Chapter 110: Sin
"Hey... HEEEY!!!"The Holy Knights were intrigued and turned to the origin of the voice calling for them.
"Uh? Master?" The Holy knight with a mustache said as Candace reached them.
She leaned on her knees, trying to catch her breath.
"Aaah... Aah... Darn legs... Too short... phew..."
"... How are you tired? Did you battle someone to get here?" A blond knight with elegant long hair asked.
"Something like that Angel... What are you all doing here?! I felt Gluttony left, what's going on?!"
She calmed her breath and wiped away her sweat, all of a sudden, she was ready to go again.
"Can't you tell by the energy? Things went south." Peters said looking above.
Candace massaged her left shoulder with a concerned expression.
"Yeah, I remember that sensation... But it wasn't that bad last time... The Sin is awakened."
She clenched her fists and gave a furious gaze to the Holy Knights.
"The Queen left long ago, how could you let the situation get that bad? You guys are idiots."
Agharita, with a sad expression, put a hand on her chest.
"I understand, you're right to blame us, but at this point, we could only rely on a miracle. We have wasted too many opportunities."
"And your bet was a Sin forced to awaken? Your miracle was to give power to something that you've seen being hostile. Something with the potential to rival Pride and the imbecile fossil? I shouldn't have trained your bodies but your brain !"
"Master, I'm not asking you to understand our choice, I'm more aware than anyone about how stupid it sounds, but just for this one time, everyone, please trust me. What I'm feeling right there... isn't something we should deal with."
She raised her gaze to the Rift growing louder like a gigantic thundercloud.
Candace groaned and jumped on Peters' back.
"M-Master?!"
"Quiet! You bunch of pansies! Get me to him now!"
"But Agharita..."
"Avatar order! Jump! Now!!!"
Peters flinched and looked at his comrades, seeking help, but their gaze clearly conveyed that he was all alone at that moment.
With Candace holding firmly on his neck, he sighed and vanished in black mist.
At the top of the building, Elizabeth stepped between Dora and Midgard.
The snake woman shook her head slowly.
"It's pointless to try to reason him Ely, there is nothing left of Dora in that thing."
Elizabeth gritted her teeth and gave a furious gaze to Midgard.
"What are you even saying? The awakening isn't completed if you don't die, so that means that Dora is still there! How could you give up on him?!"
Behind them, Peters and Candace appeared. Oblivious of the situation, they walked slowly toward them.
Midgard fixed Dora with emotionless eyes.
The boy put a finger on his bloody cheek and narrowed his eyes.
"How troublesome... We don't need that audience right now and we are on a thick schedule..."
Peters summoned his spear and took an offensive stance.
"Elizabeth, don't get close to that thing, there is nothing human in this."
"... What are you saying? This is Dora, the... The awakening isn't completed, there is still a part of Dora in him!"
Dora shook his head and sighed, amused.
"Half of us want to proceed to the next part quickly, but the other half really feel offended... Tell them, Player, tell them who we are. We're growing tired of telling the same story."
Elizabeth, Peters, and Candace looked at Midgard confused, the girl kept her eyes on Dora and showed a smile.
"I have seen the System, Elizabeth. It may be true that the awakening is not complete, but I have seen Dora... What you call Dora being erased. A Sin Avatar is made of two parts, the Sin, and the Avatar. The Player enters the game later but basically, the first opponent of an Avatar is the Sin. The case of Greed is special, I already told you, Sloth. You should know what I mean."
Candace frowned and her fists began to shake.
"... How many percent are left?"
"Zero."
She flinched and looked at Midgard in disbelief.
"What?... No... This... Midgard, are you..."
Her eyes began to twitch and she looked at Dora.
"You... How come... how... I... This must be a joke..."
Elizabeth and Peters looked at each other.
"What exactly is going on? This percentage is... You once said something about this... regarding Dora, what is the situation here?"
"Ely, you need to learn to pay attention... Dora is... ugh... it's complicated."
Midgard rolled her eyes and stepped forward.
"Not really. Greed's ability consists of dividing his soul into 4 "sub-souls" which he calls Personas. Each one has a specific character trait and area of ??expertise. When Dora gets teasing and makes fun of you, he's usually a Persona called Sigma. If he's cold and violent, it's Gamma, if he's friendly like a good dog, it's Beta. There are other forms when he mixes his different forms, but the first three are the most important, they are what we call Anesidora".
Elizabeth turned to Dora, trying to understand what she had heard.
"The problem is, each of them has a percentage of their existence in them. Right now, all three of them are at zero, so the only conclusion is... that the Anesidora you know is dead."
The group was plunged into deep silence.
They looked at Midgard, eyes wide.
A sinister laugh rose before them.
Dora facepalmed and giggled.
"That's an interesting way of putting it... We will say that you're not stupid but provoking us. We won't deny it, we aren't human at this point, and we never have been, in any universe. But... in this world, you're the one acting crazy. Tell us, do you think you are the normal one between us?"
"I think none of us, outerworlders, have their place in this world." She smiled mockingly.
"Hm? How bothersome... And here we thought you were an amazing person, but you're just as delusional as them."
He put a hand on his chest.
"Tell us, what makes us Anesidora? We have our memories, even beyond this life. We did everything the way we wanted it, the System, the very representation of our will. We followed it even knowing the consequences. Those names we gave to our crimes, kill points, experience, a simple way to hide the uncountable bodies behind us, we overused them. We made sure that no day could be spent without respecting our blood contract. We had the choice to never do it, but we did it, we had the choice of leaving a normal human life, but we rejected it. We chose the power, we chose the numbers, we got excited by the infinity and even when we reached a limit, we kept going. Over and over, before knowing you, before going into the Rifts. Our stats points, attack, mana, stamina, have you ever wondered why they are like this? Why not tenderness or calm? Do you want to know why? Because Anesidora is not built to be a human. We... Are... A Weapon, we are the footprints in the pool of blood, we are the burst of joy when a foe becomes a corpse. The will that keeps this body moving, this is us, this is all of us. All of us inside any of you... We are the Sins."
He spread his arms and looked up at the Rift-choked sky.
He closed his eyes, a profound feeling of satisfaction filling him.
But a cynical clapping of hands took him away from his daydream.
He frowned and lowered his gaze, facing Midgard and her smile.
"Wow, incredible, you sure love to put on a show, Sin, did you get that from Sigma by any chance?"
She looked at her fingers and smirked.
"Oh, where are my manners? I forgot to congratulate you, Sin, you managed to take over the body of a human, this is a great feat... for a parasite."
Dora lowered his hand and his smile disappeared.
"Are you mocking us?"
"Hm? Oops, sorry, please calm down, your Gamma is showing, I was just an idiot... an ideological idiot even, like Beta."
She crossed her arms and passed a finger over her lips.
"By the way, I'm curious too, what is your oldest memory?"
She gave a teasing smile to Dora who remained silent.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm just troubled by something you said. You keep saying that you are all Anesidora, but then, how come he existed before you even appeared?"
"Hm?"
"Use the memory you've stolen, if you're every personas, then You didn't awaken during the undead Rift, but during the day Dora's persona got consciousness, the day of his adoptive father's death. In that case, where were you before?"
She put a hand on her hip and looked at the Rift.
"I know I was somewhere before, and unlike you, I can prove that this body is mine. What's about you? Your memories? Your greed? The only thing you possess here is the concept of your power, you're just a parasite, and this is the proof."
She turned to Candace.
"If what you say is true, then where is the Sin the Sloth? How come she kept her humanity despite her nature? Or even better, what happened to the Sin of Gluttony? Pride? Why is it a human who is in control? You guys are weapons? The embodiment of something? Oh... no, there's a good definition for you in the dictionary: parasites."
She lowered her head and faced Dora with a sad expression.
"This is not a curse to not have been chosen by a Player, even if you can't fight, Candace. You're not a failure, you are the strongest Sin, you are human. Keep your head high."
Candace's eyes shone, but not in a white color as usual. Her vision became blurred, and transparent.
Soon, warm drops fell to the ground.
She delicately touched her cheeks, surprised to see how much she could cry in a single day.
Dora closed his eyes with a little smile on his lips.
He tilted his head to the side and when his eyes opened, the white black and his irises shining yellow.
"You're annoying."
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