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Chapter 25 - Chapter 25: Council of Virtues

Meanwhile, in a dimension folded between thought and feeling, within the pristine continent of the Neutral Psyches, in the psyche world. consciousness returned to Love.

She awoke not with a start, but with a slow, flowing awareness, as if emerging from a deep, healing river. Her eyes opened upon a chamber that was both familiar and achingly nostalgic. The air itself seemed to be woven from light, humming with a soft, harmonious frequency. The walls were not solid, but shimmering veils of energy that pulsed with a gentle, silver luminescence. It was a place that screamed divinity, a lustrous, glittering sanctuary that perfectly mirrored the peace she held in her own heart. This was the realm she had helped build, a fortress for balance in the endless war between light and shadow. This is how she viewed this world.

As she rose and left the chamber, she walked through corridors that seemed to be made of solidified moonlight. She found herself drawn to a vast, open floating field, where the ground was a soft, resilient cloud-stuff. Here, younger Neutral Psyches—embodiments of concepts like Serenity, Wonder, and Contentment—chased each other in a silent, joyful ballet, their forms leaving trails of gentle light. The very sight was a balm to her weary spirit.

A presence, bright and effervescent, approached. It was Joy, a lesser Neutral Psyche whose very being radiated pure, unadulterated elation. "You're awake!" Joy chimed, her voice like the tinkling of crystal bells. "We felt your distress. The Virtues have been waiting. They've been watching the turmoil in the human world closely."

With a respectful nod, Joy's form flickered, sending out a psychic summons. Within moments, the air around Love began to thicken with a profound, calming power.

They appeared not with a flash, but with a gradual intensification of light. The Seven Virtues, each draped in identical, flowing white astral cloaks that seemed to drink the ambient light and reflect it back with a softer glow. Their silvery-white hair and golden crowns marked them as the divine counterweights to the Sins she fought. Though their features were serene, the weight of eons rested in their eyes.

Humility, who had taken the male form, stepped forward slightly, his presence a quiet anchor. "Love. Your return to this plane was turbulent. The veil between worlds trembled with your pain." His voice was deep and resonant, yet soft. "We have been observing the physical realm's... accelerated decay. The Strays multiply like flies on carrion."

Love bowed her head respectfully. "You already know, then. You've seen it through the humans?"

"We see the shadows cast by the Sins in the minds of humanity," said Meek, her voice calm yet firm, her red pupils glowing softly beneath her transparent face veil. She was the counter to Wrath, and her composure was absolute. "We see the fear, the anger, the greed they stir. But the whispers in a single heart, the nuances of a personal bond... those are often lost in the cacophony of seven billion souls. We would hear what only you can tell us. Report."

And so, Love explained. She spoke of her mission, laid a thousand years ago: to make friends with Will, to be his anchor. "The Sins' plan is more advanced than we feared," she said, her voice tightening. "They are already complete within him. Pride, Wrath, Greed, Envy, Lust, Gluttony... they are all there, festering. And Sloth... he hides. Not in the open, but deep within Will's Psyche Environment itself, too lazy to even manifest fully, waiting."

She met their gazes, her own filled with a warrior's resolve. "I confronted Lust. She is reckless, arrogant... but powerful. My current strength is insufficient. I was forced to retreat. To protect Will, to have any hope of opposing them before they complete their cultivation, I need to be whole. I must fuse with my other half. I need to unlock the full power of the Neutral Psyche. I cannot do this as a fragment."

A ripple of somber energy passed between the Virtues. It was Justice, the opposite of Greed, who spoke, his voice ringing with a regretful finality. "That bridge was burned long ago, Love. The fusion you speak of transcends our authority. It involves a part of the Psyche World that we were cast out from—the realm of the original conflict. We are gatekeepers, not kings of this entire domain. That other half resides in a place we do not govern."

Diligence, the counter to the green energy of Sloth, added, her tone pragmatic, "To attempt it would be to start a war on a front we are not prepared to fight. It is not a matter of power, but of jurisdiction written by Fate itself."

Hope, which had flared in Love's chest, now felt like a dying ember. "Then, what can be done? Am I to watch them turn him into a weapon? To make him the vessel for Evil Incarnate?"

"We can restore what is rightfully yours," said Chastity, her voice overflowing with compassion. "We will unlock the seals on your memories, all of them. You will remember every life, every battle, every sacrifice, every moment of your long, lonely watch over him. And when the time for the final battle comes, we will not let you stand alone. We will descend. We will fight with you."

Love felt a surge of relief, a plan forming. "Then... you will help me erase them? To finally remove the Sins from existence, once and for all? To purge this poison from all creation?"

The silence that followed was heavier than any mountain, absolute and chilling. It was Humility who finally broke it, his words measured, ancient, and utterly final. "We cannot do that, Love. Fate would not allow it."

The statement struck Love with the force of a physical blow, unraveling her very purpose. "Why?" she asked, her voice barely a whisper, the simplicity of her mission crumbling to dust. "They are a poison. They bring only suffering, chaos, and death. They seek to dethrone Fate Himself! Why would He protect them? It makes no sense!"

Temperance, the opposite of the consuming Gluttony, spoke gently, "The balance is not for us to question. Good cannot exist without its shadow. To erase the Sins would be to unravel the tapestry of humanity itself. Their existence, however foul, is a necessary counterweight. Fate's design is... complex."

The Virtues stood united, their expressions a mixture of sympathy and unyielding resolve. They offered her power, allies, and a path forward, but they also placed upon her a terrifying, unanswered question and a fundamental limit to her vengeance. The war was coming, but it would be a war with rules she could not understand, for a reason that had been hidden from her since the beginning of time.

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