Isaac froze as his breath caught in his throat. The air around him felt thicker, charged, like the moment before a storm breaks. He gripped the cover, hesitated for a second, then slowly opened it. As he turned the cover back he was surprised to feel no resistance at all. Nothing like before. That clicking sound he'd heard must have been some kind of lock releasing. He wasn't sure but it didn't matter now. He was more eager to see what was inside.
The first thing that came into view was a black page. Unlike the cover which was dark as night this page was a shade lighter, just enough that he could make out words written across it. The letters glowed faintly in crimson, the same blood red as the title. He leaned in closer and started to read.
════════════════════════════════
PAGE THE FIRST — THE LAWES OF THE BOOK (BLACK)
The sins of the soule are the keyes unto power. Commit them, and ascend. The Book demandeth thy devotion.
I. Of Indestructibilitie This Book, once thou art bound thereunto, shall not be destroyed of fire, nor drowned of water, nor eaten of acid, nor broken of force. Whoso seeketh to harm it, the hurt returneth upon its Bearer; wherefore keep thou the Book upon thy person, or else ward it safely.
II. Of the Sin Quota Be thou diligent; for all transgressions are accounted. Within seven dayes shalt thou commit at the least one sin, or the Book deemeth thee Unworthy.
III. Of Irreversibilitie Whatso is recorded in blood cannot be undone, nor may it be erased. Its consequence abideth in the world after the writing.
IV. Of Blood Binding None save the Bearer may read or use these leaves. Unto others they appear blank or babble; unto thee alone are they made plain.
Choose thou by thy sins, O Bearer; write in blood, and the Book shall reward thee. Falter, and thou shalt be judged Unworthy.
════════════════════════════════
"What the fuck is this?" Isaac muttered, disbelief creeping into his voice. The archaic language swam before his hazy vision like something pulled from Shakespeare's darkest nightmare.
"Early Modern English again? Seriously?" he said, scratching his spiky brown hair. "This thing's gotta be some ancient shit."
He looked at how the letters were glowing on the page and let out a short breath. "Guess I really found something impossible."
Looking at the rules made his stomach twist. He couldn't understand most of what was written since he was never really into history or old languages but he could at least make out enough to get the idea of what each part meant. Out of all the rules the one that got him the most was the (Seven days to commit a sin or be deemed "Unworthy") part. Those words alone sent chills down his spine. But he wasn't as scared as he should have been. He'd already seen the start of it so he might as well see it through to the end. What could possibly go wrong with reading a book?
After a while he turned to the second page wanting to see what else this thing had in store. He'd already gotten the gist of what the first page was about and what it was for. But seeing the second page left him in shock.
════════════════════════════════
PAGE THE SECOND — THE BEARER'S MARK (BLACK)
Here lieth the measure of ISAAC WILSON, Bearer of the Book, whose sins shall forge his destinie.
Name: Isaac Wilson
Race: Human
Age: 19
Level: 1
Stats
- Strength: 8
- Agility: 7
- Stamina: 12
- Endurance: 10
- Intelligence: 14
- Charisma: 4
Thou art yet mortal, Bearer. Commit thy sins, and let these measures grow. The Book watcheth thee.
Of the Seven Rootes of Power
Behold, Bearer. These be the Seven Rootes of Power—each a key to thine ascension, each a chaine to thy soule.
• Pride
• Greed
• Lust
• Envy
• Gluttony
• Wrath
• Sloth
Choose thou among all the Sins, O Bearer.
Let thy soule be stained, and thy power be multiplied.
For each sin committed, a mark shall be etched upon thy name.
Thus speaketh the Book.
════════════════════════════════
Shock was an understatement. He wasn't too surprised when the book pulled the whole name vanishing trick on the cover. He could already tell by then that this thing was special in some way. But seeing his actual name inside it with his real age next to it was what left him baffled. He didn't understand how any of this was possible. Part of him wondered if it was some kind of sick joke. Maybe someone who already knew him had done all this, written his name and age inside to make it look like the book magically knew who he was. But that didn't make sense either. He was certain the book had dropped from the sky and created that crater in the middle of the road. At least that's what he chose to believe.
Getting past all of that he found himself drawn to the way the letters glowed in crimson against the dark page. His name written out like that in red actually looked kind of cool. He didn't know something written in red could look this good. He made a mental note to start writing with red ink more often just to see how it would look.
Turning his gaze back to the things listed about himself he couldn't help but find it funny. The whole thing was set up to look almost like a system. Stats, levels, attributes. He wondered if this was some kind of RPG game stat screen brought to life. It had his whole profile laid out like a character sheet. If it wasn't that then what was it?
He stared at the numbers with his mind racing. From all the games he'd played he could usually tell if a character was strong or weak. But these numbers? He honestly couldn't tell if they were high or low. Most games used different scales. Some went to 20, others to 100. Without knowing the maximum he was flying blind.
"Strength 8, Agility 7," he muttered, running calculations in his head. "If this goes to 20 I'm below average. If it goes to 100 I'm complete trash." He winced, touching his swollen cheek. "Knowing my luck it's probably the latter."
The stats painted a picture he recognized too well. Strength 8 and Agility 7 were pathetic numbers. Even if he wasn't certain on how the scale worked he knew for a fact he was useless when it came to anything physical. Even in school he never once participated in a sport. He was too skinny. Most of the teachers would take one look at him and say don't let him on the field, he might just break. He always wondered how Derek and the others could hit him without ever worrying about actually killing him. He'd seen himself in the mirror.
He knew how he looked compared to other kids his age. If he was built like Derek he'd be scared to even touch someone like himself, much less throw punches. It was almost like they had some kind of assurance that he wouldn't die during those beatings. They always knew when to stop. That part got him every time. But there was no point thinking about it since it wasn't going to change anything.
Stamina 12. Endurance 10. He thought about it for a moment then muttered, "This kind of makes sense." All the bullshit he'd been through up till now had to count for something. The chores, the beatings, trekking home from school every day on foot. Turns out suffering builds character.
His Intelligence sitting at 14 made him straighten up slightly. "At least I'm not completely worthless." His academic struggles were never from stupidity. The divorce had derailed everything, split his family like property in court. But his brain was sharp when it mattered.
Then came the crushing blow. Charisma 4.
"Four," he whispered, staring at the number. "Jesus Christ, that's a death sentence." The book's assessment felt like looking in a mirror. It wasn't spelling everything out in detail but the numbers alone told him how low he'd fallen in this world. What did he even expect after seeing all of it? It was always the same. His whole life everyone had walked over him. No difference whether it was at home or at school. Even those who claimed to be kind to him, he knew deep down they were only doing it out of pity.
His eyes drifted to "Race: Human" and he paused. "What's that supposed to mean? Like there are other races? Aliens?" The thought seemed crazy but the book had already shattered his understanding of reality. "If there were non humans walking around it'd be all over the news… right?" He sat with that for a second. Then again there was always the possibility they did exist and the government was just hiding them. What was that place called again? Area 51. Yeah. Back when he still had his phone he'd seen plenty of videos on social media talking about aliens being real and where they were being kept. He never took any of it seriously but now sitting here with a book that knew his age and bled him for ink, who was he to say what was real and what wasn't?
The Seven Sins drew his attention next. Pride, Greed, Lust, Envy, Gluttony, Wrath, Sloth. Each word seemed to pulse with dark promise, whispering possibilities he'd never dared imagine.
"So I'm supposed to sin to level up?" The concept felt wrong and dangerous, almost like making a deal with the devil. But the book's words echoed in his mind. Ascend. Power. Judged Unworthy.
He thought about every unfair moment of his life. The bullying. The orders barked at him from every direction. Being treated like dirt under everyone's shoes. What if he could fight back? What if Isaac Wilson could finally be more than a punching bag?
The book felt warm in his hands now. Almost alive. The crimson letters pulsed like a heartbeat and he knew this was a form of temptation. The book was calling out to him, asking him to accept it. Strength. Revenge. Power he'd never dreamed possible. All of it right there on the page waiting for him.
"If this is real," he whispered to the rain drumming against his window. The haze made his thoughts slippery but one thing cut through crystal clear. He was tired of being powerless.
The question wasn't whether the book was real anymore. It was whether he was desperate enough to find out how far it could take him and how much it could change him.
Isaac stared at the Seven Sins, each word burning itself into his memory. Somewhere deep down he knew accepting this would come with a price too high to pay. And it wasn't like he could back out now even if he wanted to. The book had already bonded with him. There was no way out of it. He might as well go along with everything it had to offer. His heart thudded as he turned to the next page, ready to see what darkness the book would show him next.