The next morning...
Karma's already made herself comfortable in God's house.
It's early in the morning, and the young woman's well-rested yawn echoes through her rather large, spacious, and lavishly furnished bedroom. Warm, beautiful sunlight pours through the clear glass windows and wispy white curtains, and the comfortable firmness of her queen-sized bed makes her not want to climb out of it. What a lovely change of pace from her old living arrangements in the Apocryphal city.
"Mmm!" she stretches and arches her back while sitting at the edge of her bed, wearing only a sports bra and sleeping shorts; her lower back, right side of her ribcage, and her left hip have notable, but vague scars. "I've never slept so fucking good!" she quips with a content smile, soon hopping out of bed and touching down on the soft, white carpet. The woman pauses a moment, looking toward the door across the room, when a knock comes. Her keen senses hear the footsteps before they reach the door.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
"Karma, are you decent?" Noah asks from beyond the door, and Karma flashes a sly smile.
She wants to be a little devious...
"Yeah, come in," she quickly stands and slides her sleeping shorts a little low, showing off the edges of the V-line of her hips as she could without showing too much; she's got a little class. The door creaks open a few seconds later while she's standing with her hands groping her chest like she's adjusting her bra; she's not. Noah walks in and immediately freezes when he sees her, then quickly turns away with a scowl. The first woman he thinks of is Eve; she traumatized him.
Thankfully, Noah doesn't snap...
"You told me you were decent; why did you lie to me?" the man growls with genuine irritation, which Karma, in response, lofts her brow; what a weird question to ask her?
"I didn't fucking lie?" she replies, almost amused by Noah's awkward reaction; it's as goofy to her as it's awkward for him. The woman gestures to her figure, particularly her nice chest and lower half, while casually asking. "Do you see my fucking private parts?" she eye rolls and loses all interest in flirting with the man; he's a dumbass. She's got faith he'll mature in that aspect, though.
"What do you want? It's like..." Karma pauses and glances out the nearest window. "... what fucking time is it?" she asks, and Noah replies in a nonchalant tone.
"For you to fucking get up. I got some questions I need to ask you if you're going to be living in God's house," he keeps his eyes wandering everywhere but Karma's body out of respect for her and himself. Though he won't deny he stole a glance when she turned around and headed to the dresser. She's got a nice...
Noah literally slaps himself to interrupt those thoughts...
It's loud enough that Karma jumps like a startled cat.
"The FUCK was that!?" she asks in pure bewilderment, then notices Noah rubbing his face.
"... Did you just slap yourself?" she asks with a concerned look, and Noah, without even thinking about it, says...
"No, the Holy Ghost did."
Abrupt cackling echoes from the main hall.
Father Judas is dying of laughter after hearing that.
"LORD, HELP ME!" he's crying, probably from the sound of his voice.
Meanwhile, Karma is both dumbfounded and awestruck, while Noah looks like it's just another day at work for him.
"Father Judas and a lot of people say I'm hilarious when I want to be, but you look starstruck," Noah says with a rather plain energy about him while crossing his arms and eyeing the frozen woman, who eventually snaps out of her daze; she definitely likes this man. She exhales, pressing a hand to her chest. He just, in his own way, admitted without knowing, he had sultry thoughts about her.
There's a man in this Saviour after all...
"Yeah, I'm fine! You, uhh.." she's a little fluttered, trying not to blush. "Don't want to watch me get dressed in God's house. It's a little disrespectful. So, let me get dressed, and I'll meet you outside?" she smiles, and Noah lofts a brow. What's with her sudden change of attitude? He tilts his head like a dog trying to understand something, then just gives up and goes with the flow.
"Yeah, make it quick; we got shit to do," he turns and leaves, and as the door closes, Karma hears Father Judas scold Noah about cursing in God's house, and then she starts laughing to herself. She already loves living here; These men are a fucking riot.
Karma steps out into the main hall with a casual swagger to her step while fixing her long, beautiful black hair.
Her allure is returned, and she's back to normal.
"Yo?" she casually greets the two men; Father Judas stands at the podium, and Noah sits on a bench like it's a couch at home. "You said you wanted to ask some questions about little old delinquent me, right?" she jokes, and Father Judas answers with a casual hum to his baritone. The man's voice is as smooth as asphalt is to car tires on the ears.
"Indeed, but rest assured, you will not be incarcerated for your answers," the priest raises a hand and looks Karma in the only eye she lets the world see, that ghostly pale one. "God as my witness, you are sanctioned here unless Noah deems otherwise. For the Saviour has the final say in your fate; he is the one who redeemed you, after all," the man says, and Karma instantly flashes a disapproving look.
"It took two for my salvation; it wasn't just him," she curtly says, drawing a sudden look from the dark-skinned Father, who quickly rescinds his arrogant statement.
"My apologies," Father Judas sincerely says, gesturing gracefully at her and Noah. "Your salvation required your acceptance as well as his strength, I will not deny that..." he then pauses, those steel-toned eyes staring her down with a sharpened seriousness; the formality has to become directness after a point. He speaks with a cold, factual tone.
"However..."
"A reborn soul still containing wicked memories is technically a sinner."
There's a sudden chill in the room, and Karma looks at Noah.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Noah looks as shocked as she is.
What was going on?
Father Judas speaks the truth with God as his witness.
"You are judged on your deathbed for the person you've become when you die."
"Your salvation is conditional, as your natural date of death was yesterday."
"Were you to die today, you would be destined for Hell. As you have committed wicked atrocities that far outweigh any good you have done for the world."
"You are essentially a Wraith; A wicked spirit spared physical death."
"Your flesh is reborn as it was before your death, but your sins are not absolved."
"Noah gave you a Sacrificial Ascension."
"This means you have the potential to be as dangerous as Eve, the Traitor."
"For Adam's Sacrificial Ascension turned her into a Cursed Spirit."
"You are a threat to Humanity on the scale of a God."
The entire vibe of God's House shifts; everything feels heavier on Noah's shoulders.
"Now..."
Her voice again...
"Teach Humanity..."
Noah finally pieces everything together, and his heart sinks into his stomach.
Karma is her name...
One of her eyes was red like Eve's...
The other is blue like...
Noah saved Eve's daughter...
Noah saved Adam's...
"Or, she'll destroy it with me."
"Thou. Shalt. Not. Lie."
A warning? Or a hint?
Noah doesn't...
Noah...
NOAH!
"NOAH!"
Noah snaps out of it!
The young man's eyes flick toward Karma; she's the one yelling his name. His eyes stare into that one visible eye of hers for a few seconds, then dart back to Father Judas, who looks at Noah with some concern. There's a silence in the air lasting for several seconds before Noah clears his throat and speaks, leaning forward and looking at the ground as he does.
".... Karma," Noah starts to say, clenching his hands together when he looks at her and briefly sees the resemblance to her; the more he looks at her, the more uncanny it is. "Can you tell us about your upbringing? Your parents, anything like that?" he asks, and Karma pauses, putting a hand on her waist and looking aside in contemplation. This is a touchy topic to speak about in God's house.
".... Sure, I guess..." the woman shrugs and gets right into it without further delay, starting from the top. "My dead father said he found me as an infant in a nursery room in the hospital of that Apocryphal city, all alone and screaming my eyes out in the dark. He took me into the Midnight Walkers, and he was probably the only decent man I knew growing up..." She pauses again, almost like she misses her father, but she doesn't speak more about him. She instead gestures to her eyes, both of them.
"He taught me the ropes for being a good person, as per his words, and he practiced what he preached. The Midnight Walkers loved and respected him. He was the greatest man any of them ever knew," she waves that off before going down the rabbit hole, as now's not the time for that. The two men nod and allow her to continue, and Karma then gestures to her blue eye.
"He died saving me from death during an incident that nearly took my life; both my eyes were red before that, and it gave me my scar. The near-death experience triggered the awakening of my phantom powers; I guess it's kind of poetic when you think about it. A woman living a life where death looms around every corner evolves the power of a ghost, or phantom. Heh," she chuckles, moving on with a huff. "Anyway, when my father died saving me in that incident, and I became the new leader of the Midnight Walkers, seeing as I was the only Replicant, and thus was the strongest," she cups a hand under her chin, humming in thought. Noah and Father Judas intently listen; they want to know something else.
"My left eye turned blue after that, don't know why. I didn't think much about having red eyes before he died. That's when I slowly started piecing together that I likely was doomed for hell. So, I owned my wickedness," She lowers her hands and shrugs, looking at Father Judas. "My father did his best to keep me righteous and safe, but when he died, I had to take on the viciousness of the world in his stead to lead the only family I ever knew. So, I did, and I didn't feel bad about it. Maybe that's why I was deemed a sinner? Who knows?" she shrugs again, slipping her hands into her pockets as Father Judas nods. There's a lot that needs to be talked about, but he'll try to keep things concise.
"I see..." the priest says with a thoughtful grunt, looking at Noah next. "There is a rather easy explanation for the changes in eye colors, one that might seem shocking for you." his expression turns into one of disappointment, and Noah shies away like a puppy in trouble. Father Judas turns his attention to the curious Karma next, enlightening her of things she's unaware of.
"To put it simple; You are Adam and Eve's daughter not recorded in the bible."
"You are one of Eve's weapons for the Final Descension, and that is why your name is Karma."
"You, like Noah, are chess pieces for two godlike beings for humanity's fate."
"The King and Queen; the new age Adam and Eve."
Noah and Karma fall silent as the weight of this reveal hits them; they're shocked.
Eve is a lot more involved in this world than they thought.
"... I'm the daughter of two people who died thousands of years ago?" Karma asks that question like she doesn't believe it, despite the nonchalance in her words. "... and how exactly does that work?" She furrows her brow, and Noah answers this time while standing and rubbing his head; this is a lot to take in.
"Eve has the power to reverse causality, and Adam has the power to defy it; it's easy to deduce she rewrote reality to send you into the future, aka now. We weren't supposed to ever meet..." Noah falls silent, recalling how he never should've met Adam and Eve, either. He gives a heavy sigh, rubbing his head; this is a lot to deal with, but he'll soldier on.
"Eve's manipulation of Abyssal Rifts manipulated me right into her hands with meeting you. I'm sure now that if I'd killed you back then, Eve would've felt vindicated in her crusade against divinity..." he then turns those golden eyes on Karma again, looking into hers with sincerity when he says...
"God told me to spare you for a reason."
Karma is silent; she recalls Noah saying that...
... ... ...
She has a question.
"Did God tell you to spare me for my sake, or His?"
The room is quiet again...
Neither Noah nor Father Judas can answer.
... ... ...
"It's amazing how many layers there are to shit like this, isn't it?" Karma sighs, brushing off her question with a hand wave. "The intent behind a God's actions is never told to the lesser mortals, are they? We're just supposed to use our best judgment and hope it all fucking works out," she eyes Rolland scowls before changing the subject.
"I don't want to talk about my origins anymore; all of this is making my head hurt. Can we talk about something else?" she asks, and Father Judas is the first to nod and carry along upon her request.
"Yes, but do note that given your peculiar circumstances, a close eye must be kept on you," Judas reminds, stepping from the podium and approaching Karma to rest a hand upon her shoulder in assurance. His eyes meet hers with sincerity and grace. "God might have asked Noah to spare you, but remember, Noah chose to do it. He could've killed you anyway," he reminds, gesturing to Noah now as the man silently watches and listens to them.
"The Saviour's judgement, as far as I've known him,m has always been trustworthy and uncorrupted; after all, he was found alone and abandoned just like you..." he says, and Karma's face perks with shock and confusion when looking at Noah. Really? She doesn't get to ask, though, as right as she's about to speak, the sound of something being bumped into catches everyone's attention; their eyes all dart towards the church exit and catch an average-looking, ordinary young woman with messy sandy brown hair and eyes, a fair complexion, and a slender, decently fit physique dressed in a button down shirt, skirt, and shoes; it's that reporter woman...
How long has she been there?
How much did she hear!?
The room is silent; all eyes are on her.
... ... ...
She should probably say something...
"... Hi..." the woman says with an awkward smile while quickly gesturing toward the corridor behind her. "I know there's no service today, but you left the door unlocked, so I figured..." she breathes through her teeth, feeling so embarrassed; those eyes are still on her like she's not supposed to be here. Her gaze falls on Noah, locking onto his golden-hued eyes before turning to Karma and seeing that eerie blue one. She heard everything, and now she's in the thick of it.
"Oh boy. I'm in trouble..." she says to herself.
Things just got a lot more complicated...
Next Chapter: Nosey Humans & Fickle Fates...
A/N: To whoever gave me first five start rating today before posting this chapter, I want to say thank you! I appreciate it, and hope you continue to enjoy the story.