Why doesn’t Malik just tell his enemies to die?
Fair question.
Seth and Fen would also appreciate a more efficient approach.
In The Tome of Talula, Malik’s angelic command follows a specific rule:
He cannot simply name an outcome. He has to create the condition that leads to it.
As Malik explains:
“There’s no spell for die. I give the body something it understands… and let the result follow.”
“Stop breathing” works.
“Choke” works.
Both commands create a physical condition the body can obey. Death may follow, but Malik cannot skip directly to the final result.
And closing your eyes won’t save you.
Someone tries.
It goes poorly.
This restriction applies to fallen angels, too:
“All of us are bound by it. Doesn’t matter what we become—fallen angels—we don’t get to rewrite that part.”
Falling from Heaven apparently does not come with permission to rewrite the magic system.
So yes, Malik is powerful.
But his power has rules.
He still has to work within them—even while his friends stand nearby criticizing his methods.
Heaven requires a mechanism.
Seth would prefer a shortcut.
