It felt like seasons had passed, like the wind he felt on his face had traveled the whole world before reaching him again before he was able to make up his mind.

“I remember the power of the Ten Commandments. And even if the human legends about the Seven Deadly Sins are accurate and not exaggerated, there is no comparison.” Blackjack got up off the rock and summoned his wings. With a single powerful flap, he took into the air straight up. From where he was he could see roads glaring distinctly, like scars on a child’s face. They ebbed and flowed, stretching out in every direction. “I cannot hope to come across them by wandering... “ Blackjack looked to the closest mountain, braced himself, then sped off towards it.

Within moments he landed on the hard stone, cracking it down to the core. He stood up and looked around. It was barren, gray, no one would come here by mistake. He walked until he found a secluded area, fit with a shallow cave. He walked into it and sat down, legs crossed.

“Time to see if I still got this.” He said as he closed his eyes and placed his hands on the ground. After a few deep breaths, the darkness clothing him, and his demonic presence disappeared entirely. And in its place came a deep-rooted connection to the Earth. After a few moments of concentration, he could feel every groove, every individual crack and spike of the cave he sat in. Pushing a little harder, he could feel the tunnels within the mountain, all the way deep underground. With a sharp exhale he quickly lifted his hands, and a wall of stone rose, sealing the cave.

Blackjack then placed his fingertips together in a pyramid fashion, inhaled as deep as he could, and focused. The world around him slowly faded, and the world within him was brought back to life.

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He woke up in the center of the prison within his mind. He was in a bright room, with 6 hallways, each leading to a different cell. There were screams, curses, pounds, and clashes coming from all but the one he was going to enter. The hatred and anger were directed solely at him. He shivered, deeply angry, and disturbed that he was not safe, even within his mind and soul.

He stood up and looked down at himself, and saw that he was wearing silk clothing. He smoothed the shirt down and looked to the cell door. His sneer grew larger and more intense as he neared the reinforced door. He paused for only a moment before he placed his palm on the door, and willed it to unlatch and open.

The inside of the cell was ice cold, and pitch black except for the direct center, where its inhabitant sat, bound in the exact manner Blackjack was. The only difference between the man in front of him and Blackjack himself was the eyes. They were a seaweed green, versus Blackjack’s bright purple.

“Hello, Abyss,” Blackjack said, slamming the cell door behind him. Abyss showed no fear, no emotion at all. The helmet strapped on him prevented him from speaking, and thus no response was given. “I know you can hear every thought I have, you feel every emotion I feel, and know me better than I know myself sometimes. And yet, I get absolutely nothing from you. No matter how hard I try,” He said, leaning in, his face inches from Abyss’ “I cannot ever see into you, into whatever you are. And after what you did, I could never trust you anywhere but here, locked away like an animal.” Blackjack stood up and turned away.

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“You mean what we did. Because you accepted the plan, I just supplied the power.” Abyss’ voice echoed through the cell, powerful and robust. Blackjack immediately stopped, his blood ran cold and he began to feel himself grow nauseous.

“Silence. That is all I should be able to hear from you. Those chains, that helmet, this entire cell is designed to silence you!” He spun around furiously and stared at Abyss. “So why, do tell. Can. I. Still! Hear!! You!!!” Even with his screaming at the top of his lungs, Abyss’ response shook the cell and Blackjack with more raw power.

“I stay here because it is my oath. My curse. But we both know I hold the true power.” Blackjack wanted to argue, to scream, to kill Abyss. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t back when he needed to, so why would he be able to when he just wanted to? He took a deep breath and composed himself.

“I am here because I need my senses amplified. And given since it has been such a long time, I figured I would be here in person.” With that, he placed his hand on Abyss’ forehead, closed his eyes, and reached back out into the physical world. He was taking the power he needed, and getting the hell out of the misery that was his mind.

“Just remember dear Blackjack, I am you. And you are me. Don’t lie to yourself and say otherwise.”

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They were the last words Blackjack heard and felt before he opened his eyes, back in the cave he made. He found that he was gasping for air, his skin stinging and hot, sweat pouring. He got up and quickly switched gears once more, bringing the darkness back to clothe him. He punched through the stone wall, turning it to dust, and stumbled out of his makeshift chamber. He sat for a moment before he stood up again, his vision clearing and body cooling down with every second.

Once he felt steady, he held his arms out and felt for significant power. His reach before only went a couple of miles, but now he was able to feel the whole of Brittania. And so he found them. 10 extremely powerful presences, clustered together. He sensed many other, weaker signatures scattered throughout the land, some more potent than others. He completed his search, he knew where they were, but now he was having second thoughts about going straight there. Given their extreme power, perhaps it was best to prepare, in case they became hostile. Blackjack gave it some thought and decided on what he needed to do.

Before he was sealed away, he always wielded two weapons. A silver knife, and a wooden wand. He imbued them both with magic so that they could both do each others’ jobs to an extent, but dual-wielding them was the only way to draw out their full powers. Sadly, they were taken from him and hidden. He knew they weren’t destroyed, because he would have felt it occur, even whilst imprisoned. He only had enough time to go for one, so the question is, which one would he focus on searching for? He was confident in his ability to find them if he focused intently on them individually.

Blackjack walked to the edge of the cliff and looked over at the beautiful landscape. The luscious green trees and rolling hills, complemented by a gentle blue sky was a sight to see. But he didn’t care about that. All he was thinking about were his instruments of destruction. Which one did he need more, if he was going to potentially face the Ten Commandments?