Full Chapter Concept- Born Anew

From the very beginning, Aurora Miller felt like an outcast, an unwanted burden that people were much too eager to get rid of. That feeling likely began due to her living in an orphanage for as long as she could remember, being left behind with nothing but a small photograph of her biological mother, a stinging reminder of the life she might have had.

Life as an orphan was never easy for her, either. All the other girls and boys in the orphanage seemed to just hate her. For reasons she could never figure out, she seemed to give out an aura that all the kids saw as undesirable. The teasing, harassment, and bullying were the only attention they would ever consistently throw her way. Even the nun in charge of the children, Sister Valentine, took a particular disliking to the girl, taking what seemed like any chance she could to correct Aurora's behaviour. Your posture is hideous, you eat like a pig, god would be ashamed of the way you present yourself. It was all too common that Sister Valentine would give up on verbal abuse, and let her hand whip do the talking for her.

In her early years, the children would spend almost just as much time in church as they spent in the orphanage, and this church became something of a second home for Aurora. Sister Valentine and all the other children were kept in check by the nuns who worked at the church, who seemed like the only people that really cared about Aurora. She would sing songs, play in the halls with the nuns on their breaks, and bask in satisfaction when another child would get scolded for bullying Aurora.

The church had never been a very successful one, and had always relied on the donations of its followers to stay afloat. But one day, a terrible accident occurred, one that Aurora saw with her own eyes. Sister Valentine, while cleaning one of the stages, tripped over something and off of the stage. And by some freak accident, landed directly on her neck, the impact of which killed her shortly after. The story went, according to the other nuns, that one of her ankles, which had been broken years before, had given out on her, and led to the fall. But Aurora, who was an adolescent at the time, knew she saw something else. Some dark, small… thing, that looked almost like a hand, had grabbed onto Sister Valentine's leg, and made her fall. It was no accident.

The church was forced to close and was abandoned shortly after, once rumours about a dark force residing in its walls caused donations to stop coming in.

As the years went on, Aurora never stopped going back to that church. Once she was old enough for the new head nun, a nice enough lady, Aurora thought, started letting her walk around on her own, she crawled through one of the church's boarded up windows, and explored her home to her heart's content. She played in the halls, sang songs, and paid very close attention to the spot where Sister Valentine fell, trying to see if that… thing, would show up again. 

Something about remaining in that building drove Aurora to become more desperate, however. She needed to see that thing again, know what it was that saved her from the clutches of Sister Valentine, know what to thank for her newfound freedom in life… but nothing happened. She would step on the stage and recreate Sister Valentine's movements, trying to get the thing to grab onto her as well, but still nothing. Then finally, Aurora got an idea. Maybe whatever this thing is doesn't want to hurt me. Maybe it took Sister Valentine because she was a bad person. Maybe if I bring someone else here… 

She had to know. In the orphanage, she studied up on the residents of her small town, looking for criminal records of people she had met before. She decided on a woman named Leslie Beckam, a woman who would visit the children in the orphanage from time to time. Apparently, she had been arrested the year before last for grand theft auto and resisting arrest. She was perfect. Someone so fresh out of crime only going to jail for a little over a year must still have something left in them. Something that her savior would notice.

When Leslie came to visit the orphanage next, Aurora made a point to talk to her as much as possible. She put up an act, trying to seem distressed, but just distressed enough to make it seem real. Fidgeting, not looking her in the eyes, umms and ahhs, that sort of thing. When Leslie finally picked up on it, Aurora hesitantly asked if Leslie would follow her somewhere. Leslie, also hesitantly, obliged.

The two entered the abandoned church together, much to Leslie's discomfort. Aurora showed the woman around, seeming awfully fond of the stage, but Leslie remained distant. This annoyed Aurora, and she tried to get her to walk on the stage with her. Lesie, now entirely unsettled by Aurora's newfound confidence, decided she wanted to leave. This threw Aurora into a panic. If Leslie left now, surely she would tell someone about her hideout, and Aurora would never see this place again. Now in a frenzy, Aurora ran and reached for a kitchen knife left in the church, and made a dash for Leslie. Terrified, Leslie ran for the window, crying out for help. But then, it happened. Aurora, dead set on Leslie, caught a glimpse of something by Leslie's foot, something that wasn't there before. Getting a closer look at it now, it looked a bit like the leg of some large spider. It wrapped itself around Leslie's ankle, and she fell to the ground. Aurora promptly took advantage of her opportunity, and stabbed Leslie to death then and there, without a bit of hesitation, making her first sacrifice.

From then on, Aurora knew what she had to do. She lured in more and more criminals, and time and time again, this strange entity would assist her in killing them, showing more of itself every time. For years, Thieves, Abusers, Drug Dealers, even Murderers all met their fate inside that church's halls. Then, one day, a man named Aaron Bellius fell victim to Aurora's Deception. Aaron was a frequent donator to the church back when it was still running, but little did Aurora know at that time that he had been to prison for second degree murder.

There was nothing particularly special about Aaron. He was eager to help a now young adult Aurora, who led him deep into the church, and showed him around. When Aaron saw what she had been doing in there, all the drawings on the walls of some strange spider, and the splatters of what Aaron knew to be blood, he quickly decided he wanted to leave. Aurora knew the drill, and wasted no time taking out a sacrificial dagger she had bought just for this. Aaron wasn't able to take even two steps back before many large spider like legs wrapped around Aaron's entire body, holding him in place. Aurora savoured these moments now, partly for the thrill of the sacrifice, but also because this was the only time she got to be so close to this entity, which she had come to see as the parental figure she never had. Whatever this thing was that had saved her from the darkest part of her life, she simply adored it. And she loved killing in its name. She thrust her knife into Aaron's chest, and dragged it down until there was a hole in his chest big enough to reach into. Then, to stop the screaming, Aurora reached into Aaron, and cut out his heart. It was a very gruesome kill, that even surprised Aurora as she did it. She was impressed with herself.

As usual, Aaron dropped dead to the floor, but this time, The Entity did not disappear into a fog it created on the floor. This time, it stayed perfectly still, as if each branch were staring directly at her. Aurora stared back, nothing but adoration and awe in her eyes. Somehow, she knew, it was finally time. Aurora dropped the dagger as The Entity reached for and around her. Then, it pulled her, and strangely, the body of Aaron, into the fog with it. Aurora didn't mind sharing this moment with Aaron, though. She was elated to finally be in the Entity's arms. Aurora entered the fog, and passed out.

When Aurora woke up, she looked around, and saw that she was in a strangely familiar place. It looked like the church, but… more grand. Much bigger, and much more expensive looking. It seemed almost like a temple. Then, she noticed the church wasn't the only thing that changed. Looking at herself, she looked, and felt, completely different. Gone was the old, frail Aurora. Now, she had a beautiful body, sculpted in The Entity's loving image, and had been given wings to control. Sharp, unorthodox, but perfect wings. She adored her new, reborn self, but she was unsure of what to do next. Then, she saw him. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a terrified Aaron Bellius staring at her from the corner of one of the halls, before running off. Finally, she understood. She had been tasked with killing in the name of the entity permanently, as this new, perfect being. She would get to be one with the entity for all eternity, sacrificing to her heart's content.

And she was more than ready.