"Get these off me," Jack said as evenly as his temper would allow. Phillip continued to stare like a sad puppy, as if the cold priest were somehow the restrained one here.
"Jack, you know I cannot do that. Our work here is done, we leave today for the capital," Phillip said, the loyalist crusaders hauling the drunken bodies of their comrades into wagons.
"They will die without us - you cannot abandon the innocent and call yourself a servant of a benevolent god, Phillip!"
Phillips cold eyes flared with the slightest flicker of hate as he stared at Jack. His face contorted as if Jack were a mewling man sized leech.
"Do you even hear what your saying? The instance the people of this town accepted the aid of that evil soul the gods vacated the land. Tariak belongs to the heretics now, and while I can't force you to grow a spine I can at least save you from falling into the same decadent activities that will only make your path back to becoming a Templar that much harder!"
"Templar...?" Jack hissed, his muscles burning with effort as he pulled at the rope binding his wrists. "After all that has happened, you still think I want to be a Templar?"
"Jack, without the Three you are nothing. You were raised from an orphanage for the Everseeing's sake! An unwanted child taken in by the church, we forged you, we created you and you have no right to turn your back on the destiny that you were made to serve. Open your eyes, it is not too late to return to the warm arms of the church. Our aside your doubts and your desires, renew your faith and become pure again."
"Purity...such a strange word," Jack chuckled , feeling something bubble within him. Somthing strong, somthing powerful.
"Jack, calm down," Phillip said carefully, "I'm going to out you to sleep now and then-"
Roaring Jack stood up and with a burst of strength pulled at the thick cord. In moments the band's snapped, and Jack was free.
A crusader attacked, but Jack stepped aside his fist and through the crusader into the air. Another swung, but Jack hit his arm down before sending the crusader tumbling to the side.
Leaping forward Jack grasped Phillips throat before he could whisper his prayers and grinned an inch from those cold eyes.
"Phillip....what is this?" Jack giggled, the power flowing through his body like waves of hot magma. His hair bristled and curled, his eyesight sharpened and his ears felt keen as a razer.
"You...need...to sleep..." Phillip gurgled, cold eyes still staring at Jack with a laser focus even as his face became bloated and purple.
Slowly Jack pulled his hand away, but the power rushing through him was too great to contain. It urged him to act, to fight to die and be reborn.
"My little Templar, how naive you are," Phillip whispered as his eyes went wide. Unblinking he thrust Jack's hand aside with surprising strength, great gleaming grin spreading across his face.
"Phillip?" Jack blocked a wicked Fast strike, Phillips arms contorting wildly before stretching out again to lash Jack across the side. What should have barely registered instead left Jack howling with pain on the floor, the insane strength of the strike near inconceivable.
"Stay down foolish boy, your coming back wether you like it or not," Phillip hissed, slapping Jack back down when he tried to stand.
"How can you understand what is best for you? I made you - me! You are a Manic just like I am, and if you are not properly trained through the church then all that potential will be wasted along with the rest of the mediocre humans out there!"
The next slap was thrust aside, Jack managing to fling a lunch that sent Phillip blasting into the ceiling.
"What is a Manic, WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ME?" Jack howled, the dusty built he had woken up in shuddering, before a blast of timber erupted from the wall and Phillip sent Jack tumbling through another wall.
Fast strikes dotted the old walls with holes, the crusaders running for their lives as the pairs battle became increasingly wild.
"[sleep]!" Phillip cast.
"[Goldenheart]!" Jack countered, the blessing slipping away against his immovable will. Jack jumped forward and slamned his fist into Phillips braced arms, pmbashing them aside and leaving a gap that Jack could send his full power through.
"I AM FREE!" Jack screamed as he punched alongside a rush of wild wind and fiery mental energy that blasted Phillip out the window and down the street where he landed in a crumpled heap.
Getting up slowly, Phillip was pulled up by one his his crusaders. Those cold eyes stared at Jack even as Phillip pulled his shattered jaw back into position and spat out a mouthful of blood.
Jack prepared to continue the fight, yet they were interrupted by a distant tolling if bells. Soon the bells were followed by the blaring of horns and the whale of women and children.
The streets became flooded with peasants rushing to hide in the Golden Goose Guild and fighters heading to their battle stations. Through the commotion Jack had lost sight of Phillip, and yet this burning power continued to flow.
Grunting, Jack picked up his sword that rest against a nearby chair and hurried off. His men needed him, and with this power, perhaps he could finally be strong enough to be worthy leading them too.
He'd have to watch his back though, now that Phillip had shown his true colours Jack did not think he would give up on restraining Jack again so easily.
No, while his freedom had been hard won, it would also be harder to maintain. But breathing in the flesh air of morning as I'd for the first time, Jack felt it was all worth it.