New little comic

New short comic that I've made! This is what happens when the girl gets mad and jealous.

Enemy Empires of the Ecclesia Aeternam

Summaries provided by the Recorders of the Ecclesia Aeternam.

Jewish Empire

Otherwise known as the Alliance of Jewish Banking Clans by some, the Jewish Empire is primarily a juggernaut business empire. They have a small army and a structured government with kings ruling each planet, but they mainly influence the universe through their business deals rather than conflict or political disputes. There's a saying among all empires that if you're a notable individual and a mercenary comes after you, then the Jewish Empire probably sent them after you, even if you think you're friends with them. Because of this, no one is really their ally and empires only do business with them when they feel like they need to. Out of all the powerful empires, this one is the one that has participated in the least conflicts not counting the ones they make start between other empires.

During the Gentle Extermination, their banks and businesses were destroyed along with everything they had. Their sympathizers were arrested and deposed from their positions of power while the survivors who didn't repent fled into the unknown regions.

Islamic Empire

Sometimes called Mercenaries of the Holy Prophet, the Islamic Empire is mostly known for its wars and soldiers. They fight and subjugate those who refuse to submit to them. If they are a minority on the planet they are allowed to live on, they have tactics of infiltrating the rest of the society with their ideals. Business and politics are hardly talked over and usually solved by the sword, so to speak. Peace is only established with them when their forces are exhausted as their faith in their god is strong and even this is fleeting as they teach the next generation how they can get revenge when the present generation is gone. As it is said, those who live by the sword die by it. The repentant were spared while the remnants are said to be in the unknown regions or nonexistent since most in this empire fought to their vain end.

Protestant Alliance of Christ

This empire is a coalition of various "Christian" denominations. The largest empires in this alliance are the Lutherans, Baptists, and Calvinists while the other Protestant empires are small as they have very few planets under their control and their strength is minimal at best. Sometimes, the alliance will have civil wars because of their conflicting ideas of what Christ would want or has taught and the ruling denominations will shift over to the victors. These victors will be the ones deciding things until the next civil war. What keeps this alliance together is also the reason they formed, that being their hatred for the Ecclesia Aeternam, Orthodox, Islamics, and Jews. The pagans are hated last in their hearts, but most Protestants call Catholics, Orthodox, and Islamics Satan worshippers anyway. These empires were burned to ash all the same. The survivors were converted or fled to the unknown regions if they were foolish.

Orthodox Empire of the Lord

This particular empire is a close rival to the Ecclesia Aeternam since they share more valid sacraments than the Protestant Empire, but they are nevertheless, enemies of God and His Church due to their refusal to submit to the Pope and the Holy Doctrines given to her by the Holy Spirit. During certain times they act as reluctant allies while other time act as fierce rivals. "This Great Schism that was started by them can only be mended with Holy Fire to cauterize the wound," a cardinal under Pope Dolce V's papacy once said. This cardinal seems to have been right as no other way of conversion has better mend the schism than by destroying the heretics, converting the repentant, and scaring the rest with holy fear into the dangerous unknown regions.

Pantheon of the Gods

A small empire of pagan empires. These empires were once the greatest empires in the universe until the Ecclesia Aeternam rose to power. They were secular empires that worshipped science and the continuous evolution of man's ability to develop new technologies, but this creative vision dried up and was given to the Church as she began to outdo them in all fields of technology, weapons, medical research, and so on. Before they knew it, they were out of power and forced into the unknown regions. Since they've lived in the unknown regions longer than anyone else, they know more about the region's resources and dangers than most do.

Because of this and because they were ignored by most, they grew large enough to form an empire known as the Satanic Empire of the true god. This empire came and went during the era of War and Peace as they were quickly eradicated by the Ecclesia, Orthodox, Protestant, Islamic, and Jewish empire respectively. Records of this short time are not well recorded as if the empires were embarrassed to be fighting against a common foe together while having relatively good relations. With the Satanic empire crushed, no one knows what the pagans and other secular worshipers are doing in the unknown regions. Groups have been deployed to investigate this along with their further exploration of the unknown regions.

Fidelis ad Dogma

These heretics of the Ecclesia Aeternam separated themselves from her because they believe in dogma over the authority of the current Church leadership of their time. They created their own church with their own pope that lead a hostile revolution that marked the start of a civil war within the Church that would last nearly three hundred years with brother killing brother and family being turned against family. In this time of bloodshed, it was thought that the main reason the conflict was started was because of infiltrators within the Church. It isn't until the true pope of the time, Pope Chaleureux IV, defeats the anti-pope and reunites the Church as it begins to heal, but this time of healing was brief as the theories of the true culprits of the civil war emerge to kick the Church while she's down.

Alliance of Empires

This alliance of the Church's enemies grew in the unknown regions for centuries. They built their empire in secret. As such, not much is known about them. From the few reports there are, these empires didn't get along too well despite their mutual hatred for the Church. There are said to have been multiple civil wars between them because of their religious differences, which is why it took so long for them to emerge. Their arsenal of weapons was on par with that of the Church's along with their more advanced weapons that they used to destroy the suns and subsequently the galaxies controlled by the Church. When they attacked the Milky Way galaxy, they proclaimed that they brought their entire populations from the unknown regions, what they had done to the other galaxies, and which empires were going to take which planets. They then set their terms of surrender that the Church did not submit to. This lead to an intense battle that destroyed both empires. Their effect on the universe was so devastating that humanity became confined on Earth with none of the technologies that they have enjoyed for generations, which is currently considered both a blessing and punishment by God.

Even though they are destroyed, conflict and suffering has not ended and will not end until the Lord's second coming.

Let this Love Be True, Let this Love Be Forever - (Song/Poem Attempt #83 from Rewrite Our Love Psalm)

 I try and hide my mistakes

Look the other way

But I only made things worse

I endlessly spiral downwards

Please end this now

Then I saw you

And I was made brand new

This love we have

Please let it be true

You came in and took me up

Held me close and didn't let go

Lit a fire in my heart and kept it burning

Unchained me from my mistakes and freed me

Let this Love Be True

Let this Love Be Forever

I was never satisfied

Always wanted more

Gave in to my demons while swearing them off

Someone please free me from myself

Then I saw you

And I was made brand new

This love we have

Please let it be true

You came in and took me up

Held me close and didn't let go

Lit a fire in my heart and kept it burning

Unchained me from my mistakes and freed me

Let this Love Be True

Let this Love Be Forever

You gave me more than I could ever ask for

You are everything that I need

But I still fall and fall again

Don't leave

Stay with me

And never let me go

You came in and took me up

Held me close and didn't let go

Lit a fire in my heart and kept it burning

Unchained me from my mistakes and freed me

Let this Love Be True

Let this Love Be Forever

Broken and Beauty - (Song/Poem Attempt #82 from Rewrite Our Love Psalm)

 I'll just be plain about it

You're better off without me

Everything I've touched I've ruined

I'm everything a sinner is and a hypocrite

You are everything to me

While I'm nothing and nobody

I cause you pain and make you grieve

Do yourself a favor and just leave

I'm broken and you are beauty

Two wrongs that don't make a right

I want you with me

But I don't want you to fall too

I am Hell, you are Heaven

I am despair, you are hope 

I am broken and you are beauty

Lust in my eyes

Anger in yours

People as objects for my use

My sins have no excuse

You are everything to me

While I'm nothing and nobody

I cause you pain and make you grieve

Do yourself a favor and just leave

I'm broken and you are beauty

Two wrongs that don't make a right

I want you with me

But I don't want you to fall too

I am Hell, you are Heaven

I am despair, you are hope

I am broken, you are beauty

Why do I ruin everything?

How can I ever be fixed?

You've tried and failed

Time and time again we fail to connect

You were once a beauty now you seem closer to a beast

Look at what I've done to you

Do me this one last favor and

Sever the ties before it's too late

You are everything to me

While I'm nothing and nobody

I cause you pain and make you grieve

Do yourself a favor and just leave

I'm broken and you are beauty

Two wrongs that don't make a right

I want you with me

But I don't want you to fall too

I am Hell, you are Heaven

I am despair, you are hope

I am broken, you are beauty

Leave!

Just leave!

Check out my latest eBook for free!

Download this series of short stories on Smashwords - https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/1051156

There is no peace in the future as the Ecclesia Aeternam wages war on non-Catholic empires going as far as to burn their planets to ash and put them in a Purgatorial state. This collection of short stories details the attempted assassination of the pope that sparked this war and the stories of the groups within it that are created by this galactic war.

Infinitus Anathema: Chapter 5 – Watching Out for Each Other

 

Chapter 5 – Watching Out for Each Other

It’s not easy staying up during the night even though the pay for the job lets me quit my normal job. I’m still not used to staying up long nights listening in to the conversations of my neighbors and friends. My husband, Saul, stays up with me along with other groups of Neighborhood Watchers for signs of traitors in our community. So far, no one has spoken up against the Church nor have they spoken any kind of false doctrine that the Church doesn’t agree with. The Church has displayed her great power for over a year now and is still waging war with those still foolish enough to oppose her. It makes me wonder why our group was formed in places like our community, which has been full of faithful Catholics for generations.

Can’t be too careful, I guess. We must always stay vigilant, especially after our own. It’s why I got this job. Mainly to serve God and watch over my family while also being sure of our safety. There are rumors that the enemy will try to make us fight each other so they can overcome us. I don’t think that will happen because we’ve learned our lesson from the many internal conflicts that the Church has gone through for centuries. Besides, the faithful of the Church have a common enemy in the other empires. The aristocrats have a group to place their blame on while filling their pockets with the spoils of war while the peasants enjoy working knowing that the people above them are actually doing something productive. Of course, this can only go on for so long before our common enemy is obliterated, but I don’t think that time will be soon.

“Kezia, are you alright? Do you need to take a rest? I can take it from here,” Saul says.

“No, I can handle it. Also, I don’t think you can handle listening to two listening stations at once since you have trouble listening to me and Tamara at the same time.”

“Haha, who can handle that?”

Tamara is our sweet child who is in her early teens. Since we know what’s going on around the area, we let her go out by herself with her friends and members of our family. Sometimes I’ll mostly listen to what she’s doing and switch to other channels for a bit before going back to what see and hear she’s talking about. Ah!

“Don’t get too touchy there, missy,” I say to her through the speaker.

“I’m allowed to give my guy friends hugs, mom! Stop watching us so much!” she says back.

“You know you shouldn’t be abusing your privilege like that,” Saul points out.

“Oh, please. The other parents do it too and there’s no rule saying we can’t explicitly do this. In fact, I think the rules encourage it because we’re keeping our kids in line as they say.”

“Stop making up excuses and leave her alone.”

“Okay, boss.”

For the rest of the night, nothing happens, which is what we write in our report. I only sleep for a few hours so Saul and I can prepare breakfast for Tamara. He does coffee and cleans the dishes while I make the food. We say our family rosary after breakfast along with our morning prayers then send off Tamara to go to school.

“Welp. I’m going to go take another two minutes,” I say as I begin to head upstairs for bed.

“Two actual minutes or two minutes in your time?” Saul asks.

“You know me. You should be getting some sleep too, big guy.”

“I’ll be up soon. I just want to see the news.”

“It’s the same thing as always.”

“Doesn’t make it any less informative.”

“If you say so.”

Going up to my room, I fall on the bed and almost immediately fall asleep. After what feels like a second, I am woken up by the sound of large ships entering the city. Today is the day we’re supposed to be receiving…stuff or whatever it is. I’m too tired to remember, so I go back to sleep only to be woken up for what must be an actual second as I hear explosions outside. Looking to see what is happening, I see that we’re under attack by one of our own trading ships.

Saul barges in and says, “Get your armor, gun, and let’s go!”

“Okay!”

He probably means to go and get the citizens to safety. As a member of the Neighborhood Keepers, we have to ensure their safety first before our own. Hopefully, someone is taking care of Tamara. It looks like someone has turned on the manual air defenses since our turrets don’t automatically shoot down allied ships. The turrets shoot down the ship and it crashes down into the city.

“All military and law enforcement personnel are ordered to secure the rogue ship once the civilians are in their protected shelters. The Neighborhood Watchers who are on in surveillance stations should stay in place and work with those on the field to direct them. The other watchers are to support the military and law enforcement going to the crash site. Once you reach the crash, arrest the survivors and execute those who resist arrest,” command says from our radios.

Our section of the neighborhood is secured so we head over to the crash site. I’m severely tempted to go look for Tamara and I’m sure Saul is too. We then hear laser fire and head over to the area to see soldiers, guards, and watchers fighting the people from the crash. It looks like many of them survived so Saul and I join the fight from afar. The number of enemies is thinned out within minutes and they retreat into the city. We all split up into groups to chase after them.

“Kezia!” It’s Neriah. My neighbor and one of the fellow watchers.

“Neriah, it’s good to hear from you.”

“Same to you. You’re entering my sector of the neighborhood. I’ll be directing you where those dirtbags are while my husband directs yours.”

I look over to Saul who is talking to Neriah’s husband. He gives me a thumbs up to indicate that we’re both on the same page.

“Okay, Neriah. Tell me where they are.”

“They’re going to the food market. It looks like they’re setting up so they can make a plan.”

“Got it.”

We head to the food market, which is eerily quiet with the only thing breaking up the quiet is the occasional sound of fighting every now and then. Please God, let that be us winning against them.

“Okay, they’re in-”

Before Neriah can say anything, we are shot at from all sides. We take cover until the shooting subsides.

“Everywhere it seems,” I whisper.

“They’re resisting arrest, which is going to make this easier.”

“You call this easy?”

“Set your guns to silent and do exactly as I say.”

I look over to Saul next to me and he nods before taking off our masks to give me a kiss.

“Okay, we’re ready.”

“You two are so cute. Anyway, go around to the back of the pasta store. There’s one in the back behind the corner fixing his communications equipment.”

Saul and I do as we are told and shoot the one we are told about. I’ve never shot anyone in my life before, but this is easier than I thought it would be. Maybe it’s because of what this person is a part of or the protective mother part of me kicking in.

“Good job. The rest of them haven’t moved yet, so go to Lilian’s vegetable store three doors down and go through the windows to take the two there by surprise. They have the door rigged to blow if you open it,” Neriah says.

We do as Neriah says then go in to eliminate the two at the same time.

“I can’t believe they ate some of the vegetables while they were hiding there,” Neriah says.

“Eh, I never really bought any of this stuff unless we had to fast,” I say.

“I’m not going to start another argument because of your taste in cooking again, Kezia, so move to the cooking store next at the end of the street.”

Saul laughs then looks at me before we go to disarm the trap at the back door. Leaving the story, we head to the end of the street and into the cooking store.

“There are two upstairs and two downstairs. Proceed with caution.”

Saul and I go upstairs first and are about to go to the different sides of the floor to flank the two hostiles here, but the floor falls out from under me.

“The store must’ve suffered damage from the attack and weakened the floor! Be careful you two! They’re onto you.”

I can hear two people walking towards me, so I crawl underneath a table and wait for them to come. They arrive from the two sides of the table and appear to be looking around. Because I know they’re going to be looking around soon, I take this opportunity to shoot their stomachs from under here then finish them with a shot to the head. Above, I can hear the sound of a body fall and then another.

Saul then gives me a thumbs up and quietly says over the comms, “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“You’ve got trouble, you two. Six of them are coming out of their hiding spots and heading over to where the communications guy was. I recommend going to both sides of the streets and going full auto on them to eliminate them all at once.”

“Roger.”

We do as Neriah says and switch our pistols to submachine gun mode then execute all six hostiles at once. Thankfully, they don’t get a shot off because of our surprise attack.

“That’s it in this area. Good job. I’m hearing word that we got everyone else,” Neriah says.

“That’s amazing news!” I say to Neriah.

“I knew we’d beat them,” Saul says as he hugs me.

We take off our masks to kiss.

“Oh, stop showing off for the cameras, you two, and report to the guardsmen’s office to give your report.”

Saul and I go to the guardsmen’s office and tell them what we did. In the office, we also see that a few of the people who attacked us are captured and are being questioned.

“Have those people told us why they attacked us yet?” I ask the guard at the desk.

“We’ll know soon enough. I hear that they’re going to be publicly executed after being given the chance to confess and receive communion.”

Part of me understands and wants to see it while the other part wants to execute them myself for what they did. After giving our report, we go to the shelter where Tamara is since the all-clear is issued. Thankfully, she’s alive without a scratch on her. Unfortunately, a lot of citizens died because of the attack. More died when the ship crashed into the city, but I’m sure that the idea to shoot it down was better than leaving it to cause whatever destruction they wanted to.

Later, we learn that the people that attacked us were defectors from the Ecclesia that didn’t like the direction it was going in along with a few heretics who helped them. These people are executed on live TV and a warning is issued to other traitors within the Church that this will be their fate too if they betray Holy Mother Church. Tamara watches the execution and doesn’t seem to be bothered by it.

“Tamara, are you okay?” I ask.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Those people got what they deserved,” she says with a satisfied tone to her voice.

“Remember, we can’t hate these people. We can only pity them and hope they repented for their sins.”

“I know.”

She sounds a bit dismissive, but she’ll learn. At least I hope she does. After today, the parts of the city that were damaged are being repaired while the Neighborhood Watchers are vigilant over our neighbors and the people around us.

Infinitus Anathema: Chapter 4 – A New Me

 

Chapter 4 – A New Me

“Good evening, Mr. Regal. On time as always, I see,” the desk attendant says.

“Always better to be on time than late.”

“Ha, you don’t have to keep reminding me of that.”

I go into the office and sit at the desk. After entering in the password, I begin to look through the files and emails on the computer and copy them to my flash drive. Let’s see what kind of dirt we can find here. So, the rumors are true. I am going to have a meeting with Ms. Myra in a few minutes. My key to where I need to go should be walking in right about now.

“Good evening, Mr. Regal,” Ms. Myra says as she enters the office.

“Good evening, Ms. Myra. Come in and take a seat.”

“Right to business as usual.” I stop myself from asking if anything is wrong even if she does sound a little annoyed. “I’m surprised you’re so fixed on your computer. Usually, you like watching the city from here.”

“Oh, I’m more focused on my work right now so I can enjoy it more.” I remembered one thing but forgot the other. “Anyways,” I say as I get up and walk to Ms. Myra, “The Ecclesia Aeternam has made our lives unbelievably more difficult because of their massacres and hostile takeover of our worlds and the worlds of the other empires. Our business and partners have suffered unbelievably because of it and it doesn’t help that we have people defecting left and right. Why is infiltrating them the best course of action?”

“Because it’s the best way to stall their advance and possibly cripple them. There was a small civil conflict on their worlds a while back and the Church is known to always have some kind of conflict within themselves. I believe that if we were to nudge that internal conflict even further then we would be able to get back to business as normal and may even give our future generations the ability to prosper.”

“I like the idea and would like to learn more,” I say before lightly stabbing the back of Myra on the neck with my special knife.

The knife doesn’t kill her. Instead, its coated tip injects a knockout substance into her that puts her to sleep. I then scan her face with my facial scanner so I can switch the look of my face. Going into a nearby closet, I find a drawer with some of her clothes in it and a wig. It’s not a good thing for there to be an affair in a place and time like this, but the affair between these two sinners have helped us a lot. At least the same outfit she is wearing is in here, so I don’t have to take it off her and it’s not too feminine for me to wear. I also change my voice to Myra’s before exiting the office. Thanks to her talking for a bit, my voice recorder got a large enough sample for me to use.

“Have a good night,” I say to the desk attendant.

“Same to you. It’s a wonder to me as to why Mr. Regal always calls you back here just for a quick meeting.”

“He does love his traditional meetings. Better to talk with people in person than over the phone or holograms.”

“I get it. Thank you for coming.”

“It was a pleasure.”

I go to the elevator and take it to the top floor. Here is a secret room that I enter by scanning my face then confirm it’s “me” by saying “my” name. The door opens and I enter the dimly lit room. Inside is a planning room with a single computer at the end. This is going to contain better secrets than the ones on Regal’s computer, so I copy them and send everything I have over to HQ via my personal IS or info sender.

“Nice job, Jules. We got the information we came for and we’re looking through the rest right now,” the primary communicator, Jada, says over the small communicator in my ear.

“Great. I can’t wait to see this place go up in flames.”

“I’m afraid that won’t happen. City planets are too expensive to rebuild and repair.”

“Then it’ll look even better than it does now. Anyways, is my EP clear?”

“Yes-ah, hold on.”

Okay. While they’re looking at what I’m looking at, I might as well read it. See if I can find anything about-

“It looks like we’re going to have to delay your extraction.”

“Why’s that?”

“You have a new objective.”

“We’ve just learned through the information that you’ve gathered that your family is in the area. This is a golden opportunity to take out a high value target.”

“I…I don’t know about this. Are there any other agents in the area?”

“Yes, but they’re busy with their assignments. You aren’t feeling nervous about this, are you? Remember Matthew ten, thirty-seven.”

“Yes, I remember that. Send me their location.”

“Already sent. Remember that you can always try to convert them. May God give you the grace to make the right decision.”

“Right. I’m hoping that He’s giving me all the graces I need right now.”

I hoped that a situation like this wouldn’t happen, and it does. They’re a royal family that governs over a majority of who is in power and business in this galaxy. We thought they were underground in the deepest depths of this city planet, but it looks like they’ve emerged and gone back to our home. They were never really afraid of the Church nor facing her in the open even after we watched the Pope put planets in a Purgatorial state. If I still know how they are, they’ve reemerged with a plan though I do know that they’re going to regret it.

Going to the location of the castle fills me both with nostalgia and nervousness. It’s always been a wonder to me how a castle could be built upon the houses and buildings of many people as if the castle were the head of it all. To think that I used to criticize the pope for being overly pious when I used to live here. Remembering the secret ways I used to leave and get in, I go into the department store and into the women’s dressing room. Lifting the ceiling one of the dressing rooms reveals a crawlspace that I use to get to the basement of my house. If any part of this planet is going to be destroyed, I hope it's this part because of the shameful memories associated with it.

Speaking about shameful memories, I ring the bell downstairs to get one of the butlers to come downstairs.

“Hello? Is anyone there?” he says before I knock him out.

I could’ve got him talking longer since he knows me like how the other butlers and maids do, but I didn’t want him to raise any alarms. The voice sample my voice recorder got is okay, however, I can’t really talk to anyone since the voice will sound more like my own. After putting his body aside in the dark, tossing away my previous outfit when I should really burn it, and changing into a butler with a nearby butler’s outfit, I go upstairs. This place looks exactly like how I remember it. Right now, there’s a party going on with several members of my family walking around. Knowing all their weaknesses, I think of a plan then put it into action.

For my brother, I bump into him and spill a drink on his shirt. He chases after me in a rage. With his attention, I take him outside to the garden.

“You have no excuse not to hear me now! Apologize for what you did to me,” he says.

Disappearing into the shadows of the fruit trees, I go around him to lock the door then approach him from behind with my real face.

“Brother,” I say.

“Jules?! You traitor! What are you doing here?!”

“I’m-”

“Nevermind that! I don’t want to hear your filthy excuses!” he says as he attacks me with a knife from his back pocket.

I dodge his attack then stab him in the head to give him a quick and painless death. That was easier than I thought it was, which should scare me. It shouldn’t be this easy and emotionless to kill my brother and scan his face for a possible future use. I can’t just leave his body here, so I activate the decomposition function on my knife to drop some acid on him that melts his body. In a matter of seconds, his body will be nothing but an odorless puddle of water. To think that I had this whole plan laid out to talk to him about the times we played here in the garden to appeal to him to get him to convert. I’m such a fool. I hope you’ve gone to Heaven despite your great sins, brother.

Anyway, my next target is my dad. Switching back to the butler’s face, I go back to the party and find him talking to a bunch of politicians and businessmen. I listen to their conversation and take note of what they’re talking about and record their voices for later use. One of the businessmen walks away to the bathroom and I follow him there to knock him out. The good thing about him is that I only need to take his suit jacket and tie to look like him. It’s also fortunate he’s bald too so I don’t need to get a wig to wear on top of my mask. After switching to the businessman’s face and voice, I go back to my dad.

“Sir Nicodemus, I’d like to sign the terms to our arrangement,” I say to him.

“Ah, so you’ve come to your senses about it then.”

“Well, getting the alcohol out of me helped, haha! I can sign the papers now in your office.”

“Are you sure? I wouldn’t want to take so much from you during a party.”

“Think nothing of it. This is your party after all so consider it as a present in addition to my other ones.”

“You truly live up to your name as the most generous man in business, my friend.”

My dad and I get up and go to his office where he takes out the papers. I’m surprised that he still has pictures of me hanging up here after what I did.

“Is something the matter?”

Dang it. He must’ve noticed the expression on my face.

“No, nothing. Why do you have pictures of your son who betrayed you still hanging up? Isn’t he a traitor?”

“He’s nothing of the sort. People may talk horribly about him and his brother may have disowned him, but I still love him. I would tell him that too even if he still hates me.”

“I don’t hate you, dad,” I say as I change my face and voice back to mine.

“Jules?! How did you…oh nevermind,” he says before hugging me.

He genuinely seems elated to see me.

“You’re not mad that I’m here like this?”

“No, not at all! I don’t care what kind of things you did to get back here as long as you’re here. Come! Let’s bring you to your mother and brother! I’m sure they’ll be just as excited to see you!”

“No, no! I’m not here for a reunion. I’m here from the Church, the Ecclesia.”

“Huh?”

“I’m here to bring you home to the Church. Please repent and leave this place. I promise that they’ll be merciful to you as they were to me.”

“Jules…”

“I repented and they gave me this special job that mostly converts and reverts can do. I guarantee you that this is the right thing to do.”

“Jules, I can’t do that. I don’t believe that your Church is the true Church of God. That’s my decision and it’s final.”

My dad turns around and looks at the picture of our family as if knowing what I’m going to do, so I grant him it by giving him a quick death. As I scan his face, I see that he’s at peace so hopefully, he’s in Heaven. Out of everyone in the family, he’d probably be the most likely to go to Heaven. I’m almost hesitant to apply the acid to get rid of his body and almost miss. As I leave the room, I almost want to take the picture of my family on his desk, but I restrain myself and immediately leave the room. Okay, okay. Just one more.

My mom is in her room looking out at the city from her balcony. I knock on the door with a plate full of her favorite food and drink while having the butler’s face and voice.

She answers the door and says, “Hello, I didn’t order anything, but oh! You know my favorite, so I don’t mind taking it. You can leave it on the table by my dresser.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

I do as she says then silently lock the door as she goes back to the balcony. Alright, I might’ve not thought this through. The only thing I can do now is approach her, so I switch to my normal face and voice.

“Mom,” I say.

My mom turns around with a curious look on her face that instantly turns to shock when she sees that it’s me.

“Jules?!”

She does the same thing as dad did as she hugs me and talks about how good it is to see me and about reintroducing me back to the family.

“I’m not here for that, mom. I’m here to bring you home to the Church where you belong.”

“Jules, I belong here. I don’t belong to that demonic church and neither do you. I don’t even understand why you ran away to go there.”

“Because it’s the true Church of Jesus where the fullness of truth resides. You saw their might. You know how they keep coming back no matter what evil things we do to them. Open your eyes to what is happening and try telling me this isn’t God judging us for what we’ve done.”

“I see this as a test. You were supposed to be the heir and the leader of our revolution against those hypocrites.”

“Hypocrites? You are the hypocrites killing and doing underhanded deeds with criminals and corrupt businessmen and politicians for ‘the greater good’. You even dressed me up as a girl to get more approval for them and I don’t even want to remember everything else from there.”

“I was justified in doing what I did.”

“You justified yourself. You aren’t justified by God.”

“I’m not joining the Ecclesia no matter what you say, so you might as well leave or kill me.”

“Come on, mom. There’s another way. They’ll grant you mercy and convince you they-”

“I’m not going to do it.”

“…okay.”

I slowly take out my knife and hope that my mom turns around, so I don’t have to see her face as I kill her, but she doesn’t turn around. I do what I have to, scan her face, and decompose her body before contacting HQ.

“It’s uh. It’s done.”

“Thank you, Jules. Your extraction point is in the fire escape,” Jada says.

“Got it.”

As I leave, I cross myself then take the secret path to the fire escape through the door in my mom’s closet. There I find a ship ready to pick me up. Once I sit down in the ship and it takes off, I take off my mask and fix my hair.

“You alright, Jules? I heard what you had to do,” the pilot says.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just keep me in your prayers.”

“Always. There’s food and booze in the ship’s mini-refrigerator if you need it. Don’t touch the stuff marked with my name on it though.”

“Haha, thanks, but I’m good.”

On the way back home, I pray for the souls of my family, for the sinners like them who haven’t repented yet, and my fellow converts and reverts who have the same job I do because betraying the people you know for the right reasons isn’t as easy as it sounds.

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To be a gluttonous sinner means to have physical and worldly powers that no normal human can have, but it also means that you'll never be satisfied enough. Lilith is bitten and becomes one of these sinners against her will and must choose to either fight to stay human or give in and slowly become a monstrous sinner until no part of her humanity remains.

Infinitus Anathema: Chapter 3 – Disciplinarians

 

Chapter 3 – Disciplinarians

My sister, Níngjìng, and I stand on the rooftops of the city as we pray for the sinners below us and the soldiers that keep them in line while we listen to any conversation that may be considered as defiance towards God and His Church. As I cycle through the conversations every ten seconds, I stay as patient as I was trained while remembering that this is all for the good of the Church and God’s Will. I then tune into one conversation that may be of interest.

“Shh. Don’t you know that they’re listening to us?”

“So what? We’re already dead as far as I’m concerned. That damn empire is in control of our planet and we have no choice but to pretend to believe and practice their beliefs.”

That’s all I needed to hear. I put my two blades together so that it forms a sniper. The signal from the recorder allows me to zero in on the location of the conversation and the scope of my rifle lets me see through the many walls between me and my targets. With my sights locked on my target, I take my shot.

“Ahhh! Screw you, you demons!”

I take another shot. My high powered shots go through buildings, walls, and whatever else that’s in the way. I’m pretty sure it also goes a fair way into the ground before stopping. My targets are eliminated so I put my blades back in their sheathes and resume the prayer position.

“Good work, Jìjìng,” Níngjìng says.

“Thank you, Níngjìng.”

I shuffle through the recorders again until I find another conversation worth listening to.

“Did you hear that?”

“Another one was speaking a bit too loud.”

“I’m not sure what’s worse. The Divinus Carnifex indiscriminately slaughtering people or these watchers in owl masks listening to us from above with soldiers at almost every city block.”

“Do you want to end up like those other two? Keep your opinions to yourself at least for the sake of the people between the owls and you.”

“Oh, that’s right. I remember hearing that at least five people were caught between a single shot of their rifles. Um, how’s dinner at five sound?”

“Sounds good.”

Nothing else they say in the conversation sounds suspicious or defiant, so I tune out from that recorder and shuffle through some more.

“That one person might be a potential target later,” Níngjìng says.

“Possibly.”

Níngjìng can see which recorder I’m listening to and can tune into it if she wants to know what I’m hearing. She can accuse me of incompetency if she thinks that I’m letting potential targets go. Our superiors won’t judge our targets and punish us for shotting the wrong people since they trust us with our jobs. We wore crow masks and did surveillance, assassinations, and combat work before taking up owl masks and this task.

“Listen to what I am hearing, Jìjìng,” Níngjìng says.

I tune in to what she’s listening to.

“We’ll have to meet there because they destroyed the church we go to.”

“But it’s not as private. Isn’t there any place we could meet outside of the city?”

“The Ecclesia have the outside of the city guarded and no one leaves without a good reason and evidence, and we aren’t good liars.”

“It’ll have to be the bar then. I’ll tell everyone else.”

“See you then.”

“Keep an ear out for a meeting at a bar. We could have a secret meeting of rebels. I’m going to tag those two people,” Níngjìng says as she takes out her sniper and tags the two people with small tracking darts.

“It could also be-”

“You can never be too careful. You should already know that.”

You don’t have to remind me. I don’t need to remember when we didn’t take out a potential target because they seemed like a normal family. What we didn’t know is that they were part of an organization of undercover families that would one day massacre a meeting of local bishops then kill themselves before they got caught. Our families were caught in the crossfire. Dang it, I didn’t want to remember it. I’m sure Níngjìng constantly remembers it because it was her call to let them go and not mention them to our superiors when I asked what we should do with them.

It's no wonder why she is so suspicious of everyone and trigger happy when someone seems even the least suspicious. I’m not sure if I should get her help because she could end up losing this job and being excommunicated and jailed and who knows what she’ll do from there. I don’t want that to happen because she’s the only family I have left. I’ve been praying and talking to her about this and she seems like she wants to get better though I’m not sure if that’s completely true, especially with current events. This is taking up too much of my concentration, so I switch to a recorder near some of the city’s politicians.

“Why did the Ecclesia let us live while they executed everyone else?”

“To pre-to show that they can still be merciful.”

“You call this…um, I don’t see how this is mercy. Our entire military and law enforcement is wiped out and replaced, and all our weapons have been confiscated. Also, I have to watch how I talk more than ever now.”

“I’d go with it if I were you. It’s easier to stay alive that way and not die on the spot. Don’t worry about me, watchers. I’ll behave.”

You better. It was easy to get most of the politicians to submit to us after our show of force with some in hiding for whatever reason. It’s not like they can do anything against us even if they have some weapons locked away. Looking behind me, I watch as my sister take out her sniper and shoot four times before resuming her prayer position.

Noticing that I was watching, she turns to me and says, “They were too suspicious to let live.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“I judge with right judgment, Jìjìng. You don’t have to worry about me. I’m not acting irrationally or paranoid.”

“I didn’t say you were, Níngjìng.”

“Every source of defiance must be crushed. If not, they may one day-”

A sniper shot from a far distance hits Níngjìng! It’s a good thing the armor we’re wearing is stronger than it looks. From the outside, it looks like we’re just wearing cloaks, but on the outside, we’re wearing armor that’s stronger than the average soldier.

“Are you okay?!”

“I’m fine! Where did that come from?!”

I use my sniper’s shot tracking function to see that the shot came from.

“It came from an apartment building down that way. I see two girls running away with one carrying a rifle.”

“Lead me to them. We have to make an example out of them.”

With our specially designed cloaks, we glide to the apartment and enter it through the windows.

“Where are they now-”

The room we’re in blows up! Our armor is a damaged a bit, but still usable. They must’ve known that the rifle wouldn’t kill us and bet that we would go after them for shooting us.

“They’re really going to pay now! Where are they, Jìjìng?!”

“Two floors above us, Níngjìng.”

“If they’re going upstairs, then they must have backup.”

Speaking about backup, people in masks with makeshift guns and weapons enters the room and appear to be a little shocked to see that we’re alive.

“Hurry and finish them off!” one of them says.

My sister and I use our blades to cut apart our enemies who barely know how to fight and shoot their guns. Níngjìng even makes one of their guns overload and blow off their arms by giving it a little jolt with one of her blades before cutting off their head.

“Where are our attempted assassins now?”

“Still on the second floor. They’re in a room with a group of other people.”

“Let’s get them down from the floor below.”

We go up to the next floor and barrage into the room below our assassin’s feet.

“You two can’t just force your way in-” the resident says before my sister cuts her head off.

“Níngjìng!”

“These people need to learn their place! Help me cut down the ceiling. Cut down everyone who isn’t our assassins.”

There’s no arguing with her right now. We cut open the floor beneath our assassin’s feet with our blades so that everyone in the room falls down. After, we cut down everyone except for the two who shot my sister. They sit injured on the floor holding each other and covered in the blood of their allies.

“These are the two?” my sister asks.

“Yes.”

“Just kill us already,” one of them says.

“You’ll burn in Hell for what you’ve done. Our deaths will be an example for others to rise up against you.”

“No, it won’t, but it will be an example.”

Níngjìng picks up one of the sisters by the throat and throws her out the window for everyone to see. She then picks up the other side the same way and gives her the same fate.

“Níngjìng! Don’t you think this is too extreme?”

“How can it be? They tried to kill us. They blew up their own room and endangered the lives of the people around them, and they tried to martyr themselves to inspire more rebels. These scum got what they deserved.”

Níngjìng then focuses on a door that is slightly open behind us. In it are three siblings who watched everything that happened. The oldest one lashes out at Níngjìng by hitting her with a chair. Enraged by her defiance, Níngjìng tosses away the chair and puts her knee in the girl’s face before grabbing her throat and holding her out of the window.

“Níngjìng! She’s just a child!”

“She’s of the age of reason! She knows what she did, and she deserves to be punished for it!”

The rest of the children gather around Níngjìng and beg on their knees for their sister to be spared.

“Look at what you’re doing, sister!”

“No act of defiance will be left unpunished! We’ve already shown these people mercy and they still fight against us. There are more people like this in the world and we need to make them know that they can’t fight against God and His Church. They have to learn the consequences of hurting us.”

“Stop!”

She lets go of the girl forcing me to quickly jump out of the window and grab her before she hits the ground. Thankfully, I’m able to glide us to the ground. Níngjìng glides to the ground and takes out her blades as a group of people watch us from afar.

“This is treason, sister,” she says.

“No. This is mercy. This is the right thing to do.”

“We’ll see about that.”

“We don’t have to fight.”

“Every act of defiance must be punished!”

I put down the girl before stopping Níngjìng’s blades with my own. Since I have no choice but to fight her, we cross swords until I eventually beat her. It’s easier than I thought it would be because rage has blinded her. The hardest part was pushing myself to keep fighting her to point of me knocking her out. Once our fight is done, I call for guards to take the girl to safety and to arrest my sister. Currently, she’s imprisoned on the planet and in chains for her turning on me and since she knows how to escape a normal cell. Thankfully, I convinced my superiors to spare her life because of her condition due to a traumatic event. I visit her one day to see how she’s doing.

“How are you feeling, sister?” I ask.

“Fine. I’ll be better once I get out of here.”

“That won’t be for a few months.”

“It’s not long. What I’ve done should’ve given me a life sentence or death. Thank you for sparing me from that.”

“It’s what family does for one another.”

“I did what I did because we’re family. I didn’t want to lose you. I didn’t want what happened to us to any other Catholic like us. I’m sorry.”

“I forgive you.”

I give my sister a hug as she leans her head on my shoulder. I didn’t want this to happen, but at least she’s getting better now. In the meanwhile, things are quieter in the city I watch over with a few other watchers. With what happened, I haven’t had to shoot anyone. In any possible case of defiance, I show up or scare them with a warning shot and this gets people to calm down. Hopefully, Níngjìng will do the same when she gets out. As for the other watchers, I can only pray that they do the same as me.