Ariel looked around, and the four Reaper Wraiths looked at her and her allies.
Weber glared at all of them.
"Grasp of the Unmourned," Weber said, but didn't touch any Wraith; a large aura appeared on them.
"This can end more peacefully," Ariel said, taking a step back, then she ashened when she saw that only she and the green-cloaked man were left.
"Where did the others go?" Ariel murmured as the Wraiths started walking toward them.
The man nodded. "No idea."
He summoned tens of thousands of monstrous knights, and they ran toward the Wraiths.
The Wraiths vanished, and everyone noticed Weber hadn't moved a muscle.
But every time a knight got close to him, its head was severed with impeccable speed.
Current Weber squinted at the sight and looked at the guardian.
"What was I doing?" he asked.
The guardian kept his eyes fixed on the battlefield. "Using your Wraiths differently from how you do. Look closer."
As Weber narrowed his eyes, he noticed there was still a Reaper Wraith in front of him tirelessly chopping any monster that came close.
"But that's not even the point," the guardian said, pointing at the man who summoned the knights.
Ariel looked at the summoner, who was crying black tears as he screamed and rolled on the floor.
Ariel gaped and stretched out her hand to help him, but her hand was taken, and her feet lifted off the ground.
"Stop—" Weber tightened his grip, and she grumbled.
As she tried hitting him with the other hand, he caught it.
"Know your place," he said and let go of her, then slammed her down to the ground too fast for anyone to see.
"Did he even touch her?" Charlotte asked the guardian.
"That's the thing with his power. Like ghosts, he doesn't necessarily need to do things in the physical realm that can be seen," the guardian replied.
Current Weber watched in silence as he saw his past self hit Ariel without hesitation.
"Guardian, this is all too confusing. Why should Ariel and I try to kill ourselves in the past?" Weber asked, stomping his foot on the ground and shouting.
The guardian only looked at him without saying a word.
Current Weber watched as his past self watched the green-cloaked man crying black blood and rolling on the floor, as a black flame began consuming him but he wouldn't die or burn.
Ariel tried getting up, but an invisible weight stopped her, increasing in density by the second.
"Stop, or it'll worsen," Past Weber said.
"What are... you doing... to him!" she said, coughing as she struggled to breathe.
Past Weber only looked at her as the weight on her increased, then they heard a bone snap, and Ariel's legs stopped moving as she screamed.
But Past Weber only looked without emotion; then a tear dropped from his stone-hard face.
Current Weber gasped at the lack of emotion.
"Show yourselves!" Past Weber said, and the three other Wraiths he summoned clawed at the green-cloaked man, but they didn't have physical impact.
"They're destroying his soul..." Charlotte said, looking at both Webers, sweat on their heads, skin pale.
The current one was just as shocked, while the past one watched without a twitch of emotion.
The Wraith that made sure no knight touched Weber was revealed to have its scythe pressed on Ariel, which explained the weight she was feeling.
"I think I'll stop here before she dies—" the Wraith said with a crisp voice, then Weber shot it a glare.
"I didn't say that. Now, increase the weight," Past Weber demanded.
Current Weber gasped and tried running toward the scene, but the guardian held him back.
"Don't try and stop it," it said, and tears dropped from Past Weber's face as Ariel screamed until they heard another bone snap.
This time, it was her spine.
The guardian started cackling as Ariel screamed.
"You want to save what's too late? What YOU did? You will get what you want all the time, regardless of price," it said, Weber glaring at it.
"That's not how I am!" Current Weber roared.
Then the black space above flashed white, and Past Weber smirked.
"So you've come seeking death."
Figures of marble, with aura expanding the size of planets, descended, their glare enough to melt a normal person.
"Return the Queen, or the earthly wars will never stop," one said, clad in armor like the rest, but with a cape and a lance instead of a sword.
"Who said I want the earthly wars to end?" Weber said, and the figures shuddered at his words, then stood their ground as Past Weber used Wail of the Abyss.
Then the world turned into smoke, and Charlotte, the guardian, and Weber were back in the living room of his house.
Weber knelt down, and Charlotte saw drops of tears fall from his eyes; his breath was loud and shaky.
The guardian looked at Weber in silence.
Charlotte took a step back as she sensed an ominous energy coming from him.
His hair turned white, and he looked up. "How is any of that helpful? This only puts more pressure on me!"
He yelled and clasped his hands together, going down on his knees.
"Please! Tell me how to no longer have this power! I don't want to have it anymore!"
The guardian looked at him without a word. He stormed out of the living room and saw a dagger on the table.
Charlotte looked at it, then her eyes and Weber's met.
Weber rushed toward the dagger, and Charlotte ran as well.
Weber pointed the dagger at her. "Leave me alone!" he yelled, and Charlotte took a step back, gaping as he pointed the dagger at himself.
"Josh, I'm sorry I can't save you, because I'm a monster," he said and stabbed himself.
"Don't!" Charlotte yelled, and as the blade pierced Weber's chest, it didn't hit him, as it vanished.
"How..." Weber looked at the floor, around the room, and his hands; the dagger was gone.
Then he noticed the dagger was in Charlotte's hand.
Charlotte was sent aback as she saw it.
"Foresight's influence is slowly growing," the guardian remarked.
Weber glared at it. "I said I quit as Wraith Keeper. I'm not doing any saving anymore when I can't save myself!"
The guardian looked at Weber and brought down its hood, revealing a familiar face.
It looked like an older version of Weber, but different.
"Do what's right. Regardless, little guy," he said.
Weber squinted at him.
"Why do you have my face? How are you my Wraith?"
The man flicked him on the head. "You told me to do this. Pretend to be this way. It was what I could give you as the older brother that wasn't around to help you."
Weber's heart sank.
Then his brother started dissipating. "Had you been strong like before, you'd strengthen me now. But showing your past took up all the power that's left."
He said, and Weber gasped and activated Grasp of the Unmourned, but it wasn't working.
"You can't fill an ocean with particles of water," he said, then smiled. "Meet Mother. She'll tell you how to build a great house with even just a little."
He vanished, and Weber was frozen. Tears rolled down his eyes as he screamed, causing the whole city to shake.
Shinto was driving and heard the scream and felt the shaking—it was all too familiar.
Somewhere out there, the Wraith Keeper was present.
And he was angry.