Wrath Reincarnated

CYRUS

"Shit—Kat!" Cy yelled. "He's got another Vessel!"

"Worry about yourself!" Envy shouted back.

The other Elders and Guards had joined in the fight now. Cy lost count of how many men he'd killed and maimed today. Flames spread everywhere. White, black, it didn't matter. The entire cavern would go up in smoke soon.

SNAP!

Whatever Vessel Jafar had used, it snapped the Sound of Fury in two like a toothpick. Even with Rukia and Kaizen Integrated…

"Who is this guy?" A shooting stream of white flew by Cy as Rukia was ejected from Jules' Vessel. Jafar drew a dagger from his bandolier. "Shit!"

Cy swung at another Guardian who came for him, then an Arcanian. Jules is losing, Kat's losing steam. I killed their leader—There will only be more to fight outside, if we can get past this Jafar guy. Cy looked to the sky. That opening, can we escape through it? A man kicked him to the ground.

Cy beat his fists into the man's ears to disorient him, then kicked him off. I have to get to that opening—

Someone else tackled Cy to the ground. He shoved Cy's head into the stone. Cy arched his back to escape the man's grips when he saw it. The Painter's warnings filled his mind, but he had to sweep them away. Out of options.

« Multiply » [Cy]

Dozens of Cy's leapt out from his body. It caught the Guardian on top of him off guard, and Cy swept him off, then invoked his Rune four more times, once for each of his friends. He grabbed Whiskers first, then Rukia. In the chaos he shoved them into Envy's arms and pointed to their destination.

"You've gotta be fu—"

Cy spun her around and shoved her toward it, then ran for Jules. Jafar tried to pin down the real Jules, one copycat at a time, so Cy took the opportunity to grab his real friend.

« « Quick Step » » [Cy]

Cy propelled them to Envy, and along the way rustled inside his shirt for the crest. They landed in a heap together near the edge of the chasm while the doppelgangers distracted everyone else.

"Cy!"

"Cyrus!"

"Hey moron!"

"Hey guys—He's coming!"

Cy ignored them all. He slammed this Rune crest down into the stone immediately beneath the Teleportal and prayed to Salvos he didn't kill them all.

Jafar leapt out to them. He stretched his hand out to grab onto them—any of them, in a last ditch effort.

« Space » [Cy]

After what felt like an eternity, but possibly only a few seconds, the combination of blinding light and consuming darkness faded away, and Cy's vision slowly returned. Swirling streams of purple light and dust funneled into a vortex that he and his friends sped through. At times he felt separate from the maelstrom, and at others he felt like he was apart of it himself.

They sped past landmarks they'd seen on their way to the Tree of Wishes, deep in the Arcane Divide, on their journey from Eldertree Enclave, where they eventually slowed down. As Cy drew near to the settlement, time and space slowed down. Two men approached the gates—which like everything else were upside down to him, though he could have sworn he was right-side up—and though he hovered a hundred feet above them, they were unmistakeable.

The Cat of Ninetails…and Davy Jones? Why are there two more Alters here?? And right after we left—Oh shit.

Cy tried to spin around; his body didn't budge—it couldn't move with the flow of time and space—but his vision encompassed nearly 360 degrees. He scanned around Jules, Envy, and the Familiars for any sign of that Nomadic Vessel user. Crap, he's headed our way! From behind, the man pummeled toward them, almost as if he could control own body in the vortex created by the Space Rune.

Another figure below caught Cy's eye, also unmistakeable. The Painter. But why is he fleeing out the back way? Far on the opposite side of the Enclave's gates, The Painter strolled into the woods. Just before he was lost in the dense thickets, he glanced up. I swear he's looking at me…or us.

The Painter raised his glowing fan Vessel to Cy and the others and flicked it twice; Cy saw that devilish grin on the man's face from even here. Cy began to involuntarily rotate around, and he and his friends' trajectories completely altered path. Now there's a funny word—so many Alters in one place. Could you have expected this, Painter?

In Cy's omnipotent view, he saw Jafar behind them trail off in another direction entirely. Cy and company headed northwest, Jafar, due north. Vomit erupted from Cy's mouth as the acceleration hit—he looked back at the gates one more time, and as he sped off again, he noticed there were no more Alters in Eldertree Enclave.

Another short eternity passed them by. Cy had tried screaming at his friends, but no sounds could carry through the vortex. Furthermore, there were little boundaries between them anymore. They folded into one another—and each other's puke—as they sped off to wherever destiny—or The Painter—had whisked them away.

The Shadow Realm engulfed them at some point, and the purple trails of dust and light inverted to yellow and gold. In some sort of vision, Cy saw a black demon, twisted and warped, haunting and creeping behind Jules' own distorted body. Cy reached out—he couldn't warn Jules without his voice; all he could do was try to protect him, but the gap between them grew and grew, as Jules and Envy carried away with Rukia and Whiskers.

JULES

SMACK!! Jules' back crashed into the ground, and it bounced back up like a balloon, and he found himself laying flat on a sand dune. His lazy gaze rested straight above, on the giant eye in the sky that had dumped them out in the middle of some desert. The eye closed, and the crease of its eyelids melted against each other faded away until it sparked out—and with it, all of the surrounding light.

How is the moon already low? Wasn't it just high in the sky? Jules lifted his heavy body up and jostled Katarina, who'd landed in his lap. "Hey—You OK?"

"How did so much time pass?" Katarina got up and slowly rose to her feet. She looked around and shivered.

"I know, it's freezing out here. Take this." Jules put his jacket around her.

"Thanks, but—I'm not that cold. I'm shaking because this place creeps me out. I've been here before. Wait, where are the others!?"

Jules' eyes widened and he spun around to check their surrounding. No Familiars, no Cy—and no Jafar. They sprinted up to the top of the dune and scanned around until they found their other Party members, who'd landed in a dogpile together. Katarina sprinted to Whiskers, while Jules kept looking for Jafar.

"Don't bother, Jules." Cyrus dusted sand off his clothes. He really got into it, trying to get out every last speck, impossible task as that was. "Jafar left us in Eldertree Enclave. I'm pretty sure The Painter split us up and sent us here."

"The Painter!?" Katarina shouted. Jules continued to scan for anyone else. Just in case. "How'd we even get here?"

"Yeah, I sent us back to him at the Enclave, but he literally flicked us away with the sweep of his fan Vessel."

"We're definitely in the thick of it now." Jules abandoned his scouting and joined the others. "That was quick thinking back there, Cy. Thank you. I don't think I could have beaten that Jafar guy." He squatted down and scratched Rukia's corpse's chin until an involuntary leg reflex gave away her playing-dead ruse. "Uh huh. I know when you're faking it."

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Rukia flashed some mischievous, taunting eyes at Jules that made him feel really uneasy. His stomach dropped a little. Come to think of it, I've never actually seen you die… Her tail wagged as she read his thoughts, but he had to move on to more pressing matters.

"I can't believe you used that Space Rune, even after The Painter warned you." Katarina grabbed Whisker's tail and whipped it around.

"I know, met too, honestly." Cyrus stood up on his own, with no Familiar—or esteemed Alter tutor—beside him. "The only other option was to see where that chasm ended up."

Jules laughed, then shook his head. "I shouldn't be laughing. This was all my fault."

"None of us were winning, Jules," Cyrus said.

"Yeah, well. Double Integration couldn't even fend that guy off."

"Who the hell is that guy?" Cyrus inspected his clothes' pockets and crevices for his Inked Art sheets. Katarina put a hand on Jules' shoulder.

"I… I'm pretty sure I saw him in my dreams." Her head slowly swiveled around as she took in the dunes. "And I'm pretty sure I saw him here, or somewhere nearby." In your dreams, huh?

Jules, Rukia thought, just because you're feeling weak and ashamed doesn't mean you should be jealous of that guy. I mean he's super strong and suave and all, and has some mean swagger, but don't let any of that get to your—

"I'm confused," Jules interrupted her. "On several things. Why did the Tree shut off for me? And that guy said he'd kill me—and he meant it. Do you think he's working with The Maiden?" Rukia stood up and shook sand off her furry coat.

"And how was he tracking us?" Katarina asked. Jules studied her eye through narrowed eyes of his own.

"And your wish," he said. "Did that work?"

"One of them did, yeah." She rubbed her eye Vessel. "My second wish, it made a bridge for me to come over. But I think that second wish…killed the Tree."

"He mentioned something about death." Cyrus sat back down on the dunes. You look exhausted. "What were you going to wish for, Jules? Really." Jules sighed and looked off at the horizon.

"I was going to let you save Lust, Cy, and I was going to wish to bring everyone back from the last few years."

A cool night breeze swept by them. Sand swirled around, both on the dunes and in the air above them. The chill began to creep into Jules' bones.

"Well thanks for screwing everything up," Katarina finally said. "And I want to make one thing absolutely clear: I am not an Elementalist, but somehow these events are related to my dreams, because that Jafar jackass is fighting that Faction in my visions. Whiskers, what do you think?"

"I wish you'd let go of my tails!" Katarina laughed, then obeyed. "Thank you. I'd just like some Salvos-damned peace and quiet while I think." He sat down and looked away from them all.

"I just wanna say one thing to all'a y'all." Rukia stomped a foot that demanded even Whiskers' attention. Are you finally going to tell me something about what's going on!? "Maaaan we could'a had him! I could have jumped out the Sound and been like boom boom pow pow and then he'd choke on his own vomit and blood!"

"Yeah, well, looks like that's how you're gonna have to fight for a while." Jules tossed the two broken pieces of the Sound on the sand between them all. "Damn Painter said Vessels are supposed to be indestructible!"

"I think we all feel your pain with our Vessels, Jules." Cy laid down flat. "Woof, sorry. I'm really low on Ryoku. But I'm frustrated with Tensa. I can't really attack with mine."

"Speak for yourself." Katarina sat down and hugged her knees in the cold night air. "At least you all know the names of yours."

"Maybe that's what you need to do to lift that curse—Figure out the name!" Katarina glared at Cyrus. Jules twitched, ready to intervene. A slow hand rose from her knees. It shook. It convulsed so much her entire body shook. It could slap at any moment, and Cyrus was defenseless—he wouldn't survive it. Katarina's other hand intervened and grabbed her wrist, snuffing out the smacking massacre before it ever started.

"Brilliant idea, Cy." Phew. Bomb diffused.

"Well, I am pretty proud of myself," Cyrus admitted. "I got an illegal Rune to work on my first try."

"Hey, that's not the first time you got that to work!"

"Quiet fox!" Cyrus blushed and turned his head away from them.

"…OK, I'll bite. What's that about?" Katarina asked.

"Nothing. Something I did in Coralhaven."

Jules looked back and forth between the three of them. They all know something I don't. But if it's about Coralhaven, I guess I'd rather not know.

"So," Jules broke the ice, "where do we go from here? And where even are we?"

"Well the Tree of Wishes was certainly a bust," Whiskers said under his breath.

"Yep. Pretty sure we killed it, to boot," Cyrus said.

[Bounty Increased by ₹750,000 for crimes committed in the Arcane Divide. Total Bounty is now ₹13,227,790.]

[Rukia's Bounty Increased by ₹750,000 for crimes committed in the Arcane Divide. Total Bounty is now ₹2,500,000.]

[Katarina's Bounty Increased by ₹750,000 for crimes committed in the Arcane Divide. Total Bounty is now ₹6,500,000]

[Whiskers' Bounty Increased by ₹750,000 for crimes committed in the Arcane Divide. Total Bounty is now ₹2,250,000.]

[Cyrus' Bounty Increased by ₹750,000 for crimes committed in the Arcane Divide. Total Bounty is now ₹1,412,800.]

"Oh, fuck off!" they all yelled together.

"…Well I finally broke a million," Cyrus bragged.

"I'd say The Verdant Domain as a whole is a bust," Jules said. "Maybe The Painter sent us to the Elemental Wastes because he knew that."

"Is that where you think we are?" Katarina asked. "And this is kinda your fault, Jules. Going rogue at the last minute, and succumbing to The Temptress' effects."

Well, I appreciate your honesty. "I was just thinking about reviving a few people, then it just continued to expand out to everyone. I don't know what got ahold of me."

"They even warned us with that Prophecy they mentioned a few times. And wait—Did that list include Zeke!?"

Jules looked left. He looked right. "I guess it would have. Could have been nice to learn some more from him—but you were the one who wished twice!"

"DON'T YOU PUT THIS ON ME!!"

Sweet Salvos, I never will again, I swear on my life.

"Katarina, why do you withhold?" Whiskers licked a paw with a roguish glance. Even Cyrus lifted himself up to eye her.

"I think…my eye is fully healed. I'm just certain there's a catch. It didn't start happening until we went through the Teleportal, so I didn't think it worked. When I made my second wish for the bridge, the Tree told me my wish had been granted, but it didn't say anything after my first wish. Maybe it was my fault, I don't know." She carved some patterns into the sand. "Do you think there are any consequences to making a second wish?"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Good vibes only, boys," Rukia said. "Good vibes only." Right.

"Surely the Tree dying was enough fallout." Jules finally sat down with them. "So we were sacked again, immediately after leaving The Painter's safe haven."

"Once again," Katarina muttered.

"No way, you guys. He practically saved us at the end!"

"Awfully big coincidences, Cy," Jules said."

"There are a lot of actors in general, here." You will die on this hill.

"Cyrus, you will become our bad luck charm one day."

"The pot calls the kettle black on that one. You're a walking bad omen!" Cyrus shouted at Whiskers.

« Fire » « Summon » [Jules]

Jules made a little campfire for them, and Kaizen materialized from the Shaman Beads. "What do you think about it all, old man?"

"I think we need to triple down on training, for one. This Jafar intrigues me though."

"Did you have someone like him in your iteration?" Jules tried to cram the Sound of Fury back into one piece, to no avail.

"I expect you'll meet him again, and soon. I didn't get a great first impression, but I'll let you know the second time around. He had his own army of Vessels, though, that's for sure."

"Is he a Magi?" Jules asked. The incarnations of Wrath locked eyes for a moment, then Kaizen turned his head and scratched his stubbly chin with a grimace. Jules felt the ghost's burning desire, his sole focus—to look at Rukia, but he held his ground firmly.

"I suppose it can't hurt," Kaizen conceded. "This Jafar is not a Magus, which is the technical singular term." Yeah, I don't really care about that. "Nor is he one of the Magi." Hmm. Interesting that you'd distinguish the two.

"We still need to recap—really recap—our missions from The Painter," Cyrus said. "He said we each learned something important to follow up on. Don't leave anything out, and I'll go first. He's got tight ties to a few other Alters, like Davy Jones and the Cat of Ninetails. And Musashi, though I think he despises him—"

"And if this Jafar is an Alter, then they definitely hate each other, too," Katarina said. "They were just starting to fight in my last dream."

"No way that asshole's an Alter!" Ooh, grumpy Cy. "But I saw a book in there by Magnus Tharlsson. Something about the path to Nowhere, which is where Isolda is, according to my Quest and Davy Jones. That book smelled like lilac as well, and Selene is supposedly with Davy Jones, who also has ties to Isolda. There's a loop here I just can't figure out."

"Perhaps," Whiskered offered, "Davy Jones is one of The Painter's other pupils, and the Cat of Ninetails is his third and final?" And Isolda is the obvious first choice.

"Hmm, maybe…" Cyrus trailed off.

"Well," Katarina began. "I have to figure out why the hell my Pop gave me this necklace." Oh—That's right!

"Do you think he's an Elementalist?" Jules asked. "I've been meaning to ask you, but we haven't been safe in a while."

"He did mention serving in the Wars, though he never said which, or which side. And I never asked…" Katarina put her hands up to the fire. "I always thought he just Forged weapons and armor to the highest bidder. I never thought about the sides, because I never cared. I was too far detached, and young."

"Do you think…" Ah, shouldn't have opened my mouth. She glared at him, and he knew he had to continue digging his own grave. "Do you think he's tied to your dreams? You know Cy's favorite catchphrase, and all."

"Everything's connected," Cyrus said with a smug—SMACK!!

"I found out about the Tree of Wishes, and the location for my next Shrine in Riftwatch Outpost," Jules said while Cyrus rubbed his face. "Also the Gates to the Underworld, which I think is tied to the Tree of Wishes. I'm starting to think this Shrine should be my next stop."

"Kaizen." A swollen jaw muffled Cyrus' voice. "Do you think the second piece of the Sound will help us take this Jafar clown?"

"And," Jules added, "do you think Jafar could possibly have Level 2 or higher Vessels?"

Kaizen floated beside them all with legs crossed. "I don't know anything about Vessels, outside of the Sound, but—with the second piece, Jules could take him alone. I mean, like really pulverize the punk." Kaizen glanced at Rukia. You finally broke your nerve and gave in. But why now?

"We need to find out where we are," Whiskers said. "If we're close to Jules' Vessel, we go there. If we're near Zephyria, then we pursue Katarina's."

"I don't like abandoning Sera," Jules said. "I know she's new to the group, but I would never leave any of you all stranded." The Party grew silent for a time.

"We just can't handle that guy, Jules," Cyrus said. "And if she's in Sylvan Hollow, we certainly can't face The Iron Maiden how we are now."

"She's going to have to wait. I'm sorry, Jules." Well, at least you aren't gloating about it, Kat.

"And if we're closest to The Library," Cyrus said as he stood up and dusted himself off once more, "then we head for there. I have two Quests dragging me there, and the clock is ticking."

Jules tried one last time to fit the broken, jagged pieces of the Sound together. No matter how he tried, they wouldn't fit together. Nothing could mend the damage this late. Nothing but the next piece.

"Whatever's on the way, we get." He sighed, then rose as well. "But that includes Sera."

Cyrus put his hand out between them. Katarina rolled her eyes but put in a reluctant hand. Jules and the Familiars followed suit, and even Kaizen placed his ephemeral hand in as well.

"Alright," Jules said. "Let's go find a sign somewhere. Ready, set, break—"

A horse whinnied nearby, and hooves thudded on the sand all around them. They were surrounded. How the hell!?

"Halt!" a man on horse called out to them. "Rescind whatever ritual it is you all are performing, and provide us with your papers."

…Our papers?