Hidden in Black Ice Chapter 49, a frozen fanfic

Elsa let the tears fall down onto the ground as she gingerly picked up the torn coat that Edward wore and hugged them to her chest. All the while aware of the being right in front of her who looked down at her like wounded prey. Rationally, she knew she should move and defend herself but the memories of the young man crippled her. She thought about the first time she'd ever seen him and thought how rough he looked. He may have helped Kristoff but she instantly had a slight distrust for the man and only allowed him to be taken care of out of respect for that fact.

She planned on having him set out to conduct whatever business he had for coming to Arendelle until she learned that he was from Blackdust and knew about Elementals. That made her shift her plans a little to learn all she could from him as soon as possible. It was what a Queen should do but with every little interaction they had, she went from being a Queen to being Elsa.

Then she was kidnapped and when she needed someone the most, he arrived just in time. He showed her the dark part of him and felt that using his forbidden side was worth it if it saved her. He put her first before him not because she was the Queen, because she meant something to him that he didn't even know at the time. He was selfless, kind, courageous, insightful, intelligent, and supportive, many good qualities for someone to fall in love with.

He trusted her enough to confess to his sins and bared his soul to her even when she could've had him executed for such crimes. It was humbling to know that he held her in such high regard and that he paid enough attention to her to have little insights about her. He could easily carry a conversation with her on almost any topic and know when she would like to keep her thoughts to herself and when she didn't want to be the one to voice something that needed to be said. She didn't force her to say things and would rather wait until she was comfortable with saying them and he didn't push her. He was always supportive and had her safety and wellbeing at the forefront of his mind.

There was also his strength that she knew he possessed yet always treated her like a gentle flower. She had seen him rip a man's arm off and beat him to death with it but whenever he held her, she never felt safer. That was the paradox that was Edward. He was the worst nightmare of a bloodthirsty killer yet to her he was the best dream she ever had.

And now he's gone.

She let the sobs wracked her body as Rahim continued to watch her silently as he seemed to be waiting for something. The avenger was intently focused on her with no intention of attacking her. He wanted to see the moment, the moment her sorrow would turn to rage. All humans were predictable in that aspect, he had done it, all the Mystic Guard members had done it, so she would too.

He thought his earlier comment about how he couldn't have done it without her would push her over the edge but it hadn't. All it did was drove her into deeper sadness. Maybe she had been broken beyond rage and would remain in this pitiful state indefinitely. From Wrath's memories of her, she was such a weak pacifist, always tip-toeing into a room when she could command anyone inside.

Her power was immense, she should've been able to combat him but she was too weak to. Raith had been a lightning Elemental and decimated quite a few of Mystic Guard members but not even his power held a candle to hers. It was why he so intently watched her during his time in Arendelle because if he were to give her an opening, that would be it. Yet even when he established himself as a danger, she still held back.

Well…

Rahim turned to the icicle that was embedded into the ground a few meters away. The ground was completely dug up with the force of the shard and at the base of the impact crater was more ice shards jutting up like a flower. That attack she sent his way certainly would've killed any human if it hit them but was so obvious when he saw it heading his way. A novice would've been able to dodge the attack yet she still sent it with real desperation in her core.

While he held Wrath's head in front of her, he waited for the demon to say some meaningful thing to her just so he could accent her despair and crush the head right after. Hearing him say he loved her for the first time ever was better than the avenger could've hoped. To see her drop to her knees and clutch the tatters of his coat to her chest was exquisitely delightful to him. He could see it in the way her shoulders shook that he truly devastated her.

Yet he still didn't feel an ounce of anger come from her.

Reaching out with his free hand, he gently placed a hand under her chin and lifted her face up so she could look at him with tears leaking from her eyes.

"You hate me don't you? You hate me for taking someone that you love right in front of you. The despair you feel right now is only a prelude of the storm of hatred that will consume your life. Nothing will be able to settle the storm inside you, only my death will bring you some semblance of peace that has been forever stolen from you as long as I'm alive."

He had hoped that she needed a quick jumpstart or an explanation of what she should be feeling but her facial expression did not change. He did not feel any anger come from her at all, just the obvious sense that she was deeply hurt by her loss. The more he held her gaze and didn't see those blue eyes of hers ignite into rage, the more he thought that perhaps she was just broken beyond all repair.

When he finally decided that this was a waste of time and that he should be on his way, did she finally speak.

"I don't hate you. I pity you."

Out of all the things she could've said, he did not expect that. Not only was it completely unexpected but it was completely out of place given the situation. She pitied him?! How could that line of thought have possibly crossed her mind given what had just happened. She loses a loved one and she pities the person that took them away from her? The avenger couldn't possibly understand that line of thought no matter how many times he turned it over in his head.

"You pity me? That's an odd thing to say given what you just lost. I cannot begin to understand why you would feel that way towards me. Are you perhaps so weak that you cannot build the anger that comes from a loss and so you decided to just accept that there is nothing you can do to make me pay? If that's the case then I should perhaps be the one who pities you, a weak woman who cannot honor someone she loved."

The tears on the blond's face stilled but remained on her cheeks as her eyes became more defiant as she stared at him.

"I am honoring him. You spent your entire life consumed by your lust for revenge that you died the day he took away your mother. You've spent every moment since then with the single minded desire to destroy someone who was just as much as a victim as you. All the happiness you could've had you squandered and everyone you killed for the sake of achieving your goal was for your sake, not the sake of the one who died. Your mother would've never wanted you to cause so much pain and death on her account, she would've wanted you to live your own life and grow."

Elsa rose to her feet and clenched her fists as she stood tall to the avenger and spoke her mind. "Even with all the darkness and pain that was his past, Edward still found his way to happiness. He took one step forward at a time to get to where he was, he tried to make amends for what he has done and tried to be a better person for it. You on the other hand, chose to stay in the dark and lose yourself to anger within you until you couldn't see that you involved innocent people that had nothing to do with your problems."

The blonde took a step forward and jabbed him in the chest with her finger so she could get her point across. Even with tears in her eyes, she refused to back down or shy away from the thing in front of her. In her off hand, she could feel the pocket watch that they all had gotten for the young man held tightly in her hand and it gave her the strength to say her next words.

"So yes, I pity you because you aren't nearly as strong as Edward was!"

The whole courtyard seemed reverberate with the force of her shout as she began to breathe heavily after finishing what she said. Elsa felt suddenly breathless as she let out what was on her mind. While it was true she was devastated right now, one hug from Anna, she'd probably be sobbing uncontrollably, she couldn't just sit back and let this thing tell her how to honor someone that would never want her to act like he suggested.

Edward was a gentle soul that was capable of doing what he needed to if things went too far out of control. His anger was definitely a prominent trait but he kept it under control and only let it out for important reasons. He confided into her that he wished that he could find another way than just killing everything that stood in his path. That he wished that he could be better and just protect the people he cared about. Succumbing to the same despicable level that Rahim did was something Edward would ever want for the woman he loved. He cherished her kindness and never wanted her to lose that part of herself.

That was what she told herself while she clutched his coat to her chest. It was because of that she didn't lose control and let out all her pain in a violent manner. She wanted to be as strong as Edward truly believed she was.

Rahim on the other hand, felt the inferno of rage arise. Not in the woman in front of him, he felt it in himself.

How dare she say that I am not as strong as Wrath was!

I killed him!

I'm the victor!

After everything he's done, he DESERVES DEATH!

The avenger looked down at the insignificant pest that was in front of him and felt his rage continue to build. If it were even possible, he was angrier than he was with Wrath. This woman was no threat to him and he could kill her quite easily yet she dares to sit here and openly question his life choices and desires. What could she possibly know about him?! Whatever Wrath told her didn't give her the right to judge, she knows nothing about how much he had suffered.

The more he thought about Elsa, the angrier he got and the more he felt the inferno of vengeful rage become focused on her. He had wanted to see her fall to anger and show how weak of a person she was, but Rahim lost interest in that possibility. Now more than ever, he wanted something more than Wrath's death or suffering.

He wanted her dead.

"Queen Elsa!"

The two of them turned when they recognized that voice. Hector was sprinting over to the blonde with his maces in his hands ready to fight at a moment's notice. When he got close enough, the noble took a quick swing at the intruder who simply stepped out of the way and let the guard get in between him and that pest.

Rahim regarded the noble with a critical eye for a moment as he felt his rage at the blonde lessen a bit yet continued to smoulder. As he focused on the guard, he could feel the anger that was in the man in front of him's heart. He could see images flash through his mind that all felt connected to the man's rage. He was mad at the Queen for always running ahead into danger and making his job harder.

Yet there was something more, there was genuine wrath buried deep inside the noble.

The more Rahim focused, the more he began to uncover what the man was hiding.

"Your Majesty! This is not the time to run off on your own! You could've been killed and that would've been a serious blow to Arendelle!" Before Elsa could respond, the avenger spoke first.

"Well it wouldn't be the first blow she's dealt Arendelle would it? That snowstorm was such a harsh one wasn't it? You were prepared for it, Stonewell made damn sure of it, but they weren't, were they?"

Hector whirled around to face the intruder as his hands tightened on his weapons. He told himself to calm down but his body continued to shake in quiet rage. There was no way for him to know what had happened in the cave. Yet the way he talked made it seemed he knew exactly what had happened. Elsa looked confused behind them as she heard chuckle before he continued.

"You weren't even on duty and when they needed you most, you failed them. You gave them your food, braved the elements for them, but all your effort amounted to them dying in that cave."

"Shut up…"

Rahim could tell Hector was dying to rip him to shreds yet the guard had a duty to protect the Queen. The avenger didn't really think much of the noble at first, that initial feeling probably came from Edward since the two of them didn't really get along but Rahim could feel the rage swirling inside the noble and respected him for it. He may have been a weak human, but he wasn't afraid of using his talents, he knew how to get ahead in life and fulfill his goals. The avenger wanted to see how this would play out so he continued to speak.

"What did you tell their families I wonder. That you had a camping accident and all but you died? They must've been a tad bit suspicious, maybe they blame you for all of their deaths but you and I both know who's responsible."

Hector knew what the enemy wanted, it was a basic strategy. Disrupt the mind of your opponent and use their weaknesses against them. He targeted Elsa earlier and was aware of her abilities. Now that there were two against him, he would try to give himself an advantage. Turning her own guard against her was a good strategy, one that would likely give him the chance to kill her. Even though the noble knew that very well, he couldn't stop the rage that he buried deep inside from coming to the surface.

Rahim was right, he told his friends' families that there was a camping accident and they all but him died. He didn't tell them that his friends died to a snowstorm that their Queen had created. He didn't want to cause a rift in Arendelle over a simple vendetta. Elsa has done good for Arendelle, he could admit that but he could also admit that she was a threat. One that he had faith the council would mitigate if they could gain control of her. It was why he took this assignment, why he buried his deep feelings so he wouldn't go crazy looking at her every day.

"Hector, what is he talking about?"

The noble turned around to see her blissfully ignorant face. In her hands was still the bloodied greatcoat that belonged to Edward who was nowhere to be found. He had heard her shriek and see the tear stained cheeks of her and was surprised she hadn't broken down yet. He didn't want to have this conversation now, there was an enemy in front of the two of them and if they didn't stay focused, they would both die.

Unfortunately, Rahim didn't care that Hector didn't want to speak.

"I'm talking about the snowstorm that you created on your coronation. The one your council said that didn't take a single life. They lied to you. There were four fatalities. Hector here watched them all go, trapped in a cave with no food and nothing left to do except watch them freeze one at a time."

Shock appeared on the woman's face as she whirled to the noble's face hoping desperately that he would deny the accusation. When he looked at her with a cold look and said nothing, did her legs finally give out. Her breaths began to increase and icey puffs escaped her lips as she started to shake.

She had asked over and over if there were any fatalities due to her snowstorm. Multiple times she was told that no one died, she had scoured the village registry and spent hours at the church as well as the morgue to make sure that no one died to freezing to death. She wanted to know that no one died due to her lack of control. After she was sure that no one did, she did her best to make up for that debacle, property and crops could be replaced.

Lives could not.

As she sat there with a shocked expression frozen on her face, Rahim started to laugh. Seeing defiant eyes being broken down into despair twice was quite satisfying but he wanted to see them vacant. He took another moment to enjoy it before taking a step forward and was about to draw his weapon when he leaned back to avoid a mace aimed at his head. He angled his head toward Hector who stood in front of the woman with a fierce glare.

"You can't seriously want to protect her after she killed your friends? I can feel how much anger you have aimed at her. There's no one here but us three, you clearly can't fight me, no one will be able to blame you if she dies."

"That may be the case but I took an oath. It is my duty to protect the Queen of Arendelle."

Rahim would've had a confused expression if he had a distinguishable face. He couldn't understand why someone with a clear hatred for someone else who was responsible for someone's death, didn't wish for the guilty party's life. In the avenger's opinion, Hector was resolved of any duty he may have sworn to the Queen after she was responsible for the death of his friends in which he was blamed for.

Yet here he was, ready to defend her against a superior opponent that he had no chance against.

"You are a fool. Revenge is all that matters, any intelligent human would be able to tell you that when someone takes something from you, you take it back. When someone beats you in a fight, you train and give them payback. When someone kills someone you love, you kill them. That is what it means to be human. We are a violent race that have been killing each other for less for centuries. Only when you have purpose in killing another, is when one can become stronger."

"What a load of crap."

Rahim's eyes would've narrowed in annoyance and confusion as Hector continued to speak.

"Just because you couldn't get over your mommy's death doesn't mean that everyone is like you. Only weak people let revenge consume them. The thing about 'an eye for an eye' is that everyone ends up blind. Yeah it may feel good at that moment when you finally get your revenge but what are you left with? What are you left with? Edward's dead, you don't even have a body, you can't do anything, all you are is doomed to roam this mortal plane without feeling anything. Sounds like hell to me."

The avenger's grip on his weapon tightened as he could pick out the humorous tone coming from the noble. This worm had the gall to laugh at him?! He already proved earlier how easy it was to subdue him, what was with these Arendellians? Did they all just have a death wish?

"Do I have my issues with the Queen? You're damn right I do. After tonight, I'm going to give her an earful. Yet despite what she's done in the past, it's what she's done since then that matters."

Elsa slowly began to look up at Hector's back as he continued to defend her from her attacker. "She works herself to the bone to do what's best for the people and Arendelle. Under her watch we have flourished and the people are happy, she is Arendelle and she would defend it if push came to shove. As long as she stands for Arendelle, I will protect her despite whatever I feel because I know that if one of her people needed saving, she'd be the first to run to their aid. That's what makes her stronger than any other ruler, with or without her powers."

The blonde let a few more tears fall from her face before she got to her feet and wiped her face with her sleeve. When she was done, she took a step forward so that she was next to Hector and held her hands out in front of her with ice dancing in her palms. While she was still shaken by the revelation that people had lost lives thanks to her, she still had a duty to uphold. She had sworn to protect her people, Hector was part of that, he may have been charged to protect her but she would assist him because he was her people. So no matter what inner turmoil she had in her heart, she would always stand up to defend her people.

Rahim looked at the two of them for a moment and could see that they were both quite serious about fighting him. He listened to what they had to say and deemed them as delusional and even more pathetic than average humans. As such, he would take great pleasure in killing them both.

He took a moment to tie the dull red stone that used to be Wrath's core to his weapon using the gray strings near the base of the sheathe. It was a wonderful addition to his prized weapon, the heart of his mother's killer now on display whenever he drew his weapon. Grasping the hilt with his hand, Rahim drew the katana with no rush and let its ring fill the air as he stared down his two opponents.

"At least now Wrath won't go to hell alone."

Drip…drop…

The sound of water continued to echo in his ears as he opened his eyes. The first thing he noticed was that he was laying down and the ground felt so cool against his skin. He had no idea where he was or how he got here, it was as if he had just awoken from a deep slumber. His surroundings were white, just a white void as he continued to look up. He turned his head slightly to see that the ground in which he was laying down on was like water. There were no ripples, just a neverending expanse of a reflective surface that looked familiar.

He continued to lay there, it could've been minutes or hours, or perhaps it has been days, weeks, months, or maybe even years. He just continued to lay there. His body was too lax to get up from the reflective surface. His mind wasn't anymore helpful as it couldn't even form a thought or desire for him to get up.

He just continued to stare into the white void above him and listened to the only sound that existed on this plane.

Drip…drop…

"ello…"

His brows crinkled at the faint sound that broke the monotony of sounds that enveloped this space. He wanted to investigate what made the sound but his mind fought him at every turn, soon he was docile again and continued to listen to the sound that repeated itself once again.

Drip…drop…

"Hey…"

There it was again, another interruption that broke his tranquil state of mind and made he want to investigate. His mind once again fought to keep him docile and return to listening to the sound of water. His struggles lasted for another moment before he was lax again and was hypnotized by the sound of water.

Drip…drop…

"GET UP!"

The calm surface of the water that was ground shook as waves exploded all around him as the peace he had was destroyed. He felt his body get hit with the waves that threw around until finally one knocked him under the reflective surface. The white void instantly disappeared and was replaced with darkness and hellish wailing.

There was so much that he tried to clamp his ears but the wails were in his bones, in his very soul. There were way too many to count, he was going to go crazy listening to all of them.

So he tried to return to the peacefulness that was the white void by swimming to the surface but as he was about to break the surface, his head smashed against it and he found he couldn't get through it. He stayed there and tried to break through the barrier with his fists but no matter how much he pounded, it wouldn't give.

The wails continued to grow louder and louder as he tried desperately to return to the peace that was the white void.

"I don't think you want to do that."

Somehow the soft voice reached his ears despite the wails and the young man looked around desperately for the origin of the voice. He couldn't see anything with how dark it was as he tried to remember where the voice came from.

"It's quite loud here, you won't get anything done with all that wailing."

"I can't make it stop!"

The voice chuckled as the young man heard the earlier sound of water.

Drip…drop…

"Of course you can, you're the one who's wailing."

The young man's eyes widened as he blinked and the darkness of the veil lifted to see hundreds of copies of him all in the same posture he was except that they were all screaming at once. Their bodies were all cut up and injured in some way with varying degrees of wounds that looked fatal.

As he watched all of them, he felt a sharp pain in the back of his left knee before another wave of pain coming from his chest. He held in his screams as he didn't want to add even more wails to the already ear splitting surroundings. Next came every bone in his right hand being snapped that broke the seal on his mouth. Then came the feeling of his left elbow being crushed before finally his right knee and ankle were broken.

His wails joined the others as he continued to scream in pain as all of the other's wounds began to assault him with pain.

He continued to scream in absolute agony as he felt himself die over and over only for the pain to increase every time. He wanted it to end, he wanted all the pain to go away. As he begged for it to go away, he felt the barrier to the white void begin to weaken. With the desperation of a mad man, he savagely began to beat into the barrier and to his pleasure he watched cracks beginning to form in front of him. It wouldn't take too many hits before the barrier would give and he would return to the peacefulness that was the white void.

"I'm warning you. You really don't want to do that."

The thought was ludicrous, he was in Hell right now. He would do anything to make it all go away, which was why he kept beating on the barrier and with a yell sent a punch that broke the barrier and the hand that made it through was instantly assaulted by sweet peace. The young man clawed at the hole and made it bigger and bigger until it was big enough to fit through.

He could see the white void and was about to dive in head first but a hand grabbed his shoulder. The grip on his shoulder made the wails somehow get even louder and the young man turned feral trying to remove it but they held on.

"If you go into that void, you'll be leaving everyone behind."

The young man followed the hand that was on his shoulder until he saw Mr. Jorgen sitting next to him, upside down. Somehow, the old man was sitting against the barrier like he was sitting underwater on the water's edge and the young man was swimming to break the surface. The old man's face was peaceful as if he couldn't hear the wailing but it still rang excruciatingly painfully in the young man's.

He didn't care about the old man's warning, he wanted this Hell to end. So he fought to break free of the grip on his shoulder so he could finally get the peace that he's been wanting for so long.

"Is that really all they meant to you? The promise of eternal peace is enough to forsake all of them?"

He wouldn't have listened, if one of the wails changed in pitch and voice. For a moment, he forgot all about the other wails and tried to focus on that particular wail that was so different from the others. As he looked around the sea of copies, he could see deep into the darkness was Elsa screaming her lungs out.

Without much thought, he swam toward the blonde but with each push he made the other wails would continue to get louder and louder. As he continued to get closer to her, she sank more and more. He needed to get them both to the void so that they could escape this Hell, that single thought kept him swimming but his body kept being attacked by the wails that weakened his body.

Leave her…

He shook that thought away as he continued to swim.

Go back to the peace…

He shut his eyes and kept pushing himself.

You never belonged anyway, she'll be better off if you never existed…

Tears stung his eyes as he opened his eyes and he could see that she was arms length away. He reached out with desperation and as he was about to grab her, she exploded into black dust right in front of him, and the wails volume went up to an unimagined degree. He needed to get back to the peace, this was too much for him to take. As he was about to turn and swim back, he heard another voice.

"OVER HERE!"

It was the voice from earlier but now it was much closer. At first he couldn't hear it calling to him but now he could recognize it with the wails engulfing him.

Opposite from the way to the white void was another reflective surface. This one didn't have a white void on the other side, this one had a black sky with a full moon. That wasn't all that was there, he could make out someone on the other side of the reflective surface. He saw himself banging against it trying to get his attention.

He reached out toward himself and felt the wails impossibly get louder. He flinched back and looked back to the white void and could feel it beckoning him forward. The wails around him were so painful and if he kept going toward the other surface it would only get more painful. It made the white void all the more appealing, yet at the back of his mind, he felt that he should go toward himself who was banging on the surface.

As he drifted there undecided if he wanted more pain or not, he took another push toward himself to see if he could deal with the wails but he felt a sharp pain across his chest as something rushed by him. He looked down to see black dust flowing from a deep cut on his chest and he looked around to trace where it had come from.

Not two meters away was another copy of himself, but this one was wearing his old Mystic Guard uniform and had his fabled katana in hand. The copy put himself in between him and the other reflective surface and pointed toward the white void without saying a word.

He held his wound with his hand as it hurt even more than the wails and felt himself drift back toward the white void with the copy following him, making sure he did return.

"THAT'S THE WRONG WAY, YOU NEED TO COME HERE!"

He could hear the desperation that came from the first copy's voice but his body kept drifting closer and closer to the hole. The wails gradually got smaller as did the voice that begged him to swim toward the full moon. Before long, he and the copy had return to Mr. Jorgen who looked up from his sitting position and was saddened to see that they had returned.

The copy swam forward and held the tip of his blade at the old man's throat daring him to make a move as he moved away and motioned that the hole was clear. He looked at the two of them before looking at the hole to white void as it felt so inviting to just surrender to the peace that it offered. He was about to dive in head first when Mr. Jorgen spoke again.

"Is this really what you want? Your entire life you struggled, and now you're just going to accept this is how it ends? Are you really willing to give up after enduring all the pain that you went through your entire life. Are Elsa and everyone in Arendelle not worth fighting through this Hell for? Do they really mean that little to you, Wrath?"

He looked down at his hands and saw that they were claws instead of human hands as his mind cleared a little bit. He was Wrath the Furious. The Sin that was an attack dog for Father his entire life and killed so many people and was hunted down and killed by one of his victims. Rahim had come from the dead to kill him and succeeded.

He looked at Rahim as he held Mr. Jorgen by swordpoint and swiped his katana, making the old man disappear before turning his blade toward the demon.

"You've suffered enough, it's time to let go and enjoy the peace that you've been denied your entire miserable existence."

Wrath looked unsure but the sound of wails increasing had him inching closer and closer to the hole. His entire life was pain, and he was tired of feeling it.

They don't need you.

They would be safer without you.

All you are is a weapon.

The voices came back and deadened his mind as he was about to raise a clawed hand to enter the void.

All you are is a monster.

Wrath's hand halted as it almost touched the void. His mind began to echo with one word.

Monster…

What was so important about that word?

The demon racked his brain trying to figure out what was with that word but kept coming up blank. He knew what the word meant of course but what about it was important? He guessed that by definition he could be considered a monster…

You aren't a monster!

Wrath's head rang with that sentence as Elsa's voice echoed all around them. He remembered that she hated when Edward called himself a monster and made him not call himself that anymore. The demon never agreed to the woman's terms and could do so but it gave him a headache whenever he thought he was.

You're a monster…

You're not a monster...

You're a monster.

You're not a monster.

You're a monster!

You're not a monster!

You're a monster!

You're not a monster!

Wrath put both his hands on his head, the voices kept warring in his head. He recognized the first one as Rahim's while the other's was Elsa's. They were both splitting his head open that he wanted to jump into the void but another part of him wanted to bash his head into a brick wall.

One would grant him peace while the other would give him pain.

Logically, he knew that he should go with the option that gave him peace but he felt his very nature argue against it. His instincts were telling him to fight. His soul was screaming at him to break free.

His brain kept arguing that accepting the peace that was being offered right now would give him eternal relief. His soul though told him differently.

It showed him his life, all the bad that eventually led to her.

His mind was beginning to split into two and he was going to go crazy if he didn't make a decision.

"Eternal peace is right there."

"WRATH, YOU NEED TO FIGHT!"

The demon roared before turning his claws on Rahim and skewering the young man on them. The two of them looked at one another for a moment before the avenger's face scrunched up in rage.

"Hell it is."

All at once, all the other suffering copies swam with their own katanas on the demon's position. Wrath threw away the first copy and swam as fast as he could toward the full moon and the one copy that was banging on the surface. He weaved as much as possible to avoid all the attacks that came on him from all sides but one connected until more did as well. Before long he was rained on by cuts that didn't leave an inch of his body without a blade cutting into it.

Death of a thousand cuts sounded painless compared to the millions and millions of cuts that engulfed him. Wrath couldn't see anymore, his body felt heavy as he tried to swim to the moon but he could feel the copies grab him and start pulling him so that they could continue to cut into him.

"YOU'RE ALMOST THERE!"

The voice sounded so close, like he was right there but Wrath couldn't tell. His eyes had been gouged out and it was a miracle his limbs had been cut off. What good that did however as he finally felt his body give out and he could slowly feel himself being dragged back into the Hell the many copies of Rahim had waiting for him. He reached a hand out and felt one of his claws scrape the barrier before being pulled away.

Someone, anyone, please help me…

Alright, because you asked nicely.

A gentle hand grabbed his wrist and someone lightly tugged on it that somehow overpowered the innumerable amount of Rahims dragging him down. He felt his hand press up against the barrier and his vision returned as he saw Edward on the other side with his hand pressed against his. Cracks began to form in the barrier and when it broke, the young man reached down to grasp the demon's wrist and pulled with all of his strength.

The Rahims all pulled on Wrath trying to drag him back down but Edward was winning their tug of war little by little before he let out a roar and pulled the demon completely through the hole. Wrath instantly felt all the pain that assaulted his body disappear as he laid face down against the reflective surface. While his body still ached from his wounds, he could feel them beginning to heal as he forced himself over on his back to look up at Edward who had his arms crossed as he looked down at the demon.

Wrath didn't know what to say, what he just experienced was Hell in his opinion and that white void was so peaceful that he dared to call it Heaven. He would've stayed in that white void if the young man had kept his mouth shut but the demon didn't know if that was a bad thing or not.

"Why are you laying down, we're not done yet."

The demon looked confused as the young man simply pointed in front of him which made the predator sit up and look in the direction. Following the finger, the Sin could see his courtyard, the weapons he had collected were all there and in the center of them was Rahim's katana, still being held by a featureless figure.

"He's the one who kicked you out of your own courtyard, are you going to take that from him? If so then you can swim back to that white void that would grant you eternal peace. If not, if you are willing to fight once again for what you want most, then your first step is defeating him and returning."

Wrath looked up at the young man and watched him begin to walk away in the opposite direction as he began to fade away. When the demon realized that he wasn't going to help, the predator reached for him and called for him.

"Aren't you going to help?"

Edward said one thing before disappearing.

"This is your soul, you're the King here. You're the one with the power here, no one else."

Wrath stood to his full height as he looked at where the young man was just moments ago before turning back to the gate. He closed his eyes and took a breath. He felt the ground with his talons, the composition of his soul that were still his own. He felt each weapon in that courtyard, all of their rage and hatred was his to see.

Amidst all of that rage was an intruder, one who was messing with one of his relics. He felt his own rage respond to him as he took a step into his courtyard and got the attention of the intruder who was just a mass of black dust. The predator looked at the mass while taking long steps toward it before he towered over it and bent over at the waist to get closer to it.

"You aren't Rahim."

The figure said nothing as Wrath continued.

"Rahim's soul is still firmly locked into that weapon you're holding. All you are is an echo of his soul, the bitterness and anger that he has held for me for his entire life. And if all you are is an echo…"

The figure quickly tugged on Rahim's katana and took a swipe at the predator's neck but found his hand caught by a clawed one.

"...then you're nothing but power for me now that you're here."

Wrath finally opened his mouth and revealed his large jaw that looked absolutely ravenous before he began to devour the intruder feeling the black dust that constituted them giving him power. When he finished his meal, he placed Rahim's katana back into the ground then he looked up into the single star in the sky.

Payback time.

As Elsa and Hector prepared for Rahim to charge, something happened. The stone tied to the katana began to brightly shine which surprised the avenger. "What's going on?!"

The blackdust that constituted his body started to leave his body and flow into the stone before they rearranged themselves and created a clawed hand that grabbed his arm. More and more blackdust flowed from Rahim into the hand that made an arm, next a shoulder, a chest, legs, another arm, then finally a head that resembled the avenger's worst nightmares.

"That's impossible, I killed you…"

The blonde woman recognized what had formed and felt tears flowing down her cheeks as she smiled wider than she had in a long time.

Wrath in all his demonic glory, leaned down so that he could look at that black dust that firmly clung to the echo of Rahim's soul at eye level before he spoke.

"You were close, but you made one critical error."

The demon caught the katana by the blade as it neared his throat without taking his eyes off the intruder.

"You decided to enter my soul, had you remained out here, I would've never figured out that all you are is an echo. And unfortunately for you, when I kill a human, I devour the echoes of their rage from their soul. Since that's all that you are...you're little more than food for me aren't you?"

The soul echo could now feel the murderous hunger that radiated from the demon in front of it. Its previous anger and satisfaction that came from killing Wrath evaporated as it paved the way for a new emotion.

Fear.

Hey guys hope ya'll enjoyed the brief death of Wrath. I thought about keeping him dead for a while but i still don't know how busy my schedule will be in a few days so I wanted to get this out of the way. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I actually like it a little bit, the little Heaven and Hell bit was fun to write but I hope it wasn't too confusing. Please remember to stay tuned for the next chapter where Wrath finally gets to fight in the real world like a Sin. please drop a review or a pm if ya'll want to contact me.