Jack braced himself for the wall of force that preceded the conflagration. When it hit, he barely felt a tickle. Not so for Arthur, the boy, who was standing next to him, catapulted out of the square and out of sight when the Fire blocked off his vision. It coalesced around him and swirled like it was a typhoon and he was the eye. The sight was captivating in its primordial beauty. Fearing for Asters safety, Jack quickly covered her and opened up his soul, and sucked it all in with one mighty tug.

His soul filled to capacity. Then it filled some more. It felt like sharp knives were stabbing into his appendix, only this pain was more than physical. It tore into parts of himself that he had only faintly began to acknowledge. This made the pain he felt upon opening his soul feel like a paper cut.

Eventually, the pain lessened enough that Jack was able to focus on something else. He opened his eyes blearily. At first, the world was completely out of focus. Which he realized shouldn’t be happening. This body's vision was perfect. He blinked a few times and was able to finally see. He was lying prone on the edge of a small crater, the ground charred. A small red form lay curled at the center of the crater. It was in the form of a fox but he knew that its form wasn’t really important since it was a shapeshifter.

Aster was on his other side, just outside of the blast radius. Her hair was a little singed but there were no other signs of external damage from the explosion. That didn’t mean she looked good, just not worse. Jack attempted to lift himself only to find that his muscles were unresponsive. He couldn’t feel anything below his neck.

Step. Step. A figure slowly appeared from a dilapidated doorway. His unique appearance was unmistakable, Jack had never seen a face so punchable. Lord Pomp. The man was alone this time, except for the crimson cat on his shoulder, as he approached the crater menacingly.

“That filthy ghoul had one job and it couldn’t manage that. Well, no matter, dead is dead after all. At this point, it hardly matters how it happened.” Shing! A silvery blade covered in glowing runes was pulled from a jewel encrusted scabbard at the man’s waist. Jack tried anything, EVERYTHING, he could to get up and defend himself. I am not going to die here! I have so much left to do!

It was no use. The connection he had to his Soulscape had gone dark and his perception was unresponsive. “Aaahh!” He roared in frustration. This startled the horrid man.

“Still alive? Do not worry yourself, uppity commoner, I will handle you next.” He kept coming and was only ten meters away now.

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Next? Am I not the target? Who else… NO! He redoubled his efforts but nothing worked. Five meters. “Why are you doing this? She’s just a girl?” Jack asked, trying to distract his adversary.

Lord Pomp’s feature stiffened and he sped up his pace. “Just a girl? This little girl refused to die when her betters chose to end it. That is unforgivable, The last of the Arborius line must… Die!” He swung the blade like a lumberjack splitting a log. Slorp! The blade sank into her neck and ruined it. When he tugged his sword back, it took her windpipe with it.

Her murderer stared down at his handiwork in disapproval. “Disgusting, now I have blood on my shoes. Never mind, I will just have to buy a new pair tomorrow.”

The ground rumbled. Then it rumbled again. A voice full of rage and grief came from the ground underneath their feet. “Lord Pomp, you will rue the day you chose to harm one of mine. I am coming for you and when I find you, your death will go down in history books to serve as a reminder that there are some people one should never cross.” Tendrils of dirt peeled from the earth and wrapped around Lord Pomp’s ankles.

The nobles pupils dilated till they became saucers and he started hacking at the tendrils and screaming incoherently. He looked like a crazy bum in a clown costume. The sword barely sunk a few centimeters into the earthen tendrils before being repelled. In response, they constructed his feet and started to snake around his thighs. That was when he made a mistake. On one of his back swings, the sword sliced into the red cat’s fur and came out covered in bright, crimson blood that glistened like rubies in the moonlight. Ebony claws and teeth seemed to materialize out of thin air as the Jann sank them into the fool's shoulder with indignant fury.

Jack heard a rumble in the distance, followed by a scream. Sounds like the fight is almost over. He almost wished that they never came for him. He honestly didn’t know if he could handle the looks of accusation and disappointment that he knew they would give him. His mind started running multiple worst case scenarios and with every one, the dread in his heart grew till his mind began to grow fuzzy.

Step. Step. Step. Another set of footsteps approached the square, quickly followed by more in an overlapping rhythm. Jack was unable to turn his head in that direction, so he prepared himself for death. He deserved to die after becoming such a disappointment. This life was no different than his last, where his friend OD’d and the girl next door was strangled by her boyfriend. In both worlds, he couldn’t save anyone.

Hands slid under him lifted. Jack turned his gaze outward to see the worried face of Virtus. He couldn’t handle it and averted his gaze. This allowed him to glimpse that the others were there as well. Lillian and Casper flanked Felix on either side. The older man’s face was twisted in feral expression as he started daggers into the bound nobleman.

“There you are.” He smirked. “As the Praetor of this district, I deem you guilty of breaking the second law. With the Adjudicator as my witness, you are sentenced to summary execution.” Felix lifted his arm and sliced it to the side. A wave of brown light came from his hand in a crescent and lopped off Lord Pomp's head. It lifted a meter or so before landing with a plop. Blood fountained from the neck in a grotesque parody of the dry fountains nearby.

Felix marched over to Jack and placed an arm on his core. Horror laced his voice as he spoke. “What did you do to your soul? It’s a miracle that you are still alive… No, I sense something more.” He closed his eyes and seemed to be conversing with someone. He started to mumble words under his breath. Jack's world became pain. As the world faded, he got a sense that he was like a stained glass window. Only, someone had shattered it, and the sharp ends were jabbing out of the frame. Wonderful!