Before he could reply, the shadow chuckled and said, "That guy with invincibility was my second Paragon. I made a terrible mistake choosing him. I thought he would become very powerful with my help, but it turned out invincibility didn't like external influence. His ability fought back against me instead of absorbing the potential I had to offer. Please tell me I didn't make a mistake with you."
Kelvin replied with pride, "I got Power Shifting."
The shadow exclaimed, "Oh, that's a good one. I should have expected it since your first ability was shapeshifting. What are its requirements?"
Kelvin considered it for a while before replying. "Something about stealing the destiny of others."
The shadow became excited. "No, it is a great ability. It doesn't have a lot of power now, but it will become formidable in the future. We just need the opportunity to grow it."
"I think I can do that if I get a job. I already plan to do that. This way I will be able to get money, grow my ability, and also grow my reputation."
The shadow nodded enthusiastically, "Let's do that. But don't count on that last one. You run the games as a villain. Villains focus on kill count, while heroes focus on fans. Reputation will do you very little good."
"I know. But it can't hurt."
The shadow agreed, "That it can't."
Kelvin decided to leave his cozy borrowed apartment to find some work. He made sure to change how he looked first. He was glad to see that his tattoos disappeared as well as his odd look.
So it was a normal human that left the apartment. He wore a hoodie just in case. The shadow followed him along the way.
He asked it as he entered the elevator, "What's your name anyway?"
"I am Wrath of Icon. But you can call me Wrath."
"Ok Wrath. I hope we can do great things together."
He doesn't trust Wrath, but he has very little he can do about it. For now, he intends to go along with it and find out more information.
Wrath, on the other hand, didn't appear to have the same misgivings as him. It didn't even seem to have any misgivings.
It said confidently, "I'm sure we will do great things. I can already tell that escaping my prison was not a waste of my time."
"A prison? What prison?"
"Some demigods captured my last wielder and sealed him in a prison designed to trap me. My wielder died but I didn't escape. I let them think they had captured me. I'm sure they are fighting over me right now. They probably think one of them stole me."
"Fighting demigods? How soon ago didn't you escape?"
"Immediately after your game."
Kelvin remembered the video of the fighting demigods. It made him gulp uneasily.
But he overcame his fear to ask, "Do the demigods want you for a second ability too?"
"No. What they want is much bigger. They need me to fuse the other rings. That way they will be able to create a Pantheon and become gods. Or at least what will pass of as gods on earth."
"Unfortunately for them, unlike the other rings, I have a voice and strict requirements for my wielder. They couldn't force me to do their bidding. And apparently, they couldn't imprison me either."
Kelvin was tempted. He said in consideration, "Hmmm. These other rings, I'm guessing that getting them will give me more power."
Wrath laughed. "Of course you will get a lot of power. With the ring of energy, for instance, you will have infinite energy. You will never tire and will be able to use all your abilities without rest. You will be unstoppable."
"However, since it is so powerful, whoever is in possession of it currently will also be very powerful. If they are demigods, then you're screwed."
Kelvin chuckled. "Right. I should forget about them until I become a demigod."
"Don't be so glum. You have a chance. There's this guy who calls himself the Patriarch. He is in possession of the ring of the soul. He has been killed several times but would always return. Only the Paragon can kill him permanently, so you have a chance."
"If you kill him and take his ring, you will also become immune to death. You will have very little to fear apart from other divine weapons and artifacts."
Kelvin almost couldn't believe his ears. He shook his head and said, "It truly is a small world."
Wrath asked, "What do you mean? Have you met him before?"
He replied, "sort of. Why haven't my predecessors gotten him, though? He is strong, but he is not invincibility or teleportation strong."
The shadow replied, "The problem is twofold. The Patriarch is a powerful Null-Class super. He is also a trap for the paragons. So he is a difficult-to-kill bait meant to trap any paragon that goes after him. That's how my last wielder was captured."
Kelvin chuckled with mirth. "I'm not surprised."
"That makes two of us. But my previous wielder was certainly caught off guard. He had intangibility and disintegration. He could move through walls or demolish them with a touch. He couldn't be harmed while he could deal devastating blows to whoever he managed to get close to and touch."
"He thought he was invincible. He thought he could catch the Patriarch off guard by sneaking up on him. But the Patriarch was too powerful. He lost his abilities when he got close to the Patriarch, and the rest is history."
Wrath smirked thinking about it. "Maybe the Paragon with invincibility and reflection could have taken on the Patriarch, but certainly not intangibility and disintegration."
Kelvin asked uneasily, "So there are demigods always watching the patriarch."
"Yes. They will nab you immediately you show up to kill him."
"Doesn't that mean there is a demigod in New London?"
"Where's that?"
"Where we are currently?"
"Is the Patriarch here?"
Kelvin replied feeling melancholic, "Yes. He was. He was killed three weeks ago."