I was Leon, an ordinary fifteen-year-old boy. I lived in the foster-care system for the vast majority of it, though, so grew up changing schools every year. Changing schools so much had left me friendless, isolated from every school.
Being isolated, admittedly, led to me being targeted by bullies. I was a pushover, not returning any hits nor insults. I was even targeted by other bullied kids for them to gain social status.
My caregivers were no different. Some just wanted the money that came with caring for parentless children, and others longed for compliments from peers on how awesome they were for doing such a charitable deed.
'What an abysmal existence. All I do is read fantasy novels and have orgies for one.'
My thoughts were as such as I walked home from school, my body full of bruises once more. I walked along the streets, the buildings along each side casting shadows onto the sidewalk. The darkness I was walking in matched the darkness which engulfed my thoughts.
'Is it too much to want something? Too much to want to be able to fight back? A friend? A loving family?'
I could feel my jaw clenching to fight back tears, my thoughts getting the best of me. I looked into the sky, trying to force gravity to pull my tears back into my body and taking a deep breath before I sprinted forward.
Almost as soon as I had stepped onto the road, I felt a large thump on the right side of my body. It was sore for only a moment before going numb, and I was launched, crashing into the road and scraping my body all over as I tumbled.
'What happened?'
My thoughts seemed to lag, not registering what had occurred. I attempted to stand, but none of my body responded. I saw the dark grey tar of the road, and nothing else. I heard a hushed, yet worried voice call out.
"Hey, buddy," it growled, a thick hand accompanying it, "are you okay? Why the fuck did you run out like that? It's not my fault," the man stuttered continuously as he attempted to justify the accident.
'You fucking asshole. You massive… fu…. a…'
My thoughts died. My vision blanked. My hearing was muted.
Nothingness.
I stayed in that nothingness for a while, staring into the abyss as it stared back. I thought nothing as I floated in the vacuum. I had nobody and was only a consciousness floating amidst the void.
[You have died.
Do you wish to be reborn?]
'What?'
My sense of confusion as the message appeared in front of me was unmatched. White text that seemed brighter than the sun sat in front of me. The message it had was straightforward, and I had already worked out what it meant. I knew I had died, but an overwhelming sense of calm had overridden the usual panic.
[Would you like to be reborn?]
'Like in the novels?'
[Yes.
A world similar to the ones you have read about exists.
Do you wish to be reborn to Aerth?]
'Is there magic?'
The question seemed to force its way to the front of my thoughts. It was only at this moment that I realized that the words were reading my thoughts.
[Yes.
Aerth has magic.]
'Then yes.'
[Beginning Rebirth Process…]
I stared at the message, anticipation filling my mind as I wondered whether I was going to be reincarnated. Thoughts of how the new world's magic worked circled in my mind. Skills? Incantations? Magic circles? Would I be able to adventure? Learn swordsmanship and kill magic beasts?
[Rebirthing Process Complete.
The host will now be reborn.]
As soon as I finished reading the words, I was instantly transported… somewhere.
A cave? The high ceiling, stalactites, and moss all around were all showing signs of cave life. I took in the sight of the dark rocks surrounding me, with only the slightest licks of light piercing in from above.
[Host has now arrived on Aerth.]
I smiled slightly as I heard the voice in my head, but I noticed I was no longer able to see the subtitles. I stood and took note of how pale my body was. Thin, pale arms pushed against the cave's floor and aided me to my feet. My torso and legs were also as pale and thin as my arms.
'Why am I so pale?'
I forgot that every thought which was phrased as a question seemed to cause the system to reply, and let out a low, muttered curse as it began speaking in its angelic voice in my head once again.
[The host has been reborn as a 'Sin', Envy.
Being Envy causes the host to become a Leviathan.
You are currently in the Leviathan's humanoid form.]
I admired my body once more. The revelation that I was a 'Sin' had shocked me, sure, but the sharp, black nails that decorated my fingers had me engrossed more. I raised my two hands to my head, in an attempt to sweep my hair to find out its color.
As I went to run my rather gorgeous hands through my hair, though, I felt a bump. I furrowed my brows, trying once more to fix my hair. The same bump could be felt again. It was small, and curved as I ran my hand along its scaly-textured, hard surface.
'What is this?'
[Horns.
All demonic creatures have horns.]
I could feel my face light up as I realized I was truly in a fantasy world. I avoided the horns this time, and pushed my shoulder-length hair forwards, causing my world to once again become engulfed in darkness. Obsidian black hair.
It was only after a few more moments of enjoying the smell and serenity of the area that a thought occurred.
'Are there other Sins?'
[Yes.
Wrath, Gluttony, Lust, Pride, Sloth, and Greed are all present on Aerth.]
'Are we the bad guys?'
Although the thought was childish, I had to know whether I was able to reveal my true identity to others or not. As I was finding out more information from my system, I walked around the cave, running my hands along the bumpy walls as I admired the new surroundings, the fact that I was on a different planet still setting in.
[Although 'Sins' are the rivals to the 'Heroes', the 'Sins' are not necessarily the evil ones.
However, 'Sins' are seen as harbingers of destruction and misfortune. This is because many royal families are descended from or led by 'Heroes'.]
'What a fucking drag' was all I could think as I sighed aloud. I decided that I had seen enough of the cave, and it was time to depart. Before I departed, though, I decided to attempt something.
'Fireball!'
Nothing.
[The host has not devoured the skill 'Fireball' yet.]
'Devoured?'
[Envy has one Unique skill; 'Devour'.
Devour allows the host to consume all skills from any dead entity.
These skills are then scaled to the level of the host.
All 'Sins' are capable of using 'Transform', but each has a different form.]
'Level? Devour? What level?'
[To see your level and current stats, close your eyes.]
I followed the order eagerly and almost opened my eyes from shock when I saw a game-like board ingrained onto the inside of my eyelids.
[Name: Envy.
Species: Leviathan.
Level: 1
Magic Skills: Devour.
Physical Skills: Transform.]