After Earth was finally left alone, it began to heal, but the cracks created by god were not ones any divine power could fix without causing further harm. So, the inhabitants of Earth who once lived in harmony, caring not just for themselves but also for the nature around them, became greedy. They took so much and gave so little; that did not mean good didn't exist, but it was not easy to come by.
Among the chaos grew a powerful and dangerous belief in one god. A singular being so powerful and good, his rules were the law to those who believed. That led to the death of many who went against even a single one of those rules. However, with the cleansing performed by both Azura and Lillith came a new era. Of Science and critical thinking, the rise of rational explanation and free speech. After the fall of the religion, it backed away into the shadows and emerged under a new name, 'The Children Of Eden', a small community that preached love and peace. The group had its first church built in Tlatilpa, a rural village near the edge of the forest.
This group shot to glory at the time of the Second World War and supported people by giving them hope for better times, they also created shelters for the orphaned children and the sick. It was during this time that big changes took place in terms of religious beliefs and their obsession with finding God. The group's twisted beliefs already existed in the shadows and only grew worse after the new High Priestess was appointed. She was only 12 years old and rumoured to be the chosen one. The followers of the group, the other priests and missionaries, believed her to be one of the two children from the prophecy. The other one also existed within the cult, but their identity was kept secret for reasons unknown.
The high priestess was unlike anyone before her. Despite her kind smile, she was violent and was extremely strict, but no one knew of that outside of the monastery doors. The monastery also forbade men from stepping in unless they were married and accompanied by their wives. It also housed many orphan girls who were raised to be future priestesses. It was around the 2000s that the group went from being a revered religion to an exposed cult. It retreated once more to Tlatilpa, but their influence was far and wide; it wasn't easy to squash them completely.
Tlatilpa used to be a beautiful and calm town full of kind and free people, cared for by the guardian of the Forest. The kindness of the guardian, however, was returned with betrayal, and she was deemed a witch and burned alive. She pleaded till her last breath for the people to open their eyes and see the truth, but to no avail. When she died, the sky turned red, and lightning struck around her burning body. It began to rain as if god were weeping for her. The crimson rain stained everything it touched.
The high priest at the time used the rain as a means to further solidify his beliefs and called her a witch and a demon. They tried to shoot her with arrows and threw sharp objects at her. Her white hair was stained red, and her blackened body began to slowly heal itself. She looked up at the Villagers she had cared for all her life. Pain and anger were reflected clearly in her eyes. It was a horrible sight and one of humanity's worst days. The church took care of the body before the people could notice she was alive.
That day, the forest changed forever; all that was green turned red, and humans could no longer consume anything from the forest, for it all turned to poison. The river that passed through the forest dried up, and the land no longer bore any harvest. While peoples faith were shaken for a while as they felt like perhaps the guardian was right the church created "Miracles" that once more turned the land fertile but their attempts at purifying the forest failed time and time again so they claimed that since the forest was once home to a witch it was now cursed by her sprite. They forbade people from entering it and put a barrier of holy relics around the edge to create a boundary line. It has been decades since that happened, now Tlatilpa was much larger, tho the forest remained untouched, the area ahead of it was developed and on par with the big city.
Just like in the big city, it was divided into those who are rich and those labelled sinners by the church. It was the new priestess's first time coming to Tlatilpa. Her name was Anissa, and she had only heard of the place from the people around her. It was said that this was the foundation of their religion, where it all began. At first she didn't see why that was the case, but after a month living among the people she realised that all of them had blind faith, it didn't matter if they were starving and their children dying it they got salvation. It was fascinating and amusing to her, a child. Anissa was 14 when they came to Tlatilpa, She was raised with care and love. From an early age, she was raised as a special child, as someone to be respected and worshipped.
In the depths of the chapel were dungeons used to punish the sinners and lock up the atheists who spread lies. Taking care of the prisoners was a girl, one who was a thorn in Anisa's side. While Anisa did share a resemblance to the child mentioned in the prophecy, this girl was the second child. According to the prophecy, one child was the key to opening the gate to another world, while the other was the vessel that would hold their divine god. No one knew which one held which role other than the children themselves.
The child named Delila was an orphan who was caught trying to steal water and bread. It was Anisa who saw the girl and noticed her eyes, the eyes that held the mark of the holy children. Delila's Iris's were unnaturally black with 3 dagionaly slit pupils that had a blue glow to them. Anisa had a similar mark but only in one eye an only one slit that didn't glow, she could sense that the girl was far more powerful in comparison to her. While Anisa held some powers, they were limited to illusions and cloaking, nothing of much impact. This child, before her, had potential, one that could threaten her position. She used cloaking to disguise the child, since the church saw orphans and the poor as tools to be sacrificed for the greater good, they saw the act of taking in the child as a way of creating a better public image.
Delila was 8 years old when she was taken in. To her, Anisa was her saviour. Unlike the dark streets where she had to fight to simply live, where food was so hard to come by, and the atmosphere was always dull. Where the people were sick and scary, here everything was different. Compared to her dirty and messy appearance, Anisa was so beautiful. Hair white like snow, skin so soft and eyes that held no bad intention. Delila was a child, so her judgment of good and bad wasn't entirely clear, and it was only going to get worse. It wasn't hard to brainwash a child, even easier when the child has no one else to turn to.
Just like that, Delila grew to be convinced that whatever Anisa said was the truth. Delila was raised according to Anisa's wishes, kept in the dark about her true purpose and instead raised as Anisa's guard. Anyone outside of the Cult called Delila the Loyal Hellhound, though there was no proof, but it was widely known that Delila did all of the dirty work for Anisa. When she wasn't murdering those who were against the cult, she was cleaning the dungeon and feeding the prisoners. Among the few prisoners, there was one who intrigued her the most. At the very end of the dungeon, in the largest cell, was a woman. At least she thought it was a woman; her hands were bound by chains, and symbols on the floor kept her from moving around the cell. She looked starved, and her hair was long and tangled. She was always mumbling, and sometimes she would jerk around as if convulsing.
Delila felt pity for her and once tried to get close, but was almost attacked, and then she was punished by Anisa. Since then, she has only observed them from afar and often found herself feeling bad for them. Delila was 17 years old when she began to doubt; her doubts were often dissuaded by Anisa, who was now not only someone Delila worshipped but also secretly harboured feelings for. Feelings that she believed were sinful and would whip herself secretly as a way to atone. Unbeknownst to anyone else, there were cameras everywhere, in statues and portraits. Everyone was always being watched. Anisa grinned as she watched Delila punish herself. She looked amused 'What a foolish woman, to think I feared her once. She's nothing but a hollow puppet, and once I'm done with her, I'll watch her burn,' she thought as she stood up to leave her private room.
In the vicinity of the convent alone was large, with the lower floors consisting of a prayer room, kitchen and common area. The first floor is for women, the second for the young girls and the third for the nuns. Housing over 500 young girls, hundreds of orphaned or abused women who needed shelter and 200 Nuns. The convent also had a dungeon, and on the same floor but in the opposite direction was the restricted area; the only ones with access to it were the High Priests and a select number of nuns who were in charge of keeping the place clean.
Anisa entered the room, shutting the door behind her. The room wasn't very big, nor did it have many items in it. There were a few relics, a gold table that was shattered into 5 pieces and was missing the fifth one, it had the image of a God like being etched into it, but had worn out over time and was hard to make out the original form. A ring with a red jewel that had a liquid flowing inside it, it was unbreakable and had engravings on the inside that weren't of human origin. The most important one was the Book of Life; the contents of the book weren't completely deciphered, but it is said that only those chosen will be able to read it. That was how they released the version meant for followers. Just like the priest before her, Anisa also couldn't read it. The version release for the followers was completely made up by the first priest, and then there was the original translation.
While the book wasn't deciphered completely, there was one very important part that was, according to what had been passed down to Anisa, the prayer was a call to God. If done correctly under the right circumstances, it should cause a reaction strong enough to summon an angel or the voice of god at least. She prayed many times, and at best it did was create a light tremor and turn the air cold. That would all change soon, forever altering the course of the cult and Anisa's future.