Angelic - Part XII [Patron-Guided] (Final Poll) (Patreon)

A nova of magic centralizes at her fingertip, drawing power from across the universe. Prayers pulled from reserves that she kept scattered across space, now pooled together into the shape of a single droplet. A radiant tear falls from her point, descending hard towards the world. It breaks through the atmosphere, dragging with it tornado winds that whip and spiral madly. Light spews from the droplet in blinding twinkles, as if a slither of the sun was being discarded onto earth. Its destination was not directionless, but aimed onto Cyth.

Impact comes in the form of a splash of light that floods the surrounding area. The city, its neighbors, the mountains, and all the twisting roads are washed harmlessly by this spillage of magic. Unlike a flood, this light does not drain away, but fades, invisibly being absorbed by the intended angel. Their body is cast into a golden silhouette, more vibrant in its shine than any shifting magic they had ever used on themself. Power ripples through their body, recharging what they had depleted and then more. As a result, they grow even taller where they stand, their feet pushed wider apart as they drive down neighborhoods, highways, and farm plots in their unstoppable extension.

The transformation disgusts Oriphi, who grimaces at the obnoxious development. Through her squint past the light, she can tell Cyth’s power has been emboldened, allowing them to match her towering height. The tides are turning, and Orihpi admits that it’s her being beached -- but if this was Amana’s blessing, then this was a great outcome. There was a chance yet to topple the enemy angel and claim victory.

Oriphi bounds over her city in a single step, the footfall of which crashes with enough force to cause an outer ring of buildings to crumble. Another massive leg swings over the city, spinning cyclones under her orange heel before it, too, crashes onto the earth with tremendous weight. The explosive impacts rattle the entire state, but with just this approach, Oriphi is in range to lunge at Cyth.

The arm-spread tackle is met with formidable resistance. Cyth catches the hands with their own, leaning against Oriphi’s aggression with all their weight. Oriphi’s momentum temporarily wins out, pushing Cyth back as their heels bulldoze more of the country. But Cyth stabilizes, their toes finding fraction when they sink deep into a riverbed. Opposing growls meet each other in the relatively short space between their faces, a sound capable of shaking the freeway and its many vehicles directly below them. Onlookers from the ground level are in complete awe at the forces above, the pressure of their fight putting whole communities on edge.

Suddenly, Cyth slips forward. One arm gives up the competition, allowing Oriphi to push forward on that one side, but in doing so, Cyth is able to weave into her embrace. Before Oriphi realizes she’s been outmaneuvered, she’s struck by a rolling shoulder, bashed into her chest. She gasps from the blow, her entire body rocked backwards, resulting in earthquakes that rattle the land as she rebalances herself. But Cyth’s aggression does not end; a follow-up attack sees Oriphi be dragged back, her impossible weight whipped back towards Cyth so that they can be pulled into a trip. A kick at Oriphi’s ankle hits like lightning, appropriately clashing above the heads of humans like a clap of a storm. Oriphi babbles as her one foot is dug out from under her, until both feet are up in the air, her entire body flipping over her head--

“Nooo!!” Oriphi yells, a booming voice that is only accented by the boom of her landing. The earth is devastated by the devil’s back which hits the surface relentlessly. Catapulted into the ground, Oriphi is pained by her own weight, her recovery far too slow to yield her any chance of a turnaround. The shockwaves of her fall blaze through that half of the country like wildfire, casting ruin onto cities one ripple at a time. Whatever life existed in the range under Oriphi was, of course, flattened into dust, abandoned as stains that dot the back of the devil’s blazer.

Across the land, everything waits to settle after the meteoric bodythrow. Clouds of smoke that overtook the sky slowly clear, unveiling the mountains that was Oriphi’s body flung into the earth. Citizens that can afford to look beyond the panic of their communities look further to see twin legs standing over the defeated, leading up to a white robe that had since been dirtied by combat. The world witnesses Cyth as the champion, but there is no heralding of victory of songs of praise in their name, but instead a dreadful constant of sirens blaring and crowds crying. Those nearest to Oriphi’s fallen form have no time to understand the outcome, thrown into a chaotic reality that desperately squirms about the landscape body.

Thundering footsteps roar as Cyth approaches closer. The task was not complete until Oriphi was soundly bested. While their foe is down, Cyth charges magical energy, a process much smoother than their attempts before. Amana’s magic yet flows through them, allowing more spells to be cast without consequence. One hand is aimed at Oriphi, palm forward; a stream of holy light burns into Oriphi, causing her to whine in agony. She shivers and writhes, but the energy that had supercharged her is dwindling. Without it, she cannot counteract Cyth’s spell, which depletes her of her enormous scale. Due to so much mass, the process is slow and unforgiving for Oriphi, left to watch the sky become distant, for the crater of her own body’s impact to swallow her on all sides. She shrinks without escape, bringing with her whatever specks of earth and its life were still stuck to her office attire.

Alone in a pit that stretches across states was Oriphi, shrunken down to a human size. The wasteland surrounding her would not hold her for long as Cyth’s second spell was then cast. Another barrier encircles Oriphi, much like the one applied to her from before. In this bubble, Cyth levitates her from off the ground, whisking her high into the sky. It was almost impossible for Cyth to see Oprihi in her prison, but the twinkle of light was there, brought to their fingertip on demand.

Oriphi reels inside the bubble, a fist punched against the surface as she stares into Cyth’s humongous eyes. She has the energy to argue and bicker, but the angel ignores her, unable to even hear the complaints. They would allow Oriphi to hover at their shoulder for the meantime; there was still one last issue to address, which Cyth turned to with a cold expression.

The city which she had come to research still stood, though in a severely damaged state. Several buildings had collapsed, either from direct attacks or simply having crumbled after so many earthquakes. Mobs ran through the streets, searching for reliable shelter when none could be provided. Many were in an escape away from the urban sprawl, though where they could run from Cyth’s reign, no human was certain. The fate for this city, however, was to be finalized. There existed no other obstacles now that Oriphi had been defeated. The choice was Cyth’s to perform Amana’s will to their understanding.

Was the city deserving of sanctuary and forgiveness, to be given the time to be cleansed of the cult’s corruption? Or had the city strayed too far from holy order, and thus destruction was their only salvation?