The Devil In You

Chaos And Despair

Suggested listening: Myrath - Tales of the Sands

When he wasn't with Hwoarang at the hospital, Jin passed his time at the Zaibatsu building, researching more about the legend which the strange old woman from the Middle East had told him about a couple of weeks before.

"When the two evil stars come into contact, the seal of the tomb will be broken and the one held captive will be released... who are the evil stars? What about the one held captive?" he was tapping on his desk when a voice inside his head became very, very loud.

-It's not a question of who... it's a question of where, Jin Kazama.

He twitched standing up, looking around in the room. -Who are you?

-No need to talk aloud... I can hear you... in your head.

"It's you, isn't it? The one held captive?"

-It is. My name is Azazel, the Rectifier. I ruled over humans thousands of years ago.

"And what do you want with me?"

-We have something in common, you and I... something you do not want, but that is immensely powerful. Something you do not understand.

"My Devil gene?!"

-However you may call it, it is part of me, it is part of you.

"Tell me how to destroy it."

-I am but a soul now. A mere shadow of what I have been. Awaken me, Jin Kazama, and you will find your answers.

"I'm not that stupid, Azazel. If you have any answers, you give them now. Then I decide if bringing you back is good or not... Rectifier."

-To bring me back, you must fill the world with chaos and despair. You will find me in the desert, in Egypt, where the young woman guarded the seal. I shall talk no more, Evil Star.

"Evil Star? If I am one, who is the other? Where is the seal? Answer me, dammit!"

But only silence accompanied Jin from that moment onwards, leaving him with more questions than before. He pushed a button on the land phone.

-Lars?

-Yes, sir.

He put him up to speed about his conversation with Azazel.

-Take a dozen soldiers with you and depart for Egypt with one of the jets. Talk to the Intelligence, they should have some rough coordinates for you to follow based on what that woman told us. Be prepared for a brutal fight, go heavily armed. Report to me as soon as you find the temple, fold back if the conflict is too much. Am I clear?

-Yes, sir.

He put the phone down, looked away, and thought "Something in common, that I don't want. If I am one of the Evil Stars... the other must be Kazuya. The Devil gene. Everything begins and ends there. I will destroy it once and for all".

//

After more than ten hours in the Jet, Lars and his small squad finally landed in the Mishima Zaibatsu headquarters in Egypt. They had some coordinates to follow deep into the desert, but he was quite unsure about the origin of the information itself. But these were his orders, and he would carry on his mission. They walked for hours into the desert, and just when Lars was starting to lose hope about finding the temple, he saw a strange dune, too square to be natural. They carefully went around it, to finally see the half sand submerged temple of Azazel.

-Mr. Kazama?

-Yes?

-We are here, in front of the temple. The seal has been opened. Do you want us to enter?

-Proceed with caution. If Azazel is there, he is extremely dangerous. Try to talk with him, extract information. If he attacks, fold back. I repeat, if he attacks, fold back.

-Copy that.

Lars signaled the others to follow him into the temple. After a couple of corridors, they were in the back of the main room. They all stopped; there seemed to be nothing. Still at attention, they proceeded in the middle of the room... and that's where Azazel appeared from literally nowhere. He was gigantic, filling up most of the space of the room; dressed like a Pharaoh or an Egyptian God, he was terrifying and his voice deep and frightening.

-Who are you, who dare desecrate my temple?

-My name is Lars and I've been sent by Jin Kazama.

-The Evil Star. He took action, just not how I had hoped.

-Who is the other Evil Star? And what happens if chaos and despair are brought to the world?

-Then I will awaken in my physical form, and I will be resurrected as a result of the sins of mankind. The time has come for me to destroy humanity so that you can atone for having brought the world to the brink of destruction. I am the Rectifier of All Things!

He then attacked Lars, who quickly dodged the hit, and ordered his soldiers to take cover outside the temple. This thing was incorporeal, gunfire would be useless against him. But he understood that, for a reason or another, Azazel couldn't leave his temple - so they would instead. He rolled away just in time to avoid another strike, then followed his squad outside, in the desert. He called Jin immediately.

-Sir, that thing is very much awake, but incorporeal. He can't leave the temple, and he said that if awakened he would destroy humanity. Is there a way to seal the temple close again and avoid his awakening at all?

-I don't think so, the temple was sealed by ancient magic and by the sands of time. Both are gone. We can just stop him now.

-But sir, how can we hit him if he doesn't even...

-We give him a body we can hit, simple.

-How?

-Chaos, Lars. Chaos and despair.