Chapter 1474 Inner Hatred

After revealing his true character, Invidia turned around and walked toward the window again. Diana glanced at the straps of leather pinning her hands to the armchairs. She tried to loosen it, but it wouldn't budge.

"Ah, they're here," Invidia said with a grin. Diana could see the left side of his face. His grin almost reached his ear, but it quickly crumbled into a frown. "Who… This presence…"

Diana felt it too. A strange and unfamiliar presence appeared inside this realm. It wasn't Arthur, but someone else. The presence made her feel cold, isolated, and alone. It was like a black hole, devouring anything near it.

"Where is he?!" Invidia shouted before he turned toward her. He bolted toward her and pulled her hair back. Diana refused to wince in pain. "This isn't the creator. Where the fuck is he?!"

"How would I know?" she said while glaring back at him. Invidia stared into her eyes and released his grip on her hair. He then turned toward the balcony and emerged to shout instructions for his monsters.

Diana tried to look through the window, but couldn't see who was coming. All she could tell was that this presence was death itself—ominous, definite, and ending.

Invidia came back after a few minutes. His face appeared sweaty and pale. He kept glancing through the window before cursing under his breath. Then, he bolted through another set of doors without even glancing at Diana.

The ship began to move, retreating away. Diana knew that the abyssal army was advancing forward, while Invidia bought time to run away.

At that moment, Invidia returned.

He was smiling.

"I understand now," Invidia said. "Your dear fiancé has called for reinforcements. A cowardly move, isn't it?"

"He's not the one retreating while his army is advancing forward," Diana said. "You're the coward here."

Invidia turned toward her and raised a hand. A tattoo moved on his forearm before it released the same creature that killed Halstren. It looked like a demon with infinite tentacles for arms.

The moment a tentacle touched you, it would steal a portion of your soul. Diana stiffened as the demon approached her, grinning from ear to ear with its eyes arching upward.

"My pet is hungry. Don't make me offer it your sweet, unblemished flesh," Invidia said with a grin. "In fact, it won't work on the creator. I just know that his soul isn't one that I can steal. But once he's dead… Anyway, Moriazakin will accompany you until then."

The demon let out a snicker that seemed to reach Diana's soul, which quivered in response. This creature was the natural enemy to all souls.

Invidia was no longer interested in watching the fight between his army and the enemy. He walked back, climbed some ladders, and disappeared into the ship. Diana was left alone with the demon.

Inside the cave, Arthur sat down as Gala fortified the cave with Athos, the spirit. The owl was more knowledgeable than the witch about certain sigils, which made Gala hellbent on acquiring it as a spirit.

The sigils inside the cave were numerous, almost as if it was designed to hide something, or to seal it. Arthur felt his spiritual energy being pushed back, which was the ideal situation to summon more of his wrath.

In order to sneak-attack the Sin of Envy, Arthur had to use his wrath and nothing else. This realm was designed to make the use of spiritual energy and mana more noticeable.

Arthur had sealed Eragon with the help of Nyx and Ragnar. The unbridled wrath that Eragon had was nothing that Arthur could control, so he opted to use a lesser version of wrath.

Ragnar spent a lot of time training Arthur to control wrath, but the two of them hit a dead end. At that time, Ragnar realized the reason.

"Our personalities couldn't be any more different," the previous King of Wrath said. "I spent a lifetime as a monk and a saint, which involved detaching myself from otherworldly affairs. It allowed me to use wrath as a weapon.

"As for you, Arthur, it's more like a curse. Your character and core beliefs revolve around hatred toward the world and its rulers. You are a self-made, bona fide anarchist.

"Wrath in this case is not a tool, but a curse. Your own wrath will never be tamed, and it's more than you can handle alone. If we unseal Eragon and his own wrath that you have inherited, you'll kill yourself and Eragon will be resurrected."

Arthur then understood that it didn't matter how much he trained. Eragon's wrath was more than he could handle, because he had his own to deal with. If he did unseal Eragon, it would destroy him.

However, it didn't matter anymore. Arthur needed more wrath than he had, and he needed to access the vast ocean of it that Eragon had.

The next moment, Arthur opened his eyes and found himself within his inner world. After he sealed the Sin of Wrath, it became more tranquil and serene. In a distant mountain, the giant creator was residing.

In the other far distance, Arthur spotted the Red Tower that now resided within his inner world. Its unique structure that the Scholar Guardian had built allowed Arthur to take it with him when the battle against the Nameless ended.

However, Arthur wasn't here for them.

Arthur traveled to the distant mountains with a thought. He appeared at the summit, where nine pillars of black obsidian were erected. From each of the nine pillars, a hundred chains connected to the center, where a single creature kneeled on the ground.

"And who would've thought I'd have visitors today?" Eragon said as he raised his head toward Arthur. Despite having a humanoid body, Eragon was made of wrath. He looked like a static television screen of nothing but black.

"We need to talk, Eragon."

"I knew you'd come running back to me," Eragon said with a grin. "Damn Ragnar thought he could hold me back. But I knew," he growled. "I knew that my wrath was necessary."

"It's not yours. It belongs to a millennium of—"

"Spare me the lecture, brat. We both know why you're here," Eragon said with a laugh. "You realized that your own wrath wasn't enough."

Arthur was silent.

"There's no shame in that," Eragon said. "No one could have known that the almighty King of Wrath has stopped using real wrath, and opted to be his own. Tell me, what would the people you love think when they know how much anger and hatred are within you?"

"Now you have to spare me these tacky provocations," Arthur said as he placed his hand on one of the pillars. "Your fate is in my hands, Eragon, no matter how awful that makes you feel."

The moment Eragon opened his mouth, he screamed. Arthur watched Eragon scream in agony before he removed his hand from the pillar and allowed him to rest.

"You damn human! I'll kill you! I'll devour every last drop of blood in your veins! I'll—"

"We die together, remember? You are nothing but the consciousness attached to the wrath that I've inherited," Arthur said as he crouched down to stare at Eragon at the same eye level. "You must be bored out of your mind here, aren't you?"

Eragon didn't answer anymore. He glared at Arthur, and if looks could kill, Arthur would have been dead already.

"I'm here to let you out," Arthur said with a grin. "You can wreak havoc on the outside while I stay here, attached to these pillars."

Eragon looked at Arthur as if he was a fool.

"I'll kill all those you care about simply to spite you."

Arthur placed a hand on the pillar, and the Sin of Wrath screamed. This time, Arthur didn't release his connection to the pillar until Eragon begged him to stop.

It was simple.

The pillars were connected to the very core being of Eragon.

Arthur would infuse the core with the powers of creation.

The rest could be deduced.

It was hell for the Sin of Wrath.

"How about we start over, without the threats?" Arthur said. "I'm not a torturer, Eragon, but you have to understand that I can make every second of yours a living hell."

Eragon breathed out heavily.

"You think I would help you after that?" Eragon said at last.

"It doesn't have to be this ugly. We inhabit the same body now. Whether you like it or not, this is your life from now on. It's better to make the most of it."

"You're really asking the Sin of Wrath to be logical?" Eragon once again looked at him like he was a fool.

"Not at all. We both know that most of your wrath is directed against the gods," Arthur said with a grin. "How about this? The next time that we meet one, I'll let you out to face them."

Eragon stared at him for a while.

And then, he grinned.

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