slowly making its way through the waves with grace and ease. It lands on the beach of my little island. On board is an old black man with a white beard reaching the floor. He struggles hard to get out of the boat which is in starch contrast to the ease of which he navigated the old wooden boat though the sea. “Do you require a ride young girl? Or do you prefer for the waves to take you?” Nervously I plead with him, “where am I? My friend is in danger! I need to help him!” He offers me a kind smile. “All will be explained on the ride, come now.” He gets back onto his boat and I follow him on. He pushes it off the shore with strength unbecoming of his fragile look. Almost immediately after we depart a giant wave crashes into the little island wiping it from existence. Shocked, I think what would have happened if I was still asleep on its shores. There is a stinging pain on the back of my right hand. Looking at it, a strange tattoo slowly appears. It is a black cross wrapped in white thorny vines. “Well what do we have here!” Looking up, I see a look of complete befuddlement on the old man's face. He stops rowing and closes his eyes for a moment. He then starts rowing again in a different direction. Smiling he says, “you are a special one aren't you little missy. Your new destination is an equally special place. Rest now. You will need your mental fortitude soon.” With that he continued to row though the black ocean as the waves tossed us up and down. ----------------------- The next chapter will be a long one so it will take a few days for me to get it out. Follow me on the links below for updates! (final edit done) ------------------------ https://www.facebook.com/nabla.talon. https://absoluteacedia.tumblr.com https://twitter.com/AbsoluteAcedia reddit: r/Reficul_First_Sin Discord Server: Reficul First Sin You can view readings of the book on (when I do them): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzlPaaLVgk0oidLkG0nqyBA If you find it in you heart and are able to give or just want to read the book on a different platform: https://www.patreon.com/absoulteacedia https://www.wattpad.com/story/169981783-reficul-first-sin https://forum.novelupdates.com/threads/reficul-first-sin.83440/#post-4789513
Spoiler: Chapter 8 - Dreaming of the Past The night air is cool and crisp. The moon hung high in the sky and below us the hills rolled on. It's weird how fast I got use to flying. Its honestly very fun! I feel like the character Pit from my favorite game super smash brothers. Folding my wings I do a dive bomb towards the ground. Then I spread them out and swoop back into the air. A flash of light erupts next to me blinding me and almost causes me to fall out of the sky. Steadying myself I look up to see Rose hovering in front of me scowling. “This is not the time for games Nabla. Let's find a suitable place to land and set up camp to rest for the night.” I look around taking in all the beautiful hills and valleys rolling into the distance. “Where are we Rose?” Rose closes her eyes then a faint pulse of light emits from her wings and travels into the distance. A few moments past and the light returns to her. It weird seeing light move as is does when she uses it. Rose opens her eyes and states with confidence, “we are in the Appalachian mountains in Central Pennsylvania.” Shocked I ask, “how did we go from Central Florida to Pennsylvania in a few hours?” Ignoring my question she points to a hill slightly larger than the ones surrounding it that is covered sparsely in trees. “Let's make camp there.” Rose Lands gracefully and I try to mimic her movements but my right wing hits a branch causing me to become unbalanced and tumble through the air and into the ground. Thankfully I landed on my back and my wings seems to be resilient on the outside and soft on the inside so the fall did not hurt. I get up and dust the leafs off that got stuck on my wings my clothing. “We will make camp here and start training tomorrow Nabla so rest well.” Saying her piece she turns to a patch of grass. Her right hand starts to faintly shine and she waves it at the ground. Light follows where she points and the grass is flattened . After she is done, there is two perfect circles just big enough for an adult to curl into a ball. She smiles with satisfaction and lays down in the right one. She pauses and looks up at me. “Um, why are you just standing there Nabla? We need to rest for the long journey ahead of us.” I point to the other flattened grass right next to her. “You want me to sleep there?” “Yes Nabla” “No Rose” Clearly offended Rose snaps, “are you not satisfied with my workmanship?” I think back to all those take home class projects in which I always had Rose and Cno as partners. Rose has always taken extreme pride in anything she does. So a little project turned into a massive one. And, If she was not given an A for her work the teacher would never hear the end of her nagging. Cno on the other hand, would seemingly fade into non existence as he tried to get away with doing any work. Thinking about all the trouble these two have caused me to get into over the years I can't help but laugh a little. Then I remember my current situation in which i’m on the run with Rose from someone I thought of as a brother and my smile is replaced with a frown. Where did it all go wrong? Focusing on the warmth radiating from the cross on my right hand all my worries fade away. “Nothing is wrong with your work Rose it's just that I hate bugs. You know that.” “My power scared away all the beasts even close to this hill and you are worried about bugs? …. They are long gone by now scaredy cat.” With that she lays on one of her pristine white wings and wraps the other one around her. Completely enveloped she looks like a big fluffy white bird. I wonder if she cares about getting them dirty? Trusting her and following her lead I lay in the circle she left for me and mimic her style of laying on a wing and wrapping the other around myself. It is a little chilly but I guess I am exhausted because I can feel myself drifting off almost immediately. As I fade away, I hold my right hand to my chest and the gentle warmth spreads throughout my body. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Nabla wake up this instant!” “Huaa? What? Where am I?!” “You can figure that out in detention later young man!” Miss Hobblesnort my 6th grade english teacher towered over me scowling. A long line of drool connects my mouth to my desk. I try my best to hide it by wiping it away but it is too late. The class starts to roar with laughter much to my embarrassment. Giving me one last look of disgust Miss Hobblesnort turns and struts back to the front of the class to continue writing notes on the board. She always walks like she is on a runway. Rumor has it that she use to model or something before she went on to pursue a teaching degree. She definitely has the body for it. In the seat to my right, Rose is diligently taking notes. Quietly I ask her, “hey Rose let me get your notes later.” She gives me one indifferent look then goes back to writing. I guess that means no… Looking to my left, Cno is passed out on his desk his short brown hair in disarray. As usual, he goes unnoticed and unpunished while I take all the heat. How can such a pale dude go so unnoticed? Looking around class everyone seems to be hard at work. A crumpled up piece of paper lands by my leg. There is only the new girl behind me. I can’t seem to recall her name … I think it started with C? I wonder what she wants? uncrumpling the note it just says , “notes?” I rip out a piece of paper and scribble on it , “sorry I don’t have the notes.” I draw a smiley face with the tongue sticking out. I turn around and put it on her desk while taking a peak at her. She's kind of cute now that I think about it! Shes asian, though from where, I have no idea. She is sporting straight black hair in a bob cut. Upon further thought... maybe she not my type. She was not really developed in the important areas “NABLA TALON GO STAND IN THE HALL!” The screams of Miss Hobblesnort violently tear me from my day dream. Upset I protest. “What did I do? I’m just sitting here minding my own business!” “First you sleep in class now you are bother Cleo with notes. Unlike you she's an honor student she doesn't need you corruption!” Fuming I blurt out, “ what about Cno!” I point at his head still resting on the desk wrapped in his arms. “Marcus Green wake up this instant!” He raises his head slightly. His gaze is locked with Miss Hobblesnort for a few seconds. His brown eyes seem almost hypnotic. Stuttering and fidgeting Miss Hobblesnort says, “We.. well. This is only… like, your first offence… right?” Rose clears her throat loudly. Looking shocked Miss Hobblesnort does a double take. “Rules are rules you will join your friend Nabla in the hall Mr. Green.” Cno gets up from his seat takes one long hard look at Rose then leaves with me hot on his heels. Now we are in the hall Cno just leans against the wall, folds his arms , and closes his eyes. Standing next to him I feel apologetic. “Sorry bro I did’nt mean to rat you out like that. I was just very upset.” He ignores me. “You Know Cno if you like Rose so much why don’t you just go out with her?” He ignores me. “Come on Bro I said i’m sorry already!” His eyes snap open and he turns and looks at me. His eyes are completely black. An eerie grin is on his face. “I’m so glad we are bros again after what I did.” Startled I stumble away from him and fall on my butt. Pointing at his face nervously say, “Bro somethings wrong with your eyes!” He looks into the classroom from the window. “Look at that bitch Rose.” He spits onto the ground. “I fucking hate angels. Oh and look! Cleo that slut is sitting in back. If I remember correctly this is in middle school right? You would never guess this but you know she had a crush on you since all the way back then?” I don’t know why but a feeling of sadness and rage wells up inside of me. “Maybe I should go back inside and remove her head from those pretty little shoulders of hers.” I scream, “FUCK OFF” while I stumble to get up. BAM A foot plants itself into my stomach. Helplessly, I curl up into a ball coughing . It hurts. Oh god it hurts so much! CRACK A hard blow to my face sends my onto my back. It feels like my entire skull is cracked and my ears are ringing . Holding my face, I can feel the blood seeping from between my fingers. There is a heavy pressure applied to my abdomen and I peek with teary eyes through my fingers. Cno is standing over me and stepping firmly on my stomach to keep me in place. Jet black wings are spread out behind him and a long spear with a flaming head in held in his hands pointed at my chest. “It’s to bad this is a dream or my mission would be complete and I would have proven my loyalty ... Until next time Nabla. For now i'll be sure to make it as painful as possible in honor of our everlasting friendship...Bro!” Putting his weight behind it he plunges the spear down. There is the sound of something snapping and a wet plop along with a sharp pain in my chest. Then a sickening grinding sound comes from my insides. The extreme pain causes me to convulse and I can feel Cno put more force onto the foot holding me down as he pushed the spear deeper. “NABLA!” I rocket up. Patting my chest there is no spear. There is no pain. ...She went through that much pain. Rose is standing next to me with a concerned look on her face. “You were thrashing around in your sleep.” Looking around, the little flatten patch of grass is in complete disarray with the ground ripped up in some parts. Panting I reply, “ sorry just had a nightmare.” “... then why are you crying?” Touching my face I notice the tears streaming down. Sighing, Rose turns around and starts to walk off. She pauses and looks back. “Take some time and get yourself together. Today i'll teach you the basics of controlling your gift… you will meet her again Nabla, but you need to be strong.” then she starts making her way into the wooded area of the large hill. Gathering my emotions I focus on the warmth emanating from my right hand. I wipe away my tears and follow after Rose. I will get stronger and I will avenge you before I meet you again on the other side Cleo. My promise gives me strength and makes my steps forward more determined. ----------------------- Sorry it took so long for some reason I had a hard time finishing it. Next chapter should be quicker! (final edit done) ------------------------ https://www.facebook.com/nabla.talon. https://absoluteacedia.tumblr.com https://twitter.com/AbsoluteAcedia reddit: r/Reficul_First_Sin Discord Server: Reficul First Sin You can view readings of the book on (when I do them): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzlPaaLVgk0oidLkG0nqyBA If you find it in you heart and are able to give or just want to read the book on a different platform: https://www.patreon.com/absoulteacedia https://www.wattpad.com/story/169981783-reficul-first-sin https://forum.novelupdates.com/threads/reficul-first-sin.83440/#post-4789513
Spoiler: Chapter 9 - Beginning of Training Steps full of determination, I catch up to Rose and walk behind her. Not looking back, she says, “ have you gathered yourself?” “Yes it was only a dream... I am ready!” “That is not what I meant Nabla.” She abruptly stops causing me to almost run into her back. She turns and looks me dead in the eye with a serious expression. “For as long as I have known you Nabla there is only three words I can use to describe you. Can you guess what they are?” Taking a second to think I reply with confidence, “Handsome, responsible, and diligent!” “NO!” Her shout startles me. She looks at me with a mix of anger with a sprinkle of disappointment. “IRRESPONSIBLE, LAZY, TROUBLE MAKER!” She shoves her finger at my face and if I did not duck she probably would have jabbed my eye out of its socket. “Now take it easy Rose no need to get emotional.” A little hurt from her statement I try to talk her excitement down. Last thing I want is for her to take training me as an assignment. “Get down and give me 20 right now Nabla… no maggot!” She puts a stern face on and points to the cold damp dirt. Exactly where she’s pointing a worm breaks though the ground, wiggles around before burrowing back into the ground with its slick slimy grotesque body. All the while ants and all manner of creepy crawlies scurry around basking in the sunlight with no shame. Upon closer observation, the entire woods seemed to be a reathing, squirming, mass of scurrying, slithering unthinkables. Mortified, I look at Rose and try articulate the horror surrounding us, but I can't seem to form the words so my mouth just opens and closes while I point to the world around us. Something catches my eye on Rose’s wing. But, when I focused in on it, it disappeared. I notice the same black spot somewhere else and yet again after I try to focus in on it, but yet again it vanishes. Finally I track it down to a feather near the top of her left wing. It is a jumping spider. It seems to be looking at me and when it notices I am looking back at it, it quickly burrows deep into her feathers. “What is wrong with you maggot? I thought I told you to drop and give me 20!” Unable to handle the horror of the environment around me I unfold my wings and try to take off. Rose grabs my ankle and I fall face first into the ground getting a mouth full of dirt. Spitting it out I nearly start to convulse as I see that same wiggling worm crawl out of the dirt that was in my mouth. Letting go of my leg with a sneer, Rose says, “The first thing we are going to work on is that irrational fear of insects that you have. We don’t have much time so you will have to take the crash course.” “All you have to do maggot is 20 push ups chest to dirt while counting out loud to me. I want to hear you say out loud one Arcangel Rose, Two Archangel Rose. You get the point right maggot?” Knowing she will not stop until she gets her way. I consign myself to my fate and flip onto my stomach and assume the pushup position. I push myself from the floor, extending my arms completely, and I shout at the top of my lungs, “ONE ARCANGEL ROSE.” I go down to do the second but before I can I feel something hit the back of my head and roll off in front of my face. It is a clump of insects they quickly unwind themselves and scurry in all directions. Some crawl onto me and I spaz out swinging my arms and legs as I try to get them off. After a few minutes I calm down and look up at Rose from the ground. She is smiling with a clump of dirt in her hand in which she is meticulously picking crawlers from. “Start over Maggot.” ~~~~~~~~~~~ The sun is at its zenith now. There is insects squirming all around me .... but the only thing I feel is the numbness of my arms. There is not fear of the bugs. In fact I feel no emotion at all. “TWENTY ARCANGEL ROSE!” Arms shaking I collapse into the ground. Checking her watch Rose states, “Not bad maggot. It is 12 ish now so it only took you four hours and 257 pushups to get it right.” “Stand up.” I stand shakily. My scrawny arms nearly give out while lifting myself from the ground. Rose extends her hand towards me. “SANO.” Light erupts from her hand engulfing me and everything around me. A tingling feeling comes from my arms as feeling returns. The light fades and I feel rejuvenated and energetic. All the dirt clinging to me was removed from my clothing. All the plants seemed vibrant and was leaning in Roses direction. “What I used just now is a spell.” “Like a wizard?” “Sort of but not the same. Let me explain.” Rose sits down and gestures for me to do the same. I sit down to hear her explanation. “So to start. Everyone is born with a gift giving to them from god. This gift can take any form in existence. It can be the gift to talk to animals, to transform into an insect or even summon a dragon. There are overarching categories to classify someone's gift. They are : enhancement, summoning, manifest, bond, irregular.” Excited I blurt, “What's an irregular gift?” Rose angrily snaps, “Anything not In the first four categories is an irregular. Let me finish my explanation maggot. Another interruption and i'll have you do more pushups.” Color drains from my face and I shut my mouth. Clearing her throat she continues. “A gift can match multiple categories but that is rare. An example of a gift is” she stretches out her hand and a ball of light emerges and hovers in her palm. “My gift is light. It is categorized as enhancement and manifest.” She waves her hand and the light disappears. “Based on the signs that showed at your awakening your gift is water and is also in the category of enhancement and manifest.” Frowning for a second she pauses. “Marcus's gift is air. Also in category of enhancement and manifest” “These are all dual category gifts which is extremely rare.” I raise my hand. “You my speak maggot.” It's strange how fast I got use to being called maggot… “What were my parents gifts?” “Linda’s gift is the same category as ours, but she also developed the bond category though hard work. But, her main gift is still vibration. But your dad, Jhon’s, gift is very special. It is classified as irregular.” “...So what is it?” “None.” Confused I ask, “None?” “None of your business. Aka classified.” Frowning I open my mouth the retort, but I am cut off. “I am not telling you, nor will he ever tell you so don’t ask. Moving on each category has specialties they are good at. Enhancement gifts alter things through touch. There gifts leave long lasting effects on what they use it on. Summoning gifts can summon all manner of creatures that the user can command as followers. These summons are soulless and normally made from the summoners imagination or pop culture. Pure manifest gifts are able to conjure phenomenon but not add to that phenomenon.” What the hell are phenomenon? Can I eat it? There is disappointment etched into Roses face. “Um, what's wrong Rose I didn't do anything.” She holds her hand out like she's asking for me to give her something. “...I don’t know what you want, but I don’t have it.” Light bursts from her palm and takes the form of a sword. “Just shut up and listen. It is written all over your face that everything I am saying is going over your head.” She thinks for a second while looking into the sky. All the while swinging the sword of light around absentmindedly. “Ah! I got it! The best way to understand Manifest gifts is to look at what you call mages. They toss fire balls arounds and ice and things like that right. That's what people with the gift the manifest do. But, the major difference between people with that gift and people with gifts like you, me and Linda is they can Manifest tons of different thing while we can only manifest one. But on the other hand we can change the properties of what we manifest and they can’t. For example have you ever seen light stop?” Thinking about it I shake my head no. “And have you ever seen grey liquid that turns things to ash or crystal clear liquid that makes things grow…. or even that foul black liquid that destroys everything it touches turning it black?” Thinking about what happened when I first awakened when my wings were different colors I shake my head no again. “I understand what you mean now Rose.” “Good. The last gift category is bond. These people for a deep connection with something to the point that their soul splits and part of it is absorbed into that thing forming a soul bond.” Scratching my cheek I look at my right hand and feel the warmth emanating from the cross. “Um Rose I think my gift may also be in the Bond category.” Looking at the mark on my hand she ponders for a sec then waves her hand causing the light sword to shatter into particles of light that fades away. “Give me your hand for a second.” She takes my hand in both of hers and closes her eyes. Blinding Light starts to spill from her hand into mine but strangely there is no heat. There is a deep itchy feeling in my hand and Rose starts to frown. She lets go and stands up. She moves to around five feet away from me. “Alright listen to my instructions step by step. First stretch your hand out and close your eyes.” I follow what she says in anticipation. I wonder if I will summon a watery sword like she summoned one out of light. That would be SO COOL! “Make a mental image of your body wings and all. Now imagine a flow of water going from your wings to your heart and from there it goes down your arm to your mark on your hand.” As I do what she says I feel a cool yet at the same time warm sensation travel from my wings to my chest then from my chest to the mark. “Think of a joyous of happy moment and imagine clenching the cross in your hand.” I open my eyes shocked at the sudden weight in my hand. But it is too late to stop the momentum. BOOM The ground slightly shakes from the impact. A huge grin is on Rose’s face. “Though you are not blood related, you really take after your mother.” Implanted into the ground is a shiny silver greatsword. There is no intricate designs and it is plain in every definition of the word. The only note worth thing is its weight, length which is about a meter, and weird shape. It looked like someone took a cross and turned the head part into a handle while the long part was turned into a sword. Even odder is as I lifted it, not only was it weightless but there was no tip at the end. It just ended flat. “Why does it feel weightless now just a second ago if felt like it weighed a ton?” Thinking about how heavy it was before the greatswords weight rises suddenly and im thrown off balance. The sword lodges itself completely into the ground. Panting I rest on its handle. Looking at the ground I notice grass rapidly rising from where the sword is implanted. It grows so high that it starts to cover the sword. Startled I let go. I feel a sense of lost as my fingers leave the handle. The sword goes from silver to gray and dingy almost instantly. I grab it again but it does not budle and it no longer takes on the silvery appearance. “Rose what's going on im confused?” She walks up to me and grabs my hand. On it the white cross is grey and the black chain is still wrapped around it. She walks up to the now completely grey greatsword stuck into the ground and places her hand on the surface. “It seems your gift can be put into the bond category. You don't have to worry this grey sword is just a husk. I'm guessing you should be able to summon another sword after awhile.” She looks at the position of the sun. “For now we she continue our journey to New York.” Excited I ask, “ Are we meeting with my parents did they contact you?” She shakes her head no. “Unfortunately, they have not contacted me. We will trace them down though so don’t worry. During the flight i'll explain some more things related to Gifts and we will get some practice in.” With that we take off into air in the direction of New York. ~~~~~~ It's dark outside. A tall and a short figure is standing next to a grey Sword stuck into the ground. The sword seems to have been there for ages and there is tall grass flourishing all around it. Marcus glides down and kneels before the tall hooded figure. His face emotionless as every he says nothing. “Find him.” With a light breeze Marcus disappears. ----------------------------------------------- Interesting chapter aye or nay? Would love to hear your thoughts! (Final edit done) ----------------------------------------------- https://www.facebook.com/nabla.talon. https://absoluteacedia.tumblr.com https://twitter.com/AbsoluteAcedia reddit: r/Reficul_First_Sin Discord Server: Reficul First Sin You can view readings of the book on (when I do them): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzlPaaLVgk0oidLkG0nqyBA If you find it in you heart and are able to give or just want to read the book on a different platform: https://www.patreon.com/absoulteacedia https://www.wattpad.com/story/169981783-reficul-first-sin https://forum.novelupdates.com/threads/reficul-first-sin.83440/#post-4789513
Spoiler: Chapter 10 - Hunger [The previous day June 4, 2026] “Linda wait!” The closer we got to that entity, the sicker I felt. It is like we are flying willingly into the warm wet jaws of some hungry beast. Linda pauses at the entrance of an alleyway off of the main street. Stopping behind her, I survey the alley. It is dark and filthy beyond reason.Trash is scattered all over the ground and a group of rats are huddled together feasting on something near a trash can. There is so much rats trying vying for a bite that they are clawing and scrambling on top of each other. Averting my eyes from the rats and the filth, I look further into the alley. The back end of the alley is pitch black, which strikes me as strange seeing that it is early morning and the sun is up. Slowly my eyes adjust to the darkness and, what seems to be, a small girl is hunched over on all fours. If we were not looking around with the intent of finding something then she is almost unnoticeable. “Is she a bystander Linda? You feel any trace of demonic energy?” Walking forward to Linda’s side, she puts her finger to her lips and nudges her head in the direction of the girl. Taking a closer look at the girl. She is wearing a skirt and what could once be called a white button up shirt. Her clothing is in tatters and is covered in dirt and blood. Her exposed skin is also covered in blood and looks torn and cut in places. Every once in a while, her head would lower and raise. I try to run forward to see is she is ok, but Linda grabs my hand and forcefully pulls me behind her. She lifts her club assuming a battle stance. “Linda what are you doing!” Startled by my shout the girl on the ground suddenly stop moving and slowly lifts her head while still facing away from us. The darkness of the alley lifts a little , or rather It seems to have been drawn towards the girl and absorbed by her. To my horror below the girl, is the bloody remains of a person. There is a naked torso and with no legs an arm missing and no head. From the marks on the body, the limbs seemed to have been violently shredded off leaving blood splattered all over the alley. The girl stands up and her head slowly turns 180 degrees making a snapping noise and skin tearing. She has no face. All there is, is a giant maw occupying 90 percent of the head filled with countless needle like black teeth. At the very top of the head, two slits hold two bead like black eyes that stare transfixed at us. In its mouth, pierced by the teeth, is the person's half chewed intestine trailing back to a bloody concave where it was ripped from. Demon! Time seems to stop and nobody moves. The rats, sensing something wrong, starts fleeing all over the place but avoid going down the alley in the direction of that demon. A human head, unrecognisable from being mostly devoured, is left where the pile of rats were. One rat runs further into the alley getting closer to the demon. Black smoke rapidly seeps from her hands at her side moving quickly and wraps around the fleeing rat. Squeaking desperately it struggles but is completely enveloped. There is tearing and crunching sounds then the smoke moves back to the girl going up her leg and into her open maw. Nothing is left where the rat was and the ground where the smoke touched has chunks carved out. The demon cracks a sickening grin stretching its lips back exposing black gums. Its voice came out like a person with water in their mouth trying to talk. “TaStY !” It wiped its body around to face us and started skipping slowly like a little girl towards us. All the while, it has its head leaned back wiggling side to side with a bone in the neck displaced and about to break the skin. Flapping her wings Linda charges forward flying right at the demonic girl. I point my gun left and fire. A bullet comes from a rat hole to the demons left hitting its ankle shattering it. The demon trips forward as Linda reaches it. She swings her club upward and with the distinctive crunch of bones snapping she launches the demon back into the alley where it collides with the back wall. It is truly a horrific sight. The demon laid on the floor with its limbs twisted and bones poking out of the skin. No blood came from its wounds just black smoke. Turning around to face me Linda smiles. “That should be mission complete Jhon. Easy as cake! All that's left is clean up, and we can spend the rest of the day touring the city.” “I think that will have to wait...” Following my eyes Linda looks back down the alley. The little mangled body is violently convulsing. With every spasm black smoke pours out of its open wounds. “I'm sure that it's just the vibrations from my gift going through it liquefying its insides nothing to worry about.” The body deflates like a popped balloon, and the smoke squirms and rapidly gathers into the half eaten corpse on the floor. There is the sound of chewing and crunching coming from the inside of the body. I point my gun at it and fire three shots into the chest. The chewing sounds stops. “iT HuRtS!” The skin on the body moves like two hands are searching for an opening. Then with a ripping sound the body is torn to pieces and a little girl matching the one from before crawls from the gore. In abject horror I scream, “What kind of foul power is this!” The demon has two small black feathered wings on its back that smoke is gushing out from rapidly expanding. Grabbing the shocked Linda I rush into the air. The smoke rapidly spreads. The walls of the buildings around the alley crumble as the smoke wraps around their base. People are running and police sirens are blazing. Me and Linda hover in the air looking at the expanding chaos. “Linda you need to get this info to Rose. A demon with black feathered wings and a gift with the attribute of gluttony. I sent a short message with my gift, but it's better to get a detailed message to Rose in person.” With a look or worry Linda pleads with her eyes for me not to do it. But, she is smart and dutiful so I know she knows what must be done. With tears in her eyes she looks away a takes off into the distance in the direction of home. Looking down at the crumbling buildings anger swells in my heart. “Time to send you back to where you came from.” Standing in the same spot surrounded by billowing black smoke that demonic thing looking up at me with its two beady eyes hunger plastered on its face. Its mouth is opened wide showcasing its maw filled with rows of thin black needle like teeth. Smoke drips from its mouth like drool. Red meat cleavers are In both of its hands by its side. They look worn and chipped. Taking a deep breath I reach into my pocket and take out a hula hoop. Aiming, I toss it at a broken window far away from the demon. Still looking at me, the demon tilts its head questioningly then starts skipping into the air towards me smoke forming a ramp below it. Looking at the city around me I smile. I dive down directly at the demon firing my gun at all angles. Bullets come from different openings hitting it and throwing off its balance while damaging its arms and legs. I slam into it and we both plummet out of the air heading back to where it was standing just moments before. Right before we hit the ground a hula hoop flies out of a hole in the rubble and lands right below us. The center of it swirls than fades away into black. I slam the demon right into the portal as it roars in anger. The smoke rapidly follows it as its figure fades into darkness. Wiping the sweat from my face I get ready to cut the connection with the other side portal. It would be bad if that thing came back through. A massive clawed hand reaches out from the portal grabbing me. I fight to shake it off but with a slight squeeze most of the bones in my body is broken. My vision is fading as it pulls me through the portal. The other side is a landscape that looks like a swamp and I am in the hands of a massive creature covered in moss with the little girl sitting on its shoulder kicking her legs and giggling. Her mouth is open wide with anticipation as the giant moves me closer and closer. I cut my connection with earth as her needle like teeth tear into my neck. I’m sorry Linda my love. ~~~~~~~~~~~~ I don't look back as I fly from the city. Tear are running down my face but I MUST move on. That is the least I can do for Jhon. Lord please let him be safe! A moment later my connection that I have always shared with Jhon from the moment we were created is severed and I nearly plummet from the sky. Alone I am all alone. ------------------------ Tell me your thoughts on the chapter! (final edit done) ------------------------ https://www.facebook.com/nabla.talon. https://absoluteacedia.tumblr.com https://twitter.com/AbsoluteAcedia reddit: r/Reficul_First_Sin Discord Server: Reficul First Sin You can view readings of the book on (when I do them): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzlPaaLVgk0oidLkG0nqyBA If you find it in you heart and are able to give or just want to read the book on a different platform: https://www.patreon.com/absoulteacedia https://www.wattpad.com/story/169981783-reficul-first-sin https://forum.novelupdates.com/threads/reficul-first-sin.83440/#post-4789513
Spoiler: Chapter 11 - Properties Rose and I soared steadily through the air slowly getting closer to the border of Pennsylvania and New York. The night air is cool and crisp causing me to shiver slightly. Rose stretches one of her arm towards me “Calidus” Light shoots from her hand entering me and my body gets warm. “How did you do that?” Thinking for a second Rose says, “let's continue our lesson from where we left off as we travel.” I nod my head ok and she continues. “Like I said, everyone has a gift, but not everyone awakens their gift. Depending on your gift, you can cast certain spells that corresponds with your gifts attribute. Also important to note is, most gifts start as blank slates that can be enhanced and changed in countless different ways. Lets use my light as an example again.” A circular ball of light comes from Roses hand. “I can change the brightness of the light.” Willed by her the little light gets exponentially brighter and I have to cover my eyes. Then the light went dim again. “I can also give my light the property of weight aiding in attacking.” The light morphs into the all familiar shape of a sword. “The last thing I can change is the speed hence why you can see it.” Confused I ask her, “but the light you just shot me with was warm so you can change the temperature to right?” Shaking her head no she responds, “I said the latin words for warm to slightly change the property of my light. That is called an incantation. The more you change the properties of your gift with an incantation the more draining it is. Unfortunately I only have understanding of the speed, weight, and lumanacity aspects of my gift. The more properties a person can alter without an incantation is the stronger that person is. Because I can alter three I am considered an arc angel.” I nod my head in understanding. “Its alot to take in… what about Marcus? What properties can he control?” Scowling Rose replys, “ as far as my understanding goes his wind should have only had the properties of expansion, sharp, and invisible. But, in our brief encounter at school I sensed a forth property…” She goes silent for awhile then continues. “ I sensed the emotional property of Wrath. It was faint but it was definitely there!” Seeing the confusion on face she sighs and continues, “ having an emotional property manifest itself in your gift causes its power to skyrocket...but it also affects the person’s personality in the process. For example I am slowly working on understanding Chastity and when I fully understand it my light will have a powerful purification property.” A serious look on my face, I ask a question that has been on my mind for awhile. “What is your relationship with Marcus? You know all this about him and yet he is a demon or whatever.” Rose stops suddenly, eyes shining with light and fury. “MARCUS. IS. NOT. A. DEMON!” Equally angry, I yell back at her, “I DON'T CARE WHAT HE IS! HE KILLED CLEO, AND BETRAYED ME….betrayed us!” Rose’s anger falters and the light fades from her eyes. She turns and continues flying. Ashamed of my outburst I hesitate for a second then follow her at a further distance then before. “Listen i'm sor-” “Marcus and I were companions… lovers, while we were in heaven. He went on a short mission that should have been easy for an angel of his caliber but he disappeared... that is until he showed up in our school shrouded in evil energy. It is obvious that the antichrist got a hold of him and corrupted him. I fought him multiple times but it was always to a standstill. When I reported it to my higher ups they said to stop all engagements with the fallen angel and focus on monitoring you and making sure you end up on our side. So Marcus and I reached this impasse in which I was not allowed to engage in fighting him and he showed no signs of wanting to fight me.” Shocked at the sudden revelation I just fly along by her side in silence. Her back is turned to me but I can see her sorrow from the way she flaps her wings. “My history with him will not cloud my judgement Nabla. He will pay for his sins… I will slay him and cast him into hell with my own hands.” The weight of her conviction hangs heavily on my heart and I can't bring myself to say anything. “Enough on that subject. Time to see what property your water gift has, and teach you a few spells. Stretch your hand out and feel the presence of your wings.” I do what she says. My wings feel light yet content in the way your stomach feels when you are not hungry and yet not full. “Now, just will it and you gift should operate on its own just like breathing. Summon it to your hand and imagine it in the shape of a ball.” I feel a warm yet cold flow from my back, to my heart and down my arm to my outstretched hand. As it moves past the tattoo of the white cross wrapped in black chains the cross heats up while the chains gets ice cold. The flow reaches my palm and grey liquid seeps out of my palm and forms a rippling ball in hand. “Good! Now feel it with your heart and tell me your understanding of the water.” Concentrating hard I look at the ball of water in my hand not sure of what i’m suppose to do exactly. Then I get this weird feeling that all the hair on my body is growing. Without thinking I blurt out “Growth”. Confused I shake my head and turn to Rose.“Wait I didn’t mean that, I think.” “Don’t worry you did fine! So you have the power of growth! That's excellent in healing and all sorts of things!” her wings flap happily and she asked me, “and what feeling does this power give you?” Feeling for a moment I respond “warmth”. “That's great Nabla your gift is on the side of god! I knew those old six wings were incorrect!” “Wait Rose I feel something else!” Focusing for a awhile I feel stifled like I can’t breath. I’m drowning! I scream, “SUPPRESSION.” The water in my hand turns black as ink. Startled I toss it away. It lands on a tree and it soaks into its bark.The tree instantly starts to wilt turns into a black puddle of sludge. Frowning Rose says, “ An incomplete understanding of the property growth and a complete understanding of the property of suppression... You don't even have to tell me. I felt the coldness of that power from here. It is definitely not of the lord and I highly recommend you do not use it unless you want to make yourself an enemy of the armies of heaven.” With that she formed a shining ball of light and tossed it at the blacken remains of the tree. The light landed on the black liquid provoking a hissing sound like water and oil in a frying pan. The noise faded but the black sludge remained. Clearly feeling challenged Rose’s wings bursts with light and a solid ray shoots for her hand striking the sludge. The ray fades and all that is left is floating ash. “So evil! Rather then dissipate, it destroyed the tree completely! Nabla NEVER use that power it is wicked right down to its roots!” Fuming she flies off. Taking one more look at the spot the tree was , a smile makes its way onto my face. I take off catching up to Rose. My hands are clenched and my heart is beating wildly in my chest. ------------------ Can anyone say double!?!?! I'm tried now, going to get some sleep. (final edit done) ------------------- https://www.facebook.com/nabla.talon. https://absoluteacedia.tumblr.com https://twitter.com/AbsoluteAcedia reddit: r/Reficul_First_Sin Discord Server: Reficul First Sin You can view readings of the book on (when I do them): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzlPaaLVgk0oidLkG0nqyBA If you find it in you heart and are able to give or just want to read the book on a different platform: https://www.patreon.com/absoulteacedia https://www.wattpad.com/story/169981783-reficul-first-sin https://forum.novelupdates.com/threads/reficul-first-sin.83440/#post-4789513