But there I froze, mid-air,

I could feel my body falling, air rushing past me as I fell toward the earth. I opened my eyes to see the ground, and I could see the Holy City of God directly below me. Clouds rushed by as the whistle of air against my ears crescendoed to a scream. I opened my mouth in an attempt to harmonize against the noise with my own, only to find that the speed of my fall was forcing too much oxygen into my lungs to even breathe.

I looked upwards to see the height from which I had fallen and saw a host of angels watching me as I continued my descent. The face of God was nowhere to be seen. If only he cared enough about me perhaps I would not hit the earth. Even if I could be saved, my body has melted to a shade of its former self as the velocity of my descent has triggered a painful fire that has already consumed me. And still I fall, like a torch thrown from the sky.

But I know that I am not that fallen angel. I am Omega, the last human. I must break out of this nightmare. I am the only one...

Suddenly I hear the girl’s voice in my mind. She is asking me if I want to end the fall. I know what my answer is the moment that I feel my body collide with the ground. But instead of awaking to a tangled bed, I awake from my fall and climb to my feet to view the world I have entered.

All around me the Holy City is in ruins, its temples of worship and souvenir-shops destroyed. The smell of sulfur is in the air. The smoke continues to hover over the city, slowly rising to reveal the extent of the damage.

In the distance I look to the mount. The monoliths that once dominated it are now in ruins. I carefully lower my bruised body to the ground to rest. I am tired, so tired...

I close my eyes and lose myself in another delusion. All around me there are voices. A few sound strained from emotion, others are seeking answers. But there is one that rises above the rest as I fade into darkness again.

“Is he dead or alive? He must live. He must!”

Waiting for what never came...

When I awoke, I was sitting up against a large rock, surrounded by a strange mix of people: friends, enemies, and strangers. Everything was moving slowly as if I were still caught in the dream, but one thing was certain: most of them were trying to stop me from doing something.

I guess that whatever I had done so far while unconscious in that dream would likely be easiest to continue but I can barely even move from a dull pain throbbing in my chest.

I look up to Trigger, who is unusually emotional — it could be anger or sadness, I’m not sure. X is lunging toward me desperately, but I can tell by the look in his eyes he believes he is already too late. I see his father’s image behind him, his daughter beside him shimmering softly, a tear in her eye.

I look at my chest and I can see that I have somehow managed to drive a knife between my ribs and into my lungs. There is an alarming large quantity of blood falling into my lap. But I suppose that would explain the delirium.

It is interesting to note to myself that I have made a choice that could affect the rest of humankind. All of the half-machines out there are suddenly aware of the existence of such a choice, thanks to the special attention given to my programming. Strangely, I have an urge to mark this victory over the Holy Family with words, as if I had achieved something.

But before I can speak there is a sudden shudder in my ribs that causes my back to give out and my body to slip against the face of the rock. My cheek makes contact with the dirty ground. I can still see the girl. As my vision dies her image remains clear to me even as everything else fades to darkness. And in the distance behind her I can see the shadowed edge of the universe slowly collapsing, enveloping me like a blanket.