"Let's start heading out!" Retsuki's voice echoed through the darkened underpass, his tone sharp and commanding. The team, clad in stolen uniforms and armed with forged access credentials, moved with determined precision. The air was cold and sterile, filled with the hum of unseen machinery, as if the central data hub itself was alive, watching their every move.
Retsuki's mind raced. The weight of their mission pressed heavily on him, but he masked his unease with purpose. They couldn't afford hesitation now-not when they were so close to striking at the heart of the Upbringers' regime.
The central data hub loomed ahead, a monolithic structure of black metal and pulsating neon lights. It was a technological fortress, surrounded by towering surveillance turrets and swarms of Wardens patrolling the perimeter. Verena, her face tense, whispered as she scanned the entryway.
Verena: "We've got about a ten-second window between shifts. After that, the drones pick us up."
Alitha: "Then we stick to the plan. No deviations."
Retsuki gave a curt nod, his electric glow suppressed to avoid detection. They slipped through the entryway like shadows, their hearts pounding as they bypassed laser tripwires and evaded patrolling guards. Every step was a gamble, every breath a calculated risk.
Inside, the hub was a labyrinth of corridors and data conduits, its walls pulsating with the eerie glow of encoded information. The silence was oppressive, broken only by the distant thrum of machinery and the occasional hiss of a passing drone.
They reached the mainframe chamber, an enormous vault-like room lined with towering servers that stretched into the darkness above. Marten hacked into a terminal, his fingers flying across the keyboard.
Marten: "I'm in. Give me a second to bypass their encryption."
As the screen came to life, the group froze. Before them was an archive of millions of citizen profiles-each a meticulous record of psychological histories, genetic data, and manipulation protocols.
Verena: "What is this...?"
She scrolled through the profiles, her hand trembling. The entries were hauntingly detailed, cataloging every aspect of a person's identity: their strengths, weaknesses, and fears. The Upbringers hadn't just monitored the people of Yorktun; they had dissected them, stripping away every layer of privacy and individuality.
Then she saw it-her name.
Her breath caught in her throat as she opened the file. It was all there: her rebellious nature labeled as "creativity deficiency," her emotional outbursts flagged as "subversive tendencies," and her very essence reduced to a clinical assessment.
Verena: "They... They tried to erase me. Everything I am."
Her voice cracked, and she turned to Retsuki, her eyes blazing with fury.
Verena: "You think we're fighting for freedom? We're fighting to undo this-to claw back the pieces of ourselves they've stolen!"
Retsuki placed a hand on her shoulder, his voice low but firm.
Retsuki: "We will. But we have to focus. If we lose ourselves now, they win."
As Marten planted the virus and Verena grappled with her revelations, the air around them grew heavy. A cold, oily presence seeped into the room, curling around their minds like smoke.
Envy had arrived.
It appeared as a shifting mass of shadows and mirrors, its form constantly changing to reflect distorted versions of the team. Its voice was a haunting whisper layered with mockery and venom.
Envy: "So much ambition. So much anger. But tell me, little rebels-do you truly trust each other?"
The room twisted as Envy's influence took hold. The walls seemed to close in, the air thick with doubt and paranoia. Each team member was confronted by visions tailored to their deepest insecurities.
Marten's Vision: He saw his family, their faces contorted in pain as they blamed him for their suffering. "You couldn't protect us," they whispered. "You only brought more death." Marten fell to his knees, his hands trembling.
Verena's Vision: She saw herself standing in a cold, sterile room, her art replaced by hollow propaganda. Her hands were stained with blood, and her voice was stolen. "You were never strong enough," the vision taunted. You let them take everything."
Alitha's Vision: She saw herself back in the prison, her body broken and her mind shattered. The Wardens' voices echoed in her head: "You betrayed us. You betrayed yourself."
Even Retsuki wasn't immune.
Retsuki's Vision: He saw Paragus's son stepping out of a lightning storm, his face eerily identical to Retsuki's own. The boy's voice was sharp and accusing. "You are a hollow imitation. You will never be real. You will never be enough."
Retsuki's energy surged, his glow cutting through the illusions like a blade. He stepped forward, his voice a roar of defiance.
Retsuki: "You don't get to decide who we are. We are more than your lies!"
His energy lashed out, shattering the Turkerin's hold on the others. Envy screamed, its form flickering as it recoiled from Retsuki's power.
Envy: "You think you can fight the truth? You are nothing but fragments-broken and weak!"
Retsuki: "Maybe. But even fragments can cut deep."
With a final surge of energy, Retsuki drove Envy back, the creature dissolving into the shadows. The team stood shaken but alive, their resolve tempered by the encounter.
As alarms blared, they escaped, dodging Wardens and drones through the twisting corridors. Marten limped from a gunshot wound, but he waved off help, his face set with grim determination.
They emerged into the night, their bodies battered but their spirits burning with renewed fire.
Back at the hideout, the team sat in heavy silence, the weight of their experience pressing down on them.
Marten: "That thing showed me things I've tried to forget. Things I thought I'd buried."
Verena: "It's not over. The Upbringers will come for us harder now. We have to be ready."
Retsuki: "We will be. But we can't let them define us. Not anymore."
Despite their shaken spirits, a flicker of unity passed between them. The fight wasn't over, but they had faced the darkness-and survived.
Retsuki's senses crackled with unease, a prickling awareness that danger was closing in. His energy hummed under his skin, sharp and erratic, as though the electric currents running through his body could detect the malevolence crawling closer. His gaze darted to the darkened halls of the central data hub. With each passing second, the shadows felt alive, heavier, and more oppressive.
Retsuki's thought: We're going back to the Serkiuln Hideout. Hopefully, Mirthless is still there. I can't let this fall apart now.
He turned to the team, his voice snapping like a whip.
Retsuki: "LET'S GO! ALL OF YOU, RUN NOW!"
The team froze, his voice's urgency only amplifying their confusion and fear.
Marten: "Run? We've barely finished the mission, and you want us to abandon everything now? What the hell is going on?"
Alitha: "Retsuki, what's out there? What aren't you telling us?"
Verena: "We just faced one of those things-Envy-and now you expect us to follow you blindly? You're asking too much!"
Retsuki's patience snapped. He stepped forward, his glowing eyes flickering with raw energy, his voice sharp enough to cut steel.
Retsuki: "I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS! MOVE OUT NOW BEFORE I LOSE EVERY SECOND I HAVE LEFT!"
The intensity in his tone silenced them, but their faces still held doubt. Marten opened his mouth to argue again, but the hall behind Retsuki darkened unnaturally, the shadows coiling and writhing. A chilling voice echoed from within the blackness.
Envy: "Leaving so soon? How rude, little fragments. I wasn't finished playing with you."
Envy's twisted form emerged from the shadows, more human and monstrous than before. Its shape shifted and warped, reflecting the team's distorted reflections on its ever-changing surface. Eyes stared out from its skin-cold, hungry, and filled with malice.
Retsuki stepped forward, shielding the others. His fists clenched, arcs of electricity sparking around his frame as he squared off against the Turkerin.
Retsuki: "You again. I had never fought one of the Deadly Sins properly before. Tell me-what rank are you in terms of strength?"
Envy's laughter was like shards of glass grinding together.
Envy: "Rank? Such human simplicity. Strength isn't linear, little spark. We each feed on what the world gives us. And Yorktun is drowning in jealousy. My power here is limitless."
Envy struck first, its shadowy limbs elongating into jagged tendrils that lashed out at Retsuki. The first strike nearly caught him, but he ducked low, the second missing him by mere inches as he rolled forward. Electricity crackled around him, and with a guttural yell, he unleashed a lightning bolt straight at the Turkerin's chest.
The bolt hit Envy, illuminating the creature in stark, electric light. Its form twisted and shrieked, but it didn't falter. Instead, the energy seemed to splinter, scattering into dozens of copies of the creature. Each shadowy figure surged forward, their clawed hands reaching for Retsuki.
The team watched in horror.
Marten: "What the hell is that thing?!"
Verena: "It's-it's multiplying!"
Alitha: "Retsuki can't take that alone-"
But Retsuki didn't wait for help. His body moved with inhuman precision, dodging, striking, and weaving through the onslaught. His energy surged with each attack, his fists landing blows that sent shockwaves rippling through the room.
Envy's Illusions:
The creature twisted the space around him, pulling memories and fears from Retsuki's mind. He saw flashes of Paragus's face, twisted in disappointment. He heard voices-Marten's, Verena's, Alitha's-all accusing him.
Illusory Marten: "You're nothing but a weapon. You don't care about us!"
Illusory Verena: "You stole his face! You'll never be real!"
Illusory Alitha: "You'll never be enough. You're just a hollow shell."
Retsuki roared in defiance, his energy bursting outward in a blinding flash. The illusions shattered, revealing the proper form of Envy-twisted, mangled, and now visibly weakened.
Retsuki surged forward, his body glowing with raw power. He dodged Envy's desperate attacks, each movement precise and calculated.
Envy: "You think you can destroy me? I am born from the weakness of humanity! You are nothing but a spark, a flicker of light in an endless abyss!"
Retsuki's voice was calm, cold, and resolute.
Retsuki: "A spark is all it takes to burn you to ash."
He gathered his energy into one final, devastating attack. The room filled with blinding light as he drove his electrified fist into Envy's core. The creature uttered an ear-splitting scream as its form disintegrated into nothingness, the shadows retreating into the void.
The team stood in stunned silence, their faces pale as Retsuki turned to face them. His glowing form cast an eerie light over the room, his chest heaving from the exertion.
Marten: "You... You killed it."
Verena: "You stood over it like you weren't even human."
Retsuki didn't respond immediately. He looked down at his trembling hands, the faint crackle of electricity still sparking around his fingers. When he finally spoke, his voice was quiet but firm.
Retsuki: "I'm not human. I never was. But that doesn't mean I'll let these things destroy what's left of you."
He turned away, his face unreadable as he led them out of the data hub and into the night.