READY. SET…KILL!

MARKED BY GOD, LOVED BY THE DEVIL'S LIPS - 20°

Lust awaits me in the desert. Per usual, my sanity drains. A scarf covers my neck, one that comes to my nose. This reminds me of when I first faced myself, faced the apparition known as Kamui. Lightning flashes from my fingertips. Perceived as yellow, or white, but against the white dust, it is only as black as the dark seas, that of which, is truly black. "So thee have finally come, welcome to your dreams, thee devil." I laugh, "So sad that you, Lust, must Pray for the Wicked." Lust snarls, "Thee put a sour little flavour in my mouth. Thee wish for a face heavenly, but tempt thee self with devils and deceivers." A moon covered in clouds, it smiles so awfully. A second one snarls in the mist. A vampire cowardly known as Lust, and a man forsaken by himself. "Lucky ass bastard." I laugh "Thee has provoked me? I believe thee is wrong." I throw a punch, "Thee missed." I throw another one, "Thee art overwhelmed, try again, Bastard!" The black "lightning" buzzes from my fingertips, I strain my arm and its muscles, the lightning begins to form into a ball…I clench my fist…It becomes…a glove?..A glove covered in black and consumed by death. "Oh ho? Thee, poor bastard boy, has a new skill?" I laugh, "You could say." Lust awaits me, "Death to Lust, Awakening of Envy."My life's a death race. Repeat. Torment. SORROW. Bullshit excuses. Lust forebodes. "Exodus, does thee await it?" I laugh, "No." Lust laughs, having known my response. I've come up with a chant, unbeknownst of Lust's powers. "Beyond Blessings." Lust laughs, "Do thee really believe in that?" I laugh, "DIE!" The glove of energy expands past my forearm. A ball appears in my hand, I grip it and it turns into a sword. "Welcome to Purgatory, my creation." I unsheathe the sword from its holster on my waist. I swing at Lust, I hit him. "Goodbye." I swing again, and again, and again, until there's nothing but me and the sand. A being appears before me, "I thought you were dead." Lust laughs, "A mere trick that truly worked on thee." The lightning turns into a gun, I sheath the sword, and face him again. Cloak blows in the wind, jagged edges create an image similar to that of devil wings. "I truly am marked by god, but loved by the devil's lips." I hear the lightning crackle and zap as it fully forms into a gun, one that I perceive as an Arisaka Rifle. "You seem to be beyond God's blessings. You must now repent. Goodbye, Lust." Shoot, reload, inaccurate. Transform. Sword Mode. Clashing swords and blood stained ballrooms with only the top Aristocrats attending. "THEE WILL NEVER DEFEAT ME, THEE IS TOO WEAK!" I laugh, "Shut up." Swords clashing, guns slinging, devils laughing, "SELL YOUR SOUL!" For once, this plastic man hasn't said "thee," He gets closer, but farther, I transform the lightning into a gauntlet and punch..again..and again…until my hands are soaked in blood…but he's not down yet..I feel a sharp stinging pain in my neck, I feel it moving….and then I don't feel anything…no infinite…no rosevines….no…nothing..I feel the fangs that I once could conceal appear…an outcome I never expected…The lightning forms an infinite..and forms jagged lines on my arms, I can't feel the x's on my hands…there's no Mark of God either….What have…I…become?…A stabbing feeling comes from my torso, I look down to see an x-shaped weapon in my torso…Blood…

MARKED BY GOD, LOVED BY THE DEVIL'S LIPS - 30°

"Kamui." He laughs, "I'm not Kamui, I'm purely your Envy." I laugh, "Is it time for your demise at my hands, my creation?" He smiles. "No, it's time for you to repent." He pulls out his gun, and shoots. "Dead once again, you tried." I stand up, "Who says I'm dead?" He turns around, gun in tow, and shoots again. Headshot. Penetration of the Skin. Death. Rebirth. Quickly."You won't get rid of me that easily." He smiles, "Good, give me a fight." I feel my body change…Something I've never felt before…I don't feel the tiny prick of the Rose Vines…I don't feel the infinite…What's happening?…I feel something different cover my body…A feeling similar to static electricity…what is this?!"What may this be?" He pauses, then begins to laugh "Has the Death Saint lost the ability to move?!" I feel something form on my chest..It begins to shoot up my chest…to my neck…and I feel it stop at my eye… I hear another person approach. "Izuya Suiichiro, I'm here to welcome you." I turn, "CÙ?!" He laughs, "You've earned your title, now return, boy." I walk towards him.. "Goodbye, Kamui." A WALK AWAY FROM HAPPINESS, GOODBYE, WONDERLAND.

WONDERLAND'S HEAVEN, SO TAKE ME TO HELL!

Fangs peer from under the crimson gaze. A gaze sharp enough to kill. A desert surrounds me. Again. "I've come to get you, boy." I look over, "Why?" He laughs, "You've just awakened something I didn't expect. You awakened 50% of the power that Thanatos gave you." I stare blankly, "Is that why these won't go away," I point at the fangs, "Yes." I pause, "Am I even a God Incarnate anymore?" His face becomes blank, "No." …. "Cù, what am I?" He continues walking, but turns his head around, "You are a Death Saint." I huff, "Obviously, but, what is Thanatos really?" He stops walking, and just stands there gazing, "Thanatos…is…someone…that even I….don't know…who he…truly is." A desert that reveals a person's envy. That's what this is. Slowly, but painfully, he answered. He began to speak again, as he pulled something out of his pocket, "This is a farewell to this world, Child." I nod, For once, the thought of Wonderland plagued me, as if it wasn't a Wonderful place, I might see it as a hellscape rather than a place called "Heaven."

Thanatos. A creature we know, One we might not, One we may kill, One we may spare. A puzzle with pieces that don't fit in anywhere, nobody prays for the heartless, they prey for redemption by a god they don't know. A scene from a movie, one that evokes action and fear. A gun pointed towards me, a memory, a vague but dusty one. "DON'T FUCKING WHINE, IZUYA SUIICHIRO." Engraved. Synth. Reboot, robot strikes, as if I'm an Astro Boy. "Where…am…I?" A question strikes my eyes as they open, "Look who it is, King Tulip awoke from his slumber." Blurry, but I can make out someone, "Who is there?" A familiar voice replies, "Stallings, Guerro Stallings, at your service." A distinct pause, one that lasts a lifetime longer than it should. "How long was I out for?" He sits down in a chair, "Approximately a month." A month that felt like two days for me, two days without sleep or the need for food or water. "Where is everyone? And where am I?" He laughs and responds "Training. And you're in SA's Hospital Ward." A moment before I spoke again, "Training for what exactly?" He smiles "The Saint's Academy Annual." uh, "Annual? Annual what?" He looks down "It's just called the Annual, it's a week in which every Saint goes on missions constantly." I see, "Who all is going?" He continues to look down, "Assuming you mean what I think you mean, it's Valour, Kanei, Winmei, Hoshi, and Ōritsu." Ōritsu…huh…..I wonder who her Blesser is… "What exactly are Ōritsu, Kanei, and Azaiwa's powers?" He smiles, "Glad you asked." He hands me a folder, "KANEI REIN: SAINT OF ATLANTIS….ŌRITSU FUJIMOTO: SAINT OF CHERRY BLOSSOMS….WINMEI AZAIWA: SAINT OF THE VALKYRIES…." What in the world….'SAINT OF ATLANTIS..SAINT OF CHERRY BLOSSOMS…SAINT OF THE VALKYRIES..' some bold names to give to a bunch of teenagers, honestly…I began to laugh at my own comment..but I stared at these pages longer…"IZUYA SUIICHIRO: ???….AURO ???: ???….VALOUR ORLÉANS: SAINT OF CHAINS…" Liquid Courage…these bastards… "Stallings, why do Auro and I have question marks? And what's with the unnecessary appraisal?" He lifts his brow "What's with the attitude change? And to answer your question. You never enrolled, and those names differ from those made by PSIA." I raise my brow, "So are you suggesting that PSIA or whatever gives us an identification code?" He laughs, "No, PSIA gives you the rank. PSIA names you as a Saint. The SA gives you a title." Ranks? "What do you mean by 'the rank'?" He lights a cigarette, "PSIA determines if you're a Saint or not." I become blank faced,"Hand me one." He raises a brow "Hand you what?" I stare, "A cigarette, dumbass." He pulls out a pack of Marlboro, and tosses me the lighter and a cigarette. "Thanks." He nods. "So you're saying that PSIA makes the call if a person is an actual Saint or not, correct?" He nods again, "And I'd assume that they also make the call on if you're a God Incarnate and etc. too, no?" He nods for the third time…I light the cigarette, tobacco is inhaled into my lungs, "Check me out of the hospital." He looks at me, and then at the door, and stands up, "You got it. Get dressed and I'll take you there." I say thanks as he walks out. I change and walk out. Not usual for a hospital. I look around. A hospital of Souls.

WONDERLAND IS HEAVEN, SO TAKE ME TO HELL - Soul Plain

I try to send the lightning out of my fingertips, it doesn't work. "Do those powers only apply there?!" I look around, nobody is around but I feel a presence surround me, "IZU—." I hear it faintly, I turn to my right, and see a glowing orb, I bend over and pick it up, "!" I turn my head, see nothing, and turn back to look at the orb, and it's disappeared. I begin to run, I try to summon Ágios but it doesn't come. What is happening?! I look at the bottom of my hand. Nothing. There's no "x's" on my palm. None. All of a sudden, I feel my "fangs" grow in size. Is it happening? I remember something…my face scar…it's not there…I start to hear faint words… "Izuya. It is I, Cú Síth." I smile, "Just the dog I wanted to see." He grins "I am no dog here, I am a familiar." I pause, "Do what?" He grins again, "Listen, now that you're able to semi-control 50% of his powers, you must call for them!" I look at him in the [Dream], "Haven't I been doing that?" He shakes his head "You haven't been summoning, nor calling, you've been forming them." I raise my brow, He looks at me "Call for it, boy! Call for me!" I smile, and return to [Reality], "COME FORWARD, CÚ!" I reach my hand out and grip. A black mass forms around my hand. It begins to spread. "So you're the 'Lightning' Cú?!" I feel [Reality] bend, a sudden [Dreamscape]. "No." I pause "Eh?" He laughs "Thanatos may be 'Peaceful Death,' but he borrowed something from those Ker." Huh? "Ker?" He puts his hand on his chin, "Keres. The bringers of death." I look at him, his human form outstanding. "Dozing off?" I shake my head "Continue about the Ker." He smiles "The Ker are known for their possession of this 'Black Lightning' that they use to kill and devour. Thanatos must have stolen it during a time when they were weak." He continues, "Who knew that in another life they'd be just as strong."I turn, making my back face him "All I can see, All that I have known are memories. Nothing more, nothing less." He laughs, "Then make your own." I pause, "What's that supposed to mean?" He smiles, "It means exactly what I said." I laugh, "Get me out of here and I'll make one instantly." He stares at me, "Someone else wishes to talk to you." His [Dreamscape] disappears…and another one appears, one that I haven't seen in a while. Thanatos. Thanatos points at a chair, one that's directly in front of his, "Take a seat." He says, sipping on a whiskey glass. "I've heard that you finally unlocked that." I look at him, "What's with the grievous tone? And yeah, I did." He smiles, "The training really did work." I grin "I had assumed that you planned it," I continue "I'm glad that you did." He smirks, "I didn't plan anything." I pause, "Then who?" Thanatos stares me in the eyes, and then points at a door, "He did." A man drenched in gold walks in. "Hello there, Izuya Suiichiro."