{"Each of us is a particle of Nature. We belong to Nature." "Let us not deceive ourselves by our victories over Nature. She avenges for each such victory" - Friedrich Engels... Today's post is an entry to @calluna's (and @bananafish ran) #tellastorytome Contest, for which you can access her contest here. This is the second of the three last posts I shall make, as I stated here and expanded upon the intro blurb here. I shall come back to vote a favorite story, but I shall leave right after. With a such... Today's music-aide: Crossroads [1.] False Knight[2.] Little Help From My Friends [3.] But the Earth Refused to Die [4.] Don't Give Up [5.] Eidolon Step [6.] Warthog Run [7.] and Triage at Dawn, extended remix [8.] (Hollow Knight, A Hat in Time, Undertale, Madness Combat, Halo 3 and Half Life 2 OST).}

My sketchy sketch

- And shall Dæmons perish -

[1.]

Her feet strut about, the grass and the branches squealing under the pressure. Her mouth claws clicked about, a lil' rhythm made about with the pecking of the woodpeckers out away. Legs collapsing and wounding up, her cheek-horns stabbed the ground and saved her husk skin from the dirt. The knees overlapping each other, her claws carried her forth where her legs failed. Reaching a cliff's peak, the gushing of water from its fall finally made itself audible to her ears. Her eyes, though submerged under red-rum, scoured the river below and her memory theatre kicked into action replaying what happened at dusk.

Standing cross-legged, her cheek-horns began clicking about; the waves spreading about and piercing the ears of all creatures playing about. Lost in the noise, her mind had forgotten that she was in last signs of greenery all about the husk planet. Her legs began unwounding, all aching yet ignored in the ecstasy of the retreating animals. Taking steps closer to the edge did only Nature’s choir had fully travelled to her ears.

Hands upon the precipice, her eyes shot up to the oil-black sky. Her eyes widened with each twinkle of the starry lights up there. Then her eyes shut as lightning ripped coursed about, its scream tearing through the sky. Puffs of grays and blues puffed about yet steered towards her. Finally closing in, lightning sparks danced outside the grey-blue puffs forming a single arc. The head of the arc slowly cleared up to reveal her long time friend - yet dead as ever.

"What is it, L’Gaze?"

"Sweet spineless lil’ dæmon, I came not to interrupt but to remind. One cannot be off one’s own duty. You know the second He spots a free exploit-"

"Good master of eyes, but yer reminders weren’t lost upon me. A simple ecstasy can I enjoy not?"

"Not that I wish to imply you were sleeping on the job, no one is more deserving of a rest than you. But Nature Radości, we all are need of one away from these fake angels!"

"By the tarnished pearly gates, I’ve saw the incident with my own two eyes, L’Gaze. Yah needn’t remind me, but those old angels were no kind folk."

"I sense a foul play comes, Nature. Prepare thyself, I will try to rear any reinforcements nearby this planet, but expect it not!"

[2.]

And a second thunder came of a grey hue, it’s physicality ripping the sky and it’s sound harshly beating upon the greenery. Her eyes searching the sky, a dust-storm of sand began pounding the Earth from the sky. And in the core of the storm, a freak arch-angel of no other facial features but a mere mouth and gray-skin.

The flapping of its desecrated wings, compelling the sands to rain harder. Yet in the nervous system of Nature, had she felt the sands strangulating her. And so did her body self-erect, but her feet didn’t commit to stance yet in the flurry of sand flakes. Her ears catching the sounds from behind, a murder of black wisps began swarming behind her. The entire murder of black wisps shot straight to the eye of the storm, so her claws swayed back and clapped in front of her.

And so the Earth responded, the suffocating sands launched straight up. The wisps gliding on the free-falling sands, they zipped straight to the Arch-angel. Their vestige limbs sprouting out, the limbs collected together to form a wave of slashing strikes. Nature’s hands clapping again, the sands tossed them higher and they let the slashing wave fall.

Yet the Arch-angel yanked out its Damascus blade and stroke back at the wave. Blade touching wave, the wave began cracking and out came a black puff storm that mixed in with the collapsing sands. Soon the entire storm retreated back and pierced into Nature’s body, invigorating her with each fallen wisp merging in with her. Dark pulses flashing about, the Arch-angel’s wings flapped once and the Arch-angel launched itself to her new developing form.

The Arch-angel continually arching back with the Damascus steel ready to strike at the Earth, her body exploded and shot the Arch-angel tumbling back. Yet her body collapsed with her legs lying weak on the burnt grass radius around her. Her eyes seeing far, her body began burning up herself which enraged the grass already. With images of the husk of a World she used to reign supremely, a dark envelope began engulfing her.

And the last mental-image flashed of her last forest being endangered by this Arch-angel’s endless consumption. Beyond the boiling point, her bubble exploded to a steaming bullet and pierced into the skin of the Arch-angel. The critters all about the forest, instead of retreating, emerged from their hiding and began chasing the lingering stream of steam.

The Arch-angel forced back into the Earth, its blade struct and flung Nature back. Nature landing on the ground with ease, her eyes spotted the grey-skin becoming sicker and more rotten. The Arch-angel in contrapposto, the Damascus blade was dragged by its skeletal hands. Despite everything, the Arch-angel’s face shot a shit-eating grin as its teeth only sharpened.

"So this be the Great Nature Radości, installed by the dead old angelic god to look after the true Garden of Eden. Oh how it was moved when He finally sinned! But I, gracefully, shall avenge Him today as these final creatures perish!"

"Blind fool! You fake angels, new angels if I must, can’t appreciate the ecstasy of Eden! Your gray-ilk of the annihilatory beast fooled no one when the great Clouds dissipated away. And I will have the pleasure to safeguard the last forest of Eden, in the name of Eve."

[3.]

And the critters sprang out as the Damascus steel was lifted to the air. The avians scrapping but mere skin of the grey New Angel. Branches and vines began wrapping around the New Angel while trying to drag the Damascus blade down. Chimpanzees to the Apes began climbing on the branches and struck away at the New Angel with their rudimentary tools. And the thunderous-rain storms came to pound against the New Angel but yet nothing stopped it.

[No Music]

Its hands squeezing the hilt, the sword glowed and a wave sent them all the animals flying back and the vegetation turned to a crisp. Then the sands began their storm attacks on the luscious greens all about, burying it as ate it away. Its hands grasping the hilt, It then stabbed upon the Earth and drove into it. Raising Its right fist, It banged against it three times and three times did the Earth cry. Every cry meet with the ground screaming in terror as it began to fragment piece by piece. Trees whaling in pain as the animals shrieked wherever they scampered about the Earth that was dying all around.

[4.]

But the Earth refused to die as holy lights began phasing away from the ravines forming about, synapses of light stringing together the ever-dividing mass of land, the spirits from down below bursting through and a newly formed dark envelope surrounding Radości bloating up as the spirits interpenetrated. The wild-life seeing no other stable grounds scampered and jumped into the bloating dark-light bubble, uniting with it. Life and Death, antagonistic no more yet contradictory they remain.

[5.]

The Arch-angel trembled in posture seeing the developments all about Its field of vision. The blade slipping in through the cracks, the Earth caught Its hands trying to reach in. Finally her hands reached out from the envelope bubble and so Nature Radości came out not as only herself. No, even the Arch-angel's decaying skin could feel the new presence vibrating as Its eyes saw it move as one Spirit, Its body felt the weight of the entire collective punch as one and Its ears heard it beat as one. The Earth pulsated the rays of darkness and light brewing underneath, all eventually interpenetrating Nature.

Two fingers in Its mouth and out did the whistle came, the sand dive bombing to the ground as the reformulating Earth shook once more. The sky glowing up, the other Arch-angels posted about swooped down to her - like flies to light. A vestige tentacle sprouting out, the tentacle wrap-chocked the fallen Arch-angel and swung Its body to knock out the parade of Arch-angels. The vestige tentacle swatting at them, their bodies flew all over the last forest that barely was holding unto herself to the hellbent sand storm.

The last of the other Arch-angels installed upon the planet now mere dots collapsing all about the World, her vestige-limb slammed the strangled Arch-angel into the Earth. The Earth chipping away at the body, the body crumpled the further down It was being forced into. Synapses of light and dark webbing around Its body, the figure slowly decayed away in the radiation of life and death. However, not that Radości's stubbornness wavered, the swatted and batted Arch-angels flew back and in a fury of raging winds trailing behind them.

[6.]

But did Nature raged on as elephants appeared through the desert storm and their bodies rammed away the parade of Arch-angels. The panthers soon pouncing upon the battered grey-skinned freaks, their teeth collectively gnawing away the squirming mass of grey. Yet the Arch-angels awaited not the next species of animals to pounce upon their skins, so the desert storm came in compounded by the tears of lightning. Soon the New Angels hunting about the planet centralized to a new focal point. The competition for the remainder of the resisting lusciousness came, for the New Angels cared to avenge His glory.

And so the New Angels whipped up their saws, yanking out their long knives, unsheathed their long claw-nails and all their wings flapped with no order but the chaos absent. Yet Nature had awaited this to happen and finally her lips can perk up for once, for the cracks spewed out limbs of light and darkness. To the shock of Arch-angels, the New Angels were all wrapped and forced into a meat cluster. Flapping away, the boulder of flesh bombarded the burning incense and bloodied guts that knocked the Arch-angels from flight.

Crashing back to the Earth, limbs of light and dark began circling and atomizing each Arch-angel. Their strength divided, their ferocity perked up as their arms lashed about. Backfired was their scathing strikes, as their attacks were whip-lashed back to them by the limbs. The cracks of the Earth sang out a new tune and so the sands were tossed into the air and sucked into the portals; of which any other New Angels pouring out had been absorbed by the sands. And Nature Radości finally unveiled herself as the sand storm was forced elsewhere. Her form floating in place, her eyes scanned about and saw the distress bleeding from their gray-skins. Limbs bursting through her form, it sunken below the depths and struct the buried Damascus sword. Wrapping around the hilt, her limbs slowly retracted back as her voice-box called out tall the paper tigers that were Arch-angels.

"Ever since your arrival to the scene, nothing but death and desertification reigned on the Garden of Eden. This is the last forest that you trespassed against, but your trespasses shan't be forgiven. You had terrorized and destroyed other planets in this wide Universe of ours, but now I shall decommission all of you. Your souls will not be wasted, they shall be used to rebirth Eden and us dæmons shall reclaim what you stole from the Angelic Holy order. Now go back to the Void of which you were all came from!"

The Damascus steel zipped away from the ravine of light and dark spewing forth again, yet her hands snatched it and so did the blade was tamed to her. Holding the blade crookedly but firmly, instead of the gray drabness did it now shine a new colour. Beating upon the blade, lightning also came and sparked the blade; her ears were pleased to hear this type of lightning strikes and so her fists beaten upon the blade harder. With one final strike, the last forest became engulfed in a myst of red puffs and lights.

[7.]

And so L'Gaze finally returned with a rage of dæmons trailing behind; the dæmons splintered off like bees in a swarm chasing multiple non-bees. Cohorts of dæmons clawed through the sand-blocked portal and flooded through, the legions of other dæmons plopped themselves onto the Garden of Eden without a care of being eviscerated by the Angelic magic floating about. The New Angels only had ripped open more portals, yet the dæmons outflanked the Arch-angels reinforcements and ripped them apart all the same. The Arch-angels finally tried flapping towards Nature, but all of their skins feeling the electric push-back of a thousand bolts.

Becoming nearly one with the floor, a red-air slash cut through the red myst. Trying desperately to wriggle their bodies away, only the ones who sunk deeper to the Earth survived her slashing strike. The surviving Arch-angels saw the limbs and guts spewing out, not one savored but instead absorbed into the red myst. Pretending to be one with the Earth, the dæmons investigated them and the light-dark limbs that popped out from the slowly resealed ravines. Sniffing the burning incense of the half-sunken corpses, the light-dark limbs stabbed them all indiscriminately and sunk them fully into the Earth - a dying wheeze leaving their putrid mouths.

L'Gaze seeing the opportunity, lightning strikes struck into the healing Earth and the gushing of gray coloured orbs bursted out with the light-dark limbs. Nature sensing these orbs floating all about, she waved her dæmon-reformed Damascus at the flash of orbs. Swirling around at the tip of her blade, her hands jousted the blade into the mass of orbs and continuously twisted into it. Torquing fast, streams of pulses bursted through the flash of orbs and soon the orbs collapsed into a singular one. Diving into it, the envelope of the orb sealed her in and her eyes saw the soul shell of the Arch-angels compressed into one.

Multiple limbs forming around Nature, the limb collective wrapped and swirled around the soul shell. Then the limbs began to twist and pull upon the shell, lines of light peered through the small cracks. Outside of the super-orb, the ravines created by the Arch-angels were sealing up quicker. More torquing-tension applied upon the shell, the more cracks and rays of lights popped from the shell and the more did the Garden of Eden heal. Finally a major crack appeared upon the shell after the first revolution of twisting, and the Earth around slowly consumed the desert and spewed out greenery. Yet Nature's system was huffing and cracking from the immense spewing of burning incense from the soul shell, then L'Gaze breached through the orb's veil.

"L'Gaze! Stand-"

"No, you need all the help you can get; the dæmons are doing a fine job sweeping the floor and painting it all with the blood of New Angels now. So please, keep tearing it apart!"

"Then merge into me and twist!"

L'Gaze merging and interpenetrating with Nature, the twisting motion had intensified and the soul shell cracked harder. The inside of the orb becoming engulfed in the burning incense of New Angel fragments, Earth began covering large swaths of petrified lands but not enough to fully maintain as the deserts slowly beaten back the greenery. A second revolution of twists, and finally the soul shell cracked and bursted into a fiery flame of spirits piercing and denigrating the orb's veil. The freed spirits unifying with all parts of the Earth, the petrified lands ceased their advances and slowly retreated as the greenery began covering massive grounds. The portals above shut close as other spirits bulleted straight into it and mushing the portal's frame into a singular point.

[8.]

The L'Gaze-Nature syncretic creature decomposed, with L'Gaze spin-flying away and Nature tossed away in a fume of smoke. The creatures of Nature and the wisps twirled about and danced upon the defeat of the New Angels, meanwhile the dæmons flying back to their homes to no more be plagued by the angelic magic radiating their body away. The ravines closing up, the light-dark limbs slithered back and wiggled one last time before submerging into the depths. The Earth refused to die, but it couldn't shake off the massive gains nor pains it had acquired; yet Nature twitched about in a daze surrounded by fumes of smoke.

However, liken to the Earth, Nature refused to die too and self-erected herself with the aid of wisps speeding by. Her feet strut about, the grass and the branches squealing under the pressure. Her mouth claws clicked about, a lil' rhythm made about with the pecking of the woodpeckers out away. Legs collapsing and wounding up, her cheek-horns stabbed the ground and saved her husk skin from the dirt. The knees overlapping each other, her claws carried her forth where her legs failed. Reaching a cliff's peak, the gushing of water from its fall finally made itself audible to her ears. And here she was now, staring at no more the last forest but the restored Garden of Eden.

Bile of acidic blood pouring out, her entire mind chipping away, her body slowly decomposing back into the Earth and yet a smile flashed upon her face. But then a touch of a gentleness lands upon her shoulder and her head tries to twist but cannot anymore as the decay continues. Hearing the grass being crushed underneath, a voice travels down her ears:

"My clientele was... surprised to see a dæmon such as thyself here. Much more, defending what remains of the angelic holy realms; but I guess the dæmonic holy realms have the same thinking as... well I am not at liberty to say. The right person in the wrong place can make all the difference in the World, but you... you were not in the wrong place but the right one - thusly changing events that I am happy to see changed. Of course my hand had played a slight foul with assuring L'Gaze would make it... here... on time, but it seems the situation has resolved just fine - for now. Thus you shall be receiving a promotion by means of consciousness transferal to this planet. Thus uniting Nature truly into one Spirit, one Arm and one Heart. There will be pain. And then there will be darkness. We ALL will see you up ahead."

Like a nuclear bomb bursting, did her mind felt spread amongst thousands of bickering voices but yet strengthened as each voice interpenetrated with each other. Her eyes opening, did she finally saw through all of the critters wherewith she could only see through a few if she had putted resources into it. Feeling each branch say, each bird pecking away, each crunch and rebound of the blades of grass and the whistling winds breezing about, did she felt serene amongst the totality. Like the tight bonding of atoms that stabilizes a particle to later make molecules, with every consciousness actualized with their interconnections did she felt freer.

More free than what she had from beforehand, when freedom to her was the necessity of recognition. No more will the former last forest shall remain the kingdom of necessity, but more. For as the Whole is more than the sum of its parts, this new kingdom here shall be a birthing ground to a new kingdom - where no freedom is vulgar and to be expressed once. As soon did the rainbow shine after the storm, marking the obscenity. And so, the March of History resumes.

Per aspera ad astra

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Two things: The title is inspired by Benjanun's soon-to-be released ownvoices AND SHALL MACHINES SURRENDER. Second thing: I wanted to make the second to third last post I make before break, yet I shall take a lil' break before I make my final post before the real break. The reason for this micro-hiatus is to allow me to make my final post a bit special, since it shall be my Second anniversary. So, basically: SHHHHHHHH!~