The 7 Deadly Sins

2 | Gluttony

"The amount of gold someone has is never the issue, but rather the love of it and the want of more for personal gain that consumes the hearts of many good people."

- A.J. Darkholme.

"How much?"

This phrase, these two words, they were something Nina had heard for almost all of her teen life. With no mother or father and a good-for-nothing foster parents, Nina had grown up fending for herself - fighting for every penny and for every meal. By sixteen, she had become a jack-of-all-trades in the arts of conning and sexuality. Everything from stripping to prostitution, to selling drugs and robbing convenient stores - crime had become a part of her - a part herself she would likely never lose.

It wasn't the sex that she wanted, nor was it the drugs or the adrenaline. All Nina wanted--rather, longed for, was money - enough to never worry about her next meal ever again. She had become consumed by it - by the lifestyle - and by the hunger of wanting more. However, in chasing the money she so badly longed for, Nina lost herself and continued to sink into the murky depths of darkness - her Hell. There was no longer a rock bottom for her, there was nowhere lower for her to go.

"Twenty for a Blue Jay. Fifty for everything." Nina replied to heavy-set old man as they both stood in the dimly lit alley.

"Get them pants down." the old man grunted. "Then I might start thinking about actually paying you, whore."

Slowly, Nina turned around and began to unbutton her jeans - or so the man thought. Reaching into the waistband of her underwear, Nina grabbed the thumb-sized taser she carried everywhere she went and turned before plunging it into the greasy fat of his neck. The old man convulsed repeatedly as the shock reamed through him relentlessly, quickly putting an end to his consciousness. With a swift, silent hand, Nina reached into his pocket and nabbed his wallet.

"Don't make me puke, you fucking perv." Nina scowled and opened the wallet to find a giant wad of money. "...I'd rather die than waste my time fucking you. I'll gladly take your money, though."

Pulling out the money, Nina quickly folded the green paper and stuffed it inside of her bra before tossing the wallet back onto the old man's protruded stomach. Now finished with the situation at hand, Nina looked up straight to the exit of the alley, but just as she began to lift her head, Nina was hit with the sudden blinding glare of a flashlight - a type of light she had known all too well. It was a police officer, just like every other time.

"I'm Eris McClendon, chief of Andromedia PD. Put your hands above your head and do not make any sudden movements, or I'll be forced to shoot - I'm sure that's something neither of us want to happen." Eris calmly approached Nina as she pointed her flashlight at the unconscious man. "What happened here? Did you do this?"

"H-He..." Nina began to play the role of the victim. "He tried to rape me, so I used my taser."

Nina quickly looked down at the pile of garbage in front of her and gave a slight smirk as she saw her chance to run away. As though Nina were about to kick a ball, she lifted her right leg and drilled her foot into the pile as hard as she could have possibly done. The garbage was sent into the air, distracting Eris for only mere milliseconds. These minor milliseconds, however, were all that Nina needed to get away - to begin running away at full speed.

Running, Nina left the alley at top speed and turned the corner. She had hit the ground running, knowing the ins and outs of the streets like the back of her hand. It wouldn't have been a stretch to say that she knew the city, and the streets, better than anyone. Just as Nina had been jumping a fence, her vision abruptly went black - and the next thing she knew, she was on a roof looking down at Eris, the cop who had been chasing her only moments earlier.

"Shhh..." Nina heard someone blow air softly through their teeth, telling her to remain silent - and then the soft, sweet whisper came. "Wait a moment...I don't think you want to be caught...do you?"

Nina, as she remained completely still, felt a pair of small hands on each side of her waist. Slowly, softly, gently, the right hand moved around her waist and then into her jeans. Slithering like a worm, the mysterious hand weaved in and around until it finally stopped at Nina's thigh. It was a gentle warmth, the type warmth of warm Nina had never felt - the warmth of a mother.

"Do you like this? Do you want more?" Nina was surprised to hear a high-pitched feminine voice. "I bet you do. You always want more, don't you, Gluttony? Sex, money, food - you have never cared what it was - you have just always wanted more of it...Just like your mother."

Nina felt a pair of soft lips press against her neck. Using a mix of saliva and silken nips, Nina nearly shuddered - unable to control herself. Doubling over, Nina released a hesitant whimper before falling to her knees. As the intense waves passed, Nina turned her head and saw a pink haired woman who was no older than herself - and maybe even younger.

"Hello, my sweet child. My name is Z.Z." the woman spoke. "Gluttony, you are the second to awaken tonight - five others will will be joining you very, very soon. Now then..."

Z.Z sat on her knees and lifted her arm to reveal a red circle with a symbol that resembled something of a bird in mid-flight. The symbol increased in size as Z.Z's smile widened along the length of her face. Nina could feel the pressure of the small red circle coming down unto her shoulders - an intense heaviness - a heaviness that put her on all four of her limbs.

"If I grant you power, could you go on? I propose a deal-in exchange for this power, you must agree to make my one wish come true. Accept this contract, and you accept its conditions. While living in the world of humans, you will live unlike any other: a different providence, a different time, a different life. The Power of the King will condemn you to a life of solitude. Are you prepared for this?"

While under the intense pressure that was holding her down, Nina managed to utter out one word - just one word was all she bear to let out. "Yes."

With just one word, it was all over. The massive heaviness that had previously been crushing her had now vanished without a single trace, as though it had never been there to begin with. Z.Z. nodded and smiled as she realized just what kind of Geass Nina had received - it was lethal, and quite possibly, the rarest of the Geass types.

"I see." Z.Z. pulled a mirror out of thin air and held it up to Nina's face. "Your Geass, it appears to be invisibility. That's quite rare, I believe."

Nina rested her hand on her cheek as she stared at the mirror. Nothing was there. Absolutely nothing besides the night sky. "Why me? What makes me so special?" Nina asked, somehow unsurprised by her newfound power.

"I couldn't say." Z.Z. stood, and once again, slyly avoided the question. "It's against the rules. Anyhow, there's a condition for your Geass: Be at Central Lanvin Park at midnight. It's just up north, past the University. Be there, and you fulfill the condition...

...Who knows, you might just meet someone special."