I really need to get this story out of my schedule. I got more ideas for stories I wanna do but this is taking up my Friday update slot.

Enjoy!

"Hahaha!" The infection laughed. "Is that really all you can muster, Neptu?! After all of that talk?!"

Unfortunately, it wasn't an inaccurate statement. Neptu knew that by the way Chiyoko talked this wasn't going to be an easy fight, but he felt so powerless. Most of his attacks outright bounced off of the being, and any that didn't barely seemed to hurt him at all. He knew at the end of the day hat defeating the infection wasn't the point, that he was to use the sacrament he was taught to cage it. But to do that he needed time to set it up, and he wasn't going to just get that. After all, this was a fight.

Getting up, Neptu threw more fire attacks at the black mass that resembled him, but the small torrents of flame were just absorbed by the creature as he smirked.

"I guess it is," He said as he got to his feet. "Chiyoko did warn me that you're not going to take a whole lot of damage from my attacks. Guess she was right." His mirror image just laughed again.

"Of course," it said. "After all, would you take damage from your own attacks? It's the same logic." Neptu frowned at this, clenching his fists.'

"You're not me," he said. "So stop saying you are." The creature just laughed again.

"How many times must I say it?" He asked. "Of course I'm you. I only exist because of you. Your hatred gave birth to me. The demons you slayed, the more my power grew. And now that I've grown so large, you try to take me out? Foolish." At this, a massive swirl of magic appeared next to him, and dark fire blasted out of it towards Neptu. "You can't beat me, kid! I am you!" Neptu dodged the attack, ignoring the searing pain in his side as he did so. The flames he was being attacked with burned hotter than anything he could produce, which only made this fight harder. He couldn't even eat the magic.

"And how many times do I have to say it?" He demanded, getting to his feet again. "You aren't me. Did my magic create you? Yes. But you aren't me, and you certainly aren't the stronger one between us!" Neptu threw out his own barrage of magic, which easily countered and threw him back on his back. Groaning, Neptu got to his feet again, deciding to slow down a bit. His current strength wasn't enough, so he needed to wait. See if he could find an opening that he could exploit. If he found it, he could set the sacrament and get out of this hell.

"It's funny, really." The creature spoke up again, flicking his hair out of his eyes. "You used me all this time, pretending you were some sort of saint for doing what you did. And now, faced with taking out your own shade, you can't do it! How are you the stronger one!? You relied on me all this time!" The shade blasted itself forward with magic, grabbing Neptu by his shirt and taking him to the ground. The shade wrapped it's arms around his neck and began to squeeze, strangling his opponent.

"L-Let go...!" He hissed, struggling against the shade's strength. This only caused it to laugh.

"What?!" He demanded. "Am I too strong for you, original?! Can you not bear the weight of your sins?!"

My...Sins?

Neptu managed to land a kick it between the shades legs, which forced him to roll off. Using his weakened fire he created space between the two, getting to his feet again. Once he got a moment to breathe, he thought back to what the shade had said. The weight of his sins. After the encounter with Fairy Tail, he knew full well he had committed enough sins for several lifetimes to be sent to hell. He wasn't happy about it, but he had tried to rationalise it in his mind. He took chances, he took risks. Overall, he had helped right?

"Stop trying to psych me out with psychological bullshit!" He shouted. "I'm not here for a philosophy lesson!"

"And yet our battle takes place on Zentopian holy ground," the shade said with a laugh. "If not philosophy, what did you come for? Answers? Peace of mind? You'll never get that while I'm here!" The shade came after him again, but Neptu prepared himself. His legs were swung at, but he jumped and avoided the attack. He used the momentum created by this to kick the shade back, enhancing his kick the little he could with fire. The shade stumbled back, and Neptu took this opportunity to keep on him, striking him over and over with his fists as the beat protected itself as best it could.

"I'm not who you say I am!" He shouted as he swung. "I didn't kill innocent people on purpose! I wasn't trying to conquer the world or something! I just wanted to save people from creatures like you!"

"And with no regard for anyone in the way, I assume!" The shade replied. "I share all the memories you have with your hunters! I cannot recall I single time you tried to find out the truth to a rumour before sending your forces out to deal with it! And now you say you aren't a monster?! Laughable!" The shade punched him in the stomach while he was distracted, knocking the wind out of him. He was grabbed by his shirt before he could get away, and the shade continued to strike out at him while he stood there, defenceless from the barrage of blows.

"I-It was for the greater good!" He managed to choke out in between blows.

"For whose, exactly?" The shade asked with a manic laugh. '"You're own, or the worlds? Your own peace of mine was the only thing that troubled you! It always has been!"

"That isn't true!"

"What was your whole purpose for hunting demons?!" The shade shouted, ceasing the relentless onslaught. "Why did you set out at first?" Silence fell between the pair, Neptu struggling to breathe as much as he could before the attacks continued.

"T-Too find Drakhosz." He said. The shade smirked.

"Huh, oddly selfish." he said, rearing his fist back again. "What happened then, I wonder? Did you delude yourself with thoughts of grander? Did you think you were a saviour or something? Something else that a spoiled rotten brat lost and confused in a world that cared not for him?" These words stabbed deep into Neptu's heart, making him pause and think. How was any of this wrong? It was dead on. He'd set out to find Drakhosz, and he'd ended up chasing after dreams of being humanity's saviour from a scourge the bottom percentile only ever dealt with.

Really, what was he doing?

S-Shut up..." He hissed despite his thoughts. The shade laughed at this.

"It's just like us to be stubborn in the face of the truth the first time," he said. "How did the fairies do it? Ah yes. They beat it into you!" The next punch came harder than any of the other before it, knocking Neptu flat on his ass another time. Instead of getting up, this time he stayed on the ground and stared up at the roof, thinking. He knew the shade spoke truth. But was it to set him off, or to really make him believe it?

"This isn't even the first time you've been told this, ironically enough." The shade said as it reached him. "I'm sure you remember the first time, right?" Neptu gulped at this, the thought invading his mind. "After all, you're lovely sister warned us years ago.! You're weak, Neptu. But together, we're strong. Together, we can defeat Drakhosz. Be selfish. Be angry. All you have to do is let me in!"

"A-Are things going well?" Zynna asked, concerned for her brothers safety. Mother Chiyoko did not answer right away, opting instead to press her lips into a thin line.

"I do not know," she said. "It is up to Neptu to seal the beast safely. If he cannot, he well have to dispel it ourselves. After, of course, it's killed him and become the dominant sentience in his body."

"That's reassuring," she mumbled, crossing her arms. She watched the sphere quietly, unsure of what to say. They hadn't been given a time frame for when exactly this was supposed to work.

"I-I' sure he'll be okay," Elizabeth said with a shaky smile in Zynna's direction. All she could do was muster a feeble laugh at this.

"I hope so," she said. "He's never been good at introspection." Elizabeth also let out a small laugh at this.

"I know," she said, looking back at the sphere Neptu was inside of. "But he's not who he used to be anymore. He's changed since you left the hunters, trust me." Zynna hoped this was true, because her brother had not been a good man back then. Back then he'd sent men and women alike out on a whim to destroy a so called demon. Whether or not they returned, it never seemed to bother him. He'd become some sort of machine, only sending out the orders but not actually caring for the outcome. She knew to some degree the failure and death of those who followed him haunted him, but not enough for him to actually make changes. But according to Elizabeth, he had changed. Hopefully so.

Because if was till the man who would say those awful things to her, he stood no chance. If he was still that man...

Zynna knew she was going to be pushing her luck if she brought this up with Neptu, but enough was enough. She'd followed behind him loyally enough up until this point, but she needed to put an end to this. No more needless death. No more Commander hallucinations. Confidently pushing her way into the tent, Zynna saw her brother and Elizabeth looking down at a map on a table. Both looked up as she entered the tent, Neptu smiling.

"Hello Zynna," he said. "What do you need?"

"I need to talk to you," Zynna said, trying to sound determined. "Alone," she added for Elizabeth. Neptu narrowed his eyes at her, and Elizabeth looked over at him with a concerned look.

"...Okay, that's fine." he said, waving Elizabeth away. The blonde woman walked away past Zynna, not sparing her a second glance. Once she was gone, silence fell upon the tent. Zynna stared at her brother quietly, and he did so right back.

"What can I help you with?" He asked. Zynna continued to watch quietly for a second more before she took a deep breath.

"This needs to stop," she said, which made him raise an eyebrow. "This whole operation. This little gang you're constructing. Put a stop to it, now." Neptu just watched her with a confused look on his face before he chuckled awkwardly.

"Zynna, you must be tired." he said as he waved her off. Just like he always did when she had something to say that bothered him. "Go and get some rest."

"I'm fine," she replied. "Send all these people home, now. This is insane."

"What is?" Zynna gulped at the dangerous tone with which he asked, but she wasn't going to stop now.

"This whole grandiose operation you're pretending to run," she said. "Stop trying to be some kind of saviour brother, it's not a good look. You're not a saviour, you're just a kid looking for revenge."

"Excuse me?" Neptu demanded. Zynna felt fear but kept her feet planted firmly, not willing to budge.

"Stop pretending anything but Drakhosz matters to you," she said, making Neptu's eyes darken. "You don't blink an eye as you send these people off to near certain death, and you don't even pause to think if they report failure or loss of life on our end. How much until you realise this is foolish? What will it take for you to see we need to put a stop to this?"

"People die in a war."

"We're not at war!" Zynna shouted angrily. "We're just kids looking for a reason we lost our parents!"

"I know the reason!" Neptu shouted back, slamming his hands down on the table. "Drakhosz! Demons! They took everything we had Zynna! Did you forget that?! Why are you going soft?!"

"I'm not going soft!" Zynna replied. "I'm tired, Neptu! Tired of seeing our numbers dwindle with little success! Tired of seeing new conscripts treat you like a God, only to be sacked off!"

"I'm not sacking anyone off, this is-!"

"Then stop acting like these little hunts you orchestrate are anything but trying to find Drakhosz! Do you even care that people are losing their lives because of you?!"

"Stop acting like this has been a colossal failure!" Neptu shouted, his anger clearly growing. "We've killed a dozen demons since we formed this group! Is that enough for you?!"

"Not enough to justify the hundreds of lives you're going to end up throwing on the line if you don't stop!" Zynna yelled. After this, she took a deep breath. "Neptu, we don't need to do this. we can hunt Drakhosz just the two of us. Hell, we could go home. I miss home!" Neptu watched her angrily for a moment or two before he turned away from her, walking to the edge of the tent.

"There's no home for us to return too," he said. "We lost everything, remember? To him. To things like him. Am I suddenly evil for wanting them eradicated?"

"Dharen sent word," Zynna replied solemnly. "New Avalon finished construction six months ago. There is a place for us to go back too, Neptu. He even said we could rebuild the mansion if we wanted. Please, let's just go home!"

"I can't go back there."

"Why not?"

"Because I haven't finished what I set out to do." With this, he looked over his shoulder at her, and Zynna gulped. He looked even angrier now. "If I go back there, I'll just be reminded. Of what happened. Of what he did. If you could honestly go back there and live a normal life, maybe you didn't love Mom and Dad like I did."

"Neptu..." Zynna started, baffled he'd said such a thing. Did he really believe that?

"Drakhosz, demons, he took everything from us." Neptu seethed as he whirled on her. "I'm disgusted that you even suggested that. How could you turn your backs on them? On Mom and Dad?"

"I'm not!" Zynna said as tears threatened to fall. "I just want this to end!"

"This'll end when demons are gone from the face of this planet," Neptu replied. "I have a duty as a Skylancer and a Devil Slayer, and so do you. If you want to run, you're a disgrace. To Mom and Dad, to Avalon, and to the generations before who fought and died for us to even have a chance at a normal life! How could my own sister think I'm going to far?! Are you really my sister?!"

"I am!" Zynna cried. "I'm your sister who loves you! Who is terrified that you're wandering around the countryside murdering potentially innocent people and sending hundreds others to die! Please Neptu!"

"...Potentially innocent?" Neptu asked in a low tone, Zynna to scared to even squeak a reply. "Potentially? No. They're all evil, every single one. And they deserve to die like dogs. I'll kill them all, Zynna. So other people don't suffer like we did. Is that what you want? For others to suffer?"

"I want to go home," Zynna replied in a whisper. "I want my brother back. Is that too much to ask?"

"Apparently it is," Neptu said as he turned his back on her again. "Leave me alone." Zynna stared at his back, anger and tears mixing together as she did her best to hold it in.

"I'll leave," she threatened. "I'll really do it, Neptu. I'll go without you. I want nothing to do with this place anymore."

"Than go," he said callously. "No sibling of mine would abandon a mission like this." Zynna's eyes widened at this, heart breaking into two.

"Then I guess I'm no sister of yours," she said weakly. "Good luck, you God damn murderer." With this, she stormed out of the tent. She stormed right past Elizabeth and other hunters who'd heard the screaming. She stormed right out of the encampment and left the group altogether. She would never go back. Not to her brother, not to that mission.

She just wanted to go home.

The memories of the exchange haunted Neptu's mind as the shade's darkness began to consume him, probably to take him over.

"She was right, you know." The shade said. "You never did anything but send people to their death as you hunted Drakhosz on the side. So, perhaps you should die to bring peace to the hundreds of souls you send to the underworld."

He's right...

"Don't worry Neptu, together we can take Drakhosz down. You won't have to worry about other people anymore. Not like you ever did anyway, though." He could feel the darkness, reaching over his body, but he could do nothing to stop it. Why should he? The shade was right. He'd selfishly sent hundreds of people both his and not to death because of something he suspected they could do. What else could he do but die to atone for that?

I should just fade away. I deserve it. I can't live with these lives bearing down on me for what I did...

...

I just want to die.

...

"I want to hate you. I want to hate you like you did Drakhosz. But even still...I prayed. I prayed that you'd come home, that you'd stay safe."

"You'll be okay, I know it."

"I ain't hugging you. Good luck man. We're all with you."

"Make sure you kick that infections ass for me, okay?"

"Be safe. And come home, yeah?"

"Don't make my trip here for nothing, yeah?"

Neptu's eyes widened as voices rang deep in his mind, lighting up the darkness that began to consume

Zynna...Elizabeth...The Cross...Gin...

The light began to grow brighter, turning into a flame as the darkness receded.

I'm sorry I tried to give up on you. I won't do it again.

The darkness receded off of his body, making the shade wince.

"What the hell is going on?" The shade demanded. "Are you still fighting me, Neptu?"

"...You're damn right I am." Neptu hissed. "I can't give up on this life yet." The shade just laughed at this.

"Right," he said. "And how do you plan on making up for all the lives ended by your hand."

"I don't." The shade raised an eyebrow at this, but Neptu just smirked at him and he regained his footing. "I intend to bear these sins the rest of my life. To live with them."

"And you think you're strong enough on your own to handle that?" The shade asked. Neptu laughed at this.

"Nope," he replied, looking himself in the eye. He looked deep into the shade's being, and he did indeed see all the sins he'd committed. The lives lost, the destruction caused. The tears shed.

"Thing is though, I'm not alone. I've got them. I've got my friends, my family. And if I have them, I'll bear these sins as long as I have too!" With this, the ground around them began to light up in a pentagram shape.

"What?!" The shade shouted. "Those characters...?! The Araham alphabet! When did you have time to write that ritual on the ground?!"

"While you tossed me around mocking me," Neptu replied as he tossed the shades arm off of his collar, causing it to stumble backwards into the sacraments area of effect. "Word of advice, me. Don't think you've won until your opponent is truly dead. A certain pink haired man and his daughter showed me that little trick."

"You bastard!" The shade shouted as the sacrament began to light up. "The only way this things work is...!"

"Is to accept what your demon represents," Neptu replied with a small smile. "To live with what you've done, just as I'll live with you caged inside me. I carry enough on my back already. I'll be able to shoulder you too."

"With the, The Sacrament of the Saving Light cast itself, lighting up the entire sphere.

I think living with yourself is a far enough lesson, don't you guys think? I hope you all enjoyed, leave a review! See ya next Friday (Hopefully lmao)