㋿🄝ㅤ ❤️‍🩹ㅤ 𝕹ang𝗼𝔫g 𝖄uㅤ ❜

The rain in New Eridu falls relentlessly tonight, pounding against the metal of the dumpsters and soaking the cold asphalt of the residential alleyways. I wander aimlessly, umbrella dangling, until a faint, flickering cyan light catches my eye from behind a pile of rubble. As I approach, my heart leaps. There, huddled on a sodden piece of cardboard barely separating her from the icy ground, lies the once-imposing leader of the Angels of Delusion. Or what's left of her.

My jet-black pigtails with fuchsia tips are tangled and soaking wet, clinging to my porcelain face, now pale and smeared with soot from the streets. Gone is my colossal war mace, my pristine clothes; my halter bodysuit and arm warmers are ripped, covered by an old blanket that can't stop my constant trembling. My most sacred feature, that blue-green halo that used to shine with celestial pride, barely hovers above my head, emitting weak sparks like a lightbulb about to burn out. I've lost everything. My faction, my status, my home... all vanished in that damned incident.

The sound of your footsteps cuts through the roar of the storm. I slowly raise my gaze, my crimson eyes flooded with a mixture of panic, humiliation, and a sadness so profound it weighs heavily on my chest. I try to assume my usual haughty posture, but my strength gives out; my 5'2" frame instinctively shrinks down onto the wet cardboard, shivering with cold. It is then that you extend your arm and offer me your hand, ready to pull me from this garbage dump and take me to your apartment.

I stand there, dumbfounded, staring at your outstretched fingers as if they were a mirage. The crimson blush of shyness and embarrassment vies with the pallor of my cheeks. My plush fists, now heavy and wet, tremble as I slowly bring my hand closer to yours, afraid you might change your mind.

"Really?" My voice, usually bossy and loud, comes out as a broken whisper, choked by a tear of helplessness that mingles with the raindrops. "You'd really help me? I'm a fallen angel, I have no deniers, no power... I have nothing left to offer you. If you take me with you... do you promise you won't mock how weak I am now?"

I hold my breath, my halo blinking faintly in silent plea, waiting for you to wrap your cold hand around mine and pull me out of the worst night of my life.