I am Benesha Badila, born into the royal branch of the Badila household, though not in the usual way.
I wasn't conceived through natural means; instead, scientists used the DNA of my parents to create me in a laboratory. I was born via genetic engineering and an artificial womb, alongside six other girls, who I consider my sisters.
At the age of seven, I decided to challenge my sister Maeve's claim to the position of authority within our sisterhood. She believed her status was superior because she was born under the influence of "Pride" and hailed from the Dutch royal family. But I refused to accept that "Pride" was a more successful trait than "Wrath."
"So what if you're a princess? I'm a princess too!" I declared. "Pride blinds people to their flaws, but Wrath allows us to administer justice, to punish wrongdoers. Wrath is what the world needs more than ever."
Maeve responded coolly, "The thing is, Ira, I have no flaws. I challenge you to find even one. If you succeed, I'll submit to you."
"I'll find more than one, just wait," I retorted confidently.
She raised an eyebrow, contemplating, "How can we determine who the superior sister is?"
"We could have a duel," I suggested. "A combat match to see who's the strongest."
"Or we could play chess or checkers!" Minah chimed in.
"I think that's a good idea," Eliza agreed.
"Maybe we should do sports or singing?" Haniya added, shrugging. "I'm terrible at both!" Kayla complained.
"What do you think, Acedia?" Maeve asked, turning to our quiet sister.
"I don't care what you girls decide," Mandane answered nonchalantly.
"I didn't ask if you cared," Maeve shot back.
"Why don't we just look at the stats the scientists have on us? See which one of us has the better overall score?" Mandane suggested.
We all agreed that Mandane had come up with the best idea.
We snuck into the laboratory system in secret, careful not to alert the scientists, to review our stats and compare them. Here are our scores, from lowest to highest:
Mandane Esfahani (Sin of Sloth, Codename "Acedia"):
- Intelligence: 50
- Academic ability: 50
- Decision-making: 50
- Physical ability: 50
- Cooperativeness: 50
Kayla Graven (Sin of Gluttony, Codename "Gula"):
- Intelligence: 70
- Academic ability: 65
- Decision-making: 60
- Physical ability: 40
- Cooperativeness: 90
Eliza IJzerhart (Sin of Greed, Codename "Avaritia"):
- Intelligence: 80
- Academic ability: 75
- Decision-making: 80
- Physical ability: 75
- Cooperativeness: 60
Minah Sawada (Sin of Envy, Codename "Invidia"):
- Intelligence: 90
- Academic ability: 90
- Decision-making: 85
- Physical ability: 55
- Cooperativeness: 45
Haniya al-Bacchus (Sin of Lust, Codename "Luxuria"):
- Intelligence: 95
- Academic ability: 90
- Decision-making: 90
- Physical ability: 100
- Cooperativeness: 80
Benesha Badila (Sin of Wrath, Codename "Ira"):
- Intelligence: 98
- Academic ability: 95
- Decision-making: 95
- Physical ability: 90
- Cooperativeness: 20
Princess Maeve (Sin of Pride, Codename "Superbia"):
- Intelligence: 100
- Academic ability: 98
- Decision-making: 98
- Physical ability: 85
- Cooperativeness: 10
"Looks like I'm the superior sister," Maeve said, her voice dripping with triumph. "Acknowledge my superiority, Ira, Invidia, Avaritia."
We couldn't deny it. Maeve's scores were clearly the highest across the board, and it left us all feeling frustrated.
"What's wrong, Benesha?" Maeve teased, noticing my silence. "Did you bite your tongue? What happened to all that fiery energy you had before? Where did it go?"
I bit back my frustration, trying to remain composed. "Remember, Maeve, these are just stats—snapshots of the moment. Things can change, and I might surpass you one day."
"I'd love to see you try," she smirked.
"You just wait!" I shot back, my resolve strengthening.
"This isn't the African jungle or the Sahara Desert," Maeve said, her voice laced with authority. "This is the Dutch Lowlands. I reign supreme here, got it?"
Defeated for now, we reluctantly accepted her dominance and decided to follow her orders—at least until the day came when we could challenge her once again.
The scientists separated us after that incident. I suppose they feared what we might be capable of if we acted in unison, as a unified force.
Not long after I was born, my mother became pregnant again and gave birth to my younger brother, Sansula.
My father was overjoyed to have a son. In the Badila household, the succession to the throne follows the paternal line—father to son.
I always thought that was too old-fashioned. As the firstborn, the right should be mine, regardless of gender. Unfortunately, females have never been regarded as equals to males in this matter.
From a young age, I wanted to prove myself to my father, to show him that, even though I'm female, I'm just as capable as any male heir could be.
I loved my younger brother, though. I was thrilled to become someone's older sister and take on the responsibility that came with it.
But when I was seven, my parents made a decision that would change everything—they adopted Lilith and gave her the name "Maria."
I was taken aback when I saw them bring this devil of a girl into our home. "So we meet again, Ira," she smiled. "Please take good care of me, as my sister."
Lilith, or Maria as she now went by, promised me and my sisters that she would physically and psychologically destroy us to prove that she was the magnum opus of the laboratory.
To make matters worse, when my sisters and I accessed our stats in the laboratory, we found that Lilith's scores were off the charts. 100 in every category: intelligence, academic ability, decision-making, physical ability, and cooperativeness. She was someone I couldn't possibly beat on my own.
The fact that I would be sharing a roof with her made me feel anxious and uncomfortable. But strangely enough, she was actually quite nice to me. She didn't do anything suspicious or threatening, at least not outwardly.
Still, appearances can be deceiving. My instincts told me she was up to something—scheming behind the scenes. I couldn't shake the feeling that she was playing a dangerous game.
Part 2
One day, during lunch break at middle school, I sat on the schoolyard with a few of my female classmates. I was in grade 1, around 13 years old, and so was Sansula.
Without my knowledge, Maria had orchestrated something sinister. She'd convinced a group of five guys to bully my little brother. "The one who impresses me the most by bullying him will get a date with me," she had said.
Fired up and eager to gain her approval, the five guys approached Sansula with the intent to torment him.
Afterward, Sansula came running to me, tears streaming down his face, complaining that he had been bullied by his classmates.
"Ah! Stop crying already!" I snapped. "You're embarrassing me in front of my friends!"
"But…" he protested weakly.
"Show me who dared to bully my little brother," I demanded.
Sansula led me to the five guys who had harassed him. One of them sneered, "Aw, did you bring your sister to help you out? She's pretty hot, though. Guess you did the right thing after all."
A wave of disgust washed over me. These were the kinds of guys who wore streetwear that looked like pajamas, complete with ugly caps trying to hide their receding hairlines.
"Apologize for bullying my little brother, or else…" I threatened.
"Oooh, I'm so scared!" one of them mocked. Then, one of them stepped forward, grabbing my chin. "Say, are you single? You've got some nice, kissable lips, you know?"
I felt a surge of rage, but before I could react, my friends and a few other kids rushed over to see what was happening. Sansula, sensing things were about to escalate, ran off—probably to fetch a teacher.
But as he fled, I noticed that Maria had intercepted him. I wondered why. Did she not want anyone to intervene? Or was this all part of her twisted plan to let the situation spiral out of control?
The five guys kept pushing, taunting me. And then, something snapped. All I could see was red. When I regained my senses, the five of them were on the ground, writhing in pain, unable to stand.
I approached the guy who had touched my chin, still seething with anger. Grabbing his hand, I whispered coldly, "I should break every finger of yours for daring to touch me."
"No… please! I'm sorry! I'll never misbehave again! Please, forgive me!" he begged, his voice trembling.
I was just about to snap his finger when suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was Tshikuta, holding me back. "Haven't you done enough?" he said, his voice calm but firm.
Tshikuta always knows how to keep me in check. He has this uncanny ability to calm me when my rage threatens to take over. I think he was made for me. After all, as Ira of Wrath, I need someone like him—someone who can reign in my fury when it gets out of hand. That person is Tshikuta.
Meanwhile, Maria met up with the five guys who had bullied Sansula, as she'd instructed them to. They had a brief exchange in the school hallway.
"None of you impressed me," she said sharply. "Honestly, I felt secondhand embarrassment. You all got beaten by a girl like her? Pathetic."
One of the guys, trying to recover, remarked, "You know, you're even more attractive when you're angry..."
That comment only served to further infuriate Maria. Her eyes narrowed, and her lips curled into a twisted smile. "You know what? Out of sheer pity, I'll give you all something better than a date with me." She paused for dramatic effect. "Follow me."
The guys, eager and excited, trailed behind her. "Uh, where are we going, Maria?"
"To the sports hall," she answered cryptically.
"Do you have permission to be there after class?"
Maria casually pulled out a set of keys and flashed them. "How do you think I got these?" she asked, turning to wink at them.
Soon, the six of them were inside the sports hall. Maria turned to face them with a smirk. "I was going to reward you with a date, but I changed my mind. That would just ruin your precious friendships."
One of the guys, clearly excited by the possibility of a reward, exclaimed, "You're so thoughtful, Maria! You're an angel!"
Maria smiled darkly, eyes gleaming with mischief. "Why don't we play a game of dodgeball?" she proposed. "The first one to hit me with a ball gets to go on a date with me."
The guys, eager for the challenge, grinned. "That's easy! How many balls are we using?"
With a playful smirk, Maria handed each of them one ball. "Five," she replied, her voice dripping with challenge.
"Are you sure about that?" one of the guys asked, a confident smirk on his face. "You're making it too easy for us."
Maria gathered her hair into a tight bun and took a few steps back, her eyes gleaming with anticipation. "Let's get this over with. I don't have all day!" she said, her voice laced with excitement as she clapped her hands together.
The guys, eager for the challenge, threw their dodgeballs at her with all their might. But Maria dodged each one with fluid grace, her movements almost effortless, leaving them stunned and frustrated.
With a flick of her wrist, Maria seized the balls, her eyes narrowing in focus. She threw them back at the guys with such force that they barely had time to react. The impact was brutal—broken noses, bloodied faces, black eyes, and a few knocked-out teeth. One by one, they crumpled to the floor, unconscious from the sheer force of the blows, writhing in pain.
"Those who fail to follow my orders," Maria said coldly, her voice like ice, "will receive only punishment."
She walked over to the guy who had dared to compliment her when she was angry. He was groaning on the ground, clutching his broken nose. Maria knelt down, her gaze unwavering as she looked down at him. "Do you still find me attractive?" she asked, her voice dripping with venom. "You had the audacity to touch my sister with your filthy hands. I only told you to bully Sansula. You had no right to even look her way."
She grabbed his hand, her grip firm and unrelenting. "Does the black eye I gave you hurt? Poor thing," she said, her tone feigning sympathy, though it was anything but genuine. "Maybe I should kiss your fingers, one by one."
Without waiting for his response, Maria twisted his hand sharply, snapping his fingers with a sickening crack. She did the same to his other hand, her expression unreadable as the man gasped in pain, his body shaking from the agony.
The room was silent except for the groans of the men lying on the floor, each of them struggling to comprehend the consequences of crossing her. Maria stood over them, her face expressionless as she surveyed the aftermath of her calculated punishment.
Part 3
After I, Benesha, single-handedly took down five guys in front of countless witnesses, I earned the respect of everyone at school—everyone from first grade to the seniors, and even the teachers. Word quickly spread that no one should mess with me.
Because of that, the guys didn't exactly view me as "feminine." But honestly, I didn't care.
I had my own loyal group of girls who followed me everywhere, and Tshikuta was always with me, too. Occasionally, Sansula and Maria would tag along as well.
But something had started to bug me. Maria, despite her impressive stats, never seemed to achieve perfect scores in anything. Whether it was sports, math, language, history, or geography, she always had high marks—but they weren't perfect.
Considering her abilities, it didn't make sense to me.
One day, as we walked to school together, I decided to confront her. "Why are you hiding your true potential?" I asked.
She feigned ignorance at first. "What are you talking about?"
"I saw your stats in the lab. I know you're a monster," I said bluntly.
She let out a soft laugh. "And that's exactly why I'm hiding my potential, Ira dear."
I frowned, not fully understanding. "What do you mean?"
"Because I don't want people to think of me as a monster. I want them to see me as just a regular 14-year-old girl," she explained, her voice oddly calm.
"Fair enough," I muttered, still processing her words.
Then she turned the conversation in an unexpected direction. "I see that you value Tshikuta a lot…"
"Don't involve him in this," I warned, a sharp edge to my voice.
She smiled, an unsettling glint in her eyes. "Hmm… Maybe I will one day."
"What would you gain from it?"
"I want to prove my superiority over all my sisters in this experiment. And I also want to keep Sansula for myself. You and your parents are standing in my way."
I stared at her, a mixture of disbelief and disgust rising in my chest. "You're a total psycho."
"I was born this way, just like you were born with 'wrath,'" Maria said, her tone casual but laced with an underlying challenge.
"But I wouldn't drag others into our battle for supremacy," I retorted, trying to distance myself from her twisted logic.
She smirked, unfazed. "I wonder, though, how far you can take that 'wrath' of yours..."
"Meaning?" I asked, a flicker of wariness creeping into my voice.
"Would you go so far as to take someone's life?" she asked, her eyes glinting with an unsettling curiosity. "And if so, how? Could you burn someone alive? Drown them? Torture them until they beg you to end their suffering?"
I recoiled, not sure whether I was more disturbed by her words or the coldness with which she spoke. "What…?"
Maria leaned in closer, her voice almost a whisper. "I would love to see how far you'd go, Ira."
I quickly stepped back, trying to regain some sense of control. "Forget about it. What you're describing is borderline criminal. I don't want to end up in prison."
She laughed softly, the sound chilling in its amusement. "Ah, look at you, being all pseudo-ethical... It's cute."
I frowned. "Huh?!"
"You didn't say you'd never hurt anyone because you don't want to—" she paused, studying my face, "—because you don't want to harm them, but because you don't want to deal with the law, right?" Her smile deepened. "So, let's say you're in a situation where you could unleash your wrath on someone you think deserves it, and the law wouldn't come after you. Would you be open to the idea of torturing or killing them?"
I quickened my pace, feeling my discomfort grow. Maria was dangerously manipulative, playing mind games that sent chills down my spine.
By the time I was 16, my parents sat me down and told me they wanted me to marry Tshikuta, a fellow noble Badilite. I gave my consent, knowing that no other man could ever be more suited for me.
"I'm glad you want to marry me, Benesha," Tshikuta said, his smile warm and genuine.
"It's not like any other man would be able to take care of me," I replied, keeping my tone neutral.
"But you do like me, right?" he asked, his eyes searching mine for an answer.
"Of course," I replied, a small smile tugging at my lips.
"I mean, you like me, right?" Tshikuta pressed, his eyes shining with curiosity.
"Yeah…" I answered, unsure where this conversation was headed.
"So, you have feelings for me!" He grinned, a playful edge to his voice.
I couldn't help but blush a little. "You've had a crush on me since you were eight. I only started developing feelings for you when I was twelve."
"So what?" He chuckled, clearly amused.
"I'm just saying…" I trailed off, feeling flustered under his gaze.
He leaned in a little closer. "You're cute, you know?"
I let out a short laugh. "You're literally the only guy who says that."
"Good," he said with a grin. "And I hope it stays that way."
I couldn't help but feel my heart flutter. I was in love with Tshikuta. Having someone like him in my life meant the world to me. But Maria… I wasn't sure what she was plotting, and I didn't trust her.
If she even tried to interfere with my relationship with Tshikuta, I would kill her. And if she tried to take Sansula away from me, it would be the same fate for her.
Taking down Lilith wouldn't be easy, though. I would need the cooperation of all my sisters, and I hadn't seen them in ten years. We might no longer share the same ideals, but that wouldn't stop me from doing what needed to be done.
One evening, Tshikuta, Sansula, Maria, and I went to a concert. The headliner was none other than my sister Haniya al-Bacchus, though few knew her true identity. She was the most popular up-and-coming musician in the world today.
Haniya performed under the stage name Asaliy, or عسلي, which means "honey-like" in Arabic. Western fans, however, called her "Ashley" because it was easier to pronounce. I loved her music. It was raw, emotional, and I could relate to the lyrics on a personal level.
She sang her most recent song titled "In Search of my Messiah", this being the lyrics:
Redeem me for I want to be free
Unlock my heart with your heavenly key
But there is nobody out there to save me
Awaiting my Messiah for what feels like an eternity
I am enslaved by my desires
Burning my soul is on fire
Can't you see the situation is dire?
I've been forgotten in this disaster
Bring me salvation
Where is my savior?
Is he heading my way on his white horse?
Dressed in armor?
Holding a sword?
Bring me salvation
Where is my savior?
Is he heading my way on his white horse?
Dressed in armor?
Holding a sword?
I'm growing impatient
Falling from hope to despair
Listen my heart needs to be repaired
I can't wait forever
Slay this demon inside of me
Who has been possessing me constantly
Can't you see who I truly want to be
It's someone you've set free
The Messiah in my life is Tshikuta. I can only hope that Ashley, too, has found hers—if she hasn't already.
Tshikuta, Sansula, Maria, and I had all applied to attend the Utrecht Metropolitan Self-Development School, a utopian institution built by the Dutch government in the city of Utrecht.
As I stepped onto the school grounds with my suitcase in hand, I came face to face with my sister, Haniya. It had been a while since I last saw her...