“Barricade the front entrance! There's a monster in human skin approaching.”

  Azrael shouts to the nearly seventy people of ages ranging from young adults to old men. Inside the Thanasian estate’s main building, he believes himself to be in control.

  He glances back, seeing all of his underlings place everything they can find, from tables to books, in front of the locked door. He goes to his room, moving his bed and going down a trapdoor beneath it. At the bottom of the ladder, he turns around.

  In front of him is a small stone chamber, dimly lit by a luminous, yellow crystal suspended from the ceiling by a short length of rope. To the left is a large pot, and to the right is a bed, table and chair. Sitting on that chair with a book in front of her is a young woman, smiling smugly at him. He glares at her and speaks.

  “Do you have something to tell me?”

  “She’s coming for you. Your twisted experiments and research are finally catching up to you.”

  Azrael’s eye twitches and he punches the woman in the face with a shout.

  “We revived you; we control you!”

  He grunts and shakes his fist, not even having left a mark on her pristine features.

  “I cannot help but find it endearing that you consider yourself so much greater than me. Even with the leadership of both today's and my era's strongest, there was never a possibility of success.”

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  Several seconds of silence pass before Azrael begins to chuckle, which eventually turns into laughter. The woman watches with a raised eyebrow as he manages to collect himself and he says, “You could have done so much more for us, Athanasia, but it seems your second chance has come to an end. Good riddance.”

  He places his hand on her shoulder and infuses a little bit of soul energy. Slowly, her eyes close, and she leans forward, resting her upper body on the table. Azrael sighs, turning around to climb the ladder once more.

  Halfway up it, he begins to hear some noises. He stops to listen, and he hears a particularly violent thud. The ladder shakes slightly from whatever impact occurred. He grimaces and shakes his head, descending back to the stone room.

  After a few moments, he decides to look through the open book on the desk. It is full of both drawings and writings, but one catches his eye.

  “Ultimate soul control spell?”

  He rubs his chin and looks to the unmoving body.

  “If you think yourself so skilled, then perhaps you will be overcome by yourself.”

  He grins and reads the instructions written below the diagram of a soul, placing his hand on her shoulder once more.

  Finally, he completes the last step. Athanasia’s eyes open and she sits up.

  Azrael says, “Raise your right arm.”

  She raises her right arm.

  “Stand up.”

  She stands up.

  “Answer me. Who are you?”

  “I am Athanasia.”

  The man’s features light up and he pumps his fist in the air, cheering. He kicks her in the stomach, pushing her back into the chair.

  “Do you have any opinion on what I just did?”

  “No.”

  He smiles and says, “And so, what do you think of me?”

  Athanasia returns his expression and, after a moment of silence, speaks.

  “I think you truly are a fool.”

  She raises her hand into the air holding a small orb and crushes it.

  A huge wave of life energy surges through the room and Azrael yells, “What did you just do?”

  “Astraea is now on her way. You have failed.”