EnderBound: SOUL of Hatred

Chapter 17: I Believe In You

(Perspective: Asriel)

The moment I left Topolla Theater, I saw two Starman standing on either side of the door. I pointed my hands out at each one of them.

"Alright Henry," I said to myself, "Let's see what your power can do." Without much effort, I cast two psychic power blasts at the Starman, knocking them both out. I brought my hands in and smiled.

"Woah," I said, "I am powerful now." I turned to the right and starting running. As I was, I noticed several Starman teleporting into place. Before I reached the tunnel reaching to Threed Town, I was blocked by a bunch of Starman all lined up.

"You will not pass!" The one in the center said.

Asriel, Henry said from inside my head, Use PK Fire to take them out, and then use PSI Teleport to go to Peaceful Rest Valley.

"Got it," I replied. I pointed my fingers at them and charged up the attack. My fingers started to become scorching hot as I cast the fire at the Starman. The attack was so powerful that it wiped them all out instantly.

"Henry, your power is incredible," I told him.

It's stronger because of you, Henry told me, Now, use PSI Teleport. Start running as fast as possible. I nod my head and faced the tunnel. Then, I started running. As I got faster, sparks of PSI began to fly from my fluffy feet. Before I knew it, I was running faster than the speed of light and was teleported to Peaceful Rest Valley.

I could hear the flowing waterfalls that filled up the area and smell the fresh grass. It seemed peaceful, but I knew it wouldn't be for long. I walked along a bridge made of logs and walked into a somewhat large enclosed area. There was water surrounding the area with three waterfalls pouring into it, one in the back and two on the sides. Willow was standing there staring at the waterfall.

"So, you finally arrived," she said coldly, "I was hoping you wouldn't."

"Willow, this has got to stop," I stated, "I freed all of the humans in hopes for a happy ending, not a tragedy." Willow turned around.

"It's time that you grew up, kid," she told me, "Happy endings don't exist. That was certainly the case for me."

"That can't be true," I told her, "Someone once told me that if you aren't happy, then it's not the end." I wanted to smile, but Willow's disappointed face prevented me from doing so.

"Did you come here just to talk, or are you actually going to fight me?" she asked me.

"Now that I think of it," I began, "I don't actually want to fight you. Inside you, I see a person who once was a normal being, a person who wants cared about others. I see someone who at one point wanted to do the right person. If Lucas believes anyone can change, then why shouldn't I? So please, let's stop this fighting and end this war." I lent my hand out for a handshake. Willow flinched slightly.

"You really believe I can change?" she asked me, "I don't think anyone has ever believed in me before. You really are different from the other monsters." She then smiled evilly.

"You're foolish enough to think I could ever change!" she shouted. I gasped as she dashed forward and punched me in the stomach. Tears fell from my eyes and on to the grass as I fell to my knees.

"If it hasn't been made clear to you, you can never get me to change!" she told me, "I am the physical embodiment of Hatred, and there's nothing you can do about it!"

"That's where you're wrong," I said, "I may seem weak, but I've become very powerful from last time we met." I stood up and pointed my hand at Willow.

"I believe there is still good in you," I restated, "All you got to do is find it." She summoned her scythe and I summoned the Chaos Saber.

"Your move," she said, "I'm gonna let you go first." I shook my head.

"No," I said, "I won't fight you."

"Your loss," she said. She swung her scythe at me, but I quickly blocked the attack before she could hit me. While I was blocking, I fired PK Freeze at her and knocked her into the waterfall. She quickly broke out of the ice and fired a lightning bolt at me. Thankfully, I was wearing the Franklin Badge and deflected the lightning.

"Since when did you learn those powers?" Willow asked me, "You've gotten much stronger from last time, but it doesn't matter. I'm still gonna win!" She summoned a dark orange SOUL.

"Wrath, make him feel true pain!" she commanded. Using the SOUL's power, she summoned a dark orange beam and fired it at me. I tried to dodge it, but it barely got me on the left arm as I jumped out of the way. As I fell to the ground, I felt a huge pain on where she hit me, hindering my movement significantly.

"Hmm," Willow said, "How does it feel playing Hero? I told you this story has no happy endings. Now, it's time for you to die so that I can move on with my plans!" I was too weak to respond. She started to charge up another beam, but as she cast it, it was blocked by Henry's spirit.

"What?! Impossible!" Willow shouted. Henry turned his head to me.

"Even though it may seem like I'm gone, I will always protect you," he told me, "Now, give her everything you got." The wound on my arm was instantly healed. I got up and saw Henry unleash all of the light he still had at Willow, destroying the SOUL of Wrath. Willow fell to the ground and coughed up dark orange liquid. Henry's spirit then disappeared. I walked towards Willow.

"I'm sorry," I told her, "But this is goodbye." I took my Chaos Saber and stabbed it into her back.

"Noooooo!" she screamed in agony. She began to dust away, but I knew something was wrong. I was wrong for doing this. Regretting what I did, I pulled the sword out of her.

"You really are stronger than I thought," Willow told me as she began to turn to sparkles, "Maybe I can change, but I would have nowhere to start. I want to change, I really do, but I can't."

"Why not?" I asked, "You totally can. You can even start now."

"Yeah, but there's another problem," she told me, "And it's heading right towards you. Look up." I looked up and saw Lucas heading straight towards me. As soon as he hit the ground, he punched me in the chest and knocked me back. After I fell, my mouth dropped and tears came from my eyes.

"Willow, what did you do?" I asked.

"Willow, I shall now take you to the cave of the past," Lucas told her emotionless, "There you can fuse with Giygas and become the most powerful thing alive." He then grabbed Willow and teleported away. Then, I just sat there and started crying.