Another chapter released! Thank you for reading "His Butler; My Master." Some scenes are pretty graphic, as a warning to young readers (but I'm sure you know that by now). Also, I'd like to mention that this story has been going on since there was only a Season 1 of the anime, with Season 2 on the way. That being said, developments in the manga and anime beyond the anime's first season will probably not affect this story, so I'm sorry if there are any inconsistencies with the other sources.

Hope you enjoy. Thanks!

-37-

Culpabilité

The roar of metal filled the cavern like a scream, as the abomination that was Grell Sutcliffe's entity erupted from the cabinet and flew towards the little boat that held Ciel and Sebastian out of the clawing reach of the murky denizens below. With a flash and a shower of sparks, Sebastian met the hungry metal teeth with his own blades, a set of silver letter openers he had produced at the last minute from his coat jacket. Ciel's Instinct tried to back away as far as it could from the berserk creature, but stepping too far back almost led to his leg being snagged by a wailing muddy creeper from the depths. He kicked him off with disgust, shrinking away, though looking more and more frantic as he scanned the lake for any purchase away from the present danger. The only landmass; the island, retained its status as a front row seat for the crimson clad entity who watched with a very amused smirk on his lips. He waved his fingers playfully at Instinct, as a narrow blue eye glared at him from the wobbling dinghy.

Sebastian kept his breathing even, his demeanor collected, despite the monstrosity that continuously hurled himself at him. Unlike his real counterpart, this one behaved like a puppet; flailing without coordination, his limbs striking again and again at a rapid pace with no rhythm or rhyme. He was getting harder and harder to predict, as arms would suddenly snap at random to impossible angles and suddenly dive at him from the side. Still, the demon deflected, and refused to relinquish any of his ground to his opponent. The boat rocked violently from side to side as the third occupant continued to thrash and slice, and fingers grabbed at whatever they could manage, tilting the boat at radical degrees that almost seemed to work to Sebastian's advantage. The uncoordinated monster slipped and slid over the deck, and the demon struck him in the side to drive him further towards the starboard. With one slick move, he planted a flurry of silver knives into the reaper's torso, throwing him off balance, before he landed a heavy kick into their hilts, keeping his foot above the ripping teeth of the chainsaw laced flesh. He followed with a sequence of two more identical kicks, before the abomination fell backwards into the murky water, and thrashing, began to sink as it was caught and dragged downwards. The surface of the lake churned as the machinery continued to protest, its mechanisms not constrained by any law of reality as it continued to sink further below the surface with a continuous scream that faded the further it fell. Sebastian took a moment to breathe a small satisfied sigh of relief as he fixed his jacket and glanced at Instinct, "Seems that even in your madness, I have the upper hand against that wretch..."

Instinct's demeanor had not changed; his blue eye was wide with alarm and he trembled all over. The demon raised an eyebrow and approached, "What is it?"

An explosion of splinters and water erupted from barely inches away from Sebastian's foot, as a chainsaw blade thrust itself up into the boat's underbelly. The youth cried out in surprise, backing up as far as he was able, searching around frantically for some other method of escape. Besides the boat, the only landmass out of the guilt's wretched grip was the island in the center, and the accursed crimson entity smirked from that little plot as if he were a Caesar watching a gladiator game.

Another chainsaw punched up through the bottom of the boat, and began to simultaneously chew through the vessel with its twin, its only goal to rip it to shreds and hopefully toss the two occupants in the process. Sebastian braced his feet on the edges to keep his balance, though the clutching hands of the despairing denizens of the lake continued to paw at his pant legs, occasionally snagging him enough to force him to negotiate a new stance, his patience beginning to wear thin. With the boat being his only means of staying out of their reach, he couldn't merely abandon ship or begin to join in its destruction to get at the abomination rendering it apart. As it was, Grell had a perfect wooden shield. Sebastian and Ciel were merely standing upon it. The demon held another letter opener at ready, waiting for the opportune moment to pierce a vital spot on the monster through the many tears in the hull, but for every attack he launched, the abomination was able to dodge it. He mentally cursed himself for thinking the murky ghosts could dispatch the meddlesome reaper for him, but was immediately knocked out of his considerations as he heard a splash come from the opposite end of the boat; a space that was now vacant. Instinct was gone.

The entity had realized what he had to do as soon as he saw the faces of the servants he lost reach up to him from the murky depths. Those he had abandoned, those he had forgotten, those he had never held in high regard until it was too late. The revelation came to him like a lightning bolt, and all that mattered was finding that one face, hidden down deep in the darkness. He needed more strength to stand against the Corruption and Grell's twisted mimic, and he needed something that would keep the guilt at bay. Somewhere, lurking in the blackest depths, he knew he would find it, and the harder he swam, the deeper he descended, feeling the overpowering pressure and the clawing fingers in his wake, he searched for any sign of those same crimson eyes he had left in the rubble those many years ago.

Sebastian, meanwhile, was left on a craft that looked like it was made of toothpicks instead of wood; splintered haphazardly, barely afloat. It now rotated onto its side, Sebastian managing to nimbly stay perched upon it. He determined it was finally time to abandon ship; it was meaningless to keep fighting on such impossible terrain, and he decided he would rather take on the crimson entity and the monster in tandem that further dance for that laughing wretch watching him. With a strong kickoff, Sebastian soared away from the wreckage, and landed in the shallows of the island. His ankles were suddenly snatched by hands submerged in the muddy shore, knocking him off kilter and dropping him to his knees. He clicked his tongue with irritation, and huffed, taking his letter openers and driving them into his fleshy shackles. They relinquished with loud, piercing shrieks, but Sebastian had trouble staggering back up to his full height, as another two clinging creatures snagged at his pant legs and tried to drag him down to his knees again. For every two he banished back to the muck, another two sprouted to take their place, and though he continued to make his way towards the crimson youth, the clinging mire made each step feel like a hundred. Frustration began to set in, and Sebastian's struggles were beginning to awaken the true nature inside him; the venomous purple of his aura creeping into his pupils with the promise of banishing the nuisances with little effort, should he just give in. Still, for the sake of the soul's integrity, he had sworn to keep that power at bay, knowing that if he should unleash it, the soul would be ripped apart mercilessly to utter oblivion.

He reached into his jacket to retrieve another weapon, but his hand felt no cold metal. He had sworn he had packed enough should the need arise, but as he looked up, he saw that the crimson lad was holding each one of his missing arsenal betwixt his fingers, like some wicked fan. Mocking him further, he swallowed them down, one by one, licking his lips as if they were some sort of candy. The moment he finished with his metallic snack, he raised one hand and dropped it, and Sebastian felt an overpowering amount of pressure suddenly pound onto his back, like a wave crashing down on him and forcing him to the ground. The muddy shore sloshed as he bore the weight, struggling up against it, but for every inch he tried to rise back up, it built, and the trek against the mire up the island's shore was enough to exhaust him. He breathed heavily on all fours, looking down into the murky water below him with disdain at his own weakness... a taxing, dismal feeling soaking into his flesh from the opaque liquid that embraced his submerged appendages.

"Aw, you're looking a little weary, Sebastian... do you want to rest?" The Corruption's tone wasn't malicious, in fact, it was actually rather soothing. The demon looked up, defiantly, but the expression on the youth's face was one of concern; slim eyebrows pinched, one hand reaching out as if in offer to help him out of the gloom. The closer Ciel approached, the more the entity's words seemed to take on a honeyed quality; almost demonic in its allure, reaching out and calling to his struggling mind with sweet relief, "Come here, Sebastian... you need to rest. You've worked so diligently for so long... existing is a struggle. Come to me, Sebastian... I'll give you want you want... I'll give you freedom from this place. You've borne this burden of regret for too long, allow me to lift that from your shoulders. The guilt is soaking into your body, the pain is pummeling into your shoulders, and this air is suffocating you... unleash your inner turmoil, Sebastian. Bring to light your true nature and you can be rid of this anguish."

The siren's song of Ciel's words were strangely effective; Sebastian's vision was beginning to blur, his muscles starting to abnormally ache. He had not felt this level of exhaustion for a long, long time; perhaps for the first time in an era, and perhaps the suffocating mental hell that was Ciel's shattered soul had finally oppressed him long enough to render him almost human,disgustingly so. Still, the crimson entity's words to relieve him of these human flaws was enough to drive him forward, little by little, towards the youth, as if mesmerized by the prospect of finally ending the endeavor. His eyes began to glow as the promise of being free set in. Ciel smirked, and knelt upon the stony floor, beckoning with arms wide open, and Sebastian began to notice that his mouth was opening unnaturally wide, as if prepared to devour him whole the moment that he was within reach.

Suddenly, the room filled with a piercing screech, as a metallic flash shot through the air and planted itself in one crimson clad shoulder, sending the entity reeling backwards onto the ground. There was a splashing sound from behind the demon; confident, steady steps that seemed immune to the clutches of the guilt spawn. The moment the possessor of said steps arrived within eyesight, two more slim knives had embedded themselves in the entity's torso, causing the chaotic cretin to screech and scramble away. The dark haired demon didn't even have to look up to know just whom had arrived to his aid, for those legs were his own; standing tall, covered in tatters yet still regal in composure. The only differences in appearance between the two Sebastians that now occupying the island were the new arrival's dressage, and his one shocking bright blue eye.

"You look like a fool on your knees like that, stand up," came his voice, melded with Ciel's condescending tone. He offered no hand to assist him, but it was enough to feel the oppressive atmosphere lift off of the demon's shoulders. A subtle smile grew from the sight upon the demon's lips, as he shook his head at the irony of it all, and rose to his feet. As hands tried to clutch at him again, the hybrid of Ciel and Sebastian that was Instinct's new form drove them off with a barrage of knives, conjured perhaps from thin air. Unhindered further by the denizens of the deep, the twin demons stalked up the beach towards the entity that was now retreating towards the cabinet, clutching at his bloodied pincushion chest and its new silver ornaments, yet laughing maniacally as he did so.

"What a pathetic tactic! You decided to take this form, weakling?! Hiding in the flesh of your enemy?" The crimson clad Ciel chortled as he ripped out a knife and tossed it to the floor, along with its twin, "You think that makes you strong? Pretender! Coward!"

"Oh, I'm not hiding," Instinct said with confidence, Sebastian's own voice laced with his own, as he raised his hand to reveal a fan of shining cutlery, "I merely absorbed my guilt, accepted it, and now as you can see, I think I transformed for the better."

Sebastian's smirk grew, as his doppelganger offered him one handful of his arsenal, though their advancement upon their opponent was short lived. As soon as the crimson Ciel's back touched the cabinet, his look of distress suddenly morphed into a huge, sadistic grin. Instinct's eyes widened as the entity ripped the dark wooden door open, and out burst the absent abomination of flesh and metal, drenched to the bone but not one iota less bloodthirsty or dangerous. With both arms thrust forward, it rocketed out as if launched from Hell's depths itself, and cut through the air, spreading his arms wide in an effort to decapitate both of his prey in one shot. The original demon ducked just below the churning teeth of the right arm, but Instinct was a little slower, and new to this form, underestimated just how far he'd have to dodge. The twisted parody of the scarlet grim reaper drew first blood, as Instinct clutched his shoulder with a cry of outrage and pain.

He shook it off the best he could, gritting his teeth. He raised both arms and prepared to hurl another barrage of cutlery at the monster, the creature gearing up for the next strike, with new splatters of hot blood coating its body and causing it to giggle insanely. It was a maddening sound; like the metal grinding on metal with an organic chortle. Sebastian rose up again and surveyed the room; there were no other crafts to bear them across water, leaving only the cabinet behind them for an exit, besides attempting to swim it, which he was not so keen to do. The crimson entity had somehow disappeared completely, perhaps watching from somewhere in the shadows, rewriting the logic for this realm in whatever way his sadistic mind could fathom. Any minute, Sebastian figured, the entity would unlock some way to raise the waters, or perhaps simply increase the gravity again until they were flattened against the rocky surface of the island. The entity was still new to his ever increasing powers, and he still didn't possess ultimate control of the soul just yet, as both self preservation, and the soul itself, still remained. Still, he had enough to experiment with, and it was only a matter of time before it grew tired of its toying and decided to actively end the game once and for all. Grell was merely a means to toy with them... he could stop this at any moment. He knew that the entity wanted; to punish the demon with all the depravity he had to endure in the form of his caretaker... so he had to find a way to avoid giving him the satisfaction.

"Ciel!" Sebastian called, as his twin launched at the abomination, his fingers laced with knives at the ready. The clang of metal meeting the churning metal rang out in the room, sparks flying with every strike. The blue eyed Sebastian didn't turn to acknowledge his counterpart, but called out in response between furious strikes, "What is it?! Why aren't you helping me?!"

"It's pointless to fight it. He will generate more," Sebastian said, suddenly at Ciel's back as he was stepping back from the monstrosity, "This is an obstacle you can't defeat... look."

Sebastian pointed at the creature, which was ripping out a knife planted firmly in its shoulder with its teeth. It spat it out into the lake, but where the wound had been, no blood flowed. Instead, a strange light brown powder leaked out, and seemed to blow away and dissipate.

"Sawdust..." The doppelganger observed, "It... it's a doll."

"We need to get out of here," the demon urged, before he grabbed his twin and danced him out of the way of one hungry chainsaw. The monster growled, the cavern reverberating with the horrid noise, out of anger that his blades weren't being fed more tasty flesh. In answer to its failure to meet purchase in one of the demons' bodies, it began to advance quickly upon the pair, whirling its razor laced appendages with reckless abandon. Every cut and slice, it bit at the air around them, the two managing to evade by mere inches each time. Ciel lashed out at him in retaliation; as one chainsaw tore up the air in front of his torso, he sunk a blade deep in Grell's cheek. The doll convulsed for a moment, screeching angrily as it tried to turn its head to get at it, biting the air with sharp jagged teeth ineffectively. Its unusually long tongue tried dislodge it, but couldn't do much but wrap around the new decoration buried in it. In irritation, it raised both hands to attempt to take it out, but the fleshy stumps, fused to the weapons that nearly became one with its face, were completely useless besides destruction. It screamed loudly again at this engineering flaw, and began to slice wildly at the air around it.

Sebastian was struck with a thought; and his smile bloomed as he readied one of his own weapons, "Okay, I have a plan. Is the cabinet the only way out of here?"

"At the moment?" His mimic responded, glancing back at the foreboding darkness inside the otherwise harmless looking furniture, "I suppose... though for all we know, it could be a portal down the Corruption's gullet."

"Then we can't chance it," Sebastian responded, as he ducked and wove between multiple spastic slices, courtesy of the now fully enraged reaper toy, "Is there another way?"

Instinct scanned the room, tapping his chin quickly as the demon served as a distraction. He looked down at the waters that wrapped around their only dry land, and considered their options. Far off into the darkness, was their only certain path to their goal. It was within reach, if only they had a vessel...

A vessel...

His hand went to his chest as he thought of this, his own body now proof of what he had to do to ensure his soul's survival. The many eyes that watched the fight from just below the surface, their clinging hands seeking acknowledgment and repentance... how deep was this lake? How much was it flooded with the waters of guilt and uncertainty? Loss and despair? He swallowed, and felt the essence of the demon he had abandoned, of his painful memories that was now fused to his being, finally managing to speak loud enough that Sebastian could hear him, "I... I know another way. Once I start, we'll need to hurry... you'll need to hurry."

No sooner had Ciel specified this, than Sebastian accepted his conviction. He decided to put an end to the toy's flailing rampage, and with one swift motion, jumped up into the air and let fly one perfectly aimed knife. The blade found its home buried deep in the reaper's throat, right in his larynx. The abomination halted its rampage immediately to squeal with anguish, though the obstruction caused merely a gurgling sound to escape the monster's lips. It couldn't reach it with any part of its head, and it began to go mad with the need to remove it, until it suddenly sliced its own head off with one of its hands. The reaper's head fell to the ground with a thud, and bounced a little until it fell into the water, and several hands gripped it and dragged it under the surface with barely a moment's hesitation.

Sebastian joined his twin as they stood on the opposite shore, Ciel shaking a little with doubt of his one gambit. The demon rested a reassuring hand upon his shoulder, "Lead on... If you are to wear my visage like that, then do it justice..."

Ciel looked at the demon for a long moment, searching for the jest, but finding none. He nodded, "Once... I go in, the waters will begin to part. Don't stop going... don't stop for anything. Keep going until you hear the sound... you'll hear it first... you'll feel it next. I can only trust you not to taste it."

With that last word, the entity, formerly Othello, now Self Preservation fused with the guilt of his sins, waded out into the water. The mimic Sebastian went out to his waist, then his torso, before finally closing his one blue eye, one crimson, and finally submerging himself completely. The demon waited on the shore, but it wasn't more than a minute before the sound of a chainsaw lashed through the air behind his head. He twirled around in time to dodge a sudden series of random slashes, as a headless Grell Sutcliffe advanced upon him. Though he was decapitated, the doll seemed to not need it to function. Instead, the puppet haphazardly struck left and right, both hands biting at the air as the blades reached towards the demon's face. Sebastian avoided the blades, before attempting to lodge another one of his own weapons in the monster to distract it again, but the doll seemed to anticipate the attack, as if its puppeteer was watching from above, and parried, sending out a spray of bright yellow sparks.

The water behind the pair began to bubble and froth, as the demon and the monster dueled, each swipe of a rolling blade getting more and more desperate and enraged. Sebastian noticed the lake out of the corner of his eye as another shower of sparks lit up the island, the twin blades kept at bay by two slim knives. Sebastian shoved against the full strength of the doll, but with each push back, the decapitated creature lashed out again, one blade even growing so lucky that he breached the demon's defense for a split second, chewing into his sleeve. The demon whirled out of the way, the sleeve ripping off and disappearing into the blade, and for a moment, he considered that perhaps the method he had once used to defeat the original reaper had worked yet again. The fabric would certainly get wrapped up in the chain and kill the blade immediately, and make the abomination nothing more than a nuisance. However, when the blades stopped as suspected, the gears deep inside the reaper's torso began to audibly grind and groan, in a hardy effort to work the chain around the body yet again. Suddenly, the blades whirred back to full strength with a massive burst of exertion, shredding the sleeve to tiny bits.

Grell launched at Sebastian again, arms outstretched as if to wrap around the demon in a tight embrace, revealing the twisting blades that encompassed the entire body of the doll. One embrace would be like hugging an active chainsaw, and would reduce the demons' extremities to ground meat. Sebastian swerved to the side to avoid the reaper, but the monster spun on a dime and launched again, attempting the maneuver once more, only this time it seemed to catch on to Sebastian's pattern of evasion. Each new strike and effort to ensnare its victim grew more and more close, parts of Sebastian's outfit yielding new rips and tears as he was losing ground.

Suddenly, the lake exploded, shaking the entire cavern. A corridor suddenly appeared in the water, where Instinct had disappeared moments before, and standing in the middle was an abomination of another sort; a hodgepodge of the many denizens of the lake, a single entity standing with each piece of flesh fused in a patchwork across his being. His blue eyes glowed brightly where the eyes should be, but all other features of his face were gone. Silently, the monstrosity beckoned to Sebastian to take flight.

No sooner than he had been given an exit, than the demon accepted, immediately disengaging from his duel and jumping down into the aquatic passageway. No sooner had he past the entity that was once Instinct, now fully saturated with the guilt he had taken into itself, than he felt a strange pang of regret. The demon almost ceased his escape, compelled to turn around and somehow bring his only companion and guide with him, but he could feel those piercing blue eyes on his back, and he knew that Ciel would refuse what ever hand stretched out to reach him. He ran onward through the splitting waters, into the darkness of the cavern ahead. Out of the water walls, blue butterflies, with their ethereal illumination, fluttered beside him, offering him a sort of dim lamplight as his trail unfolded into reaches unknown.

The entity that was Ciel's primal essence, his instinct and self-preservation, and his drive to exist, stood between the blood crazed puppet that writhed with the want to pursue the demon. However, something kept it at bay from venturing forth. As if it was suddenly forced to advance, the monster suddenly launched itself forward into the corridor, though it didn't make it far. The moment that it was within Instinct's vicinity, running along the muddy lake bed, the entity summoned a floor of hands to suddenly close around the monster's body, locking each and every limb to the ground. The bladed chains whirred frantically, trying to eat up the fleshy restraints, but the guilt would not relinquish it, and soon, the mud began to jam the machinations, until it was totally lifeless.

The patchwork entity, satisfied that the Grell doll would not rise again, turned as if to follow the demon down the corridor. However, it did not expect to come face to face with the Corruption, who's impossibly wide grin stretched from ear to ear. He reached out and cupped his opposite's mismatched face, and chuckled, "And now, my elusive missing piece... you're mine."

Out of the corner of his eye, Sebastian saw that his guiding lights, the fluttering blue butterflies, suddenly pulsed a bright, burning red. The small insects convulsed, struggling to stay aloft, before they burned a deep scarlet, and faded out of existence. With their deaths, came the flood; the waters behind him began to crash in on itself, closing the corridor at an alarmingly rapid rate. He quickened his pace and took off into the dark ahead, until he found a craggy rock wall at his front. He immediately began to ascend, finding it rather easy to climb, even as the water below him crashed hard against the base of the cliffs, sending up a spray. Sebastian closed his eyes for a moment, knowing well just what had happened. He clenched his fist and slammed it into the rock wall, gritting his teeth. He hung his head for a moment, damp bangs clinging to his forehead and dripping water down his cheeks, in an illusion that he had somehow begun shedding tears. He swallowed down his regret, and forged ahead once again, until he was at the top of the wall. He didn't have time to delay, nor to reflect on what he had lost, all that mattered, was ending the madness once and for all.

The opening at the top of the cliff face was a deep tunnel, which he followed. For all the ascension necessary to reach the hidden cavern, Sebastian felt like it sloped downwards for what felt like forever. As he descended, he noticed that the air was dead, and the tunnel was coated in ash. There was a strange lack in temperature; he felt neither cold, nor warm, despite the dampness of his clothes. There was no sound, save for the soft thud of his footsteps on the dusty floor. The sides of the tunnel were peculiar; etched with some strange esoteric symbols that were barely the size of a fingertip, encircling the walls and ceiling in almost a spiral pattern. Still, whatever purpose they served seemed to lie dormant as he passed. After what seemed like miles, the cave finally ended in a large chamber, which was wide, and devoid of life. Its only noteworthy decorations were a variety of grey stalagmites and stalactites, and a fine ash coating everything in sight. It billowed at his feet as he walked into the room, as if he was disturbing some ancient tomb.

As he walked into the center of the room, he surveyed his surroundings. There were no doors, no openings anywhere in the walls. The dome like roof of the cavern was like a cathedral, its grand design a natural formation despite being part of the soul. The demon looked around the room, before he sighed, and went to his knees.

He brought both dusty, pale hands to his face, and covered his eyes and forehead, shaking his head with frustration and lament. This was indeed where he should be, where his goal should be... but it was barren. Had the Corruption laid waste to this place before he could even arrive? Had it obtained the location from Instinct when he devoured him? The demon growled, his eyes glowing bright purple through his fingers, "All of that... all of my plans... for nothing?"

The overwhelming barrage of rage, regret, despair, and frustration bloomed inside of the demon's core, and the usually composed Sebastian Michaelis began to pulse with energy that promised to tear the corrupted soul asunder.

"It's all salt... Salt and ash! SALT AND ASH!" Sebastian's cries intensified, and the dead air around the cavern began to whip up a wind born from his fury, sending ash flying like a cloud. The demon's form began to blur, as his human-like appearance began to shift into his more demonic visage, his mental bindings giving way to let his true nature run wild. However, he suddenly caught a scent on the wind, and the rage immediately subsided, as his burning violet eyes suddenly widened with surprise. The wind dropped, and he looked around frantically for it, before his gaze fell to the floor. He dropped to his knees, again, and began to dig at the ash, heaving it out of the way, digging the fine powder until the familiar scent became stronger. As he uncovered more and more ground, he finally uncovered a large bowl shaped indentation in the center of the floor, and at the base,he uncovered it; a small inscription carved into a circle. It was written in that same language that could only be understood by the soul itself, but regardless, Sebastian knew what it meant. He could feel the aura pulsing faintly beneath the seal, slightly warm to the touch. The demon hesitated for a brief moment, mentally preparing himself, before he took his index finger and drew his symbol upon the inscription, and as if it were a key to a lock, he spoke loud and clear, "I'm here to claim what you promised me, Ciel Phantomhive. Reveal yourself to me."

And like some mystical lock, the words carved in the ground began to glow beneath the contract seal, flickering a bit as if resisting the demon's will, but yielding nonetheless, as if compelled to honor the agreement forged those years ago. The demon backed away, as the floor began to open, ash filling the room once again in a whirlwind, as the indentation fell away, and one by one, stone stairs emerged, jutting out from the sides into the dark depths. Sebastian didn't hesitate to descend, and followed the twisting stair down, down for over 100 steps, as the mouth watering scent grew more and more potent, and the aura of the soul grew stronger.

Finally, the demon's foot left the final step, and was greeted with a soft ethereal glow. The demon's eyes smoldered with desire and his muscles tensed with delight, while he was overcome with relief that somehow it still existed. His promised treasure, his reward for all of his struggles, and his own final gambit for salvaging the soul; lying down upon a stone table, arms folded over his chest, was the core of the soul; the holy angelic seed of the spirit that was the center of the identity. Ciel in his purest form, whose pale flesh glowed faintly with a soft white light, with transparent angelic wings encircling him. However, Sebastian's claim was true, for wrapping around the core were black chains, which had crushed and broken the fragile wings against the body, ensuring that the soul would never use them. The chains encircled his legs, arms, and neck, binding him with the contract etched on his eye, which remained closed. In its weakened state, severed from the rest of its soul which had run rampant with chaos, the core was dormant, and could do nothing but faintly exist in its ashen prison, hidden deep in the farthest reaches of Ciel's mind.

Sebastian lightly smoothed one hand over the young man's forehead, feeling the thrum of power beneath his palm. It was weak, and as Sebastian feared, had no substance beyond just being another breath of air. Without the right balance, the soul's potential for power, and thus, benefit both deliciously and substantially, was little more than junk food. However, Sebastian's plan, should he be successful, would reverse all of that. The Corruption had become practically a god in the world that was Ciel's mind, and the only way to combat it would be a god of his own.

If only it would open its eyes.

Hello again everyone. Hope you're having a good year so far!

I can only hope this chapter wasn't too confusing... there's a lot of... um... doubles? But yeah, I hope that the action was good enough and that I can somehow keep up the pace with this. I also noticed I made a few mistakes here and there, and left a few things out, which I think I got... but yeah, I hope you guys like this one.

I'm looking forward to writing the next. I have lots of ideas for what to do now that the core is revealed... but we'll see where it goes.

Music that was a big help in making this chapter was Coheed and Cambria's "Welcome Home" (especially for the scene where Sebastian/Ciel hybrid comes out of the lake. It's perfect.)

But anyways, thank you all for following me, and for all your comments and for reading my story. Love you all and thank you so much.