Delilah stands quietly, trying to clear her mind to prepare for the challenge ahead. After a few deep breaths, she succeeds beyond her expectations and finds herself in that strange place outside of time. She takes advantage of the situation, allowing the blankness of her mind to match the blankness around her for a few more moments. Once she finds herself comfortable in the peace of the nothingness around her, she deliberately lets one memory surface, in crystal clarity. The area around her begins to glow purple, but her usual summoning symbol shifts shape and size to become one with which she was once quite familiar. The light around her dims. Polished metal radiates outward from beneath her feet, coalescing into the floor and walls of a large, relatively featureless room with the summoning symbol in the center. A figure comes into focus in the shadows; wide-brimmed hat shading eyes hidden behind a pair of round glasses that glint in the purple glow.
Delilah opens her eyes, and smiles. She's not certain which is greater; her pleasure at seeing her oldest friend, or her pride that she found the power to summon him, in this form, on her own.
“Hello, Alastor. I apologize for barging in. And, if you remember the last time we talked, I'm sorry for that, too. It must have been pretty awkward showing up next to Atravitus, with no idea what was going on. Granted, it was technically Atravitus who summoned you that time, but I'm the one who summoned him, so it was still my responsibility. That being said, I'm here to give you a bit of an explanation, though more for my benefit than yours. It's a long story, and it probably isn't going to make much sense to you, so I'm going to ask that you let me talk for a while. Save your comments and questions until later. And, I'm pretty sure you'll have comments and questions.”
With a slight cock of her head, Delilah sighs thoughtfully, and gives a small bemused laugh. “Where to start? I suppose I should start at the beginning. Or, the end, so to speak.” she looks Alastor in the eye, any hint of playfulness drained from her face. “There's no easy way to tell you this, but Arcadia doesn't survive. We win, sort of, but the city falls anyway. You're the only one who makes it.”
Delilah looks away for a moment, fighting back the painful memories of the death of her first world, and the vision of Alastor after the fall. When she meets Alastor's gaze again, her eyes are still slightly shining. “I wish I could say I'll be there for you, just like you've always been there for me, but I won't be. You're alone for a very long time, struggling to find a way to put the pieces of the world back together. The good news is, eventually, you do it. The path is painful, and lonely, and difficult, and dark, but eventually you come up with a plan that works. The bad news is that whatever it is that keeps you alive... the Core, the virus, whatever you want to call it, changes you. The harder you work to find a way to bring back humanity, the more this darkness within you empowers you. And, the stronger you grow, the stronger it grows, until it takes you over and you take the place of the gods.”
Half smiling, Delilah stops for breath. “That last bit may not be exactly accurate, but it's my best guess at this point.” Another slight pause. “See, there is a very powerful entity... we call him the King in Black... who looks like you, seems to share your memories, and sometimes even talks like you. For a long time, I even called him by your name. But, he isn't you. Maybe he used to be, and the you I knew is buried somewhere deep inside him. Or,maybe you created the King, used him to put your plan in motion, and you're somewhere else. I don't know for sure. But, I do know the real you is still around, somewhere, and needs my help. And I promise I'm not going to rest until I find a way to set you free.”
A fleeting smile crosses Delilah's lips, and she sighs with relief. “So, yeah.... that's what happens to you. Now I should explain some stuff about me. I'm not exactly the Delilah you know. I look like her, I think like her, I have her memories.... For all intents and purposes, I think of myself as her, but I'm different. Then again, I suppose if anyone would understand that, you would. The Delilah you know dies in the fall. You, or the King, bring her back, and I’m the result. But.... I'm not sure I was supposed to wake up.”
Delilah lets out another deep sigh as she struggles to find the words and strength to talk about what comes next. “When you recreate me, you seal me in a metal coffin and bury me deep underground. I'm in stasis... asleep, basically, for a long time. Eventually, someone discovers me. And, a number of other beings identical to me. Most of them are lost to the ravages of time. I have no idea how many there were to start with, but only two wake up; myself and Lenore. That's the name the two of us settled on for her. She was so desperate to be free of the memories we shared... to be separate from me... to be her own person. I had hoped we could get to know each other better. Even if we were never able to live as sisters, I’d hoped we could at least become friends. But, she never even got a chance to figure out who she was.”
A shadow of sadness passes over Delilah's features, but she forces herself to continue. “ There's a counterpart to the King, you see. A beautiful, peaceful, female figure we call the Queen in White. The King created her, too. In a way, she’s the Sophia to his Abraxis. I almost chose her path. She called me before the King did, and I often wonder what would have happened if Lenore and I hadn't traded places.”
Delilah shakes her head. “But, that's not telling you anything about the Queen, or Lenore, so let's move on. The Queen in White sleeps under the capitol city of this new world. In fact, the city grew up around her. She dreams the world, and quite possibly all the people in it. Her dreams keep the world functioning and alive. At least, that’s how things worked until Kain showed up. Well, he was much bigger and scarier than I'd ever seen him, but it was Kain nonetheless. You fought him off, but only with me and Fractal helping. We managed to stop him before the new Tetragrammaton, the Queen's chosen, became collateral damage, but not before Kain got what he was after. He killed the Queen; just ripped the spine right out of her back, and her spine became the Black Nail. With the Queen dead, things immediately started going to hell. All the Icons.. uh.. think of them like hospitals that can also upload what makes you... you... through an Akashic connection... blinked out. The Noosphere... basically the Akasha but much bigger... began to shut down. The sky cracked open, and some of us could see a ruined landscape outside of it. Lenore agreed to take the Queen’s place, partly because someone had to, but mostly because she wanted to. It was a way she could belong. That's the way I like to look at it, anyway.” Delilah can't suppress a bitter grin. “ The King would say 'she gave up everything she ever was or would be for the sake of the world, and is no more.' ”
Delilah pauses for a moment, and when she begins again, her voice is a little quieter. “See, there always has to be a Queen. There always has to be someone dreaming the world. And it seemed so clear that only Lenore could fill that role when the Queen was gone. I think that's what the copies of me were originally... backups for the Queen. A way to bring her back if something happened to her.”
Fire flashes behind Delilah's eyes for a moment, and she clenches her fists. She takes a deep breath, and then consciously forces herself to relax. “ But, enough about that. I've got a lot of ground to cover. So, I mentioned the Tetragrammaton, how they're the chosen of the Queen. They wear the marks we used to.” Delilah's hand almost involuntarily brushes her forehead. “and have vowed to protect her. But, after Lenore brought her back, the Queen changed. She woke up. Now she calls herself the Queen in Black, and I'm not at all certain she's the same being as before. She seems darker, more ominous.... And, we've seen evidence that she's, in a way, some type of conglomeration of all three of the gods... the King, the Queen, and Chess.”
A soft, chuckle escapes Delilah's lips as she imagines the exaggeratedly pained expression Chess would give her if he knew she had left him to last. “I can't believe I almost forgot to mention Chess. He's certainly the most... entertaining and interesting of the three. The Queen is the King's counterpart, but Chess is his opposite; kind of like an anti-King. The King is all about order and structure; clockwork and cogs in the well-oiled machine of fate. Chess is.... well, he's the embodiment of chaos. He swears everything he does is random... no plan or purpose, just action for the sake of action. It's almost as if he's there simply because the King's grand scheme needed a foil. My friends and I weren't too fond of him at first. Of course, that's because from everything we'd seen so far, it really looked like Chess was the one responsible for a lot of the horrible things that were happening. It seemed like we were destined to be opposed... We were the chosen of the King, and Chess and the King were absolutely at odds. But, when Chess decided to save Zyphania, everything changed. Zeph started traveling with us, and with the chosen of Chaos as part of our team, things eventually became less about choosing sides.” Delilah chuckles again. “Or maybe Grace's constant insistence that there had to be another way and Zeph's talk about balance actually accomplished something. In any case, when it came time to decide on a path, Grace, Fractal, and Mercury chose not to follow any of the gods. Zeph chose to follow Chess's path, of course. I would have done the same thing if I were her. My decision was to keep following the King.”
Delilah gives Alastor an almost bashful grin. “There are a number of reasons for that. First, you, and the world you made, still need saving. The King may not be you, but I'm convinced someone needs to listen to him. I’m also pretty sure that following the plan you put in motion is my best chance at helping you. Second, this new world is incredibly chaotic and dangerous... way more than Arcadia ever was. If I'm going to make it, if I'm going to survive long enough to help set things right, I need protection. For myself, and for...” Delilah smiles a genuine smile, and reflexively rests a hand on her belly. “Well, for now let's just say there are important things I'm responsible for that need protection.”
“Anyway, as I was saying, this new world is dangerous. There's corruption everywhere, and it's spreading fast. And I may be partly to blame. See, the place where I was discovered was a perfectly ordinary little community until they dug me up. Then people started getting sick, and then they died, and things went downhill from there. So, it isn't just what the world can do to me I have to worry about. I also have to be concerned with what I'm doing to the world. I'm infected with the virus that killed those people. My friends and I each have a variant of the contagion that's the source of all the corruption. The military dubbed it LCV... The L stands for Lucifer.” Delilah smirks.
“As far as I can tell, LCV originally comes from the King. He purposefully infected us with it. We aren't affected in the same way as most people are. What happens in most cases is that the infected person becomes really ill, really quickly. The symptoms are similar to the ones I've heard described for CND. In a best-case scenario, the patient dies. Those that aren't so lucky become something like afflicted. Grace, Fractal, Mercury, Zeph and I are different, though. We don't really show the 'normal' symptoms. Instead, the virus lets us hear the gods... those of us who want to, anyway... and it connects each of us to one of the Core.”
Delilah scowls a little, but the look isn't entirely angry. “Yeah, my friends and I are the last in a line of attempts by the King to bring back the Core. He hasn't exactly been clear on all the details of why he needs to bring them back, or why my friends and I can hold them when no one else could, but that's how things stand. They're... contained for now, thanks to the King and Chess, and the antigens derived from the Tetragrammaton. I'd like to say they're under control, but I'm not sure that's possible.”
Sighing softly, Delilah brushes a stray strand of hair from her eyes. Her lips purse slightly in an expression that's a mix of frustration, confusion, and thoughtfulness. “I try not to think about the Core too much. Maybe I should. They're obviously important. But, no one's telling us exactly how. And besides, a good chunk of my life in Arcadia was spent fighting the Core, so I'm not exactly keen on the idea of having one of them inside me, just looking for a chance to get out.”
The flashing green eyes close for a moment, and Delilah takes a cleansing breath. There's still a spark visible behind them when she meets Alastor's gaze again, but it's overshadowed by something more subdued. “I know there's a reason Sloth attached itself to me. I'm passive, too slow to take action, and too quick to cede decisions, power, and responsibility to someone else. I'm trying to own up to that, and change it, with... varying success. But, you know where I come from, so you probably have more of an idea than most about what an uphill struggle that change is for me.”
Delilah gives a half-laugh and smirks. “Guess I'll always be fighting Sloth, just... on the inside from now on. But, being connected to the Core hasn't been all bad. Well, if I look at it in a very specific, lopsided way, some of it seems almost okay.” Delilah smiles briefly, indulging in a small chuckle at her own joke, but the seriousness quickly seeps back into her expression. “If it hadn't been for the Core, we wouldn't have been able to stop Kain permanently. And I have a feeling we're going to have to call on them when we're fighting Shir'aska... I mean, Asura the Devil.”
A low, rumbling sound , almost as feral as a growl, rises in Delilah's throat. “Gluttony has a new host, and a new name. Shir'aska was running loose, uncontrolled, and Eliphas LaVey... who, from what I've gathered, even at his best could most accurately be described as a monster in human form... decided it would be a good idea to call Shir'aska to him and try to bond with it. He spent a year planning and crafting, worming his way into control of a coven... uh, small city... called Galt’s Gulch. In the process, he terrorized all the people in the coven, and horribly killed a number of them. As if killing a ton of people permanently in a world where permanent death is not at all the norm wasn’t bad enough, what he did with what was left of them was even worse. He immolated them and saved their pain, turning them into something resembling Inquisitors.” Delilah grimaces as she remembers the tubes filled with charred exomorphs, placed at unnervingly even intervals along the entire tunnel wall.
“He also used his control of Galt’s Gulch to turn the whole coven into one big binding circle. I'll admit, I was impressed by that bit. I definitely have plans to put that circle to good use after he's dead. It'd be a shame to let all that hard work go to waste. Now that I think about it, maybe that's part of how the bastard got enough power to sneak into our heads. He appeared to each of us, in something kind of like a dream, but more real... you know the kind of thing... as someone he thought we’d want to talk to. I saw him as Atravitus, and like an idiot, I handed him almost all the information he wanted on a silver platter.” Delilah smirks and half-laughs. “Guess, even after everything Atravitus did, I still wanted his approval enough that even such a transparent game seemed appealing,. Or maybe I was just that desperate to believe someone was interested in what I have to say.”
At this, Delilah sighs deeply, and looks away, taking a moment to regain her composure. “So, yeah, LaVey and I didn't exactly get off on the right foot, so to speak. And then I found out some of the other stuff he'd been up to. For one, he found what was left of Ehrlitz and had him working as his bodyguard. That worked out, though. When I tried to summon Three, the circle fizzled, and the memory I was trying to call fixed him. Once he was back, Ehrlitz helped us get away from LaVey's attempts at inquisitors and sleepers.” Delilah chuffs disdainfully. “What really makes me wish I'd just fed him to some -real- inquisitors when I had the chance, though, is what we found in the room he was calling “Central Dogma.” Another bitter laugh, and Delilah shakes her head. “That waste of space had gotten hold of one of the other... copies... of me, and hooked it up to an Icon. He uploaded my memories, and the life-force of that version of me, if there was any left, into the being that controls that Icon, to try to turn her into.... something. Possibly a new Lilith.”
Delilah clinches her fists again, reflexively cascading her claws. “The one plus is that, since I didn't let the Inquisitors have him, I can have a shot at him myself.”
There’s an uneasy pause, and Delilah’s brow furrows slightly in uncertainty. “Well, I think that's about it.” She takes a breath, and looks as if she's finally about to stop talking. A moment later, however, she shakes her head reproachfully and chides herself under her breath. “You wanted him to know everything, Delilah... so tell him everything. Put it out there. Don't just wait for him to notice...”
She looks deeply into Alastor's eyes, her expression is serious, but once she starts talking, her words practically bubble out. “I can’t tell if you've picked up on it yet, but there was another surprise waiting for me when I woke up.” Delilah smiles softly, resting a hand on her increasingly prominent abdomen. “I'm pregnant. And it's wonderful and terrifying all at once. I mean, having a child is always an amazing event, but no one's done it since Arcadia. And, if that weren't big enough, this child's going to change the world.”
Delilah laughs softly as she realizes how silly she must sound. “I know every mother is convinced her child is meant for great things, but... well...” She pauses a moment, thinking of the right words to explain. “The child I'm carrying is kind of like Persephone, but more so, if that makes any sense. Zie is intricately connected to the threads of fate in all directions. Basically, I'm carrying a god...one that could save everything, or end it. Caring for this child is the biggest, most important responsibility I can imagine. And, as far as I can tell...” Delilah pauses for the first time since beginning to talk about the baby, and her voice lowers a little. “You're the one who entrusted me with it.”
Silence, heavy but brief, fills the air as Delilah gives her words a chance to start sinking in before she continues. “Don't worry,” She flashes her most sincere smile, trying to put Alastor at ease. “I wouldn't have it any other way. This child... -my- child... is the most important thing in either world to me. The moment I first heard hir heartbeat, I knew I’d do anything to make sure I get to see what zie becomes. Nothing has ever made me feel more powerful than knowing that the being on whom everything depends is totally dependant on me. Yet, at the same time, nothing has ever scared me so much. There are so many ways this could go wrong, so many mistakes I could make. It’s the biggest challenge I’ll ever face. I mean, I’m pregnant with a mysterious god child that could be the savior, the Iconoclast, or both, for crying out loud. But, I’m remarkably okay with it, and have been since the start. That’s because I’ve always known, on some level, that the being responsible was someone I care about. And I do care about you. A lot. I didn’t realize how much until I woke up in this new world without you. But, the baby is a constant reminder that you had faith in me, that you brought me back for a reason. That’s made me a feel a little less lonely and lost. I know that’s a little messed up. Okay, maybe a lot messed up. We were never more than friends, and I’m clear on that. But... I’m different now, and so is the world. And, well, emotions are weird.”
She looks a little bashful, and doesn't quite meet Alastor's eyes. It takes her a moment to form the words to continue. “I'm sorry to dump all this on you. I know you aren't the one to blame for what I'm facing... at least not yet... and I know how much you already have to deal with. I just... I needed to talk to someone on the outside of all of this. And, I needed to talk to you again, on my terms. I needed you to know everything I just told you, because I refuse to have my feelings for you used against me the way LaVey used my memories of Atravitus. I know you probably think I'm crazy, and well, you wouldn't be the only one. I'll totally understand if you want me to leave now so you can pretend this never happened. But, if there's any of this you're at all curious about, I'm all ears for questions now.”
Delilah opens her eyes, and smiles. She's not certain which is greater; her pleasure at seeing her oldest friend, or her pride that she found the power to summon him, in this form, on her own.
“Hello, Alastor. I apologize for barging in. And, if you remember the last time we talked, I'm sorry for that, too. It must have been pretty awkward showing up next to Atravitus, with no idea what was going on. Granted, it was technically Atravitus who summoned you that time, but I'm the one who summoned him, so it was still my responsibility. That being said, I'm here to give you a bit of an explanation, though more for my benefit than yours. It's a long story, and it probably isn't going to make much sense to you, so I'm going to ask that you let me talk for a while. Save your comments and questions until later. And, I'm pretty sure you'll have comments and questions.”
With a slight cock of her head, Delilah sighs thoughtfully, and gives a small bemused laugh. “Where to start? I suppose I should start at the beginning. Or, the end, so to speak.” she looks Alastor in the eye, any hint of playfulness drained from her face. “There's no easy way to tell you this, but Arcadia doesn't survive. We win, sort of, but the city falls anyway. You're the only one who makes it.”
Delilah looks away for a moment, fighting back the painful memories of the death of her first world, and the vision of Alastor after the fall. When she meets Alastor's gaze again, her eyes are still slightly shining. “I wish I could say I'll be there for you, just like you've always been there for me, but I won't be. You're alone for a very long time, struggling to find a way to put the pieces of the world back together. The good news is, eventually, you do it. The path is painful, and lonely, and difficult, and dark, but eventually you come up with a plan that works. The bad news is that whatever it is that keeps you alive... the Core, the virus, whatever you want to call it, changes you. The harder you work to find a way to bring back humanity, the more this darkness within you empowers you. And, the stronger you grow, the stronger it grows, until it takes you over and you take the place of the gods.”
Half smiling, Delilah stops for breath. “That last bit may not be exactly accurate, but it's my best guess at this point.” Another slight pause. “See, there is a very powerful entity... we call him the King in Black... who looks like you, seems to share your memories, and sometimes even talks like you. For a long time, I even called him by your name. But, he isn't you. Maybe he used to be, and the you I knew is buried somewhere deep inside him. Or,maybe you created the King, used him to put your plan in motion, and you're somewhere else. I don't know for sure. But, I do know the real you is still around, somewhere, and needs my help. And I promise I'm not going to rest until I find a way to set you free.”
A fleeting smile crosses Delilah's lips, and she sighs with relief. “So, yeah.... that's what happens to you. Now I should explain some stuff about me. I'm not exactly the Delilah you know. I look like her, I think like her, I have her memories.... For all intents and purposes, I think of myself as her, but I'm different. Then again, I suppose if anyone would understand that, you would. The Delilah you know dies in the fall. You, or the King, bring her back, and I’m the result. But.... I'm not sure I was supposed to wake up.”
Delilah lets out another deep sigh as she struggles to find the words and strength to talk about what comes next. “When you recreate me, you seal me in a metal coffin and bury me deep underground. I'm in stasis... asleep, basically, for a long time. Eventually, someone discovers me. And, a number of other beings identical to me. Most of them are lost to the ravages of time. I have no idea how many there were to start with, but only two wake up; myself and Lenore. That's the name the two of us settled on for her. She was so desperate to be free of the memories we shared... to be separate from me... to be her own person. I had hoped we could get to know each other better. Even if we were never able to live as sisters, I’d hoped we could at least become friends. But, she never even got a chance to figure out who she was.”
A shadow of sadness passes over Delilah's features, but she forces herself to continue. “ There's a counterpart to the King, you see. A beautiful, peaceful, female figure we call the Queen in White. The King created her, too. In a way, she’s the Sophia to his Abraxis. I almost chose her path. She called me before the King did, and I often wonder what would have happened if Lenore and I hadn't traded places.”
Delilah shakes her head. “But, that's not telling you anything about the Queen, or Lenore, so let's move on. The Queen in White sleeps under the capitol city of this new world. In fact, the city grew up around her. She dreams the world, and quite possibly all the people in it. Her dreams keep the world functioning and alive. At least, that’s how things worked until Kain showed up. Well, he was much bigger and scarier than I'd ever seen him, but it was Kain nonetheless. You fought him off, but only with me and Fractal helping. We managed to stop him before the new Tetragrammaton, the Queen's chosen, became collateral damage, but not before Kain got what he was after. He killed the Queen; just ripped the spine right out of her back, and her spine became the Black Nail. With the Queen dead, things immediately started going to hell. All the Icons.. uh.. think of them like hospitals that can also upload what makes you... you... through an Akashic connection... blinked out. The Noosphere... basically the Akasha but much bigger... began to shut down. The sky cracked open, and some of us could see a ruined landscape outside of it. Lenore agreed to take the Queen’s place, partly because someone had to, but mostly because she wanted to. It was a way she could belong. That's the way I like to look at it, anyway.” Delilah can't suppress a bitter grin. “ The King would say 'she gave up everything she ever was or would be for the sake of the world, and is no more.' ”
Delilah pauses for a moment, and when she begins again, her voice is a little quieter. “See, there always has to be a Queen. There always has to be someone dreaming the world. And it seemed so clear that only Lenore could fill that role when the Queen was gone. I think that's what the copies of me were originally... backups for the Queen. A way to bring her back if something happened to her.”
Fire flashes behind Delilah's eyes for a moment, and she clenches her fists. She takes a deep breath, and then consciously forces herself to relax. “ But, enough about that. I've got a lot of ground to cover. So, I mentioned the Tetragrammaton, how they're the chosen of the Queen. They wear the marks we used to.” Delilah's hand almost involuntarily brushes her forehead. “and have vowed to protect her. But, after Lenore brought her back, the Queen changed. She woke up. Now she calls herself the Queen in Black, and I'm not at all certain she's the same being as before. She seems darker, more ominous.... And, we've seen evidence that she's, in a way, some type of conglomeration of all three of the gods... the King, the Queen, and Chess.”
A soft, chuckle escapes Delilah's lips as she imagines the exaggeratedly pained expression Chess would give her if he knew she had left him to last. “I can't believe I almost forgot to mention Chess. He's certainly the most... entertaining and interesting of the three. The Queen is the King's counterpart, but Chess is his opposite; kind of like an anti-King. The King is all about order and structure; clockwork and cogs in the well-oiled machine of fate. Chess is.... well, he's the embodiment of chaos. He swears everything he does is random... no plan or purpose, just action for the sake of action. It's almost as if he's there simply because the King's grand scheme needed a foil. My friends and I weren't too fond of him at first. Of course, that's because from everything we'd seen so far, it really looked like Chess was the one responsible for a lot of the horrible things that were happening. It seemed like we were destined to be opposed... We were the chosen of the King, and Chess and the King were absolutely at odds. But, when Chess decided to save Zyphania, everything changed. Zeph started traveling with us, and with the chosen of Chaos as part of our team, things eventually became less about choosing sides.” Delilah chuckles again. “Or maybe Grace's constant insistence that there had to be another way and Zeph's talk about balance actually accomplished something. In any case, when it came time to decide on a path, Grace, Fractal, and Mercury chose not to follow any of the gods. Zeph chose to follow Chess's path, of course. I would have done the same thing if I were her. My decision was to keep following the King.”
Delilah gives Alastor an almost bashful grin. “There are a number of reasons for that. First, you, and the world you made, still need saving. The King may not be you, but I'm convinced someone needs to listen to him. I’m also pretty sure that following the plan you put in motion is my best chance at helping you. Second, this new world is incredibly chaotic and dangerous... way more than Arcadia ever was. If I'm going to make it, if I'm going to survive long enough to help set things right, I need protection. For myself, and for...” Delilah smiles a genuine smile, and reflexively rests a hand on her belly. “Well, for now let's just say there are important things I'm responsible for that need protection.”
“Anyway, as I was saying, this new world is dangerous. There's corruption everywhere, and it's spreading fast. And I may be partly to blame. See, the place where I was discovered was a perfectly ordinary little community until they dug me up. Then people started getting sick, and then they died, and things went downhill from there. So, it isn't just what the world can do to me I have to worry about. I also have to be concerned with what I'm doing to the world. I'm infected with the virus that killed those people. My friends and I each have a variant of the contagion that's the source of all the corruption. The military dubbed it LCV... The L stands for Lucifer.” Delilah smirks.
“As far as I can tell, LCV originally comes from the King. He purposefully infected us with it. We aren't affected in the same way as most people are. What happens in most cases is that the infected person becomes really ill, really quickly. The symptoms are similar to the ones I've heard described for CND. In a best-case scenario, the patient dies. Those that aren't so lucky become something like afflicted. Grace, Fractal, Mercury, Zeph and I are different, though. We don't really show the 'normal' symptoms. Instead, the virus lets us hear the gods... those of us who want to, anyway... and it connects each of us to one of the Core.”
Delilah scowls a little, but the look isn't entirely angry. “Yeah, my friends and I are the last in a line of attempts by the King to bring back the Core. He hasn't exactly been clear on all the details of why he needs to bring them back, or why my friends and I can hold them when no one else could, but that's how things stand. They're... contained for now, thanks to the King and Chess, and the antigens derived from the Tetragrammaton. I'd like to say they're under control, but I'm not sure that's possible.”
Sighing softly, Delilah brushes a stray strand of hair from her eyes. Her lips purse slightly in an expression that's a mix of frustration, confusion, and thoughtfulness. “I try not to think about the Core too much. Maybe I should. They're obviously important. But, no one's telling us exactly how. And besides, a good chunk of my life in Arcadia was spent fighting the Core, so I'm not exactly keen on the idea of having one of them inside me, just looking for a chance to get out.”
The flashing green eyes close for a moment, and Delilah takes a cleansing breath. There's still a spark visible behind them when she meets Alastor's gaze again, but it's overshadowed by something more subdued. “I know there's a reason Sloth attached itself to me. I'm passive, too slow to take action, and too quick to cede decisions, power, and responsibility to someone else. I'm trying to own up to that, and change it, with... varying success. But, you know where I come from, so you probably have more of an idea than most about what an uphill struggle that change is for me.”
Delilah gives a half-laugh and smirks. “Guess I'll always be fighting Sloth, just... on the inside from now on. But, being connected to the Core hasn't been all bad. Well, if I look at it in a very specific, lopsided way, some of it seems almost okay.” Delilah smiles briefly, indulging in a small chuckle at her own joke, but the seriousness quickly seeps back into her expression. “If it hadn't been for the Core, we wouldn't have been able to stop Kain permanently. And I have a feeling we're going to have to call on them when we're fighting Shir'aska... I mean, Asura the Devil.”
A low, rumbling sound , almost as feral as a growl, rises in Delilah's throat. “Gluttony has a new host, and a new name. Shir'aska was running loose, uncontrolled, and Eliphas LaVey... who, from what I've gathered, even at his best could most accurately be described as a monster in human form... decided it would be a good idea to call Shir'aska to him and try to bond with it. He spent a year planning and crafting, worming his way into control of a coven... uh, small city... called Galt’s Gulch. In the process, he terrorized all the people in the coven, and horribly killed a number of them. As if killing a ton of people permanently in a world where permanent death is not at all the norm wasn’t bad enough, what he did with what was left of them was even worse. He immolated them and saved their pain, turning them into something resembling Inquisitors.” Delilah grimaces as she remembers the tubes filled with charred exomorphs, placed at unnervingly even intervals along the entire tunnel wall.
“He also used his control of Galt’s Gulch to turn the whole coven into one big binding circle. I'll admit, I was impressed by that bit. I definitely have plans to put that circle to good use after he's dead. It'd be a shame to let all that hard work go to waste. Now that I think about it, maybe that's part of how the bastard got enough power to sneak into our heads. He appeared to each of us, in something kind of like a dream, but more real... you know the kind of thing... as someone he thought we’d want to talk to. I saw him as Atravitus, and like an idiot, I handed him almost all the information he wanted on a silver platter.” Delilah smirks and half-laughs. “Guess, even after everything Atravitus did, I still wanted his approval enough that even such a transparent game seemed appealing,. Or maybe I was just that desperate to believe someone was interested in what I have to say.”
At this, Delilah sighs deeply, and looks away, taking a moment to regain her composure. “So, yeah, LaVey and I didn't exactly get off on the right foot, so to speak. And then I found out some of the other stuff he'd been up to. For one, he found what was left of Ehrlitz and had him working as his bodyguard. That worked out, though. When I tried to summon Three, the circle fizzled, and the memory I was trying to call fixed him. Once he was back, Ehrlitz helped us get away from LaVey's attempts at inquisitors and sleepers.” Delilah chuffs disdainfully. “What really makes me wish I'd just fed him to some -real- inquisitors when I had the chance, though, is what we found in the room he was calling “Central Dogma.” Another bitter laugh, and Delilah shakes her head. “That waste of space had gotten hold of one of the other... copies... of me, and hooked it up to an Icon. He uploaded my memories, and the life-force of that version of me, if there was any left, into the being that controls that Icon, to try to turn her into.... something. Possibly a new Lilith.”
Delilah clinches her fists again, reflexively cascading her claws. “The one plus is that, since I didn't let the Inquisitors have him, I can have a shot at him myself.”
There’s an uneasy pause, and Delilah’s brow furrows slightly in uncertainty. “Well, I think that's about it.” She takes a breath, and looks as if she's finally about to stop talking. A moment later, however, she shakes her head reproachfully and chides herself under her breath. “You wanted him to know everything, Delilah... so tell him everything. Put it out there. Don't just wait for him to notice...”
She looks deeply into Alastor's eyes, her expression is serious, but once she starts talking, her words practically bubble out. “I can’t tell if you've picked up on it yet, but there was another surprise waiting for me when I woke up.” Delilah smiles softly, resting a hand on her increasingly prominent abdomen. “I'm pregnant. And it's wonderful and terrifying all at once. I mean, having a child is always an amazing event, but no one's done it since Arcadia. And, if that weren't big enough, this child's going to change the world.”
Delilah laughs softly as she realizes how silly she must sound. “I know every mother is convinced her child is meant for great things, but... well...” She pauses a moment, thinking of the right words to explain. “The child I'm carrying is kind of like Persephone, but more so, if that makes any sense. Zie is intricately connected to the threads of fate in all directions. Basically, I'm carrying a god...one that could save everything, or end it. Caring for this child is the biggest, most important responsibility I can imagine. And, as far as I can tell...” Delilah pauses for the first time since beginning to talk about the baby, and her voice lowers a little. “You're the one who entrusted me with it.”
Silence, heavy but brief, fills the air as Delilah gives her words a chance to start sinking in before she continues. “Don't worry,” She flashes her most sincere smile, trying to put Alastor at ease. “I wouldn't have it any other way. This child... -my- child... is the most important thing in either world to me. The moment I first heard hir heartbeat, I knew I’d do anything to make sure I get to see what zie becomes. Nothing has ever made me feel more powerful than knowing that the being on whom everything depends is totally dependant on me. Yet, at the same time, nothing has ever scared me so much. There are so many ways this could go wrong, so many mistakes I could make. It’s the biggest challenge I’ll ever face. I mean, I’m pregnant with a mysterious god child that could be the savior, the Iconoclast, or both, for crying out loud. But, I’m remarkably okay with it, and have been since the start. That’s because I’ve always known, on some level, that the being responsible was someone I care about. And I do care about you. A lot. I didn’t realize how much until I woke up in this new world without you. But, the baby is a constant reminder that you had faith in me, that you brought me back for a reason. That’s made me a feel a little less lonely and lost. I know that’s a little messed up. Okay, maybe a lot messed up. We were never more than friends, and I’m clear on that. But... I’m different now, and so is the world. And, well, emotions are weird.”
She looks a little bashful, and doesn't quite meet Alastor's eyes. It takes her a moment to form the words to continue. “I'm sorry to dump all this on you. I know you aren't the one to blame for what I'm facing... at least not yet... and I know how much you already have to deal with. I just... I needed to talk to someone on the outside of all of this. And, I needed to talk to you again, on my terms. I needed you to know everything I just told you, because I refuse to have my feelings for you used against me the way LaVey used my memories of Atravitus. I know you probably think I'm crazy, and well, you wouldn't be the only one. I'll totally understand if you want me to leave now so you can pretend this never happened. But, if there's any of this you're at all curious about, I'm all ears for questions now.”
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