Immediately, Syren took out his black tome and charged while chanting his shadow blade spell.

"Wait. It could be a trap!" Whisper and Tyra shouted. But Syren didn't have that fear. He was still impatient about getting this whole ordeal over with.

As soon as his shadow blade was conjured, he put it up against Invidia's dark neck. He expected Invidia to struggle and resist, but he did nothing. Syren looked deep into Invidia's dead eyes and saw no resolve.

"Why don't you defend yourself? Why don't you fight back?" Syren asked as his blade rested on the creature's neck.

"Why did you restrain yourself?" Invidia asked.

Whisper went by Syren's side and said, "Kill him. Kill him now. Quickly."

But Syren ignored Whisper.

"I didn't know whether you would have killed me or not, but if you had, then our original purpose was never necessary," the shadow said.

Tyra was about to jump in with her sword, but Syren motioned her to wait.

"I want you to answer my questions before I kill you," Syren commanded.

"Your threats are meaningless, but I will answer," Invidia replied.

Syren began to take a deep breath. He readied himself to cut the creature's neck the moment it tried to do anything, but it only stood there.

"You started this riot, didn't you?"

"In a sense."

"No. You will either say yes or no. No games."

"Fine, but I can't take full credit for starting all the chaos here. This place was already on its tipping point before I came. I only arrived because I could sense how disastrous this place could potentially be," Invidia said, "I was a moth to the flame. Even Superbia was attracted to this place in hopes of fighting me, but to his dissatisfaction, I wasn't much of a fighter. Avaritia's private army have come to profit off of the chaos. As for Apathios, I'm not exactly sure what he's up to. And like all moths, we'll all burn in the end." He sighed. "I think I got a little off track. At first, I followed my instincts like an animal. I am the demon of envy afterall. All I wanted was to take everything away from those who had everything to lose. I disguised myself as a knight. Nobody could see who I was underneath so many layers of armor. As I lived in Lacernus Town for only a few days, it didn't take long to find out who had everything and who had nothing. All that was needed was a little push to balance things out. I came up with a simple plan. I put on the garments of a soldier and went to work."

"So, you did start all of this," Syren accused, "You put that armor on and killed an innocent boy and his mother."

"That was the plan more or less. To start the fire."

"Disgusting," Syren said as he began to cut Invidia's neck. Black blood began to spill out, but he didn't seem to care.

"Let me finish. I'm not done. That was the plan, but it didn't go quite like I wanted," Invidia quickly said as Syren eased his blade only slightly, "I saw that little boy playing on the street. He was drawing something with chalk or something. Anyways, it was graffiti - a crime. So, I went over to my commanding officer to tell him. I suggested that I go over there and deal with it. But instead, he decided to handle the situation himself. I was about to protest his decision, but decided that I could wait for another opportunity as plenty would surely arise. But when that knight went over to him, something very peculiar happened. I wasn't expecting it at all. He killed the boy right in front of everybody's eyes. And then he killed his mother. Everybody just froze there including myself. He was a trained knight. A decorated officer that upheld the law. But his actions were that of a demon. And I just stood there and watched. Something just snapped within myself. I felt... different. My heart beat faster yet I didn't know that I had one. But the fires still began. The whole town entrenched itself in chaos. It was what I wanted. And it happened."

Syren shouted, "No! I don't believe that you are capable of feeling any kind of remorse! And I don't believe that an actual person could have done what you said. You must have done something. You must have suggested it to him somehow. You must have used some kind of demonic power."

Tyra looked away as she knew that what Invidia said could be and was most likely true. Invidia was already facing down a blade to his neck. He was already dead. There was no reason for him to lie.

"Syren. I suspected that you might be different. Without us, your entire personality has changed to an innocent boy. You are human. And you should know what humans are capable of especially from yourself and those around you," Invidia said.

"What are you talking about?" Syren asked.

Invidia ignored his question and continued, "This chaos is only the beginning, or at least I hope it is. It is necessary. I am a part of you. And without me, you can't see the unfairness in this world. Why should some boys have to scrape for food while others get fed a meal large enough to feed ten? Why should some boys have parents that care little while others suffocate them with it? Why should some boys get punished with lightning and chains while others get a slap on the wrist for the same crime? All I want is a balance. Everything and everyone standing side-by-side equally. If one falls, we all fall. If one rises, we all rise. The lizardfolk - the akkedis - they are on the bottom. Every day they get stepped on by those considered above them. Only a few of them who obediently serve their overlords get the privilege of being a little higher than their brothers. This town is one of many. These riots and wars have and will happen again somewhere in the world as long as there are those who have nothing while others have everything."

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

He paused for a moment to breathe. "You may ask why the humans can't just let the lizardfolk live peacefully like everybody else. That's because people don't trust things that aren't themselves. That way of thinking has worked to keep them alive, but those days of living in caves are over. They fear that those same lizards would rise above them and take over. Or perhaps they fear that the akkedis are just animals out to eat them as they have no understanding on how they think. In this instance, they will believe that those once oppressed would oppress them because that's exactly what the humans would do, have done, and are doing in their position. In one place, the lizards are oppressed and in another, they are the oppressor. It happens. And so, when that eventuality occurs, then those on the bottom will fight once more. It would turn into a cycle. All I want is for the cycle to end.

Syren continued to listen to what Invidia had to say while still being ready to slice his neck. Syren was becoming more receptive to his words, but still weary. The demon continued, "I have a vision of everyone living together in peace. Every single living thing working together towards something greater. Greater than accumulating material wealth to wield over others. Greater than flaunting power and stepping on those considered to be ants. Greater than causing destruction and hate. That's all I want. An end to the putrid world we have today. I strive for change. I strive for balance. I strive for a world where everyone is treated equally in all things. You may be strong and dumb. You may be smart and weak. You may have three legs. You may have one. I know we're not all the same, but the world would be so much better if everybody could just think about what it must be like to be the other guy."

"And how the hell does any of this help? You may not have directly caused it, but you are responsible for giving the final push. All of this violence. There is so much blood right above us. You speak of a world where everyone is treated equally yet all of this destruction is happening because of you," Syren replied confused and angry, "You speak of a perfect world, but this is far from it."

"The utopia in my vision will not happen overnight. Look at the situation here. The violence could have been prevented. Things could have been different. I never told the knight what to do. If the knight hadn't killed the boy for being a lizard, or if one of the other knights had tried to stop him, or if the knight in question had been punished for the crime, or if somebody sitting high on their throne would just try to be a half-decent person. But no. Instead, we get this. Chaos."

Syren was unsure if Invidia was telling the truth about killing the boy and his mother, but he did think that Invidia really believed in what he was saying. Syren thought that that demon had developed his own ideals that weren't exactly considered evil. But then Syren looked at the chained body behind Invidia.

"Who is he? What did you do to him?" Syren asked disgusted by the mutilated body.

"Him? He is the dear Captain Jaro. The man who takes the credit for starting the fire," Invidia said, "And as for what I did, I cut him up. I wanted to make sure he was human and not some kind of monster wearing his skin. And do you know what I found? A pure-blooded man."

"Is he dead?"

"Yes. Unfortunately, he didn't survive," Invidia said without actually caring about Captain Jaro, "People like him have no place in a utopia. Of course, neither do I when it's all over. I am a demon after all. Not me nor my brothers have a place in that world."

Invidia was genuinely curious as to why Jaro would have done something like that. He really wanted to know if there was some reason that may have involved monsters. He thought that perhaps there might have been something living in his skin, or that he was a demon like himself. Instead, he got the conclusion that Jaro was just one terrible human being. And Invidia despised him for it. Captain Jaro took the life of an innocent boy and his mother. He took away something that he already had - life in and of itself. If he had a reason such as defending himself, then Invidia wouldn't have cared. If that boy wielded a knife and was ready to stab Jaro, then it would be his right to protect himself. But that wasn't what happened. One life was taken away when it didn't need to. He felt disgusted by his atrocious actions. It only felt fair to the demon that he should take away Jaro's life in a similar disgusting fashion.

But at the same time, Invidia was planning to kill that boy anyways. His own beliefs on murder contradicted what he planned to do. And his disgust and detest for Jaro leaked towards himself. He despised himself more than anything else in the world, and thought it would have been just as fair if he, himself, had died.

Syren didn't know what to do. The creature didn't seem malevolent, but he was a demon in the end. And that body was proof that he was capable of violence. Invidia may have been right that the world would be a better place if everybody treated each other equally, but in the end, he was still a monster that needed to be killed. And if Syren didn't kill him, then this eclipse would last for eternity.

There was still one question that puzzled Syren. "Why don't you try to defend yourself?" Syren asked.

Invidia immediately answered without hesitation, "I could, but I would most likely lose. I feel as though a little bit of Apathios has mixed in with my own blood to explain my defeatist mentality. But there is nothing quite special about me. Against a normal human, I would probably win. Assuming that you are stronger than me, I can stalemate you for eternity or until you weaken with age, but since there are three of you..."

"Three?" Tyra asked.

"I was referring to the demon by Syren's side," the shadow said while facing Whisper.

Syren exclaimed, "You can see him? You can see my whisperer?"

Whisper watched Invidia like a predator watching his prey. It was a look warning Invidia to back away. But Invidia didn't fear those eyes as he was already dead as far as he was concerned.

"Whisperer? Is that what he told you, Syren."

"Do not listen to him. He is lying," Whisper replied.

"I am not lying. Whisperers do exist, but that thing is not a whisperer," Invidia replied solemnly, " I don't know what story he's come up with, but he does have a name. His true name is Ira - the demon and embodiment of wrath."