PRIDE | Book 1 of the Seven Sins Saga (Ongoing)

5 - "I have gifted you with this opportunity."

"As you should," Sin said before standing up and walking across the room. "You should always feel proud of yourself." 

I finally noticed what he was wearing. He wore a crisply tailored suit -- one of those old-fashioned types that had actual coat tails that billowed after him as he walked. The room, though brightly lit by candle sconces along the wall and a vivid chandelier, seemed to darken as he walked through, as though he were a shadow. 

He turned at an open doorway to an adjacent room, twisting so he could look back at me. The corner of his lips quirked upward and I found myself entranced by his whole demeanor. "Come along, Kailee," he said, gesturing with his arm to the open doorway. "We haven't got much time. You'll need to sign the contract soon."

"Contract?" I repeated. I stood up to follow him, the train my maroon gown dragging behind me. "What do you mean?" I didn't like not knowing what he was talking about. I wanted to know everything. 

As I pulled up closer to him, he led the way into the adjacent room. My breath caught as I walked through the doorway. It was an exquisite room.  Floor to ceiling bookshelves lined the walls, the smell of the many leather-bound books wafting through the air creating a pleasant aroma. My heels sunk into the plush carpet rugs that scattered periodically over the floor, layered on top of each other in some places. Beautifully elegant armchairs and divans scattered across the room, creating multiple cozy reading nooks. 

Sin led the way through the immaculate library, stopping at a massive wooden desk along the far wall. He slid into an impressive throne-like chair behind the desk and nodded for me to sit in one of the lavish armchairs facing him.

I dropped as gracefully as I could into the chair and sighed at the comfort the chair provided. I felt so at ease here, with Sin, in this confusing but beautiful palace. But I still needed answers. "I still don't understand exactly what happened to me," I admitted.

Sin was busy pulling open drawers in his desk searching for something. He didn't make eye contact and didn't comment. I took the opportunity to examine him some more. He was very handsome. Possibly the most attractive man I had ever met, but he also had a darkness about him. Something heinous that made me want to keep my distance at the same time his physical features drew me in. 

"Ah, here it is," he said, his voice like molten chocolate. He slid a stack of parchment toward me across the fine grain of his desk. "This should explain everything." 

The Chronicles of the Seven Sins 

When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary to intervene, the only resolution is by enacting the Chronicles of the Seven Sins. That to secure the holy sanctity of free will and human happiness, by means of a sacred rite, The Dark King, who holds the only power by means to render the world into a state of prosperous beginnings, will begin the resolution by selecting the first of the Seven: Pride. 

When the recipient of the Pride sin is selected, he or she will then complete the metamorphosis into his or her destined trait. Pride will be introduced to these acts. Through no means of infringement upon free will, Pride will be required to accept the demands that are placed upon him or her, in order to complete the following processes that are laid upon all of mankind by the Fates. 

In so accepting the acts required of Pride, his or her signature will be ironclad, binding him or her to the assignment and resolution. If Pride should fail the quest of uniting the Sins before the Winter Solstice, the world will be wiped clean of all mankind and The Light will bring upon the next Genesis.