Beneath Suffocating Wings [Metatron, Khaana]

Screams would have filled the air had their owners' lives not been snuffed out so quickly. Instead naught but the roar of flames could be heard, engulfing what little remained of a demolished cathedral. In an instant this unholy place dedicated to a false god had been reduced to rubble, its parishioners cleansed from the world, their bodies remembered by shadows upon walls, as only the One True God could will it to be. At least, that is what Metatron, right hand of Asher the Empty Hearted, believed. He had wandered beyond the limits of the battlefield around the chasm out of which his kind climbed in order to deliver his Lord's love to the unworthy. Those unlucky souls found themselves in a pile of ash as his brilliant Cero wiped the land clean.

With another temple of blasphemy dealt with, it was time for The Zealot to return to the chasm. He flew through the air at break-neck speeds, carried upon the clouds by shining wings. Despite his human size and bipedal body, Metatron was no Arrancar; he could not shorten the length of this trek with Sonido. It would take a while to reach the chasm at this pace, but given how quickly all of Asher's enemies fell before them, he wasn't terribly concerned with this. The next battle was coming, but until then he could operate at his own discretion.

Metatron flew between barely-standing buildings, his focus set upon scanning this fallen Vastime city for any survivors. Not a single one of these ants would escape his wrath, for this was his true purpose as a Hollow. Then...what is that? Some strange, unfamiliar creature? Metatron could detect a life of sorts, but its species was a mystery. He honed in on its location and immediately charted a course for it, zooming through the air like a jet to get there. A girl? But what is it? A Hollow? No, it looks too human. One of those corrupted Shinigami, perhaps? Metatron couldn't be sure. The easiest way to find answers would be to interrogate the creature, and so he quickly approached and stopped a short distance ahead of his target, his alien body glowing somewhat in the Sun's light.

With two voices in unison, one far more alien and unearthly than the other, Metatron spoke to the girl.

"Stand where you are, or suffer God's divine judgment. What purpose brings you here, to Commander Asher's domain?"

Spiritual Pressure radiated from Metatron like heat from the Sun. He feared naught, so there was no point in hiding his presence from his enemies. A weight full upon this fallen city from The Zealot's presence. All who intrude upon Asher's territory would come to know the wrath of God at Metatron's hands; the question was, would this girl come to know it as well?

Metatron's hidden eyes scanned the strange being as she raised her hands in surrender and spoke calmly, evidently not seeking to escalate the situation. She understood the situation, and because of this, and her Hollow-like energy, Metatron would grant her a moment of ceasefire to explain herself. The coming answer was ridiculous to Metatron. She felt like it? That's why she had wandered into Asher's territory, a land of death and destruction? Has she no sense of self preservation?

"Ridiculous. You do not know why you tread upon these lands?"

The description Khaana gave matched one of the heathen creatures who had come to the previous battle to fight alongside Asher's forces. Though Metatron still did not trust them, his lord's word was law and he would not question the truce they had come to with these so-called evolved Hollows. This stranger clearly knew one of them, which meant he would have to grant her respite from God's Judgment....for now.

"The one you identify fought with Commander Asher's forces. Do you seek to do the same, girl? You do not smell of Arrancar, however. Nor are you a Hollow. You are an...aberration."

To most observers it would be unnerving how still Metatron stood as he listened in silence, a visage of a statue throughout. He was as inhuman as could be, despite his size and shape, though in mannerism alone. Unlike regular Hollows who are typically monstrous and animal-shaped as Adjuchas, Metatron actually did resemble a person, of sorts at least. This was because, at his core, Metatron is human. Beneath the alien and heavenly suit of armor was a man named Benjamin. Alas, Benjamin was Metatron. But to Metatron, there was no Benjamin. Only the Zealot remained.

The human side of Metatron was locked away in an abyss that made Africa's chasm look like a screw hole in comparison. To the world around him, Metatron was a Hollow. None could sense what lies beneath the steel-hard exterior. But he could sense her strange composition. And, perhaps in an act of hypocrisy, her mixed existence disgusted him. A being born of the machinations of the False Gods? An abomination stood before him. Were it not for the presence of those maskless-freaks assisting, rather unnecessarily in Metatron's eyes, in the previous battle, he would simply erase this girl daring to stand in the presence of God's Angel.

"Created by a False God. Yet here you stand. How did you come to wrest yourself free from their grasp? You may know that she-devil, but that is not enough to gain safe harbor under Commander Asher's wings. Reveal your true self and perhaps Heaven will not determine you to be a wretched interloper. If you cannot, as you say, then I, as The Lord's Messenger, shall deliver unto you a swift judgment."

I said False Gods. Their very name is blasphemy."

Uninterested in arguing semantics with the woman, Metatron left it there and waited for her to reveal her true form. Even as she warned not to attack just because of changes in her Reiatsu, he stared forward wordlessly. Should she prove a threat, she would be eliminated; nothing else needed to be said. Her grotesque transformation was nothing new to he who had witnessed an army of Hollows spill forth from the great chasm, as well as his commander's own evolutions. What did stick out was the appearance of large white wings adorning Khaana's back, a pale imitation of a true Angel's grace.

"So you are larger. Is that it? Has your transformation completed?"

Metatron continued questioning the strange girl-turned-monster. Though her Reiatsu had spiked as she warned, it was still of little consequence to him. He had destroyed more powerful enemies on the battlefield only a short time ago. Still, there was a chance this newfound power would embolden Khaana and if it did he would remain vigilant to assure her demise.

"You do not wholly resemble the Hollows I am familiar with. It appears you speak true about being a Hollow and not a Hollow."

Khaana certainly was monstrous, that was clear enough to Metatron. But was she a monster? Not compared to what he had witnessed serving under Asher. His own commander was a true monster, one with powers beyond anything this little creature could imagine. The mighty behemoth Hollows who served as the vanguard when the chasm first opened were also far more of monsters than Khaana, in Metatron's estimation.

"I am always outside, and I have witnessed none quite like you. Yet you are still just a Hollow. The grotesque beings are those vile robe-wearing creatures who call themselves Death Gods."

Finished with his evaluation of Khaana, Metatron waved his hand dismissively and turned to face the bulk of the ruined city. He wasn't interested in dwelling on her strange appearance, and neither it nor her threatened him in the least bit. She was certainly no run-of-the-mill threat, but between his own arrogance and his dismissal of her as an enemy after revealing her true form, he was no longer concerned with her presence.

[size=16}"There are still interlopers within this human city. There is only one destiny for those who oppose Asher and Heaven. Do you know what that is?"[/size]

Without giving Khaana an opportunity to answer, Metatron raised his left hand and aimed his index finger at the center of the rubble-strewn city. Then, a flash of light. A brilliantly shining Cero released from the Hollow's fingertip, and blasted through the collapsed buildings and empty city streets. After his attack finished a gaping, burning pathway remained in its wake. Any who might have still been living in the area would have been reduced to ash before they knew why.

"This is the fate of the world. Naught else lies in store for it. If you seek salvation, pledge yourself to Heaven's Will."