V.I.R.A.L - Chapter 309

Henry had engaged with a heated battle with Bargaining going in like a mad animal, never stopping once. With a smug look never leaving, Bargaining kept up even more, avoiding all the attacks. As Henry thrust his fist forward, Bargaining pushed his arm down, deflecting the attack holding onto his arm. “How disappointing.”

Henry jerked back, holding his arm in pain as Bargaining turned to his side, looking at Henry with an amused look. “Who the hell are you?!”

“A simple man with ambition and might. Once you understand that all of this will be over.”

“A simple man, you claim? Don’t make me laugh; you’re anything but that. Switching sides on a whim and aiding those who are weak makes you no better than them. Those who are strong should only think of themselves. Others simply hold us back from greatness.”

Bargaining crossed his arms as heaven’s gate opened, emitting a blinding light. “If that’s how you see life, then I’m afraid you are the weakest of all of them.”

“I am not weak; I am not weak!” Henry blasted, holding his hand back, creating weapons to match Bargaining’s own. Sending the flurry forward, Henry screeched, holding his face. “Die!”

Snapping a sword from the ground, Bargaining swung up to counter the swords only for each one to pass through, cutting him down. Bargaining had no apparent wounds, stumbling back falling to his knees, but the pain was there to match. Blood dripped down his arms with no cut to match; this caught him off guard. Turning to the weapon, he tried picking it up only for his hand to pass right through it like last time. “It’s a fake? No, it’s more than that. Without a doubt an illusion but my body, no mind mistook it registering the feeling instead. How fascinating.  So, this is the power of the new Denial.”

Holding his hand up, a dozen sword ripped into existence around Bargaining, blocking his escape. Crushing his fist and throwing his arm down, the attack was sent forward just as Henry blinked. Bargaining vanished, appearing a few inches away, missing the attack by a hair standing unscathed. “What?”

“I’m surprised you don’t have Jehovah’s abilities; perhaps since she’s still alive, you can’t grasp them fully yet. Or could it be, you still have no idea how to use your own power? Intriguing, well, there’s some good news for you. I don’t want to kill you right now. Show me more of this illusion magic break my spirit and mind until there is nothing left.” Henry stared at Bargaining, stepping backwards, catching him off guard. However, it was soon clear what Henry’s objective was as his gaze turned to the sleeping Zinnia. Grinning mischievously, he led his barrage of attacks onto her. Lifting a finger, the freight train from earlier reappeared, crushing down on Zinnia. Unable to wait much longer to see Zinnia’s crushed body, Henry cast the illusion away only to find her gone. Turning on the spot, Henry stepped back, grinding his teeth to Bargaining, holding Zinnia over his shoulder facing away from Henry. “Might I remind you your fight is with myself, not Zinnia? Act like a man and fight your own fights.”

“Chivalry in a fight will not get you anywhere. You, of all people, should know this. The Garden is meant to dispose of their enemies no matter what; the cost doesn’t matter. Yet you side with the humans going against everything they stand for.”

Turning around, still holding Zinnia, Bargaining smirked slouched over. “You think you know all about the Garden and myself just because you’ve got a small taste of its power. If you think the Gardeners will sit by and let you keep that stolen gift, you’re far from correct.”

Henry chuckled at this floating around the room, mocking Bargaining. “You think I care about their permission? I am the strongest Anti-Human in the world. If the Gardeners aren’t happy with that, they can come and take the Stage back themselves. Of course, they wouldn’t stand a chance given the circumstances.”

“Perhaps I thought of you too highly. Even then, I saw you as nothing more than a common crook. You think power is the only thing that makes someone strong? You lack drive and ambition. What’s power without an end to meet that power.”

“You’re just jealous. Jealous, I beat you to the stick; the weak will always look up to the strong, never reach that level. My father was one such person who never acknowledged me because I wasn’t worth it. Because our family was weak, I’m looking to change that once and for all.”

“You’re joking me….” Bargaining muttered, holding Zinnia up. “All of this is just to get your father’s acknowledgement? What a petty thing to get all rowed up over; you threw away your humanity for something like that, which in the end doesn’t matter.”

Henry began laughing, shaking his head. “No, no. Even I’m not that naïve to believe such a stupid term. My father died years ago before I was given that chance. Even if he was still alive, I wouldn’t care less; I’m not building my power to get him to notice me! Doing that would basically admit I was weak all those years ago, and I am not weak. I want to be more powerful than he ever was or ever possibly could have been. Overshadow him so much that soon enough, his reign and carnage would be forgotten. When people think of the Truman family, they will only remember me. That old man shouldn’t even get a passing thought to him. If I cannot damn him in life, I’ll do so in death soon. No one will remember who that prick was. They will only know me, Henry Truman!”

Henry blinked, and, at that moment, Zinnia vanished from Bargaining’s arm, making him step back looking around weary. “This kid, Denial suits him down to a T. Everything about him, his whole personality and ambition is just to spite a father who didn’t care about him. A psychotic man who was never there for a hurting boy…. Was this fate or something else? No matter, I think I’ll just end this before he gets any bright ideas.”

Kicking a sword from the ground, he threw it alongside serval daggers. Henry jumped back blinking, as he did, he gagged, falling to the ground with multiple stab wounds and the sword wedged into his side. It all happened too fast. He didn’t even have time to come up with a counter. “You bastard!”

Bargaining kneeled down in front of Henry shaking his head. “You have quite the gift; I won’t deny that. However, it comes with a major flaw. While my mind makes the attack real through the pain and wound, the illusion is just that. An illusion, a simple weapon doesn’t hold such weaknesses, meaning you cannot do a single thing to stop an attack.”

Holding his side, Henry began to tilt, huffing rage building as he pushed his arm forward, creating serval spikes stabbing into Bargaining. Lifted back Bargaining gagged coughing up blood caught off guard. Slouched over, seemly passed out, Henry stood up panting, pulling the sword from his side, slowly healing with his new Garden abilities. Staring idly at Bargaining, he spat at the man turning away. “Acting cocky like that will only get you killed. What do you know about me anyway…?”

“Quite a lot, actually.” Bargaining teased, gripping Henry into a grip lock choking him. “Like, for starters, never turn your back on your opponent. Especially when this one can reverse any damage handed to them with a simple blink or turn of the head. What will you do now, Henry?”

Thrown across the room, Henry crashed against the wall, panting, feeling overwhelmed. As he tried to move, his whole body snapped as he felt sick to the head, unable to move. Shaking uncontrollably, he began screaming. “What the hell did you do to me?!”

“How ironic of the situation. To think you’d fall victim to your own power. Why poor Denial, you have doubts if you can win this fight.”

“What?! I’d…. I wouldn’t ever believe such bullshit even for a sec-.”

“A second? A second is all you need for even you to fall victim to the curse of a Stage. We aren’t clear of our curse as you. If I fail to keep the end of my bargain in order, I will face death, as will anyone else who does the same. Don’t you see Henry? Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance. All of these are weaknesses of humanity. Falling victim to them only just proves the inevitable truth. You are only human, a weak, defenceless human. That Stage was a mere fluke, a one in one million chance you lucked out, but it’s time to face the cold, harsh truth. I’ll be taking that Stage now.”

Slouched over, staring at the ground, Henry began tearing up, trembling. As Bargaining got closer, his breathing increased skyrocketing. Anger swelled as his denial of the truth only grew stronger, blinded by his own flawed mentality. “No. No. No. No…. No. I won’t accept this!” The area around Henry began to glitch out more so than usual as reality began to warp and distort. Holding his head in immense pain, Henry rose to his feet, stumbling around crying out. Bargaining stepped back, looking nervous, not letting his guard down. “I am not…. I am not weak!”

Henry exploded with radiant energy. Where his eyes were was a simple yellow light shining brightly. The area drowned in a nightmare as the room engulfed into a pure black. Bargaining looked around, biting his lip. “Shit…. Denial’s Long Whisper…. Just my fucking luck.”

Henry appeared everywhere, glitching uncontrollably, losing all control of his body and mind. The area around Bargaining began to form into a familiar memory of his own. The broken, rusted playground abandoned to the time Eve used to play in. “I’m not weak. I’m not weak. I’m not weak!”

Bargaining held his hand out as his Fairy-Tale Symbol began to hum to life. Staring up at Henry, he whispered, which soon escalated into a desperate scream of anguish. “To think you’d push yourself this far for something like this…. You leave me no choice, Denial. I cannot fall here; I’ve still my own bargain to fulfil, isn’t that right, Eve?! Your brother is going to save you and this whole God Damn world. There’s no going back, only forward!”