chapter 3 – the first test
the ash-strewn ground was colder than before.
the cracked sky above seemed to press down on him like a weight, but he didn't move.
he faced them — the seven sins — the living shadows that were both nightmare and reality.
lust stepped forward first, her eyes never leaving him.
"you look fragile," she said with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "fragile things break easily."
"so what?" he said, voice shaky but defiant. "i'm weak now. maybe i always was."
wrath's eyes flared red, his voice low and threatening.
"weakness is a choice. and pride fools itself to think it's above choice."
envy laughed softly, cruel and cold.
"pride is a joke. the world will always be better without you."
"don't listen to them," a voice whispered in his head — soft but sharp like a knife's edge.
it was the madness stirring inside, urging him to tear them down.
"enough," greed interrupted, stepping forward with nervous energy, fingers twitching. "we didn't come here to insult you. we came to test you."
"test me?" he spat. "what kind of test?"
sloth yawned, voice dragging like heavy chains.
"one you'll hate. one that will break you."
gluttony's voice rumbled, "you will face your deepest fear."
he swallowed hard, fighting the panic rising in his chest.
"what fear? i have none left."
lust smiled wider, "oh, but you do. everyone does."
"then prove it," wrath said, stepping closer, "or disappear."
the ground beneath them shifted and the world twisted.
he was pulled into a new place — a dark forest, endless and suffocating.
"your fear," envy said from the shadows, "is loneliness. being forgotten. erased."
"i'm already alone," he whispered.
"exactly." envy smiled cruelly. "and that is why you will fail."
he took a shaky breath and started walking.
trees loomed like giants, whispering voices flickering in the wind — voices that sounded like people he once knew, or wanted to know.
"look," lust said, appearing beside him like a shadow. "you want to fight the madness, but it is already inside you."
"i don't want it," he said, voice cracking.
"denial is the first step of madness," she said, "accept it and become more."
he clenched his fists. "i don't want to become like you."
"then you'll never be strong," wrath's voice thundered behind him.
"strength isn't power," he said quietly. "strength is knowing what to hold onto when everything wants to take you."
a sudden movement — a figure stepped from the trees.
it was himself. but twisted — a reflection of his darkest thoughts, eyes burning with cold fire.
"you're afraid," the double said, voice mocking. "afraid of losing control. afraid of madness."
"maybe," he said, heart pounding. "but i'm not afraid of fighting."
"then fight," the double grinned. "show me your pride."
the forest shook with tension as they faced each other.
inside, the madness whispered — louder now, hungry, desperate.
"break your limits," it urged. "embrace the chaos."
he closed his eyes, feeling the storm inside him rising.
when he opened them, the world felt sharper — clearer — terrifying.
"i am pride," he said aloud, voice steady.
"then prove it," the double said, lunging forward.
the battle was silent — a clash of shadows and wills — until finally, he stood alone.
breathing hard. broken, but unbowed.
lust's voice echoed in the wind. "this was only the beginning."
he didn't answer.
because somewhere deep inside, a terrible, beautiful truth was taking root —
he was changing.
madness was his weapon.
and pride would be his armor.