“Do you desire, revenge?” Ozul asked the next gentleman he summoned. He was in one of the world’s his co-worker had tossed him into. How horrible.

The man in question, was chomping on a boulder. From on top of the boulder, he stopped for a moment to gaze upon Ozul. His eyes were intense, dripping with blood as he refused to blink even for a second.

[Revenge, is all that I think about.] The man said. [However, it seems that I won’t be allowed revenge upon you. I wish to crush you!]

“Me.” Ozul held his chest, aghast at what he just heard. “Why, I would never hurt a fly.”

The ghost stared at him, and then looked to his right, at just air. [Is he being serious here?]

The ghost was just being silly. Ozul would never hurt a fly. Why, he was a good boy. Just like his mother had raised him to be. Just like…

His mother was never home, and his father was dead. She was always too busy and had no time to look after him. It was lonely in the mansion. The servants were golems and did not answer to him when he asked things, only taking in commands.

One day, a woman dressed in a bright red dress came to his mansion…

His mother had raised him to be an upstanding man that defended the weak. A man of justice.

[I see.] The ghost nodded his head as if he understood something now. [So, he’s under your control. That punishment is enough. I will crush Dalton with a boulder!]

“Yes!” Ozul slapped his knee. “I like your style! One of my Best Men has the ability to channel two ghosts at once. He should be able to take in your tough spirit.”

#

Surrounded by blinding light, Marriage Ender took a step forward, the ghost of the CEO hung on his back like a parasite. As they drew closer, a vengeful grin crawled up the CEO’s face.

[“I’ve been waiting a long time.”] Marriage Ender’s lips moved at the same time as the CEO’s. His pupils were gone, his eyes all white. Whatever the CEO did, Marriage Ender would match it. They were perfectly synced. [“Do you know the suffering you caused me? The heartache of losing my family twice? Losing my partner? Do you?”]

He didn’t, but Dalton could see it in his eyes. His innards twisted in a knot, knowing the sorrow and pain that he caused. It was his fault he had died in the first place. It was his fault that he was killed by Eira.

He uttered the only words he could think of, and the ones he truly meant. “I’m sorry.”

[Dalton.] Riot hand went through Dalton’s shoulder. He clicked his tongue. [Now is not the time to be distracted. This man is a terrifying opponent.]

[“Do you know what my ability is called?”] Marriage Ender grinned. The CEO held up his hand, and like a marionette, Marriage Ender did the same. [“It’s called Boulder Man.”]

A boulder appeared in his hand.

[“I can summon boulders.”]

[Dalton! It is time to make haste!]

The tie snapped. The ice ring shattered. The boulder blew slammed into Dalton and blew him through the wall.

Surprisingly enough, Dalton had not been knocked out, but he wished he was. He felt like he had been slammed…well by a boulder. It was difficult to breathe, and Dalton suspected that his chest had been crushed.

Marriage Ender appeared in the corner of his blackening vision. A boulder had already formed in his hand.

[God dammit!] Riot screamed. [Fine I shall use my final trump card! Prepare yourself Boulder King!]

From their connection, he could feel that was about to do it. The CEO must have felt that something bad was about to happen as well. He separated from his host flying towards a surprised Riot, pummeling him. Dalton felt the blows cascade through his body, pushing him closer to death. The boulder floating above Marriage Ender disappeared like blown ashes.

Before he lost consciousness, he wondered why he was so easily knocked out.

Within him, he felt something melt.

#

Just like waking from a nightmare, Maya bolted on her feet. Sweat dripped down her face as she gazed at the building. She knew what happened. The first seal had melted, which meant Dalton was about to awaken.

The question was, which one was it?

#

All Eichi wanted was vengeance. It was what he desired more than anything else. The man had taken everything from him. His loving wife, his world, and even his comrades that he so lovingly believed to be his second family had been snuffed out by an assassin.

He had thought one hit with his mighty boulder would be enough to smash him!

But he was wrong.

Even when he summoned a second, then third, and all the way to the tenth smashing, the man’s body, though bloody and beaten, was still intact. His bones did not bend in another direction, nor did his face get disfigured. A bristling wind swept through his body.

He lifted the bloody boulder to get a better look. Dalton’s fingers twitched. His eyes rolled up, only showing the whites, and his mouth frothed with blood and spit.

Yet, it did not make sense. He should have been a bloody pulp by now. Could it be because he was technically a god? No, they weren’t gods up here. They were just man, flesh and blood just like him. There was no holy aura surrounding the man. Not like the assassin that had ended his second life.

Suddenly, Dalton bolted up.

Marriage Ender jumped and fell on his back.

“Heh.” Dalton yawned, jumping up and landing on the balls of his feet. He rolled his shoulders and cracked his neck as if he had just taken a nice nap. “It’s been a while since I woke up.”

“How are you?” Marriage Ender slipped as he tried to stand up. He did not know why.

Dalton gave another satisfying yawn. He smacked his lips, blinking at the man. “What are you doing, trying to stand up? Have you not noticed why you can’t stand up?”

He had something in his hands. He rose both of them for Marriage Ender to get a better look. It finally clicked, and Marriage Ender look at his feet.

They had been pulled off.

Marriage Ender and Eichi both screamed. The emotional distress broke their bond. Eichi shook his head to free him from his confusion, only to witness a headless corpse hit the ground. Dalton held Marriage Ender’s head high up in the air like a golden goblet, to toast his defeat.

He crushed the head in his hands. Then, the man turned his attention to the ghost.

[Who are you?] Eichi asked, he was not able to hide the fear in his voice.

“It seems.” His voice strong and proud. Though he was still the same size, his presence felt overwhelming, and his eyes. They felt like they would devour the world. “That you have been giving my current self quite the trouble.” A stepped forward, Eichi floated back.

If he still had sweat pores that worked, Eichi would be drenched in sweat. Luckily he was able to keep his cool. He may not have a host anymore, but he had spent thousands of years sealed in a boulder. He was much more powerful than some ordinary ghost.

He threw up his hands, pushing his will to summon his final trump card. The building was shuddering, glass trembling, and the man in front of him gave a casual sweep of the area, nodding and smiling.

“Very good.”

[Keep that smirk.] Eichi growled. His whole being trembled from the summoning. [You won’t have it once you face what I am calling.]

Dalton looked up at the ceiling, as if he knew what was coming. “No wonder my current-self had trouble with you. You broke the protection my lovely witch placed upon me and melted one of her seals.” He tapped the side of his head.

The building shook even more, and Eichi knew it was too late to stop it from coming now.

#

“What is that?” Jack’s mouth hung open as he looked up at the sky.

Nikolai’s mouth hung wide open just like Jack’s. “Holy fucking shit!”

An arrow of light pierced through the building.

#

Even when the meteor blew through the building like a giant hammer, Dalton stood there, with the same casual smile.

He held up his hands ever so gently, as if he were about to catch a ball. Then, the ceiling collapsed.

But the floor did not.

Dalton had done what was impossible, he had caught the meteor with the ease of a catcher. The meteor was the size of a football, but it should have tore through him, leaving nothing but a pulp of meat and crushed bones.

[Impossible!] He shook his head. [Monster!]

“You threw a pebble at me.” Dalton crushed the rock, bits of dust slipped through his fingers. “Calling me a monster is overkill. You’re just weak.”

He directed his gaze to a wall and lit up in pure joy. “Now that…that is just wonderful.”

The wall broke down. A cold breeze blew in before Eichi’s vision blacked out.

#

Maya floated through the hole she made, stepping into a frozen wasteland she created. The whole floor was covered in a hand length of ice, even the ghost had frozen over from the might of her magical attack. The second ghost, Riot, had hidden behind a desk, frozen in mid scream.

Despite that, Dalton had not frozen completely. He looked like a man iced over, but when she had come in, he cracked a grin, and the ice around his mouth cracked. Then it spread like a fissure, and Dalton stepped out of it like powdered snow.

“What a greeting.” He applauded. “Wonderful, Maya. Simply wonderful to taste such…fury.”

Maya groaned, shaking her head. It was the worst of the twelve. “Od Tamanil.”

“You did not even put on my title,” he said in a sing-song tone. “Demon King Od Tamanil. It’s hurtful that you look so displeased to see me again, especially when I truly wanted to see you again.”

She tightened her fists, until it turned as white as pure snow. It was hard for her to see him like this. “I made a promise.” Her voice low, but powerful.

“A promise?” He placed a hand to his chest. “You made a promise with me. You made a promise with my next life. Then the next. How many promises have you broken Witch of Eternal Ice? How many times have you disappointed me, even though I love you so much? Even though you love me so much?”

His tone was a mixture of pain and anger. Od was ready to cry, and it made Maya want to cry herself. Her heart was tearing at the sight of him. She did love him. It was her duty of love that made her seal all twelve lives withing Dalton.

She spoke when she trusted herself to speak. “I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” His voice cracked. His nails ran down his face in misery. “I…You won’t find happiness with my current self. He is weak. He knows nothing of your pain, and one day, just like the other eleven, you will betray him.”

“I won’t let that happen.” Even though she said it, her voice cracked with uncertainty.

Od barked a laugh. “It will happen again. Just like always. Go ahead then, Maya. Seal me once more, but remember, when you fail once more, I will wait for you.”

“I know,” she said.

Od allowed her to place a finger on his forehead. Then, once more, his memories were sealed in that frozen pillar. Dalton fell, and she snapped her finger, catching him in a bed of puffy snow. Then, she allowed herself to cry, to mourn the twelve promises she had broken.

The thirteenth, she vowed, she would not break.