Darkness, a cold darkness. As if the weight of existence itself was pressing me down into the floor. I could not see or hear, for my eyes felt like they were sown shut, and my ears felt as if they were plugged. The muted dripping of fluid accompanied only the loud roaring of wind that screamed violently past me. The humid scent of pungent rot assaulted my sinuses, but strangely, a hint of floral greenery whispered subtly through the festering haze. I was utterly alone. I could feel it instinctually.
Slowly I began to raise my arms, push down at the ground, and lift myself up little by little. Struggling up from the damp floor, I slowly forced my eyelids open, but not much had changed in terms of what I already expected to see. All that I could do now was confirm that the jagged stony floor I knelt upon, and the thin layer of water that rippled silently in small pools above it, was indeed what I was feeling. A shadowy veil of pure, swirling darkness emanates out from the edges of the cavern, seeming to pulse along with every beat of my heart. I feel the slowly circulating void reach for me, its appendages slithering silently toward where I lay, appearing just at the edge of my vision and zipping back the moment I turn to face it. Shivering from both the stinging wind and the slight uncertainty I felt from the shadows, forcing my legs to move, I tried lifting myself higher. But the resistance I felt began to multiply downwards against me. Pushing through its pull, I succeeded in rising from my stone bed. Inspecting my dim surroundings, I had nothing. Not my broken buckler or my spear, hardly a thread of clothing covered my bare skin. All that I had to myself was my broken and scarred body, but my wounds were oddly but thankfully in a state that prevented bleeding.
Looking around for anything, I spot a sign of life, and the only source of light in the space. A lone white tree with fluorescent leaves sat alone next to a rope bridge. The tall tree looked ancient and alien, like it was a species from a whole other universe, patterns on its bark twisting this way and that, although strangely, it seemed to have no roots. It shot straight up out of the cracked ground like a pillar of cold blue, from my perspective, growing sharper the higher it went, then bulging suddenly, like a straw with something stuck midway through it, only to branch out into a massive canopy with glowing ocean-blue vines and luminescent ivory branches almost 30 feet up. Vibrant, almost neon green leaves fluttered softly down from its limbs, which swayed gently with the echoing drafts blowing through the cavern. Walking towards it slowly, I reach its base. Looking it up and down, I notice something else, a symbol, carved crudely into its base. It was an arrow pointing towards the bridge, glowing amber-gold sap still strangely seeping from where the mark was inexpertly engraved. Turning my head over to look at the bridge, and slowly walking over to the edge, a bone chilling darkness entered my vision as a sharp, prickling pain stabbed almost viciously at my mind. There was definitely something down below. The rope bridge swayed precariously over a massive ravine that seemed to stretch endlessly into the gloom. I looked around at my surroundings again, but something within me warned me not to stray too far from where I stood.
The moment I looked away, the tree began to shift, its drooping branches elongating and slithering slowly, rustling across the stone cliff… toward me. Oddly, it didn't alarm me, instead I felt calm, almost serene. The limbs moved with calm, clear purpose, and as I looked closer, I noticed that they also bore… a fruit. It was strange, ovaloid, with spiraling ridges running from the stem at the top, weaving smoothly around the large pores that permeated across the fruit's surface, the same ones smelling strongly of a mix of honey, citrus, lavender, and… old sneakers? The boughs carried the fruit with care, a messy but secure weave of vines supporting it from below as the mass of tangled vines shifted ever closer. Encased by the aroma of the fruit, I reached out my hand to grab it. But as my skin was millimeters away from contacting the fruit, a deep, looming fear came over my mind.
Five months before everything began, in the same class with Landon and Jake, we were doing a chemistry lab. Mr. Garrison was having us observe the forms of Cyanide. When it was my group's turn to go, my mask that I had on had slipped down just far enough where Cyanide gas was able to get into my lungs. Immediately my teacher called an ambulance, and I was brought to the ER. Luckily it was a small amount of cyanide, but why was I thinking about this? But then I realized, this fruit was cyanide. The same smell I remembered from that day was being let off into my nose. Instantly I pulled my hand away from the tree, and retreated towards the bridge. I was now a good ten feet away when deep rumbling shook the ground. The tree slowly contorted, and its roots shot up from the ground. I didn't know what it was and I didn't want to find out.
I dashed backwards to the bridge, narrowly dodging a swing from one of its dozens of roots. I was lucky enough to grab onto the railing of the bridge, but as soon as I did, the stone floor beneath me began to fade. I panicked. Stumbling forward on all fours onto a path of dark uncertainty. Looking all around, everything else truly was gone, only the rope bridge remained. The firm conforming ground that held me steady had disappeared, and was replaced with only more of that same bridge that spanned infinitely in the other direction. The soft scent of nature had also fully vanished, only the miasma of pungent rot lingering in its bitter absence. The bridge itself, it seems, was the source, tainted by death and decay. There was only one thing to do, as far as I could see so I began to walk. I trudged forward with a bit of difficulty as the bridge swayed unsteadily below me. Every step further across the bridge, the gravity worsened. But I was prepared to persevere. For what felt like days, I walked across the bridge. Each step forward took longer and longer and more and more of my energy, but that wouldn't stop me. After what seemed like twelve days, I began to hallucinate. Images of Henry killing everyone I loved flooded my mind through the near complete sensory deprivation, but he was always out of my reach. Days later, I began to hear him.
"C'mon!" Henry said, his scornful voice echoing through the dark, "Just give up already! Nothing you do will stop me."
"You're pathetic. You only injured me because Jake was there to protect you. Just jump."
"Shut it… " I seethed through grit teeth, his taunting only fueled my rage.
Days upon days were filled with Henry's revolting voice taunting me, but I didn't quit. My breath grew increasingly shallow with the passing hours and my body began to slowly deteriorate from the gravity. My bones gave out first, slowly cracking under the pressure. Next were my muscles, my tendons buckling and snapping under the weight. The crushing pressure forced me down, barely able to move. But my sheer will and rage allowed me to continue dragging my crumpled frame across. Hanging on to the thought, that the wrenching pain I feel now would be nothing compared to the pain that I'd inflict on the one that wants to tear down those who stood by me, the same bastard that forced me through this hell with him. After another grueling three days, my body gave out. The pressure seemed over fifty times stronger than Earth's, pinning me down for good. As I began to feel my skull fracture, his cursed voice still echoing through my evercompressing head and I began to close my eyes, in the end having to finally give up, a new voice appeared.
"Wow!" The mysterious voice said, chuckling, "I didn't think that anybody from the universe's I've been to would be able to handle 75 times the gravity, especially from a level 4 Earthling. Although you are from the special one…"
"Here," It said as I heard its fingers snap, "This should fix you."
As the sound resonated through the empty expanse, my broken bones and destroyed muscles began their swift restoration, twisting gruesomely back into place and shape as I lay sprawled and naked on the rotting bridge.
"Who… who are you?" I rasp out meekly, my pain finally subsiding after weeks of torture and my body finally realizing how thirsty it was, staring out in the direction of the voice but unable to see it.
"Who am I? Well, I go by many names. The First Champion, The Great Hope, but I'll give you the title you'd be most familiar with." The gruff voice announced, leaning -or floating- closer towards me, "I am the Vindicator of Wrath. And I deem you worthy of becoming my Herald."
The voice chuckles once more, "But first, a change of scenery, if I will."
"Wait, you're the-" I attempt to say, but get interrupted by another snap.
As soon as the sound reaches my ears, the wooden planks beneath me transform into nothing but a vile brown smear across my vision as I'm teleported across the vast ravine, the remaining span of the bridge I had to cross whizzed by in not even a full second as I arrived on the other side, stumbling to my feet, eyes watering after taking the harsh lashing from the wind. We ended up at the front gate of an outdoor training area. It was surrounded by raggedy old wooden fences, which surrounded a dusty training area about the size of a basketball court. Inside the fences, there lay dozens of different types of weapons, along with metal weights. The gravity seemed to return to normal.
Up above, the cloudy sky stood still, not a sign of movement let alone life. It almost felt as if the whole place was suspended in time as even the tall, sunny reeds of grass that surrounded the perimeter of the grounds stood stooping slightly, yet eerily still,
"What is this place? And you never answered my other question, are you the real Sin of Wrath?" I questioned.
"I can answer all of your questions, but I'm surprised you haven't asked me about the bigger picture, was I wrong about you?" He responds, facing the training grounds, arms crossed and not allowing me to look at his face.
I took a moment to question what he was referring to, and also the chance to get a good look at the supposed sin. He was huge, probably bigger than a Tanker. He wore an entire full set of armor forged out of a royal purple ore. A tattered red cloak trailed behind him as he walked slowly over to a distant bench, the ground trembling subtly under his heavy sabatons. Engraved in the stitching of the cape were seven shards of a full piece, with the center being their piece to solve it, but it was missing. Fastened to his waist was a black leather sheath, engraved with purple and golden crystals. He wore no helmet, so I was able to see his hair. It was a deep, dementing crimson with streaks of white towards the roots. And then it hit me, what he wanted me to ask.
"What… What is the system?" I questioned, "Why were we forced to fight monsters, why- why are we being tortured?"
"Thats the big question!" He exclaimed excitedly as he turned around clapping, revealing his rugged visage.
Once he fully turned around, I was able to clearly see his face. He had a raggedy beard matching his hair color, along with the white streaks. His battle-scarred face reminded me of someone who'd dropped out of the womb fighting. His left ear was missing a piece at the top. Starting from the left side of his chin, a massive scar swooped up through his left eye. Another scar started from the left of his forehead, a bit past and through the other scar, and cut down across his right eye. His left iris was a bright golden color while his right eye was the same vibrant red as his hair. He looked pretty fucked up, and worn out at that, but you couldn't deny he was absolutely rocking the look.
"You can ask personal questions later. Let me tell you about how it first began, about the first universe." He said, sitting down on the bench.
"It started hundreds of billions of years ago. Back then there was no system, or infected, or any type of monster. Humans began to explore the stars and conquer all, but one day, they awakened it. The Original Sin." He paused for a moment, looking down at his hands.
"After it woke up, it destroyed everything. It had powers that no invention back then could compete with. Within twelve years it pushed humanity back to the original solar system we came from. And that's where they created the System Prototype. They managed to create a device that could recreate the universe down to the Planck length, and reset time itself. The only problem was that the Original Sin could not be removed from the creation of the new universe."
"In the end, they had no choice but to activate it anyway. The first universe wasn't removed or anything, it was just copied. But the creators of the System put their memories of the old timeline into their brains in the new timeline so they could finish creating the system. The Original Sin woke up again, and another twelve years later, they finished making the system. They created a machine that could give the humans of the past a sort of training facility to defeat the Original Sin. They set the System to start training everyone in 13.8 billion years, or 2030 in Earth years." He finished explaining, looking back up to me.
"I was the only survivor of the first game. After Earth was overwhelmed with infection, they invited only the 7 strongest of each remaining planet to partake in a game where there would only be one winner. I am that winner. When you complete their games, you have to fight the Original Sin. Him and I fought for three years straight, without rest. It ended with me gaining these scars, and me giving him a scar of his own, forcing him into recovery for all of these years. After my wounds were healed, I was given the Sin of Wrath, and was allowed to give Heraldship to those wrathful like myself. So we reset the world. I became an administrator along with the founders of the system, and we collected all of the other six winners, each of them given their own sin." He paused again, before staring deeply into my eyes.
"Ethan. Your universe is our last hope. After Pride fought in his Championship match for the Fourth universe, the System was shattered beyond repair, and it won't be able to take us back any more. This universe is the last chance for all life. You, and Landon, and Jake and Nathan, you, are the last hope."
"Fuuuuuck…" Was the only word that I could mutter. The revelation of this new flood of information hit me like a freight train, and more questions were made than were answered. How the hell was anybody supposed to defeat Original Sin? How strong was Wrath for him to end his fight in a stalemate? How many years do I have left before I have to fight him? That was my next question, "Okay, I have more questions now."
"Fire away." He responded, before checking his wrist where a watch would've been, but wasn't. "We only have around… forever."
I decide not to question that last bit and shoot straight to the important bits, "Firstly, how many years do we have until the Original Sin wakes up? Secondly, are aliens real? And thirdly, why can there only be one winner for each universe?" I asked him rapidly.
"The system should have started on August 20th, so about a year or two." He responded.
"That's it? How the hell is anybody supposed to get strong enough to kill an omniscient being with only a handful of months!?" I responded, utterly shocked.
"It was the best time we could have given you. It used to be ten years to train, but because of the fourth universe's fight, the system got fucked up and we had to cut some corners to save it… Also, we knew the potential of this universe." He paused to stretch his back before continuing, "Before we recreate each universe, we get to see a gauge on how much potential each universe has. I was told that my universe was a hard 50% chance of defeating the Original Sin. But yours, yours fluctuated."
"I saw it with my own eyes. The gauge was flinging from 45% all the way up to 50.1%. Now it doesn't seem like much, but to us, it meant everything." He said, getting up from his bench, "To us, that meant there was even a sliver of hope to kill it."
"For your second question, yes. Aliens are real. There are dozens of races stemming from Dwarves, Elf's, and Orcs, all the way up to Dragon Kin, Jackals, and Werebeasts. There were millions of other races that we knew of, but only the strongest of 100 races made it to fight in the tournament." He finished.
"And finally, there used to only be one winner per tournament. We changed the rules for this universe to maximize our chances of defeating the Original Sin. We believed that if we altered the rules for you, we might have been able to kill him and be able to fix the system." He finished with a loud sigh, "Is that all?"
I took my time to rack my brain on the information at hand, but after a few moments I answered.
"Thats all I had to ask." I answered him, still thinking about how long we have before someone has to fight an ancient being.
"Okay then, let's get you some clothes before we begin." He responds.
"Begin what?" I ask as he snaps his fingers, fine clothes instantly appearing on my body along with a spear clattering to the ground before me.
"Begin your evaluation." He responds,"I want you to become my Herald, but I need to confirm your strength. After all, you're not the only person with a little rage in the universe."
"You have one attack to hit me with. Take as long as you need to prepare it. If your attack manages to impress me, then I will take you as my Herald." He finishes, summoning a steel shield into his hand.
"Got it." I respond simply.
Closing my eyes, I absorbed myself into my inner world. My body began to calm down as I began to focus on the task at hand, then I introduced hatred. My fury for everyone who has ever wronged me. My pure hatred for the Skinweaver. My wrath against Henry. My blood began to boil over with the rage I've had hidden for so long. Then I let it out. Taking one step forward, I slammed my left foot against the dusty floor with all of my strength, fracturing it violently beneath my foot and throwing a circle of soot into the air. Transferring all of my strength and anger, my whole will into my arm, I blasted my spear towards him. A shockwave thundered out from the spear as it left my hand.
Within a tenth of a second, my glinting spear traversed the thirty foot gap and collided furiously with his shield. Its strength pierced right through the shield and carried on towards his face. Before it connected, a bright ray of red light encompassed my vision. Shielding my eyes with my left arm, I waited for the light to subside.
"Looks like I was right." I heard him say as the blinding glare began to dim, "You definitely are worthy of becoming a Herald. I've never encountered a candidate who had me hard-pressed enough to manifest my aura."
Looking up at him, his shield lay split in twain on the floor, but my spear was floating in the air, tip centered on the source of the light. A bright, glowing red grain of matter floated above his fingers, distorting the reality around it, colliding directly with the spear.He slowly and wordlessly shifted the spear, still mid-air and vibrating with energy, over to the side and relinquished his control over the polearm. It zipped past him and suddenly, a pillar behind him was instantaneously turned to chunks of rubble and debris, showering the training grounds in a layer of dust that hung shimmering mere inches from the ground.
"Good, good." He stops to think before continuing to speak, "Okay, I know exactly what to give you. Close your eyes."
Doing as he says, I close my eyes and wait for what he is doing. After a quiet handful of seconds and another flash of light, a familiar voice rang out through the training hall.
"You…" It said, slow and angry.
Instantly realizing who it was I used
"Henry…"I muttered, my anger creeping and flaring as my grip tightened even further on the handle of my polearm.
"You filthy vermin… Look what you've done to me!" He yelled, venom flowing unimpeded through his hoarse voice.
His body was mangled, shirt torn nearly to ribbons, with only a heavy cloak wrapped around his shoulders and his frayed sweatpants clinging desperately to his waist. His once complete face now marked with a scar down from his half blind eye to now-slit mouth, a scar that he revealed clearly, pulling back his hood with a thin trembling hand. His neck had a giant scar on one side from one of my spear throws. His chest had a massive crater from where my spear impaled him and shattered his ribs, along with a giant bruise from Jake's knee. His left hand was completely missing his index finger and thumb.
"You made me, no, you forced me to go that far to stop you. I wanted peace, I know my apology wasn't enough… I didn't think- I never wanted this to happen, but-" I attempted to reconcile but suddenly stopped, my mind finally reigning in my fleeting emotions, and like a lens, focusing it all inwards as my seething hatred took their place. This was the man who, no matter what I did or said, wanted me dead, so I would stop apologizing and eliminate… the threat.
"No. I'm not sorry for what I did. I'm done apologizing to you." I replied, eyes burning with searing hatred, glaring directly at Henry.
"Finally, you're showing your true character!" He replies ecstatically, "Good, I won't even have to feel even a grain of remorse for this!"
Henry turns around and to my horror, throws his arms up in a kind of celebratory fashion, only to reveal an unconscious Jake. He sneers, grabbing him carelessly by the hair before tossing him to the ground like a dirty rag. Putting his foot firm onto Jake's neck, he grabs his arm and looks into my eyes, before beginning to pull. The tearing of flesh pierced my ears as I witnessed Jake's arm beginning to be torn from his own body.
"Hey wait… stop it- STOP!" I cried, charging towards him, my eyes filled with horror as my body boiled with wrath and hatred.
I swung my spear at him, attempting to cleave straight through his midsection, but his
He bit into the flesh with such utter glee in his eyes, that I almost forgot he was cannibalizing another human, if not for the blood that stained his face and teeth, or the glaring fact that he wasn't human anymore. It was repulsive, vile, the action so blasphemous that my very being revolted against even the idea. Then a rage, a rage so primal, so ancient filled my complex, flooding violently to the very edges of my soul, with nothing but unbridled hate and quaking fury. Henry had crossed the line before, but now he was defecating on it, and making little shit-castles while he was at it. My body began to physically heat up as a searing, sharp, blood red aura began to rapidly expel from my body. Unlike Wrath's aura control, mine was rough, uncontrolled. I charged forwards, tearing through the vines that held me despite the pain. I lunged forwards at him faster than though, and swung my raged filled fist.
Multiple roots erupted from the floor, shattering the tiles beneath me in an attempt to halt my advance, but my sheer wrath fueled my volatile destructive aura and flung them back, slashing and stabbing at the false life, slicing through certain weak points in the net of yearning and gradually shredding Henry's aura to bits. I completed my advance as my fist connected violently with Henry's chin, sending him rolling backwards across the floor until he collided with a stand of weapons.
"JAKE!" I called out, dropping to a knee as I held up his body, I looked for a pulse, a twitch, anything… but it was cold.
His blood covered the dusty floor with a thin lair. Feeling his pulse I realized he was dead. His arm lay nearby, multiple chunks taken out by Henry's violent jaws. I walked over to it and brought it back to his body. A single tear fell from my eyes as Henry's maniacal coughing laugh rang out through the training area. An even stronger rage heated up my body. Henry had just added kindling to a fire and now, it was going to burn right through him. My already brutish aura expanded uncontrollably, pushing back Jake's body and causing Wrath to expend some aura of his own to shield himself. Using
I channeled a handful of drops of aura into my spear, creating a devastating weapon. Looking towards Henry, he had covered himself in roots, using them as armor. He had two different blades this time, one attached to each of his arms. At the same moment, we charged forwards at each other, ignoring consequences. With blistering speed, Henry swung at my left shoulder, attempting to sever my arm, but I protected it by channeling my aura into my arm, its sheer volume condensed into my arm and deflected his attack like it was nothing. Grabbing onto my spear with both hands, I stabbed forward at his chest, but he guarded himself with both of his blades last second. A metallic boom was sent out throughout the room from the sheer collision of our weapons.
Our blades were held in place, each one of us unrelenting in our strength. Henry grinned, staring down from his living suit after opening a vertical gap in the helmet… only to spit a piece of Jake's flesh onto my face.
Enraged, I kicked hard into his chest, which sent him flying backwards. Despite the lack of power in my kick, it seemed the damage from our last fight was catching up to him. Before striking again, I filled my spear with more aura, but it began to splinter, the handle slowly coming apart, blade cracking along the spine before the entire polearm completely shattered to pieces. Using this temporary loss of defense, Henry recovered and blitzed forward, slashing me across my cheek. The sting came first, and then the familiar sensation of paralysis. Usually I would have panicked, but my brain didn't have time to panic, only time to plan a way to suppress it. Instantly, my mind flashed back to what Henry had done during our last fight. He had condensed and flatted his aura to encase his wounds, stopping its progression. Henry charged again, but with a swift dodge and kick, I made enough time to carve his technique into my brain.
Slowly I compressed a thin sheet of aura against my face, but it resisted. It hated being restrained, like I was not too long ago. But this was a time to evolve into something further than I had gotten before. I condensed the aura further onto my face until it had combined with the wound. It stuck to my face like a glove, and I felt the effects of the paralysis stop expanding through my veins. But I had to go further beyond sustaining my injuries, I needed offense, I needed to create a new weapon… like his.
Keeping the aura along my wound in place, I condensed half of my total aura into the shaft for a new spear. Holding my clenched hand to the side, a winding crimson staff sprouted virulently from both ends of my fist, my aura twisting and weaving in on itself hundreds and thousands of times over in almost an instant.
At the tail end of the spear, a sharp point protruded out, small diamond-shaped holes opening up and pushing the woven shaft out slightly, bulging sharply with each hollow from two thirds of the way down the shaft down to the very tip which was wrapped in long, elegant, flowing strips of magical cloth, followed by a short blade that terminated in a sort of jagged double-edged knife. At the head of the spear, a flanged mace with dozens of protruding blades materialized. The scarlet mass continued to grow, dense, violent, before exploding out in a wave of raging magic, surging and winding itself smoothly into a colossal shattered spearhead that levitated magically at the top of the shaft, vibrating and almost… physically pulsing with unstable energy.
Two more holes -larger now- and separated by a thin rod stamped themselves into the shaft just before the spearhead, four heavy crimson rings fashioned themselves cleanly in pairs into each of the wide diamond cavities, clinking metallically against each other. Small symmetrical fragments and panels floated along the blade-tip, swarming in a clear, balanced array around the arrowhead shaped central spear-point, which itself was broken -yet the spear itself was still somehow honed to a perfect, immaculate, serrated edge that lashed out violently, arcing angrily in every direction with small sparks and flashes of carmine aura.
"What power…" Wrath muttered to himself in shock at the sight of what I had created.
"The Seven Virtues were right to choose this universe, he really is the successor… He can use it… The spear of Three Truths." Wrath finished, still in awe.
"But it's incomplete, he can only create The Fractured Spear in his current form… I need to push him further." Wrath's face turned from shock to concentration, and with a single flick of his wrist, Henry began to power up.
His body convulsed and shook as a storm of aura exploded out from his body. It kicked up dust and stones in a thick wave, completely surrounding him inside a tornado. Flashes of green shone through the dust, and his silhouette grew larger, heavier, and bulkier. Henry stomped steadily from the plume of debris. His whole body besides his scars were healed. A heavy, flexible suit of armor forged from roots and stones covered his body leaving nothing but his face revealed. His scar across his face was black, and his eyes had turned bright green.
"What is this…" He questioned, but slowly began to smirk, "I like it!"
As he finished speaking, a root shot up from the ground behind him. Moving his hand, the root followed. Once the end of the root reached the height of his chest, he summoned a seedling in his hand, cut into the root, and pushed the seed inside. The tuber retreated immediately back into the ground, but shortly after, an unnaturally large flower sprouted from where it disappeared.
"Siphon." Henry said, grabbing his right forearm with his left hand and raising his stone gauntlet at me.
The flower's pink petals creeped open, and slowly, my aura began to drain from my body, drifting in heavy, volatile waves toward the blossom.
"What sort of trick is this?" I yelled at him, clutching my spear tightly in support, preparing for an attack.
"I might tell you someday, but right now, I'm going to make you hurt." Henry replied.
Within a second, he cleared the distance and slammed his blades at my chest. I was able to react, just barely blocking it with my new spear. Henry attacks again, aiming for my left side. Reflexively, I guard with my spear, but then something sprouted from the ground. I turned my head to face it but it was too late, a root cut clean across my abdomen. I dashed away from both of them, and began to pour my aura into my wound, the root left a heavy gash in my side, if I hadn't moved, I'd have been skewered right then. Even after all of this, unlocking my aura and forging the perfect weapon, I still couldn't cleanly overpower him. I really am struggling. I'm tired, I can't find a clear opening and I'm losing ground fast.What the fuck am I doing? How DARE I begin losing to this… PARASITE.
My Aura began to break free from the mold I'd set for it, straining against the chains and shackles binding it, lashing out at the surrounding area. And I was going to let it, before a clear, gruff voice rang through my ears.
"Calm down." Wrath echoed.
My Aura quelled to a simmer, restabilizing, as if it was reacting instinctually to his voice as I gathered my thoughts, recentering myself back into the heat of battle.
"Listen up and listen well Ethan, you have the strength to destroy everything that stands against you. Keep that strength on a tight leash, or don't use it at all." He boomed , "And trust me when I tell you, I speak from experience. Wrath may be an emotion of hatred, but you need to learn to control it, so that you don't repeat my mistakes… and hurt the people you were supposed to protect."
I took a few deep breaths, then opened my eyes, "What do I need to do?" I asked him with cold ambition, still facing the grotesque mess of a threat that stood before me.
"Use your ingenuity to pave your own path. That's the strongest skill that our Aura provides. Raging Intellect manifests differently in each person so I'm excited to see what you come up with." He said, each word I took to heart.
"Got it." I replied.
"One more thing," He said, "That spear you've got, I can't tell you much right now but it is the strongest weapon there is for you. Utilize it well."
"Understood." I nodded.
Focusing on his words, I examined them inside and out until I found what was best for me. Holding my spear in one hand, I began to manifest my key to control. My dwindling aura transformed into chain links, each studded with spikes. I made it as long as possible, making sure that Henry couldn't escape, not now, not ever. Now grabbing my spear with both hands, and one arm shackled in sharp, searing chains, I was ready. Henry charged at me with blistering speed, slashing at me with his blades while roots shot up to flank me. Reflexively, I deflected the roots with my chained arm. I bound the roots with them, then applied more of my Aura into the chains. They instantly constricted around the roots, so much so that they all split cleanly in half. Focusing back on Henry's attack, I slammed my spear into his blades, the sound resonating through what felt like the entire world. Our clash of weapons began.
Our blades parried and slashed, but neither side ever stopped attacking. To the regular human eye, only flashes of aura would be seen. Dust and heavy stones were flung around and ground to bits in our clash but we didn't stop. We were in a deadlock. Henry swung his left blade at my side, but I blocked it with a chain and stabbed at him with my spear. He deflected it using a root, and countered again. I parried it back once again using a chain then grabbed his leg and flung him away. He skidded across the dusty floor, but slowed himself down using a cushioning wall of roots. We were both exhausted, our adrenaline had completely worn out and exhaustion hit like a freight train. We were both heavily injured and scarred from blows that we couldn't properly block. This last attack would be our last. Henry cast away the plant that was draining my Aura, and prepared his own attack. He began to conjure a giant lance, it spiraled and spun over itself to make it more durable, and he used his own armor to reinforce it. The roots and stones covering his chest transferred onto the weapon. I began my own final attack. Using my remaining Aura, I channeled it all into my legs and held myself steady for what was coming.
We stared at each other, almost vibrating with hatred. His eyes were filled with rage and excitement, the veins around his eyes pulsed green. He was corrupted by himself. He was the first to move. He charged faster now than during any of our strikes, his lance out in front aiming at me with killing intent. I was going to extinguish it. I stepped forward, each contact cracked the floor from the weight of my Aura. Five steps, each one marked with a different emotion I felt for Henry. Rage, anger, hatred, wrath, and pity. With my final step, I planted my left foot firmly into the floor, it buckled and cracked from the pressure, and I released my spear. I transferred all of my remaining Aura to rotate my spear and quicken its travel. Time seemed to stop. Henry's face was filled with a wide range of emotion, but underneath all of it, was the old Henry. Back way before all this, when Derek was still there to keep him afloat. I was going to release him from his Envy, and let him see his old friend again.
Our weapons collided, multiple sonic booms shot out into the world from the speed of my spear. Our weapons collided, my spearhead collided head on with his lance. My weapon succeeded. It tore through his weapon, turning it into nothing but shrapnel. It carved through faster than he could react, and I heard it tear into something soft.
Henry stood in the smoky clearing, a wry grin plastered on his face and his soulless eyes peering half-lidded at the ground before him. He didn't make a move, as the smoke retreated further, the reason why was evident. Already having retired any notion of recovery, Henry clutched what remained of the right side of his mauled torso with a hand covered in his own blood. It's a miracle he was still standing at all, given the fact that he was missing an arm and most of the things that are usually inside your body, were dangling down from his waist in red, bulging ropes. He stumbled, then unsteadily, took a step. Then another. And another after that. Eventually making his way through the forest of envy that he'd trapped himself in.
Slowly he tilted his head up to face me, his dead eyes let a single tear fall out.
"Thank you…" He whispered grimly, "I truly never… wished for it to go this far."
As he finished his words, he fell crumpling onto his knees, and finally laid to rest.