Wrath Reincarnated

JULES

CREEEEK. KRANK! THWAANG!

A Nomadic man cut a rope to a colossal trebuchet that launched a massive block of sandstone. The Ryoku that charged the bombardment carried it straight to its destination: a hovering zephyr close by. The Elementalists and Windjas paratrooping out of it to the other Nomad Soldiers down below were swatted from the sky. The zephyr itself dropped into the sand dunes below, shattered and fractured into hunks of metal and wood. The Soldiers reloaded the device, but halted when Jules passed by them.

Barefoot, his toes dug into the scorching sand, whose heat he'd grown accustomed to after the long journey here. His discussion with Kaizen had been cut short by The Iron Maiden's arrival—he'd felt Her presence way before he saw Her floating galley ship. And then of course he saw the giant eye in the sky. Behind him, the sun began to set, and in front of him lay only darkness and bloodshed. Rukia walked by his side, neither in front of him nor behind him, just completely level with him.

Men of different creeds—of Factions he'd only heard about until the other day—killed and maimed each other to his left. To his right, Cyrus fought Jafar. Somewhere beyond even them, blocked by a dune, Jules sensed Katarina fighting. Both are struggling. And I'm not sure who Kat's fighting. Still, Jules looked straight ahead to The Iron Maiden's galley, and the battle She waged with The Nomad.

Cy. Kat. You better survive on your own for a bit. Someone else requires all of my attention. Jules approached the middle of the battlefield, where everything—all of the surrounding fighting—would be determined. Nothing else mattered. None of the sacrifices made on the sideline would amount to anything. It was all a waste, just part of the theater of war.

The Nomads all stopped and turned their heads as Jules passed, but he paid them no mind. Everything else was a distraction. A sworn enemy had appeared before him, and nothing else could draw an ounce of his focus.

After a few hundred feet, Jules stopped just short of his opponent.

Long, black hair. Soft hands. Arrogant smile. Golden laced robes. No mistaking it. I wonder what he thought when he returned to his body after I dunked his smug face in that camel's trough? It's been years, but I doubt he's ever forgotten it.

An explosion erupted between the Alters, and they became hidden within a sandstorm smoke screen. Jules didn't avert his eyes, didn't blink—didn't even wince.

"Welcome, Wrath. I have waited a very long time to meet you."

"I've come to end this war. If you don't step aside now, I'll have to clear the path before me."

"You'll have to kill me and a half dozen others, I'm afraid."

"If that's what it takes." Jules pulled his wooden sword out from his sash belt and held it firmly in too hands. Kaizen, Rukia. I'd like to fight him alone first. We need to reserve Integration for The Maiden. And possibly Greed.

"Tsk, tsk. You are so impatient." Rather than draw his own weapon, Patience crossed his arms. He stood tall, straight, and resolute. For some reason, Jules had expected him to be…softer, somehow. "Introductions first, yes? I am Pat of the Dunes, AKA The Spider."

"I've seen your face before, Patience." Jules spat the word out of his mouth like how Kaizen would say Pride. "Tell me: was that your family I met? Seems like you have a great relationship with them."

Patience laughed to himself. "You think they're a weak point for me? You think you can pull some sort of leverage on me? No. I killed them all after you saw them." The answer shouldn't have shocked Jules, but his heart skipped a beat. He was filled with rage and fury, for the innocent lives Patience had killed, yes—but mostly for the discrimination Jules himself had faced as a Sin his entire life, when the real monster hid in plain sight. "How is your family doing, by the way?"

Here, Jules winced. Whereas combat between two Alters could no longer make him flinch, psychological warfare still could. He tightened his grip on the Sound of Fury, practically pulling the tendons in his fingers, and tried to swallow the swelling lump in his throat.

"I've been meaning to visit your mother's grave. Lighthouse Point, was it?" How the fuck would he know that!?

Clam yourself, Jules, Kaizen thought. Your fight has already begun. Do not lose the first match so easily.

"It was your voice that spoke that day," Jules whispered. Over the past few weeks, one searing memory, just one, from his time in Coralhaven, possessed by Wrath himself, kept intruding on Jules' thoughts.

'Capture the Tideshapers, Liam and Evelyn. They carry a baby girl. Do not let them escape.' But why this memory? Why would that pull through?

"Yes. And I was successful, if not in part. Dear, sweet Evelyn was lost as collateral, I fear—"

"You bastard!" It took all of Jules' concentration to stand still, to not charge in blindly, like he knew Patience desired. Don't fall for the trap. He's lying through his crooked teeth.

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"Ah, yes. I heard that exact same response before, in Coralhaven. I wonder why…He would be so passionate, as well? That is one mystery I haven't uncovered. Yet."

Change the subject, Kaizen warned.

No.

"What happened to them? To my father and…Azura?"

A wicked grin split Patience's face. His eyes lit up with malice, like a child torturing some poor, small animal just for the fun of it. "Until my dying breath, I will never tell you. But perhaps He—"

Jules' fist collided with Patience's nose. Malice shifted to fear in the coward's face just before the nose cracked and collapsed into itself. Still, despite that, Patience only stepped back a single leg to brace himself. The Spider grabbed the Sound near its end with one hand. "I truly did expect more from my counterpart. What a pity." Blood gushed out of his nose, but Patience never attempted to stop it. No Regeneration for you, you…

Jules wrenched his sword free, and they each took a step away from each other. He's stronger than I thought. I played into his trap, and now he's seen my hand. Time to listen to Kaizen.

"Lust," Jules said.

"Ah, yes. Just over there. Fighting your friend… Envy, was it?"

Jules broke his concentration and dared to look over at Katarina, who fought some demented form of Seraphina. How? And how did I not notice?

You were so focused on Patience, you ignored everything else.

As much as it enraged him, the old man was right. "What'd you do to her? She wouldn't fight for you or The Iron Maiden willingly."

"I didn't do anything." Patience turned back to the Alters' fight, still obscured by a localized sandstorm. The Iron Maiden…

"So She can perform the Black Sacrament on us? And you choose to stay on Her side."

"She certainly can. I doubt I'd survive it, to be honest." Patience shivered. "Blegh, honesty doesn't suit me. I saw what it did to dear Diligence, and she was only near it. Weak. Frail. But you and I have one thing in common today, Jules—We both want to kill Her."

"Then why stand in my way?"

"I need to loosen you up—while he weakens Her. They are larger games at play, tonight."

"And Jafar—Is he apart of your grand scheme?"

"No more than Zeke. A mere pawn on the playing field, though he and I do go way back."

"Why would a Virtue want to cause the Apocalypse?" Jules couldn't wrap his head around it; there was no sense in the matter.

"I just want you to open your Seal." So he knows what the Seals do?

"Why don't you just open your own, then?" If he really is this strong, I need to strike him before he draws his rapier. Wait for the window to open.

"Open my own?" Patience shook his head, then looked at the sky. "You really are in the dark, aren't you? I suppose you don't even know who the Magi are."

Those wicked eyes looked down on Jules again and made his skin crawl. Their mutual hatred was palpable in the air, as if it grew into an aura of its own. No longer able to control his anger, Jules had the idea to lean into it, to harness it for the coming fight.

"Oh, no!" Patience exclaimed. His eyes grew wider, then he cackled and taunted Jules. "You don't even know what the Magi are for!" He laughed even harder and doubled over.

Wait, Kaizen commanded, just as Jules dug his feet into the sand to launch into a strike.

"How does The Iron Maiden fit into all of this?" Jules asked. "She's coming after you, just like me." Like us, Jules thought as Katarina, Seraphina, and Jafar fought nearby. And why am I asking about Her now?

"I'll throw you this one bone, Wrath. You'll need it." Patience smiled at the zephyrs passing by overhead. Twisted, exalted glory plastered his face. "She is the First Magi."

Patience drew his rapier, and in a flash, their sword tips collided as Jules parried the strike away. Their combined speed created a vacuum between them that clapped like thunder, and black sparks arced between them.

The Virtue smirked, then placed his left arm behind his waist. "I'll defeat you with one arm tied behind my back, as they say."

One, two, nine thrusts struck out at Jules, practically all at once. He deflected a few, but the majority crashed into his extremities and shattered his Ryoku Shield in one go.

Jules' feet dug through the sand and created a trail from being pushed back. Dammit! I didn't think I'd need to burn too much Ryoku with this fight. Kat and Cy are losing, so I'm going to have to face Sera and Jafar next, as well.

Focus on one opponent at a time, Jules, Kaizen thought.

"Your Arcanic abilities have softened you up, Tideshaper." Patience thrusted four more times and connected with one. "You thought you didn't need to focus on a Class? You thought you could just get by as a 1st Rank?" One more super-charged attack sent Jules to his back. "If you're going to open your Seal, you need to be stronger, smarter. You need to pick a path and pursue it at all costs!"

Jules rolled over, and the sand where he had laid vaporized against Patience's rapier. He got back to his feet and went on the defensive, only blocking and deflecting strikes, not bothering to parry or riposte in retaliation.

"First Rank—Pah! I Unlocked my System at 3rd, without Regeneration!"

Klang! Thwump! Jules blocked two more strikes. Why is he dialing back now? And 3rd Rank—How could he have possibly achieved that by himself—

"Who was your teacher?" Jules asked. He put his sword to the side, trusting that Patience wouldn't kill him, if he still had other plans for the night, especially involving The Iron Maiden—The First Magi.

"Yes, Jules, yes! That is exactly what I'm talking about! Grow smarter, fish for information first instead of swinging around your prick." Patience motioned at the Sound of Fury. "Who is my teacher? You know them well."

No way…

"The Painter?" Jules dodged another thrust of Patience's sword, straight for his eyes. Shit, maybe he will kill me!

"Someone much closer to you." No way—He couldn't mean… But the old man was locked in his pillar for years…

"…Kaizen?"

"Ahh, so that's his name. You're closer." Patience swung all the way around and slammed his rapier into the Sound, which Jules raised just in time to block. Their locked eyes were mere inches apart. "Wrath."

The lump returned, and Jules' heart dropped again. Patience could have taken advantage of Jules' hesitation and slain him, but his face betrayed his true intentions. This bastard is enjoying watching me squirm. That's all this is, torture. But Kaizen—Rukia, is that true? How could that possibly be?

Neither answered him; he was once again on his own to unravel the growing mysteries of Wrath.

"He is not our enemy," Patience continued. "If you'd just listen to what he has to say—"

"I can't open that door. Not again." Not after I already shut it back on that demon. "Maybe what you say is true, that he's not my enemy. That could change. But one thing that will never change—"

Jules pushed back against Patience's blade and slashed at his head. Both Sound of Fury and Jules' eyes ignited into crimson flames from his anger.

"Is that you will always be my enemy!" Patience blocked the strike.

"There he is. My counterpart has finally arrived."

"Let's fight to the death, here and now," Jules said.

"That's very easy for you to say." Patience removed his left arm from behind his back.