Quick shoutouts to highalphawolf Warframe1444 house56 blastforge for the favorites/follows. Hopefully I'll be able to knock out more updates since now I'm somewhat on vacation but I still have some packing as well as some last minute games I gotta play through as soon as possible.
"You're not Edward?"
Anna didn't know if she should be wary of the man in front of her who said that he wasn't her friend. She had seen what was hidden within him before and found it to be quite frightening to see the creature up close. Seeing the creature now in the form of the young man was quite jarring. The redhead watched him stand up and crack his neck and shoulders a few times while checking the back of his head for any more blood. She could see that Kristoff was also at a loss of what to say or do.
Grand Pabbie on the other hand seemed to not be as stunned as the two of them. "You've changed a bit since last time."
Wrath turned to face the small troll and crouched so they were more eye level. "Like Edward said, I found a sense of balance since last time. It isn't perfect but it'll have to do."
"Yes...that being that just left, you know what it was?"
The Sin sighed as he thought about it. He knew exactly what that was. He didn't know how it was possible but the signs were all there. He could still sense the inferno of anger that had moved quite a distance away from here.
There was no one else alive that had the amount of rage that Rahim possessed.
He should've made a move on that figure before it could grab that damn katana. Somehow it was able to absorb the dead warrior's consciousness and become Rahim, the same way that Sins took over a body and replaced the host. Now there was a reanimated warrior from the dead who already had a grudge for the majority of his life. Wrath was fortunate that Anna, Kristoff, and the trolls came when they did, if they hadn't then Rahim would've likely continued his assault and the Sin would be dead right now.
That raised the question of where the soldier would go. The only thing he wanted in life was Wrath's life, even if he was forced to retreat, he'd stay close to finish the job. Yet from the demon could sense, he had gone far away. The predator focused on the mass of anger and felt that it had just crossed into Arendelle. That didn't make sense, there was nothing of value in Arendelle, at least from Rahim's perspective.
"Well, I know who it was. It used to be the man who was actually born with this face." Kristoff had a look of confusion on his face before he widened his eyes when something came to mind.
"You mean Rahim?"
Wrath pointed in the blonde's direction and nodded. "Yeah, the guy who was hellbent on killing me the first time is now walking around in a new body. Before you ask me, I don't know how it's possible. All I know is Edward fell asleep then I saw this thing in my soul and when I went to approach it, it grabbed Rahim's katana and started roaring in my face then I woke up to someone wearing his armor beating my skull into the dirt."
Anna had a disbelieving expression on her face as she walked over.
"Wait, so that was Rahim, the Rahim who never stopped in his never ending pursuit to find his mother's killer? The one who charged any enemy with no hesitation and has faced Elementals as well as monsters during his travels? He ran away from…"
She pointed to Sven. "A reindeer," Then the trolls. "Moving rocks," Next Kristoff. "An ice harvester," finally herself "and a Princess?"
Wrath could see the point she was making, Rahim wouldn't have run from those odds. His long military history had him up against worse and he came out of it without being disfigured on his own. There had to be another reason the soldier would run.
And why he ran in the direction of Arendelle.
Grand Pabbie watched the interaction between the three people while he took a closer look at the young man. He could tell his soul was still divided by two parts but they had seemed to be more compatible with one another. Like they were beginning to blend. Yet right now, one side was completely dormant while the other one was in control, it wasn't like it was suppressing its other half. It was more like it's carrying the weight while the other takes a break. The troll was actually quite curious what brought about this change.
What 'balance' had the two of them found to begin accepting one another yet not become one?
"So this Rahim was who you were before becoming what you are now?"
Wrath looked over to the troll and shook his head. "No, Rahim was born with this body. I happened to be the thing who killed him and took over his body."
"And you think he has returned as a vengeful spectre desiring revenge against his killer?"
The demon probably would've laughed if his mood wasn't so dour. He had spent a lot of years fighting and killing yet never before has someone ever put him in the position that Rahim just did. When he was getting his head beaten, he wanted to fight back, to prevent his death. However with every slam, it became very clear that there was no point. His attacker had him dead to rights, there was nothing he could've done.
He actually feared for his life for once.
Sure there had been times when Edward tried to end both of their lives but he could fight against that. With Rahim, all he could do was prolong the inevitable. After fighting for so long, he was going to have the life choked out of him when he was at his weakest and couldn't sustain his life force during the assault.
He actually began to wonder if this is what his victims felt when he had them dead to rights. That their lives had come to an end and that regardless if they accepted that or fought against it, they were going to die. It made him feel slightly guilty again, made him question if they really deserved to be killed by him. Even though he tried to pass the sin on Talib who was the one controlling him, he still carried out the deed. Even if he was a mindless beast, he still had enough curiosity to absorb one of his victims minds and learn from it.
Unfortunately though, he happened to pick the worst one of the long list of warriors that were killed by him.
For once, he wasn't a predator anymore. He was the prey, Rahim's prey. That realization brought about a feeling that he had a loss of control, and he wanted it back. The only way he could see that he could regain it was by killing the soldier again.
"Grand Pabbie, one of the advantages about being me is that I can sense the wrath in others and when I kill them, I can absorb the wrath from their souls. Over the many years, I've tasted hundreds, maybe thousands, of different brands of wrath. However Rahim's was easily the purest and most blatantly ferocious that I've ever encountered. In his mind, all that mattered to him was killing me, you can imagine how he would feel if he learned that I used his body to live. At first, I thought he just changed his name to Edward to escape his guilt and reinvent himself but there's a fundamental difference between the two. Edward hated the union of this body, Rahim hates my existence. I doubt that there is nothing more he wants then to see the life drain from my eyes."
"Then why did he run?"
That was the third time that question was asked and Wrath was sick of it not being answered.
The demon jumped to his feet and began to stride toward the entrance to the valley. "Where are you going?" Wrath didn't turn around to face the troll, only shouted over his shoulder.
"To ask him, right before I kill him again."
Anna, Kristoff, and Sven all looked at each other for a moment before running after the young man and catching up with him at the entrance. They watched him kneel down over something and take a moment to examine it. The ice harvester walked up and looked over the man's shoulder to see him holding Edward's katana in his hands.
What was left of it anyway.
The sheathe had been snapped in half while the blade was just in pieces on the ground. The ice harvester and Princess looked confused at the sight. There was only one person who could've done this and they had more to gain from taking the weapon instead of destroying it. The redhead couldn't stop herself from asking as she watched the young man toss the shattered remains of Edward's weapon.
"I don't understand, why wouldn't he take the sword with him? He could've used it."
Wrath knew why. Rahim cared for his katana very deeply. After gaining his memories, the demon knew of all the time and effort he poured into that weapon. He wanted it to be perfect when he finally confronted his mother's killer.
How Wrath had come to hate that weapon…
The blade was sharp, so sharp in fact that Wrath didn't even feel it slide through his body. All he remembered was having Rahim impaled on his claws then he felt his lungs fail. He suffocated but not before he felt everything else in his body fail as well. It was quite painful to be honest, feeling all of your organs shut down one at a time and the real kicker was Wrath had no energy to heal himself so all he could do was suffer until he woke up on the alchemist's lab table.
"The only weapon he wants is his. Looks like he really wants to kill me with his own blade. When he couldn't do it with his hands, guess he decided to get something that he knows will get the job done."
Ahimoth heard the gunshots coming from the ship he sailed on and had two men from the Southern Isles check out the disturbance. He would've gone himself or sent his own men but he had to protect Hans and revealing his men from their hiding spots could compromise their ambush. The Prince waited a few moments before one of the men returned to report.
"Your Highness, the men from Blackdust have been attacked. So far there is no sign of the enemy."
The large man cursed under his breath as he mentally prepared for what he was about to hear.
"How many dead?"
"There were only three casualties."
Just three?
From what Ahimoth had gathered from the attack in the Southern Isles, the assassin had racked up quite a bit of bodies and with what was state of Prince Albert was anything to go by, the man had a depraved outlook on how someone should die. "The survivors, did they see anything?"
"They said that a figure wearing armor described in the report swooped down and took them all barehanded. After disabling them, he went into the Captain's quarters and walked away with a sword in hand."
Ahimoth's face grew pale as he shot off toward his ship forgetting the King entirely. His men were still on standby so if any approached they'd be walking into an ambush. While it did cross his mind that if Hans died on his watch then he'd be in trouble, he recognized that if the council member died then he would be in even more trouble.
He raced up the gang plank of his ship and shoved his way through the crowd that was his men in front of the Captain's quarters. He burst through the door and stopped in his tracks. He could see the two guards with their decapitated heads in the corner of the room but that wasn't what he was focusing on. He was intently looking at the council member who was lying there in a pool of his own blood with his hand outstretched.
Quickly crossing the room, he reached down to check for a pulse and hopefully feel that the man was still alive. He honestly didn't expect to feel a pulse but it still made him swear when he felt none. He had fucked up, his job was to keep the council member safe on their little trip for answers and now they were dead. When the council hears about this, there will be hell to pay.
He wouldn't be surprised if they accused him of killing the man himself because the council member found signs of Rahim and the Prince killed him to cover it up. That would completely undermine his and his father's claim to the throne and could possibly encite an even bigger rift between them.
One that could very well result in another civil war.
Ahimoth shook his head, he could not think about this now. There was an assassin on the loose and capturing him would solve most of his problems. The men from the Southern Isles said that the man attacked barehanded before leaving with a sword. While the Prince said that they would set a trap for Rahim, he really meant for the imposter that was pretending to be his dead friend.
It was likely they took the katana and would've used it to kill Hans but so far no one has approached the ship where the King was. He supposed that the assassin could've been waiting for the right opportunity but why would he spare the men outside but kill the men inside the ship? If the assassin really wanted to frame Rahim, it would make more sense to leave the council member alive than killing them.
Judging by the blood splatter and the position of two guards that were missing their heads, they were killed first. Then the council member was executed with a single stab wound to the chest. The Prince knew that council member was no fighter so he would've likely stayed out of it, hoping his men would protect him. From what Ahimoth could tell from the wounds on the guards' bodies, they were killed in a single stroke. There were no wounds or tears on their bodies except for their head being missing.
Meaning their opponent was extremely skilled and took them both out with minimal effort.
Their weapons were also fired. The flintlocks were discharged and smelled of gunpowder. He turned back to the front of the room and looked for any bullet holes that signified that the men might've missed. When he couldn't find any, he moved to the rest of the room performing a quick scan of any breaks in the wood. His search yielded no results and he looked back at the position of the guards. They were a bit of a distance away from one another and well into the room. If he were them, he'd close the door to the quarters and aim his weapon at the door so when the enemy entered, he would fire then charge with the bayonets on his rifles.
Going on a limb and assuming they tried this tactic and they didn't miss, that meant their opponent wasn't threatened by bullets. That made things a little more complicated if their assassin could shrug off bullets. The Prince then knelt down to examine the council member's body again to see if he could get any more insight on what had happened.
The stab wound was quite deep and from the blood splatter a little ways away, the assassin whipped his katana to the side to clean it. That was definitely Rahim's motif, he hated when there was an imperfection on his weapon. As the Prince looked closer, he noticed the council member's outstretched hand and followed it until he could see that it was wet with blood at the fingertips. He looked closer and barely moved the hand to the side when he saw the message in blood.
Rahim has returned.
It was a crude way of conveying a message but effective. Question is, who wrote it? The council member certainly could've if he realized he was going to die and that he should at least warn the Prince of who was attacking them. Or perhaps it was the assassin who was trying to ensure that he would be seen as Rahim. If the latter was the case then Ahimoth was almost certain that it was Ian who had done this.
He left the men alive outside to tell the tale of a single man going through them easily like Rahim did during the civil war. Then killed three men in the confines of an enclosed enviroment while he collected his murder weapon. Perhaps they managed to see his face and realize that it wasn't Rahim and Ian decided to tie up loose ends. It made sense and also explained why no there was no more fighting in the direction of the Southern Isles ship. There were fires being taken care of on the docks and that only led to this ship, meaning the other guards hadn't been attacked yet.
Which begged the question, where did Ian go?
He wouldn't kill Hans because Ahimoth knew that they were working with one another. There was no way that usurper could just happen on Rahim's blade like that and survive an encounter with an assassin who was capable of taking his men down. The Prince initially couldn't come up with anything but then changed his line of thought.
What did Hans hope to accomplish by coming to Arendelle with Blackdust right on his heels?
He had already gained a kingdom thanks to the misfortune of his brothers. From what Ahimoth remembered of his last visit here, the King only wanted a kingdom to himself and set his sights on Arendelle. Now that he had his own, it would make sense that he would call it a day and just enjoy ruling his kingdom. Mary even said that he would blackmail Elsa into not making any moves against his kingdom so his place in the alliance was safe. What more could he possibly want?
To him, the answer would be nothing since to this Prince's knowledge, Hans had already achieved his objectives. Anything past this point would just be foolish and greedy.
Greedy…
Ahimoth shot to his feet when something occurred to him. Last time, Greed had Elsa in his clutches yet she escaped. When Hans had them cornered in the dining room, he said that he had the witch and that he didn't need Anna. It would've been smarter to return to where they were keeping Elsa and force her to surrender her kingdom yet Hans went to the castle to capture Anna. The Prince may have angered the King into trying to execute them but gave the Princess a chance to surrender herself.
That made no sense.
Hans won the moment they captured Elsa. Why would he risk coming back to the castle for the redhead? It could've been petty revenge but Greed's little philosophy made it hard to see him going along with petty revenge.
Always protect what you already have and never risk it.
Greed had Elsa and came himself to save Hans from being captured since they could've made him tell them where the blonde was. Which meant that, Elsa was his target all along and he didn't want to risk her being freed.
Which meant that if Ian took Rahim's armor as revenge to frame him for murder of the Southern Isles Princes. How bad would it be if he was spotted kidnapping the Queen of Arendelle in a place where Rahim was rumored to be hiding? Especially with an envoy of Blackdust being here to confirm who the armor belonged to…
Ahimoth needed to get to the castle now and warn the Queen.
Elsa kept twiddling her fingers anxiously as she watched the Captain continue to man his post by the window. She saw the frown on his face deepen a while ago but didn't wish to ask what had happened. So far he hadn't said a word after sending some of the guards to carry out his assignments and she hadn't seen the light of an emergency flare illuminate his face so she could assume that one hadn't been fired yet.
The silence that ensued had her thinking about Anna. When a large number of guards returned from the harbor saying that Edward had sent them to help secure the castle, the blonde couldn't help but worry. While she was happy that he had managed to get her sister to cooperate, Elsa would've felt much better if he had extra guards with him. One of the men told her that they went to see Kristoff's family which made her feel a little better since no one knew where the trolls lived but still, the hairs on the back of her neck continued to stand.
While she waited for any new developments, she began to wonder what those gunshots could've been from. Her first theory was that Hans had decided to show his hand and began the first step of his plan, whatever it may be. That made her thoughts go to the Blackdust Prince who was supposed to be watching the King. The blonde involuntarily began to imagine him dead at the ginger monarch's feet as troops from the Southern Isles started their attack.
Logically, she knew that was an unlikely scenario given how battle hardened Ahimoth was. Plus he had brought his own men with him who were said to be an elite fighting force capable of dispatching forces larger than their own numbers. She really couldn't see such a large man being beaten by Hans. Especially given the personal feelings that the Prince had toward the King.
Which led to her second theory that Ahimoth finally snapped and just killed Hans himself. As she considered the implications of that line of thought, part of her was ashamed that she found a tiny part of her hoping for such a tragedy to occur. Despite the animosity she felt toward the man, she was a Queen and he was a visiting King to her kingdom, she had an obligation to keep him safe.
Regardless how she thought that if he were gone then her sister and Arendelle would be safe.
Elsa didn't wish anyone harm but with the events that Hans had put in motion, she found herself wishing that he wasn't in a position to do them anymore. That right there were her parents talking, in her mind, a very very deep part of her mind, she wished that he wasn't alive to pose a threat to her home. It was a dark thought that horrified her to think that she wished death on another human being but the dark part of her mind argued that it was Hans. The man who plotted to take over Arendelle twice. The one who had her kidnapped and imprisoned in her own castle. The one who put her loved ones in danger.
The man who made her sister think that no one loved her.
When Anna had told her what Hans had said to her in the parlor room where he left her to die, Elsa for once in her entire life, felt a murderous wave of anger wash over her. In that brief moment, the blonde wasn't sure she could've held herself back from launching a hail of ice spears at the man if he was in the room right then. Her sister calmed her down and told her that while it hurt at the time, she did know that there were people who loved her. That made the urge slowly ebb away but the blonde remembered the feeling.
Back then, she thought that such thoughts were horrible and should not be felt by a human being and aimed at another. To her, it just wasn't right to be that angry at someone. Even when she herself felt it and chastised herself for feeling it, she never really understood it until she met Edward.
He was the embodiment of wrath itself, he had felt that murderous rage many times and had lost himself to it. The result being the heavy chains of guilt that persisted to weigh him down. Even with all the things they shared and how close they've gotten, Elsa still couldn't understand how another human being could have so much rage and act on it to hurt their fellow person. The young man explained a few times that whenever he gets really worked up like the night of her kidnapping, he doesn't lose himself in a mass of rage like regular people.
His thoughts were orderly and he could think more clearly in the throes of anger. Everything to him was slower and he could make superior decisions quickly. His body then moved to turn the situation into his favor. There was no doubt or hesitation in his actions, like it didn't occur to him what he was doing would scar his mind. All he thought about was that moment.
When he explained that to her, she thought back to the time when Weselton guards had cornered her in her ice palace. She remembered just reacting, her overwhelming fear had her moving much faster than she would normally and had her focus on her next move. She didn't even realize that she had two men completely at her mercy with two horrible deaths approaching them.
When she realized what she was doing, she was horrified with herself, but before, when she was focusing on being in the moment, she found herself completely composed. Her breathing was even and all her moves were deliberate and effective like she was dancing. It sickened her to think that she had become so cold and calloused that she could almost kill two men without batting an eye. While she didn't fault Edward who had confessed that he had experienced such things many times and that his death toll was quite large, Elsa never wanted to feel that way again.
Which brought her to her current line of thought. She wondered what she would do if she were attacked again. As much faith as she had in Stonewell and her guards, she couldn't rule out the possibility that she would be forced to fight. Her recent kidnapping helped send that message home as there were people out there who made it their main occupation to kill people like her. Zavis's indifference to her ice powers came to mind as he felt no fear from them and continued to calmly step forward like a predator would its wounded prey. If she were attacked by another person like that, she wanted to defend herself yet keep from touching the darker part of her mind while in a state of fear and panic.
She thought about asking the Captain for some advice or lessons as her sister had done but ruled that out. While he would've been likely thrilled to teach his Queen how to be more formidable, he would've likely wanted her to embrace the very aspects she was trying to suppress. That led to thinking that Edward would be a good choice but like the Captain, he had classes to teach and his own matters to attend to. Stonewell's words of praise when it came to him and Wrath were very encouraging but the blonde was sure that he still had a ways to go and didn't want to interfere with that. Finally there was one big requirement that neither of them fulfilled.
They weren't Elementals.
She didn't doubt that they would have any useful advice but it would've meant more to hear it from someone who was like her. Someone who understood that with every touch, shock, or unexpected reaction, whatever they were holding would be encased in their element. To know that they had so much power at their fingertips and that people looked at them differently for it. Edward knew how that felt but he was able to keep that part of him secret so no one paid extra attention to his mannerisms.
She on the other hand, was examined by everyone the moment she left her room everyday.
Whether it be by her people, her guards, the staff, the council, or foreigners, they all were on their toes waiting to leap away from her they thought she would make a scene. Those who knew her did their very best to mitigate that instinct and she appreciated that they would approach her openly but she knew that they still had that lingering glance her way waiting for a single spark of magic. Children didn't really count since they were mostly amused and were blissfully unaware of how too much cold could do to a person. The adults knew though, they were very aware of the threats like hypothermia or just freezing to death. Both were very painful ways to go and it would destroy her conscience if she knew that she was the cause of someone dying like that.
A knock at the study door made the two occupants of the room jump as the Captain silently made his way to the side of the door. He drew his pistol and watched as Elsa slowly got to her feet and ready herself for an attack. When they were sure they were ready, he gave her a nod which prompted her to beckon the person to come in. The door opened and Hector walked in with a neutral expression on his face.
Upon seeing him, Elsa sighed in relief and lowered her hands as she watched her personal guard take a quick glance around the room before turning to the Captain with his eyebrow raised. "You planning on shooting me in the back?" Stonewell did not look amused as he lowered his weapon before stepping forward.
"Why are you here? The main point of Her Majesty hiding in here was to ensure the enemy wouldn't know where she was. Her personal guard coming here would be quite counterproductive, why aren't you at your post by her room?"
"Situation update. The castle has been alerted of the possible threat and I still have men standing by in her room. Since you would be hiding in here, I decided to check all the blindsides as well as posts for the other guards to ensure everything is running smoothly. Everything checks out except there is a broken window on the upper floor. I can't find the men that were patrolling that section of the castle and haven't found signs of a large group moving through the halls. I've alerted everyone that the castle has been compromised but instructed them to remain as if nothing had happened to keep the enemy from knowing. I had a group of men come with me and check every room for something amiss but found nothing except that the armory has been breached. No weapons are missing but there were a number of landmines missing. Seeing as you have a penchant for explosives, I thought I'd ask if you were the one to take them."
Stonewell absorbed the information and found himself agreeing for the most part of what the man did. Keeping the castle on silent alert had its risks but kept them from tipping off their enemy. The men who were patrolling the upper floors concerned him, there hadn't been any sounds of fighting or gunshots. He was sure that if they were attacked, they would hear some sort of conflict. All the men were personally vetted by him and would definitely put up a fight so the repeat of someone impersonating them would be mitigated. The fact that they all silently disappeared was worrying. It made him consider the escape route that he had set up in case they were overrun in this room.
"Yes, I did take a few to secure our escape route. Did you see any signs of blood or scuff marks, maybe the men on the upper floors were dragged away?"
"Neither, it was like they were snatched up without a fight. There was no struggle or disturbance. It bothered me that someone capable of this had taken so many landmines-"
"What do you mean so many? I only took a few."
Hector had a mildly confused expression on his face as he noted the older man's expression. "There were quite a few landmines missing, I assumed you took them all to plant traps for the enemy." The Captain shook his head as the gravity of the situation finally began to seep into the room. If he hadn't taken them, where had the rest of them gone? While they were quietly considering that, Elsa thought she heard something.
It was a faint sound that she had a hard time identifying. She could tell that it was familiar in some way but couldn't quite place it. "Do you two hear that?"
The two men turned to face the blonde and strained their ears for the sound. It took them both a moment but both of their faces paled when they realized the sound and where it was coming from. Hector was already leaping toward her as he yelled at the top of his lungs.
"GET DOWN!"
The ceiling above them exploded in a thunderous roar as wood and stone fell into the study and filled the room with smoke. In the corner of the room was Hector who had managed to tackle the blonde and move her out the way of the debris and was covering her with his body that had a few stray pieces of wood on his back. Stonewell was able to get into the other corner and avoid most of the debris and made his way over to dig them out. After moving the wood off the man's back, they both helped Elsa to her feet who had a few cuts on her arms but was fine.
"Are you ok Your Majesty?"
The blonde coughed but nodded in response to her guard's question and was alerted when she saw something fall from the hole in the ceiling. It was bigger than a piece of wood or stone and made a different sound when it landed. The sound of footsteps filled the room as Stonewell had his pistol out ready to fire the moment the figure became visible.
"Very clever, Walter Stonewell. Had it been anyone else, they would've committed to getting to Elsa's room rather than her study which has a hidden passageway behind that bookshelf. I had to consider what you would do if you suspected someone would try to assassinate her and realized that you would've played on the enemy's lack of information. Too bad that I know you well enough to consider what you might do."
The voice made Elsa relax as she recognized it as Edward's and was about to go to him when Stonewell barred her path with one of his arms. His face had a grim frown as the smoke cleared and he could see the armor of the assassin that was reported to have killed the Princes of the Southern Isles. He still had his pistol trained on the man's hooded face as he took a quick moment to consider the voice.
It may have sounded like Edward's but the underlying anger and bloodthirst wouldn't be used by the young man in the presence of the blonde. Something was off. That was the reason why Stonewell whistled and had men barge into the study and had them all ready their weapons to fire on the intruder.
"Who are you?"
The figure tilted his head in confusion before the sounds of chuckling began to be heard from him. The dark and ominous way the sound filled the room alerted the blonde that the person in front of her wasn't Edward even when he sounded like him. The chills that went down her spine were more intense than when she stared into Wrath's eyes the first time.
"Can't get much past you. Well then I suppose it's a good time to introduce myself..."
The figure took a knee with his right arm going across his chest and his left arm behind which revealed to be holding a katana in its sheath.
"I am the assistant adjutant of the 26th special division brigade of Blackdust, colloquially known as the Mystic Guard. Son of Talib of the Tainted Wisdom and brother to Shahbaz of Blackdust. Rahim, at your service."
Sloth was reading a book in her tavern room when she heard a familiar sound behind her. She didn't even need to turn around to know who it was. "Are you still upset that your plan to incriminate Wrath has gone wrong, Greed?"
The mentioned man walked until he was in front of her and plucked the book out of her hand so that she could look at him. "What have you done Sloth?"
"You're going to have to be more specific, I've done quite a few things in the last few weeks."
The man took a breath and suppressed the urge to rip her stone out. Despite the calm way she was speaking, they both knew that right now, she was at his mercy. Her skin was cracking and he could see the small amount of black dust slowly seeping out her body. It wouldn't take much effort to kill her now, but if he did so then he would still be left in the dark in what she had done.
"You resurrected Rahim who is now on a warpath heading toward the Queen. You know as well as I do that he plans on killing her in a horrible fashion to get revenge on Wrath. Talib expressly told us that he wanted her alive."
Sloth chuckled at the last part he said before speaking. "Alive? Weren't you planning something along the same lines when you tried to kidnap her sister and brother-in-law? If it weren't for me getting in your way, you would've had them in the palm of your hand and likely would've executed them just so Wrath could feel what it was like to lose the ones he loved."
Greed frowned when he remembered the last time, he'd seen Sloth. It was just like she said, he had snuck on the ship that the newlywed couple were on and planned on taking them hostage while being seen by the men on the ship in Rahim's armor. Unfortunately though, all the crew members were knocked out and when he arrived at the couple's room, the raven haired woman was waiting for him. She had quickly disabled him and motioned for him to be quiet as she more or less deduced his plan.
While he didn't have any intention of killing Elsa, only using her as bait to lure Wrath, it still went against both Father's wishes and Talib's. Sloth reminded him that the invasion was set to happen soon and it would be in his best interest to hold off on making any moves against Wrath until it was underway. His chances of killing Wrath with the chaos of a war going on would greatly increase.
When he asked why she wanted him to wait and make no move against Wrath, all she answered was that it would get in the way of her own plans. He debated on refusing and forcing his way through her but remembered what she could do. If he decided to escalate the situation right now, she could inform both Father and Talib of his intentions well before he would have the chance to enact his own plan. Sloth noticing his pensive expression said that if he withdrew right now without making a fuss, she would not only keep her mouth shut, she would arrange a situation when he would have time to carry out his revenge.
All it would take was him giving her Rahim's armor and giving Hans the katana.
The Sin weighed his options before agreeing to her terms and withdrawing. He kept a close eye on her, Wrath, Hans, and Ahimoth when they all got to Arendelle. To say he was surprised to see the armor that belonged to Rahim scream Wrath's name in anger before leaving the Sin to retrieve his weapon was an understatement. After watching the armor for a while, it finally occurred to Greed what had happened and he came straight here.
Somehow, Sloth managed to give her phantom Rahim's soul and now he was on a rampage likely going to enact revenge on the monster that killed him. If he succeeded then all of Greed's plans would be for naught and the Sin would not accept that.
"We had a deal, you said that I would get to kill Wrath yet you let loose a monster who cannot be killed by conventional means."
"You're right, we did have a deal and you will have your chance. You see, I didn't resurrect Rahim. I can't reanimate the dead, no one can. Once a soul has passed on, then they've passed on. What you see is just an echo of the bitter anger and resentment that Rahim has against Wrath. I have no doubt that this echo will attempt to kill Elsa but will ultimately fail."
"You sure about that? I don't see how they can defend themselves against something who has no body."
Sloth's eye twinkled. "You're right, there's no way they can destroy something that has no body. Elsa could but she won't be the one who does."
Greed took a moment to consider what the woman in front of him was inferring to and ultimately came to one conclusion. "You want Wrath to destroy that echo of Rahim, why, what's the point in that?"
"That's for me to know and for you to assist in slowing Rahim down until Wrath can get there, or you'll lose your prize."
The Sin sent her a scalding glare as he tossed the book across the room and turned to dust. Sloth chuckled a bit before using the last bit of her strength to summon a small phantom to retrieve the book for her and continued reading.
Better hurry Wrath, Rahim wasn't exactly known for his patience or willingness to relent.
Hans paced his cabin as his two guards continued to man the door. That oaf of a Prince had left a while ago which gave the King a perfect opportunity to go over the notebook he had gotten. It helped him fine tune the small loose ends to his plans when he heard the sound of dust swirling behind him and he saw Greed step out of it. Before he could say anything, the mysterious man turned to the two guards.
"You two, I need you to run to the castle and terminate the intruder with Rahim's armor. Do not engage any of the castle guards, he is your only target."
The two men didn't say a word as they left the room to fulfill their master's orders. Greed turned to Hans who had a confused expression on his face. "I thought you were the one wearing the dead traitor's armor."
"There's been a slight change in plans. You're to still proceed with your tasks and remain as an ally for now. I want you to stay on this ship, do not leave this ship until the threat has passed. The person wearing that armor right now will have no qualms about killing you, even if you're an ally of his."
Hey guys, sorry for the delayed update. I've been playing Bloodborne and am trying to finish my second playthrough and Final Fantasy VII remake hard mode soon so I can let my friend play both before I move out. Anyway I hoped you enjoyed the chapter because to be honest I certainly didn't. Hopefully, the next few will cheer me up. Please post a pm or review if you wish to contact me.