"Worthless."
The voice of a young boy rang through his room as he looked past the glass window that dared to hide the world from him. Grey skies hidden behind a glass wall and an interior of pure gold. A boy sat amongst it all with a pile of books as his only company. His eyes were as blank as the glass window before him and lifeless like the dark clouds high in the sky of Avari.
Gold.
His eyes reflected the hue that slithered though the room like a river of life even down to the book that he held within the tiny grasp of his hands only to contrast against his dark hair closer to the feathers of a crow than the hair he had mere glimpses of the few times he could leave such a room. A rare occasion, but one he always had a thirst for.
Thirst, just like the beasts that took part in the rain that fell from the heavens; the boy also wished for something. A wish that would never be fulfilled by the books that told him materials made humans happy and how to conjure such materials to the real world.
"Avartia….to make a dream come true…."
Crystalized desires given form in reality.
Each and every day he remembered the concepts to their very core.
Knowledge.
Knowledge of Function.
Knowledge of Creation.
Knowledge of Components.
"...and a contract to awaken it."
Awaken….for nine years he awoke to the golden ceilings of his room. A room so many said he had no place in, an empty room filled with empty objects that others said any child would be happy to have within their grasp.
The boy fell back on the floor waiting for a particular knock at the door unlike any of the others from the man who gave him such a room. A man who, despite his uncaring and relaxed demeanor, treated him unlike the others he encountered behind the glass window of his room.
Treated like a son.
The son of a being whose name could rally a revolution or crush a rebellion with a whim of who held it. A Deadly Sin, one who was said to embody all the empty words he read, but didn't in the slightest: Mammon.
His mind echoed the ticking noise ringing in his ears, waiting for a chance to be free if only for a minute. Heartbeat, the boy's heart rose just like the sound of the rain beating on his window as if screaming for him to join it over and over. Pressure built around the door and the boy's golden eyes flared….only for it to be gone without a trace.
A familiar feeling.
The sensation of repetition.
He closed his eyes, sitting up to look up at the darkness laced within the sky like the energy laced within the pile of objects in his room. Reiju, energy said to be a gift to allow humans to connect with the Deadly Sins….one the boy never wished for, yet always lingered within his mind. It battled with the thoughts of why he was here, left to stay in a room to repeat the same thing over and over without end until the day came.
He didn't want to think about that day.
To repeat.
"I don't want to repeat any more."
The sound of his own voice echoed through his mind as he ran through the field outside of the castle that he was within, unaware of where he'd go or what he'd do. All he knew was he wished to go somewhere.
A place where his eyes didn't reflect the empty sky.
A place where he didn't have to repeat the same things endlessly until the day he would reborn, like the dead plants that crumpled beneath his feet just like the sound of his body when when he was forced to train and fight until the darkness overshadowed the grey skies.
The sky was dark. The boy's eyes fell upon the sight of a city in the distance. A city he never had the honor to wander within. He reached out for it like a treasure for him to have and hold, his eyes focused on the sight of the people and their mundane lives only to twinkle at the sight of them. The boy rose from the cliff he stood upon, preparing to jump towards the city, only to stop.
His hands shook and his eyes dulled.
He couldn't.
Tension.
An ever present feeling from within, but also around him like an oppressive shadow, blanketing over the light of his eyes and in turn the light of the city for him. A crawling feeling wrapped around his neck like a leash, dragging him back to his mundane reality. His ears twitched when he heard his voice.
"So this is where you were. I almost thought someone kidnapped you…again."
The man's voice was calm and careless like an ocean, caring little for what may be thrown in the wreckage of its waves if wind ever came. Mammon stood behind the boy, the shadow of his cloak surrounding him like the black sclera of his golden eyes that shimmered just like the boy's had done.
The boy scoffed at his voice, bringing his knees closer to his chest as he continued watching the people from afar.
"I can take care of myself, Mammon."
The man cracked a smile, feeling a reflection of the past being brought before his eyes yet again as he listened to the boy's voice. Unlike the heavy rain earlier in the day, the air was light and calm, like Mammon's voice.
"Yeah, yeah. It sounds like a wonderful idea to trust my nine-year-old heir with venturing the city alone after destroying his room and running away."
"Stop calling me that, it pisses me off."
Heir.
The word echoed in the boy's mind sounding closer to an omen than an honor like the few he knew told him. A word more reminiscent of "target". One that was placed on him for something he had no care for in the world. His gaze sharpened as he watched a child wander the streets with their parents with a content smirk.
"Fine...why did you come out here, Guisei."
The boy blinked, almost forgetting the name. A name he was given that he barely understood how to pronounce at times.
Geesay.
A name that feints meaning where there is none.
Guisei looked over to the sight of Mammon sitting down beside him, recognizing his surroundings beyond the lights of the city. A cliff that merely dove into the depths of nothingness, lacking something to fill the void below.
To lack.
Ketsu.
"Its empty in there….."
"You also don't find objects that intriguing, do you?"
Guisei turned his attention back to the city, leaning on Mammon's shoulder like a child would to their parent. A sigh escaped Mammon's lips, his eyes focused on the North, understanding Guisei's quiet too well.
"They only keep me company….but don't talk, or eat, or sleep," Guisei muttered.
Mammon's hand ran through Guisei's hair, it felt familiar to his own, yet so distant at the same time. His mind shifted towards the north, the shimmering sight of emerald twinkled in the distance that was able to reach eyes he believed were blind to such things only to be brought back to reality by a question.
"Mammon, it said every user of the Avaritia Codex has a dream for themselves. Do you have one?"
The man turned his gaze to the child buried in his side like a heavy weight, unaware if it was a thorn or something else. Greed, a desire that can be filled with the materialization of said wish.
"Nope."
"Why?" Guisei asked.
"Why not."
"....."
"Every person has desires," said Guisei sleepily.
"After a long time, the concept of your desire no longer matters as much. It's pointless to live based on that. Dreams, will, contract, life, death. It's all inconsequential to people like us so its better to forget childish things like that…..its easier."
"I didn't choose to live like that."
"You don't have much of one…. I can apologize for that."
Guisei's face burned from Mammon's words, he buried his face in the man's robes as if that would help just like Mammon believed his apology would, but both didn't work. They were empty.
Empty words.
Empty actions.
"You don't mean it…"
Mammon let out a sigh. His finger twisted a lock of his own hair, mulling over the idea within his mind for a moment before chuckling slightly. Unlike before, his voice was genuine, at least when his voice met Guisei's ears.
"You know me too well for a nine-year-old."
The tears seemed to stop at the hint of warmth within the Deadly Sin's voice.
"You're too easy to read for being hundreds of years old."
Guisei felt Mammon's hand brush the black hair that covered his golden eyes. Their gazes met each other. A moment in time felt like it lasted forever as Guisei took in the sight before hearing him.
"How about this? If you can kill me, then you'll be free of me forever. How about that?"
"Why?"
"I'm a gambler, Guisei. So, I'll wager my life in exchange for yours."
Guisei closed his eyes to the lights of the city, embracing Mammon's warmth, careful to remember the bet he made with the demon that was closer to a father than anything else. A childish chuckle left his lips as he drifted back into the world of dreams to await the next day he'd repeat.
"Sure."