Cy took one step forward to resume his seat, but was swept away and slammed into it. A restless left leg bounced up and down while he waited. Damn, there’s no way out of this. He sits as my judge, jury, prosecutor…and executioner. Wait—
“There’s no lawyer provided to me?”
? ? No. We were afraid that they’d be sacrificed in your wake, as well. ? ?
Jackass.
? ? Behold your counts. Destroying dreams, hopes, innocence, and families. Negligence. Manslaughter. Murder. And Treason. ? ?
“That’s outrageous,” Cy cried. “Everything had to be done for the betterment of mankind, for the Apocalypse. What would you have me do? What would you do—And who did I murder!?”
? ? We judge your deeds, not your intent, in this court of law. ? ?
“But do the ends not justify the means?”
? ? Where will it all end, Cyrus of no Surname? ? ?
“I have a last fucking name! And I will find out what it is, even it costs me—”
A greedy smile spread across the Djinn’s lips.
? ? Please, go on. ? ?
Cy muttered curses under his breath. If he could have, he would have slouched down in the chair.
? ? If that is the case, then the time has come to make your next sacrifice, for the greater good, as you put it. It seems that you stand resolute in stopping the Apocalypse at all costs, or maybe becoming an Alter at all costs, or maybe finding out your familial name at all costs. It grows tiresome to keep track of it all. ? ?
The Djinn waved his hands around in the air again, grabbed a stack of papers and straightened them out on his desk.
? ? It would appear to this court that you must achieve the power of an Alter to aid your friends, and to do so you must use a Vessel of equivalent power to them. Is it not so? ? ?
The Djinn looked down its glasses and nose at Cy.
“Yes. Fine. Tell me what needs to be done." Cy crossed his arms. "I’ll let you know if I can face the consequences or not.”
? ? Ah, forfeiting so easily? ? ?
“I’ll make the right decision. I’ll do whatever needs to be done to protect this world.”
? ? How righteous and high-minded you've become. Ego is a dangerous thing. ? ?
“Get on with it, you purple bastard.”
The Djinn smiled again, and someone crashed into the empty audience behind Cy. The metal band wouldn’t let him turn to see who it was.
Shit, this isn’t a maze—It’s a trap. He got me.
? ? Ah, just in time. ? ?
The Djinn presiding as judge spread his arms wide to welcome their new guest.
? ? Now, will you make the sacrifice? ? ?
“Not without knowing who it is.”
“Cy… What the Hell is going on?”
Fuck. “Hey—It’s all good, just relax.”
“Why are you tied up?”
“This Djinn’s been torturing me for a while, but I’m about to show him who's boss."
? ? The jury approaches their verdict. You must act swiftly, before the tides turn against you. ? ?
The Djinn leaned in.
Stolen story; please report.
? ? Now, will you harness their power? ? ?
Cy spat at the judge. “Fuck you. How's that?"
? ? It could be all yours, inside my Vessel. Just say the word. You envy it, ironically enough. ? ?
“You can’t be seriously thinking about this, right? Cy, you idiot!”
“Of course not, Kat. Let me think of a way out of this.”
The courtroom walls turned into mirrors, and Cy’s eyes filled with the Djinn’s visions of his Vessel. Ultimate power, Regeneration, Ryoku Amplification. Limitless, raw power. Perhaps even immortality…
Cy let the fantasy flow through him, entice him, tempt him. It’s true. I want that power more than anything. I think that’s what I’ve really been after this whole time.
? ? Think of how you could help Wrath. The world, even. ? ?
No, that’s just jealousy. That’s desire for power, avarice talking. I don’t deserve it… And I can’t, not Kat.
Right?
No one in our Party is worth that sacrifice… But what if someone from outside—
No. I can’t do that in cold blood. Battle is one thing. And I should learn from Isolda’s double. There must be another way. How do I get out of this?
? ? You claimed yourself, many times over, that your Party needs the power of Vessels to face your destinies, individually and collectively. After all the sacrifices you’ve piled up to this point, you’d back down from them now? ? ?
Stop. Talking.
? ? So they are all worthless? Everything you shattered, everything you ruined, they mean nothing to you in the end? ? ?
CLANG!
The bronze scales tipped to one side.
? ? Alas. The time has come. The jury has reached their verdict. ? ?
Only get one choice. Sacrifice her or let them find me guilty? What is best?
No—What is right?
Kat is innocent. All she’s done is nothing compared to me. She’s the one constantly taking the hit. And she showed up, after all, to support me.
We need Vessels, though… And if I sacrifice Envy—Kat, then we’re down a member. A strong member. But we’d have two Vessels and can skip the last one. We wouldn’t have to slip into Marina Veridia, with its military base—
Oh. It became a simple choice at that moment.
One less Vessel to get in the most dangerous place for us now.
This is it, the most pragmatic option.
“There’s no need for a verdict. I’ve chosen my sacrifice. Kat… I truly am sorry.”
“Cy, no!” Envy shouted.
? ? You decided to sacrifice the girl? ? ?
“You’re an idiot,” Cy said, in one final ode to Envy. “I sacrifice myself, you bastard.”
“Cy!?”
“Quiet, Kat. This isn’t your choice.”
“But why!?” she begged.
? ? Yes, what do you gain? ? ?
The Djinn sounded annoyed, disappointed even.
“Peace of mind. And the satisfaction of giving you the middle finger.” The Djinn furrowed its brows in disgust. “If it’s me or her to live, she’s the obvious choice. The team will be a man down, but with my heart and conviction—and my steely resolve—in a Vessel at Kat’s command, the team is still just as strong.”
“Cy—”
“Jules is in no state to fight, Kat. He can’t handle Marina Veridia, where everyone is probably waiting for us after Coralhaven. This way, you each have your own Vessel to fulfill The Painter’s assignment.”
“What are you doing, you moron!? Let me go! Let me escape this Hell on—”
“Can’t, Kat. Our relationship, or bond. What we’ve been through. I’d never sacrifice it, never destroy it. Just like I’d never take your relationship away from Whiskers, or from Jules, or your Pop. I, on the other hand, have no one but you four. Not even The Painter values me."
“How do you expect us to go on without you?” Envy said through sobs.
“I’ll still be with you, in your Vessel, to use at your command. You know, it's funny—I never thought we'd be partners."
“Cy, I—”
“I’m sorry, Kat. Tell Jules I’m sorry, too. My road ends here. Wish I could have taken it with you all a bit further.”
? ? So your sacrifice is…? ? ?
“My heart and soul.”
The Djinn scoffed at him.
? ? Only one is required. ? ?
The Djinn approached Cy from the bench. It reached into his chest and ripped out Cy’s heart. Envy shrieked, and Cy felt no pain.
Cy slunk down into his chair. He heard his heart beat form outside of his chest, clutched in the Djinn's indigo hand.
? ? Ahh, what is this? ? ?
The Djinn noticed the dagger emerging from Cy's heart for the first time. It removed the blade from Cy's heart and inspected them both, weighing each in a separate hand.
Pain surged through Cy. He collapsed as he bled out. His vision faded slowly. The Djinn transmuted Cy’s heart into a sword and discarded Selene's Enchanted dagger.
? ? You have sacrificed yourself, so this Vessel shall remove other’s sacrifices as well. ? ?
Envy screamed and ran to him.
Cy’s vision faded to black around the edges.
He could only see a single point, of both the Djinn and the sword.
? ? Allow they servant the honor of showing its master how this works. ? ?
Cy moved his mouth, but no words came out.
He couldn't speak, could only think.
Use it well, Kat—Use me well.
Djinn and Vessel approached him.
Darkness enveloped Cy's whole world.
When he came to, Envy cradled his head in her lap. She sobbed when Whiskers' ugly mug came into view and titled to the side out of curiosity. Cy grabbed his chest out of instinct—the dagger was gone, and so was any sign of a wound.
"Kat." Cy coughed, and still expected to cough up blood, but none came. "What happened? Are we..." Cy glanced around. They were back outside the Shrine, which had deactivated upon capture. Envy strangled him like she wanted to kill him, she hugged him so tightly. He finally escaped her clutches and sat up, and felt the heavy weight of a long-sword in his lap.
"Cy—I thought you were dead! Oh, Sweet Salvos..." Cy blocked another murderous hug.
His mind flashed back to the Shrine, to the Djinn. He'd removed the dagger, and Cy's heart along with it. But he didn't show Envy how to use the Vessel. No. He showed me how to use it. The Djinn stabbed the sword in Cy's heart, and then his chest, and his Vessel—Tensa, the Djinn called it—had removed Cy's sacrifice. He relaxed and laid his head back down to Envy's lap, and thought about all the ways he could—and couldn't—use his new Vessel.
******* ****** ***** **** *** ** * ** *** **** ***** ****** *******
81
******* ****** ***** **** *** ** * ** *** **** ***** ****** *******
2025-01-16 note — the final little section was moved up from like chapter 84ish to make sense now, because we are about to return to Jules' POV for a while