Self-Condemning Prophecy

‘Mom…Dad…I’m sorry, your little girl is growing up into a battery’…That was all I could think, all I could feel after the last few hours of exposition. My temper spun well-crafted words of condemnation, leaving everyone in shock and awe at what initially was assumed to be just some stupid “kid tantrum.” But this wasn’t a tantrum-oh, no no no, this was justified due process, and a sting of despair, a sting of betrayal, a sting…of a sword in the back.

“YOU PIG!!!” I yelled at the top of my lungs directly to his face, my eyes beaming with fiery rage, “You wanted this all along, didn’t you?! Didn’t you?! I should’ve known when you suddenly started being present and accountable when I was four!!”

“L-Lilim, what is this vocabulary?!–”

“Shut your hole, asshat! You don’t get the right! Y-You've got a lot of nerve; scheming to get this shitty gem all for yourself, so that you can sit in power like some common lowlife dictator!! If taking this gem in me was your only reason for being my father in the first place, then shove it down your throat for all I care! What could you possibly gain, Dad, if you just had all the world but nobody to love you?! Meaning that for all my life, you just showered me in what?! S-Some fake love?!” I wanted to continue; I wanted nothing more than to rip into him further, cutting off any attempts he made at “talking his way out.” But I froze; the reality finally set in that, had I not been reincarnated, this little girl - Lilim - would have followed him to her grave. And he didn’t bear a hint of remorse for entertaining the thought. His eyes never once made contact with me; only gazing AT the glow of my eyes, but never IN them…

“Dictator?! Daughter, I am merely the Archangel King! And I am still your father; watch your tone more carefully-”

“You’re merely a disgrace of a man…” I said, falling to my knees in tears, “You’re just a coward!”

I was stupid. Something snapped in him then. My trembling hands shrouded my eyes in a black, puffy darkness, and the sound of my sobbing was so loud and in focus that all I could hear was the sound of my voice. I never had a chance at noticing Enoch’s looming form, towering over me. Leeuw could see the anger written on his face, and she pushed against his body with all the force she could muster, objecting, pleading with her husband to stop before he did the unthinkable. As hard as she tried, the king grabbed me by my neck after effortlessly swatting Leeuw into the wall. His grip was tight, unyielding, murderous. My legs flailed frantically as he slowly hoisted me off the ground in a display of strength; no matter how hard I kicked my feet or even flapped my wings, I was utterly trapped and at the mercy of this dark warlock before me; struggling only made it worse for me. My father's voice echoed across the entire room, strong enough to kick gusts of wind from his fury alone; his grip only tightening further with every contemptuous word, with only the sound of my desperate choking to follow.

“I AM YOUR KING, YOU HARPY!... You utter disgrace…I know not how you managed to perceive the truth behind my words. But…okay; you wish to hear the truth so vehemently, so be it: all those years ago, since the day you were born…I could only have hoped for a son. Failed attempt after failed attempt, you would have my final chance at having my bloodline usurp the Leeuw clan, as I rightfully should have; without a proper heir, then the goddess’s influence would leave me shackled, merely a figurehead without full authority over the Archangel race. I want power!! You denied me that!!... You disgusted me since day one; never in my life did I want to crush a child more than I did you. Not much unlike this moment.” Enoch’s hand closed around my neck, completely cutting off my breathing; one after another, I punched, kicked, and even bit his hand, but to no success, and the looming fear of death washed over me. The look in his eyes said it all. “You are no daughter of mine…You’re nothing but a Harpy - nothing more than a screeching sack of feathers and bile. A vulture with delusions of grandeur; you’re the exact kind of creature that even the gods pretend they didn’t make. You failed my ambitions, you failed your entire race and kingdom, and you even failed your invalid mother! Grrrr! You meek, e, squawking, hollow-boned, utterly domesticated, foolishly naive and compassionate spinster!! You wretched, good-for-nothing wench!!”

My heart sank to the bottom of my chest. I knew already that he was disappointed, that my birth bruised his ego…but…he never had any love for me to begin with. I wanted to believe that after feeling so disconnected from my parents before, this was a second chance at a real family…but it wasn’t at all what I hoped; that empty space in my heart returned. I could only sulk and plead with tearful eyes that he would not kill me in anger. My mother even rushed to his arms again, her chest heaving between ragged breaths, but every cry fell on deaf ears as he again tossed her aside and watched her crumble to the ground in a heap of blood-curdled coughing.

“Begone, Leeuw! You did this to me! You failed to provide me with a true heir!” he yelled, “And you, Lilim, accursed spawn of the Goddess - For years, I’ve been patient; all I worked for was to be your fool of a father in the vain hope that maybe, just MAYBE you would be of use to me! And this is how I’m to be repaid?! You refuse to give me Archfiend?! Fine then!! I’LL RIP IT FROM YOUR GULLET BY FORCE!!”

“F-Father, please–”

“YOU’RE NOT MY CHILD!!” he roared, firmly planting his fist in my chest with enough force to shatter bone. I wretched, my body hurdled against the wall with a loud thud. Sam only watched, arms crossed, yet conflicted. Leeuw remained on her hands and knees, crying, coughing, practically a mess of her usual self. Then my attention turned to the booming footsteps approaching my debilitated form. The Archangel King, eyes glowing with disdain, towered before me and, without any hesitation, picked me up and slammed his fist against my body. Again. And again. And again. And again. And again... And the abuse only continued from there. My entire body was shot with pain; I couldn’t even fly properly, and I was so scared too! I tried hardening my nails into claws, desperately managing only a few cuts to his body before he trapped both arms in his iron grip and cratered me through any and almost every surface in his vicious line of sight. I was reduced to tears, sprawled on the floor in the center of a spider-webbed crack, and at that point, it seemed like he was finally done toying with me. Or maybe…that was all just to vent? I wouldn’t have known…and honestly, it didn’t matter. Sam and Mom – they both knew the truth all along and said nothing. Processing the worst, Enoch kneeled, reaching to forcibly pluck Archfiend from my throat. The point was made clear then: no one was coming to save me. I had no chance against him…

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“GET AWAY FROM HER!”