The hospital doors slid open and the night air hit me like a slap.
The city lights blurred into streaks as I walked barefoot across the pavement. My legs were unsteady, but my mind was clear. Every heartbeat carried a single name.
Lucas Crow.
I followed the sidewalk until the glow of the main boulevard swallowed me. Cars rushed past. Neon signs bled color across wet asphalt. The world had no idea that everything was about to change.
My phone vibrated in the pocket of the hospital gown. The device felt strange in my hand, light and old, but familiar from another life. I already knew what notification I would see.
A headline pulsed across the cracked screen.
LUCAS CROW ANNOUNCES NEW CROW FINANCIAL BUILDING AT CITY SQUARE. LIVE EVENT.
I smiled without meaning to.
Fate was generous tonight.
The city square was only a ten minute walk. My feet were bleeding by the time I reached it, but the pain felt distant. Irrelevant. The crowd was thick and restless. Cameras flashed like storms. Drones hovered above the raised platform where Lucas stood behind the microphone.
He looked younger. Less polished than the man who burned me alive, but the arrogance was the same. The crowd hung on his every word. To them, he was a visionary. A hero. The good brother.
They would learn.
I stepped into the sea of bodies. People turned, whispering. A bare chested man in a hospital gown always drew attention. The whispering grew into a low murmur that spread through the square.
On stage, Lucas paused. His gaze swept the crowd, searching for the disturbance.
It found me.
His smile froze.
That was the moment he realized something was wrong.
I walked forward. No rush. No hesitation. Just a steady climb up the steps toward the stage.
The security guards moved to intercept. They reached out to grab me.
I tilted my head and looked at them.
Something cold and sharp slid through my veins.
The world shifted.
A faint red glow flickered at the edge of my sight.
[Sin ability unlocked: Presence][Effect: Instills instinctive fear in weaker opponents]
The guards stopped. Their hands trembled. The microphones on stage picked up the short, ragged breaths catching in their throats.
Lucas tried to recover. He forced his smile back into place.
"Aiden," he said, voice warm for the cameras. "You should be resting. Is everything alright, brother? You look unwell."
I reached for the microphone.
He could have held on. He did not.
I took it from his hand like it already belonged to me.
"Good evening," I said.
My voice rolled over the plaza, carried by the speakers.
"I want you to remember this moment. You are witnessing the beginning of change. You are watching the truth unravel."
The crowd quieted. Silence spread outward in a slow wave.
Lucas stepped closer. He leaned in, voice dropping to an angry whisper only I was supposed to hear.
"What do you think you are doing?"
I did not look at him.
I looked at the cameras.
"I want to tell you a story," I said. "A story about betrayal. About family. About a man who climbed high only to be stabbed in the back by the one he trusted most."
The square held its breath. Drama always sold better than charity.
Lucas reached for the microphone. I shifted my weight slightly. He froze.
Not because I threatened him.
Because something inside him understood that he should be afraid.
[Sin action registered: Public humiliation][Progress: 40 percent]
I turned to him slowly.
"Lucas," I said, voice steady. "Tell them the truth. Tell them why I woke up in a hospital with no explanation. Tell them about the deal you made. Tell them whose place you wanted to take."
Color bled from his face.
"Aiden, stop," he said. "You are confused. You do not know what you are saying."
I laughed softly. The sound bounced off glass and concrete, wrong in a way that made people shift uncomfortably.
"Confused?" I asked. "No. I have never seen things more clearly."
I stepped closer. The microphones caught only the two of us now.
"I know you tried to kill me."
Gasps erupted across the square. Reporters pushed forward. Cameras zoomed in, hungry for every detail.
Lucas tried to speak. His polished composure cracked like cheap glass. The crowd saw the sweat on his brow. They saw his eyes darting. They saw fear.
[Sin action registered: Shattered reputation][Progress: 80 percent]
The system whispered again.
[Optional bonus condition: Make the target kneel][Reward increase: +200 Sin Points]
I glanced at the crowd, then back at Lucas.
"Kneel," I said. "Show them what you are. Show them the truth."
He stared at me, stunned.
"Never."
The plaza lights flickered. The air grew thick and heavy. Presence surged from somewhere deep inside me, far stronger than before.
He trembled. The crowd went silent. His knees bent despite his pride. Veins stood out along his neck as he struggled.
And then he broke.
He fell to his knees in front of me.
The square exploded into chaos. Flashbulbs burst like gunfire. Voices collided. Drones spun wildly, desperate to capture every angle.
[Objective complete][Reward granted: 700 Sin Points][Ability unlocked: Sin Mark]
I leaned in until my lips were near his ear.
"This is only the beginning," I said. "I will take everything from you."
His eyes widened. Hatred and raw fear warred inside them.
The ground trembled beneath us. The sky darkened without warning. A crack split the air like distant thunder and a voice whispered inside my skull.
[System expansion prepared][First evolution triggered]
The microphone slipped from my fingers.
The crowd screamed.
And the world changed again.