OF LIGHT AND DARKNESS:

Path of Eternal Nightmares

The path that we're called to is not always crystal clear,

There's trials, tribulations, anger, hate, shame and fear,

the wrong words get said, tempers flare and erupt,

and the only way out, it seems, is to give up,

But don't ever lose hope, in this time of great trial,

Though hell's demons cackle, and strong towers sway,

For where there is death, there is also revival,

And wherever there's a will, there shall be a way.

Ballad Of The Unnamed Bard, Verse III

Chapter 3: A PAST BEST FORGOTTEN.

Ansem wasn't a "combat virgin".

Not by any mortal definition of the term.

He had gone toe to toe (In his less honorable days) with the young Keyblade master, in an earth-shattering battle, that he had lost. (Which was fortunate, he had decided, not relishing the devastation that would result had he of prevailed in his tormented hours.)

It was truly a dire and powerful battle, and he often wondered if Sora himself still felt some of the sting, despite the Curaga spells his friends had empowered him with.

But this…

This was not a battle.

This was raw hatred, a sheer opposition of two very dark-minded combatants who knew no rules, no mercy, and no reason to hold back.

He glanced at the two… children… dear God in heaven, they were children!

Children enduring hell!

Children forced to watch this damned drama of violence!

True they were stronger, spiritually and physically, than most children,

But… he couldn't help feeling… that this, them having to witness such a brutal battle, was wrong.

This wasn't how you were supposed to grow up.

A roar of pain came from Ladis as he felt his side gashed from the reptile's claw tore the air as he was flung into the air, a bloody gash in his right side raining down small drops of scarlet blood as he was hurled helplessly skyward.

It burned. It burned like someone was sticking a red hot poker into his side.

God let it stop…

He felt the sharp stings in the back of his head as the rush of something rising up towards him echoed in his ear…

Twisted in midair.

Thrust the soul blade in his right hand downward, and smiled, a sick, grim, nigh demonic smile, as the reptilian beast named Despair contorted his face in shock, surprise, and pain as the blade stabbed into it's left claw, which, unimpeded, would be capable of rending the boy's chest open.

The blade did not pierce to its full length, magically enhanced scaly hide saw to that. But the wound was deep enough to elicit a grunt of pain from the beast.

That's when gravity took affront to the spectacle, pulling the rivals back to the pit below, and, judging by the look of confusion on the quadruped lizard-behemoth's face, he had no ability to fly.

Ladis fell with him, trailing him by a few feet, as Despair fell downward, his back towards the earth, a look of genuine dismay in his eyes. Seeing his foe rendered temporarily incapable of defending, he reached his hands back, ignoring the burning pain of his injury, and prepared to form the soul blade into the lance form.

The thing about the lance form was that it wasn't stable. It didn't retain its size and power for long, and repeated use, Ladis had found, was physically taxing. Not something he needed in a long term fight.

The ground was rushing up to meet Despair's back…

Ladis tilted his body back, allowing air resistance to let him fall marginally slower than Despair. The gap between them widened to ten feet. Then fifteen.

Despair gave a cry like a strangled dog as he hit the sandy ground, and Ladis saw his chance when the beast's chest was exposed.

He activated the boots and the lance at the same time, using his right arm to drive the weapon down…

…and with a loud screeching rip, the energy lance tore into Despair's chest, the excess energy slamming into his ribs, inducing both a ghastly laceration and massive concussive damage. Despair's response was to bellow in a howl of pain that bore uncanny resemblance to what one might imagine to hear if several watermelons were crushed simultaneously while several hundred chalkboard were slashed with iron nails.

Ladis leapt off the flailing, cacophony-spewing beast, and called forth a potion from his ethereal inventory, first pouring half of the medicine into the wound, resulting in frothing bubbles, pain relief, and gradual closure, and them imbibing the rest. The taste was of watered down citrus Listerine, not exactly savory or sweet, but the fact his wound was now healed was worth the aftertaste. He turned his attention back to the fiend, who had gotten back to its feet, and was clearly in a foul mood.

"THAT, fool mortal, was a mistake!" he growled, a small blood of purplish blood pooling in the sand beneath him.

"Funny, doesn't look like one." Ladis taunted. He held the soul blade in his right hand, beckoning to Despair with his left. "Come on, let's get this over with."

Despair, his behemoth tail swishing side to side, growled menacingly, then charged, baring rows of dagger-like teeth.

Ladis, in response, held out his left hand again. "Wind Cleaver! AERO!"

Obeying his command, a small, slicing gale rushed to meet Despair, who took the cutting blast of wind dead on, a roar of pain crashing through the air as the winds slashed his shoulder, streams of black and purple mist rising from the area afflicted.

Hey, Ladis, this is a crazy ass guess, but I think this idiot's vulnerable to wind magic. Came Fortune's mental voice.

Ladis smiled inwardly. "..ya don't say."

Despair, however, was none to happy about this turn of events. "So you can use magic… fine! Then try this on for size!" the reptilian incarnate of woe bellowed, as it braced itself with its massive paws.

"Demon's Whisper Of Hell! Grave Breath!" Despair groaned. As soon as the incantation was finished, Despair began to belch thick, green smoke at Ladis.

Ladis! That stuff will rot the skin clear off your bone!

Will the barrier block it! Asked Ladis nervously. The wall of flesh-decaying smog was closing in.

IdunnojustdoitFORCHRISTSAKE!

Ladis crouched down, and, pouring all his energy into it, envisioned a barrier not just covering his front, but his entire body…

From their safe point, Sora, Kairi, and Ansem watched helplessly as Ladis was devoured by the green fog.

"The demon's whisper… it decays anything it touches…" Ansem breathed in despair. "Nothing can survive it."

Sora, his face twisted in frustration, turned to Ansem. "We have to help him!"

Ansem shook his head. "He's dead, young one. And even if he was not, I am without magic, and you are without the keyblade."

Sora shook his head. "That's not true! I…" he extended his hand, as many a time before, to call forth the weapon that defeated so many heartless…

…and it did not come.

Again, and again, he tried, the panic rising in his throat like hot, acidic bile. "No…" he moaned. "I… it can't…"

"The Keyblade was sundered by Despair when he bested you in combat, as hope disappeared from this realm. You were fortunately unconscious, or the emotional link would have killed you in spirit and body, permanently." Ansem stated.

Kairi brought the two out of their respective glooms by pointing toward the arena. "Look! He…"

Ansem turned, and, for the second time, his jaw dropped. "I don't believe it…"

As soon as the green haze dissipated, Ladis lowered the shield. It was a lot less draining than blocking a Stone spell, probably because the gas didn't have much force behind it.

Despair did not take the sight well. "WHAT! HOW?" he bellowed, his eyes wide in confusion.

Ladis, seeing an opening, dashed forward, slashing him across the face twice, evoking another cacophonic roar from the unholy lizard. "I endured my dad's booze breath for 14 years. It'll take more than smoke to do me in." he mocked as he kicked off the beast's snout, evading a retaliatory swipe of its claw.

"Impudent human! I'll crush you like I crushed everyone else!" Despair roared, rearing back on its hind legs, then crashing down with both paws.

Ladis jumped back, easily evading the blow. "Idiot, I saw that one coming last week!" Ladis taunted, smiling at the beast's poor accuracy…

…and letting loose a combination of a venomous curse and a grunt of pain as the beast's tail slammed him across the arena, skidding him off the sand floor, and slamming him into a wall.

"I'll bet you saw that one coming next millennia, maggot." The dreamslayer beast taunted as Ladis struggled to get up.

"Sc…screw you, you overgrown snake…" Ladis coughed up blood as he tried to retort.

When his vision cleared, he saw he'd spat up a lot of blood. And more was on the way, it felt…

SHIT.

He jumped into the air, using the boots power to boost his height, forced himself not to vomit, and downed another potion.

The Listerine taste made him even more nauseous, but the broken ribs he'd suffered were, at least, healed.

However, Despair was readying the breath attack again. And, even with as little training as he'd had, Ladis knew that there was no way he could form another surrounding barrier like before.

Despair repeated the incantation, spewing the rotting smoke up at him…

Then a smile came to Ladis' face.

"Wind Cleaver! Aero!" Ladis yelled, aiming his hands downward.

Focusing his will, Ladis used the spell to create a large wall of rushing air, rather than the damaging vortex needed for combat, and aimed it at the smog steadily flowing up at him.

The desperate maneuver worked, and the wall of air sent the cloud of rotting smoke back at its sender, doing… absolutely nothing, aside from make Despair even more enraged.

"YOU INSUFFERABLE PIECE OF…"

Sora and Kairi blinked at the sudden deluge of foreign words from Despair. "What did he say he'd rip off and feed him again?" asked Kairi, her innocent eyes turning to Sora.

"I dunno. He used a lot of weird words…"

"What'd he call him again, a mother…what-er?"

"I think it was one of those things really bad words Cid says when he drops something on his foot."

Ansem suppressed a chuckle.

Sora turned angrily to his ex-nemesis. "What's so funny?"

Ansem turned to him, grinning a grin that, previously, Sora had taken as a warning sign the mage would unleash some sort of arcane havoc the likes of which was not meant to be seen by mortals. But no dark sorcery occurred, instead, Ansem gestured to the reptile. "We may very well be witnessing the fall of the beast."

Sora blinked. "What? But that thing's way too strong!"

Ansem held up a hand. "Have you ever heard of it? The Demon's Whisper art?" At Kairi's and Sora's shaking of heads, (which were disturbingly synchronized- he'd have to write a thesis on emotional psychic links when and if he got out of this mess) "It is a powerful demonic art, the likes of which only the foulest of demons and their ilk can bear to use. It summons forth a cloud of pure decay, which will instantly decay anything that enters its foul vapors. But…" and here Ansem smiled cruelly, clearing savoring the downfall of an oppressor. "…the art expends a great deal of both physical and spiritual energy, and repeated use leaves the user in dire need of rest." He gazed at the beast. "I assume, judging by his strength and power he demonstrated when he fought you on this island, he has one use of it left before his mana is tapped out. Then…"

Ansem's toothy grin made the beast's fate very clear.

Ladis landed, and charged, saving his banter and taunts for when he could afford to rest. Despair was ready, and reared back, ready to crush him…

Ladis stopped abruptly, easily dodging the blow. "Missed again, fatass."

In response, Despair again shifted his weight, and swung his tail with mountain-shattering force. "Flattened again, human…eh?"

Ladis had leapt into the air right as the tail swung.

"So you learn quickly…" Despair slashed out with both claws, swinging wildly, and Ladis responded by forming the twin, shorter soul blades, and slashing and parrying the blows as best he could.

Despair grinned a malicious smile of teeth and scales, and swung his tail again at the mid-air Ladis.

Ladis, in the few split-seconds he had before the tail struck, knew there was no way to dodge. But to make sure it wasn't a total loss…

The blow struck Ladis solidly, and he felt three ribs snap as he was violently thrown into a rock portion of the arena.

However, despite the pain, he smiled as he heard Despair howl in rage.

Right as the tail had struck, Ladis had slashed with the "greatsword" soul blade, the added force of Despair tail being used against him to make the gash caused even more severe.

Ladis raised a hand. "Shine Balm! Cure!"

Again the healing magic repaired all but a few cuts and bruises, but Ladis felt his internal energy wavering.

I can't do that again, he realized. I'm out of mana…

Despair charged forward, his eyes glazed with fury.

Ladis suddenly remember the ether. Calling it forward, he downed it quickly (God, the taste reminded him of the times he'd taken cough syrup)…

Despair was nearly upon him, and Ladis had no where to dodge to, except up, and then Despair would just swat him again… dodge left or right, the tail would get him… charge, and he'd use the breath…

Ladis was nigh on panic, but then, the soul blade crackled, pulsing with energy.

The back of his mind prickled as new information ran through his mind, as if the armor was… teaching him?

He charged, the soul blade burning bright, and leapt at Despair.

Despair, in casual response, opened his maw to consume the SoulBlazer…

"Rage…" Ladis growled, gripping the sword with both hands, the ethereal blade glowing brightly.

"Impulse…" he called on both the power of the boots and Aero to boost him forward at an incredible rate of speed, accelerating him towards the beast's mouth…

"CRAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSHHHHH!" Ladis roared, the soul blade flaring up with energy in response to the bizarre invocation.

He felt his muscles tighten, his reflexes grow to… alien quality… he barely registered the impossible speeds at which he moved, dodging Despair's bite and responding with a series of dashing slices and thrusts, ending with Ladis thrusting both hands in front of Despair's face.

"WHAT THE…" was all Despair got out before a wave of pure aether energy erupted forward as Ladis poured nearly all his inner power into the blast, sending a short, destructive wave of energy straight into the infernal beast's face.

The sheer force of the attack caused Despair to slide back in the sand about ten feet, and his face was horribly marred; a large, gaping hole in the side of his mouth oozed purple blood, as did the many wounds on his tail, legs, and body.

Ladis tried to use the boots to boost himself forward, but they refused to activate. He then realized, with a small pang of horror, that he must have exhausted the armor's energy for such powerful maneuvers, and it needed time to recharge. Time he simply didn't have.

Despair, purple ichors spilling from his wounds was in no mood to allow such a brutal attack go unpunished. "DEMON'S WHISPER OF HELL! GRAVE BREATH!" it roared, rearing its head back to spew the deadly smog at Ladis…

…and gagging as the majority flew out of its new mouth wound, the remainder forming a small, insufficient cloud in front of the beast's bloodied face.

"No… I will not be defeated by this whelp!" Despair roared in desperation, leaping into the air, and preparing to crash down on Ladis with all his strength…

Ladis saw the mammoth-sized mass of scales and claws coming down, and without the boots, he had no chance to survive after such an exhausting attack…

Unless…

Ladis aimed at the ground, calling forth the last of his mana. "WIND CLEAVER! AE…"

BOOM.

Despair felt his body slam into the sandy ground, and he, despite his pain, smiled. Surely the boy had been crushed underneath his massive body, driven into the sand by the mighty blow!

Strange, he had not felt the resistance he'd think would accompany landing on a humanoid, but then again, maybe the so called "hero" was soft boned…

Odd, there was a shadow over him… had a particularly dark cloud passed overhead, to signify the passing of this realm's last chance at salvation?

He lifted his head to see what caused it… and Despair's last thought, before the soul blade pierced his skull, was that the cloud bore an uncanny resemblance to the former hero…

The horrible pain that came with his realization of his failure to kill a mere mortal far outweighed the relatively meager discomfort caused by Ladis' soul blade piercing his skull.

Ladis leapt off the dying beast's skull as it flailed backward, staggered on its hind legs, then fell forward, its battered face looking at Ladis, a sick, twisted mockery of a grin on the former Dreamslayer beast's face…

"Are you satisfied, "Soul Blazer"? Are you joyous?" it spat, not bothering to get up. "Is this the pinnacle of your religion? Have you reached your life's goal?"

Ladis shook his head. "Not until I exterminate each and every last one of you."

Despair laughed, coughed, gagged on his own bile and blood. "You say that like it's some sort of… noble purpose, like it really will bring hope…" Despair heaved, a puddle of purple ichors forming at his mouth. "Hope… do you think you represent it?" it snorted in a gasping wheeze. "Tell me… how do you plan to shield them… from life?"

Ladis jerked at that. "Life?"

Despair laughed bitterly. "Life… by nature, is a struggle. They will know pain, fear, shame, anger, hatred… yes, even despair… did you fight me thinking you would expunge all these things? No… these they shall suffer, and more."

Ladis stepped forward. "But that's life… that's part of LIVING! You just kept them in death, constantly tormenting them!"

Despair chuckled at that, the sound of drowning rats escaping his maw in a rasping wheeze. "You offer pain in life with the promise of false hope… I offer pain in death with the promise of stability… it never gets better, but it never gets worse…"

Despair spat out more blood, and his tail, slowly slackening in movement, went limp. "The only… difference between… you and… me… is that… I… reveal… the tr…uth…"

"No. You reveal a nightmare, and a lie. I reveal the end… of your goddamn sadistic games!" Ladis hissed.

"Meaningless." Despair hissed. "You go… against the will of Fate. No one, not even your so called god can alter that which Fate has decided. And Fate has decided that you will suffer along with the rest of these realms."

Despair heaved one last time, and its reptilian eyes began to grow dim. "Enjoy the façade you've created while you can, Soul Blazer. It won't last long…"

And with those final words, Despair coughed, and grew still.

For what seemed like an eternity, Ladis stood there, Soul Blade still lit, the pain of his injuries causing his weary body to ache all over…

As if on cue, the world around Ladis grew impossibly bright… he felt himself being lifted off the ground…

Ladis stood on a cliff, overseeing a vast desert patch of sand.

In the patch of sand was written a detailed account of all of mankind's flaws and sins, and endlessly, naked humans were forced, by golems made of sand, to write more and more sins… the accord in the sand grew ever larger, the sins ever mounting…

Then, suddenly, a gust of cool wind, hinting at the promise of rain, came, and the golems of sand shattered at the damp breeze…

The accord of sins, which seemed to stretch for miles, was scoured clean by the wind as a light, cool rain fell on the parched humans below, who reveled in it.

After a time, the rain stopped, and the sand dried nigh instantly.

Before Ladis, a path down from the cliff was made clear. At the bottom was a sharp, pointed stick…

…and a voice resounded. "It is your turn to carve. What shall be the story?"

And, slowly, Ladis began to write.

Not about the sins man committed…

But the way those sins were paid for…

And as if he had awakened from a dream, Ladis stood on the beach, his once aching and weary body now fully rejuvenated… heck, even his leather armor was fixed…

The water lapped at his feet, and he moved to shake off the bloody…

Wait… wait!

The water was normal, and seabirds cawed in the sky, now dotted by clouds, and adorned with a bright noonday sun.

He looked behind him, and, in place of the entrance to the Nightmare Citadel, there stood a series of treehouses, intricately built, like something out of a child's dream…

"Sora?..." came a girl's voice… Ladis whirled around.

There stood both Sora and Kairi, the girl lifting her formerly hurt leg. "My leg… my leg doesn't hurt anymore! We're… we're back!" she sobbed in joy.

The two embraced in a deathgrip hug, and Ladis smiled at the tender moment…

WE DID IT! WE DID IT! WE FREAKING KICKED A DREAMSLAYER'S ASS! WAAAAAAAAHHHHOOOOOOOO! Came Fortune's telepathic cheer.

But Ladis had other things on his mind. "Ansem… where's Ansem?" he asked of the two, who stopped hugging and looked about the beach.

"…up here." Came the voice. Ladis looked skyward, and, sure enough, floating a few feet above the treehouses, was the spectral form of Ansem.

"How come you're not…?" Began Sora.

Ansem smiled sadly. "Alive? I never wanted to be. I don't deserve to live again. I just wanted… to stay… and apologize for what I did… I was… in a bad state…" he hung his head.

Sora seemed taken back. "You… don't want to come back?"

Ansem nodded slowly. "I only wished to help, in some small way, to undo what I helped do… please… please forgive me…"

Sora stepped forward, as did Kairi, who spoke. "We all make mistakes… but I think it's knowing what we did was wrong and making up for it however we can that counts… we forgive you Ansem…" she said softly.

Ansem turned to Ladis. "Soul Blazer… I plead thee… tell me… have I atoned? Can I be forgiven?"

Ladis shook his head. "Sin can never be atoned for by a sinner."

Ansem hung his head, and Sora and Kairi looked at him in shock and anger…

"But… you prayed, didn't you? You asked, all this time, not for mercy for yourself, but for them, and for forgiveness for yourself?"

"Yes… yes I did… every day…"

"Someone listened, Ansem. When you believed… your sins were gone… you atoned when you accepted the fact you couldn't, but did what good you could."

Ansem's face finally seemed to reflect peace… "I… see… I cannot endure to trouble this world any longer… but… before I depart…" he took a small jewel, about the size of a marble and as round, and tossed it to Ladis, who caught it. "I give you my strength. Call me if you need help…"

And with those final words, Ansem's specter vanished.

Kairi spoke first. "Is he…"

Ladis bowed his head. "He's… at peace. He finally forgave himself."

Sora shook his head. "It's so… stupid… we forgave him… why couldn't he come back!"

Ladis sighed. "You died and were reborn every day in that nightmare. You got rest- very horrible rest, but rest nonetheless… while Ansem was made to watch over and over. He… he needs to rest." Ladis said, trying to put the impossible into words.

Sora turned to Ladis. "Will he… be happy now?"

Ladis nodded. "Yes."

Yo, Ladis, we need to talk to you for a bit. In the wacky house. Came Fortune's call.

Ladis turned to the two. "I need to go somewhere for a bit. I'll be right back."

The two nodded in understanding, and Ladis turned to walk away…

Hey, wait a second… how do I get back there? Ladis asked mentally.

DOH!... Hang on, I'm creating a door for you. Waitasecond… there.

Sora watched the stranger bow his head as in thought, then look around. He had said he was going somewhere for a bit, but he'd stopped, and…

"Ah, there it is." The boy said at last, looking towards the shack.

Puzzled, Sora turned his head towards it as well…

Huh. That shack never had an extra door before. Come to think of it, he could have sworn it'd just appeared… and why was the stranger walking towards it?

Sora began to walk toward him, when the boy raised an armored hand.

"Don't look directly at it. It makes your eyes go funny." He stated as a word of caution. Sora gave him a bewildered look, and began to ask a question…

That's when he opened the door.

Sora's reflexively flung himself away from the ensuing flashes of light and chaotic starbursts that assaulted his vision, praying the sensory assault wouldn't make him go blind…

When he was sure his vision was okay, and after dusting himself off and assuring Kairi he was fine, he turned to see just what the heck had happened…

The door was gone. Along with the hero.

The Hero who, somehow, defeated the monstrosity that was Despair.

Sora lifted his hand, calling out for the Keyblade. Like it was not a question if it would come, but a fact, it appeared, good as new, in his hand.

Hope had returned.

And Despair fell, and neither his breath of the grave nor his mighty fang and claw prevailed over the warrior Ladis…

And those who witnessed the mighty battle and Despair's fall asked:

"Who is this, he who brings hope to the hopeless?

Who sunders the wicked that no other could slay?"

"Is he not a saint to end such suffering,

To give strangers a new life to live?"

-Entry I of the Mavanus Chronicles

Ladis arrived, after shutting his eyes to the rush of flashing lights, back at the… house. Or mansion. Or whatever the hell they called this place.

"Welcome back, Soulblazer." Came Garadien's calm, steady voice. "I see… you were successful in your first attempt."

Ladis absentmindedly nodded. "…bastard was harder than I thought." He mumbled incoherently.

"And they'll get harder. They're on to you, now, Fate's minions." Garadien spoke. "The idea that one of their own is fallible is no longer a mere possibility, it is a reality."

Fortune, still shuffling his deck of cards, spied Ladis, and, in one fluid jump, leapt over to him and began to shake him. "YA DID IT! YA FREAKING DID IT! YOU BEAT DESPAIR! Whooooooo!" the clown/telepathic cheer as he rattled Ladis' spine.

"He-e-e-e-e-e-y! L-e-e-e-me Go!" Ladis gasped.

Fortune set the Soulblazer down, and did a few backflips.

"No more Lucy re-RUNS! No more Lucy re-RUNS!..." he chanted. Ladis looked at Garadien for an explanation.

"Without any realms to watch, all he's had to amuse himself is criticizing my choice of clothes, a deck of cards, and "I Love Lucy" reruns." Garadien stated.

Ladis observed Fortune with a raised eyebrow, watching as the crazed psychopath did a triple backflip.

"Great…" Ladis muttered as he staggered over to one of the pillars, sighed, and sat down, running his armored hand through his hair.

"Ladis… is something wrong?" asked Garadien, ignoring Fortune, who was now setting off a pack of fireworks he'd conjured out of thin air.

"The Dreamslayers… can they repossess that world?" Ladis looked up, his eyes pleading.

Garadien smiled, and Ladis saw, in his eyes, a sense of… triumph? It was gone in a second, and Garadien spoke. "No. They only get one shot at a realm. With Despair gone and dead, and the nightmare citadel removed, Odium can never reenter that realm."

Ladis breathed a sigh. "That's a relief."

Garadien nodded. "However, I'd suggest you make ready for stronger opponents… no doubt Fate is slightly disturbed by something going wrong in his 'perfect' plan…"

Garadien, as it was, was not only a master of magic and manipulation of arcane force, but an expert in the fine art of understatement.

As Cruelty, his skull seeming to force itself into a grin, retold the tale of how Despair had fallen (placing great emphasis on how sluggish and ill-prepared Despair was against the Actraiser Armor's power) to his master Fate, the once invincible master of demonic magic scowled darker and darker, to the point the look could shatter stone with a glance… save that Fate had eradicated any natural material in this realm whatsoever, so there was no stone to break.

"So he has failed, then." Fate said, his voice flat. Emotion, he had decided, was a tool of the weak. "And not only has he lost me a realm, he has done it in such a utterly stupid manner as to embolden the Soulblazer?"

Cruelty nodded in affirmation. "I dare not question thy wisdom, oh great lord Fate… Despair was condemned to fail at the slightest task the moment he was allowed to think for himself, just as the foolish boy who slew him is condemned to die. It is a catalyst of any way… the ignorant fall first."

Fate's gaze remained dark. The other Dreamslayers, who had stayed their distance, now watched Cruelty attempt to assuage their leader's fears…

He had considered, once the boy had destroyed the demon heart, going down personally. Challenging him. Snuffing the pitiful pest's life out once and for all.

But such a drastic measure would, as the mage told him, leave his home realm unguarded. None of the Dreamslayers had power in his realm- it was a safeguard against uprising. His best bet now was to send his remaining Dreamslayers, one-by-one, and hope that either the physical, mental, or emotional trauma this… 'Ladis' faced from his servants would be enough to render him hapless.

He had to, in some dark, twisted way, admire the boy's tenacity… no doubt he, being a mundane, was still reeling from the shock of being drafted into this duty, abandoning his family, his friends, his life… and yet he fought without restraint.

"However…" spoke Cruelty, and he waved a bony hand to Blasphemy, who rose. "Blasphemy has, in a rare moment of clarity, contrived a means to break not the boy's body, perhaps… but his soul…"

Fate's eyebrow rose ever so slightly.

Blasphemy spoke gently, as if to slowly introduce the idea. "I have word that the Soulblazer's family exists in the Timeless Zone, along with the mundane ones… perhaps we could use them, along with two others, to… rattle the boy's spirit, so to speak."

Fate rolled his eyes. "Fool… those in the Timeless Zone must leave willingly with one powerful enough to traverse back and forth, or be reinstated into existence through a link with the Soulblazer. Do you think there are any such mortals who would willingly aid in the destruction of their savior, much less their own son?" he growled.

Blasphemy smiled a demonic grin. "Firstly, remember in your wisdom that these are, in fact, members of the mundane realm. Their lot crucifies more saints than all others combined."

Fate, who was preparing to tear apart Blasphemy for his idiocy, refrained, bringing his hand to his chin in thought. "That may be true… but surely his own family would not turn against him."

"Ah, but Lord Fate, would it interest you to know that his family and two others attempted to end his life for no other purpose but sport?"

Fate's attention rose at that. "And of course, being of weak sentiment…"

Blasphemy smiled. "The boy was capable of wounding them into incapacitation, but he is far too emotionally weak to be capable of ever thinking of striking them down in combat. The other two, less so, but they hated the boy with a vengeance rarely seen, even in mundanes…"

Fate paused in thought, then smiled.

"It pleases me to find my remaining troops have powers of cognizant thought. Blasphemy, depart to the Timeless Zone, and use thy… methods of persuasion to convince them to join my cause."

"…then I started writing in the sand, and… that's all I remember of the vision." Ladis finished, describing the odd vision he'd seen after slaying Despair.

Garadien nodded slowly. "So, this vision you had… it was tangible? You could feel what was going on?"

Ladis sighed, looking up at the crystalline ceiling of the place Fortune called "The Wacky House", the odd mansion suspended in the nothingness Garadien referred to as the "Beforever", or a place where time did not truly exist.

It was the first place Ladis had arrived at since the incident at Garadien's church, and already the place was feeling like… home.

No. Like a different home. Much more free of negative emotions than his parent's house. At least, now, in between the merchant and the palace's roof, he had fulfilled two needs: income and a place to stay.

"Yes… it was tangible. I could feel the wind, the rain… everything… what did it mean?" Ladis asked.

Garadien smiled. "It means Fate is now minus a significant source of power, and, seeing as this is his first go at Realm-wide domination, he's probably a bit panicky. The realm you visited can never again fall under Odium's grasp."

Ladis nodded, happy with that, and started to head over to talk to Fortune, when a thought struck him. "Wait- my friends! Did they…?"

Garadien shrugged. "Most likely, they wound up there, after Despair was slain, being emotionally attached to you. As to exactly where they are, that is beyond my guess, but I'm sure they're safe."

Fortune, who had ceased jumping around, held his head in thought. "Say, Garadien… if everyone got sucked into the Timeless Zone… then a lot of people will be released randomly into the worlds, right?"

Garadien shook his head. "No. That was taken care of in advance. The only new arrivals will be those who were close to Ladis."

Ladis, hearing this, felt a bit bewildered. "Those close to me?"

"Your friends, your family… those who had strong emotional connections with you…"

Ladis jerked as if he'd been cut. "My family! In that realm!" he gasped, a million different scenarios running through his head, none of them good, of what his family would do to the two children he had seen.

Garadien sighed. "I realize they were extremely flawed in their raising of you, Ladis… but this will be a new start for them. Even they can change their ways."

Fortune walked over, sighing. "That's not gonna happen, pal."

Garadien turned to the jester. "What do you mean, that's not going to happen! I've seen monsters of men far worse than his father repent of their ways, convert to light, and…"

"They're not in the Timeless Zone anymore." Fortune interrupted.

Garadien paled. "Wha… then surely they're in that realm…"

"No, sorry, pal. I checked. They're not in that realm, nor the Timeless Zone…"

Garadien groaned, bringing a hand to his head. "Father Jehovah help us…"

Ladis didn't know exactly what was going on, but he didn't need to in order to discern something was very wrong here. "What happened?"

Fortune turned to Ladis with a sad sigh. "People in the Timeless Zone can only leave one of two ways: They slip into a realm due to connection with someone of spiritual power, like you, or they leave with someone strong enough to breach the boundary between here and there, the Timeless Zone and Reality. And since the only ones capable of doing that are Me, Garadien, the Dreamslayers and Fate himself, and me and Garadien haven't been to the Timeless Zone…"

Ladis reeled, nearly falling over, leaning against a pillar for support. Fortune didn't have to finish the sentence; Ladis understood all too well the implication.

Where he had turned to good, his family had turned to evil.

"There are many detestable acts one of the evil heart can commit, but few reek so foully as the deplorable act of turning a family against itself."
-Bahamut, Ancient Great Wyrm.

Terce was not in a good mood.

It was arguable if he had ever known anything beyond seething rancor and pure rage, but at the moment, he was most certainly no avatar of kindness.

His day had been hellish. First, his slave, Ladis, leaves. Without his permission. Acting as if- of all things- he had the right to think for himself! He left! Leaving all the chores, all the work, all the trouble to him!

Then, when his father INSISTED he be given another chance to prove himself, to get back in good graces, what did the lousy, overgrown asswipe do? Accept the simple task of killing a girl and beg forgiveness?

NO!

It was a simple task! Kill a girl tainted by a mudskin! Get your robes! Did the overgrown shithead have any IDEA how many mudskins Terce had to assault before he got his robes!

Of course not. Ladis had his head in the clouds all the time. Didn't care that his stupidity- LEAVING the family without permission from ANY of them- would leave him, mom, and dad to do all the work.

Stupid Shit.

And if the sheer insult, the sheer embarrassment he suffered in front of his fellow klansmen when Ladis ruined everything by playing some sort of politically correct hero wasn't enough, the shit got him, his family, and his friends thrown in jail!

For what? Ridding the earth of another mudskin? How was that a crime!

He'd thought, as he lay in his jail cell, that things could not get worse. Not after all the shame he'd suffered. Not after all his hopes and dreams were flushed down the toilet.

They didn't.

They got better.

He had to admit the transition; the chaotic portal that ripped apart the jail walls and sucked him into the… blackness was not his idea of good travel, but the result…

"…so, Mr. Jadesdale, it is thus I am obliged by my honor to tell you that your disowned son, Ladis, is indeed responsible for these occurrences." Finished Fate, his mighty face casting a sympathetic look to Terce.

A knowing look.

The kind of look that showed a man who had too suffered because a stupid family member refused to see the truth.

Aaron Jadesdale, Terce's father, shook his head in shame. They were now in Fate's citadel, the place Terce now knew as home, listening to the tale of how Ladis' foolish actions had, once again, screwed things up.

But not on a single person scale, oh no.

He couldn't just screw up one group, could he?

He had to screw up EVERYONE'S life by reading some stupid magic spell! And if that wasn't enough, he'd somehow got himself a suit of magic armor and now was screwing up the plans of someone who epitomized Terce's ideas!

Congratulations, brother! I don't know HOW you managed it, but you've fucked up things worse than ever! Proud of yourself yet! Because we aren't!

"I never believed, not in all eighteen years we endured his troubles, that he could do something so…so…" Mrs. Jadesdale was at a loss for words.

"Juvenile." Finished Frankson, a fellow klansman and the only one who ever bothered to actually delve into the madness that was Ladis' mind- or lack thereof. "Utterly irrational behavior. Subject has clearly progressed to utter dementia and insanity, willingly clouding his mind with fantasies and dream-like states in order to block out reality without any consideration for the harm he will do to his superiors. Recommended correctional therapy: None applicable. The only logical action is to terminate subject before subject further endangers purity and safety of superiors."

Translation- Ladis had finally lost anything resembling a shred of sanity, and needed to be put down, permanently. It was what Terce had been advocating in plain English all this years.

"He's always been causing us suffering- he enjoys it. He associates with those… impurities…" spoke Jeanra Jadesdale, Terce's mother.

She had always been soft. Both of them. Using guilt instead of blows to make Ladis understand he was inferior. Only he, Terce, knew the only way to get anything through to Ladis was via puncture wounds to vital areas.

Kellsin snorted, the sound of a bull's grunt ringing through the stagnant air. "He cost me my job, my reputation- everything. Now he's got a friggin' magic toy and thinks he's God's little knight."

Kellsin- The ugly as sin bitch. Still, her methods were effective. She had been thrown out of so many self-defense classes for using excessive force, martial arts studios had started to blacklist her. But she made wonderful music- the wondrous screams of the impure whores who's arms and legs she twisted, bent, broke in her righteous campaign. Of course, like all good things, Ladis had ended that, too.

Fate, the self-proclaimed God of this world (and, Terce admitted, he was the essence of a God- both having and using power as he saw fit), nodded his head.

"Then you all are in agreement with me that this fool- Ladis- cannot be tolerated to live in the future I hope to create?"

Terce stepped forward. "The question isn't if he needs to die. It's how painfully, and how slowly."

There were sounds of assent from the other four, and Terce rejoiced silently at the smile Fate gave them- their new God, a god of purification of the unworthy, had accepted them, welcomed them.

"I hereby proclaim thee the Purifiers, those charged with the task of purifying my lands of the menace named Ladis, and unto thee I give powers to crush his mind, body and soul…"

Kellsin was suddenly thrown to her knees by a shock of black energy, the dark lightning coursing up and down her as her overweight, paunchy form slowly underwent a sort of metamorphisis…

Her stubby, brown patch of hair became long, black-pitch. Her pallor paled to the point that her skin was pure white, her eyes blood red. Her entire body was cloaked in a grey bodysuit of metallic sheen, and, in her hand, was a long, metal, spike covered whip. Her pudgy, large, fat body, now transformed, resembled a beautiful- if evil looking- goddess of war.

"You are hereby Suffering, the demoness who feeds on the pain and humiliation of others. Go now and purge the joy that the Soulblazer brings." Fate commanded.

Cruelty immediately swept over to Suffering, and looked her up and down, his jaw clattering in delight. "Such a desire for pain-causing… yes… you will do well in my realm… I assure you, the delight you enjoyed in the former world can be experienced there as well…" The two disappeared, assumedly to Cruelty's domain.

Jeanra Jadesdale was next. Her body slowly changed into that of a woman shrouded in black robes, her face hidden by a white mask that wept blood. All about her body were chains of magical power, protecting her rather than restraining her.

"You are hereby Lamentation, the mourner who bemoans the faults of all living things. Go now and fetter the Soulblazer with his past sins."

Wordlessly, the form walked over to Desecration. No words were spoken, but the two seemed to have an understanding of their new partnership.

Aaron stood next in line for the dark transformation, spreading his arms as if to embrace the energy that would make him a Purifier. Fate wasted no time with him, enveloping him in a cloak of crimson flame that soon engulfed his entire form.

"You are hereby Ravage, the embodiment of rancor against all living things. Go now and burn away the filthy scum that is the SoulBlazer's lie."

Ravage arose, his body now cloaked in a blood red robe, his face veiled by smoke. At his sides rested two scimitars that burnt fiercely with orange flames.

Even though his hooded face was obscured by a billowing clod of black smoke, it was evident that two red hot coals, serving as his eyes, burned behind the veil of smoke. His hands and feet were bronze, and, as he adjusted to his new form, they gave off sparks and cinders, the air about them shimmering with heat.

Hatred rose, his bulky Minotaur form stomping over to the new Purifier. "You're with me, now. Stay quiet, burn anyone that questions you or me, and if they don't question, burn them anyway."

Ravage shared a harsh laugh with the nightmarish beast as they disappeared in a cloud of embers, and Terce felt a surge of pride- both of his parents had finally seen the light! They would help him destroy, once and for all, the one obstacle that always hurt the family the most- Ladis.

Ladis and his repugnant thoughts.

Frankson was next, enveloped in harsh, searing light that Terce could have sworn was meant to vaporize him, rather than strengthen him.

"You are hereby Inquisition, the all seeing eye who peers into the wickedness of the SoulBlazer's heart and finds his deepest faults. Go now and bring forth the testament that damns his soul." He commanded, causing the light to subside.

Frankson, or, more appropriately, Inquisition, was no longer humanoid, or even remotely bipedal. Rather, he was now a large, floating, fleshy spherical orb, with one large central eye and multiple stalks protruding from his head that held smaller eyes. The central orb bore a large, fanged mouth, and Terce realized with a small start that the new Purifier could easily swallow someone his own size whole.

Inquisition, adjusting to his new form, used his eye stalks to examine himself. "Yes…" he hissed, a new, primal sense of energy creeping into his voice. "I can see… I can see all…"

"You can see all, and help me to judge all." Spoke Judgment, stepping forward. "Soon, the SoulBlazer's damnable intent will be made clear, and all shall be judged in Fate's eyes!" he bellowed.

"Then let us no longer dwindle time saying how we shall judge-" began Inquisition.

"…but begin the judgment of the unworthy! So be it!" roared Judgment, and in a glare of light, the two were gone.

Only Terce remained.

"You may wonder, young warrior of purification, why you have been left for last." Began Fate, his tone ominous.

Terce swallowed a lump in his throat. "Yes… my lord. Am… am I not worthy?"

Fate smiled, a cruel, wicked smile that would leave anyone else chilled to the bone, but to Terce, it was the smile of a brother- a brother he wished he'd had.

"No… you are worthy, but yours is a transformation that requires delicate precision. The other Purifiers may slay Ladis, but it may be that more… precise measures are necessary to end his threat."

Fate stepped closer, and Blasphemy approached as well.

"It is often the case that a power must be met with an opposite power, in order to neutralize the threat it poses. Such may be the case with Ladis."

Terce slowly began to understand what Fate was saying. "So in order to beat the Actraiser armor… and the SoulBlazer…"

"We need an antithesis to counteract it. In order to strike down a warrior of the false god… we need a warrior of the true god. A Soul Breaker."

Blasphemy suddenly approached Terce, and held out in his gnarled hands two daggers- and with surprise, Terce suddenly realized these were the same daggers he had that night Ladis had shot him. With reverent movements, he took them again, feeling the same familiar grip.

A gun was a weapon the lesser warriors used. Terce… Terce preferred the melee power of his knives. That way he got to see the looks on their faces as he… removed them from life.

"Extend your weapons, warrior, and think of your hate for the impure filth that taints the worlds…"

Back at the Beforever mansion, Garadien suddenly grabbed at his head, moaning, leaning on his staff for support.

Ladis ran to him, helping him to a chair that Fortune materialized. "Garadien! What happened!"

Garadien shook his head, as if to shrug off the ill effects of a blow. "I sense… a great evil awakening… it… came from your brother, Ladis." Garadien spoke softly, trying hard to break the news gently.

Ladis stood there, his expression a poker face. (At least he hoped it was.)

"I'm sorry." Garadien said softly.

Ladis shook his head. "Don't be. Terce… he proved what I thought."

"Which was?..."

Ladis turned to Garadien, his expression grim. "He's gone. Completely gone. I always hoped that… they would snap out of it, that we could be a normal family…"

But, deep down, Ladis knew that couldn't be the case. He had tried to hate them- to feel vindicated in utterly abandoning his emotions and praying for the worst for them- but he couldn't. No matter how hard he tried, he could neither entirely love and forgive them, nor could he achieve vindication in hating and shunning them.

Ladis sighed, and shook his head.

Garadien spoke after a few seconds. "If it helps any, your friends made it out okay…"

Ladis perked up immediately at that. "Really! Are they in that realm? Are they okay?"

Garadien nodded. "They were extremely lucky… they arrived in a safe area accustomed to this sort of phenomenon. They, however… experienced some changes…"

"I can't tell you how much we appreciate you getting us a house. After what happened…"

"What happened is that when YOU came, all the bad went away. Before that, life was a living… nightmare. I know it's not a consolation for what happened to your home, but considering what's happened…it's nice to see a new face."

Gutarez smiled and nodded to his benefactor, an old, wizened man in odd robes who called himself Merlin. The benevolent sage had appeared right after they had landed in this odd place right after the… there was no other way to describe it- storm.

It had not been an entirely pleasant trip.

(Seven Hours ago…)

"Do you think he'll be all right, alone at that church?" asked his wife, Maria.

"He needs time away from his… family." She said the word with a note of distaste.

"How could they treat their own child so badly…?" she sighed, looking out the window, seemingly scanning the rapidly darkening skies for an answer.

Gutarez shrugged. "Some people weren't meant to be parents."

Maria glared at him. "How can you say that…"

"Mom, Ladis would agree more than anyone that his parents didn't give a damn whether he lived or died." Derrick argued.

"Or if anyone else he knew did." Katrin said, a slight edge of fear in her voice.

Gutarez let one eye sweep over to the glove compartment, where his glock pistol was stored. If anyone came near her on his watch, he'd make sure they'd regret it- he owed Katrin's parents that much for allowing her to come along.

It thundered.

"Bad storm out there." Gutarez mused.

"Do you think he'll be okay in the church?" asked Maria.

Derrick laughed. "He survived living with his family. A little storm is nothing."

More thunder- at least it sounded like thunder, save for at least several times louder.

"Shit." Derrick cursed. "We must be driving through the storm of the millennium…"

Oddly, it had yet to rain. With the sky growing as black as it was, it should be pouring now.

"That sounded… bad." Katrin breathed.

"It's probably just a really bad thunderstorm." Gutarez spoke, trying to quell any panic. "The people at St. Matthews deal with them all the time…"

BOOM. That roll of thunder rattled the car and its occupants.

"..sonofabtich." Gutarez cursed. "If that's not the worst storm I've ever heard of, then I…"

"Dad." Derrick whispered, breathlessly.

"…swear, it's gotta be some sort of supercell, global warming or something…"

"DAD." Derrick interrupted again, urgency in his voice.

Gutarez looked back, ready to reprimand Derrick… when he saw just what was causing him to be so persistent.

About five miles behind them, the ground was being sucked upward into the sky in large chunks.

"Oh. That… that really isn't good, is it?" Gutarez asked, fear creeping into his voice.

Pandemonium reigned inside the car as Gutarez desperately tried to outrun the massive, seemingly omnipotent maelstrom, but to no avail, as soon, the tires left the rapidly cracking highway, and the car became one more object hurtling towards the center of the storm, a mere speck as the orb of chaotic light grew ever larger, sucking in bigger chunks of debris…

The last thing Gutarez remembered was lamenting, idiotically, who would feed his dogs if they all died.

That had, thankfully, been a moot concern. The dogs had someone turned up as well in this… town, as had Katrin's family.

Like God grouped us all together to make sure we wouldn't be worried about one another.

"My wife seems to be taking it okay, and Katrin's folks are doing good. As for Katrin and Derrick…"

A yell came from over in the park square. "Sky Arrow! THUNDER!"

In response, a tin can, balanced on a cardboard box, was sent flying as a lightning bolt struck it dead on.

Derrick, standing a few feet away from the smoldering can, brought one finger to his lips and blew on it like a gun, seemingly pleased with his actions.

The Sage smiled. "They both seem to have a great deal of latent ability in the arcane arts. They'll find places here too, I assure you."

Gutarez nodded. "Good. It'll be different, but… folks around here seem nice enough. Thanks for everything… Merlin, right?"

The sage nodded, and extended a hand. "Yes. Welcome, Mr. Gutarez, to Traverse Town."

Ladis smiled slightly. "So, they're safe now."

Garadien sighed. "Yes. But remember, Ladis, that there are other realms that suffer. The sooner we release them from Fate's grasp, the better."

Ladis nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I kinda guessed from what happened with that last realm. So, where to next?"

Garadien waved his hand, and seven more doors appeared in various parts of the manor.

"That, friend, is up to you to decide."

Ladis mused for a moment, then walked over to one door, right next to the one he had just previously been to.

"Desecration's territory is behind that door. She has turned a once happy village into a place of nightmares, stricken people with reflections of a happy past they were stripped away from by Fate's cruel intervention." Garadien spoke.

Ladis reached for the door, then stopped. "Desecration… what element is she? Despair was earth… water… she's water, right?"

Garadien nodded. "Correct… but why do you…"

Ladis closed his eyes in concentration, this time imagining Terce being electrocuted by lightning.

His eyes flashed open, and he smiled at Fortune.

Fortune returned the leer, and materialized a glass plate. "Ready?"

"PULL!" Ladis shouted, stretching out his right hand.

Fortune threw the plate in a Frisbee motion, and as it reached the peak of its flight…

"Sky Arrow! THUNDER!" Ladis yelled, evoking a brilliant arc of electricity to fly from his palm and strike the plate, shattering it in a shower of glass and sparks.

Ladis flashed Fortune the peace sign, and then dashed inside the door, resulting in the usual psychedelic light show that came with inter-realm travel.

"Heh. That little impromptu magic lesson sank in after all." Fortune chuckled, amusement hinting in his voice.

He turned to Garadien. "Ya know, we may just have a chance of surviving this mess after all."

Ladis had expected the world he was heading to would be dismal, devoid of energy, ravaged by Fate's attacks. He expected the devastation to be utter and complete, not a single symbol of vitality or hope in the entire land.

He did not expect, however, the number of shades, similar to Ansem in translucency, which wandered this land, all weeping and moaning, endlessly, babbling incoherently to themselves.

He had arrived on another island; however, this one was more populated- if one could consider the amount of shades a "population". The sand beneath his feet was grey like ashes, the island vegetation withered and shriveled. The sky was a noxious green, and the air smelled of acrid chemicals.

As Ladis walked onward, surveying the damage, he came upon a rotted entry arch to a village, where, written on a wooden sign were the words:

Welcome to Besaid.

Within dwelt a greater amount of shades, their transparent bodies showing ragged clothing, hopeless, forlorn expressions, and the weight of having to endure the nightmarish atmosphere of this island for far too long.

Asking the shades for direction or advice proved futile, as they seemed incapable of hearing Ladis' voice, only continuing to moan and weep incoherently to themselves.

The dwellings these shades resided in resembled large huts, made with cloth and woven grass. At one time they may have been useful for shelter, now they rattled and swayed at the merest gust of acrid wind.

At the end of the residential area, there was a large, stone temple that, at one time, might have had some religious significance. Now, pieces of stone fell away, and unsteady pillars and archways barely supported the supposedly once proud temple.

Ladis, still uncertain of what he'd find within, entered through a crumbling doorway. Maybe some fragment of information would be inside to tell him where the Nightmare Citadel of Water was.

Inside, in one large circle, where many statues, now broken, lined up to (at least he conceived) face those who entered the temple. Larger statues of metal still stood, but rust and corrosion marred what where once undoubtedly great works of art and testimonies to superior metallurgy.

"All my fault. Never should of left the house…"

Ladis turned. There, sitting before some of the more whole statues, was the shade of a blonde haired man, dressed in odd yellow and black garb. He was shaking his head, holding an immaterial sword that looked like… solidified water?

"How could you let this happen… you're supposed to watch… you're supposed to look out for us…"

Ladis started to respond, but then realized the figure was addressing the lifeless statues. The shade slowly rose, grabbing his sword with both hands.

"Guardians… protectors… saints… my… ass!" the shade snarled, slashing at the statues with his sword, though the blade did nothing.

"OUR CHILD!"

Slash.

"YOU LET OUR CHILD DISAPPEAR!"

A backhand slice.

"WHAT KIND OF MONSTERS ARE YOU!"

Overhead swing.

The specter then collapsed, sobbing, the immaterial sword falling from his hand. It made no noise whatsoever as it hit the ground.

"My fault… I could of… done something…"

"Done something for what?" Ladis asked.

"Voices… they never go away… they echo… keep telling me I failed…"

The figure stood up, screaming at the crumbling roof.

"I KNOW I SCREWED UP! NOW LET ME DIE! LET ME DISAPPEAR TOO! I CAN'T… I can't… I can't… see her… I can't… say I'm sorry now… I can't… can't… face her."

The shade then resumed slashing at the figures, his blade passing through the unyielding stone with no mark at all. Ladis, shaking his head, looked around for any doors or ways further inside the temple.

Two lower doors were blocked by debris, but a flight of stairs and a doorway behind it appeared clear…

More stairs. Once intricate runes and engravings on the stone walls, now barely recognizable from wear and erosion, signified that this, indeed, was a hallowed place that was not taken lightly by those who entered.

However, the ravages of whatever unholy plague had cursed this temple were fast becoming evident. Cracks in the walls grew more frequent and wider. Proud stone walls lay in rubble. A stone shaft leading down showed a broken stone circle at the bottom, perhaps some sort of crude elevator.

Ladis leapt down, the boots power reducing his fall to the point it sounded like a mere footstep.

A small tunnel of shambled brick led him to a large circular room, where once proud sculptures and designed now cracked and crumbled, faded away to ruin. The only other door was high atop a long flight of stairs, which creaked and cracked beneath Ladis' feet as he trod on them.

He heard sobbing behind a veil of what was apparently an ornate cover of artificial flowers, and, brushing the remains aside…

A young woman's shade, her hair done in a long, wrapped ponytail, her garb oddly like the distressed man's he'd seen earlier, knelt over a large glass dome in the middle of a stone floor, her body shaking with sobs.

"I know we had to unmake you… it was the only way… I know that doesn't make it right! But… take me! Not my son… not our baby…"

"Uh, excuse me…" Ladis spoke…

"He had such beautiful blue eyes… so beautiful… I just want… one more time. Let me and Tidus hold him in our arms again!" the woman wailed.

"Your weeping is meaningless." Came a cold, uncaring, eerily… familiar voice that seemed to emanate from the very walls.

The weeping woman's shade now stood, stumbled past- no, through Ladis, it felt like ice replaced his blood for a moment- and hurried clumsily down the stairs, tripping and falling at the bottom.

"Cry until there's nothing left to weep. Pray to whatever god you think will bother. No one's going to pity you. You brought this on yourself. He thinks so, too."

"No… stop… please…." Begged the woman.

"It's fortunate your father died. He'd of killed himself in shame to see your failure."

"STOP! NO MORE!"

"You do not wish to hear the truth, for you know it was you who made the crucial error."

"NO!"

"You saw the child as a barrier between him and you."

"I loved him!"

"You got what you asked for in your heart."

"I WANTED A CHILD TO LOVE!"

"And now like a spoiled girl, you try to take back what you can't undo. Ever."

"I LOVED HIM! HE WAS MY CHILD! MY BABY!"

"You deserved to lose him."

"BE QUIET, YOU SELF-RIGHTEOUS BITCH!" yelled Ladis.

There was a deathly silence, broken only as the woman's shade sobbed.

"How dare you address me with that tone."

Ladis felt nausea flow through him like poison. Yes, that was why the voice was so familiar. It was his mother's. How fucking appropriate.

"I nurtured you, raised you…"

"You told me yourself I was a "spare child" until Terce came along!"

"We offered you life, and you threw it in our faces."

"You tried to coerce me into shooting my best friend's girlfriend."

"Those who accept the tainted's embrace are as vile as the tainted themselves."

Ladis' disgust with the spectral voice's Nazi logic reached its limit, and he started for the door, then stopped, and bent down beside the woman, still crying.

"She's a lying bitch."

The sobs slowed suddenly.

"Don't listen to her. I'd give anything to have you as a mother."

The shade looked around, confused. Apparently, she couldn't see Ladis, but somehow, she could hear some of his words…

"Don't give up." Ladis said, steeling himself for what he knew he had to do.

Ladis' footsteps as he walked back towards the stone shaft he had leapt down were the only noise breaking the silence.

The shade knelt their, slowly rising to stand, head bowed. A single tear fell from her cheek.

"I won't give up. Ever."

Ladis descended the final stairwell, into the room where he had met the blonde man's shade, who was now muttering to himself in a corner, holding his head in his hands.

"Nice pep talk." Came a gruff voice. "How many fortune cookies did it take you to put it together?"

Ladis whirled, Soul Blade springing to life. The Blonde Man's shade stirred, as if he had heard a noise or felt something.

Ladis was now facing the shade of a burly, muscular man, his left arm covered in an odd armor that protected shoulder to hand, black shorts, and one leg was covered by an orange drape with black characters at the bottom. A huge, black steel sword he held in his right hand and a blood red bandana he had tied around his head, plus the many scars and tattoos he sported, gave the impression this was not the sort of person Ladis wanted as an enemy.

"Five." Ladis said, matter-of-factly, as he extinguished the soul blade.

The shade gave a snort which might have been a laugh.

"Welcome to Besaid, shittiest place on earth. Everyone here has gone nuts or wishes they had." The shade spoke, bitterness ringing in his voice.

"You seem pretty sane, compared to the others." Ladis mentioned, motioning to the blonde haired shade, who had returned to muttering.

The warrior's eyes flashed, and Ladis saw his grip on his sword tighten. "Don't insult my son. He's been through more shit than you ever will. He deserves a breakdown in this shit. You, on the other hand, look like some pretty boy who just got his nails polished. A snowflake."

Ladis let out a sigh. "A wimp."

"Yes."

"Never had a rough day in my life?"

"Don't think so."

"You know the bitchy ghost voice that tells people they're screw ups?"

"Yeah. Irritating as hell. So what?"

Ladis drew a breath slowly. "That's my mom."

The warrior shade looked at Ladis as if he'd just stated that he'd contracted a terminal illness. "Daaaaaaaamn."

"Yeah, pretty much."

"Well, welcome to hell, kid. I'm Jecht, professional blitzball player, first-class screwup as a father, and I did a mean impression of a world-destroying monster in my old days."

Ladis smiled. "Ladis Jadesdale, certified menace to society as we know it, and hired ghosty-voice bitch exterminator." Ladis made a mock bow.

Jecht let out a harsh laugh. "If things weren't so shitty, I'd think that was actually funny. None of us can do squat, kid. Occasionally, you'll see one of those… I don't know what the HELL you call those monsters come out of the hole and walk through the village, but my sword does nothing to it. We're all ghosts, here, and…" Jecht stopped, as if noticing something.

"You… you're not a ghost, are you?" he said, slowly, his eyes opening wide.

"Like I said, I'm here to kill what made this place shitty and make everything better again."

Jecht snorted, again. "Yeah, yeah… bet you do this everyday, huh kid?" he spat sarcastically.

"Well, I've only done it once, the island turned out okay, and… Oh, yeah, I have a reference…" Ladis reached into his ethereal inventory, withdrawing the gem Ansem gave him as a parting gift.

"Uh… Ansem? You in there?" Ladis asked, tapping the spherical amber marble.

A stream of ethereal energy shot out of the orb in response, flowing towards the ground, pooling and forming the shade of Ansem.

"I probably should of stated this earlier, Ladis, but I'm strictly combat oriented, I'm afraid. In other worlds, I'm not much for directions…" Ansem began.

"I don't need directions. Just tell this guy I'm the real deal so I can start killing Dreamslayer number two." Ladis said, indicating Jecht.

"Oh… right. Yes, Ladis here does do a thorough job of exterminating… unwanted tyrannical presences. Though I must admit… the process is a tad bloody for my tastes…" Ansem said, seeming to recall the savagery of Ladis' last battle.

"It was a damned giant lizard with knives for teeth and "Make-you-die" gas for breath. What did you expect me to do, lecture it on ethics and playing nicely?"

Ansem rolled his eyes. "'Make-you-die Gas'? Only a non-mage could take the pinnacle of an evil, yet beautifully twisted arcane art and give it such an utterly mundane moniker… but I digress. Yes, he does a professional job of ridding one's environment of unwanted demonic influences and restoring the damage their tyranny has inflicted to such a degree that the affliction seems to have never of transpired."

Jecht stared at Ansem blankly, who sighed and shook his head.

"I'll rephrase- He stabs demons until they bleed to death and makes the bad shit go bye bye." Ansem spoke loudly and slowly, not trying to mask any condescending of Jecht's intelligence.

"Ohhhhh, okay…" Jecht said, realization showing in his eyes.

Ansem turned to Ladis. "I'll be resting now. Please don't call me unless it's an emergency, because it's… cold out of the orb."

Ladis noticed that Ansem seemed to be a bit uncomfortable for some reason, and held out the orb. The shade broke down into energy, which flowed into the amber orb.

"So… yeah, I'm the exterminator. Now, where did you say this "hole" was?"

"I didn't. It's a ways outside the village, and surrounded by these… I'm sure what the hell you call them… some look like bodies made of tar, others are made of... 'inky water', I guess. I tried taking on them… my sword won't scratch them and they don't even seem to know I'm there."

Ladis nodded, his face grim. "I'll go take care of it. Wait here."

He called forth the blade and prepared to head out.

"Hey, wait a minute." Called Jecht.

Ladis paused, turning his head slightly.

"Don't die out there, okay? I've held on too long to see the one good thing around here get smashed." said Jecht, his face showing the wear of maintaining his sanity in a place that actively tried to tear it away from him.

Fate stirred ever so slightly from his thoughts as he sensed the Soul Blazer draw near the entrance to the next Nightmare Citadel. His minions, now more vigilantly guarding their own Citadels, were gone for now.

Calling forth the large arcane sphere that allowed him to see into worlds he possessed, he brought it to bear on the now rapidly moving Soul Blazer, and caused the image to zoom in…

Fate barely managed to suppress an outburst of rage as he got his first good look at this pest who had single-handedly defeated a Dreamslayer.

The fool was Faith's age, it seemed. And judging by his appearance, he was not used to fighting off hordes of demonic beasts, or any sort of combat, for that matter.

How, then, was a Dreamslayer dead at his hands?

Was the lethality of the Soul Blade such that even the gross difference in combat capability between Despair and the boy was balanced by its fatal touch? No, from what his minions had told him, the battle was a close contest with the boy only winning by virtue of being able to move faster than Despair.

Doubtless the boy would become more and more proficient with time, becoming an even greater threat. A threat that was rapidly encroaching on Fate's domain… and his source of power.

Moreover, he, for once, was at a disadvantage. He could not leave this home realm without further compromising his powers, so he only had his Dreamslayers to defend him.

Oh, wait, and the Soul Blazer's family and two others who hated his guts. At the very least, his confrontations with them would prove amusing. A diversion that was necessary to break the tedium of unquestionable rule.

Then he remembered the light he saw when Faith disappeared.

He willed away the image, fuming as his memory tormented him. The light that had snatched Faith away, like the god he had mocked was mocking him in return, taking away the one thing he wished to destroy most…

But even so, the struggles of this Soul Blazer, the idea that this boy could challenge him… excited him. The prospect of the boy accumulating enough power to challenge him, one on one… to engage him head on in battle… was an intoxicating proposition.

It then struck Fate that he was not altogether sure that he wanted the boy dead just yet. He wanted to personally kill him: let him fight his way through his most powerful troops, bringing courage and hope to the realms conquered by Fate… then kill him, and show his broken, lifeless body to those who dared to aid a rebellion.

Or maybe leave him on the verge of death, and let the masses see their fallen hero be executed at the hands of Fate himself…

Fate absentmindedly wondered, if, perhaps, this was what it meant to be insane with power.

Ladis now fully understood how some people could have hydrophobia.

He also had a new appreciation for just how twisted the imagination of Fate had to be to come up with the unholy beings he'd dubbed "Watermines."

The hole Ladis found was guarded by three small Bladetails, the name he'd given to the small Odiumspawn with two legs, no arms, and a long tail with a blade on the end. They fell easily enough to two slashes and a Thunder spell that sent one flying into a rock, where it left a small crack on impact.

He'd barely noticed the small puddles of water that didn't seem to absorb into the ashen sand. They had simply looked normal.

But once he got too close to one, and it began to slash and slap at him with sharp jets of water, it had struck him that anything that looked normal in these worlds was a trap.

It took multiple slashes, thrusts, and thunder spells to destroy the damnable blobs of water, but finally, a battered and bleeding Ladis emerged victorious.

He used two cure spells to heal himself up, and headed into the abyss, leaping down the dark, seemingly bottomless hole…

It then occurred to Ladis he had no idea how deep the hole went. Unfortunately, this thought came to him as soon as his feet had entered the blackness of the pit's depths…

Were anyone nearby, they might have broken out of their Fate-induced sorrows to marvel at how fast the Soul Blazer could spew obscenities.

Ten seconds of falling later, Ladis had acquired enough presence of mind to both use the soul blade to see just what he was falling down into, and then used both the boots and the Aero magic to slow his descent, landing on a stone platform in the middle of a torch-lit tunnel.

A quick look around revealed whoever was in charge here has similar tastes of décor with the fallen Despair- skull-like torches served as illumination in this granite tunnel, making it quite clear that Ladis- along with anyone else- was not welcome here.

More looking about revealed that the platform of stone Ladis stood on was surrounded by acidic-smelling fluid, and similar platforms lead further down the tunnel, which, now that Ladis considered it, felt more like some sort of macabre sewer system.

A Tainted Waterway.

Lemme guess- that green crap burns. Ladis called out mentally.

Correctumundo! Feels like liquid fire on the skin before it melts it away, though it's not as potent as Grade Sigma crap.

Great. And here, with a demon of elemental water, I thought I'd at least get to swim.

Precisely. Elemental demons, if given the chance, will make a macabre parody of the element they represent. Water demons will choose polluted marshes and acid lakes, Earth demons will choose barren bowels of the earth, Fire demons… well, they take up residence in the nearest volcano, not a very creative bunch, and Wind Demons like to make holds on top of tall mountains where they can generate massive windstorms.

Ladis cautiously leapt from one platform to the next, wary of the acid below. I guess the entire idea is to make intruders really feel uncomfortable, huh?

Well, you can't expect them to have a red carpet, a waiting room, and complimentary coffee for people intending to kill them, can you? Of course, there are a few that DO that, but… well, they eat hordes of 'heroes' for breakfast, often literally speaking.

Ladis swore vehemently as he nearly lost his balance. Right. Now, then…

He had almost jumped when, again, the power of precognition kicked in, and he had another vision, this one of him being drenched in a sudden deluge of green acid, seeing his skin begin to hiss and bubble…

He fought off the nausea as he saw, from a large drainpipe in the stone walls, a torrent of green acid flowed out, spilling into the corrosive stream below.

Ladis nearly despaired at having his one route forward blocked, but, after a few moments, the acid slowed, then stopped, allowing him to jump to the next platform.

It then struck Ladis that if that drain had kept spilling acid into this demonic sewer, unless there was another drain somewhere further down, the acid would flood up and over the platforms, leaving him with nowhere to run…

The acid flow started up again behind him, and, turning around, he could see that the flow was more forceful and increasing in volume by the moment.

Instinct had Ladis sprinting and jumping down the stone corridor, praying that he would find higher ground soon…

The acid had just covered the edges of the platform he had most recently leapt to when he saw that the tunnel ended about twenty feet ahead… and near the end, was a raised stone platform…

Calling on the boots power, Ladis leapt to the wall, using the increased speed to allow him to defy gravity and run along the wall like he had heard ninja were prone to do…

He had leapt off the wall and onto the higher ground he sought when it became apparent that the corrosive flow wasn't going to stop, and he had run out of room to flee.

Instinct, or something very much like it brought the young Soul Blazer's gaze upward, and there he saw that there was a long, cylindrical, well like tunnel above… but there was no way he could jump that high…

Unless…

Are the fumes from that sort of acid flammable? Ladis asked mentally, hoping that Fortune was still listening in…

Why the hell are you asking about!... Oh no… you are NOT doing that…

Ladis leapt up into the tunnel as far as the boots would allow him…

YOU ARE OUT OF YOUR MIND…

"Sky Arrow!"

YOU INSANE SONUVA…

Yes she is a…!

"THUNDER!"

It should be noted that while the Actraiser Armor boosts a person's dexterity, strength, vitality, and their ability to use magic, it does nothing to aid their wisdom, intelligence, or sense of rational thought.

Ladis, consequently, gained a great deal of insight of just what it felt like to be a bullet fired from a sniper rifle, the flames licking near his back as he was violently expelled from the tunnel upward…

Instinctively lit his soul blade, his spinning, uncontrolled sword arm cleaving through two Swordsman Odiumspawn who had been curious enough to see what the loud explosion was…

Saw, as he spun, a high stone platform, forcing his body to take one direction and hoping that the magic he possessed would allow him to perform what he needed to do…

"WIND CLEAVER! AERO!"

The spell, focused into a burst of air, propelled him towards the platform he desperately sought, and, miraculously landing on both feet, he had barely time to turn around…

And get a glimpse of the large fiery pillar that soared upward, searing the air where Ladis had been only two seconds ago.

When the blast subsided, Ladis looked down, seeing that he was on the second story of a two story room, seeing the smoldering remains of two Swordsman Odiumspawn vaporize into black hazes…

"Wheeeeeeeee…." Ladis moaned, as he fought off a sense of disorientation and nausea from his impromptu flight.

Turning around, ignoring the combination of unrepeatable curses and expressions of surprise from Fortune, Ladis saw he was on a narrow stone walkway, in a large, expansive room, where from the walls jutted out a cris-crossing jumble of more narrow walkways to form a tapestry of winding stone beams, making sharp turns, intersecting, some stopping in the middle of open air, others making tight, winding turns inward, forming spirals, and others formed treacherous "stairways" down to the floor…

Where lay among the smooth stone floors pools of what appeared to be murky water.

Quit cursing at me, Fortune. Is that stuff poisonous?

No, its magical swamp water than will make you big and strong and increase your genital size by 300, or your money back. OF COURSE IT'S POISONOUS! Fortune shouted this last part so loud Ladis nearly fell off the beam he was on.

"Figures." Ladis mumbled. "Acid floods, poison pools, long vertical shafts with no ladders. How could this get any worse?" he groaned aloud.

Prickling came at the back of his neck.

He pulled off reflexive back flip that would have been impossible were it not for the enhancing powers of the armor.

And then came the scraping of metal hitting stone where flesh and bone were just milliseconds ago.

Ladis landed on a stone beam a few feet away to look at a new breed of odiumspawn- Bipedal like the Hookhand Odiumspawn, these had Reptilian heads lined with ivory teeth and held an acid green tongue, and where the hook-like blades were, there instead what appeared to be a set of bladed pincers, not unlike a set of hedge clippers, except these were looking far sharper and suited for cutting something entirely different from mere wood. Instead of a black, ooze like body, these monstrosities had green, scaly hides like Despair's, save for that they seemed much less thick and far less resilient, and their tails were more thinner, longer, seemingly like an extra limb.

One of them hissed, and it's clipper-claws opened and closed as it's yellow, almost glowing eyes looked over Ladis. "You're not exactly the prey I had in mind, but you ssssssuffice nicely." It spoke, a distinct reptilian edge to it's voice.

Without warning, it lunged, drawing back the right claw and thrusting forward with the left. Ladis stepped to the side, and spun the Soul Blade in a backhand arc, slicing off an arm. A howl of pain faded slowly as it lost its balance and fell, landing headfirst with a sickening crack.

Ladis turned to the other two, who bore mixed looks of shock and hate. "Which one of you wants to die next?"

Both lunged, hissing in anger. The first one landed on the beam aside Ladis, blocked a stab from the Soul Blade, and thrust out with the claw, shearing off his left arm at the elbow with a snap…

…or so it would have been had Ladis' hand not twitched, jamming the Soul Blade between the snapping blades, which now smoldered as the lizardman tried futilely to cut the blade of light in half.

Ladis pushed forward, shoving his attacker away, and flung himself backward just in time to avoid a flying kick from the second lizardman, who landed right in front of his companion.

Ladis saw that the stone beam ended a few feet behind the lizardmen, and a look of wicked intelligence flashed in his eyes.

Both of the lizardman gave momentary looks of confusion as Ladis formed the Greatsword Soul Blade and cut the beam in front of him, the confusion turning to shock as both fell as the beam gave way…

The tactic might have worked had it not been for the Lizardmen's apparently unnatural resilience, as they bounded back onto the beam behind Ladis, seemingly unfazed or unhurt by the fall.

Time for a new tactic: Brute Force.

Ladis reared back, calling on the lance form of the Soul Blade, and thrust forward at the nearest of the Lizardmen. Caught off guard, the blade of energy struck right through it's chest, and, with an odd cross between a cough and a gurgle, it fell forward, hit the beam, and rolled off, falling to the floor with a sound like a sack of potatoes meeting the ground after falling out of an airplane.

The final Lizardman opened it's mouth to hiss- save that no hiss came out, only a gout of purple smoke that engulfed Ladis, burning his eyes and making him cough and stumble backward.

Blinded, Ladis was unable to see the Lizardman, but still the precognition power warned him of the approaching beast's claw, allowing him to turn what would have been a dire wound into a mere flesh wound on his shoulder.

Hissing in pain and feeling utterly nauseous, Ladis held up his hands. "SKY ARROW! THUNDER!"

There was a roar of thunder and a brief cry of pain, followed later by a crash.

Finally, Ladis' tears washed what ever was in his eyes out enough to the point his vision returned, and he could see what became of the Lizardman. The lightning bolt had apparently thrown him down onto the corpse of the first lizardman, where he was impaled on his brother's claw.

Ladis would have felt some amount of pride at slaying three such deadly creatures if it wasn't for the sudden burst of nausea and pain that brought him to his knees.

Ladis, you've got some sort of poison in you! Came Fortune's mental call.

Ladis groaned and shook his head to try and clear the residual burning in his eyes and the nausea. No shit. What do those things eat for lunch, anyway?

Human flesh and bone. Now, then, you've got enough white aether, I think, so try and form a spell that will cure you of the venom.

Ladis, again closing his eyes in concentration, thought of the many times Kazubeki had given him homemade herbal remedies for colds when his parents had refused to buy medicine…

"…errrgh… this had better work… Prism Dose! Panacea!"

Immediately, Ladis was engulfed in green mist that appeared out of nowhere. Instinctively he breath, and as if he was never ill at all, the burning in his eyes- and the painful nausea- disappeared.

A cure spell healed the wound on his shoulder, and Ladis once set his mind to finding a way through this hellish dungeon. The pillars jutted out from the walls, but none led to any real place of significance…

Save for one, which led to a wall that crackled and hissed like the portals in Despair's lair…

It was in the very topmost left-hand corner, too.

Hooooooooo boy. I'm earning my stripes.

Ladis, leaping from beam to beam, worked his way up toward the sparkling portal. It was becoming more and more obvious that ease of access was not what whoever worked on these "Nightmare Citadels" had in mind; one's anatomy had to be tailor-made to traverse these mazes with any degree of ease and safety.

But, remembering the acid canal incident, Ladis began to wonder if the entire idea behind the traps and trials was not only to keep out intruders, but to cull weak Odiumspawn as well.

He jumped toward the portal, using the boots to boost himself through the crackling wall…

And slammed into the sparking wall, his confusion as to why he was unable to get through lasting only a second before he slashed into the wall as he fell, slowing his decent from a fatal plunge to a slow drift…

…a twitch of his feet saved him from falling into one of the toxic pools.

Crap. Fortune, something's wrong with the wall. I can't get through. Ladis called.

Look around in there. Kill or smash anything that looks like it fits into the "evil spooky demon battery thingamajig category. Fortune replied.

Ladis started to walk around the floor, shaking his head. I'm not seeing much, Fortune… all that's in here are a few lizard corpses, some pillars, some poison swamp water, and…

More prickling at the back of his neck. Like acupuncture with railroad nails.

A leap ten feet into the air saved him from being cut in half as a tentacle, armed with a scythe-like claw blade, sprang from one of the pools and swiped at him.

...forget what I just said.

Ladis slashed at the tentacle, but it withdrew back into the murky liquid from whence it came as quickly as it lashed out, leaving Ladis to strike only empty air.

Another tentacle lashed out at Ladis, narrowly missing. Ladis tried to use the Greatsword form to slash it's claw off, but, again, the tentacle withdrew far too quickly.

Then an idea came to him.

Waiting for only a split-second, Ladis dodged another tentacle slash, but this time, aimed for the pool where the tentacle had sprung from…

"Sky Arrow! THUNDER!"

The lightning bolt surged into the poisonous water, and the tentacle convulsed, seemingly paralyzed. Ladis wasted no time in hacking it to bits, dark purple ichors spilling onto the stone floor as his soul blade slashed again and again.

One particularly fierce blow severed the tentacle in two, and the remainder of the appendage went still. From behind, Ladis heard the splash of something surfacing…

Spinning around, he stifled a curse as he saw what appeared to be some sort of horrible combination of hornet and squid head emerged from one of the poisonous ponds, and somehow, even though he had (thankfully) never seen this sort of beast before, Ladis could tell the beast was dazed… for now…

Charging, Ladis leapt at the head, slashing down into one of the insect-like eyes, the blade of light causing the eye to sizzle and blacken.

As would be expected from such a horrific beast, retribution came swiftly and painfully. Tentacles sprouted up from all around the beast, flailing and slamming Ladis back into the ground brutally. The beak like mouth opened, and with a gurgle, acid green liquid spewed out, hitting Ladis in the left leg as he tried to scramble away.

A scream of agony like nothing Ladis had ever experienced escaped his throat as his flesh melted away, and he rolled to avoid another stream of acid, feeling like his leg had been submerged in boiling oil…

He had only enough presence of mind to call forth a potion before the agony washed over him again, his scream filling the room, tearing his throat…

Somehow in the torment he uncorked the bottle, dumped the contents on his leg (oh dear god I can see the muscles) and blissfully, mercifully, the wounded appendance foamed from the liquid medicine, skin regrowing, giving Ladis time enough to cast a Cure spell to regenerate any remaining injury from the acid blast.

His anger, however, remained. He'd had a perfectly good pair of pants ruined from the acid, magic didn't repair those, and had been put through pain which surpassed even his Algebra Tests.

For those of you who are unaware, an angry Soul Blazer- even an inexperienced one, is a dangerous and unpredictable foe at best.

The beastly head submerged underwater, and Ladis waited, his anger mounting with every second he was denied vengeance…

A tentacle lashed out, and with enhanced reflexes, Ladis spun, screaming the incantation for a Thunder spell, stopping the bladed claw inches from his chest.

Now fury came upon Ladis, and he slashed and stabbed at the tentacle with a vengeance, and as soon as the demonic squid/insect head rose from one of the ponds…

Ladis aimed another Thunder spell at the mass of flesh and chitin and observed the flailing from a distance. The acid stream lost momentum as it spat at him, the corrosive bile landing pitifully short. After a few minutes of flailing and spraying, it re-submerged, looking (for a nightmarish monster) thoroughly pissed.

Ladis then had a thought come to him- if some of the ponds were frozen, the tentacles would have a harder time breaking through…

Summoning up his black aether, he thought of Terce- no, his mother, the person who was supposed to give him care but never did, never showed any affection or kindness, being assailed by shards of ice and biting cold…

The spell took only a second to form, and he aimed his hand at a nearby pond…

"COLD BLAST! BLIZZARD!"

Responding to his command, Ladis' mana took form in a blast of ice and frozen shards, striking the water's surface and freezing most of the surface.

He repeated this technique with the pools until his mana was exhausted, and waited.

A tentacle smashed through one of the iced poison lakes, the shards of ice gouging it a bit, and, sluggish from the cold, its strike was slow enough to allow Ladis to slash at it as it narrowly missed him…

After slashing it in two, Ladis heard the telltale crack of ice as the beast rose again from the poison pools…

The lance form required mana, which Ladis simply didn't have. So, to compensate, he switched to the twin blades, and leapt at the head. As he landed, he dug in with both blades, causing the aberration to flail with it's remaining tentacles and spew more acid. Fortunately, though, the strikes and spray were unable to hit Ladis as he clung to it's back, stabbing and hacking at it's hide…

Finally having gouged out a large hole in the back of it's head, Ladis shifted the blades into the Greatsword form, stood up, pointing the ethereal blade down, and in one swift plunge, rammed the blade to the hilt… well, where the hilt would be- into where he thought this thing's brain was.

The beast gave an infernal shriek like a hive of hornets lit ablaze combined with a cow being slowly crushed to death, and, as Ladis leapt off, it sank with a wet flop onto the floor, purple ichors streaming from where he'd stabbed it…

Aether flowed into his body in rapid time, and somewhat drunk off the sudden intake, Ladis staggered, then shook away the sloth and focused on what to do next.

He saw that, near the beast's corpse, several "prayers" lay, the orbs of light shining and hovering. He picked them up, barely registering what they gave him as he heard the prayers.

"Please, spare my child… let her live… take me but let her live!..."

"Mommy? Daddy? Where are you? Please don't go! Please, come back!..."

"The pain… the pain… why must I still feel pain?"

It struck him as odd that anyone- or anything- could ever justify keeping people in torment for this long…

He looked at the items the prayers had given him. A potion, an ether, and an antidote. Useful, but not worth the lives of three innocent people…

He wondered if he'd ever grow so accustomed to the horrors of the Eternal Nightmares that the sorrow within the prayers would cease to affect him.

As he leapt back toward the portal, now apparently opened from the death of the beast keeping it sealed, he prayed to the God he felt had long abandoned him that he would never become so callous.

Three hours of running, jumping, pointless puzzles, traps, and general monster bashing later…

Another Lizardman Odiumspawn slammed into the marble walls of a circular corridor with a spiked pit before sliding off and being impaled on the steel spears below, dissolving into black mist.

It had taken five minutes to defeat that, and three Watermines, the watery blobs Ladis encountered earlier, two Hookhand odiumspawn, along with four other Lizardmen Odiumspawn. Ladis took a few cuts and blows, but was still standing.

Using the aether he'd gained over the past battles, Ladis had now gained several new spells- Slow, which caused enemies to move much slower and had saved him several times, Fire, which hurled a fireball at enemies, though the Watermines shrugged it off fairly quickly, and a protective spell, Bar-Tide, which reduced water elemental magic's power against him.

He wasn't much for pride or hubris, but to go up against a small army and come out on top had its way of boosting one's ego.

He broke out of his back-patting session when he realized that the ceiling had spikes as well as the floor- and the two were now rising up to pinch the long walkway that Ladis was standing on.

Ladis began to dash towards the opposite end at top speed, when another Lizardman odiumspawn, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, blocked his path. This time, however, instead of the prosthetic claws, it had reptilian hands, both holding scimitars that bore no pretense of being capable of anything less than fatal wounds.

Not two days ago, the beast would have given Ladis pause. Now it was merely an aggravation.

Ladis raised both hands and invoked the slow spell. "Space Congeal! SLOW!"

A distortion wave shot from his hands, wrapping around the confused Lizardman, and apparently it's magical resistance was nigh onto nonexistent- the spell took effect immediately, dulling what would most likely be razor-fast movements to sluggish, watery steps.

Rather than waste time fighting the beast, Ladis sped past, absentmindedly shoving the creature off the walkway and into the rising floor of spears that was now rapidly climbing to meet the ceiling of spikes.

It took the boot's power to make it to the crackling section of stone wall that signified an exit, and he had to dive, tucking into a sideroll as the spears below punched through the walkway and the spikes above crashed down to lance him…

He took a moment to recognize the sound of armor and hide being pierced and the consequent short-lived scream to realize the Lizardman would not be hindering him any further.

He was now in yet another hallway, one that curved slowly upward. To his right, he saw two things that immediately made him sigh in relief- the oh-so-blessed orb of light that last time transported him to Faith's… well, infinite expanse of light, and a wooden, normal looking door. And if he was correct, behind this door was…

The pale face from behind the simple wooden desk, with eyes that glowed yellow might have made others wary, but Ladis breathed, and exhaled in exhaustion.

"It's good to see you again, pal." He said, wiping sweat off his forehead, moving toward the figure.

The man, who simply called himself "The Merchant", smiled back, indicating a seat. "…and it's good to see you as well, friend Soul Blazer."

"My thanks on dealing with that lizard-fiend… Desperation, or whatever his name was. Bad for business, these Dreamslayers are."

"Not to mention the welfare of whatever place they make their home in." Ladis added.

The Merchant nodded, then raised an eyebrow as he assessed Ladis' state. "Good God, man, what happened to you?", he said as he apparently got a better look at Ladis' state. "…and what happened to your jeans?..."

"Acid puke from this… hornet-squid thing. Hurt like hell. By the way, I need to buy some pants."

His stomach growled, and hunger pains suddenly sent Ladis to his knees.

"…and some food."

One hot meal later, Ladis was surveying the wares of the merchant with a tempered eye. He had a fair amount of Gil from killing off Despair, so he could afford some new armor.

And medicines.

There were some amulets that literally crackled with power, but one look at the price- 30,000,000 gil for one medallion that supposedly doubled the amount of Black Aether one absorbed- made Ladis stick strictly to the cheaper goods.

"I also have some crystals that may be of interest to you…" the merchant offered.

Ladis raised an eyebrow at that. "Crystals?"

"In the old days- way, way, way back when less powerful versions of your armor were made available, aurasmiths, those who dealt with magical weapons like the soul blade, discovered ways to align the blade with certain properties to give the wielder an edge in combat."

He took a black bag and emptied some small, sparkling gemstones onto the table.

"These three are the only few I've in stock now… what with the damn Dreamslayers and all, supplies of these crystals are a tad rare. These two-" and he pointed to a red and ice blue gemstone "-respectively align the blade with the property of fire or cold. If you can't tell which does which, you really need to find another profession besides savior of the world." The Merchant spoke, smiling sardonically.

Ladis allowed himself an eye roll. "I'm not colorblind- or an idiot. And the third?" he asked, gesturing at a stone that seemed to dim the light about it.

"That stone- that one grants no elemental affinity, I'm afraid, but will occasionally render those struck blind, for a short time. Its power fluctuates, though, so multiple blows may be necessary."

Ladis thought for a moment. Having a flaming sword or an ice blade was cool and all, but he needed versatility over pure power- buying both elemental stones was beyond his price range, and he still needed armor- but it always helped if an opponent couldn't see you, and besides, he wasn't honor bound to any codes of ethics.

"I'll take that one, the blinding gem." Ladis said, pointing to the dim jewel.

"An wise choice- adaptable to any situation. Well, at least, most situations- some of these odiumspawn, I'm told, don't need to see you to attack. So don't rely on it forever."

Ladis nodded as he took the gem, a chain mail vest to replace his leather armor, and some medicines.

"I learned that the hard way in first grade…"

OBLIGATORY ANGSTY FLASHBACK

"You're a very good artist, Ladis."

A kind, middle-aged woman who served as Ladis' teacher gave him a genuine smile as she surveyed his handy work- a knight standing in front of a family, fighting off a demonic looking monster with a sword.

"…Mommy and daddy say I shouldn't draw."

"Oh?"

"They say I don't deserve to look smart."

"Are you sure that's what they said?" a skeptical look.

"Don't tell them I draw in class, okay? They get angry, and then I get hurt."

"You get hurt? How?"

"Dad hits me."

"He hits… you?"

"He says I'm a bad person and I need to be reminded of that a lot."

"I'm going to call them…"

"No! Please! You'll only make it worse…"

But she did call.

And soon, after a thorough beating which left Ladis unable to sit for days, they had him moved to a different school- one with teachers who could care less about their pupil's situation at home.

Ladis could never rely on anyone for long.

Not even the mother who gave birth to him, who only watched with cruel, unforgiving eyes as his father lashed him with a belt. Or dowel. Or stick. Whatever happened to be in arm's reach that wouldn't require a hospital visit.

They stop hitting him around 12. It took too much energy from his father, they said, energy needed to make sure his job provided a future for Terce.

They never hit him again, after that. Terce took care of that aspect. Now they just used words- soul-shearing, horrible putdowns, degradations of Ladis' humanity.

Ladis stepped out of the merchant's abode, into the demonic corridor of the Nightmare Citadel, the Soul Blade now tinged with a… blackness, a dark mist, the results of bonding the blade with the blind gem.

He had initially felt a sort of dread towards the possibility of fighting his own family. Initially.

But now, as he recalled years of horrible treatment, over a decade of physical and emotional torture- there was no other word for it- he felt that dread fade and be replaced with a morbid, horrible sense of anticipation- like the thrill he had when he successfully swiped a soda from the downstairs pantry without his family knowing, or the growing thrill and exhilaration he'd felt when Gutarez had offered him a way out of his home- the possibility of freedom.

And that's what he was doing, wasn't it? He was freeing worlds. Freeing them from the same pain, if not worse, that he'd endured. He was the good guy, this time around. His family was in the wrong. He felt utterly justified in this… anticipation of finally being able to pay them back for the years of pain they'd heaped upon him.

He would save the worlds.

He would be a hero.

And if his family was dumb enough to get in the way…

Then they deserved whatever they got.

He strode through the hall, Soul Blade at the ready for any odiumspawn unfortunate to cross the zealous Soul Blazer's path.

This is what it meant, he realized, to feel vindicated.