Switching to my Qi sight I was able to make out a person standing in the middle of the chaotic lightning surge. Their soul looked a lot brighter than any of Mr. Brutus’s disciples. Even mine and Zubu’s weren’t so shiny and plump. I kind of wanted to bite into it like an apple. Just to see what it would taste like.

While it was bright, it wasn’t as strong as Mr. Brutus’s or Lorie’s, much less the two goddesses. What rank was that? It couldn’t be any higher than upper spirit rank considering the difference in our quintessence.

It was maybe over 20 times the amount I had and going off of what Zubu said— that put it just above the threshold of upper spirit rank. If this was an attack I wasn’t too worried since Mr. Brutus and the others were much stronger than them, but still. Who would have the balls to show up and attack when there was two whole ass goddesses nearby?

“That asshole is back.” Said Zubu with barely restrained anger.

“Who?” I asked.

“Claw.” She murmured just as the lightning subsided. The heat aspects were quickly ripped from the ground and scattered into the area. This caused the ground to rapidly turn into a strange foggy glass. It was almost pretty.

At the center of the new lot stood a teenage boy. His eyes a golden yellow. His hair a spiky navy blue. The guy wore strange black armor. It was like a body suit, but it had ominous black plates attached.

In his hand he held a black rigid spear. Raising it up he rested the sharp end over his shoulder. Throughout the entire display of power. He had a sickening cocky smile plastered on his face.

Already I hated this guy and I wasn’t sure why. Could it really just be that shit eating grin, or was it my sympathy showing me his terrible personality? Either way I didn’t want anything to do with this person.

“I see you’re still as much of an asshole as you were when I last saw you. Maybe even more.” Said Mr. Brutus as he made his way over while taking short puffs of his lit cigarette.

He pulled Snowball out of his inner cloak and tossed her over to me. I caught her and gave her a hug for comfort. That was strange. Why did he bring her to me? It was almost like he knew I was feeling uneasy.

While Snowball did make me feel better it was actually Mr. Brutus’s presence that put me most at ease. Still, I wasn’t exactly comfortable.

Zubu on the other hand looked like someone had poured sand down her underwear. I hid behind her peeking out from behind Zubu, as I hugged one of her legs.

This made me feel much better. Zubu also seemed to calm down, realizing she had scared me. Her hand found its way to my head, gently massaging my scalp with her nose picks.

Snowball was also nervous for some reason, so I held her up near Zubu’s hand. Zubu understood immediately and gave her a head pat too.

“Old man! Look at you! You haven’t aged a day! What’s your secret? Wait, don’t tell me. Is it giving out blow jobs?” Said Claw.

“Nope, it’s fucking your mom,” replied Mr. Brutus savagely. In my head I imagined a bunch of black men going, “ooooh!”— brain rot at its finest.

This seemed to irritated the spearman. “Shut your mouth! You know she’s dead!” Yelled Claw.

“Yeah, I dug her out last week. All she needed was a nice soak in some hot water and half a jar of vaseline.” responded Mr. Brutus.

I felt a bit sick, but seeing Claws reaction made it worth it. “What the fuck!” He charged up his spear with red lightning. Then threw it like a dart. It left a trail of crimson static behind it, as it hurtled towards Mr. Brutus.

Unshaken, Mr. Brutus pimp slapped it aside, sending it spinning in the air. It landed several feet away, embedding itself in the ground and erupting in a grumpy burst of lightning. This caused a vein to pop out on Claws forehead and start throbbing. I’ve never seen a guy get so mad that his head nearly explodes.

“You should stop acting like a dick. Otherwise I’ll have to treat you like one and abuse the fuck out of you.” Threatened Mr. Brutus.

Mr. Brutus was amazing. He didn't need to raise his voice. He didn't have to pretend to be someone else. He was completely in control of the situation. Sure his comebacks were revolting, but Claw was the one that started it. All Mr. Brutus did, was do it better. The fact that Claw couldn't get a reaction out of him even though he made such a huge entrance was so cool.

I raised my hand and asked, “Mr. Brutus! Who is this guy?”

“You don't recognize him? I mean sure he looks different, but if you look under all that hair jell and arrogance, I’m sure you'll figure it out.” Said Mr. Brutus.

I looked Claw over once more. He locked eyes with me almost like he was also trying to figure me out. Peeling away the top layer of reality, I looked closer at his soul. It seemed familiar, but I wasn't sure why.

“No fucking way! You picked a girl avatar!” He laughed. “At least now you finally have a body that suits your personality! And what's with that outfit!? Why are you carrying around a doll? You look like one of those Hello Kitty girls.”

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

Clearly this guy really did know me. He made me very nervous all of a sudden. I felt like running away and hiding.

“Shut the hell up Claw! You’re just as annoying as ever!” Yelled Zubu.

This time he eyed Zubu. The two of them looked around the same age. Claw was a little taller though. “No way, is that you Yoyoyo? Holy crap you filled out that Chinese costume nicely.” He started eyeing her like a diabetic watching dessert making videos.

“My name is Yukio! Your such a fucking creep!” Yelled Zubu crossing her arms over her chest as a defense from his eyes.

“It’s called a kimono… and its Japanese not Chinese.” I nervously added.

“That's what your worried about?” asked Mr. Brutus before flicking his cigarette off to one side.

“Mr. Brutus, it's not Chinese. That's like a whole ass ocean away.” I said. There was something about getting the nationality wrong that really bothered me. It was like listening to a guy talk about something he knows nothing about while thinking he knows everything about it. Besides Zubu defended herself. I was just backing her up.

“You still don’t know who he is?” asked Mr. Brutus.

“Of course I know who he is. That’s Claw. He uh… he hates traffic and likes girls with big boobs… right?” I said.

Everyone kind of just stared at me. I wasn’t going to take any of it back, so I don’t know what they thought they were doing. I just didn’t want to look stupid for not knowing who he was. After a few seconds, their stares started making me very uncomfortable, as my anxiety grew in my chest like an angry tumor.

That’s when Mr. Brutus gave Claw a look like he wanted him to do something. Claw sighed. “You know for being the smart twin you sure are retarded… mommas boy.”

His words sent a chill down my spine, as memories from my childhood flashed before my eyes. They continued through the years we spent living with our sister, and finally the time he tried to steal Alice away and got me locked up in an psych ward.

If I was my normal self I would have been fine, but the current me. The one that had all his traumas and old memories scrambled after the ascension. He was having a rough time.

When I saw that doctor with the needle, I started hyper ventilating as my anxiety hit the ceiling and broke through. “No, No, No, No, No!” I cried. My heart raced as the world became darker.

No, he’s going to lock me up again. He’s going to steel my wife away. Cain is going to ruin everything.

“Isaac! Isaac relax!” Yelled Zubu as fireball after fireball began to form all around us. Not 10, not 20 but more than I could count manifested, as their spell circles drew in the heat aspects from both my madness and the lightning storm from minutes ago.

”Holy crap.” Said Claw.

Mr. Brutus sighed. Then gather wind and momentum aspects into his hands. He then clapped them together creating a shockwave of kinetic force. It quickly spread throughout the area in a ripple like motion, causing my spells to shatter and fall apart.

After the display of power he thrust his palm at me releasing a cold wind over my entire body. The sudden cold was enough to pull me out of my anxiety attack. I still felt like shit and when I looked up I saw that cocky smile I’d known throughout a large chunk of my life.

The echo grew in intensity.

-Cosmo-

“Why the hell would he make such a flashy entrance? That was a huge waste of Qi.” Said Cosmo.

“First impressions are important. They can decide the way a battle goes. Control the mind of your opponent and the win is as good as yours.” said Ribdena.

“He’s an upper spirit rank. Do you really think he needs a mental advantage?” I responded.

“Not at all. Especially not with that weak whelp you have. If she were mine I’d feed her to the others.” Said Ribdena. She smiled devilishly clearly happy that her follower would win over mine.

Before I could bite back I felt a tug at my dress. Looking back I saw little Ron standing there. “What’s the matter sweetheart.” I asked.

“Who’s that cool guy? Is he one of ours?” Asked Ron excitedly.

“That was so cool how he showed up all of a sudden!” Yelled Riza excitedly.

“Yeah, he came out of nowhere. Reminds me of an anime protagonist.” Added Pez.

“That guys name is Claw. He used to be one of ours.” I said.

“For real!” Said the triplets.

“What happened? Did Ribdena steal him?” Asked Pez.

“No, I would never do such a thing.” said Ribdena sarcastically. She was so smug. I hate her.

“What really happened was Claw had several personality problems. Of course like you three he managed to pass the trial, so I helped him ascend. The issue is he has a fetish for power. The more he has the worse his personality gets. I didn’t want him and he seemed better off in Ribdena’s care.” I explained.

“Yes, that boy has the greed and ruthlessness of a true dragon. He is perfect. I actually prefer him to Brutus. Brutus is strong, but he is too level headed. Only those that give themselves to their desire and anger can follow me.” Said Ribdena.

“You should be careful. If he ever reaches godhood I can already see him becoming a monster. A guy like that shouldn’t have power.” I warned.

“Power is the only thing that matters. If he becomes a monster then it doesn’t matter as long as he is strong.” said Ribdena.

“You call yourself strong yet you’re apart of the same pantheon that hides from that… thing.” I responded, whispering the last part.

“I am strong, but that doesn’t mean I’m stupid.” Said Ribdena.

“Cosmo… if he is such a bad person then why did you let him ascend? Don't you usually look at people's lives and behavior patterns? There's no way you could have missed it.” Said Pez.

“Yeah… um. It’s a bit too complicated for a youngling to understand.” I said dismissing Pez and turning back to the slaughter soon to come.

-Isaac-

Unable and unwilling to deal with him, I sunk back into the corner of my mind and somehow managed to make it back into Aku’s castle. It was looking way better than the last time I was here.

The hole was sealed up and it wasn't dark anymore. The moss and vines that once hung from the ceiling were gone. I sat on my thrown closing my eyes. I could see Aku as she interacted with the world on her own. With her mortal rank soul, she had no trouble moving our avatar around.

-Aku-

“So, you want me to fight him?” I asked.

“Yeah, that’s exactly what I just said. Why are you repeating it?” said Mr. Brutus.

“Are you afraid mommas boy. Or should I say mommas girl.” teased Cain.

I didn't like uncle. He was really loud and rude to everyone. “I’m fine with that.” I said smiling and giving Snowball a hug.

Uncle looked at me funny like I’d said something strange. “Why the hell are you so happy? Quit hugging your stupid doll! This is just like that buffalo thing all over again!” he said.

“Isaac you seem okay. I was expecting you to be mad or something. Did you get over it already?” asked Mr. Brutus.

“Oh… sorry for the misunderstanding. papa’s not here right now. He said something about going out to buy some milk.” I explained.

Both uncle Brutus and sis looked at me like I'd grown a tail. I looked over my shoulder to make sure that wasn’t the case. If I had grown a tail, I’d want a cat tail, so that me and Snowball could match.

I looked to Zubu. “Hey, sis. I need to go potty. Snowball has to go too.” I said. Everyone seemed to get that look. The one papa hates.