Chaos Center, Part Seventeen.

Those in power should not bend the rules of the group to make room for the excuses of the individual, that was the way the world worked. Unfortunately for Azazel, that was nothing more than a casual truth he was forced to bear from the moment his Old World soul was born. Those in check must stay in check and because of that, those in power must stay in power, no matter what means they had to achieve it.

His body glided so carefully, it made not a sound as he touched the ground, the cloud had dared to touch the tip of the surrounding dome, but that wasn't the craziest thing. Rather, it was the limping Natalia exiting the origin with none other than Kima draped over her nape.

"Jesus Christ." He whispered under his breath, charging into a sprint, the two girls fell into his arms.

The two were placed against a bench, with them in his care, he checked his surroundings, leaving the post for but an instant before a feminine moaning entered his ears. Bags under her eyes garnered a question mark over his head, but as she turned back to face him, Natalia could only gaze with the same apathetic cadence he'd seen in another World. Only on one individual, one who shared the fate of the Multiverse on his shoulders, who mercilessly obliterated the ranks of the Heavenly Guard and deemed himself worthy of being the heir to the Allfather's Throne. To think he'd see it on the face of this precious girl hardened by the tormenting reality of a demon's brutality, surely enough what he asked next was more justified than whatever she did, right? And so, he asked,

"What happened over there?"

Explaining it was like attempting to conjunction all the world's tragedies in one, of course, it was never enough. At the time, maybe she'd drowned it out, maybe she was just doing what she felt was right, no matter how twisted it might've been, she did it. No matter the brutality, the song of clattering bones as they moved through the wind, the haunted streets as ghosts sang a confused tone as to why their lives had to be taken.

"I keep having the same nightmare. It's those kids, those people I murdered at the church, their blood doesn't only dirty my feet, it infects me. Not my clothes, not my hair or body, but ME! If I was stronger, I wouldn't have been manipulated, I wouldn't have to be so weak... I wouldn't be trying to right the wrongs of the past. Of a world that doesn't even exist. I couldn't live with the fact that it was me who did what I did, so I tried to save people, I tried to be a 'better person like you wanted me to be. But, in the end, no matter what, the better I do to help myself, the worse occur to other people. I'm just the same as I've always been. The longer I live, the more people will die... when I have the chance to save others who are random, I'd always choose the more specialized choice; those who are closer than me. I can't even deny it, I'm just-"

"You're human. We're selfish creatures, and that's all there is to it. Right now, we're in the middle of a battlefield where the random could occur at any given moment. We could very well die from a sniper's bullet in mere seconds, so we have no time to spare! No matter what atrocities you commit, no matter how doubtful you are, we can't give in and stop moving! We are the exception to the impermanence of all things! So stop your sulking and listen to what I have to say!"

The way he commanded her so dominantly, she was unable to contain her gawking as she stared upon his marvelous dominion, in fact, so marveled she hadn't noticed the way his arms corrected her hunched stance. But never mind her admiring, let us take a look into her ears to peer what the Detective has planned.

"I was contacted by Ed, informed by a theoretical plot that could very well destroy our ranks from the inside-out. As of right now, we have three Incarnated Artifacts summoned when the Founder first utilized the New Allfather's power. Ed, Madi and me. You and Hana don't count because you existed before the Founder cast that ghastly spell. However, Hana's the strongest of us, the last I saw of her, she was in the center, and tons of Incarnated Spirits surrounded her. There's no doubt that she disposed of them, however... we have to think about this. Why is it so easy to return the original Incarnated Spirit from whatever underworld they inhabit?"

Natalia shrugged at Azazel's inquiry, for he was now mere millimeters away from her face, sending her face into a beet red.

"Because the Founder allows them to! Once Kima awakens, we're going to rendezvous with Hana in front of the Opera House to ambush Naraku with everything we've got."

Unbeknownst to them, to the second veil covering the Opera House, the mock sunlight gleamed its golden grace onto his white face with all the blessings a chaplain could summon. Naraku bathed in this light, reminiscing of a time when he was by the side of his beloved kin, awaiting destruction, but at the same day of his greatest failure, he now atoned for that singular sin with a wondrous display of chaos. Ace couldn't believe his eyes, it took everything within him to restrain pouncing, but he couldn't move, lest Alex alerts the Emperor to his intrusion.

'I need to get Katie outta here before she realizes what's happened.'

A step was taken, not forward, but back. The bloodlust didn't change, even though his face rained sweat, he was still in the clear. His hand reached to touch her shoulder, alas, she was gone. He waved away at the air, one hope within his heart charging him, that flare in his eyes corresponding anger had faded, for as he snapped his head at her descending build, there were Alex and Naraku's prying eyes to her body. She yawned, rubbing away the haziness as if this were all just a bad dream you had to wake up from to dispel. Unfortunately for her, this was no nightmare. To the back of the Blessed Emperor, there were remains, but not just any remains, that of her master's.

"Ah, Katie Moon, I presume? It's so nice to finally meet you!" Naraku clutched his fingers around the back of Alex's throat at a speed akin to light's swiftness.

"Wh... mmm, what're you doing with Alex there? He's s'posed to be with us! Give him to us and no one gets hurt," Her threats were less demanding when they were accompanied by a sleepy woman's tired voice.

"Of course, of course, Miss! However, before I do that, I just want to inform you of who you are. You're Katie Karlo, the heir to the Karlo legacy, just as Ace is to the Rivera legacy. These two bloodlines are always destined to meet at one point in time, whether it be as lovers, whether it be as brothers or relatives, one or the other will always endure horrible pain and seek the other as an escape from a terrible fate. Ben Rivera, Ryder Karlo. August Rivera, Azazel Karlo. Alexander Amara, Rosalyn Karlo. And now, with you. Ace Wilder, Katie Moon. I'd always wondered what it'd be like to sever that thread of fate that binds you two! However, I've not underestimated your power. From your birth, you were assigned an entity. Uncontrollable darkness that has taken roots in your heart and awaits for the perfect moment to reveal itself to wreak havoc upon the world, spreading mass death wherever it dares to even look. Because of this, I'm interested in seeing what you're like... when you explode."

'When I was born...'

There was a scream that could never be silenced. For eternity, it would limitlessly echo through the chambers of time until there existed nothing but darkness. This cry could break the fabric of reality with but a slash and all that would remain in the wake of this destruction was a storm, destined not only to obliterate the world as we know it but everything. A raging storm that shared no signs of subsiding, the thunderous booms that shook the Earth were no natural occurrence, rather, the call of a reckoning. Everyone turned their heads, but they were lucky to have them.

As his long-haired one had rolled off his shoulders, staining the floor in a puddle of crimson, in the center of the storm, there remained not only chaos and destruction as the Opera House imploded from the inside but a source. A source of the expelling hate that roared as crazily as a crackling flame in the winter, predestined to inhale everything in its heat and turn it to ash. That source, with none other than Death's cloak shrouding her build, gifted her the snowy eyes of a skull while the Reaper peeked through the scorching rumble.

'...I was chained.'

Everyone watched from afar, not dazzled by the sight of Heaven, but petrified at the scenery of Hell, a freight that sent them to stationary. But not him. The one who'd beheld it all, the one who saved her from the pits of despair had been too late, and as he stood at the stairs, gazing upon her with tears marking his cheeks, there was only one thing on his mind.

"I've failed you."

'But now...'

'I am free.'

To Be Continued.