Ultimatum.

Three years ago, in November of 2023, Katie had begun her infiltration of Retly and fought the Jester on her first night. However, it didn't end as expected.

Clad in the same blackness that enveloped her when she first utilized the Blade, her movements jerked at breakneck speeds, not to emotion her unpredictable attacks.

As of right now, she was a puppet of carnage, acting solely on instinct while awaiting for the Jester to regenerate fully. Her body crouched, the enhanced katana she usually weld laid beside her legs. With Death's Source suppressing Katie, her breaths were much slower, and the pattern was turning ragged.

However, Icarus, regenerating from rectangular pieces of himself, was deaf to this. The fleshy chunks recuperated, forming a bloody mess, accumulating to now look like a semblance of his former self. Bones unnaturally cracked together, forcibly fusing once attaching abnormally while he pushed himself forward through this agonizing experience so he could reach the end result.

The dominant Source watched silently, outreaching her hand and wrapping her fingers around her weapon's handle. The Jester looked tired. Sweat dripping out from every corner of his body, ragged rapid breaths barely escaping his throat. The Source hummed, examining her enemy's movements. Without any explanation, Icarus was beheaded, now held in Death's arm.

'Need… know…'

The Source obeyed slumbering Katie's instinct. She leapt from where she stood, bouncing from structures across the castle's outer surface before soaring off the final one to fall toward the inner entrance. Once crashing against the carpet leading toward the front doors, a ferocious growl roared from her bowels. The guards stationed behind the door shivered despite their trained rifles.

It was almost like they knew despite everything they could throw at her, it was useless. The instant she charged through the door; bashing it with her shoulder, they realized they'd never know true fear before this moment.

Their bodies were instantly erratically cut apart, gory chunks of her victims littering the castle's barren metallic halls. Bloody droplets splattered out their bodies, jumping into the air over her. Leaping through the red unintentionally splashing against her, she turned her head toward the sound of imminent footsteps. More guards were coming, and this time, they didn't hesitate.

After stationing themselves, they ensured their firearms weren't faulty. Almost immediately after clicking off the safety, the triggers were pulled and the bullets started entering the air after an explosive ring of fire. Katie instinctively slashed at an incoming bullet shot toward her face.

Her dark blue retinas speedily bounced within hers droopy eyeball, scanning every inch of her whereabouts before staring forward. Her body's image began shimmering. Then, it fully reappeared behind her victims, having already rendered them to pieces with her bloody sword pointed forward.

'Fighting… useless. Need… know…'

She raised her newly-enhanced sword with one hand. The weapon's edge started glistening. All the air around this domain sucked into the deadly Blade, the steel uncontrollably unleashing black lightning bolts. Their faces shine with the embodiment of despair, eyes reflecting Death's unforgettable sight once the Reaper's skull manifested before them.

In one fell swoop, Katie lowered her arm, moving her weapon so quickly that the next second she'd emerged from the bloodshed, she was dirtied with her enemies' organs and innards. Now as fast as a blur, she zipped from wall to wall before crashing through the closed doors leading into more rooms.

She disconnected their limbs, slashes slipping from the steel and mutilating limbs. Despite all the blood she was shedding, she couldn't withhold her excitement. Baselessly throwing her sword around, intentionally desecrating incoming opponents, maniacal giggles started filling up the room. The guards intended to continue fighting, hesitating, stopping at the entrance to the chamber she was bloodying with bloodshot wide eyes.

Darkened tendrils popped from her spine. Instantly, they began erratically moving; obliterating organic in sight with one slice, leaving the chamber a gory mess. The line between life and death became blurred as it all turned the same to Katie's sleeping eyes.

In the aftermath of the bloodbath, she still held Icarus's beheaded skull around her arm and lowly growled, akin to a rabid beast. The blackened shroud previously enveloping her build shrunk inward until nothing remained. Katie stood where her bloodthirsty persona left her, carefully sighing upon revealing the iconic azure coloration of her lifeless retinas.

'Below my feet was an exorbitant amount… of death. I started asking myself where it'd come from but the answer was the same regardless.'

The screaming needlessly raged inside her. She didn't even move her head to attempt rebelling. All she could do was ingrain the inimitable scenery riddled with blood before her… into the depths of her mind.

'I killed all these people. I can say I'm conflicted all I want but I know the truth. Genocide isn't something beyond my reach. With this power, I could destroy the entire world.'

She turned her head toward a disfigured corpse missing a face. Then, she looked to her Blade, still oozing that ghastly ominous mist. The steel wasn't slick with that victim's blood. She looked past the Blackened metal, slipping her sight downward so she could glimpse upon the bloody handle her fingers tightly gripped. Her irises shook to their very core, eyes' corners welling up with tears.

'Even still… I…'

She inhaled sharply and then turned away from the gore. Despite her slaughter, there was still one irrefutable fact. She wielded the Blackened Blade: Death's Source. She looked to the Artifact and then to Icarus's head. Then, her shimmering pupils closed. There was no time to wallow. She'd taken more lives, what difference did it make?

"I need to keep moving."

…

Icarus awoke. He was surrounded by familiar walls yet this loathing ceiling was what he was forced to gaze into. The only light in this prism was a singular candle, placed against a metal tray atop a wooden crate beside him. He giggled, noticing the metal chains he was entrapped by.

"Aren't you going to interrogate me..?"

The confined Jester peered into the shadows before him, recognizing that dark blue glint enlightening from within the frontal darkness. Katie stepped out at the sound of his voice, staring uncaringly into her captive's darkened pupils.

"Might I say it's an honor to finally meet Death's Source?" asked Icarus.

His question earned him a punch across the face. She withdrew her bloody knuckles and slowly stepped back. Her eyes started moving before she leaned forward and parted her lips.

"Do you even know what Death's Source is?" Katie threw back at him.

He was quiet. For the first time in his life, Chrollo was silent. Katie snickered; the Jester's confused face was a beauty unlike any other.

'I wish I had my camera so I could send this to Ace.'

She shook away any other invading thoughts and focused on the present situation. Katie took this chance of ignorance to enlighten their enemy.

"Death's Source is my Artifact. It is the ability to spruce out death itself endlessly and it is only utilized by me whenever I use the Blackened Blade. And now that you know that, I can finally ask why the hell you're so focused on trying to take it from me."

Katie unsheathed her Blade, letting the tip stand mere inches away from Icarus's chin. The Jester looked away while chuckling. Without making eye contact with his captor, he spoke.

"Well, that's interesting," He looked back at her, "So Death's Source is an all-natural organic power? Still, I believe you fail to realize the abilities you hold at your disposal. You see, Ms. Karlo, I'm a Requiem Subject, too, y'know."

She jerked back with widened eyes, "What?!"

The chains confining him abruptly shattered. In less time it took an eye to blink, Icarus was free and Katie was pinned by her throat against a wall. Within his blackened irises was a void. Nothing and nobody in this world that lingered mattered to the Jester when faced with this opportunity. Katie audibly struggled, her hold on the katana wavering.

"Did you really think some useless metal chains would be enough to hold me?"

His nails morphed into claws again, sinking into her skin and drawing blood from her cheeks. She withheld the urge to cry out in agony. There was nothing she could do here from a strategic perspective. Despite her grievances, she'd have to be rid of this nuisance… by whatever means necessary. Icarus was kicked in the chest and slammed into the wall behind him.

"Not bad," Icarus wiped away blood from his nose after vocalizing.

Katie slammed her foot down, pupils leaving a white streak whenever she moved her head. Her enemy was too slow; she could use this to her advantage. The mental manifestation of her Artifact activated, the sheathe appearing in her left hand before she quickly drew the katana, slashing at the air.

"Purge of Demons!!!"

Icarus instinctively raised his arms before he simply stepped back into a glowing blue doorway appearing behind him. Katie ducked, clenching her fist so hard that veins spread across her knuckles. As expected, he reappeared behind her with his hand raised, ready to behead her in one chop. Unfortunately, the second his arm popped out from the gateway, his fate was sealed. His hand went flying, leaving Icarus with a confused expression as he looked to his arm,

He snickered while examining his mutilated limb, "Now how'd you manage to do… that..?" Before he could finish his question, he realized what was happening.

Utilizing that momentary distraction to the best of her ability, her arm guided across the floor below, accumulating enough kinetic energy with a prolonged trajectory before eventually CRUNCHING her knuckles against his chin.

Black lightning erupted from the impact, sending Icarus flying through the multiple layers the roof was built upon before he eventually reached outside the castle; in mid-air. Manipulating his body's shape, he grew shaded black angelic wings, maintaining his composure in the sky.

'I'm not doing the best right now because she damaged me so much in our earlier fight. I could stop time but that'd only wear me out further. Tch.' Icarus started rubbing his chin, 'I don't really understand why she didn't kill me when she had the chance. Instead, she chained me up and just… started talking to me when I awoke. I was the one who initiated the conflict, not her.'

He looked at the hole in his castle after his thoughts. A psychotic giggle escaped his throat while he levitated across the air and descended upon the platform below. Withdrawing the angelic wings into his spine, he dramatically moaned and awaited for her climatic appearance.

As expected, she leapt from the hole and cleaved at him right beside it. After blocking the easily predictable slash with one raised arm, he grabbed her and spun her around momentarily before relinquishing his grip; watching her fly.

Before she could tumble, she saved herself in mid-air, landing on two feet and about-facing so she could gaze at Icarus's mischievous expression. Readying her lengthened sword with spread-out legs, she carefully exhaled. Then, she stopped. One palm pushed forward faltered any future movement.

"Why're you stopping me?" queried Katie, lowering her arm and weapon.

"Because I'm curious. Why didn't you kill me when you had the chance? You could've saved everyone else a lot of future trouble if you did," answered Icarus.

"Because I'm curious. What if… we made a deal?"

Kate's offer sent Icarus to curiously raise his eyebrow.

"Deal? If we're both using Vita, that means we'll be forming a life-bound vow. If we break it, we die. You realize that, right?" he reminded her.

"I do. But we won't be using Vita. Side note, that's a very weird name for life energy," Katie responded.

"I weirdly agree. But despite your claim of not using Vita, even if we speak it aloud, we will be transferring life energy. That being said, what's this deal, Katie Moon?"

'I never thought I'd get this far. How the hell am I supposed to vocalize this aloud?'

Katie inhaled shakily.

'No. This isn't the time to get cold feet. I came all this way so we could find a way for my family to live. So I'll…'

She exhaled calmly. Her lips parted. The words that exited her lips diminished Icarus's smile entirely; face entirely falling.

"I'll… destroy everyone. Every last one of these animals that's in this world. Master Saiai told us your origin. You think the same thing, right? You wish for the evolution of mankind because 'bad people' are too widespread, like a virus. I can do it. At the proper time and place, assuredly, I'll wipe out the entire world."

Only after she finished speaking did she realize what she'd said—not to mention the Jester's unexpected reaction. No sinister smirk or maniacal giggle, just deep contemplation and unordinary silence. His head descended, looking at his palm.

"And what would you have me do about that?" he justifiably asked.

"I want you to help me. If the Capital stands still, we'll be victims to your attacks. And if we attack you first, the world will realize our power and launch a globalwide attack on all of us. That would assuredly mean our destruction then. I know you're a chaotic person but maybe I can convince you! I'd let you examine my blood or fight Ace or Alex again! Anything, please!!"

"Why're you so desperate? You know we're enemies, what makes you think I would ever allow you to baselessly walk around my home? I appreciate your honesty but unfortunately, I have to kill you. That's just how fate works," Icarus replied.

'Fate..?'

Katie realized something.

The Jester took one step but his advance was halted by the sight of her extended arm.

"WHAT?! I already told you I'm not helping you!! So fight, goddammit, fight. Before I kill you, that is—"

His pupils shrunk; his skin turned pale. He didn't have a chance to blink nor breathe before the Blade's steel pressed against his neck, her standing beside him. Here she was, with the infamous Jester King of Retly at her mercy. If she so imbued the tiniest amount of her insurmountable strength into a slice, his head would go flying off and his spirit would reach Hell's fiery depths. But, she hesitated. And she wasn't the only one who asked 'why'.

"I saw the future. The world will end in three years by my hand if you don't help me. I know you don't want that because of your own weird goals. So, help me. Or die here without ever having a chance to see the Founder again."

At the mention of the Founder, Icarus was speechless. He didn't have any choice now, did he? If he wanted to be taught more about the intricacies of the human world and all others potentially beyond it, he would have to… play by her rules.

"Fine. I'll help you."

Katie released a sigh of relief. She stood upright and sheathed her Blade. After turning around, she watched the Jester rub his throat as he walked away. Suddenly, it hit her.

"Hey! Where're you going?!" She yelled.

"To take a nap! After all, you killed most of my guards. It'll take a while for everything to get situated again so… call me tomorrow. Tell me the details and I'll see what I can do," Icarus replied with his back turned.

A smile appeared over the woman's lips. Notwithstanding the blood she spilt and the lives she'd steal, she childishly waved to him. Her excitement knew no bounds—after all, she'd succeeded! Somehow, she'd convinced the unpredictable Jester to ally and that meant hope for the future.

Or, that's what she hoped.