This time he came in his true form, and Zibar’s eyes narrowed.
A cursed demon said to resemble Agaroth in his earliest days ..
a demon with three terrifying crimson eyes and a grin splitting his face from ear to ear.
"Wesker," Zibar said, naming his counterpart as the two stood face-to-face.
"I didn’t expect you to come in person anytime soon," Zibar added, feeling the pressure of standing before him.
This present copy carried only half his power ..nowhere near enough to face Wesker.
And Wesker looked exactly as he had nineteen years ago, as if it had been only yesterday.
"You’re not wrong. I don’t intend to appear in public... not yet."
"What are you planning this time?" Zibar asked, genuine curiosity in his voice. Wesker shook his head.
"I would have told you .. but you’re a failure who just suffered a resounding defeat. I see no point in informing you of anything." Wesker laughed loudly, circling Zibar.
"I told you plainly, didn’t I? I told you to bring your main body, and you disobeyed .. sending a pathetic copy instead."
At Wesker’s taunt, Zibar didn’t seem affected at all ..which only proved he was used to Wesker’s whims and tricks.
And since both were among the Top Ten, Zibar showed no submission before him, even with the gulf in their strength.
"Yes... I remember you said that. I assume it was based on what your King’s Eye saw, wasn’t it?"
Wesker nodded. "That’s correct."
The King’s Eye could see fate and the future; he had likely known Zibar would face the Shadow Sect’s fighters and had been fully aware of their strength.
That was why he ordered Zibar to use his main body in the fight .. but Zibar ignored the order, and it cost him.
"Forgive me, but that eye of yours hasn’t been very reliable lately. As far as I know, it’s colliding with a world-breaking ability of the same kind, isn’t it?"
Again, Wesker nodded. "Also correct. But I can still see beyond the scope of the likes of you, Zibar. You should have listened .. instead of returning with your tail between your legs..."
Wesker pressed, mocking. Zibar answered at once:
"You seem to enjoy ridiculing me .. even though you, too, suffered a humiliating loss to a human in the past. Wesker, do you think I don’t know what really happened?"
Wesker laughed louder. "Well... you’re not wrong."
"We don’t have much time to waste," Zibar said. "The world is convulsing, and the King.. together with Crimson .. refuse to move."
With that, Zibar stepped forward until he was shoulder to shoulder with Wesker.
Both were towering .. figures fit only for nightmares.
Darkness wreathed them as Zibar’s violet eyes met Wesker’s blood-red ones.
"Since I possess the Soul of Reincarnation, I’ve sent thousands of copies of myself roaming the world .. to feel out any wave that might rise from nothing one day. And I can say with certainty: what’s coming is a tidal wave."
"Wesker... your presence will be necessary. Whatever play you’re staging this time, you’d best wrap it up quickly."
Wesker shook his head in reply.
"So long as the King does not summon me, I see no need to return. Marvas is more than enough there in Helmond."
"I knew you’d say something like that..." Zibar sighed, walking past him.
"That Frey Starlight .. what’s his secret? Why are you so obsessed with him?"
"Why? Has he caught your interest, Zibar?"
"..."
Zibar paused and looked up at the sky.
"This world has begun to forget the terror of demons. The races gained their freedom after the King withdrew, and many warriors have appeared .. said to stand at the level of the Seven Great Powers."
"The Great Ones themselves have begun to move strangely, after leaving no trace in this world for so long."
As he spoke, both his and Wesker’s eyes fell upon the vast birds sweeping across the heavens ..
the Chaos-Eaters, counted among the Great Ones.
"They say their stirrings are paving the way for an ancient calamity... a disaster the ancients feared . and even the King said little about."
"I think such a calamity deserves far more attention than chasing the remnants of Nameless, who’ve become mere ghosts of what they once were," Zibar said with a smile, turning back to Wesker.
"For that reason, I won’t be following your instructions anymore. I’ll join the war of men myself."
In that moment, Zibar stated it plainly ..he would step out of the shadows, threatening to upend Wesker’s plan.
"Frey Starlight ..I want to see his true mettle for myself."
Zibar’s personal involvement would hasten the end, without question ..or so the Rank Ten demon was counting on.
Even as a copy bearing half his power, he still had enough to crush any human.
By moving now, he was directly defying Wesker ..and so he expected a reaction.
But the fourth-ranked demon made no move.
"Seeing that this body of mine is still intact... it seems you truly intend to watch to the very end."
Wesker nodded.
"Do as you like, Zibar. You’re free to interfere as you wish."
From the start, Wesker’s smile hadn’t shifted .. and that made Zibar laugh aloud.
"You... you predicted this from the beginning, didn’t you?"
At that, Wesker’s King’s Eye flared .. and Zibar’s certainty deepened.
"Perhaps I did, perhaps I didn’t," Wesker said. "What matters now, Zibar, is that I need you to take care of a few tasks for me before you do what you intend."
He stepped closer.
"That’s why I’ve appeared before you today."
"What kind of tasks?" Zibar asked, wary. Wesker’s smile widened.
"The dirty kind .. the sort only demons would commit."
Far from the world’s sight, Wesker spread his poison .. his courier none other than the Rank Ten demon, Zibar.
And Zibar, for his part, showed his readiness to join the War of Darkness .. a warning of a shattering catastrophe looming on the horizon.
The second half was destined to be more chaotic than ever before... and darker than any age that had ever passed.