We are many - Michael (fortidsemne)

Legion was smiling to themselves as they threw the now dead woman off to the side, discarding her in a small, abandoned alleyway. She hadn't had a place to live, nobody would miss her - the perfect meal for a demon such as they. Licking their lips, they then pulled the shawl a bit tighter around themselves from where it had almost unfurled around them, walking out onto the bigger road, and down it, walking barefoot. Never caring nor noticing when, once in a while, a sharp or jagged stone would cut into their foot and they would leave behind bloody spots for some steps before it healed right back up.

They were muttering to themselves in Hebrew... One voice talking to another, just like what was going on inside their head. Trying to figure out where to go next, what to do next. They had always been indecisive - such was the nature of being many in one. Should they just gorge themselves tonight? There was a wounded old guy on the corner of the next street. He wouldn't put up much of a fight - nor would he have long to live on this earth anyway. Smirking to themselves... Legion began calmly walking over there, moving much like a predator stalking its prey... Which wasn't far from the truth, after all.

Michael had always found himself drawn to places that were holy and numinous, and as he walked through the garden of Gethsemane, he reflected on the events of the past - of the harsh but necessary actions that had undergone here. He walked a long time reminiscing about it, and eventually, he ended up in a different neighborhood. He walked along crooked alleyways where a single horse could barely pass through, and that’s when he saw a woman’s body in an unnatural position against a wall. His eyes were full of melancholy as he saw this. He slowly neared the woman, only to determine that her death had been recent. Michael didn’t intend on letting the murder walk free, so he continued walking until he noticed fresh blood on the road, and he followed the pattern as he hoped it belonged to the murderer. And although there could be other people that didn’t own shoes in these parts and had cut themselves on their way, he could tell that this person had the ability to heal.

He then saw a dark figure approaching and old man, and it was obvious that he had bad intentions in mind. His moral compass screamed of evil, so he quickly took out his blade, intending to kill the demon, when he sensed that there was a live soul inside of him. Michael knew that it meant this demon had the ability to possess people, and he couldn’t kill the innocent soul he was possessing, so his only option was to exorcise him. Despite how much he hated the thought of letting a demon of his nature live. “Let justice roll down as waters, and righteousness as a mighty stream,” he recited from the bible in an older Hebrew idiolect. At the same time manifesting holy light around him that would make him feel uncomfortable and prevent him from moving outside of its walls. He neared him with slow steps, before he placed a firm hand on his shoulder, teleporting them both to one of Jerusalem’s many churches, knowing that it would aid him in exorcising the demon. They arrived in the vestry of the church, and Michael forcefully placed him in a chair before he tied his wrists to the armrests. He then straightened himself as he looked at the demon. “Tell me your name,” he demanded, knowing that it would make it easier for him to find him in the future. And he could almost guarantee that it was going to happen.

Before they knew of it... They suddenly heard those vile words belonging to the Bible - flinching and instantly trying to make a run for it, only to be caught within the holy light, yanking their hand back after touching it... And then... Turning to look at the angel that put a hand on their shoulder. They had been just about to reach for the unholy water hidden in their simple garments, or the knife imbued with just the same unholy energy, but before they could, they were teleported and forced into a chair in a church of all places... Urgh.. They could feel it just clawing at them inside... Their muttering getting more frantic than it had been before... Too low to really be heard... But it was still just the many souls in one, talking to each other, figuring out what to do.

Maybe... Just make the place right around them a bit more neutral, and not this holy... Muttering a few phrases to themselves which were really just some sort of gibberish that didn't really make sense... But... Using their power... To imbue the nearest area around them with unholy energy. But since this was a church... It really just meant that it counter-acted the holy nature of the ground nearest him. It didn't remove it... But made it just temporarily 'neutral' ground.

And then... They heard him ask for their name. This made a smile show up on their face... Turning into a wide grin and a bit of a chuckle. "Oh, but we have many names," they said, looking straight into his eyes. "But you may call us Legion, for we are many," and the man they had possessed... His soul had already melded in too far with theirs to ever be freed. Nobody was ever free from them - the moment they possessed someone, the process of 'assimilating' the new soul into their own began. Nobody they ever possessed could truly be 'saved'.

The demon muttered some nonsense phrases, and he frowned, wondering what he was doing. However, he soon realized that he was causing the holy energy from the church to fade around them. He glanced around the room at this, making sure no dark energies emerged from the shadows, but it seemed to just stay at that - a neutral state between the holy and unholy. When he confirmed this wasn’t the case, he returned his eyes to the demon.
He arched a brow as he replied to his question, stating that they were many demons in one. And had he not been a demon, he would have deemed him mad. He would have assumed his mind to be split into multiple personalities, and that it would be the reason behind him stating such a thing. Yet, it wasn’t entirely possible for multiple demons to be inside of one. In fact, nothing was rarely truly impossible. “Hm,” he said, looking up at a religious painting on the wall above him that depicted the baptism of Christ. “So, you are many murderous demons in one... I must admit, that does have quite the chaotic ring to it,” he said, imagining that they were all fighting to be in control and have every single one of their impulses met. It made Legion much more dangerous than most other demons he encountered. “Well, now… if that’s true, that also means your vessel won’t be much more than blood and bones when I’m done with you,” he said, lowering his gaze to observe Legion's reaction to this. Michael had seen enough possessions to know that the vessel most likely would be damaged beyond redemption after such an invasion. And for this reason, perhaps it hadn’t been the smartest decision to reveal their true self. Besides that, they had also revealed themselves to be more powerful than he'd initially thought. Michael looked up at the ceiling above Legion before he lifted his hand into the air and pointed at it. He then burned a faint line into it as he began drawing a demon’s trap. “How did this come to be? All of you demons deciding to become one?” he asked, still with his eyes fixed on the ceiling as he finished the lines of the trap.

Legion felt much more comfortable the moment the holy energy was gone from the immediate area, feeling like they could actually breathe again, without the unseen holy force oppressing them. It would be better had they been on neutral ground - then he could have spread the unholy energy to weaken the angel, but at the very least there wasn't the extra holy energy to energize him, now.

"Oh, we're very good friends, though," they snickered, a soft laugh emitting from them. They had quite a wide range of personalities, but the war they had with each other wasn't all-consuming or one that tore them apart internally. It had been in the start, but by now, there was a sort of hierarchy inside them, and one couldn't even tell where they ended and another began.

"Oh yes... He's one of us now... They're so cute when they're drowning..." and the smile on their lips was a rather pleased one, as they listened inside their mind... To the young man screaming for help, the screams getting swallowed as he was sort of... Assimilated... Into their joined conscience. Obviously, none of the demons that compromised Legion seemed too concerned about the veiled threat from Michael. Even the body they possessed wasn't human anymore. That was the thing with their possessions - the pure, unholy energy of them... Made their body as much demon as their mind was. No matter their vessel, they could always transform into their demon form, and it was always the same.

"We don't know," they answered truthfully. "One's ability, a few's agreement - there's so many truths but only one is objectively the real one..." and then they laughed. "But we remember the last time we felt a presence as strong as yours, that we do... Jesus was... Formidable..." and as they were talking, and reminiscing, simultaneously preparing for whatever Michael had planned... Their eyes changed to their demonic ones... Not black. Not red, nor even golden... No, they were completely white instead... Very possibly because of the many demons mashed into one, so no one color could be the one to rise to the top.

“Hm,” he said, sounding rather unconvinced as the demon claimed that all the souls were good friends. But perhaps they did agree with each other. All being as evil as could be. He curled his lips slightly upwards as he openly agreed that their vessel was one of them now. Having been turned into a demon through the suffering that they’d forced him to endure. Now being completely consumed and ruined by the many demonic souls. It was disgusting, to say the least. The joy they got from that mere fact. Of them having gained yet another soul to the collection. However, he refrained from acting out on it. Not initially.

So, they didn’t even remember their own history. It made Michael arch a brow as he looked down at Legion. But then it seemed like the reason lied in one demon’s ability before it hence developed into harboring more of their souls into one. His expression quickly turning to something else as they mentioned Jesus, revealing that they were older than he’d initially thought. “You've met Jesus?” he asked. Of course, some Christians believed Michael to have been Jesus himself, but if Legion had met or known of him, he'd surely heard about the archangels as well. “Then who do you think I am?” he asked, curious to know whether he'd gotten a hunch of this already. He looked into his white eyes with vigilance, but with the demon trap in place, he knew that he wouldn't be able to escape, so he took a moment to glance around the room once more. “What is your goal in life, Legion?” he asked the demons, returning his eyes to them with a sparked inquisitiveness. He'd never met a demon like them. All merged into one being.

Legion looked down at their bound hands and feet for a moment, looking to be thinking a little about their predicament. Of any way out of it. But he guessed the only way they would be getting out of this, would be when this angel either exorcised them or killed their host body.

"Oh yes, we have. He exorcised us when he found us." they said, laughing a bit but also very clearly annoyed with it. "And then we met Samael. Now he... He's such a good friend to us... Likes what we do..." they laughed to themselves once more, before tilting their head to the side... A smirk spreading on their lips when the angel asked them, who they thought he was.

"Who you are?" they snickered. "Arch angel... That awful sense of justice, of right and wrong... You're like an open book..." and as they looked straight into his eyes... It suddenly sounded like more than one voice coming from him, as if all of the souls inside were saying it in unison... "Michael."

Then, they tilted their head a bit to the side. "The same as everybody else. Survival. We just want to have fun. Isn't that what most people want out of life?"

He scoffed at the mention of Samael and that he liked what they did. “I’m sure he does.” Samael wasn’t the anti-Christ for nothing. It was only a shame that he’d gotten out of the dimension that Michael had sent him to. Now causing more havoc than ever. Targeting his family to get revenge for sending him there to live in isolation for all those years. Michael frowned subtly as they said he was like an open book, although if one knew the ins and out of Heaven’s rules and laws, then he supposed it was rather predictable. His eyes didn’t sway from theirs as they then said his name, having rarely heard his name spoken in such a sinister way. “There you go.” It didn’t surprise him too much that he knew this, especially not when you considered how old he was, or the fact that he was friends with Samael. “Speaking of Samael… He wouldn’t happen to have shared any of his plans regarding me with you?” he asked, seeing an opportunity in them mentioning their relation to gather information. He knew that Samael wanted revenge for what Michael had put him through, so it was naturally in his interest to know as much as possible in relation to this.

“Survival, yes. And there is a purity in that. But don't deceive yourself. You’ve done worse than take the occasional soul.” Even if he couldn’t see their moral compass, tonight’s actions already showed that. Legion going for another victim mere minutes after their first one. Besides, what they considered fun was most definitely morally wrong.

"Of course we know about all you arch angels... It's hard to miss you when near you." Legion snickered to themselves, looking all around them and not really at Michael most of the time. "Oh, but we don't share plans with each other. We just bump into one another sometimes," Legion said, a smile upon their lips. "Sorry not sorry - we don't have the information you seek."

"Of course we have. Humans are to us what cattle are to them. They raise, slaughter and eat animals - is what we do to them really so much different? They are just as guilty as we are." at least, by Legion's logic, they were. And that made it no problem to not feel the slightest pang of guilt when they slaughtered a lot of them over time.

//undskyld den er lidt kort.

The demon claimed to know all about the archangels, making a minuscule smile appear on his lips. “Well, then you ought to know I’m the one you’d least wish to meet,” he said as he leaned forward and looked into the eyes of the demon. He didn't sense any fear in them, at least not from the way they spoke and acted. Maybe they simply didn't care for the harm he'd bring them, assuming that he wouldn't kill them because of their vessel. He followed their gaze as they looked around the room, not knowing what they were looking for because with the trap in place, there was no way of escape. “Hm,” he said with a disappointed tone in his voice as he leaned back. He had hoped that he'd had a closer relation to the antichrist, but he sounded sincere, meaning that they didn’t talk about that stuff whenever they’d been together. Either way, a demon like Legion surely had to know something of value to the archangel.

Michael clicked his tongue at their next sentence as he couldn’t disagree more. Humans were much unlike other beings. “That isn’t true.” He looked from them to a painting on the wall of Jesus and some of his disciples. “Humans are fallible, yes. But not nearly to the extent of demons.” He returned his gaze to Legion before he pulled out a knife from the inside of his suit jacket. A holy blade with a black shaft. “Taking a human soul from its righteous place in Heaven, now that's an unforgivable crime,” he said as he neared them with the blade, placing the sharp point against their neck as he looked into their eyes. “Tell me what you know about the plans of Hell and your fellow demons, then I'll let you go,” he said, slowly moving the blade up the sensitive skin of the neck to their jawline while his eyes moved from theirs to follow the blade's movement. Cutting a gash from the edge of their jaw to the left side of the cheek. The holy nature of the blade making the wound feel like an ever-burning pain to the demon.

"All of you are unpleasant in each your own unique way," was all Legion had to say to that. Really, just... Archangels in general... Of course, they knew that Michael was the best fighter of them, but the attitudes of that whole sub-genre of angels were to get nauseous by. So self-righteous, the whole lot of them... Always believing they knew best, when they didn't know what it was like living like this... What it was like when you couldn't help what you had to do... And they never would. They had tried reasoning with one before, before they'd eventually wounded her enough that he could flee from her...

But, indeed, there was still no fear at all in Legion's mind. Truthfully, it was hard to feel fearful when you had so many voices in your head coming with suggestions on what to say or do next, when those voices had always been helping them get out of trouble again. Also, when you had been killed time and time again but then just found a new vessel to live on in, you sort of lost that respect for the whole concept of dying.

"Everyone is fallible... Some more than others because it's in our nature Because it's something we can't fight. You're supposed to stand for justice, and yet... You cut down those who simply cannot help what they were born to do. Now that doesn't seem very just to me." and it never had. They only did what was natural to them. Even the demons they'd seen try to go the 'righteous' way, still hurt people they cared about because they simply couldn't help it... Should they really be cut down just for existing? Quite some justice, huh...

However, their eyes instantly darted to the knife as it was pulled out... As they could quite clearly feel the holy energy emanating off of it... And as they were already preoccupied with keeping away the holiness of the church around them... His ability wouldn't be able to counter that blade as well...

"We need to eat, too, don't we? Everybody needs to eat. It's not our fault that our food source is human souls..." they still tried to reason, while eyeing that blade rather warily... Until they felt it, and hissed with the sharp sting... Their now completely white eyes focusing on Michael again, twitching with the searing pain, renewing their struggles to try to get out of the chair. "I haven't been to hell in a couple hundred years. I know nothing of the grand scheme of it all. I've never cared about it." they had probably been told something at some point, though... But whether they'd deemed it important enough to remember, was a good question... And just who had been in charge made a huge difference, too... As that one personality would have to step forward with the information, then...