"Ichijou, you need to tell me everything that happened two years ago,"
As Ichijou's eyes meet mine, I sense a hesitance in his demeanor. His gaze flickers away briefly, filled with a mixture of anguish and uncertainty. But then, he begins to share his story with me.
"Two years ago..."
Ichijou's POV
I found myself abruptly thrust into this world, awakening to a reality that felt more like a dream. Everything appeared unfamiliar, foreign. In my confusion, I couldn't help but wonder if this was some form of afterlife. My last memory was the sorrowful expression on my father's face as we stood in the hospital.
But here I was, lying in the midst of bustling streets in a distant city, surrounded by curious onlookers. Their expressions ranged from shock to awe as they laid eyes on me.
Then came the whispers—'Sinner.' I struggled to comprehend the meaning behind the word. It wasn't until later that I learned it signified something more profound: we were hailed as the saviors of this world. Or so it seemed, at first.
I was brought to see the king of the ruling Kingdom I was in. I realized at that moment, I wasn't the only one who came into this world.
There, I met few other people from our world who looked as confused as I was. The king spoke of a prophecy bestowed upon them by their god. Some embraced it without question, while others remained skeptical.
We were presented with artifacts, said to be weapons only a Sinner could wield. Each of us was tasked with choosing one of the seven artifacts.
The king imparted knowledge of Karma, explaining its significance and how we could harness its power according to our desires.
The people I met soon became my friends. We were put as a team by the king to fight against the Devil's army. Day and night, we trained ourselves and preparing for the upcoming battle.
Weeks after we came here, we were soon contacted by a mysterious voice known as the Calling. It urged us to gather with other Sinners from across the globe, promising answers to the questions that plagued our minds.
We didn't question what's the voice was telling because we knew we could learn every bit of information about how we were brought here if we met with the other Sinners.
Without hesitation, we embarked on our journey, driven by the hope of uncovering the truth behind our arrival. Upon reaching our destination, we were greeted by a sight beyond comprehension: countless Sinners congregated in one place.
It became clear that we were all victims of the Pixelation, a phenomenon that had transported us from our respective worlds to this one. We numbered in the hundreds of thousands, hailing from diverse regions across the continent—Elven, Dwarven, even the demon's territory. I tried searching for you, but it was fruitless. You were never to be seen around.
The common thread among us all was the Calling's directive—to gather at the Sinner's Gathering. Yet, not everyone shared the same understanding of our purpose. Some were oblivious to the prophecy, questioning the necessity of participating in a war that seemed unrelated to our existence.
"Why would we want to sacrifice our lives to fight in the war?!" they argued, voicing sentiments of frustration and disbelief.
Their skepticism struck a chord with many, myself included. To be reborn into a new world only to face the prospect of death in a distant conflict felt unjust and futile.
With diverging opinions among the Sinners, tensions quickly escalated. Some chose to stand and fight, while others opted to pursue their own paths, abandoning the cause altogether.
In the aftermath, those who remained faced the daunting task of organizing themselves, dividing into groups to tackle various challenges and seek truths about this unfamiliar world.
Months passed, and news began to spread of rogue Sinners wreaking havoc across cities, abusing their newfound powers for personal gain. The looming threat of war grew ever closer, casting a shadow of uncertainty over our makeshift alliance.
A second gathering was convened in an attempt to address the escalating chaos brought by the rogue Sinners. However, those who pledged to seek truth about this world never came, leaving those who remained to grapple with the mounting challenges alone. Everyone was up on their feet when there are fewer people at the gathering compared to before.
Amidst dwindling numbers and growing uncertainty, a decision was made to distinguish ourselves from the rogue Sinners by bearing a mark—a symbolic gesture to signify our allegiance to our cause.
But as the day of battle arrived, hope waned in the face of overwhelming odds. The Devil's army descended upon us with unrelenting force, plunging us into a relentless struggle for survival. I watched my brethren died around me each day.
The number of Sinners at war massively dropped as they were killed during the battle. Despite our valiant efforts, it became painfully clear that we were no match for the might of the enemy we faced.
From the day of our defeat, Sinners are no longer considered the savior of this world. Our failure showed to those who count on us that we're just no more than fake heroes.
Specia of Ruina decided to accept their fate and waited for the next wave to hit them. Over time, Kingdoms and nations all over the world slowly crumbled by the attack from the Devil.
For me, I choose to not fight anymore. My mind was filled with rage and hatred against the Unmarked Sinner from that day onward. If they were to fight alongside and not terrorizing other people, we would have the chance to win the war.
Since that day, I have made up my mind. These Unmarked Sinners have no right to live. I went to every corner and depth of the world, hunting those Sinners down.
**Back to Kiseki's POV**
"Which is why I'm here now," said Ichijou to me.
As Ichijou finishes recounting his tale, I'm left reeling from the whirlwind of events that have happened in my absence of the past two years. It's a lot to take in—all the struggles, the battles, the losses.
Before I can voice my thoughts, Ellisa bursts into the room, tears streaming down her face as she unleashes her frustration on Ichijou. "Ichijou! This is all your fault! Dad told me I couldn't go anywhere without your supervision from now on!" she said. Their dynamic is intriguing, and I can't help but wonder how their relationship came to be.
Ichijou swiftly has his hand pushed against Ellisa's forehead to stop her from punching him,
"You little buffoon! Han wouldn't be mad if you just stayed at home the entire day!"
"So, care to explain how you guys met?" I asked them.
"Well- it's kinda a long story..." Ichijou said to me.
"Make it short then," I swiftly replied.
"Let just say she saved me the way she did to you," He answered.
Puzzled, I press for more details, "Saved you?"
"A few months ago, I was chasing down one of the Unmarked Sinner who's been terrorizing Fairdrift. We had an intense battle, and I almost died." He explained to me,
I can't help but burst into laughter at the irony. "Hahahaha! How the hell can you lose to a random Unmarked Sinner? Your skill when we fight back then was crazy!"
"I- didn't lose to that person, though." Ichijou's embarrassment is obvious as he averts his gaze.
Perplexed, I prod for clarification. "Eh? Then, what do you mean that you almost died?"
"I almost died out of hunger." His admission leaves me in stitches.
The absurdity of the situation strikes me, and I can't contain my laughter. It seems even the mighty Ichijou is not immune to the pitfalls of his own obsession. "Hahahaha! You're fucking kidding me, right?"
Embarrassed by the fact that just happened and explain to me even further,
"I was too obsessed in killing those Unmarked Sinner to the point that I disregard the need for money to buy myself some food."
His humility only adds to the humor of the situation, and I find myself laughing uncontrollably at the sheer absurdity of it all. Despite the trials he's faced, Ichijou remains true to himself—a relentless warrior with an unyielding spirit.
"Are you done?!" He bellowed with a tinge of anger in his voice. I nodded, suppressing a grin, and he resumed his tale.
"Ellisa found me on the side of the road when she was on her way back home. She was worried about my condition and decided to bring me back with her."
"Han was pretty shocked when she brought home a stranger at first. He was nagging all over the place until he eventually believed that I'm not a bad guy."
"Since then, they let me stay here as long as I want. They provided me this room you're staying in right now for me to sleep and food for me to eat. Of course, I didn't take it for free! I helped them around the place whenever I'm not hunting the Unmarked Sinners,"
I smirked at his tale, which only seemed to rile him up further. "Wipe that smirk off your face!" he snapped.
"Sorry, couldn't help it! Hahahaha!" I chuckled, dodging his playful attempt to wrestle me onto the bed.
Eventually, he settled beside the bed, Ellisa observing us with curiosity evident in her gaze.
"Do you guys- know each other too?" She asked.
We both looked at her and replied, "He's my best friend."
Despite our affirmation, she still seemed perplexed. So, we decided to enlighten her about our shared history before our arrival in Ruina.
"Woah! So Sinners are basically from another dimension?!" she shouted,
"Well, more or less. Depending on how you look at it," I replied.
Ichijou abruptly interjected, diverting the conversation. "Anyways, when we were fighting back then. What is actually your Karma?"
Perplexed by his inquiry, I responded, "What exactly do you mean?"
He elaborated, "You know the basics about Karma, right?"
"I suppose? All I've grasped is that Karma varies for each Sinner," I replied.
"That's correct. Karma gives your artifact a set of unique skills based on your characteristic. Like for me, my Karma is called 'Leadership.' I can command my weapons or others at will and use it to either strengthen myself or people around me," He explains while summoning his sword and showed it to me.
Ah, so that's how he managed to nullify my weapon during our skirmish. Understanding dawned upon me as I responded,
"I- actually don't know what's my Karma is. I didn't get the chance to learn about them nor using it."
"Wait, wasn't the abilities you showed to me back then was your Karma? The one where you pull out different kinds of weapon." He asked,
"Nope, those were just my artifacts," I replied.
He appeared taken aback by this revelation, hastily asking,
"Excuse me?- so when you were asked to choose which artifact you want. You took all of them?!"
I shrugged nonchalantly, replying, "More or less,"
"So when we fight back then, all you did was summoning different artifacts here and there?!"
"Yup," I affirmed bluntly.
Ichijou hung his head in disbelief upon hearing this. "I never knew you could do that. So you still haven't learned a single thing about your Karma?"
"Mhm," I glanced at Ellisa, who was sitting there eagerly absorbing our conversation.
"You Sinners are so cool!" she yelled,
Ichijou turned to me, asking, "So, what's your plan now. Specia of Ruina already gave up on fighting. There's nothing for you to do left rather than wait for Devil's next attack."
"I'm not sure. There's still so much I want to uncover about this world. Aren't you curious about the disappearance of the Sinners you sent to uncover the truth?" I challenged him.
"There's nothing to be curious about, Kiseki. They either deserted like the rest or met their demise at the hands of monsters," he replied dismissively.
"I believe there's more to it than that," I countered.
He just sighed and said, "Suit yourself then. But you need to at least learn how to use your Karma. This world isn't as easy to go around as you may think. There's danger lurking at every corner of this world. You will get killed in no time with the skills you have at the moment."
Interrupting him with a smile, I stated, "And that's precisely why you're joining me."
"Wait- no way! I'm not gonna waste my time doing that kind of nonsense!" He declined,
"But you're already wasting your time hunting down the Unmarked Sinner," I pointed out.
He argued back to me, "I'm not wasting my time on that! They brought chaos all over the place! I'm just doing my part to clean up the mess our people made! By annihilating them,"
"Well, up to you then. I'm not gonna waste my time trying to convince you to come with me either,"
He flinched, realizing he took the bait. There's no way he'd let me venture alone.
"Now, will you excuse me? I need to get some rest and heal up as quickly as I can. So I could go on with my adventure." I said, laying my head on the bed.
"Fine- I'll come with you," he grumbled angrily.
"Oh, what's with the sudden change of heart?" I replied.
"I'm not gonna let you get yourself killed with this stupid idea that you have! Besides, you're right. You need someone to teach you how to use your Karma eventually," Ichijou responded to me.