Wrath Reincarnated

ENVY

Lust's crooked and distorted third arm gripped Kat by the neck and suspended her high into the air. Kat struggled to breathe and tried to rip apart the hand's grip. She crammed her fingers in between joints to leverage herself free and even scratched and flayed away its pale gray skin with her fingernails.

"You shall be the first of the Children of the Damned to die tonight."

Kat wrapped her legs around the extended arm and pushed off the elbow. Finally, she broke the grip and crashed into the sand. The ghastly hand smacked her across the face, and its Holy skin burned her cheek. Now I know how Cy must feel all the time.

"Children of the Damned, Children of the Stars. Everyone has a name for us, some type of plans for us. I don't know who I'm speaking to anymore, but we were all children until a few weeks ago. Innocent. We could have become anything, but you forced us to—"

"Silence! The Prophecies foretold all, Child. Fate has controlled you before you were even born, but not I. I am merely a puppet of salvation, of—"

"Give me a fucking break." Kat clapped her palms together in front of her, at Lust.

«« Grounded Lightning »» [Kat]

Two bolts of lightning struck Lust—one from on high, and one from Kat's hands. Katarina, the threads are the only way that remains.

I hate it when you're right. In an ode to Pop and her birth father, Kat used her stylized Script to finish the fight.

« Summon » « Sword » [Kat]

An ethereal, purple sword materialized in her sweeping hand, swinging wildly for the remaining threads—and Lust vanished into the shadows. Kat spun all the way around, only halting when her sword struck the ground.

"Fuck! Come back out and fight, you coward!"

"Kat…" She spun around to find the voice. Kat recognized it, though she couldn't put an immediate face or name to it. "Enter… Shadows…" Her eyes grew wide. Sera!? "Save…"

"Whiskers!" Kat shouted aloud, though he was surely nowhere in sight. "I don't know the Script—Send me in!"

Katarina, are you certain? I don't—

"DO IT NOW!"

« « Shadow Step » » [Whiskers]

Kat flipped upside down, along with the rest of the world. Colors inverted against themselves; black became white, blue sky became orange. Gravity worked in the opposite direction, left became right, and Lust was…no more.

In her stead, a frail young woman hung upside down from the sand, just a few paces away. No missing hair, no third arm, and no black eyes—the only thing that remained was the Third Eye. In her hands, the woman held a puppeteer's cross brace in the shape of a lowercase t. No thread extended from it.

"Welcome to my Domain, Child. Few have found their way here, and none have left."

Corpses piled around her. Who the hell is this chick!? Was this a trap? Whiskers? Whiskers!?

"You are not The Iron Maiden… So who are you?"

The woman smiled. Her teeth were crooked, her gaze menacing and bloodthirsty. She emanated soft white light, unlike Kat, whose skin had turned dark and gray.

"Oh, but I am. In this world you see yourself, in your true colors."

Fuck—I can't fight Her. And not here, of all places. How am I even in her Vessel's Domain?

"Tonight, I will consume you, along with Wrath."

Kat winced. She repositioned her footing and tried to adjust to moving her body in the opposite manner of what she intended. "What about Lust—of Sera?"

"She is…too weak as of yet. The Black Sacrament will enhance her Regeneration. When the timing is right, I will consume her then."

She doesn't mention Jafar, but there's no way they can be working together. She tortured him personally for years…

"If you consume Sins, wouldn't that make you evil? I mean, you're already one treacherous bitch to begin with—"

"I am the purifying light of this world. Fate Herself has tasked Me—"

"Damn, OK. Forget I asked." I'd rather die than listen to You ramble on. I need to stall while I think of a way to get out of here—Damn Whiskers was right. "You plan to do the same thing for the Virtues, don't you?"

"Plan? No."

Well that's shocking—

"I have already begun."

Oh. No time to think about what that means right now…

"Don't You find sacrificing souls a bit hypocritical?"

"A few souls compared to the population of Salvatica is a small price to pay."

"How stereotypical." Kat sighed her annoyance away. "What is the Black Sacrament? And how do You control everyone?"

The Iron Maiden raised Her cross brace. It's light blue facade shifted to pure black.

"I'd love to show you, Katarina Waverunner. Enough stalling."

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

She slashed the air before Her with the cross brace, and threads and strings shot out at Kat and ensnared her. Kat flailed against them, but they dug into her skin and connected to the synapses of her nerves, practically lighting them on fire. Shit shit shit!

Kat fell to her knees, and The Iron Maiden swiped Her Vessel again. More threads pierced Kat, but a few deflected off of her Seal. This must have enraged The Bitch, because She slashed her cross like a madwoman, with each assault aimed at Kat's Seal. Some of the threads in Kat's body faded away with each strike.

Sweet Salvos—She can only have so many. Kat looked down at her hip. One more dagger. She thought back to the last time she was in the Shadow Realm.

"Oh, fucking hell!"

Kat ripped her dagger out and stabbed herself in the neck, just below her ear, at her Seal. Pain radiated from the wound and she withdrew the blade. Her vision shook and went out of focus from a combination of agony and lost blood, but the wound healed itself through Regeneration, and she came back from the edge of death.

The Iron Maiden stalked toward her and amplified Her assault.

That didn't work—Why didn't that work!? Jules did it with the Sound! Kat felt her eye burn. He did it with his Vessel… So Vesel, you want me to use you to break out of this prison!? Fuck! But why isn't hers shattering this place?

Kat saw the growing frustration in The Maiden's face. Because She controls this place, so She wouldn't sabotage it… She must not know.

Why is it always me? Kat inhaled sharply through her nose, then dug out her eye Vessel. She ripped off all the viscera and nerves that'd finally healed it to her body. Ignoring the pain, she slammed it into her Seal.

And explosion went off inside her head, and she was back in the real world. The Iron Maiden was once again far away—Hopefully still fighting The Nomad—and Lust was once again before her, fuming with rage. But not before Kat experienced one more vision.

CYRUS

Greed's necklace lit up, and his flesh turned to metal. Great, as if Tensa wasn't already useless with him. Cy pointed his sword at Greed and betrayed no fear.

Greed sprinted at Cy and through a haymaker that Cy deflected with his sword. His opponent spun around from the force, but his arm was still completely intact. Ryoku flooded into Cy.

What? How did that happen? Tensa's words echoed in Cy's ears. 'Reverse the sacrifices that others or yourself have made…'

Cy parried another strike from Greed, whose face was lit up with the thrill of battle and displayed no weakness or lack of confidence. He blocked a few more punches, but one uppercut to the gut connected and knocked Cy to his back.

"Owww," Cy said slowly. He got to his feet. "Why'd you pull that one back? I feel like I should have died there."

The Desert Mouse grinned, and the metal sheen of his body retracted back into himself, and the amulet on his neck dimmed out, only to be replaced by a bracelet's light. A soft brown aura danced around Greed's same hand.

He's toying with me. Gotta be an entire Rank above me, if The Nomad trained him from childhood. And if he took that advice of his, Jafar's Skills are high across the board, meaning his Ryoku is way out of my league.

Greed raised a finger and snapped. Cy flinched, waiting for some explosion that never came. "Hahaaa—Just kidding." Greed formed his hand into a claw and lunged for Cy, who leapt backward. Greed's fingertips grazed against Cy's armored robes, and instead of scratching through it, the fabric he touched transmuted into sand.

Cy couldn't help but smile, even through his jealousy. "I have to say, Jafar. That's a pretty cool Vessel."

"If you think my Vessels are superior to yours…" The brown aura and bracelet's light faded away as well. "Then you seriously lack imagination." Greed grabbed the tail of his cloak and wrapped it around himself, then disappeared.

Dammit. My next option was to last long enough for Jules to show up and take this guy, but how can I manage that if I can't see him?

A blow from the back sent Cy back to the ground. He groaned. Spending a lot of time here. I'm gonna have to stall him, try to bring him back to our side, but without pissing him off too much. A kick rolled Cy onto his back. Ohhh, but I think that's gonna be tough.

Greed reappeared before Cy, and the cloak flung behind him. "You are so boring. I expected Wrath's minion to be much stronger. But then again, even he wasn't much of a match for me back at the Tree. Get up. You're still worthy of an honorable death, so I'll skip to my final Vessel and go all out."

Greed drew the scimitar from its sheath.

«« Howl, Drakon »» [Jafar]

Greed infused Ryoku with his Vessel and activated its full effects, and Tensa's words echoed again—Cy finally understood what his Vessel had meant, and how he'd gained that Ryoku before.

Cy swung Tensa straight at the Vessel, not even at Greed's vitals. On collision, Tensa activated, and Cy depleted Drakon of every ounce of Ryoku. Shock overtook Greed's face, and Cy put his offhand palm up to the Sin, and blasted him with his own strength.

«« Light Beam »» [Cy]

PATIENCE

Wrath's minion glared at Patience, who yawned and redirected his attention toward the captured Shrine. Why does my counterpart wait?

"You better focus on me, boy," Jafar threatened the child. Patience watched as The Desert Mouse's fight took him and the pest further and further away. He made sure to study both of their Vessels for a time, before he turned his attention to Lust and Envy.

I trust the brats will find a way to reverse the Black Sacrament. I need you to drop an eye, Charlotte, so you can observe and report back to me. Then prepare a trap for the fox. Just detain her, and do not harm her…

Patience took in the raging battle like a child at a circus fare. There was simply too many wondrous sights to behold, too many attractions that demanded his attention and thrilled him to no end.

…Because He wouldn't like it.

Charlotte nudged his mind, affirming him that her eye was in place, watching Lust and Envy, so Patience focused his attention on the main attraction: the bout between The Iron Maiden and The Nomad.

Shall we place a bet on which Alter will win, my dear Charlotte? What? Oh, I know it doesn't matter. They'll both be dead by tonight, but I'd still like to see who's stronger. Now, which Vessels are these two willing to reveal to us all?

The Nomad and The Iron Maiden still spoke to each other. At great length. Get on with it. I need you both weaker. Oh my dear Salvos… It can't be? He'd reveal that so soon?

With one arm outstretched to his side, The Nomad gripped an odachi—a massive katana nearly eight feet long. The weight of that would crush my shoulder. That is the difference between 3rd and 4th Ranks. But that weapon means that he's—

The Iron Maiden flung Her shackled chains at the Alter, and The Nomad swept them away, one-handed. He positioned his odachi back in front of him and gripped it with both hands. Wise move, old man.

The Maiden crossed Her hands in front of Her, and Her chains created a flat web, level with Her sides. The Spider is my title, you petulant little…

An explosion sounded nearby and distracted Patience from the fight of the century. Elementalists and Nomads went at it. Swords, spears, launching projectiles at each other blindly. What dimwitted fools. They'll never know of the real battles that are fought behind the curtain, in the dark.

THE SHADOWS SUIT YOU, PATIENCE. STAYING FOREVER IN THE DARK OF WHAT TRULY UNFOLDS AROUND YOU.

He winced. "Shouldn't you be off at the Shrine, possessing your protege?" Wrath roared with laughter inside of Patience's mind.

SEE WHAT I MEAN? I STILL HAVE PLANS FOR JULES TIDESHAPER TONIGHT. YOU SHALL SEE, IF YOU CAN SURVIVE THE NIGHT…

"Is there anyone you don't despise, Voice?"

YOU DID WELL TO ADVISE CHARLOTTE TO SET A GENTLE TRAP FOR MY RUKIA. NOW, I SHALL SEE YOU AT MOUNT FURY, CHILD.

"Then I will achieve my final goal? Everything I've been striving for my entire life?" Patience asked no one, Wrath had already retreated.

The Nomad's massive sword swung against trailing tails of chains and barbed wire. He's actually slicing the chains? I hope he dies first. What, Charlotte? I'm busy. What? What!? All around? And you're sure?

Patience redirected his attention to The Nomad. "On second thought, I hope you prevail. Prepare for the worst, Charlotte. I'm afraid I can't lend a hand to the old man. It seems my counterpart has just arrived."