Wrath Reincarnated

ENVY

Katarina, we need you. Whiskers' voice echoed in Kat's mind. Did it work or not?

The Tree of Wishes smoldered before her eyes as the black flames contained to its lower trunk licked upward and threatened its thin, frail branches. The golden sheen from the moonlight had all but disappeared, replaced by soot and trails of smoke.

"Kill them all!" an Elder shouted from the other side of the chasm. Crap.

"No time to find out, Whiskers!" she yelled back, though she still studied the Tree for any sign of granting a wish. "Stay safe over there!" Kat heard the Guardians and Arcanians engage with Jules and Cyrus, but she had to get her money's worth before coming to their aid.

My eye—It's still difficult to see, but it is dark in here… The scars are still on my forearms, so what gives, you stupid plant!? Was this all a waste? We walked right into whatever trap they set for us with nothing to show for it!? She gritted her teeth and spun around.

"It failed!" she called out to her teammates. No point in crying over spilled milk, not while there's a fight going on, anyway. How do I get back across? The chasm expanded at least fifty feet, and no amount of Ryoku-infused Script would help her clear that leap.

« Vines » [Kat]

Long line of thick, crawling ivy fell down from the cavern's ceiling in a line, from one end of the gap to the other. Not at all what I had in mind. Guess I gotta monkey swing across. She reached for the first rope, but it ignited into black flames, just like the Tree. "Come on!"

« Stone » [Kat]

Kat tried several different routes—to build another bridge, to construct a set of floating stepping stones, but nothing settled in place—it all just dropped down to the limitless depths below. Next she tried her Vessel.

"Ah, fuck! I wish I had a bridge!" She waited while nothing changed, but an idea sparked in her mind. She looked at the Tree. "I wish I had a bigger fucking bridge!"

Wish Granted. [Tree of Wishes]

A massive slab of rough stone shot out from the edge of the chasm and extended all the way to the other side; it connected with a rumble and sent some men to their feet.

"Thank Salvos, you—"

The rest of the Tree erupted into flames, not just black—from whatever the hell Jules did—but of every color imaginable, until they all blended into one and shone bright white, a light so piercing that Kat had to shield even her Vessel's sight of it.

"Well that's not good." Her whisper shifted to a shout. "It worked, Whiskers—I'm coming for you!" She sprinted to the other side and met up with Jules, whose back was turned to the bridge as he held off a few dozen Guardians.

"Nice to have you back, Kat. I've got these guys." Jules motioned to about thirty men to his left. "You take the rest." He nodded at a smaller contingency of Arcanians to the right.

"Jules," she said, full of disappointment. "I can take more than seven men at once."

Jules stifled a laugh. "Bet you can—but I don't want to fight Thundercallers again for a long time. Good luck—Hope you brought that Inked Art!" With that, he ran headlong into the surmounting forces.

« Speed » [Kat]

Kat sighed—I hate lightning—but she broke off to the other side to attract the Arcanians and leave the Guardians to Jules. Arcing sparks of static trailed her path, and she managed to stay ahead of them all. But I only have so much space. I can't let them trap me in some kind of creepy circle.

« « Ryoku Shield » » [Kat]

She threw on a shield—she'd need it eventually—and zigzagged through the seven men. On a roll, she evaded the lightning shooting out from each of their hands, and weaved through them in a pattern that kept any section of them from cornering her, as if the path were laid out before her eyes—Oh.

« « Anti-Grounding » » [Arcanian]

« « Static Shock » » [Arcanian]

Two Thundercallers invoked their Scrolls. One shot lightning into the ground, and the other reversed the stone's grounding effect, so it raised up at Kat's feet and sent her to the ground, even through her Ryoku Shield. They have to target me with that Script, so stay moving. Kat flipped back to her feet and continued her wild and seemingly aimless path through the Thundercallers, allowing her Vessel to lay out the path for her. In the corner of her eye, she saw the tiny pebbles on the ground wobble, then float. Oh shit.

« « Call of Thunder » » [Arcanian]

A man slammed his fist into the ground and charged it with electricity. Another ignited his Anti-Grounding Scroll, and the area surged with jolting arcs that set Kat to the ground, jerking and shuddering involuntarily.

« Acti— »

They continued to electrocute in her paralysis and blasted her with sonic attacks while she tried to move her lips to complete the Script. Kat endured it all while she waited for the Thunder Script's power to lower enough—

« —vate » [Kat]

[Inked Arts Consumed: Heal (1) & Vacuum (1)]

The vacuum dispelled the sonic blasts completely, and the electricity shifted from arcing madness to incoming electromagnetic waves. And Kat could see all of it—The patterns they originated from, where they were going, and how she could use them to her advantage.

« Metal » « Spark » [Kat]

Kat extracted crude rods of metal from the stone ground, one around each of the Thundercallers' feet, and one in front of herself. Just as the Vacuum Inked Art wore off, she leapt backward, out of the array, and let the Arcanians have a taste of their own medicine. Most fell to the ground by the time the Spark Rune wore off, and her daggers took the rest out before their paralysis wore off.

Cyrus and Jules walked up to her and congratulated her on a battle well fought, while the other fights waged on in the background. "Nice try, but they told me about your kind." Kat stabbed her dagger in Jules' heart, where his Seal should have been. Then she raised her palm up to the other Shifter disguised as Cyrus.

« Ice » [Kat]

CYRUS

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"Kill them all!" an Elder shouted

"With pleasure." The Guardians and Arcanians surrounded Jules and Cy.

"This Child is mine," another Elder said. "Fellow Elders, retreat to the entrance should I fail. As for you all—take the Sin."

"I suppose I should feel honored." Cy watched as Jules dashed through the guards to fight in an open space. Why isn't Kat trying to come over here yet?

"You are not like your friends, Child. Who are you?"

"Just a boy would be an Alter." Cy and the Elder circled around each other, looking for the other's weak spots during the interrogation.

"We sensed you in the Eldertree Enclave from here. What Faction do you belong to? Besides The Scholars, if your ambition holds true to your word."

"I'm no Scholar." Cy shook his head. "Banned for life, I'm afraid."

"I believe I can see why." The Elder glanced at the burning Tree that Kat still shouted curses at. "No others? The Elemantalists, perhaps?"

"Afraid I'll have to disappoint you again. Maybe the Etherealists."

"And you are not a Sin? Poor company you keep."

"I could say the same for you." Jules fought one-versus-thirty-plus in the background. "We're just trying to help out a friend, here."

"Your friend there betrayed our trust—your trust, and invited death here." Well, maybe.

"What about you? Are the Elders their own separate Faction?" I really need to find this guy's weak point. He's at least a high 3rd Ranker.

"The Elders belong to all Factions within The Verdant Domain—After we've mastered all they have to offer." Oh, fuck. Cyrus calmly drew his curved sword from his sheath and twirled it around in his hand to warm up. The Elder reached behind his back and drew out a wooden staff that materialized from the air. "I will send my condolences to the Etherealists."

« Magnetize » [Elder]

The Script had no immediate effect, so Cy swung wildly and gambled a little too much on the first strike. His attack slowed down the closer it got to the Elder, who easily backed up from it—but when Cy's slash continued past, it accelerated and spun him around and exposed his back.

« « Magnetize Iron » » [Elder]

Cy's back contorted and curved into a cramping position, and the Elder toyed with him further, twisting his legs and breaking Cy's stance. Blood magic!?

« Evaporate » « Blood » [Cy]

The Elder faltered and fell to a knee; the butt of his staff smacked the ground, and his face turned scarlet. Strike while he's weak—

« Dispel » [Cy]

Cy regained control over his body, and the iron in his blood vessels, and spun all the way around in a power attack to end the fight. Sorry old man—

Two bubbles collided into each other, bending into themselves, and then passed by and expanded with a PLOP!

The hell is this? Behind the Elder, two Sages held up hands to enact their Scripts, and Cyrus was trapped in one, and the Elder, another. The flushed color fled from his opponent's face as one Sage healed him, while Cy's own bubble constricted.

"Trying to suffocate me?" Cy shouted at the Sage. "I thought we were fighting one-on-one?" he asked the Elder.

"I said no such thing." The Elder raised a hand, and Cy's own curved sword slipped in his hands and struck his shirt, but bounced off. "Ah, Forged clothing as armor. A nice touch, Child." Need to protect myself from—myself…

« « Ryoku Shield » » [Cy]

The spell didn't form anything, and Cy's sword struck him again. He grunted from the dull impact, and gripped the handle as hard as he could as it jerked around and tried to stab him in the back. Think! How can I get out of this? Bubbles—what are bubbles made of?

« « Stoned Flesh » » [Elder]

The ground rose above Cy's bubble and began to encapsulate him in rock. Soap!? Water!? Yeah—Maybe that'll work. Cy waited until the sword struck him again, then grabbed the tip with his bare hand to hold it steady.

« « Leviathan's Roar » » [Cy]

Again, nothing happened—Why aren't my Scripts working!? Cy saw the Elder smirk at him until the stone rose above eye level; the light faded out inside his little bubble, along with his time. Think! How can I repurpose that Script? I'm running out of air, here! While he struggled to hold his traitorous sword steady, sonic blasts exploded in the background. Oh?

« « Siren's Roar » » [Cy]

Cy emitted a shriek like he'd never heard before, not even in the Siren's Cove Shrine. Because there was little air remaining within the bubble, it supercharged the medium and shattered through both the bubble and surrounding rock, though it deafened him in the process. In the Elder's hesitation, Cy chucked his curved sword down the chasm, and blasted it with a Speed Rune for good measure, then unclipped Tensa from his back. He slit his own ears to his opponents' shock, and slowly his hearing returned, though it was still muffled. Probably need to cut deeper to return to normal.

"You know," Cy taunted, "I'm somewhat of a Sage myself."

"Retreat," the Elder ordered the two Sages. "It seems we will fight alone after all."

« « Aspect of the Leshen » » [Elder]

Oh crap. The Elder's arms and legs grew a little longer, and gangly antlers popped out from his skull. The staff he held fused into his right arm and twisted into a thrusting sword with a three-tipped point. The Elder tried to impale Cy, who parried and blocked strike after strike that pushed him to the edge of the chasm. Dammit, wish I had an offensive Vessel! Cy charged a power attack and slashed through the center of the staff-turned-spear. It clambered to the ground, and a new one twisted and grew in its place. Well, at least you have an obvious weakness now.

« Fire! » [Cy]

Cy summoned a fireball in his fist, that slowly began to shift black like the former flames of the Tree of Wishes, and launched it into the Elder's chest. Cy saw the fear in his widened eyes, but the flames concentrated to a singular point, instead of spreading around, and then that ember was sucked away from them in a stream.

"How?" Cy asked. They both received the answer when a streaming wall of fire knocked them to the cold, hard ground.

JULES

"Why do I always get like 30 Salvos-damned people!?" Jules shouted at Rukia.

"I don't know, Julesie, but let's murderrrrr!"

Pah! At least Kat's taken her guys out. Jules deflected arrow after arrow from the flanked Rangers, and let his Ryoku Shields take the blunt force damage from the bombs their hurled at them. The Monks rushed in again while the Ranger reloaded. A punch here, a roundhouse kick there—all Jules could do was block what he could, stuck on the defensive without an option for a physical counterattack. Oh well. I did try.

"Rukia," Jules warned. "If you're not awake yet, get ready."

« « Darkness Flames » » [Jules]

Jules took advantage of the black flames still lighting the torches, and engulfed everyone around him in flames that burned and seared even his skin. Guardians and Arcanians collapsed all around him, and surprisingly, they groaned. I thought they'd be…dead? The Sages caught his eye, huddled together in a group with their backs to each other. Huh. Healing everyone here, it seems.

"Rukia, hunt—Pretend they're balls and squirrel!"

"With pleasure!" Rukia stopped, dropped, and rolled right into the black flame inferno, gathering power and energy. That's the exact opposite of what you're supposed to do—but nevermind. She zipped through the air and removed one of the Sage's esophaguses, while Jules handled the remaining, recovering forces.

Alright team, Jules announced to the others, take your Fire Potions. Now. Rukia and Whiskers, give me all their locations.

What are you asking of me, you fool? How should I—

« « Earth Wall » » [Jules]

Rough stone walls shot up from the ground all through their side of the cavern to form a maze.

Oh, I see, Whiskers conceded.

« « Wall of Flames » » [Jules]

Black flames surged through the labyrinth and split off at each branching path. The inferno consumed all—Jules tried to contain it as much he could near Cyrus and Katarina, but not Rukia. The fire invigorated her even more. When he'd dealt enough damage, Jules released control of the Script and let it burn further while he lowered the stone walls back into the ground.

« Contain » [Jules]

All of the flames, even of the torches and the Tree of Wishes itself, formed streams that connected into a central point over the chasm.

"If you want your Tree of Wishes to survive, then you better cease fire." Jules wafted his hand through the air, and the dense fireball mimicked its motions.

"It appears you have control of the matter." Three of the Elders approached him.

"It shouldn't stop flaming after just two wishes. Even for Wrath." Two wishes? What'd you do, Kat?

"This is not in the Prophesies…"

Footsteps echoed behind Jules, slow and deliberate. Boots struck puddles of the wet steps in the entry stairway.

"CAWWW!!" The cry preceded a black bird that darted into the cavern. Raven!? Everyone turned to see the newcomer, whoever they were, until a man's figure came into view. He clapped slowly as he descended the final stairs and stepped into the cavern.

"I should congratulate you all. I'm surprised how far you've come, Wrath. It wasn't easy to track you down." Brown cloak. Scimitar. Are you man of Kat's dreams? "But you leave quite the wake everywhere you go, don't you?"

"Who in the hell are you?" Jules asked.

"I'm the guy who's gonna kill you. After I steal your power, that is."

"Over my dead—" Oh crap.

"We are in the middle of a negotiation." The Elder Cyrus fought approached the intruder. "It's been quite some time since you showed your face here, Jafar. You know you're forbidden to return—"

"That girl is an Elementalist. She wears the necklace."

Everyone looked back and forth at each other. Jules clenched his fist, ready to use the black flames in any manner necessary.

"Hmm. It seems negotiations have broken down."