*Zetsumei*

I took a deep breath. Be still you shitty body. This is the time to end The Church, not get all wonky over the pending conflict! I pulled out my weapon and then stored it again and again. Finally it struck, I had some low end weapon in my hands for the aesthetic. This won't do at all you dumb bitch! I quickly swapped it out for my legendary blades courtesy of the scroll. Blades of Icy Mist formed on my hands, aye that'll do….

Fuck, what are you waiting for Zet? Permission? Your out for blood, unless there's coke and money in it not even the government is game for this! Fuck. Fine, no point rallying even further. I opened a portal to the town of Redemption (still a shit name tbh) and stepped through. The cool night air was slightly warmer than the chill of the crypt I'd been staying in, not that it mattered to my undead skin. The city's architecture seemed identical to where I fought Glaive, not a whole lot of invention by the dev's. I'd actually care to state they probably copy pasted most of this. But I'm no creator, so who am I to talk?

A few dozen steps in and I find a lone character in the center of the courtyard. He stands at least a foot taller than me and wears thick plate armor. It's painted what I presume to be black, or maybe a dark navy in the dim moonlight. No discernable weapons adorn his figure . But worst of all...oh worst of all he seems to not care as I walk right up to him. I clank my feet on the cobblestones but he just kneels there as if meditating.

"Impervious I presume." The figure remained motionless and frustratingly silent. But still, I had to ask one more thing…. "The villagers from Tearmann, where are they?"

The figure sat motionless for several long heartbeats, I began to fear that this was a ruse. Merely a statue to distract me, but all of a sudden his left arm rose to point just past me. I gave a quick glance and reset my gaze on him but he had not moved. Taking a greater risk, I took a longer glance in the direction he was pointing. In the haze of twilight I could barely make it out, logs standing above the tops of houses and on them I could see figures. They were but shadows that I could see, but it was enough. Dozens of bodies impaled upon spikes lay within view and I could not stand to guess the number I could not see from my vantage point.

Cold rage gripped my heart and flooded my veins. As ice, it moved me, slow but with purpose. "Impaled….they were just trying to live in peace…"

The figure shrugged and continued their silent vigil. "Did you spare not even one? The children at least?"

The figure slowly turned to gaze at me hidden behind his helm. Slowly he shook his head no and reaching back tossed an animals head at my feet. It tumbled towards me and as it knocked against my feet I found a bear's head staring up at me. Not just any bear's head…

I stepped and was suddenly before him, my hoof crashing down into his chest. It felt like kicking a building and as my leg screamed in agony, I was thrown backwards and rumbled across the courtyard. I rolled onto my feet, my tail granting me added balance. "Aye, ya got some legendaries do ya bud. Well, so do I …"

I stepped and brought my Frost Blades down on his head. Lightning sprayed across the helmet and crackled up my arm before shooting back onto my weapon and launching me backwards. I slid on my hooves for several feet maintaining a tenuous balance. Some kind of elemental protection it would seem….well let's see how you manage against elemental.

I equipped a set of chain glaives I had found in the vaults back at base. They sliced through the air and whistled as they cut through the ground around me, leaving enormous gouges in the courtyard. I slashed them both in parallel arcs over my head, my target remained motionless as the chains whipped past and impacted the building behind him. With a flourish I recalled the glaives as Impervius continued to stare at me. A cloud of dust rose from the site of impact and swirled around Impervius' feet. He shook his head slowly and began to walk towards me. A crack shook the air and the building that I had struck, that had seemed so sturdy, began to move towards us. I stepped back as the structure fell and watched as Impervius looked back just as the building struck him with all its weight.

As the dust settled and I sucked in air after realizing I had been holding my breath, I stared at the heap of rubble that covered the spot where Impervious had once stood. With no movement occurring it seemed it was over before it had really begun. Almost a disappointment after the previous heads of the Church. "Not quite so impervious after all it would seem…"

I shook my head and looked back at the stakes citizens in the distance. I needed to move on, prepare my armies for the final fight but….I couldn't leave them as monuments of fear and hatred. With a sigh I started across the courtyard to set about my grim task. Who would be there? Would any be familiar….?

A pain lanced through my back and stomach. I looked down to find the tip of a blade sticking out of my abdomen. I tore myself off the blade and turned to see my attacker. Staring at me from inches away was a dust covered helmet, Impervious. More impervious than I had believed after all. Fuck. He raised his sword and swung faster than his bulk would have led me to believe possible. I stepped away and gasped at the pain my wound being pulled on caused. I looked down and directed some attention to the wound, ice began to form and sealed the wound. Not great but the pain ebbed as did the bleeding so it would suffice for now.

Impervious was already upon me and swinging his weapon at my neck. But I was ready and brought a plain blade, in the katana style, up to meet the attack. The blow was deflected but not easily, our strength seemed to be matched. We quickly found a rhythm, he swung, I blocked. I swung, he blocked. Occasionally one of us broke the dance and would score a strike on the other. My blows hit true but didn't so much as scratch him, his were less accurate but bit deep. After only a few moments, I was bleeding from nearly a dozen wounds while he remained unscathed. In short: this wasn't working out for me.

I blasted him in the face with a flurry of ice but it seemed to have no effect. As he swung his blade at me, I lunged for his helmet to deprive him of the protections the enchanted armor offered. I managed to get within his reach protecting me from the swing of the blade and began to close my hands around his helm. As I touched the metal a chill ran through my body and he seemed to shift suddenly and danced out of my reach. With the grace of a dancer he lurched back at me while I was unbalanced and drove his blade through my stomach. I grabbed the blade but could not pull myself free as he lifted me above him, still impaled. I attempted to step but must have used my charges as nothing happened.

Impervious shook his head as though disappointed yet still said nothing. He suddenly flew past me as I impacted the ground, before I could gather myself to do anything I was lifted back into the air and saw he still held the blade I was attached to. I barely took this in before I was slammed into the ground again. And again. And again. The damage seemed negligible due to my immense health pool and level but I wasn't sure how long I could manage this before either I went unconscious or pieces of me started to break. I was lifted once more into the air and suddenly, feeling a slight tug, was falling to the ground. I was too disoriented to catch myself and hit full force. Though given my previous encounters with the ground this was pretty relaxing….

I looked around and found Impervious only a few feet from me. He was restrained by ghostly shades who held his limbs and head in a death grip. The spirits looked exactly like my summoning of the dead back at the village and many of them appeared familiar. I pulled the blade from my gut and felt the pain dissipate as ice covered the wound.

As I gasped with pain and a powerful need for air, I watched the ghosts. They appeared as though from nowhere and one by one they claimed something from my former opponent. First the boots, then someone else took the cape. The gauntlets and then the arm guards. So on it went, each spirit claiming something and then disappearing back to wherever they had come from. Finally only his helmet and basic clothing, a shirt and trousers, remained. Only one ghost stood before him and though he was no longer restrained he just knelt there in front of a tall man with wavy shoulder length hair. One I'd seen as a ghost and cut down at the world soul I felt certain.

He reached for the helmet and Impervious flinched away from him and averted his face. This peaked my interest, nothing else had caused him to react, not even our fight other than some head shaking. Was he terribly burned, scarred? Was it something more personal? The man stepped closer and reached forth again, this time removing the helm. Beneath the helmet was not a face marred with wounds but one twisted in agony. Short cropped hair framed a face that certainly seemed feminine. Tears ran down their face and they averted their eyes from the man.

"Laurel," the man spoke with a deep resonance yet did not sound spectral.

Impervi- Laurel glanced briefly at the man. "Look at me Laurel. You owe me that much at least. After everything…"

With a clear struggle they turned to look at the man. "Why are you here John? How…?"

John knelt before her drawing level with her face. "Because you're my wife, even after what you did. Because this has to end, I can't let you keep killing people. And because I need to know why you killed me...and I'm here now because I could come now and no other time."

Tears flowed anew from Laurel's eyes, "I didn….it was...I was scared John. I didn't want to die. I couldn't face that! I needed to get stronger. And you had that legendary…."

"So you decided I could die instead. And then you kept killing people with legendaries…" Laurel gave a quick nod. " We could have made it together! You and me! Side by side like always. We could have made it."

She shook her head fiercely, "Might have made it. You don't know we would have! But I made it! I have an army now. I was Impervious! I was-"

"A killer. How many died for that safety?" John looked back and stared past the houses at the fields of victims. "How many families did you ruin Laurel."

She began sobbing harder. Her shoulders shaking as she was racked with tears. "It was an accident. You. You were an accident. I just. I meant to….to….I thought you were someone coming for me and I swung before I saw it was you and then it was too late! I was just so scared and then I couldn't stop or else I had to face what I did to you. I'm so- I'm so sorry! I don't want to die!"

Those last few sentences were a barely intelligible stream but I managed to get the gist of it. John sighed and looked back at me with pleading eyes. Through the bond between us, I realized I'd somehow summoned all of the ghosts after touching her helmet, I understood his plea. I nodded at him and walked over. Laurel flinched as I drew near and her cries became more shrill. I touched John and released a small amount of my magic. His translucent form became more opaque, like an ice sculpture. With a last nod to him, I withdrew.

John knelt down and lifted Laurel to look at him. Using her shirt he wiped her face off and gave her a small smile. "I forgive you Laurel. It was always you and me against the world right? It's time to rest, she won't kill you."

Laurel looked over at me and I gave a curt nod she visibly relaxed and looked back to John.

"Laurel. You remember that meadow we would go to. The fields of the purple lilacs and the red and yellow flowers…"

Laurel smiled sadly, "just the two of us to get away from everyone. We'd nap on a blanket and sip wine together."

John nodded, "Yeah. Just us. I loved that, it's what I miss most of the real world. We even had our first kiss there…" Laurel nodded and smiled again with the haunted look of what she'd done. "I love Laurel, I always will.

"I love you too John, I'm so-" John cut her off as he pulled her into a kiss, she stiffened a moment in surprise before melting into the kiss. Slowly her skin turned a translucent blue even as John's returned to it's original spectral shade. As the last color left her skin she collapsed completely into John. He laid her gently on the pavement and rose with the helm in his hand. With a final nod to me he disappeared.

He could at least have let me have the helm….

Lootless and without any experience from the fight, I lamented that I had nothing to show for it. But this was more so I wouldn't have to process how shitty that whole scenario was. At least I was able to get Frost out….with a shake of my head I turned back to the field of stakes. The final battle was coming and I had to prepare. But first, I could give the victims one final service…