And when I said, 'by blood', I mean we shared blood through fists and wounds.
Ever since I could remember, we were siblings. It was like the legend Daz shared. The one where one of each: Pride, Wrath, Lust, Envy, Gluttony, Sloth, and Greed were born among people from different worlds.
Gray hair, maroon eyes that glowed blood red in the right angles, golden brown skin… those were the features of a Sin. And the one thing that separated us from the rest was our lackluster underflow of mana, or lack thereof.
If a child bore these features, then they were a Sin. And lo and behold, we were adopted by the Keeper himself. That was the legend at least.
As for the man who called himself that… I never once saw him that way.
I always thought it was just some folklore tale to make it sound interesting, but the more I kept recognizing the patterns, the unorthodox abilities we all seemed to possess… the more the folklore felt true.
Except on my part. Because even back then, I had no abilities to speak of…
The only thing that made me brothers with this piece of shit—Envy's wicked smile taunting me through Jo's ice encase—was our names. Not even our bodies were the same now after I had died once and came back in this one.
Just saying he was my brother felt like I was eating a mouthful of ash. For that family was no family to me.
We had managed to subdue Envy after his sudden arrival. As much as I wanted to interrogate him, and get him to talk about why he came, talking to that fucking bastard would ultimately be a waste of time. He would just say he was here to fight, and not offer any more details.
Plus giving him any leg up would put us all at an utter disadvantage. The Black Wolves were strong together, but without me to keep him in check—and I hated admitting this—he would give them all a run for their eterna.
Envy could take up to ten abilities at a time and keep them so long as he uses them. And the worst part, when he does use them, it no longer becomes magic.
Though, since I had struck him before Nash had rushed in, it seemed to cancel out his Tantra, making his transformed state revert to a magical state, allowing Nash to adapt to the burn of the Great Behemoths burning tail. There was also something else we factored in—though risky—and that was the fact that Envy wouldn't have seen Nash's ability coming once activated. So even though Sin's had abnormal Tantra, they still operated with the same rules.
To my understanding—I thought of my fight with Leon again—if two Tantras clash, the stronger of the two cancels out the other. I just didn't quite fully understand the properties of a Sin's Tantra and why they could manipulate it like magic without magical properties or mana. Unlike how a mage like Daz fights with Tantra infused spells—weakening his own magical power, but giving it Tantra-like properties—Envy's steals others magic and then turns it completely into Tantra…
Shit was confusing… I never understood this back then, and still kinda don't if I was being honest with myself.
For a while, I didn't even know what Tantra was until fairly recently. I still wondered why Asura never told me. I wanted to bring it up when I saw him last, but I ran out of time…
In any case, all I knew was that it was because of this anomaly that made the Sins so much stronger than the average mage.
I also understood why even Daz had a hard time with Wrath. It was impressive enough that he had him contained at Tartarus while he was back in the Valley.
"I just called Daz. He's on his way. Seems pissed, too…" Jo said.
"I bet he is. He told me he ran into Envy not too long ago before that Riot Gang officer came knocking at our door."
"Speaking of," Code interjected. "You think it was him from that time? The one who shared Drakthor's ability with his cronies and hid their presence?"
"Yeah. I just couldn't talk about it at the time. Sorry," I replied.
Code shook his head. He didn't care. "Well at least we caught the culprit. He literally came knocking at our door."
"For now," I added. "The sooner Daz can get here, the sooner we don't have to keep this guy prisoner. Trust me when I say this, but Jo's constant Grand Ice magic and Daz's Nullifying magic are the only things that can keep him at bay. And key words 'keep him at bay'… meaning it's not enough to stop him for good without constant regulation."
"Well, that's fucking great." Code sighed. "He truly is your brother."
It took a lot not to bare my teeth at that comment. So I just stared at him instead.
"Sorry, bad joke."
At this time, Havoc had finally awoken and Star joined me as I walked over to where Envy was.
I narrowed my eyes down to Envy lying in Jo's ice coffin. His eyes met mine; the only part of him that could move, staring back at me with that defiant, adamant glare.
"Can I kill him?" Star asked.
"I'm afraid it's not that simple, Star," I said.
"Why not?"
"For starters, he's a Sin; they're hard to kill. Second, he might have another ability that will recover him that we don't know about."
"A Sin? Hard to kill?" She pondered. "Are you a Sin Teddy?"
It was a simple question without any ill intend, but I was caught off guard by it.
I took seconds longer to answer than I had anticipated. It was like I was having an internal battle about the truth, and even though I knew what that truth was… a part of me wanted to refuse it.
"Yes and no." That was all I could say.
She blinked and studied me before I patted her head and said, "Let's take a step back for now, at least, until Daz gets here, kay?"
When we turned around, Envy's triggering voice perforated our ears, "You think that just by waiting, your crewmates will get their abilities back? My… you truly have been out of the loop, haven't you brother?"
I whipped my head around, thinking Envy had escaped somehow, but when I found him, he was still lying there encased in Jo's ice. Only difference was that he had melted the section where his head was with the heat from his mouth—and by some other stored ability if I had to guess.
"When we were young, perhaps that strategy would have worked, but we are much older now brother… and our skills have developed. I no longer have a time limit with the abilities I choose to take, and I can keep up to twelve abilities at a time. Also, if I so choose…" He stared at me wickedly. I even saw my frightened reflection through his maroon eyes. "If I get bored and no longer desire the magic I took, I can discard it, and it won't go back to its original caster… no, no… When I discard abilities, they are discarded for good."
Our eyes flashed as he said this. And the look we all took seemed to be of utter horror.
"Fuck… He ain't lyin' Cap," Havoc said weakly as he sat up.
I could have told him that. I sensed no falsehood in his words. It was the absolute truth. Just how dangerous have they all become?
Envy laughed heinously until it had stopped abruptly, freezing over with another layer of ice. Jo's face was that of dead cold as she encased him without warning.
"Don't listen to this guy. We'll get your magic back—" She stopped herself as she witnessed both Code and Havoc.
Havoc had sat up on the ground and snickered, and Code had already pulled out a cigarette; their calm was unmatched.
"If he wants it so bad, he can fuckin' have it," Code spat coolly, lighting his smoke.
"Yeah, if Cap can make it without magic, so can we. Gives me a reason to learn how to use Tan… Tantree… Whatever it's fucking called," Havoc spoke next, already envisioning what it would be like.
Though Envy's face was of frozen glee, his eyes expressed a different emotion.
They don't care?
And there it was… the mind reading… Had this been some form of Tantra as well?
Jo's eyes shuddered in admiration to them. For one so heavily dependent on her own ability, she found it hard to even consider what it would be like without it. Little did she know it at the time, but she had found a new kind of inspiration.
"That's right, they don't care," I said to Envy as his eyes darted to me, surprised I had read his thoughts.
And then a stern but calm voice joined in.
"Thanks for your patience, Black Wolves," Arcane King Daz announced. "You're quite farther away than you usually are, so apologies that you had to wait so long for my arrival."
He looked at Jo and nodded, signaling to her that she could release Envy.
She nodded back hesitantly. Then in an instant…
Crack…
SHATTER!
Envy roared as a flurry of ice shards blasted outwardly.
And Daz formed a one handed hand sign, chanting,
"Nullifying Magic: Tartarus Cell."
A black pyramid swiftly cast over Envy just before he was about to do anything else.
Daz then waved a hand, and the black pyramid cell became clear for a moment, revealing Envy inside, throwing fists and kicks to the walls, trying to break out.
"That won't work, Envy. I trapped Greed in this same spell once. Your brother Pride was the only one who was ever able to break out of there. Not even Wrath was an exception. And he's quite strong, too. Stronger than you I must add."
Envy chuckled and sat crisscross on the ground, finally calming himself before speaking. "Well now, then I guess this is the ultimate spell that can seal a Sin?" he mocked as he gently knocked on one of the walls and it rippled. "You know just by saying that, you gave away the secrets to your spell?"
"Was never a secret," Daz said with a serene smile that looked ominous to those who would oppose him. "Tantra infused magic. But it also depends on who's Tantra is stronger. And by the looks of things"—he opened his eyes to reveal their gray, lifeless-like hue—"it's stronger than yours."
Envy clicked his tongue with a mixture of both amusement and irritation, saying and doing nothing more.
"Also, did you think I forgot?" Daz continued as Envy raised a brow. "Didn't I tell you to never come back to the Valley, lest you want to join Wrath at Tartarus?"
Envy raised his arms like he remembered. "You did! But we're not in the Valley technically. Or did you mean the Valley jurisdiction as a whole? If that was what you intended, you should have been more specific, Arcane King. We're quite far from the Valley Kingdom… I'd say I was well within the right."
He was right… we weren't technically within the Valley with how far we had decided to go out.
"The Wolves Den is an extension of the Valley Kingdom with a permit tied to the Kingdom itself. Wherever it is, there so is the Valley," he answered swiftly; and this was my first time hearing this, stupid old man—Asura's idiot face appearing at the forefront of my mind… "So therefore, it is still within bounds of our agreed upon deal."
"You've got to be joking. You're just making this shit up as you go, aren't you?"
"Not at all. If it belongs to the Valley, no matter how far out it may be, it's still the Valley."
Envy snickered. "Okay then. Take me to Tartarus. After all, Wrath will have already broken free by the time we arrive."
My eyes flashed when he said that, and I rushed over to the black prism. "He what?" I threatened, knowing clear well.
"Don't be so alarmed, Greed," Daz said calmly to me.
"Why shouldn't I? He just said—"
"Wasn't it you who said not to trust a Sin so easily?"
"No, I said, and I quote—'how do you know he won't go back on your deal without you knowing?'"
"No, before that."
I recalled.
"Just because one is easy to talk to doesn't mean you can trust them just as easily," he quoted.
And I snickered to the Idiot King. "Envy isn't exactly 'easy' to talk to."
"But the point still stands! Wrath is in a secure section of the prison meant only for Grade 0 criminals. There's no way he's escaping without the aid of others. And security is tight. If you even say the wrong thing as a stationed guard, you are executed on the spot. Imagine someone trying to break in…"
He waved a hand, and Envy was once more shrouded in the black pyramid, unable to see or hear us. He was trapped there, almost in another world while Daz was present.
He then made his way to us, nearing me and said for only me to hear, "And also, I trust you, don't I?"
"Don't lump me up with this fuck," I responded with a detached snap. "Didn't you also say that you would know when he arrived? Well, where were you when he arrived then?"
"Jo messaged me, didn't she?"
"That's not the same… You know what, I'm not playing this game with you."
Daz snickered and shrugged. "In any case, since he broke his word, I have to hold up my end of the deal and take him to Tartarus."
"Cool. Have fun," I disregarded, beginning to walk off with my hands in my pockets in a direction toward the Valley. "I need to go see Ryo."
Daz watched my back for a moment before finding the words to say, "You're more than welcome to, but I will need you to come back afterward…"
I stopped in my tracks and asked without turning around, "For what exactly? Aside from this being my home."
Daz sighed, saying, "Envy is much like you. I can trap him with overwhelming Tantra infused Nullifying magic, but that's about it. If I try to teleport to Tartarus, I can't do so without undoing my spell on him, and if I do, what are the odds that he would willingly let me take him there? He can, with his Tantra, resist spells of his choosing. Even the teleportation waypoints we have set up to travel such distances."
"Ask Alice when she gets back. She can now pass into great distances as well now."
"Same thing. Actually I think that's worse…"
"Then what are you getting at, Idiot King?" I questioned with the slight tilt of my head to the sky, already knowing—and dreading—what he was about to ask…
"Since we are already at the Wolves Den, and your abode moves… Will you and the Black Wolves be my guide to Tartarus?"
I told myself I already knew, but for some reason, hearing it from his stupid mouth irritated me.
I finally turned around, and Daz only saw the scowl on my face as I replied,
"The fuck did you just say to me?"