Demons, Angels and Everything In Between

The convent is quiet, as it always is at night except those special days that nighttime will meet them praying the chapel, but tonight is a pretty ordinary one. The only sounds to be heard are the distant rustle of the wind through the trees by the tall windows and the occasional creak of old wood, it's a pretty old place anyway so it's considered normal by now. 

But in the night when everyone ought to be asleep, Maria sits alone in her small, sparsely furnished room. At least she has one to herself, others have to share with one or two other sisters. The candle on her desk flickers faintly, casting dancing shadows on the walls. 

Her whispers echo while her hands are clasped in prayer. She is trying to focus on her prayers, but her thoughts keep drifting to one thing or the other.

Tomorrow is her eighteenth birthday, the day she will take her vows and fully dedicate herself to serve the deity, forever and ever. For as long as she can possibly remember, this is the path set before her. 

It's her only choice. 

It is supposed to be her purpose, her calling, not forcibly but something she wants to do on her own. Yet tonight, she feels a strange sense of unease that she can't shake.

A soft knock at the door broke her thoughts. She opens her eyes, startled. Who would come to her door by this time in the night?

"Maria?"

Thankfully, the voice is a familiar one. Maria stands up from the bed and opens the door to find Sister Agatha and two other sisters standing there, their faces lit with excitement as they each held glowing fat candles.

"Happy early birthday!" Agatha whispers, stepping inside with the others behind her.

"You're almost there, Maria!" another sister chimes in, her tone warm and friendly. "Tomorrow is such a big day. We're all so proud of you. You have to tell us what it is like to be a full nun. It has to be so exhilarating."

Maria smiles, moved by their thoughtfulness. "Thank you," she says softly, feeling a little more at ease with the sudden night visit, forgetting her ongoing prayer.

Agatha's eyes scan her, lingering for a moment before she speaks again. "You've... really changed, you know. Just in the past few weeks as your birthday drew nearer. You've always been beautiful, but now..." She trails off, a faint blush rising in her cheeks.

The other sisters nod in agreement, one adding, "It's like your body is blooming like a rose in summer. You're literally glowing, Maria."

Their words make her blush, though she can't deny she'd noticed the subtle changes too, but surely they can't possibly be as exaggerated as they put it to be. She'd tried to ignore them, dismissing it as a normal part of growing up. But now, standing under their watchful eyes, she feels a bit self conscious in a way she hasn't before.

The sisters did not linger long considering its past their lights out too. After a few more kind words and quiet laughter, they leave, bidding her goodnight and joking once more about how it'll be a new age they will see her again.

Maria closes the door behind them and leans against it, her thoughts racing. Their words echo in her mind. She can't help but feel unsettled, even as a part of her was curious. 

What exactly did they mean when they said she is blooming and glowing?

Her mind travels briefly to earlier in the chapel when her stomach had churned looking at Father Atlas.

She walks over to the small mirror in the corner of her room. It is old and chipped in the sides, but it serves its purpose. Slowly, she pulls off her simple nightdress, letting it fall to the floor, a pool at her legs.

For a moment, she just stares.

Her reflection is... different. 

Her body has grown fuller, more curvaceous in ways she has not fully realized until now. Her waist is narrow, her hips wider than they had ever been in seeming like a large o. Her chest, once modest, like a plain jane, now swells against the thin fabric of her undergarments. Her skin seems to glow faintly, smooth and flawless under the soft light of the moon streaming through the window.

Even Mother had said so in the afternoon. They had not been lying, not at all, because she is just as surprised with this transformation.

She reaches out and touches the mirror, her fingers trembling ever so slightly. "Is this... me?" She whispers.

Her heart pounds in her chest, a strange mix of emotions swirling inside her. A mixture of confusion, curiosity, and something deeper, something she can't name. She abruptly turns away, something catches her eye and she looks back, pausing. She could have sworn her reflection smirked just now. Once again, she quickly turns away from the mirror, pulling her nightdress back on.

"It's nothing," she murmurs to herself. "Just nerves. Tomorrow is a big day, that's all." She tries to reassure herself while feeling a bit spooked by her own self.

As she turns around to walk to her bed, the small clock on her desk strikes midnight. The soft chime fills the room, a sound she'd heard countless times before. Supposed to be soft like a thick summer breeze but this time, it sounds like cannons to her ears.

She starts to smile but without warning, pain tore through her body.

She gasped, doubling over as her legs give out beneath her. She falls to the floor, clutching her stomach, her breath coming out in short, ragged gasps. The pain is unlike anything she had ever felt before. It is sharp and searing, radiating from deep within her. She has had period pains, she has broken her arms before but nothing, absolutely nothing matches this particular pain she is feeling right at this moment.

Her vision blur and dark spots dance at the edges. She tries to cry out, but the words catch in her throat. The heat inside her grows unbearable, spreading through her limbs like wildfire. Unable to support her body's weight, she falls to the ground, in a kneeling position. 

Crawling, painfully to the door, she claws at the wooden door, her nails scraping against the thick wood. Her body trembles uncontrollably, her heart pounding so loudly it drowns out every other sound within meters.

Again, there is another source of pain in her chest area. Digging in her clothes, she produces the object and in her hands, she holds the small cross they are to wear every second and minute of the day. The small cross around her neck had burned her skin, the metal growing hotter by the second even in her palms. She shrieks, yanking it off, and throws it to the ground as tears streams down her face.

"What's happening to me?" she manages to whisper, her voice weak and trembling and coarse.

The pain intensifies, reaching a fever pitch that makes her feel like she is being torn apart from the inside. 

And then, just as suddenly as it had begun, it stopped.

The silence that followed was deafening.

Maria lay on the floor, her chest heaving as she tried to catch her breath. Her body felt strange, as though it no longer belonged to her. Slowly, shakily, she pushed herself up onto her elbows, her fingers brushing against the discarded cross.

Her reflection in the mirror caught her eye.

She turned her head, her breath hitching at what she saw. Her eyes, once dark and unremarkable, now glowed faintly, a shimmering purple that seems to pulse with an otherworldly light. Her skin, already smooth and luminous, looked almost ethereal, as if she were bathed in moonlight.

She reaches up, touching her face, her hands trembling.

"This isn't real," she whispers. "It's a dream. It has to be a dream."

But deep down, she knows it isn't.

Something had awakened inside her. She could feel it coursing through her veins, filling her with a strength she had never known. She feels light and heavy at the same time, like she gained a new…

She suddenly begins to shiver, her body shaking uncontrollably. "It's so cold." As she speaks, she sees vapor roll out from her mouth almost like it is winter, but it isn't.

The room seemed to grow colder and colder, the shadows darker and more pronounced. The candle on her desk flickers wildly before snuffing itself out, leaving her in near darkness, save for the dim moonlight.

Maria gropes blindly in the dark for a few moments, trying to use her muscle memory to find her bed. When she finally lays her hand on it, she sighs in relief.

As she proceeds to sit down, she feels something warm and pulsing on the bed. She jerks back immediately, still shaking from the cold. 

"Who is there?" She asks the air, knowing that she is supposed to be alone in the room.

Out of nowhere, there comes a loud and guttural laugh, filling her senses.

Maria automatically freezes, for some reason, she can't move her own body. 

Wisplike hands caress her face as she is able to make out two floating red orbs in the air. The entity floats around her, touching her face, her breasts and then her stomach. Letting out a loud scream, the creature kisses her on the lips, its laughter now her head before she collapses to the ground, unconscious.

There, Anythe is born.