Self-Ascension: Chapter 3 – Wings of Wax

Chapter 3 – Wings of Wax

A few months have passed and progressive appears steady but feels stagnant.

“If you wish to join us, you must prove what you are willing to do everything that the weak willed cannot,” Adela says.

“Bu-but am I worthy enough?” the man asks.

“Yes, you are.”

The man puts the chewed grapes from his mouth into Adela’s mouth as if the two were lovers passionately kissing. Veritas burrows itself into the man’s throat and eats his heart. Adela then spits at the man’s corpse.

“Traitors like you don’t deserve redemption.”

Adela wipes her mouth then walks out of the room and back into the party where Doloro awaits her in a dressy outfit that hides the scars of his penance so well that you thought that he’d given them up. Guards go into the room that she was in to clean up the mess and make it look like nothing happened.

“Is it done?” Doloro asks.

“Why wouldn’t it be? I just wish we had fewer traitors in our ranks.”

“That’s what happens when you give them seats in high places. Not everyone who says they pledge loyalty to the noble snakes is honest. In any case, it’s not worth worrying over a problem we should leave to the snakes. Enjoy the rest of the party.”

“You should more than I because of the penances you do.”

“I haven’t been doing as many since I was given so many luxuries.”

“You still smell like sweat and blood still.”

“It’s a natural odor that the ladies find attractive. It’s a sign of a hardworking man.”

“Haha, if you say so.”

Going into a dressing room, Adela fixes her golden makeup and looks at herself in the mirror. The girl she once was is seemingly gone as her once brown hair is now dyed gold, her once plain hairstyle is now pigtails with what seem to be horns in the center, makeup obscures any signs of stress, her skin has become pale, and she dresses like nobility unlike the simple gardener that she was.

“Why do we always have to exchange one problem for another? Give to one cause, put another on the side. Give some people a second chance, deny it for others. Relax for one month, work without rest for an entire week.”

“Don’t you worry about that, Adela. This is the way of the world. It’s a game of inches. There are moments of great victory and there are moments of utter defeat. What matters to that you stay true to yourself,” Veritas says.

“Or at least the me that you want me to be. I don’t feel worthy of being the one who’s the voice of our movement in this part of the country.”

“Every hero and saint didn’t think much of themselves before they were recognized for their great deeds. If they did, they wouldn’t be icons that people look up to. Think about that when I put on our next act.”

 After fixing herself up, Adela exits the room and goes up to the front of the room.

“And here is the voice of Veritas, the honorable and elegant Adela,” an announcer says as a spotlight shines on Adela and she is given a microphone.

“Thank you. Friends and family, we are the shepherds of society. Without our guidance, without the goodness and truth we bring to the world, it would be a dark place. Remember to be humble and remember that you are servants of everyone around you. Remember also to be realistic. You are modern heroes and icons. Both fictional and non-fictional stories will be written about us if we keep our current course and listen to the noble snakes. Stay true to yourself and thank you for everything you’ve done. We wouldn’t be here without you.”

The party claps and cheers for one another and for Adela especially her parents that proudly acknowledge her as their daughter. She is encouraged to relax at the party, but she would rather relax somewhere else in her own way, so she leaves the party and goes home. This home of hers is a new one bought by her actions and one that she lives in by herself. It’s a fairly large house with an even larger garden in the back. After dismissing the gardeners, she inspects their work to see that they’ve been keeping the garden healthy.

She begins to tend to it until Veritas tells her that, “You must get your rest. You have all weekend to play with your garden.”

“You said that last week and two weeks before that. I hardly get to do what I want anymore despite having excuses to do it,” Adela points out.

“But at least you have the chance. That’s more than what most people can do. Get your rest and you’ll have the whole day for yourself. When have I ever steered you wrong?”

“Okay, fine. I am exhausted after all.”

“Good.”

Adela rests in her luxurious bed and wakes up the next morning. She immediately gets dressed up in gardening attire and is about to get to work until she hears someone ring her doorbell. Going to answer it, she finds Doloro at her door who appears to be in a panic.

“Doloro? Why are you here so early without calling me first? What’s wrong?” Adela asks.

“It’s my parents. They died late last night. All that penance I did and all the money I spent for their medical treatments hardly extended their lives,” Doloro says.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Come in and rest.”

Doloro enters Adela’s house and paces back and forth while saying, “There is no time to rest. I talked to a spiritualist who told me that they would go to Hell. Veritas is the noble snake of truth and I was hoping he would know how I could prevent this.”

“You have the answer. You probably already know it. You’ve lived a life of self-sacrifice and it only makes sense that it ends that way. Sacrifice your life for your parents. Go to Hell for them and they will be saved.”

Adela struggles to speak after what Veritas has spoken through her.

“I felt that was the answer. I was named after what my parents thought I was, so it makes sense that I live and die in pain, but are you sure? Can you further consult Veritas on this?”

“Veritas has told me this through the connection we have. It is the only way to save their souls. Think of it. A true hero, no, a true faithful son would do anything to save the souls of his parents even at the cost of his own.”

“I wish it wasn’t like this.”

“You spent your entire life doing penance for people like them and now you have a definitive answer to save your parent’s souls from eternal pain. Didn’t you suffer for them so they wouldn’t go to Hell?”

“I did, but I never saw them change their ways. Not once. Still, you’re right.”

Doloro takes one of the nails out of his skin and is about to shove it into his throat. Adela desperately tries to talk but is unable to. Instead, she grabs his hands to try to prevent him from killing himself. At the same time, he struggles to go through with it.

“Heh, despite all the pain I put myself through, I can’t do this. Maybe I’m being too hasty. I’m sorry you have to see this,” Doloro says.

“It’s okay. Let me help you.”

Veritas uses itself to push Adela’s hands forward so that Doloro can stab his nail into his throat. Even then, he struggles to die as he chokes on his own blood. Adela begins to panic as she continues to hold Doloro’s hands unsure of what to do.

“I’m sorry,” Adela manages to say before Veritas strikes through Doloro’s head with itself to end his suffering.

For the first time in a while, Adela feels sick and almost pukes as she tries to hold back her tears.

“You should be used to gore going into your mouth,” Veritas points out.

“But not the gore of a friend,” Adela says.

“You two were hardly friends. More like business partners. I spoke to him more than you did.”

“But he was still a friend. The only one I got to know anything about. Was it sacrifice worth it?”

“His parents are in Heaven while he is in Hell.”

Not sure whether to say it’s good or not, Adela gets her servants to take Doloro’s body and start making funeral arrangements. She is not versed in spiritual and religious ideas so she accepts Veritas’ knowledge of what happened to Doloro’s soul and the souls of his parents. Because of what happened, she loses the will to do any gardening and just lets her servants massage her and comfort her with words to lessen the pain of her sadness. News then comes to her of more traitors within the ranks of those dedicated to the noble snakes.

“You must go and deal with this traitor,” Veritas says.

“Why should I? I’ve done enough. Inspired enough people with my voice or rather your voice. Get someone else to do it while I rest,” Adela responds in a tired voice.

“What would Doloro want you to do? He stayed true to himself and died a hero. An example that people will live by for ages to come.”

“Okay, okay. I’ll go.”

Adela heads out to where the traitors are to find that they’re in a similarly large house like hers that was gifted to them. There’s a wedding party happening at the house with many families and friends of the traitors there celebrating the occasion. When Adela approaches the doors, no one thinks anything about it. Not even the traitors.

“Punish the families of the traitors,” Veritas whispers.

“Why? Do you know if they’re working with the traitors or unaware of their crimes? What are even the crimes that the traitors committed?” Adela asks quietly.

“What they did doesn’t matter because what the noble snakes like I command is always right. You don’t even need to bloody your hands. Go near the food and drink and I will do the rest.”

“Fine.”

Going up to the various buffets, Adela gets close enough to them so that Veritas can touch them with its fangs. Various guests eat and drink what Veritas touched and don’t seem to be affected by what it did at all.

“Is your plan going to work?” Adela whispers to Veritas.

“Yes, give it some time. Enjoy the party while you’re here but remember to not eat or drink anything that I touched.”

Seeing as there’s nothing better to do, Adela walks around the party while trying not to get involved with anyone since they will soon be dead. The religious paintings and statues get Adela’s attention with a particular statue of a woman grabbing her attention. This woman is clothed with the sun, has the moon and a snake underneath her feet, and is crowned with twelve stars. Underneath the statue are the words, “The Immaculate”. Its gaze matches Adela as it appears to almost be talking to her but is hardly audible. However, she still hears a message in her heart that’s clearer now than before. “Stop this. Walk away from it. Do not trust the snake”. Veritas tries waking her up from listening to the voice and has to bite the inside of Adela’s mouth to wake her up.

“Adela!” Veritas says.

“Wha-what?”

“Do you see this religion that these traitors worship? They are enemies of the noble snakes.”

“Don’t we accept all religions and beliefs?”

“We accept them all no matter how contradictory they are to us, but this one is particularly against us and must be punished for it. Speaking of punishments, the show is about to begin.”

The wife and husband make their speech to their families and friends. Once the speech is done, the bride begins to spit blood and collapses on the floor in a spasm.  The husband also dies shortly after except his blood spills out of his body until a dried husk is left. Everyone else who ate and drank dies in similar but variously painful methods of having all of their blood come out of their body in one manner or another. No one is spared. Not even the children or the infants in this slaughter, and when the reality of it finally hits Adela, she is horrified.

“Do not worry about it, Adela. Go back home and enjoyed a well-deserved rest. Your garden awaits,” Veritas says.

“Still…”

“Still what? You did the right thing. These traitors would have soured our cause. Turned good into evil if you hadn’t done anything.”

“And we do evil to do good? How does that make sense?”

“Because we are good. Everything that we do, even evil, produces something good. Do you not remember the people we inspire? The people we save from suicide and their mundane lives? We save people from their despair and make them hope in us.”

“No, you do not, liar,” a woman’s voice says.

Adela is shocked to hear someone’s voice after what happened and turns to see that the statue that she was fascinated by is alive.

Veritas is terrified of the woman and begs Adela, “Do not listen to this woman! She-”

“Silence, deceiver,” the woman says. Veritas is strangely silenced and is unable to say or do anything. “Do not trust that snake who is better fit to be stepped on than acknowledged. You are more false than the truth you claim to be.”

“Who are you?” Adela asks.

“I am the Immaculate, a mother to you who has been watching over you. I am here to save you from your evil ways before it is too late.”

“Evil? When have I ever done anything truly evil?”

“You just questioned yourself after this horrible deed that you’ve done, and I’m sure you questioned yourself every time something like this happened even when you were used to it.”

“Veritas did everything.”

“You let him do it through you. Is not a person who hires an assassin to do his dirty work not as guilty as the assassin?”

“I could say the same thing to you. Why have you taken so long to accuse me of my crimes?”

“Your conscience has been accusing you this entire time despite you trying to frame these atrocities as good.”

“I have made the lives of hundreds of people better! My family loves me now more than ever, and I’m the happiest I’ve ever been. Since when does evil produce such good things?”

“It doesn’t, but it can fool you into thinking you are doing the right thing. Look around you. Look at the lovers who embraced each other until death. Look at the children with their blood spilling from their eyes and mouth. Have you made the lives of these people better? You have the blood of innocents on your hands and they scream out for justice. You cannot redefine evil because you think it is good. You cannot call yourself a hero when you act like a devil.”

Adela wrestles with what she knows to be true versus what she wants to be true.

“What would you have me do then?”

“Cut off Veritas from your tongue and put this life behind you.”

“You want me to do what?! If I do that, then I’ll lose the respect of everyone including my parents.”

“Would you rather do that or repeat what you’ve done today a hundred more times until you join your friend and his parents in Hell?”

“Doloro and his parents are in Hell…”

After giving it some thought, Adela takes a silver knife from the dining table and cuts off her own tongue. She writhes in pain for a short while before picking up her tongue and examines Veritas’ now rotting head. Turning back to the woman, she sees her leaving the house and pointing outside to a church in the distance. Assuming it's her next destination, Adela looks to the woman in a vain attempt to ask what it is only to see that she’s turned back into a statue. With nowhere else to go, Adela goes to this church to find that it’s an abbey of nuns. Outside of this church is the same statue of the woman with the title under it being “Church of the Immaculate Mother”. Going into it, a nun runs up to her in worry because of the blood on her.

“What happened to you? Are you okay?” the nun asks.

Adela shakes her head.

“Then you came to the right place. We have nurses here that can help you.”

The nuns help heal Adela’s tongue and give her some time to rest before asking her anything else.

“What’s your name? Here, write your answers here,” the nun says before handing Adela a notepad.

Adela writes her name.

“What a beautiful name. You look like that Adela girl I’ve seen on TV and in advertisements. Are you the same one?”

The nun’s question makes Adela hesitate to write before she eventually writes yes.

“Oh my. Sorry, I’m surprised you came here. Why is that by the way?”

Adela looks at the nun and writes that the Immaculate lead her here.

“Oh, if our Lady led you here, then it must be for a good reason. I mean no offense by this, but when I saw you on TV you were leading people astray with the cause that you were a part of. We’ve been praying for people like you and that our Lady would help you. It looks like our prayers were answered.”

Hearing this makes Adela write that she wants to repent and change her ways.

“I’m glad to hear it or see that I mean. Talk-or write to the priest your sins and we’ll see what you can do around here for your penance.”

Adela does as the nun instructs, receives absolution, then goes back to her to write to her what she did.

“That was your first confession? It’s better late than never for that. In fact, all nuns here confess their sins every week or two. You’re among repentant sinners like yourself and we welcome you to our humble home. Now, for your daily duties, you must tend the garden. Can you do that?”

This surprises Adela to hear as she excitingly shakes her head. The garden in the abbey is much like the one that she had in her old house except with statues of the Immaculate plus some other saints in it. Finally, Adela finds herself where she wanted to be. Even though the life of a nun isn’t what she wanted, it’s the one that is making her happy while also being the dream she wanted to live and in a setting where she can do some actual good rather than evil pretending to be good that she was doing before. Though the noble snakes continue their plots, Adela hopes and prays that the world will be better even if she doesn’t directly affect it, and if someone like her can change, then anyone can.

 

The End