Against a frosty field of melted snow and grass, Isaac Rose was laying in rest. Unbeknownst to him, a bitter brawl was ensuing between some of the strongest known individuals in the kingdom, all of whom were against a foe they had never once before approached. Envy. He was such a significant threat, the entirety of the spectators of the Contest of Champions had fled in frantic fear despite the arrival of help. After all, it was the monumental might of Envy that surpassed Isaac's divine power, placing him in a deep sleep. Isaac soon came to find his eyes awaken to a blinding light, a sensual feeling soothing over his mana drained vessel. A perfect touch had caressed him with magic which blessed him with rejuvenation.

"Ah. Waking up now? That was quite quick." Said a voice that instantly calmed the general, Annette Summers.

"What's going on? Caspian Cull, is he..." Isaac's instant impatience found an abrupt interjection.

"You have committed something atrociously wrong, Isaac Rose. It's no use dwelling on such a thing now though." Said Victoria, her eyes glued to the ongoing battle.

"You...how was I supposed to know? What kind of monster harbours a bloody sin inside of them?!" Shouted Isaac in defence.

"General?" A hesitant voice lingered behind Isaac. "What do we do?" Asked Axel.

"What? It seems the guardians are here, let them do whatever they can." Replied Isaac.

"No. Something else must be done, Maxwell and Chadwick are working terribly together." Disappointedly said Frederick.

"Hmm, they are doing far more than you are." Observed Victoria.

"My duty is with..." Frederick paused, his mind stuttering with thought. "Alister?" He muttered out in disbelief.

"What do you mean? Why is he sleeping?" Asked Isaac.

"He - he has lost his soul to Envy." Frederick mumbled out.

"It seems I've already forgotten him..." Isaac quietly said with a gulp of guilt, as he stared at the sleeping Captain Alister Sinclair - a remnant of the past.

Ahead of the group, the colliding forces of Maxwell and Chadwick began barraging into Envy, but with the two of the guardians having fury at heart, their power dwindled hopelessly. Frederick's observations of the two were true, they gave very little of their talent to provide success. With the duo flying full forcedly into Envy, the tremendous power Thomas Titanius Junior carried just behind them was being held back. An answer soon came for the chaotic chemistry Maxwell and Chadwick had, as the two both mirrored a fast-paced attack into Envy. Reflecting the uncoordinated damage with considerable ease, Envy's power rebounded the two guardians far from sight, leaving just Thomas as his only fighting challenge.

Thomas locked his eyes with Envy's, and the two stood for a moment of silence until he had forced a burst of air his way when he dragged a sword out. This sword was far more valiantly made than his former blade, having a shining steel glimmer interlaced with an encrusting of diamond. Such a thing had been dripping with a source of power that began to spit about, as the sword spun suddenly within the capable hands of Thomas. The point of the blade set its sight on Envy with a clean incision in mind, which Thomas began to swing for. But Envy was to some degree able in a fight. At his disposal, the former spirits Caspian would carry were now his, and with this, he quickly darted one at the sword, in which it clung to it dearly. Therefore, within the first stab Thomas offered, his attack fell short and Envy inserted his rod of lightning into his enemy's arm. With great anticipation, he smiled nefariously but his strategy did not consider the clear stupidity in his act. The bolt of lightning, being a mere husk of his power, charged Thomas with a higher level of strength and this led him to thunder a series of punches deep into Envy's stomach.

However, a bigger blow soon barged into Envy repeatedly, as Maxwell and Chadwick returned with a seemingly calmer, more composed attitude. With Maxwell's plummeting arrival and Thomas' fists of thunderous capacity, Chadwick added to their firepower by igniting a fiery flame to Envy's face. Chadwick had fully committed his body to the battle, and his eyes blackened until they beamed a red-hot wave of fire straight at the skin of Envy. This communion resided a sense of disgust within Envy, as he began to spit blood to the ground, and then a further gush of blood spilt out when a sizzling slice separated his hand from his body. With this agony vastly more powerful than expected, Envy searched. He searched deep within Caspian's body, where he had found one of few remaining spirits at disposal, and he relinquished it of its life as a pawn. He drew it from his reserve, and he crushed it into the ground with a chilling clap - a shockwave that pandered the three attackers off him for some time.

"I feel we may need to give him what he wants for now." Deeply sighed Victoria.

"Would Alsop or Thomas really want to go to him though?" Asked Axel.

"No. Thomas will not want to go. Alsop, I need. It seems he carries something of interest to me. Isaac should go." Said Victoria.

"Me?" Gulped Isaac.

"He may accept you if you have knowledge of where Lux Buchanan is." Said Victoria.

"I - I don't have such knowledge though." Said Isaac.

"You must deceive Envy until we come and apprehend him." Replied Victoria.

"Enough with your scheming, Victoria. There is still an ongoing battle. It seems you may be needed to help now, Isaac, Axel, Victoria." Said Frederick.

Ahead of the reinforcements, Maxwell, Chadwick and Thomas rose one by one, but their energy as a whole was more sparse than before. Fatigue had fallen upon them, and their condition would only worsen now. Isaac had therefore been inclined to help, with aid coming from Axel and Victoria too. His return had drawn a blank face on Envy, who became surprised at the lack of withdrawal coming from anyone ahead of him, and this surprise soon reached frustration and then anger.

Maxwell soared into the skies with his hands wide apart, where a great volume of air breathed within him, and this bellowed down towards Envy when Maxwell clapped the air in his direction. Chadwick had added to the fight, by including a cloud of ashy fire which lingered in the air, and this cloud had sat around Envy - suffocating him in a cloak of darkness. The general also infused his own flames to the villainous fiend, but his power was sparse due to the Crimson Eagle from before. Beyond being labelled one of the greatest magicians the kingdoms had to offer, Victoria Magika had made little use of herself in the fight, as she looked on in clear disarray. It was only until Axel had nudged her consciousness, had she offered a service, a small one in fact. One minor spell slipped out of her lips smoothly, and it aimed for the heart of Envy. In her recital of the spell though, her head shivered in sinister pain. A power so punishing it paused her in the middle of the spell, but the perseverance of dedication pushed the spell to be released.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Initially, the spell had seemed useless, with it not faulting Envy in the slightest but with the cloud of smoke soon fading, the effect was eventually foreseeable. A blue string of fumes was rising from his heart, and they continued to form on and on until it became clear the addition was permanent. The ghastly shadow clung to him like a brand of his menacing, evil name.

The fumes were quickly concealed by a leap from Thomas, who had gained height from Axel forming a set of stone steps in the air. His heroic leap had also come with a swing of his blade, as he brought down the weight of a thunderstorm onto Envy. Though, Envy had quickly seen this coming. His remaining hand also leapt, and it firmly caught Thomas' throat, with only a fraction of his swing landing onto Envy's body. But this hit was nothing for him. A minor tickle, just like the cascade of damage done to him before. Such power had reflected off him, and with Thomas' swing carrying incredible strength, it threw both Maxwell and Chadwick into a state of unconsciousness.

With no more major threats his way, the nefarious Envy had begun sucking the soul out of Thomas quickly, in a hurry to remove the powerful juggernaut of the team, but instead, a boisterous belch overcame him. Soon, his mouth had convulsed a plethora of pungent puke onto his victim. A smile drew to his soggy lips, and they then looked up to the eyes of the others who stood in estranged shock.

"Ah goodness! I guess that is justice for my hand." Chuckled Envy savagely.

"Why? What have you - you! What is this? Argh! My head, my head! It echoes with pain!" Exclaimed Thomas, his hands pressing against his temples.

"Finally, it is time to begin my quest." Said Envy, his only hand ready to pounce on Thomas.

"Wait, wait!" The breathless voice of Victoria quickly halted Envy. "Take someone else." She pleaded.

"Shoo! I have what I need." Envy replied by shoving her away, but in doing so a glimmer of silver struck him as her glove had fallen off. "Your hand. It's metal?" He muttered with astonishment.

"Wha…! No! Uhm...my deal, ahem. Give him back, in exchange for me." Proposed Victoria, as she quickly wore her glove.

"Hm. Very well, you have caught my attention. Besides, it would be villainous to hurt the Titanius son anymore." Said Envy.

"What have you done to him?" Victoria had knelt close to the aching Thomas.

"Come, we will speak of it on our journey." Said Envy, his hand held out for her.

"No, stop." A potent voice called out.

Confidently walking towards Envy with a fearless face, Isaac had gently pulled Victoria back away from him. He stood eye to eye with the sin, a position which left him vulnerable to an attack, but there was seemingly no sign of hostility coming from Envy.

"I will go." Said Isaac boldly. "I will give you Lux Buchanan." He added.

"I..." Envy stuttered, his eyes were galloping between his severed hand and Isaac. "Fine. You will make a good disciple of mine." He said.

"What about the city, the army, the people? They need a general!" Axel cried out in the distance, as Envy had begun fleeing with Isaac trailing him.

"Wouldn't that be you now, Axel?" Suggested Annette.

"Huh. Me. I suppose so." Said Axel in disbelief at the situation. "We can't just let him walk off like that though!" He exclaimed nervously.

"No, it is a wise decision. Look around. Who else here can challenge the Sin of Envy?" Highlighted Frederick.

"Victoria Magika." Bluntly spat out Axel. "The greatest magician in all the lands." He said with spite.

"It would be silly to use any more magic than I already have. Did you not see what he did to Thomas here?" Asked Victoria.

"But what do I do now?" Muttered Axel.

"Thomas, Maxwell, Chadwick. They are the people you want fighting Envy. We must regroup, I say. Ultimately though, you are the general now, Axel Astrix." Said Frederick.

The role of general truly was left in his hands, as several days passed by with Axel guiding a city of his knights to ease the population. Discomfort was clear, especially with rumours that the might of two guardians was not enough to take down the Sin of Envy. Axel proposed peace by responding to any worries, any queries, any strange activity as promptly as possible. A seed of doubt plagued the streets nonetheless, with its vinery crawling through the paranoid ears of all. Envy was free, Isaac was gone and a clueless, inexperienced Axel Astrix was in charge of the people's safety.

Perhaps too late, Axel had eventually established a task force, in which he hoped some progress would be made on the ominous threat, Envy. With so few people approving of his role as the new general, who could Axel trust? It was not a matter of experience, nor was it a case of strength. For Axel, he desired friendship to be in his special society. Soon enough, Alsop and Maxwell were picked up by him to join his impatient, secret hunt for Envy. Meeting in a tavern especially enjoyed by Axel, the three grouped up with Alsop instantly grabbing their attention.

"What do you mean you can remember who he is?" Laughed Axel in disbelief.

"Keep your voice down, Axel!" Maxwell's voice intruded as a few heads nearby searched for the familiar voice of the new general.

"I'm telling you, the man Envy has eaten, his name is Alister Sinclair. Captain Alister Sinclair. Why am I the only one to remember such a thing?" Said Alsop, his eyes had sparkled with knowledge.

"What you're saying makes little sense, but the name you say is at the tip of my tongue." Maxwell frustratedly said.

"There have only ever been two captains, but maybe that is Envy meddling with our memories!" Axel added in a crushed manner.

"Mentioning this around here might draw anger. The people are scared, they'll lynch you in seconds, thinking you're conspiring with him." Maxwell quietly said after a long thought.

"You could bring this information to Ms Magika. It would be nice to see where she ran off to!" Axel pounded on the table in brief anger.

"Axel!" Maxwell exclaimed. "She went home to Astrea, with Thomas. I believe it is something to do with that injury he sustained." He said.

"Hmph." Axel fumbled his arms together with a frown. "If he was so hurt, he could just go and see Anne." He said.

"It was not really his decision, she seemed adamant to take him. Heading to Astrea would not be a bad idea for Alsop, and us. We could discuss how to find Envy with Thomas and Victoria." Said Maxwell.

"Ms Magika may be able to help me and my strange knowledge, but with Envy out there, I need to be somewhere else." Said Alsop.

"With your father? Do you even know where he is?" Asked Axel bluntly.

"Yes, of course. We are distant, Axel, but not that distant. He is in Duke, I plan to visit him soon." Said Alsop.

"Duke is rather quiet. Alsop, come with us and we will follow up to Duke afterwards." Proposed Maxwell.

"Our resources are too thin to separate too. Alsop, you must trust that Isaac is no coward. He would not betray any of us." Axel added.

"Very well then. But once our situation is settled, I will go to my father instantly." Said Alsop adamantly.

"That leaves the city then. Should we leave Frederick with Annette back here?" Axel suggested.

"And we take Chadwick? Haha, no thank you. Besides, Frederick cannot be the only guardian back here. He is not able to hold his own." Chuckled Maxwell in reply.

"Then, us three it is." Alsop concluded, as their glasses emptied with anticipation.