"Well, I assume the people you've seen changing sides have usually chosen to do so," Mictain said bitterly. "However, Falling is not a choice, it's a punishment. Nobody wants to Fall. It does change you, very deeply -- the changes in your appearance are just an indication that something has changed in the inside. It's -- I don't know."
He sighed. "Look, you've been around almost as long as I have. In fact, I think you were the first of your kind to come to existence -- by the time the War begun, nobody had ever died, or fallen sick, or experienced hunger. Therefore you might be able to understand this." He turned to look at her, red eyes blazing.
"Imagine that all your existence, all those six millennia plus, there's been something -- or, rather, Somebody -- who has always been with you. No matter what you do, they're there for you. No matter where you go, what you feel, who you meet, they stay beside you. You know you can always trust them to be there, that they will never leave your side, that you can always fall back on them when everything else fails. They're around so much they become a part of you -- a big part of you. Almost more a part of you than yourself. You identify yourself in relation to them. They're basically the reason for your existence."
He drew an unnecessary breath, then continued, "Now, imagine your best friend. The one you trust most in the whole universe right after this mysterious being. Imagine them coming and tearing you away from that being, imagine that being not resisting but rather pushing you away, imagine pain and fear beyond anything you've ever felt and complete, absolute loneliness. Imagine realizing for the first time in your existence that you are all alone, that nobody will come if you need help, that you're completely on your own. You've nobody to trust, things you enjoyed before now cause you pain or simply disgust, you feel like there is no hope and never will be, ever. You've become something you hate and fear and there is no way out of it, not ever.
"And now... come and tell me all this doesn't change you one bit, that you aren't any different from before." His eyes flashed again. "It's more than that; the Fall itself does change you, the way you feel, the way you think. But even the consequences of it are enough to change you drastically. It's not just wings and fangs."
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He sighed. "Look, you've been around almost as long as I have. In fact, I think you were the first of your kind to come to existence -- by the time the War begun, nobody had ever died, or fallen sick, or experienced hunger. Therefore you might be able to understand this." He turned to look at her, red eyes blazing.
"Imagine that all your existence, all those six millennia plus, there's been something -- or, rather, Somebody -- who has always been with you. No matter what you do, they're there for you. No matter where you go, what you feel, who you meet, they stay beside you. You know you can always trust them to be there, that they will never leave your side, that you can always fall back on them when everything else fails. They're around so much they become a part of you -- a big part of you. Almost more a part of you than yourself. You identify yourself in relation to them. They're basically the reason for your existence."
He drew an unnecessary breath, then continued, "Now, imagine your best friend. The one you trust most in the whole universe right after this mysterious being. Imagine them coming and tearing you away from that being, imagine that being not resisting but rather pushing you away, imagine pain and fear beyond anything you've ever felt and complete, absolute loneliness. Imagine realizing for the first time in your existence that you are all alone, that nobody will come if you need help, that you're completely on your own. You've nobody to trust, things you enjoyed before now cause you pain or simply disgust, you feel like there is no hope and never will be, ever. You've become something you hate and fear and there is no way out of it, not ever.
"And now... come and tell me all this doesn't change you one bit, that you aren't any different from before." His eyes flashed again. "It's more than that; the Fall itself does change you, the way you feel, the way you think. But even the consequences of it are enough to change you drastically. It's not just wings and fangs."