Chapter 70

The council members all collectively raised an eyebrow, looking at Raymond with puzzled and concerned looks. One of the council members, a shorter man with blonde hair and glasses; Brinod Moffin, spoke up in a somewhat shaky and fearful tone.

"Do you know about Isaac's whereabouts, if he hired someone that wants to hurt us, then they shall pay the price."

Rayond popped his collar and smiled softly, before clearing his throat again and speaking in a jutting tone.

"Well, it would be my honor to escort him here, he's actually right outside the building."

The council collectively nodded, and the guard left of the door opened it, allowing Raymond to step out. He trotted down the hallway casually, before approaching the end of the long hallway and stepped outside, where he looked towards me with a playful yet daring glint in his eyes.

"The council would like to speak with you."

I raised an eyebrow, a little upset by his sudden announcement, and also very confused due to the socio-economic policies that Aaron mentioned with the council's preferences. 

"Weird, didn't the council not like speaking to those below rich status?"

Raymond shook his head.

"It seems you're the exception, they've taken quite the interest in you."

Aaron, who was leaning against the hall's pillars, approached the both of us before speaking in a confused tone.

"This seems odd, why would they take any interest in Isaac all of the sudden, we were here to discuss the upcoming plan that Isaiah's initiating, maybe it's because of his raw relational impact with this scheme and they want to get some information out of him."

I looked towards Aaron, before shaking my head while staring into the ground, my expression indiscernible. 

"I don't think it's because of my relations, we've already moved past the whole plot of Oboro's shooting, so I don't see a reason why they want to see me all of the sudden."

"They'll explain everything, trust me."

Raymond then turned around and approached the hall's doors, before the guard opened them and me and Raymond both entered. Raymond walked down the hallway with a more pronounced posture, while I walked with sluggish shoulders and a cautious expression, my hand racing with countless possibilities and scenarios. 

Suddenly spirit calling started to emerge again, and I could hear the voices ring out again.

"Framed, help, framed, help."

I suddenly paused and took in this information, attempting to find any semblance of context within the words. I looked towards Raymond, who also suddenly stopped walking as if he heard the voices too.

"I see you found out, huh."

Raymond's voice suddenly grew serious, as he turned around halfway and I saw a side of his face, his lips curled into a sly smile, and his emerald eyes were locked on my expression of fear. 

"You framed me for hiring Isaiah, didn't you."

I crossed my arms, and Raymond just chuckled lightly as his gaze bored into me.

"I'd say that, whatever works for my benefit."

I raised an eyebrow and I could feel my gut constricting with a strange feeling. It wasn't anger, fear, rage or pity, but rather a feeling of betrayal and hurt, but that quickly simmered over with red hot rage.

"I knew I couldn't trust you, I'm starting to question that you have personal affairs with me that were left unsealed, that you personally hate me."

Raymond just laughed out loud, finding my sudden blaming claim hilarious. 

"Why would I do something so brash, that's for morans."

"Didn't you say that you find humans indifferent, that you generally don't care about anything they do?"

Raymond now fully turned around and extended his arms out sideways, chucking quietly.

"I see you have a good memory, but my philosophy remains intact most of the time, but sometimes I have to have a little fun, pin some blame, stir the stew and see what happens."

A now sinister smile was peeking up Raymond's face, as the area around us started to grow dimmer and darker. I could tell that this wasn't due to the lowering sun, for in the large dome overheard us I could see the sun still in the sky, but everything inside seemed to grow darker and more malicious.

"What are you doing, Raymond?"

I asked, taking a few steps back, I now held the small Order 8 potion in the palm of my hand behind my back.

"I see you're ready to become a Wrathcaller, Order 8 of the Apocalypse path."

I felt my body freeze as if I just dipped into icy cold water. Raymond was now aware of my Apocalypse status, but his reaction wasn't of fear, but rather a sense of playfulness and trickery.

"The deity in the fog claimed that no one should know about my status, but why hasn't anything happened after he called me by my honorific name?"

Suddenly the shadows that began to engrose the room reached out with tendrils that began to wrap around my limbs, and they began to pull me downwards and onto the floor, forcing me into a kneeling position.

"It's funny, really."

Raymond spoke as he approached me, before taking the potion from my back pocket and holding it up with his hands, looking at the illusory glowing liquid in the vial with curious eyes. 

"I have no idea where you got this, but damn is it amazing that you're the next apocalypse in a thousand years."

He then looked back down at me before rolling the vial towards me on the ground. Suddenly one of the tendrils grabbed the potion from the ground and unscrewed the cap, before tipping it over and forcing me to drink it.

The liquid was sour tasting, it reeked of rotten fruit and garbage, making me gag a lot as I ingested the strange liquid. Ratmond glared down at me with a smile, before taking the vial back and shattering it on the cold tile ground.

"Now Wraithcaller, I suppose you're ready to be judged for your attempted attack on the council?"

He then snapped his fingers and the tendrils let go of my body, and I stood up and immediately took a defensive posture, but Raymond just laughed mockingly and snapped his fingers again. Suddenly the chain around Raymond's neck began to shake, before the red and blue colored sides glowed their respective colors, but instead of possessing a positive reaction to this ability, the sides broke off and fell to the ground.

The sun-charm in my hands began to glow brightly, as the illusory brands of magic began to sour out of Raymond's mouth and nose and back into the charm, before it sealed up. Raymond's expression instantly washed over with fear, knowing that he was now vulnerable to mental analysis from the council.

"You idiot."

I just chuckled as I held the sun-charm up towards Raymond, before speaking with a smile.

"The binded effects of the charm have now left you vulnerable, I've now taken both of your assets of escapage."

Raymond growled as he held his chest, suddenly his hands started to glow a bright red color, and red tentacles started to wrap around his body, and his body started to morph and change.

"But I have more tricks up my sleeve, another counter, a flaw in your presumed logic."

Suddenly his black hair started to grow inch by inch, dyed with a brown color now, and his height began to shrink, his eyes shifted to brown, and his outfit changed, so did his voice.

Before my eyes I saw Raymond progressively turn into me, who was standing with the same expression that I did.

"W-what the…"

I took a few steps back and almost fell to the ground upon seeing Raymond's sudden transformation.

"Heh, it appears I've become you."

Even in my fear I couldn't help but become curious, as I raised an eyebrow and pressed him.

"How?"

Raymond chuckled, before rolling his eyes.

"Remember when I held your back when I led you out of my room when you first arrived at my house? When I did that I stole your entire identity, I stole what makes you, you."

Raymond spun around and got a hold of "my" body, before running a finger through my brown hair and scoffing.

"You really need to wash your hair, there's so much grease you could cook an entire pork chop."

Suddenly Raymond's eyes narrowed as he copped something beyond the moon of brown hair on my head, as he approached my hair and pushed back my bangs, catching sight of the symbol encrusted on my forehead.

"Hmm, it seems you already attained a differential property of the Apocalypse path, how surprising. I expected your body to simultaneously combust after drinking the Order 8 potion."

He then took a few steps back and pushed aside "my" hair to touch the symbol on "my" forehead, feeling it with a smile.

"Now that I have your characteristics, I can manipulate the differential properties of the Apocalypse path."

Suddenly the symbol on "my" forehead began to glow, and "my" face instantly contorted in pain. "My" body then started to erupt, and I could see that "my" skin had started to fume and tennis ball sized blisters began to form on "my" body.

I could hear "my" bones breaking and shattering, compressing layer by layer like bulletproof glass, and I saw large amounts of blood start to erupt from "my" mouth and nose.

I backed up a few feet and watched the carnage erupt, seeing "my" body start to deteriorate and decay before my eyes, and I came up with a conclusion quickly.

"Raymond's body is being destroyed in itself because he possesses the differential properties of the Apocalypse path, and he didn't drink any Order 9 potion of the path, so his body is backfiring due to the outside power and the overwhelming amount of chaos the symbol emits."

I suddenly remembered the ritual the figure in the afterlife used to create the Order 8 potion, the artifact he utilized in the process, the 4 armed figure he dropped into the mixture. Perhaps the factors the statue could be utilized by me now because the statue was in the potion.

Suddenly I closed my eyes and visualized the statue in my mind, and I could sense my surroundings change, and my thoughts become calm and less chaotic. I then felt a rush of cold as I reopened my eyes and ended up inside the afterlife fog realm, this time with the half decayed "me" lying down beside me.

"W-where the hell are we?"

"I" stood up and instantly fell back down, and my bones shattered upon impact. I looked up and saw the same blood red moon the figure utilized in the potions creation hanging in the realm, within arms reach.

"I see you brought a friend, perhaps."

The figures' voices rang out before they manifested before my eyes, and looked down at "me" on the floor in concern and a little humor.

"He attempted to replicate your body, but ended up pseudo-digesting the differential properties of the Apocalypse, therefore leading to immense destruction to his physical, mental and souls existence."

They then knelt down and placed their thumb on "my" forehead, then I saw "my" brown hair slowly turn back into black, slicked back hair, and I saw "my" expression gradually change back into Raymond's dominant features, and his bald deteriorated body begin to change and heal back instantaneously.

Raymond leaned up and rubbed his head, before locking "eyes" with the figure who stared back at him, the 2 wormhole's that represented their eyes stared back, cycling in curiosity and some animosity.

"Your reckless actions with stealing someone's identity for personal gain will not go justified, Raymond Fitzgerald."

Raymond suddenly turned to look at me and gave me a nod, one of either respect or fear.

"Why did you save me?"

I looked down at Raymond with a cold stare, before replying after a few seconds of silence.

"Just because you framed me and did. Few bad things to me in the past 10 minutes doesn't mean I'm heartless in return, consider this your only warning."

I then backed up and looked at the figure in the fog, before they waved their hand and I saw Raymond's newly healed body dissipate and return to the physical realm. 

I asked the figure in curiosity.

"How should I address you, this may seem like a weird time, but I'm just wondering because you never gave yourself a title for me to address you as."

The figure pondered for a moment, before they spoke up, their words ringing through the afterlife.

"You may address me as the Umbridge."

"The Umbridge."

Those words continued to resonate in my ears as I looked up at the figure and their concealed features for a few moments, before returning to gaze to the ground.

"Well, thank you for healing Raymond. But I'm all the more curious about what you meant by not allowing his actions to go justified." 

The Umbridge then spoke in a illusory voice, one that sounded layered and complicated.

"He was an Order 3 of the Depravity path, and it grants him a variety of rather deceitful and cunning abilities. So I stole a part of his differential properties for safe keeping."

They then unfolded their hands and showed me an object, which came in the form of his glasses. The frame was made of gold and silver, and the lenses glistened dimly in the lights that shine from other pages in the realm.

"Will he be able to see?"

The Umbridge just chuckled softly before replying in a solemn tone.

"These glasses belong to his spirit, or his astral body. His physical body still has the differential properties of the Depravity path, but they've been minimized drastically due to the effects of his soul body's sudden change by my doing."

I nodded, before taking a few steps back, before I began to visualize the 4 armed statue, and before I knew it I was back in the hallway, and I could see Raymond on the hard tile floor, coughing.