A slightly delayed chapter since I've been and will be busy this week, so expect slower updates.

Well anyway, enjoy!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Emily POV:

10 million years is a long time.

Much, much longer than I realized at first.

Really, if it wasn’t for a clear goal, I would have gone insane a long time ago.

At first, everything went well.

Really, reaaallly well compared what came after.

My mother recovered slowly – although never fully – but surely after that scumbag killed my father.

During that time, I was always by her side to support her.

Whether she needed my power or my brains, I willingly gave it my all, hoping to help her the most I could.

Compared to the past, I actually listened to her orders, for which she was ‘very grateful’, she once said, although it sounded cold in my ears

.

Fort eighty years she ruled the city, this city I have rebuild, and made it into the capital of a large and prosperous empire.

But, unlike me, she didn’t live forever and eventually, she passed away.

My half-brother, much younger than I was, succeeded her, but he had always been wary of me and convinced others to support my banishment, forcing me into exile.

Honestly, I wasn’t bothered by it.

Even though mother renovated our place into a giant palace, I still felt the bitter memories of the past floating around there, so I was quite happy to leave.

The time I left was the first time I noticed it.

The gazes of the people, all of them filled with an inexplicable and unreasonable amount fear and hatred.

I thought it was simply one of my brother’s scheme, spreading some vile rumours to give more credit to my banishment.

But the further I travelled, the worse it got.

Every village, every city, every town, even every solitary farm in the middle of nowhere seemed to hate my guts, driving me off the moment they saw me.

I hated it.

Sometimes, I became so sick of it, I ended up slaughtering entire villages, even cities, in my anger.

But it didn’t stop them, no, it only seemed to add fuel to the fire.

Before I knew it, everyone was out to actively get me, hunting me down the best they could..

Eventually, I lost my will to fight and started running away from them instead, until time slowly made people forget all about it.

And then, everyone suddenly died.

I was around three thousand years old and society invented things I could never have dreamt off.

Metal planes flying high in the sky, high-rise tall enough to scrape the clouds and even strange things called ‘satellites’ people launched into space, a place beyond the world of men.

Everything seemed to go perfect for them, although they still hated me whenever I was discovered.

And then, taking about one week, both humans and demons died.

It was a disease spread that could spread through the sky whilst also having an enormous radius, able to infect people miles apart..

If one man or woman in the city was infected, the disease would spread itself to everyone else within a day, and kill them within three.

Combine that with all the international connectivity going on, it was a recipe for disaster.

There wasn’t any time for quarantining countries, nor for finding or inventing a cure.

Even if I tried, I wouldn’t have been able to stop it.

It was simply too quick and too vast when everyone began noticing.

There were no survivors.

Since then, I was all alone.

No humans nor demons ever came back to live or were evolved from other creatures, no matter how long I waited.

I even rebuilt the city and, with Energy, tried to re-create the souls of the living to bring things back to the way they were, but all of it ended in failure

Everything that happened, I simply blamed on him.

If he hadn’t killed father, tormented mother and tortured me, we could’ve all been alive, happily ever after.

If we were alive, we could have surely prevented the plague from happening.

And even if we failed, we would still have each other.

But he ruined it all.

This… wretched man! This devil! This beast!

An evil monster in need of being put down for the good of all!

And then, eleven years after I made two near-perfect souls, my greatest accomplishments Damien and Anna , he came back.

I laid scheme after scheme, trap after trap, only to have him fall for the first and easiest.

Damien and Anna did their part, gaining his trust at an incredible rate and luring him to the city filled with the 200.000 failed creations, a small part of the many, many souls I created.

Everything went exactly as planned, although he easily saw through the fake ‘Lord’ I put up, but it was too late by then.

I was filled with glee and burning for revenge as he was shot over and over again by a barrage of soul-piercing arrows, one of the most powerful and painful weapons I have seen and created.

But… I was surprised.

There stood in front of me a man neglecting his defence in favour of searching for those he thought his children.

Even when his soul was pierced and burning, he still didn’t bother.

Even when his body was but a large, bloody mess, he still tried calling out their names.

He should’ve been burning with pain and fury by their betrayal, but he hadn’t even noticed it yet.

Why?

It’s very clear right?

There was no one sneaking up on you and only those two behind you, so why are you calling their names?

You’ve just spent a couple of days together, there’s no way you can trust someone that quick.

Although I didn’t really care at first, I felt I needed to make him realize what happened, so I put masks on each of them and, with a snap of my finger, stopped the attack and parted the rows of attacking servants.

I slowly walked up to him, visibly seeing his flesh melt together and his skin regenerating in the blink of an eye.

Laying his eyes on us, he looked confused as he walked up to Damien and Anna.

He slowly lifted up their masks to make sure of their identities and was shocked to see his fears come through.

Honestly, I couldn’t help but feel satisfied seeing his crestfallen look, satisfactory smiling inwardly.

It wasn’t in the original plan, but it worked better than expected!

“This is but a taste of what’s to come, you disgusting thing!” I said.

The memories of the day my father died came back to me, rekindling my mind with the anger and betrayal I experienced that day.

It was all his fault!

His fault father died and mother became depressed!

His fault the world hated me and tried to hunt me down like an animal!

His fault everyone disappeared and I was left alone for countless years!

I was seething with rage and burning with vengeance as I snapped my fingers again, prompting two men to lift him up.

“Any last words?” I spat at him, revelling in my success.

“W..why?” he asked after a moment of silence, looking at me with eyes filled with surprise, betrayal, depression and confusion all at once.

A sight pleasing to the eyes, but his question made me slightly lose control.

“Why?! You ask why?! You tormented me and my mother! You killed my father! And you ask why?! Don’t think a miserable ten million years is going to make me forget!” I said, nearly losing my mind at the question.

I barely controlled myself, steadying and calming myself before continuing.

“I shouldn’t have expected understanding from a monster. But this time, it’s your turn to suffer for all your crimes.”

Yes, I’ve suffered enough.

I admit, I was never a good person, nor ever had a good character.

I killed many and harmed more, sometimes, when I couldn’t control myself, I slaughtered entire cities who hated me.

But, I’ve suffered for ten million years now and paid double my dues, even trying to somewhat make amends by trying to bring human- and demon-kind back into the world, although unfortunately, doing a pretty poor job at it.

But now, it’s time for him to pay.

At least, that was what I planned for, but…

“Of course it’s like that, isn’t it God? It was your plan all along, am I right? When did it begin? Was it with Lillian? No, of course not. It was already with my wife, wasn’t it? Wasn’t it?! If I never met her, I wouldn’t have saved her, right?! You only gave her to me so you could take her away again, right?!”

Slowly but surely, he changed right in front of my eyes.

The Energy all around us became turbulent, shifting around uneasily as he began spouting these weird lines.

Underneath his skin, I could hear bones creaking and could see the muscles straining, trying to destroy themselves..

His eyes, ears, nose, cheek, fingers, hands, arms, legs; they appeared everywhere.

Scars were continuously forming and disappearing by the second all over his entire body.

Scars from being cut, blackened skin formed because of burns, the scar of a once-molten skin after being healed and all one could imagine was appearing and re-appearing all over him, forming a horrific sight.

After saying his lines, he frantically looked around, carefully inspecting every face of the men and women assembled here and looking down afterwards.

“Hahaha….” He laughed quietly, his mouth forming into a slight grimace.

“Why are you laughing?!” I shouted, trying to sound angry as an incredible feeling of unease spread through me.

What’s going on?

What’s happening to him?

“HAHAHA! Can’t you see?! Can’t you see His Grand Scheme?! You can right? Of course you can, you’re just like them! Working for God’s unfathomable plans! One of the nightmare’s right?! Ha-ha! HAHAHA! HAhhhaAHAhhAHAhaha! EvEryTHinG IS His GrEat PlaN, Isn’T it! My TormEnT is HiS PleASUrE,rIgHT?!”

Every sentence more confusing than the last, he yelled these things about God and plans, spitting and flailing around as he said them.

The Energy was becoming more and more turbulent, forming an invisible cyclone around him, seemingly trying to tear his body and soul apart.

Insane.

This man is thoroughly insane.

“Of CoURSe iT Is! HAHhhahAHAHhAHhAHhAHhAHA! CoME On, EveRYOnE, LaUGH! LaUGh, I tElL YOU, lEAgh! AHAHHAAHHAHAHA!”

He said, laughing maniacally while frantically looking at all those present.

Then, he began to attack.

It wasn’t graceful, there weren’t great techniques nor was there a vast knowledge behind his every strike, but each and every one of them were incredibly power and savage beyond belief.

All around me, my creations were burned, impaled, crushed, shot, stabbed and everything in between while he continued this onslaught.

From everywhere both in and outside the palace they ran towards me and closed the ranks, protecting me from his madness.

But, the faster they came the faster they were cut down.

While hearing him spouting his insane lines, I could catch a glimpse of him every time a gap opened in the stream of bodies being thrown at them.

Inside, I saw something even more horrifying.

Aside from the scars constantly formed on his body, his soul too showed old ‘scars’.

During my attempts, I found out that whenever the soul suffers insufferable damage, but is then forced to heal itself, it would leave a coloured ‘scar’ behind.

The darker the colour is, the more harm the soul has sustained and the more visible the colour is, the longer the soul was harmed.

For example, take Damien and Anna.

Anna has a light-golden soul, which means she hasn’t suffered that much – relatively speaking, since harming the soul is the most painful thing one could experience – but the colour is fairly visible, meaning she has endured longer.

Damien’s soul on the other hand has a nearly clear violet hue to it, meaning he suffered more but had to endure it less.

But, compared to his…

His was all over the place, constantly forming and reforming just like the scars on his body.

From the lightest yellow to the deepest black, everything was present, showing itself and disappearing everywhere on his soul, making it seem like a strange light show.

I was stunned at how much he had suffered.

I myself have suffered little in comparison.

The worst I ever got was when shot by Energy weaponry, but the only thing it did was turn my soul purple for a second, before disappearing altogether, healed by the Immortality.

But his was, at times, completely black and unable to see through at all, meaning he has suffered the worst amount of pain for the longest amount of time.

I shuddered, unable to imagine what could cause something like this, changing my look from one of anger to one of pity and shock.

Meanwhile, while I could only stand frozen as everything happened, the flow of bodies had stopped and the throne hall had turned crimson.

His soul still flashing every colour and shade available, he locked his eyes on to us, continuing his mad ramblings.

“AhhahaHhAhaHhAaAHAAA! LaUgh wItH mE! LAUgh AT Me! Why ArEn’t YoU LauGHiNg?! WhY ArE you SO ShoCked, EmIly! Isn’T this whay YoU AiMED FoR?! DaMiEn, AnnA, WhY ArE yOU looking at ME wiTH pitTY?! Isn’T This whaT YoU BeTRAyed mE For?! Isn’T iT?!”

Halfway through, I could hear his voice crack and tone change.

“TeLL me!”

He fell to his knees and began to plead in a desperate voice for an explanation.

I looked briefly to my sides and saw Damien and Anna just as confused and shocked as I.

“WhY AreN’t YoU lAughiNG! PlEasE LaUGH! PlEase….”

He wasn’t even on his knees anymore, squirming around on the floor as his soul was still ravaged by the memories of his torture.

The Energy grew even more unstable as he stopped wildly using the Energy to consume the others.

Instead, the Energy now turned on him.

Instead of trying, as it previously did, it was now actively breaking his bones, tearing his muscles, burning and bursting his skin apart as it reopened and re-enacted how the scars were made.

“PlEAEAEAEeaeaEAsE, lAugh…”

He said, his voice filled with agony, strangely enough provoking us, as if we needed to laugh for him to harm us.

Instead of laughing as he wished, or continuing to stay in shock, I decided to do something.

It was the first thing my mother taught me about Energy, while telling the story of how a God in the dessert rescued her from certain death and giving her the chance to live as she wanted.

I tapped into the still-raging stream of Energy, formed it unto a ball and encased him in it, forcing an aura of comfort to invade his mind.

“…Sleep.” I said unconsciously, repeating the nostalgic words my mother said to me when she once used this trick on me, trying to calm down one of my many childish tantrums.

“do..N’t… W…Hy…”

He said, making a last ditch effort to summon Energy unsuccessfully.

“H…El…P….Pl….EasE.”

He pleaded.

His body now laid still in front of Damien, Anna and me, the storming Energy now finally calmed down.

By my sides they stood, their eyes clearly filled with regret from their actions, even though I didn’t give them much choice in the matter.

My desire for vengeance was all but gone after seeing this spectacle.

There was no way I could harm a man that went through so much torture.

Even if he destroyed the world, I wouldn’t be able to blame him.

I’ve had similar thoughts many times, my vengeance the only thing keeping me from it, even though I experienced infinitely less than he has.

But…

What do I do?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Acedia POV:

The all too familiar post-madness headache woke me up and I was greeted by an unfamiliar room, lying in an unfamiliar, although comfortable, king-sized bed.

Seeing the gaudiness of the room – gilded mirrors, beautiful hand-crafted closets, high-quality sheets and so on – I figured I was still in the palace.

I still remember everything.

The betrayal by the children, the bitch behind it all and the butchering of tens of thousands, everything was as clear as day in my mind.

I should’ve known better than to trust them.

We had only met for a few days, how could I ever trust them so quickly?

It took me years to even trust my own wife, let alone the decades it took before I loved her.

And they were supposed to be children harmed beyond belief, there’s no way they could’ve trusted me, a stranger, within that short amount of time.

I should never had pint my hopes on them.

I shouldn’t have pinned my hopes on Lillian, too, and just released her from her torment in a different way – by killing her the moment I saw her.

See what my decision brought me; another nightmare now exists to haunt me.

I should’ve known better.

No, I did know better.

Before I met my wife, when I was uncaring for everything and only did things on a whim.

That was a time I didn’t trust anyone, never allowing anything to get close to me.

A time where I truly understood what I should be doing, just living my endless life waiting for the end to arrive.

I should just go back to that time.