I tread through the sparse forest, the snow crunching beneath the boots I initially had. They fit so well, and I kind of liked them.
This woman, Selene... She's an alternative version of another person.
"Something caught my attention, though... Alice said that they're from any point in time. Does that mean she could be from the future?" I rubbed my chin.
I know she killed the original Sin of Envy, but thinking about it, if the original looked nothing like the Proxy, maybe, just maybe...
I then felt something crawl on my neck, making me shiver immediately before slapping whatever it was.
It was a spider, but it was made out of some black goo. It reformed back into its normal state before jumping on my ear.
I shivered a little bit, as I have never been fond of spiders. It whispered in my ear, "Dread Ruins..."
I seemed a little confused, but then the interface flashed in front of me.
[Head southwest.] An arrow pointed in that very direction, and I began to walk toward the Dread Ruins.
I could see the vapor coming from my breath as I breathed softly. The wind blew slightly as I walked through the forest, which only grew more and more sparse as time went on.
Then, I began to notice bits of cobblestone in the snow and fallen, cracked pillars that looked like they'd been here for centuries.
Ahead of me sat ruins of a grand scale. It looked like a Greek meeting place. The roof had fallen, the pillars had collapsed, and so what was left was just rubble and vines.
A small hut was still open, still made out of stone, which confused me. I walked to the door and opened it, seeing a staircase leading down.
As I descended, I noticed torches began to light up with dark green flames. I reached down, coming to an extremely large, circular arena. There were spiral, yet intricate patterns that led to the center.
The walls had pillars surrounding the center, covered in moss and vines. Ahead of me stood something more unnerving.
On the bones of what seemed to be a giant beast, Selene sat there, lazing and gnawing on one of them. Her eyes shifted towards me, and she smiled.
"So you actually decided to show, Star Black." She said, hopping off the bones and walking toward me.
"You don't seem like the kind to heed requests." She said, stopping in front of me.
She seemed a bit taller than me, but not by much. She looked down, a toothy grin forming over her face. "You know why I called you here, right? Remember what I told you?"
"Yes, yes," I responded. "You wanted to help me gain territory and followers."
Selene smiled, putting an arm around me. "Aren't you such a good listener! None of the other Sins like me, but you're new and different. So you're my new friend."
I never agreed.
"Alright, alright. So how do you suppose we get territory?" I asked, Selene giggling.
"We? You mean you, my friend. Don't worry, we won't start with humans just yet. You'll start with The Tomb of Tanshe." She said, stepping away from me.
"There are powerful monsters there, but we won't kill them; we'll subdue them." She said, grabbing your shoulder. "As Sins, the more we subjugate, the stronger we get. So in technicality, I'm the weakest."
Wait, the one who killed two Sins is the weakest among them? By technicality?
"I see..." I said, watching as Selene signaled me to follow her. "Come, let's go."
I followed behind her, watching her lead me away from the Dread Ruins.
"As a Sin, you are a primary target among Summons, Reincarnations, Other Worlders, Saints, Priests, and especially Heroes." She said, narrowing her eyes.
"I'd say the primary causes for concern are Reincarnations and Heroes. All of these are strong in their own right, but those two receive some sort of divine blessing." She said, humming quietly.
"Well, isn't that nice? Got a huge target on my back." I said as we walked through a snowy field.
"Could you tell me more about this world?" I asked, hoping to get some valuable answers.
"Well, for starters, it's never been completely explored. Yeah, there's portal magic or abilities, but those are only to specific areas with high mana density." She said, stopping in her tracks.
We came to a 7-foot-tall pillar with a red orb in its center.
"Really? How big is this world?" I asked, Selene shrugging in response.
"Don't know. Just know storms can get really violent. Each season lasts 244 years, so we'll be in winter for a while, and this world is BIG." She said, placing her hand on the orb.
"We're here. Now, this tomb has 7 floors to it. As a Sin, conquering the first two should be enough, as each floor acts as a mini pocket dimension." A faint shimmer began to surround us.
"Each floor has a 'boss,' you could say. You must subjugate them mainly; I'll handle the small guys." She said as we got transported into the first floor.
There was a red sun in the sky, and the heat was damn near unbearable. There was sand blowing in the violent wind as we stood on a ruined circular arena; small claw marks and what appeared to be bloodstains were all I could see on the ground.
"Hm..." Selene rubbed her chin, watching various desert creatures begin to emerge from the distant dunes.
"As I said, I'll handle the little guys; go find that floor boss, or master, or whatever." She said, walking off into the distance.
I traversed the arena, feeling a slight bit of movement under my feet. I noticed a small crack in the ground when I looked down, so I stomped on it.
Once I did, I felt the ground cave in, sending me down below. I hit the floor with a loud thud. "Ugh..." I said, standing up and rubbing my head.
I looked around, and darkness was all that surrounded me. I heard growling surrounding me from all angles.
A pair of orange eyes began to glow in front of me, and when I saw them, I summoned a bloodied sword. "Come at me..." I mumbled.
The creature, which had been invisible in the darkness, began to move. Suddenly, something sharp gashed my throat. I immediately gripped my neck, trying not to choke on my own blood.
I felt the same sharp object stab my abdomen, lifting me in the air.
"Foolish Sin..." The creature spoke, its voice a culmination of everyone I ever spoke to in my life. How did it know I was a Sin?
Did Selene do this on purpose? She knew this thing was here, didn't she?
Just then, I heard someone or something land behind me. I turned my head as best I could, Selene's glowing green eyes right there. "Oh, I figured you'd be dead by now. I guess he's just waking up."
"You... bitch..." I spat blood as the creature growled at me louder.
"You really think you can trust us as Sins? The only nice one out of us is Bun; even then, he has a side no one but me knows about." She said, the creature throwing me down to Selene's feet.
"Well, I hope you enjoyed being Envy, Star." She said, before everything flashed white to black in an instant.
Not even a week, and I had died again.
I stood in an all-white void, being back in my original body. "Are you FUCKING KIDDING ME?"
[The Entity is seemingly amused by your reaction to dying.]
"Who? WHO GETS A KICK OUT OF THIS?" I yelled. Despite this vast expanse, there was no echo.
[The Entity laughs at your reaction but has taken a liking to your drive to become powerful. It knows you are an Anomaly, and therefore do not abide by normal rules.]
"Anomaly, what the fuck?" A blaring screech emitted from the screech as it glitched out.
It was gone just as quickly as it started, and with it, that terrible noise. I don't know why, but a total sense of isolation looked over me. Just then, a voice rang in his head, feminine, upbeat, and light.
"Hiya! Hello? Helloooo?" It sounded like a child, and it ran throughout my entire brain.
"The system can talk?" I asked myself before getting hit in the back of the head.
"Ow! What the— I turned around, and a faint mist appeared before a small girl formed. Her hair is a deep purple, her eyes are the same, she has brown skin, and she wore a plain T-shirt and some shorts.
"Who the hell are you?" I asked, the girl giggling in response.
"I can't tell you that! Just know I'm an entity. She said, smiling, "If I told you exactly who I was, your soul would be obliterated from that information."
"So this isn't your actual form?" I asked.
"Nope! I'm a boy, but I do get bored, so..." She floated beside me. "You're stuck here, huh? Kind of a bummer."
"Are you the one behind my reincarnation and this system?" I asked, hoping, praying for a good answer.
"Nope! Not at all, and I don't know who's behind it either, but whoever they are, they're trying to get something out of you." She said as the interface of my system appeared once more.
[Beginning second Reincarnation Process.]
"Wait! It said that The Entity has taken pity on me the first time I died, meaning you lied!" I yelled, my body starting to fade.
"I'm not lying. I said I'm an entity because I'm the one that granted you the system... I'm not the one reviving you. Meaning there's another person. I don't believe in second chances." Was all I heard from her before a blinding white light filled the seemingly already bright void.
Then, black. When I opened my eyes, I felt... vulnerable and small. I looked around, realizing I was in a crib of some sort.
[This time is an actual reincarnation. Not a migration. Good luck; I'll be watching.] The system displayed in a deep purple, simulating the entity's control.
I tried to stand, but was unable to find myself doing so. I tried to call out for someone, but all that came out was unintelligible babble.
Shit... I'm a baby.