To the reviewer Goku275: thank you for saying so. I will complete this fanfiction just how long it takes is still in the air. I've basically planned out how it all ends but it's more on the lines of getting it typed up and not changing my mind. One thing that came from me not updating every week is coming up with new ideas that I'm hoping you all will love, like this chapter wasn't really supposed to happen in the original plan but I sincerely hope you like it. Thanks for the review and stay tuned, your review gave me the push to knock this chapter out after rewriting it.

So much rage….

...There was just so much rage.

Battles flashed through his mind.

Men, women, and children all zoomed by his mind and all of them either killed or were killed themselves. The predator could hear the anguish of each of their dying wails yet couldn't have a moment to consider each one before another replaced it. Wrath tried to remember what he was doing, yet his thoughts were so hazy…

Wasn't he fighting someone…

Or was he running from something…

These thoughts continued to bounce around in his mind as each new death flashed through his mind. So much death and gore should scar anyone who'd see it but to him…

...it was all he'd ever known.

All of this death was familiar, seeing bodies strewn all around with blood flooding from them was all that he expected from life. Seeing all of these deaths did nothing to his mind that was too far gone to be disturbed by such carnage. All it did was lull his mind as he tried time and time again to remember what he was doing.

"Return to me…"

Wrath barely heard the vaguely familiar voice and ignored it as he tried to rack his brain about what he was doing.

"Return to me."

The predator somehow registered the voice got fainter but he was sure he heard the message.

Return to me, who was saying that?

Wrath tried thinking of where he heard that voice but his mind wouldn't engage itself enough for him to even begin to consider the question.

"Return to me."

The voice kept repeating that same line over and over to the point that it was almost constant in becoming more faint yet still was easily repetition made his mind go even deeper into its lulled state. If Wrath was standing then his eyes would first close before his body shut down and he fell forward, dead to the world…

...and right into his mindless state once again.

Edward opened his eyes to see he was back in the courtyard with no sign of Wrath. Unlike before where the courtyard was filled with chilling silence and stillness, it was shaking and crumbling. The stone walls groaned and pieces fell off the walls as cracks appeared. Every weapon rattled as black dust began to leak from every single one of them.

It felt like the end of the world.

Edward spread himself out to try and keep his balance as he tried to figure out what was going on. The doors to the courtyard were ripped off first before the reflective surface just beyond the walls cracked.

"This isn't good…"

Edward whirled around to see the copy that rarely appeared standing at the crumbling steps, calmly looking in the direction of where the moon would be. The copy had a frown on his face as he walked unbothered by the degradation of the plane the two of them were in. He stepped next to the young man then turned to him with a serious expression.

"He's trying to erase it all. If this continues then everything here will be gone and all the knowledge that Wrath has gained will be gone and once again will return to being a mindless beast. This must be stopped."

Edward barely had a second to respond before the copy placed a hand on the young man's shoulder and a blink of the eye he was gone. The imitation's frown grew deeper as he looked at the spot the young man just occupied but shook his head before walking to the courtyard gate. He passed the gates and stepped onto the cracking reflective surface before raising both arms with his palms facing upwards and curled his fingers.

The weapons in the courtyard increased their rattling before ripping themselves out and flying out of the courtyard and straight into the reflective surface. Each one left a ripple as if they were passing through water, a torrential downpour of unique weapons that continued for some time before coming to an end. After the last one went below the reflective surface, the copy turned around and narrowed his eyes at the lone weapon that remained firmly in place.

Rahim's katana stood defiantly in the face of one who seemed to hold a great deal of control of the world around them. The imitation watched as the katana rattled before a large cloud of black dust began to leak out and started to create a form.

"I don't think so."

The copy took purposeful strides and tightly grasped the weapon's handle and with a grunt of exertion, the black dust was instantly sucked back into the blade and the weapon ceased its movement. The imitation let go of the lone weapon in the courtyard before raising his arms and took on an intense focusing expression.

The courtyard around him stabilized somewhat and quaked at a much slower rate than it did earlier. Veins appeared all across the imitation's body as it became very apparent that while he was staving off the degradation it took a great deal of strength to do so.

I cannot let all of this be erased, I've waited SO LONG for this chance…

Edward's perception of his surroundings were less than optimal, he remembered being in Wrath's courtyard before being sent away by the copy to a state of hellish pain.

it felt like his thoughts were digging themselves out of his brain. He wanted to cradle his head with his hands in a futile attempt to lessen the pain but found his body restrained. Black dust flowed in from several sources all around him as he remained anchored in place and forced to accept all of it.

Brief flashes of several lives flooded his mind as each of them ingrained so much information into his mind. He could see the memories of each and every one of those prototypes that attacked him at the harbor ambush and who they worked for.

Seeing Greed was a double edged pain as he regretted what he did to Ian but was furious that the Sin brought all of this to Arendelle because of it. He could even see further how these prototypes became what they were, Talib had updated his methods and figured out a faster way to make monsters.

Talib…

Seeing that monster's face made his blood boil and Edward started to fight against his bonds fiercely. The more that flowed into him the harder he struggled, his muscles began to expand as his teeth got sharper and the veins all over his body began to show in straining detail.

Return to me…

Edward instantly knew who that voice belonged to and he let out an enraged roar that sounded like it belonged to a demon straight out of hell. His struggles easily doubled as he pulled hard against his bonds making it inevitable that something had to give.

The ground shook as something heavy hit the ground and the black dust restraints snapped, freeing the young man who looked on the edge of transforming into his true self.

Edward took several deep breaths as sweat dripped his brow and he took a second to rest as well as organize his thoughts. While the rage he felt for the alchemist was still strong, it ebbed when the young man tried sifting through the large amount of information he just learned from seeing the memories of all the other prototypes…

The prototypes!

Edward whirled around and scanned his surroundings for any sign of the copies that attacked him, only to find that they had all disappeared without a trace.

No…

...that wasn't true.

Edward frowned as he looked inside himself and could feel all of their blind rage inside him. He honestly felt stronger and exhilarated by how much black dust he had, but also sick to his stomach they all were now his victims after he said he wouldn't kill.

A dark part of his mind wondered if Wrath had made each of them a weapon yet.

Trying his best to push those thoughts out of his mind, Edward went back to sifting through the new information that was in his mind. The entire invasion plan of Arendelle was now in his mind and he knew that Greed's plan had failed even with its contingencies. That thought should've brought relief to the young man's mind but all it did was cause dread.

The black dust that he was forced fed felt familiar, as if he was eating a trace of his own soul. It tasted old and decaying as well as devoid of all emotion. It didn't take too long to realize that those prototypes had small traces of Talib's soul in them which meant that he was somewhere close by as they all had a sudden increase in power from some unknown force.

Going through the memories of the prototypes, particularly how they received instructions, he found that Talib could talk with them through their mind and he coordinated them after Greed had been captured. To pull off something like that would require a great vantage point to see all the angles of the battlefield.

The best place for that would be the clocktower which, regardless if Talib was there, Edward himself could oversee what had happened while Wrath went on his instinctual hunt. The buildings around him were all destroyed and in ruins so he didn't trust they would support his weight if he hopped on rooftops. Which left the only option to get to the clocktower was using the streets with the least amount of debris.

He would have to go cut to main street before continuing onto the clocktower. With the prototypes out of commision as well as both Greed, Lust, The Duke of Weselton and General Julius in custody, Talib should have no more moves to play, however Edward couldn't bring himself to believe it. Somehow someway, the alchemist would have some kind of backup for this situation and now would be a great time to use it. What more he could do was unclear but the young man still hurried all the same.

The entirety of the clocktower had fallen and created a massive cloud of dust that made it quite hard for anyone to see. Gluttony was thoroughly crushed and several troops surrounded the downed goliath at the base of the impact.

At the top of the clocktower where the clock face was shattered, Talib slowly walked out disorientated with his hand on his head. His brain was split in half and was taking his time to settle his manic mind. The alchemist had tried to erase Wrath's mind to make him a blank slate once again yet for some reason he wasn't able to do so.

Something or someone had stopped the process halfway through and fought Talib tooth and nail to keep Wrath's mind intact. As they struggled against one another, the clocktower fell and Talib was interrupted in his concentration when the clock tower fell with him inside. The alchemist used the clocktower frame to support himself as his brain began to clear.

He looked back to the base of the clocktower and could feel no brain activity from Gluttony so he assumed the large goliath was out cold, making him useless

Well useless isn't the exact word I'd use…

Given the size of the large behemoth as well as the clocktower falling on him, there was a fair amount of dust that would do well to draw the Arendellian troops' attention.

Throughout the duration of the invasion, Arendelle had its forces exhausted when they both evacuated civilians as well as put up an effort to resist the incoming forces. Currently they were using the very last of their military might.

The Ice Elemental was able to even the playing field against the large force. However, Talib knew that her abilities must be at their limit given what she had done in a space of one day. Which made now a perfect opportunity to capture her instead of killing her as Father wished. The alchemist was a loyal subject to Father, however his greater curiosity of what he could learn from an Ice Elemental who seemed to be able to breathe life into her creations made her an interesting subject for study.

Even he, with so many years of research, isn't able to just breathe life into nothing. He had to spend life to make life and the lives he spent were mostly prisoners of war or dying soldiers from Blackdust. For one woman a fraction of his age and barely any control of her abilities being able to achieve something he could not, picked at his mind.

He would kill her to be sure, but not after she gave him all the information he desired.

His mind finally calmed down enough for him to pick out which way led to the castle and started going off in that direction.

Sitting on a pile of rubble without a care in the world was Sloth who was still reading the same book that she had brought with her to Arendelle. The Indolent Sin was well aware of Arendelle's plan of using the Southern Isles ridge cannons as well as the ones at the harbor to blast the clocktower before bringing it down on Gluttony. The forward assault seemed a little desperate in her opinion but it had provided an excellent distraction. Talib seemed to be concentrating on another matter and didn't notice the clock tower collapsing.

Sloth on the other hand felt the first shake and acted accordingly. She simply jumped down the collapsing shaft then ran along the top side of the falling building. A great deal of work in her opinion but necessary as it allowed her the chance to get away from the alchemist. Without him watching her every move, she could do what she needed before it was too late.

She had sent a phantom earlier to infiltrate the castle to hopefully find Greed and release him to give him a chance at Wrath, as she promised him. Which also led her to wait where she currently was until the person she needed to see rounded the corner.

It didn't take long before Edward turned the corner of a ruined building and stopped when he came face to face with a woman who looked vaguely familiar. He studied her face for a moment as she lowered her book and fixed him with a blank stare. When he couldn't remember where he had met her before, the young man was about to run past her when she spoke.

"How cruel fate can be, spending your entire life to kill Wrath to only become him. Yours is a sorrowful tale Rahim, Shahbaz would be sad to see what you've become."

Edward stopped and fixed the woman with a suspicious glare when she spoke. From what she was saying, it seemed that she knew everything. The woman rose out of her seat and bowed her head.

"I've heard much about you Wrath, it's an experience meeting you, I am Sloth the Indolent."

The young man jumped at the title and got into a fighting stance preparing to fight when the woman raised both her hands in a peaceful gesture.

"There is no need for that, as I have no intention of fighting you. Fighting you would require a great deal of effort that I don't feel the need to spend. I only wish to convey to you that Talib is heading toward the castle as we speak to capture the Ice Elemental. His reserves of power have partially been depleted over the course of this invasion so now would be a great opportunity to kill him if you would be so bold."

Edward's suspicious glare deepened as he remained in his fighting stance looking for any deceit or preparation of attack from the woman. She basically leaked her master's fatigued state to the enemy despite being one of the seven Sins who were all supposedly loyal to the alchemist. He supposed she could be saying this to lead him into a trap of some sort or hoping that Talib would finish the job of controlling him.

Both scenarios were grim, which made it difficult to trust her given who she was.

However, he could not ignore the possibility that Talib would attempt to capture Elsa himself. If the alchemist was personally going to capture the blonde then he'll have to contend with Wrath the furious first.

Sloth watched the uncertainty play itself over and over in Wrath's mind and almost laughed. As much fun as it was to see it play over his face, the Indolent Sin still had things she needed to do. She had already set most of the stage for what needed to happen.

All she could really do was hope.

The woman turned on her heel and started walking away but stopped when Edward asked her where she was going.

Sloth didn't feel the need to turn around as she answered. "I'm going to find a nice stable place to continue reading my book, the outcome of this war does not matter to me in the slightest. You can waste your time here all you want but if nothing is done, it's quite possible that Arendelle will fall."

She continued walking and for a moment expected Wrath to attack her unguarded back but he blazed past her toward the castle. A small smirk graced her lips as she also took the road toward the castle, she wanted a good seat for what was about to happen.

Getting into the castle undetected took a small amount of effort but not enough to be an inconvenience. The alchemist roamed the halls of the castle trying to find the throne room. While he searched, something nearby was making him anxious. It was gradual at first but soon it was so palpable that Talib half expected Father to be right behind if he turned around.

The alchemist couldn't even pinpoint where it was coming from. It was somehow everywhere yet nowhere at the same time. Such a feeling weighed on his mind but he ignored it best he could as he continued his search.

The guards were all scrambling outside so the hallways were essentially empty. Talib cursed himself for not taking the time to study a layout of the castle as he was about to open another door when someone shouted to him.

"You there!"

The alchemist turned around to be faced with an older skinny maid who had a serious expression on her face. Talib was about to end the woman's life but she spoke just in time.

"What are you doing here?! We're about to evacuate under the Queen's orders!"

Talib's ears perked up at the word 'evacuate'. If Queen Elsa was indeed trying to evacuate her people while they contended with Gluttony, then there must be some secret escape route as he originally hypothesized.

If such a route existed then sooner or later, she'd go through it to escape herself, or at the very least seal it to ensure no more surprises came after her people.

"I was recently brought into the castle while the guards rode out to fight that monster. I had no idea there was an evacuation, where do I go?"

Talib tried to simulate a lost person's expression and tone yet he could tell something was set off in the woman's eyes as she stared at him for a moment. He held her gaze trying to appear honest but all the same was prepared to kill her on the spot.

"Weren't you Her Majesty's guest that was assaulted a few days ago?"

The alchemist had no answer to that as he did not know if she was asking him because she was curious or was testing him. Either way, Talib felt that he had gotten the most useful information out of her and was about to kill her when someone from down the hall shouted at them.

"Gerda! Garret! We must leave now!"

Talib's mind latched on to the second name that was said. Garret was the name of the Talib stationed in Arendelle. The one responsible for monitoring the Ice Elemental's abilities to see if or when she'd become a threat.

Gerda, the woman who had been staring at him didn't lose that glint in her eye as she hurried along to the plump man who waved him over as well.

The three of them briskly walked until they arrived outside in the gardens where a large hole was in the ground. There were more people that looked like the castle staff as well as children next to it as guards were posted on the walls as well as near the entrance to the escape hole.

Talib stood in the background as the guards peered down the hole and shouted at someone underneath asking if they were almost done widening the tunnel. The alchemist didn't care to hear the response as he looked around for any sign of Queen Elsa. He scanned every person's face, the signs of fear, worry, and anxiousness didn't warrant a single thought from the alchemist.

When he finished scanning everyone's face and not finding the blonde he was looking for, Talib turned on his heel and took a step to leave when someone spoke behind him.

"You…"

The alchemist stopped at the familiar voice and his curiosity got the better of him as he turned around to see why the voice sounded familiar and his emotionless facade broke. Standing a few feet away from him was a troll. The troll was old, but his face remained the same despite the many years that had passed. Talib's glasses finally didn't have any light to reflect off of them so people couldn't see his eyes that had all their veins visible in the sclera as he stared at the troll. The alchemist turned to fully face the troll as an intense look of rage covered his face.

"It's been a very long time since the two of us have seen one another. How's Grand Cedar?"

Grand Pabbie's mind instantly flashed back to all those years ago where he could remember his tribe where he watched his tribe be attacked by his master's pupil and his pet. Young trolls running because they haven't figured out how to roll quickly were crushed, older trolls using themselves as bait to protect the little ones. So much death all for 'the sake of knowledge'.

They had won in the end, the pupil was repelled and the monster was sealed, but the price was high.

That single incident was the catalyst that led to the trolls hiding themselves from the world so the same wouldn't repeat itself again. Cedar died after the attack, his pupil managed to get to him but couldn't manage to kill him before they arrived. Pabbie remembered his mentor naming him his successor and telling him to disappear from the world to remain safe. He didn't have the chance to give him an answer as he died right there.

The trolls left that region and did disappear from the world but Pabbie wasn't one to turn someone away when they needed help. The ice Elemental who helped them in their time of need was given a map to find them if there was ever a need to. The elder troll impressed that while the Elemental could give the map away, he was only to do so if he trusted who he was giving it to completely.

How fitting that the map he left to the ice Elemental that helped save his home from this creature, ended up with the parents of another ice Elemental who would face the same threat.

The troll felt the same aura that the creature gave off all those years ago in this one man and couldn't help himself from saying something. Grand Pabbie had experienced many things and seen many sights. He had long ago accepted fear was nothing to be found outside one's self and learned to accept and overcome all of his fears.

One of those fears was staring face to face with the monster his old master's apprentice made that killed a great many trolls.

Talib decided to put his priorities on hold for a moment as he took in the troll in front of him. A very old primal part of himself raged at the very thought of a troll, so seeing one who was actually there that day, almost made Talib lose his mind.

Logically, Talib knew that Father would want him to take any trolls he could find so they could be pumped for information. However, logic began to give way to raw instinct that demanded he kill the troll on sight.

The old troll's usual calm and understanding expression was wiped off his face as he slammed his palms on the ground and thick roots underneath the ground rose up and all of them shot toward Talib and restrained his entire body. The sudden action alerted everyone to what was happening and had all of them back away. The alchemist didn't seem phased at the situation in which he found himself.

To the contrary all he did was look down at his bindings before they were cut into pieces from some unseen force. Talib looked back up at Grand Pabbie and let out a once in a lifetime grin that revealed the alchemist had his own set of fangs.

Black dust shot out of Talib's shadow and barreled toward the troll's position. Grand Pabbie rolled into a ball and was nearly crushed by the black dust that smashed into his previous position. The troll unfurled himself with something grasped tightly in his right hand and threw it at the alchemist who simply looked at it coming before a wall of black dust appeared between him and the flying object. When the object made contact with the wall, a sudden fire burst out of nowhere and consumed the wall.

The burning wall fell to the ground while another geyser of black dust exploded out of the alchemist's shadow into the air before coming back down to crush the troll. Grand Pabbie once again curled himself into a rock and rolled away from the noncombatants as he dodged the geyser of black dust that continued on its path after him.

It only seemed a matter of time before the geyser caught up to the troll but the guards who were nearby all aligned their rifles at Talib and shouted for him to stop. The alchemist didn't care to look at them as he focused on his original target but he did lift a lazy finger at them preparing to kill them when a warning went off in his head.

The warning made him cease both his attacks and he jumped out of the way of something impacting the spot he was just standing at.

Grand Pabbie uncurled himself to see Edward crouching with Wrath's arm elbow deep into the ground.

"Edward?!"

The young man ignored both Kai and Gerda's calls to him as he glared at Talib who simply stared back at him. Ripping his hand out of the ground, the young man slowly stood to his full height as he faced the alchemist.

Talib was actually surprised to see Wrath so soon after what happened between them last time. That mysterious force that prevented him from taking over and erasing the Sin's mind. He was curious what it was but he could feel all the black dust the prototypes had as well as the anchor to Father's soul still coursing strong through Wrath's body.

Which meant that he should have control.

"Wrath it's a surprise to see you but a welcome one. Go hunt down the Ice Elemental while I deal with this minor inconvenience."

Everyone had a confused expression on their faces at the unbothered way this man spoke to the young man who just put a hole in the ground. They wondered why Edward was being called Wrath and why he would follow this dangerous man's orders. Gerda was the first to speak to the young man.

"Edward, what is he talking about?"

The young man said nothing as he stared at Talib for a long moment before speaking.

"Understood."

Talib turned to face Grand Pabbie to finish what he started but another warning sounded off in his head but this one came way too late.

A very fast and hard punch caught the side of the alchemist's face and knocked him off his feet. Edward watched with great satisfaction as that bastard's glasses flew off his face as he slid across the ground and laid there.

The young man figured that Talib tried taking him over last time and with all of the black dust from those prototypes in him, the alchemist probably figured they'd take over his mind by now. What he didn't figure was that the prototypes all went silent after a while, they were all telling him to return to Talib's service before they shortly were silenced. The young man didn't know how and didn't care why, his mind was his own.

He didn't think it would actually work, he seriously thought Talib would see it coming the same way he saw the first attack coming but he went for it anyway on the off chance he could knock that asshole's block off.

And damn, did that feel good…

His elation was cut short when Talib rose from the ground without hesitation and picked up his glasses before turning them over in his hands. The lenses were shattered and the frame was crushed, the glasses were useless now. The alchemist stared at them for a moment longer before his eyes rose to meet Edward's with a glare of his own.

"That was unexpected. Seems I need to be more thorough this time."

Multiple geysers shot from Talib's shadow and barreled toward Edward and Grand Pabbie who both shot away from each other in opposite directions. Each one smashed into the ground with a heavy thud as another took up pursuit for the first's target.

Edward did multiple backflips to avoid being crushed before he hit the castle wall with his back. An incoming geyser was going straight for his head which he moved at the last moment which made it hit the wall and punch a large hole where his head was. Grand Pabbie, rolled back into a ball and went toward the far side of the garden even further away from the evacuees. He hopped, stopped, and drifted to avoid being crushed by the geysers.

Talib had his attention focused solely on the two of them and didn't seem to give a damn about anyone else. The guards from earlier seemed to notice this and primed their weapons to fire to help.

Unfortunately, the sound of them cocking the flintlock mechanism alerted the alchemist enough to send a geyser their way. The guards fired their rifles which did nothing as a wall of black dust erected itself to catch the bullets and none of them had time to move out of the way of the incoming attack.

Edward, seeing what was about to happen, rushed forward and managed to beat the geyser to guards and pushed them out of the way while bringing his hands up in preparation of a heavy hit.

As the geyser got inches from him, it exploded into a net shape that ensnared him from the waist up before jerking him hard toward the alchemist. Edward tried to dig his feet into the ground to stop himself but he soon found himself a foot away from one upset Talib. The alchemist didn't care to note Wrath's struggle as he lifted his right hand while pulling back his sleeve with the other. When his sleeve got to his elbow, Talib's arm from his forearm to his fingertips turned into black dust.

"This time, there will be no more interruptions and I'll have a more personal hand in this..."

Grand Pabbie jumped over a geyser of black dust and unfurled to see Edward in Talib's grasp. Knowing full well what the alchemist was about to do, the troll fished out another fire crystal from under his grass cape and prepared to throw it. At the same time, the guards that Edward saved also lined their weapons and prepared to open fire to return the favor.

Talib paid no mind to the threats all around him and focused solely on Edward whose struggle doubled. The alchemist found his efforts pointless yet amusing which gave the young man the extra moment he needed. With a yell, Edward wrenched his left arm out of the net and swung a heavy punch right at the alchemist's head with every intention of knocking it off his shoulders.

Time slowed down as the fire crystal Grand Pabbie threw, the bullets the guards fired, and Edward's fist all got closer and closer to the alchemist who was still not worried. The arm made out of black dust intercepted the punch with ease and one thought went through Talib's head.

It's time this rebellion ends, you belong to me, Wrath the Furious.

All at once, the world around Edward faded away leaving nothing but the pain of every muscle, blood vessel, nerve, and organ all being consumed destroying themselves.

The copy was almost done restoring the courtyard's integrity when it began shaking again, but this time, everything came apart so much quicker than last time. He feebly tried to stabilize it like last time but to no avail the courtyard continued to fall apart. The copy wondered what the hell had happened and was about to check outside when a voice spoke behind him.

"So this is Wrath's soul? Just a courtyard and nothing else...befitting of a guard dog."

The copy turned around to see Talib staring at him impassively, not at all bothered by the space around him falling apart. Blinding rage engulfed the copy's body as he roared and charged, his hands turned into claws as he lunged the last few meters between them, ready to tear apart the indifferent man. Talib simply raised a hand then swiped it to the side. Before the copy could even touch him, he was wiped away from existence as if he was dust on an old desk.

Finally alone in the crumbling space around him, Talib focused on his task of erasing anything and everything that was in the Sin's mind. First he would destroy the courtyard, the representational foundation for Wrath's soul so that there would be nothing his dog could fall back to. After that he would wipe every memory and thought from the beast's mind, leaving nothing but the same void he saw when Wrath was first born.

As everything continued to crumble, he noticed out of the corner of his eye, Rahim's katana beginning to rattle. Curiosity getting the best of him, the alchemist walked over and put a hand on the hilt. The weapon stopped as soon as he touched it and with ease, he pulled it from its place. Having it in his hand he studied it, looking for anything out of the ordinary.

Nothing leapt out at him with the weapon in hand before Talib dismissed it and wordlessly tossed it to the side. Going back to the task he originally set out to do, he could feel the courtyard on its last legs, one more push and it would completely crumble into nothing. Black dust started to leak out of the ground as Talib raised his foot to stomp out on the ground and completely destroy the space when all at once, everything froze.

The shaking stopped and the black dust that was seeping out of the ground stopped. Talib's whole body froze as well but he remained aware of what was going on around him. He moved his eyes side to side, surprised by the turn of events. He struggled to move but his body would not respond, his power over this space was gone. He was a captive in this world that was hanging on by a thread.

Talib tried to free himself by releasing more of his own black dust and asserting dominance over the unseen force that bound him but he was met with an absolute defense unlike the one before. Earlier when he tried the unforeseen force fought against him quite evenly with his own powers, but this time, his power was completely overwhelmed and Talib found himself blasted out of the courtyard.

The courtyard once again was empty, all that was left was Rahim's katana which once again started to rattle...

A few things happened at once when Talib tried taking over Wrath's soul. The hand that was in the alchemist's grasp had turned into Wrath's hand and the transformation snaked up the arm. Talib was hoping to turn Wrath back into the mindless beast he was, which would also mean erasing Rahim's form as the stone learned to imitate. Before the transformation could get all the way up to his arm however, it stopped at his shoulder as a blue light shined through his clothes.

There was a power struggle between the transformation and the blue light before Talib's forced departure broke the precarious balance the two forces had. Wrath's left arm was cut off at the shoulder where the light was before the arm itself exploded into a cloud of black dust, knocking Edward and Talib away from one another as well as Grand Pabbie and the guards. The resulting blast intercepted the incoming bullets and fire crystal causing the crystal to detonate and creating a small fire between them.

Edward's remaining hand went to his left shoulder where he hoped to stop the bleeding but was surprised to find ice where his amputation was. Lifting his tattered sleeve up, he saw that the ice brand Elsa had given him was on the edge of his amputation and had formed a sort of ice seal on the wound. The pain was still there but nothing that was unbearable like earlier. Focusing a bit, he tried to regrow his arm but the ice brand only glowed and he found himself unable to do so.

Kai and Gerda were instantly by his side as they helped him into a sitting position. The two of them began to tell him to hold on as they were focused on his amputated arm but the young man was more focused on Talib who was on the ground unmoving. Even though he was being assaulted by that hellish pain, he was quite aware of what Talib intended on doing in his soul but could do nothing to stop him.

However, something pushed the alchemist out.

Perhaps it was the magic that made the mark on his shoulder? Maybe Elsa's magic responded to the threat and cut off his arm to protect him and it knocked Talib away in the process. Regardless of what it was, Edward was grateful it was only an arm and that the alchemist looked to be out of it as he hadn't moved.

"Edward, we need to get you to a doctor!"

The young man turned to Gerda who had a worried look on her face and grimaced. He was happy that she and Kai had treated him so kindly but now that he was about to show who he really was, he didn't know if that would change or not. Putting his feet under him, Edward stood to his full height and took his hand off his stump.

"That won't be necessary. You two need to get these people out of here, I'll stay and keep him busy."

The two of them looked ready to argue when Talib started to stir. The alchemist flexed his feet until they were planted on the ground then slowly his whole body rose as if he was being pulled by strings to stand up. The usually emotionless man had a concerned look in his eye as he looked down at his right arm, all that remained was a stump that started at his elbow. He studied his stump as if it had the meaning of life written on it before he looked back up at Edward.

"What did you do?"

There was no arrogance or anger in his voice, he had a genuinely curious tone as he asked Edward again.

"How did you resist me?"

The young man made no move to answer, only raising his right arm in a fighting stance. Realizing that Wrath would not cooperate, Talib's face turned into an annoyed scowl. He sighed, this endeavor had taken up more time than he'd care to admit. His main objective was still the Ice Elemental, not his wayward pet.

However, the turn of events gave him pause.

He was forced out of one of Sin's souls. Even with assistance of the anchor that was their stone and the fact that at one time, Wrath was him, the predator managed to force him out. Did this mean that his powers were on the same level as the alchemist's? Logically, he would've said no as Wrath could've just ordered those prototypes to stand down or better yet turn them against the alchemist instead of fighting them. If his powers weren't in the same league as his then something must've happened in the time Wrath went missing.

Talib was now curious and desired an answer more than he would dare admit.

"If you aren't going to tell me, then there are other ways of getting that information. Unfortunately, I don't have the time to waste on you, which forces me to employ a means I'd rather not have used."

The alchemist raised his right arm and grew his arm back while keeping his palm upwards. Black dust started to swirl in his hand until a sizable red stone started to come into form. It was several times bigger than the stones that Edward had seen yet it still fit in the alchemist's palm. When the stone finished forming, it floated there in his palm before it started to spark with red lightning periodically.

"I believe last time you barely managed to defeat him with the help from the Prince of Blackdust. Let's see how you fare now that he has received some proper instruction."

Talib took a step back while putting his arm down and started to spark more intensely as black dust started to leak out of it. Edward's face took one of shock as he turned to Kai and Gerda who were transfixed by the floating stone.

"You two need to get the others out of here!" The two servants continued to look at the stone that started to form a naked body. First came two well defined and muscular legs that connected to a stout abdomen that led up to an almost bulky chest with two well defined arms. Finally, a head with snow white hair that was long and reached shoulders covered his face.

"Now!"

Kai immediately jumped at the young man's insistent yell and grasped Gerda by the shoulders and led her away as he called for the other civilians as well as the guards to go back in the castle. Edward watched them all run into the castle using a side entrance before turning to the kneeling person.

The first thing he noticed was that his body had gotten bigger. He remembered a hunter's body, lean and fit but this one was different. He was much bigger and bulkier yet wasn't too big that it would impair movement.

The naked man groaned and rubbed his eyes pushing his hair out the way, before looking up through the space between his fingers and his red eyes rested on Edward. The young man felt a chill go down his back when he locked eyes with the man, his sclera had every vein visible as if he had no sleep for weeks and was on the edge of sanity. In those eyes, Edward felt the unrelenting rage and unquenchable thirst for revenge swim in them.

"...you…"

His voice sounded grave, as if he hadn't had any water or food for a long time, yet showed not an ounce of weakness. Edward watched him raise himself to his feet, not at all bothered with the fact he was naked. His breaths were ragged and came out of his mouth that showed his fangs. He looked ready to charge when Talib spoke up behind him.

"Envy, I want him alive. You can entertain yourself but you will bring both the troll and Wrath to me alive. Is that understood?"

Edward expected Zavis to argue and protest given he disobeyed Greed last time which led to his capture. Surprisingly, the Jealous Sin's face took on one of fear for half a second before returning to his grim expression.

"Understood."

Talib nodded before he started to walk away. Edward was about to shout at Talib to stop right there but Zavis stepped in between them.

"You know, I've been in a lot of pain since we last saw one another. Can you begin to imagine how it feels to have your soul torn apart and put back together over and over? Almost made me lose my mind…"

Envy put both of his hands over his eyes as if he was about to start sobbing. His shoulders shook as his fingers tightened over his face so much that he started to draw blood.

"The only thing keeping me sane was one thing. The face of the one man who ruined everything. It was your face. You managed to track us down when the entire Arendellian royal guard couldn't, you managed to slip out with the Queen from right under our noses, and you managed to kill me when I was fighting with full force. I envied your strength, wanted it, desired it…"

Envy dragged his palms down his face so his eyes were visible but he also ended up mutilating his face more without even noticing.

"...I guess in a way, I should thank you...I was weak the last time we met. But now…" Envy shoulders started shaking even more before two arms exploded out of each. Blood sprayed all over the courtyard however Envy made no sound as if the pain didn't register in his mind as he kept his crazed eyes on Edward.

"...now I have more power. And who better to test it on then the one who has remained a constant thorn in my side."

Black dust started to swirl in each hand as Envy took his original hands off his face and his face healed almost instantly.

"Get ready..."

Hey guys new chapter hope you guys enjoyed it, had to rewrite it a few times. Life has really been throwing a few curve balls my way. Hopefully with the holidays coming up I can get more work done. For those who recalled my goal to showcase Pride's abilities by Christmas, I'm sorry but that won't happen, instead I'm going for a very big climax that will be coming up soon storywise. I hope you all remain patient with me as I try to knock these out. Stay tuned for the very action packed chapters that will be coming up soon and hopefully I can finally get this big climax that's been in my head for the last year. Please PM or review and I will get back to you as soon as I possibly can. Happy Holidays!