Experiment.

Out of the seven sins capable of consuming a person, wrath is, without a doubt, the most intense and most common, but also the most fickle. After all, anger is such a simple emotion. Betrayal, injustice, insult, contempt, scorn… Objectivity goes out the window and all that matters is personal perception. The moment a person feels wronged, it gives rise to anger within them. Every single person walking this earth has felt it. And yet, why is it that Higher Spirits attuned to wrath seem so rare to the point no one has ever seen one?

Higher Spirits are, in essence, aether creatures whose nature has become one with their power. Their nature feeds their power and their power enables their nature. To ascend to such a state, the being’s life must have revolved around that singular purpose. Sloth and envy are said to be the most common type of Higher Spirits, as living life with those feelings permanently inside oneself is all too common. Greed and gluttony come in a close second for similar reasons. Lust is common, but easily sated. Few could truly live a life dedicated to the pursuit of carnal pleasure without growing fatigued or bored. Pride is fragile, easily shattered. To live in the pursuit of perfection is a sisyphean task that some seem cursed to live with, yet one that fewer ones seem to embrace. But wrath? Wrath is too intense a feeling to live permanently with. It exhausts both body and mind in minutes. Anyone is capable of an outburst, to feel such hot fury that the world becomes a blur. To live with such anger as a constant companion, however, is nearly impossible. Indeed, whoever was able to carry as unstable an emotion as that in themselves constantly would be someone to be feared.

As far as it’s known, the real world has never seen a Spirit of Wrath, and the Aether Realm has only ever seen one. For a mafia boss that wants the seven spirits under his control, that is simply unacceptable. If the way a spirit ascends is known, then it can, in theory, be replicated. Anders Smith is but one of many attempts at forcing the evolution of a spirit.

He was once just a normal citizen. A 42 year-old man with a wife and daughter, unaware of the existence of the supernatural much like everyone else. He worked hard as a delivery man while his wife worked as a kindergarten teacher. His daughter was already a senior in high school, contemplating her options of universities. Anders did not look forward to the day she’d leave the house, but knew it was inevitable. His girl was smart, after all. Be it law or medicine, she’d be the best of the best regardless.

It was how it was supposed to be.

There was no warning. It was just another day, one in which Anders came home just a bit later than usual. He parked his van outside the house and walked inside, only for an awful stench to his nose. Blood and more. His senses going on full alert, he rushed around the house and found the two women in the living room.

They were both on the floor, their clothes torn and their bodies battered and bruised, unmoving. It was pure cruelty. The mess in the living room spoke less of a burglary and more of a struggle. Fallen chairs, broken. Shattered vases. A few spots of blood on the carpet.

Despair. Crushing, all-consuming despair. Anders tried to scream, but his voice wouldn’t come out. He fell to his knees next to his wife and daughter, staring at their lifeless bodies. They weren’t just killed. It wasn’t quick and painless.

Who?

WHO?

It was the perfect mindset.

That was when he made his entrance. A man in a black suit, short black hair, small and sharp eyes behind frameless glasses and a strong, firm build. He walked into the gruesome scene with his hands behind his back, his steps calm and slow.

“I apologize. It seems I arrived too late to stop this,” he said.

Anders, hearing an unknown voice, snapped. He rose from the ground, turned around and rushed at the man in the suit. Anders is a big man, standing at 2 meters tall and with a bulky upper body. He would’ve considered himself strong, so he went at the man in the suit with the intent of grabbing him by the collar and lifting him up. The size difference was enough that it should’ve been easy. But the man didn’t even budge.

Anders grabbed the man’s collar and pulled, but his feet didn’t leave the floor. In fact, he remained calm, looking up at Anders with cold calmness.

“You!” Anders growled. “You know something! Who did this!?” His loud voice cracked and tears began to run down his cheeks. “Who did this to my family!? WHY!?”

“There was no reason,” the man said.

“Ah?” Anders was stunned, and his grip on the man loosened. “What…?”

“I have been trying to catch this man for a while, but he always eludes me. There is no real reason for his action. That is, beyond the fact that he gets off on it. I’m sorry to say, sir, but your family was simply the victim of bad luck. There was no grudge here, no ulterior motive. They just happened to be the next victims of a monster.”

“...”

Anders’ felt his entire body burn. His eyes and mind both saw red. Without thought, he raised a heavy fist and brought it down on the man’s face. Again, he did not budge. Furious, devastated and confused, Anders once more fell to his knees. His body went numb and stiff from how hard she was shaking.

The main in the suit reached inside his pocket and brought out a small, white, crystal-like stone. “Don’t worry, sir. We’ll find the one responsible. Hold onto your anger until then. When we find him, you’ll be able to pay him back tenfold.”

Anders was the 17th and latest attempt at creating a host. The spirit he was given was the 17th attempt at forcing an ascension. Whether or not it resulted in success, it would at least provide more information.