**1 year ago**
Kazekabe stood in front of the old, creaky house, its windows dark and its facade blanketed in ivy. The air felt heavy, laden with an unsettling stillness that sent a shiver down his spine. He took a deep breath, bracing himself as he pushed open the heavy wooden door, which groaned in protest. The inside was just as eerie as he had imagined. Dust motes danced in the weak shafts of light filtering through the grimy windows, casting long shadows on the walls. The air was cold and musty, filled with the faint smell of decay and something unidentifiable, something that made the hairs on his neck stand up.
As he moved through the narrow hallway, the floorboards creaked ominously beneath his feet. He couldn't shake the feeling of being watched. Every corner seemed to harbor unseen eyes, every shadow seemed to shift and pulse with a life of its own. Old portraits of stern-faced ancestors lined the walls, their eyes following him as he passed. He shuddered and quickened his pace, eager to find the source of the unnerving atmosphere.
In the center of the house, he found a small room that looked like it hadn't been touched in decades. The room was dominated by an ancient, dusty desk, and on it lay an artifact that immediately caught his eye. It was a small, star-shaped object, its surface covered in intricate patterns that seemed to glow faintly in the dim light. Curious and drawn to it, Kazekabe reached out and picked it up.
The moment his fingers closed around the artifact, the house seemed to come alive. The lights flickered, and a low, rumbling noise filled the air, growing louder and louder until it felt like the walls themselves were vibrating. Kazekabe clutched the artifact tightly, his heart pounding in his chest.
Then, without warning, seven clouds of colored smoke burst from the artifact, swirling around him in a dizzying dance of hues. Each smoke had its own distinct color and scent, filling the room with a kaleidoscope of sensations. Kazekabe stumbled back, his eyes wide with shock.
From within the swirling smokes, he heard voices, overlapping and echoing off the walls. "Wait, you can see us?" one voice said, sounding surprised. Another chimed in, "This has never happened before!"
Kazekabe, barely able to keep up with the cacophony of sounds and sights, stammered, "Who are you? I don't see anyone, just smoke!"
The voices fell silent for a moment, as if in contemplation. Then one spoke up, "He can only see our smoke forms. We need to show ourselves."
The colored smokes began to condense, taking on more defined shapes. Before Kazekabe's eyes, the smokes transformed into seven ghostly figures, each radiating an aura of their respective sin: Pride, Lust, Wrath, Greed, Gluttony, Envy, and Sloth. They appeared as ethereal, transparent beings, with a ghostly glow that illuminated their forms.
Kazekabe stared in awe and fear as the ghosts floated around him. One of them, Pride, stepped forward. She had a regal bearing, her form shimmering with a golden hue. "I am Pride," she announced, her voice echoing in the small room. "We are the seven deadly sins, trapped in this house by the very artifact you hold."
Lust, draped in a seductive, crimson mist, slinked closer, her eyes glinting with mischief. "We've been bound here for centuries, unable to interact with the living," she purred. "But it seems you've changed that."
Kazekabe tightened his grip on the artifact, feeling its strange energy pulse through his fingers. "What do you want from me?" he asked, his voice trembling.
Wrath, wreathed in a fierce, fiery orange smoke, floated forward, her eyes blazing. "We don't want anything from you," she snapped. "But now that you can see us, we might as well make use of it."
Greed, shimmering in a deep, emerald green, smiled slyly. "Perhaps we can help you, and in return, you can help us."
Kazekabe's mind raced. He was standing in a haunted house, surrounded by ghostly representations of the seven deadly sins, and they were offering to help him. It was absurd, but somehow, it felt right. Maybe this was the change he needed, a new start with some very unusual companions.
He looked at the artifact in his hand, then back at the ghosts. "Okay," he said slowly. "Let's see where this goes."
The sins smiled, their ghostly forms glowing brighter. They had found their way to communicate and perhaps, a way to free themselves. And Kazekabe had found a new path forward, one that might just lead him out of his darkness.
The chapter ended with Kazekabe standing in the haunted house, the artifact glowing in his hand, and the seven ghostly sins surrounding him, ready to embark on this strange, new journey together.