? ? Soul Impaler ? ?

  A wicked blade shot from one of Wrath's gauntlets. He stabbed Jules through the gut with it, and Jules' soul ripped away from his body. What he expected to bring surmounting pain brought only peace and clarity. Wrath summoned a point of blinding light and disappeared through it without a word.

  Jules lingered and surveyed the battlefield.

  Cy and Kat are gone.

  Rukia’s hurt, probably dying.

  Thorn's holding back Maddie. Jules laughed. Not that she could’ve done anything.

  He looked at Zeke. A faint, thin line of light extended from the Judas Priest’s shoulder. Jules inspected his own body. His face was smeared with blood and sweat. He looked as good as he smelled.

  What a cruel world.

  Jules staggered over to the portal. Along the way, he stumbled on a rock.

  Fucking piece of shit.

  He picked it up to throw it, but stopped himself. Instead, he carried it through the light.

  “The hell is this?” Jules muttered on the other side.

  “POOR CHOICE OF WORDS. THIS…"

  Wrath spread his arms wide. An expansive white world enveloped them. In every direction, there was nothing except white marble tile.

  "…IS PURGATORY.”

  Jules sighed. He knew Wrath had brought him here for one reason.

  “I expected the jail cell.”

  “YOU HAVE NOT YET PERMITTED MY ENTRANCE THERE.”

  “And I won’t, seeing as how I’m about to die.”

  “YOU WOULD ABANDON YOUR FRIENDS SO EASILY?”

  “A few of them abandoned me, it seems.” Wrath scoffed. “Maddie turned tail to the bastards who want to kill her. Kaizen yet again could have prepared me for—”

  “NOT EVEN I COMPREHENDED THESE NEW STAKES."

  “And the others aren’t here—or there. They had their own battles to face, and I stood before Zeke alone.”

  Wrath erupted into black flames.

  “AND WHAT OF RUKIA!?”

  His crimson eyes pierced Jules’ soul through the darkness.

  Jules shivered. It was the first time Jules had ever heard Wrath shout. He looked away, downward. Jules could face Wrath’s fury, but not him being right. Not about Rukia.

  But he is right. I abandoned her. I let her down. Jules drew in a deep breath. The pain was completely absent here. I let them all down. I’ll fall into the Judas Priest’s hands, and soon Kat and Maddie will follow.

  “Cy, Whiskers…even Salty Pete won’t make it out of this either.”

  "IT MUST BE SO FREEING…"

  Wrath looked away from Jules, his nose upturned from a foul stench. Jules’ eye twitched.

  “What?” he snapped.

  “THE LUXURY OF SO THOROUGHLY ACCEPTING FAILURE. OF QUITTING, WITHOUT TRYING.”

  “Failure? Failure!? How was I ever supposed to win!?” Jules' furrowed brow released, and his face softened up. “I guess—I guess I did fail, didn't I?"

  “INADEQUACY SUITS YOUR INFERIORITY.”

  Jules’ heart raced. Shock and the realization, the internalization, of his imminent failure gripped his heart. Not even imminent; it's already sealed by Fate.

  “I was taken by surprise, I couldn’t have planned for it. I was—”

  Alone. Jules stopped himself before betraying Rukia again. We were alone, he corrected himself.

  His breath quickened. Jules’ family, his friends, even his Familiar who shared his mind and heart, would never understand how he felt, the pressure that was put on him by others. By society, his family, Salvos, Wrath, fate or destiny or whoever. The thought of such isolation enraged him.

  “Damn destiny. Damn whoever made me a Sin, and Wrath, at that.” Wrath studied Jules again. “I hate it, I hate my life! The family feuds, my own family dynamics of hatred and abuse, which apparently goes way back! And you—I fucking hate you.”

  “THEN IT IS A TRAGEDY YOU WILL NEVER HAVE THE CHANCE TO KILL ME.

  Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.

  “Kill you?” The thought thrilled Jules. Vengeance clouded his judgment, on Wrath, on Zeke, on fate. “Fight me here, then. Now.”

  “IT WOULD NOT BE A FAIR FIGHT.”

  “The Hell it wouldn’t—”

  “CAREFUL WITH YOUR WORDS HERE. THEY… MATTER.”

  Jules clenched his fists. The Sound was no longer in his grip; he'd left it behind.

  “You bastard. You killed everyone I ever knew and loved.”

  “NO QUITE EVERYONE.”

  Jules laughed like a madman. He couldn’t believe how low Wrath would stoop. “And if I give you control here, you’ll kill the rest.”

  "WHEN I HAVE TAKEN CONTROL, YOU WILL HAVE WON."

  “At what cost!?”

  “PEACE REQUIRES SACRIFICE.”

  “Does it? For whom? Seems pretty fucking contradictory to me.” Wrath titled his head. “What the Hell would a demon know about peace, anyway?”

  “WATCH YOUR TONGUE. YOUR FOES USE DARK MAGIC TO TEAR YOU APART.”

  “It’s Holy Magic, you idiot.” Jules thought about Katarina, of how much he missed her, but he pushed the thought aside. Not even she could relieve his wrath.

  Serrated teeth spread wide into a smile.

  “DARK. HOLY. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE, I WONDER? THEY ARE TWO SIDES OF THE SAME COIN, JULES TIDESHAPER.”

  Jules maintained just enough control to not attack.

  “YOU FACE AN INSTRUMENT OF DEATH. IF THEY HAVE BROKEN THE RULES, THEN I MAY INTERVENE."

  “Who the fuck is they?” Wrath grunted, then frowned. “Even if I Integrated with you, they have an arsenal of Holy Enchantments waiting for you."

  “I AM NOT SO FRAIL. YOU THINK THEY PHASED ME IN CORALHAVEN?”

  Jules paused to think about it, which he hadn't done before. Then again, he hadn’t been aware of anything that happened. And the thought of Coralhaven escaping those wormy lips lit Jules’ eyes on fire.

  “YOU CONTINUE TO ACT LIKE YOU HAVE A CHOICE. WHY IS THAT?”

  “Because fuck you, that’s why. Cy and Kat are still alive.”

  “SO YOU THINK. YOUR SWINE FRIEND—THE VIRTUE—HAS TURNED COAT ON YOU. EVEN KAIZEN HAS ABANDONED YOU. AND WORSE STILL, YOU LEFT MY DEAR RUKIA DYING. DID YOU NOT SEE HER TORTURED?”

  Wrath appeared to grow three times larger in Jules’ eyes.

  “If you hate me so much, despise my weakness, then why do you care so much if I fail?”

  “MY PUNISHMENT IS ARDUOUS BETWEEN MY ATTEMPTS TO DEFEAT DEATH. PERHAPS MY PATIENCE GROWS THIN AFTER ALL."

  “Good. Then I can die happy.”

  Jules crossed his arms and turned away. It didn’t take long for him to feel embarrassed, like a pouting child who didn't get their way.

  Could I really abandon Rukia and them all to die? It’s not like it ends with my death…and only I can die right now.

  And can I in good conscious pass along this curse to someone else, in the next Cycle? Anger faded to guilt, and then guilt to obligation.

  And then to curiosity.

  “What is it with you two—you and Death?”

  “A STORY FOR ANOTHER TIME.”

  “If you and Kaizen were more straightforward, this would all go a lot more smoothly, and you could kill Death sooner.” Wrath laughed.

  “WE HAVE TRIED THAT ROUTE.”

  “We?”

  “MYSELF AND MANY OTHER VERSIONS OF ME. IT ALWAYS ENDS THE SAME.”

  “Versions of you… So then, they were Wrath?”

  Wrath ignored the question.

  “And I am Wrath?”

  A glint of light passed through the demon’s eyes.

  “OF COURSE YOU ARE. ENOUGH INANE QUESTIONS.”

  “Then why were you able to strip my powers?”

  “YOUR POWERS—HA! I AM THE PROGENITOR, JULES. THE SINGULARITY. ALL OF YOUR PREDECESSORS’ STRENGTH HAS COME FROM ME.”

  There’s gotta be a way out of this. “And where does your strength come from?”

  “PRIMARILY, HELL.”

  “Kaizen. He was Wrath, too?”

  “YES. AND THE ONE BEFORE HIM, TOO.”

  “Who was he, before Kaizen?”

  Wrath’s smile returned.

  “YOU AND YOUR PREDECESSOR HAVE MUCH TO DISCUSS WHEN—”

  “And Rukia—She’s Wrath?”

  The demon’s smile faded.

  Jules sensed a little judgment in his eyes, like Wrath felt he spoke to some dumb little kid.

  “NO.”

  “I see… That makes sense, since she kept her powers.”

  Wrath eyed Jules suspiciously.

  

  [Quest Reminder: Wrath Reincarnated is still available.]

  “Well. I won’t let Rukia die.”

  A hint of relief passed Wrath’s face.

  “SHE DESERVES OUR PROTECTION.”

  “Remind me of the deal again, what are the terms?”

  “FULLY INTEGRATE WITH WRATH, AND I WILL RESTORE YOUR ARCANIC POWERS.”

  “I don’t like how that played out last time, so I’d like to maintain control.”

  “IF YOU CAN OVERPOWER ME, THEN YOU WOULD. THE STRONGEST WILL WINS ALL.”

  “If you’re restricted to my current power, then why can’t I? You'd be limited to my Rank and Skills, right?"

  “IGNORANCE HINDERS YOU. I HAVE ETERNITIES OF WISDOM AT MY GRASP. YOU MUST SIMPLY ASK FOR IT, AND IT’S ALL YOURS.”

  “So you’re only restricted to my physical powers… What will you do when you possess me? I know you’ll win our little fight. But after that."

  “I’LL KILL THE JUDAS PRIEST, AS A MESSAGE. MAYBE THE VIRTUE, FOR POSTERITY. THEN I’LL RAZE THE EARTH UNTIL DEATH HIMSELF HAS PERISHED.”

  “Who is that, by the way?”

  Wrath paused.

  “THE FOURTH HORSEMAN OF THE APOCALYPSE. I SEE FROM YOUR FACE… KAIZEN HAS NOT INFORMED YOU OF THEIR EXISTENCE, YET.”

  

  [Start the Apocalypse — Quest Objective ADDED: Learn more about the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. (The System asks that you kindly do not.)]

  “The Four Horsemen… Is Zeke one? Or the Iron Maiden?”

  Wrath cackled in response.

  “YOU ARE A LITTLE BLACK SHEEP, LOST IN THE DARK. WAITING FOR YOUR SHEPHERD TO SAVE YOU.”

  Arrogant prick.

  “Do I know him, Death?”

  Somehow, Wrath looked sad to Jules, as if he were capable of empathy.

  “YOU HAVE NO IDEA. ENOUGH. I TOLD YOU MY PATIENCE DWINDLES. WHAT WILL YOU DO, JULES TIDESHAPER?”

  Jules sighed. I’m gonna trust Cy on this one. Gotta force his cards on the table.

  “Well, I’m certain of one thing: You are truly a psychopath. So… I’m gonna return to the world of the living as myself. I have this self-destruct Inked Art, and I’ll take Zeke out with me. My friends can live on, and your vassal will be gone forever.”

  Wrath glared back.

  “FOOL. YOUR FRIENDS WILL PERISH TO THE NEXT JUDAS PRIEST.”

  “I’m not going to repeat history.”

  Wrath’s eyes widened.

  Got you, bitch.

  “On second thought, if you were to restore my powers to me permanently…”

  “I TOLD YOU I WOULD RESTORE YOUR POWERS, AND I WILL.”

  “But you didn’t specify. You just said you’d restore them, which means you might or might not take them away again, when I eventually overpower you."

  Kaizen said you never lie, so I've gotta go for it.

  “If I take this new deal, I want my powers restored permanently. Even in Shrines.”

  That’s one wicked smile.

  “YOU HAVE MY WORD THAT I WILL NOT WITHDRAW YOUR POWERS AGAIN. BUT I SHALL REMIND YOU THAT THE SOUND HAS A WILL OF ITS OWN, AND IF IT DECIDES TO STRIP YOU OF ITS POWER, YOU SHALL BE NAKED ONCE MORE.”

  “As creepy as that sounds, I suppose I can’t get around it.”

  Wrath flicked his hand in the air. The jail cell door appeared beside him.

  “THEN ALL YOU HAVE TO DO, IS OPEN THIS DOOR AND LET ME IN.”

  "Words… You mentioned they're important here. Are they binding? Automatically?"

  “IN HOLY SPACES LIKE THIS, A PROMISE IS WEIGHTED AGAINST YOUR LIFE.”

  “Then I accept the deal."

  Phew. Glad that's over, but...

  Jules steeled himself for his next question's consequences.

  "Now that we’re at the closing table—Will I ever overpower you?”

  “PERHAPS. BUT NOT TODAY.”

  “Thank Salvos. Seems I’ve made the right choice. The only choice.” Jules sighed with relief, then actually smiled. He reached for the door.

  ******* ****** ***** **** *** ** * ** *** **** ***** ****** *******

  98

  ******* ****** ***** **** *** ** * ** *** **** ***** ****** *******