I burst out of the elevator and into the hallway to find four Reapers waiting for me, They had their weapons drawn and were facing the elevator, so I was sure Rictus had told them to hold me off. Too bad for them, I thought. I threw the scythe at once, cutting down the first two, and darted forward, not waiting for the weapon to return to me.

The other two tried to grab me with their aura, but I slid under my spinning scythe for safety, then popped up between them. With Granis’s energy packed into my hand, I slammed my fist into the gut of one of them, then kicked back, slamming the second into the wall. They weren’t finishing blows by any means, but before they could recover, I’d recalled my scythe and was already dashing away.

A quick glance told me that Rictus had taken the elevator again. The indicator on the wall said that he was somewhere around the sixth floor. I dashed into the stairwell, bouncing down the stairs as fast as I could manage. He had a hell of a headstart on me, but I burned Granis’s energy, moving as fast as possible. Between the mantle of the panther and my own reckless descent, I managed to break out into the lobby just as Rictus was stepping out.

The battle from before was still raging, but everyone participating seemed to notice Rictus and I enter the lobby. All the fighting paused as eyes turned first to him, then to me. He didn’t seem to realize I was there. He pulled two of the Reapers closest to him between himself and the elevator.

“The punk is coming! As soon as he appears, kill him!” He shouted, already running for the front doors. “I’m off to get reinforcements!”

He never made it to the door. As soon as I’d gotten my eyes on him, I’d thrown the scythe. It arced high through the air, flying safely over the crowd, and curving around to intercept Rictus’s path. The point of the scythe stabbed into the carpeted floor right in front of the old man, who slid to a stop and turned around, his eyes wide.

“That’s enough running for you,” I called in the sudden quiet. “Face your end like a man.”

A few Reapers seemed to come to their senses, turning their weapons on me and jumping to the attack. I took one step back to avoid the first few swings, then created one of Mikel’s pulses, knocking them back. They flew into their comrades behind them, knocking a few over, but I paid them no mind. I kept my eyes locked on my target, making sure he didn’t try to make a run for it. He stood where I’d stopped him, his face torn between rage and fear.

“Robert Jensen,” I said, taking several steps forward. “You are the head of a corrupt, tyrannical organization. You are guilty of upsetting the balance, and the murder of countless innocent souls.”

I wasn’t sure that was strictly true, but it sounded impressive to me, so I didn’t bother to correct it. He was definitely guilty of murdering my father, and though I couldn’t remember it at all, I couldn’t help but think of the fact that my mother had been forced to raise my sister and me alone, with barely enough to make ends meet.

Do not let your anger control you, Tomas reminded me. This must be done, but it must be done for the right reason.

Unseen to the others, I took a deep breath, steadying myself. You’re right Tomas. Thank you for reminding me.

“Kill him!” Rictus screamed again, pointing at me. “Kill him now!”

There was a short pause, then a few Reapers moved forward to try to attack me. Before they could get within reach, another body of people moved as well. I raised my hands to fight at first but then realized, even though they were Reapers, they had their backs to me, and they’d moved to stop anyone from reaching me.

The leader of the group was the tall blonde Reaper that I’d spoken to on a few occasions. He stood head and shoulders taller than most in the crowd, so he was easy to spot, and his voice boomed across the lobby when he spoke.

“Is this true, Grand Reaper?” He said, the suspicion in his voice all too clear. “Are you guilty of murdering innocents?”

Muttering broke out among the crowd as all eyes turned back to the old man alone by the doors. Rictus glared at the blond Reaper in silence, then finally spoke.

“Reaper Firine, you would believe such slanderous, ridiculous claims?” He snapped. “I am the Grand Reaper! I demand that you show me proper respect!”

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“Tell the truth!” Firine shouted back. A wave of aura spread across the room at his words. “You know that you cannot lie to me, not without experiencing excruciating pain.”

More muttering around the crowd and everyone glanced quickly at me before returning their stares to Rictus. Firine turned slowly to face me, his face set and determined. Under his direct gaze, I felt a sudden compulsion to tell him my deepest secrets. I never wanted to lie to his man. Hell, I never wanted to lie again.

“Silas,” he said, with just as much volume, but less hatred. “You have stormed into this building and taken down many Reapers. Your comrades have killed many as well. While it is true that we still maintain the advantage, I am beginning to think that you may have a just cause.”

I nodded in agreement. “I do. Everything I’ve said is the truth. He also murdered my father.”

“Your father was Thomas Miridis?” he asked. When I nodded in confirmation, he frowned. “I knew Thomas. He was a good man, and we had something of a rivalry. He and Okoye, who were partners, were good friends of mine.”

“Okoye?” A voice said suddenly. Turning, I saw Kanda step out of the crowd, glaring at Firine and I. “My father was partners with the killer?”

“My father was no killer,” I said. I didn’t have any evidence for that, but I felt it was true, and the fact that I didn’t experience any pain made me feel better. “He was killed by the Grand Reaper.”

Kanda now directed his glare of hatred toward Rictus, who still hadn’t moved. He studied the posture of the old man, and he seemed to think on what I’d said. Then, slowly, he moved over to stand beside me. The head of his long spear glinted in the light of the lobby as he leveled it at Rictus.

“I am sorry for trying to kill you, Silas,” he said. “I see now that you were never my enemy.”

“You have no need to apologize,” I said. “You were lied to, just like me. Just like everyone.”

Kanda nodded, saying nothing more on the subject. Silence hung around the lobby for several seconds as everyone made up their mind. Then one man turned his back on the Grand Reaper and moved to stand beside us. Then another two, then a dozen. Suddenly, the entire lobby was turning and moving towards our side, putting their weapons away. Heaving another inner sigh, I took several steps forward, breaking free of the crowd.

They know what balance is when it confronts them, Tomas said. They know now who has actually committed sins, and they will not stand in your way.

“You are all cowards!” Rictus shouted. “You desert me, ignoring your oath of service? You will all die in time!”

He turned and ran for the door, darting around my scythe. I jumped forward at once, but before I could reach him, he was sent flying back. A solid barrier of mana had expanded in front of the doors, and he’d run headfirst into it. Before my eyes, people were beginning to step into the lobby from Granis. They were all armed, and they all looked at the Grand Reaper with undisguised hatred.

Matthias was at the head of the arriving force, and he looked around the gathered mass with some interest. Several dozen people were visible behind him, now streaming into the building and fanning out to block the exits. The Reapers all muttered in surprise as the head of the Granis army filled out the remaining space in the lobby. All that was left now was a twenty-foot wide circle of empty space, which contained Rictus and me.

“Right,” I said, pulling my scythe back to my hand. “Now that we are all here to witness, this ends today.”

Rictus stood up quickly, a haunted look in his eyes. He directed his hatred at me and held up his hands, palm-out. Somehow, I knew what he would do before he did it. It just seemed in character that he would try to kill me while I was preparing myself. A barrage, in the true sense of the word, erupted from his palms and curved around to converge on me. Dozens upon dozens of lines of energy streaked through the air.

I spun the scythe around me with a flourish, shredding the bolts as they came within an inch of striking me. Before Rictus could do attack, run, or do anything else, I threw the scythe. It looped around, catching him in the back and shoving him towards me. His next attack flew wide, smashing into the ceiling harmlessly, and I caught hold of his robes.

“That’s enough out of you,” I hissed. “It is time for the balance to be restored.”

I shoved him away from me, and caught the scythe in both hands, holding the weapon high. He staggered as I shoved him, and, off-balance, he couldn’t do anything to avoid me. I gathered as much energy into the blade of the scythe and swung it down. It sliced through the shroud of aura he conjured to stop it as if it weren’t there and cut through him in a diagonal slash. Time seemed to stop for a moment, and the wound glowed with bright blue energy.

Then everything resumed, and he fell to the ground with a mundane thud. There was a cry of shock from the Reaper side, and a shout of triumph from the Granis side, then silence. All around me, people were glancing nervously at the people next to them, unsure of where we would all go now.

“This foolish war is over,” I said “It has gone on too long, and it must stop. We are all equal, and we need to learn to accept each other.”

I paced over to the front doors, the crowd of Granis moving aside to give me room, and raised my scythe again. I cut twice, but I didn’t damage the doors in any way. For a moment, it looked like nothing had happened, but then the runes along the doorway I’d slashed burst apart and fizzled to nothing.

“And now Granis is no longer sealed,” I said. “Let life flow between both planes freely.”