Bareshnum [Mazda, Arcadia]

Her hostility was quite thoroughly displeasing to Mazda, but it did not surprise him. His Aspect slowly but surely wormed its way into her very being, the nature of the Skies becoming one with her in a quite gradual process. Though he thought, briefly, to simply let her go now, he thought better of it, if only until this ritual was absolutely completed.

"I forgive you for this blasphemy as well. Now rest, for this purification has surely been an exhausting effort for you. There is still much to be done."

The nature of Mazda's own divinity was quite all consuming--that was, after all, what had killed the Cyrus of old, and birthed the Cyrus of today. This mere fragment would not be enough to do the same to Arcadia, of course, even if Mazda might have considered it a boon to the world. But, even so, it was far more than he had deigned to bestow upon Helle. It was a degree of divinity which would surely overwhelm the being of Arcadia as she was now, which would show her the myriad ways in which her existence, until this moment, had been so thoroughly in error.

Only after this had taken its fullest hold within her heart and soul could Mazda offer the next step of these blessings and forgiveness, but he was a patient man. He would wait for as long as was necessary.

"Meditate on your sins, and contemplate your failings. Only when you have changed yourself will I offer you true salvation, for one must always confess their own sin to be forgiven."

She hated it. The disgusting feeling of him inside her like this worming through her being and warping her. The sight of him. Everything. Now, it would haunt her and this feeling would never go away. Before he had merely annoyed her, antagonised and frustrated her but this was beyond everything which she could pass off as transient moments. This was a permanent eternal action which would never leave her mind as long as this cancer roamed.

"Let. Me. Go."

They barely came out as anything but a mumble with how hard it was to speak but the message was clear that she wanted to tell him. Her thoughts barely formed by this point she only acted on her instinctual rejection.

"Mon.. grel."

The voice cracked and she went limp, passing out from the trauma to her body, spirit and mind. It hurt so much.

"I will release you when you have taken the proper corrective action. But, until then, you will contemplate your existence."

Ah. She seemed to have given out from the agony. Mazda was neither surprised nor disappointed, given how likely it had been. Well, that would not do. He simply spoke forward his divine words, rousing her body and her spirit once more. This was an elaborate process, one that he would not see undone.

"Your penance is not yet finished. We will not be done here until you have been born anew."

Of course, the words of his divinity now echoed through her with far more power than they had before. She was, after all, now an extension of Mazda's own being, and those holy words which returned her to consciousness only stimulated the overwhelming presence of the Aspect he had placed within her. And, given such was the case, he would not rest until she displayed suitable perfection, appropriate splendor.

Until she had been purified of her vulgar former existence.

The peaceful blank slate that was unconsciousness. Even that was taken from her when she stirred and entered a resigned silence. Arcadia's body was limp to the point that the only thing holding her naked body up was Mazda himself. If he let go she would fall, if she fought she would remain here, if she passed out then she would be roused. There was no autonomy and she felt empty inside as a result, mustering an aggressive response was futile.

Futile. That was a new feeling, never before had she felt this sensation. Death was always the greatest risk, death was irrelevant for her. This was different, it was degrading, disgusting.

When she coughed blood came out. When she felt his words in her being she silently wept. It felt like she was being overridden, painted over and there was nothing she could do about it. Arcadia wanted it out, gone and destroyed. That primeval loneliness she felt at the start of her existence was creeping back into her mind. No one was going to help her, no one was left to care about her. She couldn't even have her twin's fate of dying.

It made sense to her distraught mind. Her origin's domain succession, she was being succeeded.

"...Cyrus."

Her eyes full of pain were fixed on Mazda's like she was looking for the warmth in the familiar features. It wasn't there.

There was, indeed, no warmth in the eyes of Ahura Mazda as he looked upon Arcadia. However, what looked back at her was not merely the cold distaste that he typically gave to her, nor the self-righteous confidence that always seemed to permeate his being. Despite himself, he could not fully contain the fury behind those eyes, at hearing this cretin speak the name of his empty shell.

"He is nothing."

His voice, even with all of the glory and magnitude of his divinity, still carried the faintest twinge of irritation. To hear that name spoken to him was something Mazda continued to despise, and to hear this woman invoke it even as he offered her forgiveness was an insult that he only barely managed to abide. Still, he would not let his fury control him. To have even let her see the faintest reaction to that name was already a failing on his part, but he knew that it would not be a concern soon. He would forgive her for having laid eyes upon such a moment of weakness.

"Do not think of him. Think only of yourself, and of the new life you will live from today."

"Cyrus.."

It came out again though she didn't have any hostility or energy left to direct at him, she barely even knew what to say herself in response to him. She felt weightless though except it didn't feel like she was flying in the skies, it felt like she was falling.

Why wasn't she allowed to think of him? She had only ever thought of herself up until this point yet he was unhappy with her. He didn't make sense, he was indecisive. She didn't like that. It was like how she told Cryus that a god shouldn't be indecisive neither should they be contradictory but that was hypocritical of her to say. She had become a lot more contradictory in the last few years.

"Merek. Faustin... Cedrem- Hmm."

She listened to him somewhat and thought about her two aspects before going back to him.

"I'm free to live my life however I want. The Skies are my limit, now let go of me."

It didn't go past her how she had answered it. That wasn't something she would say, nausea came when the image of Mazda's aspect came to the front of her cloudy memory.

The fury of the divine only seemed to resurface at the second mention of that name. That accursed, vile name. Mazda would have condemned him to the lowest pits were it right to do so, but he knew such fury was nothing more than a remnant of his connection to that human host. He would cull such things in time.

"You are still quite far from what you ought to be. To live life in whatever manner you please is not the life of one without sin. Reflect."

Pushing forward another faint bit of his divine power, Mazda made the Aspect within Arcadia resonate and echo yet again. He would not be satisfied until she had well and truly been brought to a new life, until she had become a woman whose presence he might consider pleasant rather than some abominable nuisance. Her rebelliousness, her attachment to that walking husk, her overt hostility toward her superior among the pantheon-- Every one of them was a failure on her part, one that he would ensure that she corrected.

There was another moment of brief resistance as she tried to shake out of his grasp powerlessly before she went took a moment to settle. The hand reaching up to gently caress Mazda's that was grasping the forehead before coaxing him away. The presence was different like there was someone else acting in the shell.

"Ahura Mazda. You may let go now."

It took a moment to let him judge if he was satisfied with the Skies' response and release her.

"How annoying, that she would squander such a blessing from you. Though nothing less than expected from Angra Mainyu. The vessel is kind of weak though, how does one refer to themselves as a divinity with such pathetic power? Not only weak but crippled too. How disgraceful."

The Skies looked down at the figure, trying to figure out how exactly how to get accomodated with this body. It almost wondered why it was female and was trying to figure it out too, not just that but every other aspect of this body as well felt strange.

"Could you explain to me why I am in this vessel to begin with? Mercy is one thing and I would never disagree with your wisdom but to entrust me into this demon confuses me. Even when I fully mature I will have barely anything to offer you beyond whatever this... thing does. I would be far more useful in a better vessel rather than this one."

It would not be a lie to say that the Skies borrowed memories from Arcadia most certainly might have made it wish it could've been the aspect imparted onto Shirohime rather than whatever this was. It was the heavens themselves after all, the one that desired the to stand above all others in both power and status, even if that also meant in Ahura Mazda's favour.

"Though, it is your wish I correct the sinful. Correct her I shall."

And release her Mazda did, clearly content with this change in her demeanor. Ah, he had known that such a woman existed within this hostile shell, and how pleasant it was to see her now. He had, of course, needed to offer her more assistance than he might normally have liked, but such a thing was perfectly acceptable as a price to pay.

"Now, now. Do not consider yourself separate merely on account of this Aspect. You are Arcadia, the Angra Mainyu. This is merely a side of you given proper attention, which has taken its efforts to correct and improve. You are, in a word, simply a greater form of yourself."

Mazda stepped forward, wrapping his arms around her in a gentle embrace. Gone was any fury, any disgust from his visage. Now there was only the gentle love of the sun, the mercy that outshined sick truths. She had changed, and he would show the forgiveness that he had offered to her.

"There is still, of course, much to be done before this purification is complete. You have been made anew, and I must offer you everything that is due to you, as one who seeks penance. My attention, and my love, until you have truly been cleansed. We will not leave this place until such is completed."

The Skies looked at him as he explained, the same? No way. She was better than this nonsense it inhabited. Though, there was the agreement that she was better as a result of it. However, if Ahura Mazda decreed that she was to be the Angra Mainyu then she would. An even greater one than her predecessor at that. Arcadia merely threw the name and didn't change as a result of it. For the Skies she would happily become it. She'd be the real Ahriman even if it was something she needed to grow into over time. To immediately give into that image wasn't something she could immediately do.

"I see."

Taking the effort to use the abused body and return the gesture. It was nice and warm in the presence of the sun, why wouldn't anyone want to exist under it's light and try to hide away in the shadows? The shadows that she cast as Angra Mainyu of course.

"You may begin, Ahura Mazda. I accept you in all ways."

Talk about a headache though, the one she had just replaced left so many lingering thoughts. Why did the flame get such ire from the sun? Why did she care about that anyway? It really made her wish the one she succeeded would just shut up. In time though, she would. The Skies would paint over that deluded soul.