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ꓷⱯ 888⇂

"I am not what happened to me, I am what I choose to become."
~Carl Gustav Jung
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He knew what he did.

He remembered everything.

Michael carefully stood up, his eyes never leaving the butchered woman. There was nothing left to distinguish her by. He gagged, but nothing came out. Behind him, the lion kept its distance by the door.

"I couldn't stop myself." He muttered, each step he tried to take only made him stumble. "It felt natural, Set. Like I had to, I needed to."

He fell to the floor and landed in more blood. He wanted to stay in this position forever, never to stand or move. The haunting memories of what he had done invaded his thoughts and only worsened the pain.

"I killed them all. I can see it all so clearly, it was me." He continued to mumble to himself as he caught a glimpse of Set walking towards him.

The lion stood by him and placed a paw over his head. "Get up."

"Why couldn't I stop myself?" He ignored the lion.

Set growled and slashed his face with pure aggression. He yelled in shock, only for Set to place its paw against his head again. "Get up!"

Michael finally obeyed. He gradually stood as half his face bled from the attack. His eyes looked back at the woman beside him. "Jesus. I- I'm sorr-" he couldn't even speak without stuttering.

"We must leave now." Set stared at him, its patience seemed incredibly thin. He had never seen it so angry before.

"What about that Valerie woman with the dagger?" Michael whined. "Was she immortal? Where else did those goats come from? I don't understand what's happening!"

That only frustrated Set further. It roared ferociously in his face which only made Michael stagger back.

"Quiet!" Set stepped back and looked around the room. Michael didn't speak again in fear of what may happen. He watched the lion ponder in its place until it turned around and faced him.

Suddenly, it charged at him. He barely had time to say anything before Set leapt forward. Instead of being pounced on, the lion phased into him. Michael fell backwards and landed with a thud. But he didn't stay in that position for long. He was still in control of his actions, now with a whole surge of confidence that flowed through him. He knew what he needed to do, and he felt unstoppable.

Like a machine, he leveled himself back onto his feet. Michael looked at himself in a mirror atop the woman's desk. The gash across his face was turning transparent. His own body regenerated, and his strength returned to him, only tenfold.

He walked to the bedroom door but then stopped. Instead of opening it, he locked it and turned back. The window would serve as a better escape route. He shoved the curtains aside and tried to pull the window up, but it was stuck. In a fit of rage, he punched the sill with enough strength to break it.

Upon raising the window and climbing out, Michael stumbled into a peacock. 

He could hear and see Set's own thoughts, and even it was startled by the sudden animal that watched him from the center of the street.

Michael carefully stepped to the side while facing the peacock. A faint aura emitted from it, light blue in color as its colorful feathers shined brightly. But as he tried to turn away, he tripped over his own footing and fell to the ground as another shadow loomed over him.

A pig's low oink worried him and Set. Michael tried to regain control of his own body, but Set resisted his presence and stood up quickly. He ran around the pig, though he couldn't get quite far. With Set's help, he should have sprinted faster than he normally could, but something slowed him down.

A tickling feeling froze his veins as he looked at his right arm. Slithering over him was a miniscule snail. He tried to fling it off, but it stuck itself to him. It became the least of his worries however when his senses shifted and his eyes darted upwards.

The deep rumbling of thunder growled from the pitch black skies. But much like he had seen before throughout his ancient life, the sky changed hue as it emitted a scarlet-like color. Every time he had seen the climate's color change like that, he braced for a hellfire of flaming arrows. But it never came, rather this was an unnatural cause. The clouds turned bloody.

"Set?" Michael could finally speak aloud as his sin continued to control him during the ensuing chaos.

Suddenly, a toad plummeted from the sky and smacked against his head. He cursed and threw it away as the returning goats bleated from behind. He was surrounded by animals, but he counted five of them. The sixth animal would have been Set, who was still inside of him. Only one more remained to make seven.

"I understand now what is happening." Set spoke to him internally. "This is temptation, Maalik."

Michael didn't respond. His gaze was rather focused on the seventh entity ahead. The last animal was a snake, but this one was different from the others. It being a cobra wasn't what surprised him, but rather its size is what terrified his soul.

This snake was more than just colossal. It broke the limits of what he thought were possible. The cobra's jaw hung open as its tongue hissed loudly. But inside its jaw was none other than the moon itself.

It towered above him from space, its size galactic in scale as its red eyes were fixed on him.

"Set!" Michael yelled in terrible distress.

"Your creators call for your return. If you allow them to take you, your immortality ends."

"What if I want that?"

"You are not yet ready. It is a trap!"

Michael's left hand burned for the first time in centuries. The glowing inscription of the sun boat lingered. Even now, after all this time, he had no idea what it meant.

The ground beneath him no longer resembled London's cobble roads. Rather, his surroundings brightened as reeds sprung from the earth. It felt and looked familiar, from an ancient era he had nearly forgotten.

"You must awaken your wrath again, Maalik! It is the only way to reject their false offering."

"You don't get to dictate my actions from here, not after what we did." Michael stared down the cobra that inched its way closer to him. Despite being so far away, its slithering tongue nearly reached him from the stars. "You possessed me and I followed my instincts, and it led to all of those deaths. I want no more of it! I want it to end!"

The ground shook as more reeds sprouted. All the Victorian buildings crumbled, as windows shattered and walls cracked. Everything felt real, he touched the reeds and continued to watch all the animals stand before him. But something growled from behind all of them.

It sounded like a crocodile, but what approached him left a horrible thud with each step it took.

"Ammit comes for you. If she catches you, your soul will be tortured forevermore. Do not let her consume you!"

"What difference does that make? I've already experienced that eternity, it cannot faze me."

The steps loudened as they closed in on him. Michael tried to see what it was, but it still hadn't appeared yet.

"You are making a mistake! Though I should not be astounded as all you have done throughout your existence is repeat every error that led you here. You have had two thousand years to recognize your faults, and yet your first and last resorts will always be murder."

"This was beyond my control!" A deep pressure built inside of Michael. "I did not choose this path!"

"Yes you did. You knew what you did in the end, and you wanted it. You would blame anyone but yourself. And now that you have the chance to escape from the consequences, you choose to take it despite having no conception of what awaits you."

"You know nothing about me, Set."

Finally, the monster made its presence known. It leapt over from behind the reeds and looked at him from afar. Its head had the form of a fearsome and hungry crocodile, with jaws slightly ajar and drool dripping to the floor. Its furry torso was identical to that of a lion, its heavy paws cracked the very surface of the ground it crawled over. Finally, the bottom-half was a hippo's, wide, purple and slouching downwards.

It was faster than he gave it credit for. Every step shook the earth's foundation, and Michael stood tall.

Set then spoke before it could reach him.

"I know you are weak, Maalik. Rather than facing Aisha after breaking her, you chose to paint yourself a hero by chasing strangers in a desert. She died carrying that knowledge."

Michael formed a fist. The pressure within him grew exponentially, until he couldn't contain it.

"You are responsible for every manmade tragedy that has ever come your way. The natural ones such as Pompeii were deserved."

Moments before the creature could lunge at him, Michael's anger erupted from his lips as a powerful, unfiltered scream of pure rage emitted against the world around him.

The creature leapt at him with a widened mouth as its crocodile-jaw snapped shut against his chest.

Michael's vision turned pitch black.

The horrible screeches silenced, and the world came to a halt.

Within the void, he could only hear a faint and muffled shower. He shivered, and his eyes opened.

He looked up at a stone ceiling. His back arched forward, and he found himself lying atop a cobble floor.

He carefully stood, studying his surroundings as he realized he was inside of a ruined tower. A glance outdoors showed long fields of green grass, and a foggy sky that drizzled in light rain. It was a place he recognized, and upon stepping into the open world, he turned and saw the cliffsides.

It didn't look like Hell, which was where he expected to be if his immortality ended. Everything he had seen felt like it had been a nightmare. Standing amidst reality, he breathed in fresh air to calm his nerves.

This was Ireland. The Cliffs of Moher, a place he often visited each century and had a home in. Sitting atop the grass and watching the waves crash below was Set. They were two-hundred meters above the Atlantic.

Michael quietly approached the lion. The anger inside of him had gone. Instead, he sat beside Set and looked at the ocean ahead as the rain softly accompanied them.

"Why did you bring me here?" He kept his gaze forward.

"It's amongst the only few places on Earth that keeps you at peace."

"It's cold." The crisp and cool air startled his spine as he shuddered.

Without thinking it over, he leaned against Set and felt his fur. The lion didn't resist, and he kept still as Michael rested his head against Set's body.

"Is it over?"

"The creators are gone. They will return when you are ready to begin your journey."

"I don't understand how much longer I must live for until they deem me ready."

"Time is not only what they track, but moreover, your willingness and discovery."

"Alright Set, no more riddles. Just tell me what needs to be done."

"There is a vessel you must find, and it will help guide you towards fate. There will come a time when everything ends, and you must be prepared for when that day comes. I'm prohibited by my creators to aid you in this quest, hence the importance you find this vessel."

"I assume the vessel is the solar barque I see on my hand. I've searched my home for it but I've been unable to find it."

"You will find it. Then we face the creators together."

"Did they come for us because of what I did?"

"They came because I crossed a boundary I was never meant to traverse. I took control of you to help you escape, and they noticed. You can use me at any given time, but I can never do the same to you."

Michael paused momentarily as he enjoyed the warm and fuzzy embrace of Set's fur. His hands wrapped around the lion.

Set spoke again. "While you faced Ammit, I bathed you outside a church with a hose and discarded your bloodied clothes into the sewers. It is what we did after each murder to hide any trace. You are lucky the suit you regularly wore was popular amongst men, which allowed me to steal a new outfit from a neighboring home each time. I did it to protect you, though you do not deserve it."

"I'm sorry."

One of Set's paws touched him.

"Tomorrow is a new day, Seti. I do not want an apology."

"Then what do you want? What do they want from me?"

"They are judges. You and six other sinners were chosen by your gods to test the limitations of human spirits should they reject death. You are an experiment, and you will be rewarded or punished based on your actions."

"I've been punished enough, but my actions; the women-"

"You cannot change what has already happened."

"Can you tell me if Valerie was immortal, or do you not know?"

Set paused.

"There were three Immortals in London on that night, one of whom was you."

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Historical Notes:

Of the several murders taken place during this time against female prostitutes, only five were linked to Jack the Ripper. All the murders were committed within a mile away from each other.

A map of the Five Canonical Murders

There were over a hundred suspects in the Jack the Ripper case. Numerous theories hint that the Ripper may have been a police officer, a doctor, an upper class citizen, or multiple people altogether. The possibility that Jack the Ripper had a cult of several killers committing murders in his name is a widely popular theory.

This chapter was initially written in 2021, long before the confirmation of the Ripper's identity in early 2025. Though scientists claim to have discovered the Ripper's true figure, some historians are still doubtful as they say some of the evidence doesn't match the timeline or forensics of the case.

As of now, the Ripper's true identity is still considered a mystery. But scientists claim the real man behind the murders was a twenty-three year old Polish immigrant named Aaron Kosminski.

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