Chapter 855 Prison Warden

The mountain where Eragon resided was desolate and broken, as if it couldn't withstand the continuous hammering of colorless lightning. However, unlike what Arthur had expected, the soil lost color, becoming transparent.

"Why does rage hold no color?" muttered Arthur with confusion. He knew that the qualities of a breaker made his powers colorless, but the rage was always pictured to be the color of blood.

A wrathful scream came from the mountain's summit as black lightning gathered around it. Eragon was chained at the top, unable to move or release his wrath any further.

"RELEASE ME!" roared the angry god, as if Arthur would obey. "LET ME RAMPAGE!"

"If you are so powerful, then you should learn some self-control," said Arthur to himself while ascending the mountain. It was a weird sight because he walked on transparent land. The target of Eragon's rage was this sea of consciousness, and Arthur started to feel worried.

When he reached the summit, Arthur finally met Eragon. He was the same as he left him, a monster of colorless lightning that barely resembled a human. It roared louder after it saw Arthur and rushed toward him before the chains pulled him back in place.

"Release me!" shouted Eragon, making the air shake. Arthur stared at him with fear because if this was how he became when Eragon took control, no wonder Oren called him possessed and implored him to forsake this power.

"I would never do that if this is how you would wreck the world," said Arthur as he walked toward Eragon. "I came here to negotiate peace."

"Peace?" asked Eragon with visible surprise, as if the word felt foreign to him. "You imprison me in this place and expect me to grant you peace? I will wreck your sea of consciousness until there is nothing but rage!"

"And what will you gain from that?" asked Arthur as he pointed at the giant in the distance. "That old man gave me his powers with no strings attached, but his will lives within me. I'm not the one chaining him to this world."

"Haha," laughed Eragon while raising his head, but his anger was still overwhelming. "Do you think he appeared one day, and those chains appeared alongside him? Someone sealed his powers inside your soul, only giving them to you when appropriate! He is a prisoner like me!"

"A prisoner?" muttered Arthur with a frown. "If he is, then what reason made him stay here?"

"A creator is a man of no desires or feelings, so he would never do anything that harms you without reason. However, I am wrath!"

"Yeah, I get it already," Arthur sighed. "I still propose the peace. There is no way for us to be separated, so you should have no reason to refuse."

"I have every reason," said Eragon as he tugged on the chains. "I refuse to bow down to anyone, even if there is no other alternative. I am Eragon, Sin of Wrath! The mere idea of proposing peace with me is sickening!"

"I never thought calamities were so childish, but that might be what made them calamities, to begin with. In the end, you will remain here forever."

"This prison you created won't hold on for more, Silvera. Even if you could imprison us here and use our powers, there will be a day when you bite more than you can chew. The next prisoner will make this place collapse."

"…there won't be a next prisoner," said Arthur to the calamity with a frown. "I cannot leave this place empty-handed. I need this rage to stop, so I can defeat one of the enders."

"I knew there would come a time when you realize that imprisoning us here will yield nothing but chaos," Eragon said. "Even if I wanted to accept that peace, I can do nothing. You are the prison warden, and I am the prisoner."

"…there is no way I could control this wrath."

"And do you think I've always been like this?" said Eragon with rage before he stomped on the ground, making the mountain shake. "I fought against this wrath all my life, and there is no control over it. The world demands this feeling. You have seen it too, the moment I awakened."

"The images of countless people suffering injustice and their rage against the world."

"Greed, lust, envy, gluttony, pride, and sloth are feelings that not all people feel, but wrath is different. Wrath is human nature and its defiance against the world. The first man to lift his spear and kill the monster terrorizing his village was also fueled by wrath. You cannot deny me, warden, because I am a necessary evil. I am human truth!"

"If you are the human truth, why bring destruction to this world? Why would you align yourself with Nameless instead of the creator?"

"The creator and Nameless are two sides of the same coin, foolish human," said Eragon as he tugged on the chains. "The two existences coexist and cannot be separated. Therefore, their fight is eternal and will destroy this world anyway. And, haven't you experienced injustice yourself?"

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"I have, but I never wanted to destroy the world."

"That is a lie, too, because you were one of the memories you saw when I awakened. You already had me for a long time, human!"

Arthur was silent before leaving the mountain summit. He was running out of time, and his body was vulnerable when he entered his sea of consciousness. Thus, he returned to King Arthur, whose chains towered the sky.

"You have failed, I see," said King Arthur with no surprise. "Eragon has never been a man to be reasoned with. If he were, he wouldn't be named Wrath."

"I saw a calm man in those memories," said Arthur with sadness. "He has been hurt by the world, too. But, if anything, he might be the only person with the right to be angry."

"Eragon did not suffer the most, nor the least. He was an ordinary man before he awakened the sin of wrath because something was different about him. He was capable of rage that defies logic, and that's why he became its sin."

"Are villains born or created?"

"They are chosen, just like heroes are. Eragon was chosen by wrath, and Gaia chose me. As for you, the world chose you to have both."

"What a cruel and inconsiderate world this is," Arthur laughed before turning around to leave. "I gained nothing from this trip, only the knowledge that Eragon might not be much worse than I am."

Arthur then left his sea of consciousness, leaving the two beings behind. As soon as he opened his eyes, he found a claw of nothingness almost touching his nose. In front of him was Zonas Mantra, using his sword of light to push the ender back.

"He is awake!" shouted the witch of hearts as soon as Arthur opened his eyes. Adam rushed forward to slam his glowing body into the giant ender, sending him flying. As for Zonas, he fell to the ground.

"It seems that Astral Blessings have some effect on it," said Zonas Mantra with a pale face. "Have you found the answer, Arthur Silvera? Can we survive this?"

"Our situation remains the same," Arthur said as he crouched, healed the knight, and restored his spiritual energy. "We must figure out something to fight him, and I will lead the attack."

"He is more powerful than before!" said Zonas Mantra while holding his arm. "Although your ability is hindered here, it is still our only hope in the upcoming battle. Retreat, and let us find a way out."

"There is no way out, only a way through," said Arthur as he helped the old man stand. "I must overcome my limits if I want to win against it. If not, then I die."

"…that is what I'm trying to stop," said Zonas Mantra with a frown. Arthur simply smiled and patted his back before the ender came rushing toward him. "It seeks my death, not yours."

"I'm not going to let an old man die for my sake, not yet," said Arthur as his golden mana lit up the world. "If this wrath hinders me from fighting it, I only need to close my eyes and regain calm. After that, the golden mana will weaken it enough to give us a fighting chance."

"If so, then serenity is my forte," said Zonas Mantra before holding his shoulder. "Close your eyes, and focus on my voice. Let it lead you elsewhere, somewhere far from here. The world is split into two, your mind and everything else."

Arthur did as the old man said and allowed his mind to imagine the person he loved. Diana appeared in his mind with her mixed colors of hair and eyes and sweet, affectionate smile. It had been too long for Arthur to remember the feeling of her touch, but his body ached for it.

"In the end, you are my serenity," muttered Arthur as his heart longed for her. His heart was overflowing with longing, so much that it overcame the wrath.