Beauty And The Monster He Made

Chapter Thirty-Four

San's POV

There was a wound in my back in the shape of Lilu's unholy name. Blood mixed with the wine silk sheets on the bed of a private hospital room. The environment was off. The technology seemed more complicated without wires as though powered by magic. Darkness drenched everything, and my vertigo turned the room into a seesaw.

I squeezed my eyes shut, ignoring the pain as I reached out to my powers. My rapid healing would not trigger and my powers were empty.

Tobacco smoke brushed over my face accompanied by a chuckle.

"You got to stop the bleeding the normal way," the voice made me jolt and narrow my eyes. Lilu sat beside me, tsking as he lifted the sheets to my back, "Apply pressure."

My view tilted but I forced myself to my feet away from him. Like a living nightmare, black veins sprouted from his playful eyes, spreading to his arms like ivy, like a creature where there was no sun. He smirked like this was another prank, an illusion, a puzzle for me to figure out, but his distorted energy made my stomach twist.

"I met God a few years ago," he began, the spark of his lighter flashing before him, "My vision spun from all the liquor, and he was there, lumbering over me in his mortal form. I chuckled at him. He seemed so fragile, so human, but I suppose mortals were made in his image."

I barely listened and I was thrown into the wall when the room shook. I turned to the window and my lips parted. The four horsemen must have ravaged the sky red. Outside was the pungent scent of gunpowder and sulphur. Embers and soot flittered down to the water. Waves rose to the fourth story of the building, lapping at the sides of the building.

"He sat down next to me looking rather lost, like one of the old gods who I caught searching for something they could not articulate. He asked, 'If you could reverse history back to when there was nothing but a void, a blackhole where no one but you sat within, before children, before all and any mistakes, would you do so?'"

I finally tuned into his story.

"Father would have killed you," I stated, containing the rage and hurt which tempted me to shake him, but the one thing I knew was losing my composure would do nothing but amuse Lilu.

"I asked, 'Why? Do you fear all of this would be the end of you? That all creation will turn on you?' I asked because I wanted to know his mindset when he ordered Nephilim to be gutted down like animals, where his love, his empathy, his mercy was in those moments, but the words I wanted to say felt too big in my mouth. He said, 'I've forgotten why I've stayed.' He sounded like a father who felt obligated to look after a child he thought he wanted but no longer brought him joy."

"Lilu, stop filling my ears with rubbish and let me out of here."

"He hides, pretty angel, hides from his creations, from himself, but I suppose such habits run in the family."

Unnerved, I stumbled to the door. Panic twisted my chest when I realised it was locked. I tried to summon my strength to yank the door open to no avail.

"Why is my family unholy when yours are heroes? Why do some screams matter more than others?"

"Because they were monsters, Lilu--" Lilu caught my arm when I almost lost balance. The building tilted like a ship rocking.

He opened the door with ease, in proximity to my face with a lost expression. He kissed me deeply as though he were making me question; if he were a monster, how come his lips felt like Paradise? How come I was shutting my eyes and leaning into him even though I didn't want to feel for him at a time like this.