A Hole in Heaven

The creature would have been gorgeous, breathtaking. This was clear even as it burned.

Even as its charring shoulders were held tight, it still continued to writhe, desperately trying to break free of the iron grasp that held it steady as it burned. It could no longer even scream, and one could have easily mistaken it as unconscious, had it not been for the pure terror and agony that danced in its eyes. But perhaps the most horrible sight was the blackening wings.

After a rather short time that felt like centuries, the eyes finally went blank, only a ghost of the fleet of panic and pain remaining within them. It wasn't dead yet, only the Fall would kill it. And Tristan, who had held tight to the creature, watched with his expression disturbingly apathetic as he let it go. His own eyes followed the creature as it descended towards the world below, soon becoming merely a shadow falling through the air.

How long Tristan stood like this, he didn't know. Time was irrelevant in Heaven, so long as you need not have any concern for what was happening on Earth. Tristan didn't. Perhaps someday, some far off day that he didn't need or care to prepare for. For now, all that mattered was that he had ridden Heaven of another angel who did not support the New Cause. Slowly, the numbers of such angels were dwindling, as the Renegades grew in both size and power.

There was perhaps one voice in Heaven that could have broken Tristan out of this reverie, distract him from the thoughts that had come into his mind with the New Cause.

"Tristan..." the voice spoke softly. Eyes widening, the Renegade angel turned his head slowly, its form slouching slightly as its eyes widened. Of course, she would have found out eventually, he told himself, but an undeniable pain struck him upon the sight of her.

Words came tumbling out before he could stop them, and still they sounded flat and robotic. "It is the way, Vera."

She stared at him long and hard, untouched by any of the flames and burns that had scarred so may angels already. She was so whole, yet still Tristan could feel the emptiness that embodied her presence.

"I see you have changed," was all she said, finally, never diverting her gaze, the gaze which had never failed to to reach Tristan's very soul. He struggled now to not let it reach past him, remain aloof. Vera. Vera, Vera, Vera. Vera who he had stood by for so long, millenia, as she stood by him. Vera who he had sworn to never betray, Vera who would never betray him. This had all been truth for as long as he could remember, and it was breaking.

"The New Cause, it is the way, Vera! You remember, I know you do, how this chaos started long before the New Cause. It is here to return Heaven to its former self! I did not understand this before, but it is so clear, all so clear now!" Tristan said, feeling a sense of hysteria rise within himself. He paused for a moment, before saying more softly, "We were wrong, Vera, we had it all wrong."

"This is right, Tristan, murdering your own brothers, burning them alive and watching them fall?" she pleaded, no anger detectable in her voice, only a burning desperation. "Have you forgotten... Have you forgotten everything?"

"How well I remember..." He gazed off, at nothing in particular, but away from her. "We were fools, such fools."

The two winged figured stood in silence for some time, time that was meaningless.

"Join us," Tristan said finally, letting emotion slip through his voice at last. Pleading. "You know it is the only way... I don't want to..."

"I won't let you."

"Please Vera, please! What do you require, that I beg? This is as close as I can come, this is all I have time for!" Time. How strangely she had suddenly given it importance again. There could only be so much time that you could allow someone like her to continue on with their ways.

He took her by the shoulder and closed his eyes, praying that for one moment it would all become meaningless again. Vera wasn't here, Vera wasn't against him, Vera understood. But no matter how deeply he immersed himself in these thoughts, the New Cause was still deep within his mind, burning there, telling him to bring it to life. Stronger, it made him, so much stronger.

When he opened his eyes, the fire was real. Vera's eyes were beginning to widen, disbelief and horror filling them. "Oh God, Vera..."

Quickly the flames spread across the humanoid form, the glowing wisps of light resembling hair catching, creeping down the thin face and tall, slender body. Her back arched, eyes frozen open, she let out a scream, a scream that resounded off the endless bounds of Heaven and came echoing back into his ears. Words, he thought that she might be screaming out words, but they were unintelligible, and soon the screams faded into nothing.

He looked deep into the eyes as she struggled to remain conscious, to fight back against him, as deep as he could within drowning in them, until finally they were as blank and hollow as the other one he had burned. Not a spark remaining.

"Why couldn't you have just done as you were told?" he whispered before letting her fall.