Enigma of Sin

Kayn stared into the nothingness that was all around him. He couldn't remember what happened after he saw his mother get beheaded, and now he was just floating in an endless void. Kayn closed his eyes again and his sorrow began to take over once more. He wasn't positive what happened to himself or his sister, but surely, they were now dead.

But why was he still able to think? What was this place? Maybe it was the place where your soul goes before being erased out of existence. Where you are able to ruminate on all the mistakes you've made and form deep regret before vanishing.

Kayn thought it was quite ironic, he had reincarnated just to have another chance at having a family and a better life. He swore he would protect them, but in the end, he accomplished nothing and lost it all again.

Kayn sighed and spoke aloud as no one else could hear him in this place, "I've failed again. My family, Lydia, even myself. I couldn't protect a single one when the time came."

"That's not entirely true." A soothing voice replied out of the abyss.

"Who?!" Kayn immediately opened his eyes and noticed that he was now laying on his bed much like he had in the past. Only this time it was his new room from his life as Kayn.

Looking around the room, everything seemed to be in order. All of his books were neatly organized, the desk was set just how he had left it, even his bag and new armor were sitting to the side leaning against a wall.

Kayn put his hand on his face before dragging it down while sitting up. "What was that? Was everything just a dream? If I warn them now, will it still be too late?" Kayn had many thoughts fly through his head at an incredible speed. Simultaneously he launched out of bed and was running to his desk where he kept his communication crystals.

"Ah, I wouldn't recommend that. I only replicated things here to bring you peace of mind as this place is what I could find in your memories as a comfort zone."

As Kayn heard the voice for a second time, only one thought entered his mind as this had happened once before. "Ah, so it's you again? I must have truly failed them, as I thought. Are you here to offer me another chance again or some other bullshit? Please spare me, I can't go through that again. No, I won't. Not to mention bad shit follows me around, I won't let that happen to another loving family. Please, just let it end here."

"You again?" The voice questioned before coming to a realization. "Ah! So, this is how that child did it originally huh? Connections between the soul, I can't believe he learned such a thing…"

A slight pause came after this statement before the entity continued. "To answer your question, no I'm not him. And no, I'm not here to offer you another chance, as you aren't even close to dying. Nor is your family completely gone, you did succeed in saving one."

"What?" Kayn's eyes shot open as he searched around for the source of the voice to seek out any deception. "I lived? Wait! Lara is alive? Send me back! Now!"

"I cannot do that as I'm not the owner of this space, I've only molded it in an attempt to bring calmness to your thoughts, it appears that it had the opposing effect. Knowing what you'll ask, you are the owner of this space. We are currently inside of your mind per say, more precisely your soul, but it is more accurate to equate this space to a mindscape created by your subconscious to protect yourself." The entity spoke without a hint of emotion.

"How do I wake up then? I need to make sure she's okay!" Kayn was becoming desperate. He didn't care about himself at this point, he had to make sure his little sister was okay before anything else.

An audible sigh was heard throughout the space before a holographic screen appeared before his eyes. On the screen he could see himself flying through the air with magnificent obsidian wings. His eyes were black and purple and his expression was seething with anger.

Kayn's arms were wrapped around the bag that was still strapped backward. Underneath the bag, Kayn could vaguely make out the silhouette of a baby. The baby appeared to have cried itself to sleep as dried snot and tears were visible on its face.

The screen disappeared as Kayn reached his hand out in an attempt to touch the people inside of it.

"As you can see, you're both very much alive. However, I can assure you that if you were to wake from that state now, you both would die as you wouldn't be able to control the fall. I've been patient and answered your questions, now will you listen to me without interrupting me constantly?"

Whatever was speaking to Kayn started to sound impatient. While he couldn't exactly believe the scene that was shown to him, he had no other choice right now as he didn't know how to escape this place. "Fine."

"Good! I will give you information and then an offer. While I hope you accept my offer, in the end there are other solutions to my problems."

Kayn nodded as he listened, positive that the being was somehow watching his actions from the shadows.

"As you can guess, what you inherited in exchange for this new life was the sin of Wrath. As you've noticed by now, when certain circumstances happen, Wrath will take over your body. The knowledge that you probably weren't aware of though, is that none of the power you display actually belongs to Wrath.

Wrath is not its own being, only an emotion. The power is all yours, wrath just amplifies it and forces it evolve past what you are currently capable of. Since you were inflicted with the sin of Wrath, you are naturally more inclined towards this emotion. It's honestly a difficult concept to explain to the current you." The voice spoke with a hint of mocking.

"Are you saying I'm stupid?" Kayn's asked with a dry voice.

"What did I say about interrupting me? Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that you can achieve what you've seen it do for you, without it being active. I suggest learning the skills you've displayed as they will be very beneficial for your future. Especially that black fire and lightning, something about it even stops me from perceiving everything about your situations. Honestly, if I didn't have a use for you, I would kill you myself to prevent a potential annoyance in the future."

Kayn could feel the threat coming from its words as he started to shiver uncontrollably. It felt as if he was being swallowed by the depths of the ocean.

"Now for the bad news. As you are surely aware, this power to overcome with rage comes with a price. The sins were originally created to keep things in a balance, but a certain child has found a loophole that I've only recently become aware of. Wrath by its nature will ensure that whoever it is inflicted upon will be put into situations where it can become active."

"So that means all of the horsesh-" Kayn tried to speak up but his mouth was abruptly shut and he couldn't even open his lips.

"Stop interrupting me child. Yes, most of the unfortunate events in your life are because of Wrath. Honestly, you should have known better before taking a power you knew nothing about. However, you could say this is partially my fault, though I don't particularly care. You do still have your uses, which brings us to my offer.

"I will provide you with a privilege that enables you to absorb the other sins. With this privilege you will collect the remaining six into one vessel, you, before transferring all seven of them to an artifact of my creation later down the line. Meaning you will need to hunt down the remaining sins and either kill them to take the power or convince them to give it up willingly, I'll leave that choice to you.

"I will direct you to them one at a time as you are ready to face them without breaking the balance. Meaning I can tell you a general area and a name, but nothing more. I'll warn you ahead of time that this is a long and arduous road. Two are currently residing in a Celestial World."

A long silence ensued, and since Kayn still couldn't open his mouth, he just sighed and sat down with his eyes closed. There had to be more to this than just that, as there was no benefit for him to hunt down crazy and powerful beings, especially if the sin of Wrath continued to try killing himself and his family off.

"In return, I will negate Wrath for you. Oddly enough, you're not a balanced being as I set up in the first place. I've read your memories and am aware that you were told about a potential future of your life back on Earth. Your soul has somehow been out of balance for a long time, even before receiving Wrath. I will correct this mistake and place you slightly above the balance.

"Essentially, you will still be the holder of Wrath, but it will not cause calamities for you everywhere you go. However, this also means the power will not be as readily available to you, but if you do as I instructed before, that shouldn't matter much.

"Naturally, the other sins come with their own balancing curses, so I will also negate those as they are accrued. However, the power of the sins will not be available to you. I will give you one opportunity to choose one power to use and that's it. You will devour sins and store them, nothing more nothing less.

"As a more persuading argument for accepting this deal, I will tell you one tiny bit of information. If you follow this path, an opportunity will arise in the future to correct your mistakes and erase the regret you feel currently. I will allow you to ponder this offer until this space begins to fade. Think about your options and decide wisely."

With that, the empty dark returned and Kayn was left to stew in his own thoughts.