"Anaïs, what's stopping me from eradicating you right now? If I kill you right now, we'll be free to go away, your barriers will go down and we'll let Helios live."
"What would you gain out of doing that?"
"Let's focus on the fact that only you care about this. We're pawns, you've made that clear before. Go on, give us millions of lives and tries, see how we use them."
"I don't respond well to threats."
"You'll learn."
"Fine, everyone take some rest until Agony dies."
"We're not going back there anyway, not anytime soon. Amphelise, take care of June and Melisa if you can, we'll gather up once Theigon comes back. Agony better die soon."
Three days passed without any outside call, until at the dawn of the fourth, Ruin came knocking on the door.
"They did it?"
"Anaïs, it's Emova...Yael killed her. Agony is dead, she died a long time ago but we couldn't get to you."
"So two witches died. It's just me and Yael, now. Bring me the body of Agony, the corpses of witches usually take weeks to rot."
Ruin sighed at the lack of care and compassion from her, and the sudden order was the cherry on top.
"Perfect. With Emova and Agony dead, plus Agony being chnaged as witch by my doing and the time it's been, she won't look like his mom, Ismael will never recognize her. Soon his entire family will be gone, then I'll use him and get to the Dead Zone first."
Ruincame back at a slower pace, dragging the body down, throwing it at her feet in the Structure.
"Could you ever be any less careful?"
"Next time ask Piper or someone else. I'm barely a hundred pounds and I'm shorter than you, if you even realized."
"Don't mind this, thank you."
"Is that it, can we proceed?"
"Be patient, Ismael. We'll begin in a minute. Yes, it is her. They sliced her everywhere, we have her blood, not too rusty thankfully."
Amphelise climbed up the stairs to find June sleeping on the bed. She passed her hand in her hair to wake her up.
"Is it over?"
"No, but we're getting close. If you go downstairs we'll be able to get something from Ana and get out of here."
"When I was out there, Helios told me me his dream was to create a peaceful city in Perseus."
"What? He said that?"
"Yes. He kills because nobody understands him. He kills because he's making a better world without those who wrong him, he says he hates that, people with no accountability of their crimes. He explained thya a true crime against humanity is not a violent crime in intensity or number of deaths, but rather a lack of regard towards others."
"He didn't want to have his potential wasted because of his governement, so he killed them, then realized they were corrupted."
"Melisa you're here. June is..."
"Aware. Yes. Perseus is different than Cressenie, I realized that early on. Leave June alone for now, she's not doing so good. At her age...and she keeps smiling about it. She tried really hard to kill him. Anaïs will now give us the thousands of additional lives."
"I know. I'll be there."
Melisa turned around and left, no second glance. Hearing the ritual in progress, she climbed the stairs down faster. It was done already for Ismael.
"Me next."
"Right, come in, Melisa. Ismael, leave, now. Remember, as you said, fight like you're on your last life."
"I always do."
While all the girls had their turn with Anaïs, Ismael walked outside, crossing Genova astonished by seeing him with his tongue almost out, his eyes sharp, engulfed in his power trip, his will to kill, his fire to live.
He finally had a vision of a better life, for the suicidal to be given thousands of lives, would be hell and considered torture.
But Ismael is different.
He knows.
This is the beginning of his actual life, here and now, he's gathering all of his life and memories and sees them under a new eye.
A different persective, for a different man.
"If I can just die continuously, who will stop me? Who's going to defenitely beat me? With no "deathinitive", am I completely immortal? Helios is too good at killing but I have infinite tries, at this point. The pride and ego I had when I planned to kill my entire set of friends, I need it. I need it now. The greed of a demon, the lust for success only a tyrant would have. I am Ismael, the son of Helios. I am the one and only Ismael, I've made this possible because I am exactly the Man I always needed to become. And I know what I have to do."
Ismael completely ignored Genova who hid inside the Structure.
"What was that? I've never seen Ismael like that."
"I gave everyone here thousands of lives, do you want to be next?"
"You...gave...Ismael...? More lives? We'll win, with that."
"Agony is his mother, but he doesn't know it yet. He doesn't know his mother gave him more than one life."
"That's poetic coming from you. June too?"
"I feel so much better!"
Genova crouched to get to her level and patted her head to comfort her.
"You think I should do it?"
"Yeah! You'll be able to die a bunch."
"Would you look at that."
"Emova and Yael died. Now it's on to me to help you."
"Do it, then."
Ismael found Helios and upon shooting him with his anti-tank rifle, he sprinted to his position and palmed his face of his left hand and screamed "I SACRIFICE."
Desoriented by the explosion, the fire and the smoke, Helios lost his balance and couldn't see Ismael repeat the action, screaming "I HEREBY BURN MY SIN."
Helios was on the ground, and in the darkness he could see the two glowing red eyes staring into his soul.
"Let's kill each other, father. For the centuries to come."