Infinity in the Void – Freedom in the Abyss

They took a spot very far away from Enna's cottage, on a field of withered grassland. Besides the Fallen Angel, her danger senses did not warn her to be cautious of anything else.

"So tell me, what are the requirements for progressing your power?"

"I need to be in danger.", Charlotte simply stated, removing her Reverie armor in the meantime, sinking in her body. 

"Danger huh, that is an interesting and risky way of gaining power. I guess I will give you the greatest danger an Angel could offer.", Enna smiled wickedly. "Well, a Fallen Angel."

"Thank you.", Charlotte nodded her head.

"Great! Take three steps back, and don't lose focus of me...", Enna took a deep breath, her eyes glowed dangerously, sending a chill down Charlotte's entire body, "...or I might accidentally kill you."

So this is an Angel...

Charlotte took three steps back as advised, and she never lowered her guard. The warning of an Angel must be taken seriously, even if they have fallen.

"A quick history lesson for you, my friend."

Friend?

"Angels, except Archangels, are mindless drones with no will of their own.", Enna flapped her wings, lifting the ground.

"Drones? Then..."

"I am an Archangel, used to be anyway, I told you I was the Angel of Rage right?", she smiled, "There is a reason why there are no Fallen Archangels, only Fallen Angels, because Fallen Angels are reborn when an Archangel felled."

"Then what about Lucifer and his rebellion?"

"Lucifer the Morningstar was the Angel of Freedom, he represent the very concept of free will. He can grant anything freedom, with a price of course, for the Angels, it was a part of their power."

Two more sets of wings appeared on Enna's back, giving her a total of six wings.

"A third of God's Angel was given free will, they all chose to rebel under Lucifer and six more Archangels. They failed, of course, even with the power of a third of the Angel population, then never stood a chance against the other Archangel, including me."

"So you mean only Archangels fought against the rebels?"

"Yes, normal Angels are nothing to me. An Archangel could fight against all Angels and win. Though the Angels of Lucifer are more troublesome because of their free will, Mastema, and Abaddon made quick work of them."

"Mastema... Abaddon..."

"Angel of Calamity and Angel of Destruction, respectively. They became Fallen Angels too but are still loyal to God, to a certain extent, Mastema was pretty bumped out when he couldn't play prank on civilizations anymore.", she chuckled.

Enna worked her shoulders, small cracks could be heard proving she had not been exercising for a long time.

"Anyway, the Archangel becomes a Fallen Angel when God or the majority of other Archangels don't approve of something they do. My temperament wasn't that big so I usually hit buildings and accidentally kill Angels very often.", she dug something out of her messy hair, a key of sorts.

"What is that?", Charlotte asked, looking at the bright golden key.

"This is the weapon of an Archangel, I still get to keep it since I didn't offend God.", Enna pointed the key at Charlotte, "It's called Sephirot, the name of mine is Gevurah."

Enna twisted the key as if opening a lock. She became more serious, her face straightened out, her eyes glowed a golden hue, and her hair returned to a ruby red color from black.

"Open, the Gate of Gevurah. I am Ennael, Angel of Rage, they who represent the Anger of God."

Strains of holy aura escaped the key, they wrapped around Enna's hand, then their arm, then her entire body, gently weaving out a suit of golden armor, shining like a beacon not only in brightness but also aura in this land of Demon. Her armor is similar to that of the knights of the medieval era. No. That armor is the original design of armor, everything in history is just poor replications of the heavenly knights.

Enna twisted the key again, and another wave of holy strains enveloped her, this time it was the color of crimson red. Those tendrils of crimson holy energy became another suit of armor, this time, however, much, much larger than before. Mechanical limbs of divine ingenuity, made of crimson and gold steel of unknown origin. Six black wings made of metallic feathers, give Charlotte an ominous feeling. The head donned a helmet with its crown sculpted like the upper half of a dragon's head. 

 

Enna became a mechanical titan over 12 meters in height, carrying an aura that would make even the most heretical soul bend over and pray. A Fallen Angel, yet still is a servant of God. Ennael, the Angel of Rage.

 

Yet to Charlotte, all emotions were reduced to the absolute limit. She did not revere God, the fear of the divine was not in her in the first place. Instead, only one thought was on her mind.

A mecha...

"Sephiroth are the armor of Archangels, they not only boost the overall power but also grant a special power based on that specific Sephirot."

The key transformed into a crimson greatsword in the shape of a cross. Charlotte held her gun tight, all her alerts were blaring up, rampaging in her mind to the point it was starting to hurt.

"Judgement"

!!

Survive took over Charlotte's body the instant Enna spoke the word 'Judgement', with every fiber of her being she threw herself to the right. She barely dodged an attack, what attack? Charlotte did not see it, she just knew there was something headed her way.

"You didn't die, good.", Enna coldly said, "Judgement."

!!

Another unseen attack came, Survive moved her again, dodging an unknown strike.

"Judgement."

And again, Survive took over her body to dodge. What is that power?

"You cannot run away forever. Judgment"

Survive, take care of my body.

As if complying, Charlotte felt a sense of loss, loss of control over her body. Just like the first time meeting Silla. A prisoner in her body, but unlike the first time she felt it, this prison was hellbent on keeping Charlotte alive and well. 

Watching her body dodging Judgment after Judgment. Each time closer and closer to the unseen attack, or that was how Charlotte felt. The time between Enna speaking "Judgement" and the body move got longer and longer as if Survive was calculating the delay. No, the will of humanity's survival instinct is doing exactly that.

Once her body was comfortable with the delay, it moved. Coming at Enna with top speed instantly. Charlotte could feel her muscles torn apart from the instant stress. It was not painful because of the Pendant, but her muscles being torn apart was very much felt. With Reverie, Charlotte temporarily connected all the damaged tissues, not only connecting them but also reinforcing her body from the inside.

"Judgement"

A step to the right by femtoseconds after Enna used Judgement. It was not humanly possible, yet this is the collective knowledge of human survival, from the beginning of humanity to the end of time. All that is represented by Akashic Survive.

"Huh, so you figured that out. Then how about this— w-wait!"

Charlotte was already in front of Enna, her pistol positioned right underneath Enna's chin. Without hesitation, she fired a bullet.

"Shit! That hurts!!", Enna flew back a few paces. Her body not minding anything, rushed forward.

If you are going to run... then...

"Reverie."

Morphing and squeezing the Reverie oozing out of her left hand into pellets, Charlotte wants her body to throw them at Enna. 

Her body complied, throwing the pitch-black pellets at Enna. They flew with perfect precision. 

For some reason, Enna dodged the instant they came close. As if she can see them.

"Jesus Christ, what was that?! My modules told me to avoid something! What the hell did you throw at me?!"

A module... that is a mecha. So cool...

Another feeling rose in Charlotte, she knew this feeling very well. Happiness. She only felt this when she enjoyed her books or when she found something interesting on the internet.

But why did it come out? Certainly, an angel riding a giant mecha is cool and all, but why did her joy come out at this moment? Survive should have suppressed most of her emotions, but why specifically 'joy'?

Not joy, my dear. Euphoria.

Another voice came about, unlike the eccentric tone of Reverie, nor the cold and emotionless one of Survive, this was more endearing, with a light playful tone to it.

Another Akashic?

Fufu. Correct, my dear. But you still have a long way to go if you want to prove your worth to me.

"Hey! I can tell you are spacing out! Focus! I'm about to unleash an awesome attack!!", Enna shouted, ripping Charlotte from her thoughts and putting her body on guard.

"Good! Then—", Charlotte took a shot to Enna's face, "Hey! What's your deal?! Can't I finish my piece— Stop that!!"

Charlotte tilted her head, not showing any emotions through her uncaring azure eyes. She raised her gun again, ready to put another bullet through.

However, she stopped and switched safety mode on. Charlotte did not even know there was a safety mode, but Survive did. She pressed the trigger while aiming at Enna, but nothing came out.

What are you up to now, Survive?

"Ha! You ran out of bullets! Good!", Enna laughed, "Now! My awesome attack!"

She raised her sword to the sky. The red sky of Hell opened up, parting the clouds and even the color creating a blue circle, the sky of heaven.

"Court of Judgement. May all your Sins be your End."

From the opening to heaven, golden crosses of heavenly might came down. Charlotte could see then, Survive further confirmed they were the Judgements Enna was throwing at them.

"157 Judgements... how much have you sinned...", Enna mumbled, likely talking to herself but Charlotte heard it.

Wordlessly, Enna waved her sword. The Judgements came at a blinding speed, they did not come for her first, the crosses surrounded Charlotte making a bounded field. Big enough for Charlotte to move around freely, but secure enough to ensure her stay.

"Charlotte, do you want to stop here? This is checkmate.", Enna concerned while lowering herself into the arena.

Checkmate... another idiom?

Charlotte shook her head. No... this is not the time... focus...

Even without Survive, Charlotte knew she could not escape this encirclement without a plan... or playing dirty. 

Playing dirty.

Charlotte smiled, a plan just came up in her mind.

"Reverie."

The pitch-black sludge of curiosity and imagination poured out of her body. She released as much as she could afford, leaving enough in her body to strengthen and protect it from further harm.

Enna grew wary, she pointed her sword at Charlotte, "What are you doing, my modules are going up again."

Perhaps an influence from the new Akashic, a sort of pride rose in Charlotte. She has the urge to explain what she was about to do to Enna, to indulge in a minor joy.

But no, the influence between Euphoria and Survive cannot be compared, the suppression of emotions became stronger, crushing the desire for fun. Her neutral expression remained the same.

The plan Charlotte made up was simple, very simple. 

The Reverie goo spreads across the field, turning it into a swamp of pitch-black sludge. Enna flew up to avoid something she did not know, still looking at Charlotte with wary eyes.

The goo reached the crosses, surrounding the base of the objects. Like the semi-sentient mass of all-consuming, goo it is, Reverie climbed up to the Judgements while penetrating them from the base up.

"W-What are you doing?!", Enna yelled, she turned to the Judgements, "Wha... you are consuming them?! Is this your power?!"

Charlotte tilted her head, making a clueless look.

"Those are your sins!! They contain the manifestation of the hatred of the people you wronged!!"

It was too late for that warning to come out. For some reason, Reverie was consuming faster than usual, covering and destroying the crosses in seconds. The manifest hatred of 157 Judgement hit her at once.

Charlotte felt her heart contorted, a pain that quickly spread all over her body at once. She winced, showing a tiny bit of pain she went through. It went away quickly though, too quickly.

A soul beyond repair, hehe~ those blades of judgment won't be able to break something that's already broken~!

So the problem is my soul... no... a blessing in disguise?

Hm~ that and did you forget who I am? I am Akashic Reverie, human imagination and curiosity! What are 157 sins in an abyss of everything? Another drop in the ocean!

Then the cold and emotionless voice of Survive

The hatred of others has no place in the domain of survival. Unnecessary.

Harsh.

That's just how Survive is~

Charlotte stared at Enna, who now stood still in the sky.

"Come at me.", she coldly said with a hint of emotion. 

"Oh? Are you that bold?", Enna raised her voice, seeing Charlotte's words as a challenge, "Don't blame me for being aggressive!!"

Enna rushed in, this time she was ready to kill. Through Survive, Charlotte sensed the killing intent of the Fallen Angel. A being that could kill her anytime yet was nice and hesitant to attack Charlotte. Until this moment.

What did Charlotte do?

Her body, controlled by Survive, switched her gun mode from 'Safe' to 'Automatic'. Charlotte felt the hot air of Hell changing, without spending mental power to control her body, she could see the changes in the atmosphere made by Enna's aerobatic.

What was supposed to be in the blink of an eye became minutes, hours, days, in Charlotte's mind. With the blinding speed of the Fallen Angel, she sees through them.

She could feel the world

Charlotte took back control of her body, and Survive let her without any resistance. 

Take down your enemy. It is the path of humans.

The blade of the holy crimson sword was at Charlotte's neck. But her gun was aimed at Enna's throat. 

Both of them could die this very moment, or Enna would survive with heavy injury. Charlotte could not allow that, not both of them dying or herself dying.

Did Charlotte feel anything about the thought of Enna dying? Only as a passing thought. 

Moving the Reverie underneath her feet, Charlotte let herself fall to the ground. But her aim was always at Enna's throat. Charlotte unleashed five bullets with a press of the trigger.

 

Bang!Bang!Bang!Bang!Bang!Bang!

 

The recoil made the bullets not only hit Enna's throat but also her head. The impact knocked the Fallen Angel back, landing on the field of Reverie.

"T-That was dirty...", Enna gasped, holding onto her face. She got concussions from the bullets.

The Reverie helped Charlotte from truly falling onto the hard ground by forming a cushion of sorts. The owner of the Akashic Records smiled as she stood up.

"Good grief... I can sense something has changed in you. So, did it work?", Enna stood up.

"It did.", Charlotte nodded, her voice was clearer but had less emotion in it.

"Alright.", Enna put her hands on her hips, "Remember to summon me when the time comes! And get this shit off me!! Whatever it is!!!"

Charlotte recalled the Reverie goo, all went back into her body without difficulty. The thing Charlotte was surprised about was how spotless the heavenly armor of Enna was.

So there is something Reverie cannot consume.

Hehe~ I consume things you cannot understand, like organic creatures, everything is different no matter how similar they are, I can consume it! But heavenly material? They are too simple! Extremely simple! 

So you can only consume complicated stuff?

Anything beyond elementary particles I can consume~ collect and~ study.

Enna approached Charlotte, her giant heavenly mechanical armor became strips of crimson light, her armor underneath turned back into heavenly strains, and the holy crimson sword turned back into the key. The holy auras retreated into the key before she put it back somewhere in her hair.

"Ha... I didn't expect you to be this deadly and... risky. Your outlandish power is something."

Enna let out a helpless sigh, then wryly smiled at Charlotte. She rubbed the girl's head, messing her hair up.

"Mhmmm...", Charlotte grumbled, she was not happy about her now messy hair.

"Sorry, sorry.", Enna laughed, "How much time do you have now?"

Charlotte calculated on top of her mind, "Ten minutes."

"I see. Then it's time for us to part way, I don't like it but Lucifer might come for my ass if I break the ritual on your back.", she sighed in defeat, "Well then, I'll get going now!"

She lifted herself into the air and flew off into the distance. Charlotte was alone once again.

Without anything to do, Charlotte took out the magazine of her pistol. She knew how many bullets were left but decided to check anyway.

The silver-colored magazine only held one bullet left, Charlotte did not use the last bullet because it was wasteful to use. It would have missed, five were enough to send Enna flying.

How should I use this?

Charlotte thought for a moment, and an idea came up. She knows what to use it for now. But for the time being, Charlotte sat down on the warm floor. Her butt felt quite warm.

...

Charlotte noticed something, something very important. Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself down the rising beats of her heart.

I am naked!

It failed.

Reverie ate away her clothes. She is bare naked, and Enna does not say a word as she is naked too. For some reason, perhaps a deep trauma her body remembered, it was not embarrassment but fear washed over her body. Charlotte hugged herself while shaking, the time of her return felt more scary than it should have been.

No...

Charlotte shook her head, using Survive to suppress her emotions. Holding the eight-pointed star pendant tightly, as if she was praying to someone. Of course, she never prayed before, she does not how to do it, to begin with. 

Focusing on fear alone, Charlotte suppressed it with all her willpower. It was tiring for her mental strength, though it was a great trade for Charlotte.

This is fine... it was not fine.

  =0=0=

A bit of time passed, and a portal opened before Charlotte leading to her room. She stood up and walked into it.

Immediately, ignoring the person who tried to get a hold of her, Charlotte went to get a dress from her closet without looking at it. Only then did she feel relief washing over herself.

Then a hand grabbed her shoulder, she let it of course. She was spun around to face the person.

"Charlotte! What happened there?! Why are you naked!!"

It was Athen who screamed at Charlotte, and also the person who tried to take hold of her before she got her clothes.

"Reverie ate my clothes...", Charlotte said quietly.

"I... see. Tell me, did you get hurt?", Athen asked worrily.

To reply, Charlotte pulls up her dress to reveal the burn filled with Reverie. Athen frowned, "This will leave a scar."

Then someone else chimed in, Silla with her ever so suspicious smile.

"Nightingale can help you with that—"

Charlotte shot Silla in the stomach, she fell flat onto the floor bleeding.

"Charlotte!!", Athen yelled.

Payback.

"Y-Yep... I deserved that...", Silla mumbled.

"The floor is dirty now!", Athen exclaimed. Silla being hurt was not of her concern, to begin with.

Silla stood up quickly, pouting while holding her wound, "After everything we went through, you still don't care for me!"

Athen turned to Silla, gritting her teeth, "It was your fault, to begin with, you bitch!!"

"It was you dragging me down! I was just defending myself!", Silla yelled back.

"Oh yeah?! Why did you send Charlotte to Hell in the first place?!!"

"That was for her good! And look, getting only a burn barely counts as damage in Hell! She was super lucky, I expected her to lose a limb or something!!!"

"There are better ways to do it!! You know it!!!"

"Hell is Lucifer's domain! I can access it way easier than other ones!!"

"Fuck you!"

"Fuck you too!!"

Their bickering went on for a long time, trading insults and yelling at each other. Who knows how long it would have gone if not for Charlotte? Would quietly look at them for a while.

...

"Pfft.", Charlotte let out an amused giggle, finding their hatred for each other funny. She tried to cover it, but failed spectacularly since Survive for some reason did not suppress her positive emotions, "Hahahaha!"

The two stopped, they gave Charlotte a weird look as if she were some strange animal.

"C-Charlotte what's wrong..? W-Why are you laughing?", Athen was taken aback by the girl's burst of laughter.

"M-Maybe Hell w-was too much?", even Silla was creeped out.

"N-Nothing of the sort! Haha! It's just... seeing you two bickering improved my mood a lot more! Haha!", Charlotte laughed to her heart's content, not holding back anything.

Charlotte took off her hat, the fatigue hit her all at once. She sheepishly put her hat onto the clothing rack, then walked over to her bed while still snickering. The two adults only watch blankly at the supposed emotionally dull girl.

"Good night!", Charlotte said, plopping herself onto her bed and entering slumber immediately.

 

Fufu, even the power of survival cannot overcome the joy of humanity. I will be watching you, so have fun and play to your heart's content, my dear. Fufu.