Chapter 9 Skirmish of the forces

John's P.O.V.

The door exploded, sending chunks of wood and metal into my back. I casually looked over my shoulder to see three people standing where the door should have been. The three people took a few steps forward and stopped a few feet short of me. I turned around completely to face these people. The brilliance that they held was no longer with them. I crossed my arms and chuckled to myself as I shook my head.

"Why is it that you keep trying to interfere with our plans?"

I asked the Red-Clothed person. This statement got a reaction from the Green and Pink clothed individuals.

"You have no idea who you're messing with!"

The pink one shouted. I half-grinned to myself.

"If that's the case, why don't you save yourself this time Princess Peach?"

I said with a venomous sneer. I turned around as Peach stepped back in fear. I looked at the Red-Clothed individual.

"And don't think that I know you too Mario."

I said with the same sneer. He stepped back to guard peach. Then I looked to the Green-clothed individual.

"And then there's Luigi, who plays the Second Fiddle to Mario."

I finished. All three of them looked at me in awe.

"How do you know who we are?"

Mario asked me with narrowed eyes. He stepped forward and stomped his right foot on the ground. As he did that, he materialized a fireball in both of his hands. Peach started to edge towards the door and Luigi was already cowering behind Mario. Mario wound up his right arm and threw the fireball. It was thrown so hard, it warped to stretch longways as it rocketed towards me. I laughed to myself and as the fireball was about to hit me, I caught it and put the fireball in my mouth. I crunched the fireball in between my teeth. The fireball spewed jets of flame as I crunched on it. The fireball didn't last long and I finished it quickly. I sneered at Mario.

"I'ma don't think you can do that."

I said with venomous mockery. I then started to laugh.

"This is the prince of the Mushroom Kingdom?"

I asked with complete mockery. Mario had beads of sweat forming on his forehead.

"M-mario?"

Luigi asked with fear as he stopped cowering behind Mario. Mario turned to him with a smile, which made Luigi look happier and more confident. I stomped on the ground so hard, Luigi and Mario jumped back to the door in fear while the ground filled almost completely with Purple-Black lightning bolts. They crackled with the heat they were producing. Mario emerged along with Luigi from the door. Both of them carried a Red and Orange flower in their right hands. My breath caught in my throat when I saw the flowers. Now it was Mario who was smiling. He crushed the flower between his hands and a bright light filled the area momentarily. When the light died down, I could see that his clothing had changed colors. From his original Red and Blue overall colors, these had now changed to become white clothing and orange overalls.

"Yippee!"

He cried along with Luigi as he did a backflip in place. I looked past Mario to see that indeed Luigi and Peach had gained this Fire power as well. Mario put his hands together and a fireball materialized in the space between them. The fireball gradually grew in size until is was about the size of a bowling ball. When it reached that size, Mario went back to standing with his head bowed so that the brim of his cap hid most of his face. He was breathing quickly and I could see the veins in his hands. It was now that I could see that his hands were on fire and were glowing an Orange/Yellow color. He slowly took what looked like to be a long towel out of his pocket. He tied the ends of the towel around his neck while the steady breeze flew over us. I looked at the towel that was billowing in the breeze. In my opinion, he looked pretty dumb with that fake cape tied around his neck.

"What's that supposed to be?"

I asked with complete mock once more. Luigi stepped next to mario and he cracked his knuckles. Luigi and Mario looked at the ground for a moment and then both of them looked at me.

"Letsa GO!"

Both of them shouted. Mario picked up Luigi and he held him by his left foot and started to twirl around. After about three seconds, he let go of Luigi and a Green aura formed around him as barreled through the air towards me. I put my arms up in a X defense stance and the impact of Luigi hitting me sent me skidding back from my original placement on the bridge. I returned to my fighting position, but that was a mistake. Mario was already throwing an uppercut under my chin. I reacted too late and I was sent into the air. I was stunned by the amount of power this individual possessed. I had barely enough time to unfurl my wings as I saw Mario jump up from the bridge. I tried to maneuver myself away from him, but he grabbed my boot and threw me downwards. I planned my next move while I was falling.

I cannot seem to get a hit on him. What is causing him so fast and strong?

This was my thought as I impacted the bridge. Before I hit the bridge, I had flipped over in the air so I had landed on my feet. The impact from the ground sent shockwaves of numbness up and down my legs. I was angry now. Mario landed right behind me and tried to grab my tail, but with unworldly speed, I turned and grabbed him by his arm and arced him over my head and slammed him on the ground in front of me.

"Mario!"

The Princess cried when she saw Mario slammed into the brick bridge. He moaned softly and with an evil smile I grabbed his shoulder again. I lifted him again and arced him over my head and slammed him on the ground behind me. I repeated this action three times until Mario had stopped moving and Peach was crying for Mario's mercy. Luigi had started crying too. This reaction fueled my desire to rage even more.

Wham

Mario impacted the ground hard. I could see that his breathing was very shallow and that he had broken bones.

I'ma don't understand!"

Luigi started. As he said this, I saw Mario's clothing color change back to his original coloration. I looked up from my torture victim to see that Luigi now had Fire Rods in both of his hands that were Green in color. I could sense for the first time that the coward Luigi actually meant business this time. He hit the swords together causing sparks and jets of flame to spew from both of the swords.

"You want your worthless brother back?"

I asked him as I held Mario by his neck over the edge of the wall. His body dangled precariously over the edge. I looked with a malicious smile back at Luigi, who was edging towards me cautiously.

" If I fight you for my brother, would you honor my one question?"

Luigi asked me as he dropped both of the Fire Rods on the brick ground. The rods sparked and spewed tiny jets of flame while they were on the ground. Luigi backed away slowly from the Fire Bars.

"If I fight you somewhere else, would you release my brother?"

He asked me from a distance away from me. I looked at my enemy who was so close to being defeated. I looked at how weak and frail he was, how weak he was, how….vulnerable he was and yet Luigi wanted to put his life on the line to save his brother. I laughed, which got a worried gasp from Luigi and the princess who was now beside him.

"Are you serious about your offer?"

I asked as I threw Mario back onto the bridge. He landed with a soft moaning sound right in front of the princess and Luigi.

"Mario!"

The both of them exclaimed at the same time. Luigi put both of the Fire Bars on his back and to my amazement, was able to extinguish them by putting them in a sheath that I had not seen before.

It's probably an Invention from that wretched Doctor E. Gadd.

I thought to myself as I started to walk up the giant metal staircase that led to the very top of Bowser's castle. I turned around for a brief moment.

"Make sure you hold to your promise Luigi; I've always wanted the soul of a human at my disposal."

I called to him as I turned back around before stopping at the last step. I didn't know why I stopped, but for some reason, I felt that I was falling. I looked over the side of the stairwell…..that was actually falling. Pieces of the bridge were falling all around me. Some were falling faster than others and some pieces were larger than others. I leaped off of the stairs that were plummeting to the ground. I jumped from piece to piece, slowly causing my way up to the top of the castle. It was a slow, tiring process, but showing others the power I possessed was more important than saving my energy for battle. I jumped off of the last chunk of material, a pedestal that was supposed to hold something, and landed with a loud boom on the top of the castle. Smoke and steam billowed all around me. I took a deep breath and inhaled the smoke around me to see the scene that was before me. We were at the top of the castle. It was about ten feet by three feet and was a perfect rectangular shape. Bowser held something in his hand that was partially obscured from my view. There was a flag in the very middle of this area. The flag was black and had the Bowser insignia on it. When Bowser heard me, he turned to look at me.

"How nice of you to be here Master John."

He said with an evil smile. I just looked at him with my arms crossed.

"Why not cut the chatter and get to the point?"

I asked with annoyance. Bowser laughed to himself. He took out the object from behind him. It was something that appeared to have a base color of Gold, but at the same time, had Red polka dots that were numerous across this object. It had the appearance of a mushroom, but I didn't know why Bowser was holding such an item. Bowser held the item up into the air. As he did so, a huge peal of thunder crashed through the area, causing me flinch from the sudden noise. I knew that thunder was only the rapid expansion of air, but sudden noises made me uneasy. Right after the peal of thunder went through the area, a huge Purple colored lightning bolt streaked through the sky and into the mushroom that Bowser held. After the light subsided, I blinked my eyes a couple times to get the dancing lights back out of my eyes. I shook my head softly and looked back at the mushroom. It had changed from its original coloration. The mushroom was now Black with Red spots. The mushroom also now had eyes and also possessed fangs. Bowser opened his mouth and ate the mushroom. As he chewed it I could see that his body had started to change. I heard the pounding of running feet coming up the steps as Bowser started his transformation. I could see who made the sounds when the gaggle of troops reached the top of the castle. I had no idea how they did, but it didn't bother me much. It was almost the entirety of the troops that had seen the execution of the failure. They ran over to Bowser.

"We couldn't hold him off my king."

The green hammer-wielding koopas said in unison. Bowser roared and sent all of them sailing over the edge with a giant hand. Not wanting to be bored anymore, I looked back to the giant crack in the bridge. I chuckled to myself when I saw Luigi and peach putting on weird hats with wings. I materialized my weapon in my hand. My weapon was something that was passed down by family lineage.

That's at least what Bowser told me.

I thought to myself as I saw the familiar scythe appear in my hands. The long Ivory shaft was cold in the air that breezed past me. Holding this weapon made me feel even more powerful. I looked at the Sapphire blade that was slowly materializing before my sight. I saw the curved blade glow a soft light Blue color with the souls of my defeated enemies. I could see their pitiful souls moving like dust within the blade. I also saw the intricate markings that were being cut into the blade as it continued materializing. I then looked to the bottom of the scythe to see the end of the materialization process; the end being marked by the presence of a sharp Ivory tip that was partially serrated on the bottom of the scythe. I held the heavy scythe in my dominant right hand and I smiled a nightmarish and jagged smile at Luigi and Peach who flew slowly over my head to reach the castle's highest point. As they flew over my head, I resisted the urge to cut mario in half with my scythe.

You'll get the ability to do that later, but for now, just keep fueling yourself with anger and hatred.

I told myself as I started to walk slowly up the steps. As I walked up the stairs I considered my options.

Luigi doesn't seem to be very powerful. All of the times i've seen Mario and Luigi in battle, Luigi was always the one that cowered behind Mario.

I thought to myself as I scaled the stairs. It was then that I understood what made my bone structure seem so strong and dense.

It was the failure that had strengthened me!

I exclaimed to myself in my head as I stepped over the last step that led to the highest part of Bowser's Castle and to my amazement, a lot had changed. I put my weapon on my back and while I walked towards my impending victory, I thought of a name for my weapon. I only had to take about 18 steps to reach the area that I had just left. I looked at what had changed. The flag that Bowser had on the top of the castle was now impaled into Mario's left shoulder, Luigi was guarding Peach with his dual Fire Bars and I noticed that Bowser had changed. The first thing that I noticed was his body structure. He had gained a lot of muscle mass as I could see muscles bulging from his arms and legs. His scale color had also changed from a vibrant Yellow and Orange to a dull grey color. Next, my attention was drawn to the size of his claws. From his five-clawed hand, he now had a four-clawed one and the claws were now at least a half-foot in length. His hair color had changed from a vibrant Orange and Red color to a sickly Maroon and Orange color. He had larger metal rings that ended in larger, more pointed spikes that sent chills up and down my back. Looking up to his head, I could see the changes that had taken place. I could see that Bowser's mouth had grown much larger, as a minute trace of saliva was dripping from his lower jaw. His fangs were pointed, a sickly yellow color and were numerous in quantity. He now had a dragon-like face that was scaled. His eyes were now a base color of Black with Yellow slitted pupils. He now also had demonic horns that were very sharp at the tips. His shell was now an Emerald Green color and the spikes were now black on the base and Gold at the tips. His tail was longer than his previous one, and it now had spikes that rose like scattered bones from the the base of the tail. I walked to the center of the rectangle and snapped my fingers. This got attention from Bowser and Luigi. when I snapped my fingers, DeathBringers instantly appeared all around Bowser and Luigi and the DeathBringers started to orbit the two. These DeathBringers were different in color, composition and appearance. These DeathBringers I liked very much since they reflected me exactly. These DeathBringers were Black in color and had A Purple-Black aura around them. The structure of them were similar to mine, as they possessed jagged, pointed teeth that ringed the long and slender upper and lower jaw of these DeathBringers. Their eye sockets were devoid of everything, except for the nightmare-inducing Red pinpoints of light that sent Red glittering orbs that dissipated into the air. The next part of these DeathBringers I liked the best. As I raised my hand to command the DeathBringers to charge, a dark Red substance started leaking from their eyes. I could tell that Bowser and Luigi were scared of these new weapons of mine. I lowered my hand back to my side and crossed my arms.

"How'z about we do this the way we agreed to Luigi?"

I asked him as I pushed Bowser aside. He growled and forcefully turned me by my shoulder so that I was face to face with this monstrous Bowser.

"Do not fail me this time."

He said quietly to me as he turned me back around to face Luigi. I quickly turned around to see if the monster was still behind me. To my amazement and to some concern, he wasn't there. The DeathBringers maneuvered through the air so that they were stacked on top of each other on both sides of me. There were six on each side of me and they all wanted blood. I could tell by the way they nudged me softly that they were eager to see battle….and blood. I took my scythe off of my back and swung it so hard, an arc of pure, forced air cut through the ground and nearly missed Luigi who scowled at me.

" oops, I didn't know I could do that."

I said with a sneer. Luigi was obviously upset now.

"Letsa go."

He said softly as he lunged away from his starting point. He swung up with the left Fire Rod. I parried the shot with the blade of my scythe and Luigi used the other Fire Bar to slice my vulnerable neck. I was slow in this reaction because I didn't think that Luigi could think more than one step ahead of a task. The Fire Bar barely nicked my neck. With incredulous speed, I grabbed the hilt of the Fire Bar and used my scythe to pole-vault over Luigi. This action flipped Luigi on his back. I could tell that he now possessed a broken arm by the sickening crack that went through the rectangular area. I turned quickly to jam the tip of my scythe's base into Luigi's chest, but as I turned, Luigi was already back up eating a Super Mushroom.

"What's wrong Luigi? Can't take a couple hits?"

I taunted as he ate the mushroom. I saw the bones in his arm reset and gain a little muscle in his arms and legs. He dusted himself off and looked back at his Fire Bars. there was even wear to them as there were only 5 fireballs left on both of the Fire Bars. Luigi picked the Fire Bars back up and looked directly at me.

"I assure you, I'ma gonna win."

Luigi stated as he put the Fire Bars back in their respective sheaths. I pointed the scythe's base tip

right at Luigi. He started to shiver a little.

"And why may that be?"

I asked as I put the scythe back on my back. I got my answer as Luigi pulled out a familiar looking knife out of his overall pocket that was on his chest. My breath caught in my throat when I saw what the knife was.

"Where did you get that knife?"

I asked with a strained voice through my nightmarish teeth. Luigi smiled to himself and waved the knife in front of him.

"Im'a afraid I can't tell you that one."

Luigi said with a crazy smile. His eyes flashed momentarily and I could see that he was starting to be taken over with something, but I couldn't tell what it was. His irises turned from Blue to Green and he brandished the knife's point towards me.

"Then I guess i'll have to beat it out of you."

I said with an evil smile. Luigi lunged from his position and swung the knife backhand. I could tell that he was aiming for my throat because he swung up. I casually sidestepped the attack and shrugged.

"Why do you try to kill something that's already dead?"

I asked Luigi as he resetted and swung again aiming for my throat. I stomped on the ground hard so that I could change back to my original form. The stomp brought the Purple-Black chain lightning that sent Luigi into a slow fall. There was a flash of light as I returned to my vessel's form. I could see that Luigi was still falling backwards. Since I knew that he was trying really hard to try and kill me, I gave him a little leeway to live.

If he's going to try that hard to kill me and fail miserably, I should wait to kill him in the hopes that one day he might actually be formidable.

I reasoned to myself as I saw the DeathBringers disintegrate into dust. Before they could all vanish, I used the one closest to me and caught Luigi from falling over the edge of the castle. I snapped my fingers and that DeathBringer vanished, leaving dust on Luigi's back. Luigi recovered right after I caught him and he bent over to pick the knife up from the ground, but I was quicker. I opened my mouth and used my tongue to grab the knife. I succeeded and as the knife traveled back to me, Luigi made a wild lunge for the knife. He missed the knife and fell flat on his face. Apparently, I had tired him so much that he didn't get up from where he was laying. The knife entered my mouth and as soon as it hit my tongue, my mouth was flooded with a horrible metallic taste that gave me instant nausea. My vision started to blur and my head swam in the vision I was losing. I could barely see Luigi look up from the ground with a huge smile on his face. I took the knife out of my mouth and stuck it in my left shoulder. As I did this, I blacked out.

You are not done yet. I will give you all the energy required to stomp those pests into the ground.

The voice said as I fell to the ground. Somehow, I was lifted from the ground to stand in the posture I was standing in before I hit the ground. I felt a sudden rush of power explode through my muscles and I lunged from where I was standing and with one fluid motion, I grabbed the knife from my shoulder and plunged the knife into Luigi's right shoulder to pin him to the ground. I succeeded and he screamed in pain as he was impaled to the ground. I laughed a decisive, sinister laugh. I kneeled next to Luigi so that my mouth was next to his right ear. He could barely lift his head from the ground.

"Looks like you lost Luigi."

I started. I could hear sobs coming from Luigi as I stood up once more. I felt for the scythe that was on my back. I grasped it and held the blade to Luigi's throat. I used the blade in such a way that it didn't cut his throat, but made him wince and sob in pain as I angled his head up to my face.

"That means that you need to pay the piper."

I said maliciously along with a sneer. I was about to yank the blade up so that Luigi's head would go rolling over the ground, but I was stopped by A massive RoundHouse kick that I saw from the corner of my eye. I wasn't fast enough to dodge, so I took the huge blow to the head. All I knew was that this boot that impacted my head was a Steel-Toed one. I was sent reeling across the rectangular area with the searing pain of the kick that blasted through my head. I tripped over my own feet close to where the edge of the rectangular area was. I rolled quickly to the left and saw a set of three long blades impact and stick into the bricks where I was just laying seconds ago. I got back to my feet shaking with pain and rage. Through my blurry and swimming vision, I could barely make out the figure of my Nemesis: Emperor the Yoshi. I shook my head vigorously to make sure that I wasn't seeing things. I felt for the scythe that was supposed to be on my back. To my dismay, it wasn't there, but it didn't bother me. Instead, I took about three steps forward and folded my arms. I could see Emperor had obviously came prepared for battle. I thought it was hilarious to see him with plated armor that covered most of his body. The armor was colored gold and black and had intricate markings that added to his regal appearance. He had Reborn on his back. This made me growl deeply, to which, Emperor drew the Reborn off of his back. I looked to the people that were beside him. I could see Mario on the ground next to Emperor, Luigi on the other side of Emperor and Peach leaning against him. I laughed to myself as Emperor reached down and yanked the knife out of Luigi's shoulder. Luigi exclaimed in pain as Emperor completed the action. Luigi had streams of tears running down both of his cheeks. Emperor knelt beside Luigi and started to say something to him. As Emperor talked to Luigi, I took the time to think about what Emperor was talking about. I looked back to the sky.

My first question is where he got that armor from.

I thought to myself.

The United Island Chain has very few resources in terms of metals. The only metals that they have found that I've stolen so far were Magnesium, Uranium, Steel, Bronze, Gold, Mercury, Copper and Aluminum.

I thought about this as I looked at Emperor's armor. It did not have the consistency of steel and it did not look to be heavy to Emperor because he was not straining at all.

My next question is how Mario, Peach and Luigi were still standing.

I knew from the teachings of Bowser that it takes only 25 pounds of force to break the weakest bone in the human body. I looked back from staring off into the dark and cloudy sky.

Apparently I stare off into space when I think.

I told myself as I focused back on Emperor, who had unfurled the Reborn. He waved it in a circle shape and rested it on his shoulder with the head facing the sky.

"What's that? Some kind of circus trick that you've been practicing?"

I asked him. Emperor did nothing as I looked for my scythe. Emperor could see that I was looking for my weapon. He smiled a little and took the scythe from his back. I was astounded, but I didn't show it. I remembered something that Bowser had told me when I was going through training as I slowly walked towards Emperor.

Do not give any emotion to your opponent. If you do, you will lose the psychological advantage over your opponent and you will lose every fight you engage in.

I stopped when I was about three feet away from him. I could feel the change in my muscles and my bone density as the Anti-Matter-Core wanted to take over. Emperor could see that too and he nodded.

"I guess we'll settle this the old-fashioned way I guess."

I stated flatly looking with complete disgust at Luigi. He was busy being healed with some sort of magic by Peach.

"And as for you Luigi, I hope that you take into consideration just how lucky you are to have someone that would save and value your pitiful life."

I said with mock pity as I stabbed my finger into his broken shoulder which made him wince and whimper. As I rose back to take my place, Emperor grabbed me with a grip that rivaled Iron Vice Grips. He brought his mouth to my ear.

"If you ever...do that again….I will make sure that you don't come back this time."

He said seething with rage. He shoved me back so hard, I must've slid three feet across the brick ground. Thunder roared in the distance and it started to rain. I felt no pain in my shoulder, nor anywhere else. I could see Emperor return to the stance that he was in before I had tormented Luigi. He threw me my scythe and I put it on my back. I still didn't know how Emperor was able to steal something from off of my back, but I didn't think much of it. What I did pay attention to was the way that he was standing and breathing. His breaths were hastily drawn and his stance wavered A little as he drew his breaths.

These signs are consistent with muscle fatigue and torn tendons.

I told myself as Emperor launched from his position. With one fluid motion, he took the Reborn off of his back and swung the blade upwards to try and throw me off balance. I sidestepped the blow and Emperor swung the Reborn with a backhanded slice that nearly missed my throat. I rolled backwards so I could gain some distance and time to think. Emperor lunged again and curled the Reborn. He threw the Reborn so that it would act as a Boomerang. Once again, he aimed for my throat. I sidestepped the thrown weapon and caught it. Emperor resetted and once he saw that I had the Reborn his jaw dropped. I casually put the Reborn on my back and smiled.

"What? Did you think that I wouldn't bring at least some challenge to the battle?"

I asked Emperor who now had blades sprouting from the spaces between his fingers. As the blades grew longer, blood started to seep from Emperor's skin. I smiled to myself and I took the Reborn and my scythe off of my back. I dropped them unceremoniously to the ground. I turned back to see Emperor travelling through the air at a fast pace. He had his right arm drawn back to stab me through my chest. I looked to see that I was close to the edge. Not wanting to fall over the edge, I took a few steps forward and did a somersault so that I was closer to the middle of the area. Emperor landed on the ground where I was just standing.

He must've retracted the blades

I told myself when that area of ground exploded into smoke and broken blocks. I heard Emperor growl and I could see two pinpoints of black glowing light pierce through the smoke. They were ringed with a Red color that made a single chill go down my back. Emperor launched again and this time, I was not ready. Emperor hit the ground right in front of me and he made an an upward slice with the blades that cut me from my chest to the base of my neck. While I was still stunned, Emperor sweept me with his left leg and I fell to the ground on my back. The wind was knocked from my lungs and I had just enough time to roll to the right to escape the crushing blow of Emperor's fist. The blow broke all of the blocks that I was resting on. I had to use my special ability Air Step to avoid getting sliced by Emperor's next attacks.

"You've made your last mistake!"

I shouted furiously as I let the changes take over me.

I've never been able to conjure much before, but why is it now that I can take this power and use it? I asked myself while I ran over the air to the middle of the area so that I could let the changes take over my body. I felt the adrenaline surge through me once more, causing my muscle mass unworldly strong and large. I felt my spine decompress and grow thicker to accommodate...new changes?.

What's happening to me?

I asked myself frantically as searing pain went through my body. I could see my claws grow larger and my muscle mass increase but now I had a sense of urgency. I felt the magic course through me as I involuntarily materialized DeathBringers all around me. A large stream of dust and steam started to waver around me as the changes took over. My consciousness started to falter as the changes took place. No horns grew from my head and my bone structure didn't become more dense either. There was just….pain. As the wind gradually picked up, the smoke and dust swirled around me faster and gained more depth. I could see Emperor looking at me with a bewildered expression through the wind that had created A Black vortex around me. I saw the familiar symbol flash in front of me and my sight went completely white. I had the sense of falling for some reason.

Do you remember your purpose in life Abyss?

A voice asked me. I opened my eyes slowly to adjust to the white void that I was in. I got up from the ground and brushed myself off. Siren was standing across from me. She had her arms crossed and a scowl on her face.

You were a disgrace to the family.

She said without moving her mouth. I reached for the scythe that was on my back, but it wasn't there.

Why did you side with darkness my child?

She asked me. I tried to move, but couldn't. I was able to bring out my blades, but with my current state, they would be useless. Siren walked close to me and put her head on my right shoulder and sighed heavily.

I love you my son, but what you are trying to achieve, you will not succeed before being lost completely to the darkness.

I felt compelled to speak with her, even though I was someone of the dark that despised anything that didn't further my objective for world power.

" What do you mean by my purpose?"

I asked. Siren took her head off of my shoulder and took a few steps back.

You remember what I told you when my next child was being planned for?

She asked me. I thought about it for a second. I despised Emperor and I wanted to be in the spotlight, but I should care for my family and friends.

You are thinking correctly, but your friendships have flaws and you will gain nothing but hatred and darkness.

I shook my head angrily.

"You don't know me!"

I shouted. Siren winced and her bottom jaw twitched sending chills down my spine.

I'm going to give you one more chance to set yourself on the correct path my child.

These were the last words that I heard before I was thrusted back into reality.