V.I.R.A.L

"What do you want, Adam?" Zinnia whispered weakly, slowly raising her head to see the man before her.

Bargaining squatted down with a firm grin. "Your execution happens tonight; the whole Garden will be there to witness the death of Zinnia Trost first hand. They're putting on quite a show for you. The method is quite interesting as well. They plan on using the last few worms of the Garden to eat away at you."

"Worm of the Garden?"

"The Gardeners and chosen few Stages reborn from death. Through the logic of the One, they continue living to feed on the weak and unworthy. That is what our logic is even in death; we are one with the Garden. I've never seen the execution happen before, so it should be fascinating to watch. The worm starts off eating away at your memories until there is nothing left, then it consumes your mind and willpower. Once it's all over, the only thing left of you is an empty husk left to rot away forgotten. When that happens, I'll take your Stage and claim it as my own. So, tell me, Zinnia, do you still believe Alton will come and save you?"

Zinnia gave it a long thought before shaking her head. "No."

"So, you finally understand how this works. You've only been here three days, and that's enough to break you. I see even heroes have limits; ooh, it must be what a month up there? Your so-called friends have given up on you. But I suppose that's a given. They are only human."

"Why are you here? You wouldn't come here just to rub in my defeat, Adam…."

"You're right. I suppose, if you're going to die tonight, it's only fair, I tell you everything." He stated, standing up leaning against the trunk of the Titan. "I'm going to tell you the truth about Alton and myself. Are you listening?"

"I don't want to hear it…."

"Don't be like that. This is important." Bargaining poked at staring up at the Titan. "Did you know this was the first-ever Titan conceived? Created by the first Gardeners a million years ago, it still stands the dawn of time as the only Titan standing. Nothing can penetrate this creation. But Fairy-Tale doesn't think like that. They see themselves as the pinnacle race that cannot be bested in power. Unlike the Stages of Grief, we aren't chosen. The ten Judgements are born; you could say we're profits destined to act out the will of our people and rule overall. My sister and I were born as the eighth and ninth Judgements nearly 8000 years ago. The birth of a Judgement is seen as a beautiful thing and something to celebrate but two. That's nothing more than a miracle. The first few years was simple, easier. We would help humanity, and the Garden build and grow. However, things soon changed when a new Gardener came to power. He was far more ambitious and bolder than any other we saw previously. The Judgements weren't pleased by this so much. In fact, One acted out of desperation, forcing us into a bloody war with the Garden out of fear of them overtaking us. The war ended up splitting this planet in half, creating the continents you see today. At the end of it, Fairy-Tale won, and the Garden was banished into the dark and empty dimension we see today."

"Why didn't anyone do something about it?"

"People tried…. A few Judgements acted out of line; three and seven tried to overthrow One to stop the fighting. That only ended in their destruction. A new three and seven were born not long after, and no one was left to oppose him. Eve and I trusted One and knew no difference, so we acted out his rule. But after the Garden was sealed to this dying world, it seemed to all be over. And for thousands of years, it was. That was until One saw the Garden as a threat once more. He had learned of this race's logic of the one and saw competition again and wanted the power for himself. So again, the Ten Judgements were thrust into a world of chaos, looking to end the Garden for good. So nearly 1000 years ago, we both were sent here. To infiltrate the Garden and learn of this logic and harness it for ourselves. It wasn't long before the Gardener at the same Stella discovered us. We expected execution for what we were doing; instead, we were shown sympathy and compassion. So much so Stella granted me the Stage you see today. She was truly unlike anything we had ever met before Stella changed our view on the Garden. So, we turned our backs on Fairy-Tale and worked our ways up to help the Garden set itself free and return to earth."

Bargaining turned around, staring out of the Titan overlooking the wasteland, slowly rotting away with each passing second. "But as you can see, things didn't exactly go to plan. Some weren't happy with Stella's pacifist peaceful ways. Taking in us was the tipping point and Anger, a human, was the final nail in the coffin. The two Depressions turned on Stella killing her and consuming her powers taking on the logic of the one and becoming the Gardeners you see today. Eve and I weren't very shocked seeing it coming from a mile off, but the events affected the others badly. Acceptance and Denial took a while to come round to their ways, while Anger never quite got over it. But, of course, we weren't left off unpunished. Still seen as a traitor and spies, The Gardeners used my own weakness against me and forced the final Stage of Grief into Eve…."

"Salvation. How?" Zinnia whispered. "I thought you had to collect all the Stages to even have the chance of harness that Stage." 

"That still holds true. The Stages of Grief are manifestations of our old Gods passed down to those seen as worthy by the Gardeners. They pick and choose who has what with little repercussions. Because of that, Salvation is easily given to anybody when they seek fit. However, without the other Stages, Salvation is nothing more than a plague that eats away at your soul and mind until there is nothing left. Thankfully since Eve was a Judgement. she could hold out longer than most. Even so, without it being removed, the only way that could happen was to have the Gardeners do it or gather the Stages yourself."

"Salvation's Calling…. What is it?"

"A Deus ex Machina, you could say. Harnessing the full power of the old Gods and the logic of the one, you could do anything. See it as a wish with no limits. You could bring back a loved one from the grave, take away all powers from all the Anti-Humans, create life with the snap of your fingers. Erase Stages from someone…. Or rewrite reality. Salvation's Calling is the ultimate weapon the Garden left behind and what One is looking to wield himself."

"I thought Fairy-Tale was meant to govern and protect the other races? Why is One so fixated on crushing it under his foot?"

"One is a power-hungry tyrant. He doesn't like others having more power than him. He wishes to rule all worlds forever; he wants to escape death overcome life you name is One wants it. Because of this, I was backed into a corner. I couldn't turn to Fairy-Tale, nor could I rely on the Garden to save Eve. So instead, I took matters into my own hands and hatched a plan, and it all started with Alton…. He was just a simple boy when I found him in the Garden. Training to become a Stage of Grief, he wished to be free from the chains of Fairy-Tale and, alongside his friends, dreamed big. It wasn't until I discovered he was a Child of the Garden that my plans shifted towards him."

"Children of the Garden, they are immune to the power of the Garden and the Stages, right?"

"You're absolutely correct. But, unfortunately, they are the mistake, a spanner in the works for the Gardeners. Most of them are killed at birth, but a few squeezes through their fingers. Alton was one; he would be the ultimate weapon to be used against the Garden. Even us Judgements aren't immune to the Garden's powers, so I needed to find someone who was. Alton fit that bill, so I made sure Eve got close to him. We acted as his friend waiting for the right moment. Once it came, we poached him from the Garden and took him to Fairy-Tale, where we made him the final Judgement. Ten."

"Wait a moment, you said Judgements weren't granted but born. So how did Alton become a Judgement then?"

Bargaining smirked at this squatting down again, leaning forward. "It's simple, really. We forced the Judgement onto Alton by killing him. Doing so wiped all his memories of the Garden but still kept his special qualities in check. He was a Child of the Garden and a Judgement of the Ten, the ultimate weapon on my behalf. He shared my hatred for this race more so than anything else. A weapon like that could best any Stage. Alton's mission was to collect all the Stages of Greif for myself, and once that was done, I would kill him and take Salvation for myself and free my sister."

"You would allow Alton to kill thousands, ruin his life among countless others just so you can save your sister?! Then what, what happens after then?"

"Who knows. None of it will matter anyway. With Eve free, we will simply leave. If you and the Garden want to destroy each other until there is nothing left. So be it; I don't care."

"And what about Eve? What does she think about this plan of yours?!"

Bargaining tapped his head, chuckling. "If you think you can get inside her head and make her stop me, think again, Zinnia. She is dedicated to the plan and knows my only interest is to save her. We've spent hundreds of years acting out this plan. So, once you're killed, I will sweep in, take your stage, and move onto Depression and Alton. Nothing will stand in my way."

"They don't know. They don't know you've stolen Denial…."

"And they won't have to. Before the Gardeners know what's happening, it will be too late. Salvation's Calling will be mine, and nobody can stop me. If I recall, you wanted to be a hero like your parents, right? Well, with your death, you will be saving my poor sister, so you can relish in the fact you're living up to that name."

"What if this plan doesn't work? Alton doesn't seem too keen on helping you. What you've done is nothing more than signing your own death warren. Alton will not stop until Fairy-Tale, and the Garden are both destroyed."

Bargaining turned around, leaving. "It's simple then. I just got to make sure I kill Alton first. I'm two steps ahead of him that I can ensure you. These past four years have been fun; Zinnia, you, just like your parents, are pathetic creatures who are amusing to watch. But this is the end. Farewell, daughter of the legendary heroes. Say hello to them for me."

Zinnia curled up, staring at the ground, whimpering to herself. "He can't get away with this…. I have to stop him no matter what."