--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: She was too compelling to look at…" description: "\"“She was too compelling to look at directly. Bright like the sun, bright and terrible. Only one other being could look upon her, and that was Death. An..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/shana-abe-7423_cease-to-exist_she-was-too-compelling-to-look-at-direct_350718.jpg" --- # She was too compelling to look at directly. Bright like… ![“She was too compelling to look at directly. Bright like the sun, bright and terrible. Only one other being could look upon her, and that was Death. And so…they became lovers.” He said the word like a caress, like velvet again, and my face began to heat. “Together they forged great and hellish…” quote by Shana Abe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/shana-abe-7423_cease-to-exist_she-was-too-compelling-to-look-at-direct_350718.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/shana-abe-7423_cease-to-exist_she-was-too-compelling-to-look-at-direct_350718.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2bb/shana-abe-7423_cease-to-exist_she-was-too-compelling-to-look-at-direct_350718.jpg) > ““She was too compelling to look at directly. Bright like the sun, bright and terrible. Only one other being could look upon her, and that was Death. And so…they became lovers.” He said the word like a caress, like velvet again, and my face began to heat. “Together they forged great and hellish things,” Jesse murmured. “Lightning and waterfalls that churned into clouds off the tip of the world. Chasms so winding deep that daylight never traced their endings. They dreamed through golden days and silvered nights. All the other creatures envied or adored them, because Death and the Elemental were destruction and creation joined as One. In the natural order of things, they should not have been stronger joined. And yet they were.” He shifted, coming closer to me. A hand settled lightly atop my chest, directly over my heart. At our feet the seawater splashed a little, as if disturbed by something rolling over in the dark, distant deep. “Centuries passed, and mankind began to devour the earth, even the wildest places. They had tools to invent and wars to fight and grubby, short lives. Nothing about them dwelled in the magic of the ancient spirits. So although Death, the Great Hunter, prospered as he sieved through their villages, the Elemental, strong as she once was, thinned into a web of gossamer. Human lives simply tore her apart.” His hand was so warm. Warmer than I, warmer than the air, and still just barely touching me. The light behind my lids never lifted, so I knew he wasn’t glowing, but it felt as if he held a tame coal to my skin. It felt like something painless and ablaze, drawing my heart upward into it. “The time had come for them to divide. Like all the rest of her kind, the goddess would cease to exist; she had no other course. So Death and the Elemental severed their joined hearts. For a few generations more, she drifted alone through the last of the sacred places, deserts, and fjords, lands so savage no human had yet desecrated them.” Jesse’s voice dropped to a whisper. Without moving his hand, he bent down, his breath in my ear. “And Death, who had tasted her brightness, who would never cease to crave it-who knew her better than all the collected souls of all mankind’s weeping dead-became her Hunter.” I was hot and strange. I was light and lighter, and curiously my breath came so slow. “Until at last, one starry night beneath the desert moon, she surrendered to him. She allowed him to come to her, to make love to her. To unravel her…” It was happening. He sat next to her and bore witness to her change, her pulse slowing, her skin blanching, the fans of her lashes stark against the contours of her face. He kept his palm there against her chest, up and down with her respiration, and watched the smoke begin to curl around his fingers. “And by his hand, in the bliss of her unraveling, she touched the stars…” Lora’s breath hitched. Her heart skipped-then stopped. If I could take this from you, Jesse thought fiercely. If I could take this one moment away from you and keep the agony for myself- Her eyes opened, went instantly to his. Panic lit her gaze. Then she was gone. His fingers sank to the floor through her empty blouse, and the blue dragon smoke that was all of Eleanore Jones rose into strands above him.”” [Shana Abe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shana-abe/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A powerful bond between Death and the Elemental creates both creation and destruction, but human greed eventually weakens the elemental force, leading to their separation. **In simple terms:** Death and a nature spirit together shape the world, but humans damage the spirit, causing them to part. Key Takeaway Recognize how exploitation harms natural balances. Themes my creation balance human impact mythology Mood melancholic reflective Type narrative mythic When to use this quote - Worldbuilding - fantasy storytelling - environmental allegory Key Concepts Duality interdependence entropy Questions to Reflect On - What responsibilities do we have to preserve natural forces? - How does myth reflect ecological concerns? A Different Perspective Human advancement can erode ancient powers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cease to exist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cease-to-exist/) [Golden days](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/golden-days/) [Starry night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/starry-night/) ## Related quotes > [One sees a blatant disregard for the precious souls of mankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/one-sees-a-blatant-disregard-for-the-precious-souls-of-mankind/) [Thomas S. Monson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-monson/) > [Most women do not grieve so much for the death of their lovers for love's-sake, as to show they were worthy of being beloved.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francois-la-rochefoucauld/most-women-do-not-grieve-so-much-for-the-death-of-their-lovers-for/) [Francois La Rochefoucauld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francois-la-rochefoucauld/) > [Destruction is always an attractive idea. My brother and I used to spend weeks making models of cities so that we could destroy them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/destruction-is-always-an-attractive-idea-my-brother-and-i-used-to/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [The obliterated place is equal parts destruction and creation. The obliterated place is pitch black and bright light. It is water and parched earth.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/the-obliterated-place-is-equal-parts-destruction-and-creation-the/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [There's a thin line between destruction and creation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-jeffers/there-s-a-thin-line-between-destruction-and-creation/) [Oliver Jeffers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-jeffers/) > [Without an understanding of myth or religion, without an understanding of the relationship between destruction and creation, death and rebirth, the individual suffers the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-woodman/without-an-understanding-of-myth-or-religion-without-an-understanding/) [Marion Woodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-woodman/) ## More by Shana Abe > [“I hate it here. I hate everyone here. I hate that I am so different. 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I pushed past him into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shana-abe/i-m-spending-until-dawn-with-you-i-said-firmly-don-t-bother-to-argue/) [Shana Abe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shana-abe/) [Explore all 90 Shana Abe quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shana-abe/) ## More Cease to exist quotes > [“In the end, we are left with this painful conundrum: we only need DEI initiatives because we don’t truly have a society that values…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-yako/in-the-end-we-are-left-with-this-painful-conundrum-we-only-need-dei/) [Louis Yako](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-yako/) > [There has always been war. War is raging throughout the world at the present moment. 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Because an idea becomes the solution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-limn/an-idea-is-more-powerful-than-an-opinion-without-an-idea-the-human/) [Jeremy Limn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-limn/) [Browse all 215 Cease to exist quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cease-to-exist/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“She was too compelling to look at directly. Bright like the sun, bright and terrible. Only one other being could look upon her, and that was Death. And so…they became lovers.” He said the word like a caress, like velvet again, and my face began to heat. “Together they forged great and hellish things,” Jesse murmured. “Lightning and waterfalls that churned into clouds off the tip of the world. Chasms so winding deep that daylight never traced their endings. They dreamed through golden days and silvered nights. All the other creatures envied or adored them, because Death and the Elemental were destruction and creation joined as One. In the natural order of things, they should not have been stronger joined. And yet they were.” He shifted, coming closer to me. A hand settled lightly atop my chest, directly over my heart. At our feet the seawater splashed a little, as if disturbed by something rolling over in the dark, distant deep. “Centuries passed, and mankind began to devour the earth, even the wildest places. They had tools to invent and wars to fight and grubby, short lives. Nothing about them dwelled in the magic of the ancient spirits. So although Death, the Great Hunter, prospered as he sieved through their villages, the Elemental, strong as she once was, thinned into a web of gossamer. Human lives simply tore her apart.” His hand was so warm. Warmer than I, warmer than the air, and still just barely touching me. The light behind my lids never lifted, so I knew he wasn’t glowing, but it felt as if he held a tame coal to my skin. It felt like something painless and ablaze, drawing my heart upward into it. “The time had come for them to divide. Like all the rest of her kind, the goddess would cease to exist; she had no other course. So Death and the Elemental severed their joined hearts. For a few generations more, she drifted alone through the last of the sacred places, deserts, and fjords, lands so savage no human had yet desecrated them.” Jesse’s voice dropped to a whisper. Without moving his hand, he bent down, his breath in my ear. “And Death, who had tasted her brightness, who would never cease to crave it-who knew her better than all the collected souls of all mankind’s weeping dead-became her Hunter.” I was hot and strange. I was light and lighter, and curiously my breath came so slow. “Until at last, one starry night beneath the desert moon, she surrendered to him. She allowed him to come to her, to make love to her. To unravel her…” It was happening. He sat next to her and bore witness to her change, her pulse slowing, her skin blanching, the fans of her lashes stark against the contours of her face. He kept his palm there against her chest, up and down with her respiration, and watched the smoke begin to curl around his fingers. “And by his hand, in the bliss of her unraveling, she touched the stars…” Lora’s breath hitched. Her heart skipped-then stopped. If I could take this from you, Jesse thought fiercely. If I could take this one moment away from you and keep the agony for myself- Her eyes opened, went instantly to his. Panic lit her gaze. Then she was gone. 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