Seven Sins | BTS x Reader

Arrival

Your mother's hands were shaking as she fumbled around with your dress, draping the lace in the way the government had told her to. You could tell by her silence that she was worrying, and tears were pricking in your eyes when she got up slowly and looked at you. She raised her hand and caressed your cheek. "My beautiful, beautiful child", she whispered and you took a deep breath when the feelings threatened to spill over. "I'm so sorry this happened to you."
You swallowed. Since the Day of the Choice, your mother had apologized to you every single day, and every time you had explained to her that it didn't matter to you because it wasn't her fault. But she kept doing it, and only now did you realize how hard this must've been for her. Taking a quick step forward, you hugged her, and soon you could feel her hands rubbing your back soothingly. "Shhh", she murmured and you gritted your teeth. "I'll come back", you hiccuped, forcing back the sobs forming in your throat. "I promise."
Your mother didn't reply, and you knew exactly why. So far, not one of the hundreds of chosen girls and boys had ever come back, and even if you wanted to believe that you would, it was so, so likely that you wouldn't.
You swallowed and stepped back again, the slim fingers of your mother immediately fluttering over your clothes again, checking for any imperfections. You took her hands into yours and kept her from touching it any further. "It's fine", you said and watched as her shoulders sunk down. "I'm sure devils don't care how their food looks."
It was supposed to be a joke, but your mom flinched. "Don't say such things", she chided sharply. You sighed. "Okay."
The two of you spent the rest of the time in silence, not knowing what you were supposed to say. When the speakers finally announced your arrival, your mother pulled you into a tight hug, and although she didn't say anything, you knew what she wanted to express.
Following the tradition of the mother accompanying her child to the entrance of the netherworld, your mother took your hand and straightened her back. You followed her lead and together, you stepped out of the waiting room.

The entrance was huge and dark, a threatening aura lingering in the air and making you shiver. Steep stairs were leading into the abyss, being swallowed by the darkness after only a few meters, and you instinctively took a tiny step back when you approached the hole. Only the vicelike grip of your mother's hand kept you from turning around and running away.
You could see the fear in the faces of the audience standing close to the entrance, and it showed in the silence suddenly weighing down on your shoulders. The announcer cleared his throat. "We are here to witness the 1956th Day of Descent today, honoring this year's Chosen One's courage to save us all from the wrath of The Seven Sins."
Your mother huffed next to you, and you knew exactly why. Courage? You had been chosen to step down these stairs a few weeks ago, and there was no way you would have volunteered for being The Chosen One. You simply were forced to.
"It is time", the man announced. Every pair of eyes was focused on you now. Your mother squeezed your hand one last time, tears shimmering in her eyes as she took a step back and left you alone in front of the intimidating darkness leading to the netherworld.
Silence surrounded you as you took a deep breath and then walked step by step, careful not to slip on the wet stones. You didn't turn around like you were advised by the woman who put you into the dress a few hours ago. "It'll be too hard to leave if you turn around", she said, but right now, you couldn't imagine. It was hard enough without turning around.
It only took a few meters before every sound and every trace of light from the outside vanished completely. You couldn't see nor hear anything, and insecurely stopped. The high heels the woman had put you in hurt your feet, and without light it was absolutely impossible to walk down the stairs. Without hesitating even for a second, you bowed down, took off your shoes and continued to descend with the high heels in your hands.

It took long before you saw light again. Your feet were tired and hurting, and your hands ached from the times you nearly fell and had to grasp for support on the stairs. The light was different from the sun's, it seemed as if someone took a dim lamp and put a pinkish cloth over it. It was weird, but not threatening, and so you climbed down further until suddenly, the stairs ended and you stood on even ground.
You looked around, then slowly proceeded. It seemed you were entering a giant cave, and when you finally left the tunnel you had been walking in, you realized it was a cave indeed. A huge cave, to be exact, the ceiling hovering over you so high that you couldn't even make it out, and there was enough space on the uneven ground to place a palace five times the size of your mom's house on it.
It was so cold you could see your breath vanishing into the air in little clouds, you shivered and pulled your thin jacket tighter around your shoulders. It didn't seem anyone was here, but if you would try to search the whole cave, you would die before you even saw half of it. Nevertheless you climbed further, careful not to slip on the wet ground, and looked around. Though it looked like a normal cave, something was lingering in the air, telling you very clearly that this was not an ordinary place at all.

Your assumption was confirmed when you heard a quiet snicker echoing through the hall. "It's that time of the year again?", a voice asked, and next thing you knew someone landed just a few meters behind you with a loud thump. A pause formed as you froze, breath hitching when you felt the sting of glances on your body.
A hum sounded through the cave, the voice a bit deeper than it seemed at first, but just as smooth and relaxed. "They brought a nice one this time."
You shivered in the sudden wave of cold air that washed through the cave. "Turn around", the voice said, and although you were clenching your hands in fear, you slowly obeyed.