"Hello my boy, looks like you had a good chat with brother Pride, how bout you spare some time for this lonely man too." Vespar heard him speak as he entered the dark room, the voice had a subtle ' hiss ' sound to it.
He was stunned as he saw the man infront of him,
he looked just like him, but more distorted, with scales on some parts of his face and hands, and the man was just sitting, the room was a copy of Pride's room, but darker and heavier.
Vespar exhaled slowly as he walked towards the table," And you are? " He asked as he carefully sat down.
" I'm Envy. I know you knew what sin I was, thank you for showing some consideration." Envy spoke with a smile," i really like your hair colour, white and shimmering. "
"You know… you wear that apathy like armor." His voice had that subtle hiss again, soft but prying. "Nothing touches you. Nothing shakes you. It's almost impressive."
"…Almost?" Vespar tilted his head, a smirk playing on his lips.
"Almost. Because armor is only needed when you're afraid of the blade beneath it. Tell me, Vespar, what are you so afraid of?"
"I'm not afraid. I just don't give a damn." He leaned back, chair creaking lightly.
"Not giving a damn is just another way of saying you're too scared to." His smile was calm, patient. "You act like nothing matters, but I can feel it—the cracks. The hunger. That need for her. For Lilith. For a place to belong. You crave it so much it terrifies you."
Vespar's smirk twitched for the briefest moment. "…Careful. You don't know me."
"Don't I? I am you. The part you hide. The part you'll never admit. You think you'll be enough for her? For her father? For her family name? You're a nameless vampire, born yesterday, walking into the shadow of centuries. She carries the Bloodrose legacy like a crown. You? You're just another hungry predator."
Silence.
Vespar's gaze dropped for half a second, fingers tapping the table, slow and tense.
He leaned in, voice lowering to a whisper. "One day, they'll compare you. They'll say: she could've chosen better. Stronger. Smarter. A true heir, not some drifter Destiny picked up off the floor. And when she looks at you in that moment—tell me, Vespar… will her eyes still be the same?"
The words hit like poison, sliding into places Vespar didn't want to look. His jaw clenched, breath held a fraction too long.
"…And what exactly are you trying to sell me? That I should doubt her? Push her away before she can leave me?" His voice was sharp now, but there was tension beneath it.
"Not push her away… claim her. Chain her. Make her need you more than you'll ever need her. That's how you win. That's how you silence the whispers before they start. If you don't, one day, you'll be nothing more than a story she tells of a fleeting romance—sweet, but forgettable."
Vespar's teeth ground together. His chest burned, not with fear, but with the dangerous thought of what if.
A smirk crept up Vespar's face" you are repeating again and again that i am just a random fleeting person, but destiny chose me , ME specifically to kill the chosen one, how is there someone better than me right now in this world."
Envy smirked "Ah, Vespar… you truly believe that being chosen makes you exceptional? That the world bends to the whims of Destiny? No, my dear, it simply means you are visible—fragile, obvious. Others… others thrive in the shadows, unseen, untested, honing their strength while you're busy playing the hero. You're not the measure of the world,"
Envy walked up to Vespar's chair, slowly leaning down to his ear caressing his shining white hair, he whispered " You're just the one loud enough for Destiny to notice. And sometimes, the loudest are the easiest to crush."
Suddenly the door came down crashing, as Pride entered furiously, " You're still going on and corrupting all the possible candidates for reforming a wretched world, little brother. " Pride spoke as he appeared behind Envy and threw him by his neck.
Envy crashed into one of the pillars, Pride looked down at Vespar clenching his fists, griting his teeth, getting worked up after listening to envy" don't listen to his chit-chat,
I have faith in you that you can achieve greatness far above this world has ever seen,
and you know that too. Let's go." Pride said as he patted Vespar's back and started leaving.
" WAIT...
VESPAR...
I CAN HELP YOU ACHIEVE THIS SO CALLED GREATNESS, EVEN MORE, MONEY, WOMEN, ANYTHING YOU WANT, I CAN GIVE YOU BETTER THAN ANY OF MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS PROMISE LATER." Envy's voice shrieked with desperation as Vespar was leaving, but
Vespar didn't reply, as he knew further talk would only make him doubts things that didn't even exist.
" Fine... You can leave too, I'll have my chance.... one day, until then..... take care, KEKEKEKE." He whispered to himself, his voice sounding even more spine chilling.
" Looks like you had quite the time with Envy, he hasn't changed even after years, what do I even do to him." The soul fragment of Vespar scratched his hair, as he pondered.
" Don't worry, I'll keep him under surveillance, for now Vespar needs to continue his quest, or else the balance can break." Pride said as he sighed.
" "Wait wait wait, are the other sins like Envy too? If yes… then I'm out. I've got enough teaching from Pride." Vespar exclaimed as he walked backward, nervousness was evident on his face.
The fragment and Pride exchanged a look of pity, then reassured him." Don't fret, they are fine, just envy was born that way, and, no, you can't leave the trials halfway, you need to complete it or the power of the WORLD could corrupt your body and leave you crippled."
" What the fuck is even happening right now?" Vespar grumbled and let out a long sigh.
--------------------
Real World
"What's happening to him right now, mother, uncle Harry, don't you people know anything?" Lilith knelt crying beside Vespar's bed as his body laid unconscious, Orpheus, Elizabeth, Harrison, Olivia, and some servants entered the room.
" Did anyone teach him magic or show him how to conjure mana?" Orpheus asked as he rubbed his forehead nervously.
" I did teach him, but this is first time that I have seen someone collapse after conjuring mana."Elizabeth said with a nervous look.
Imperceptive smile crept up Orpheus's face as he pulled Elizabeth away from everyone outside the room, " This kid is the ' one '."He said with barely controlled excitement .
"Times are going to change, and now it'll be your responsibility to teach him magic, only agree if you can handle that, else I'll have to take him as my apprentice, Olivia agreed to teach him combat, take your time." He said as he kissed her forehead.
Suddenly Lilith screamed, as the two hurried inside the room, they saw black lightning like markings appearing on Vespar's skin, Orpheus walked up to Lilith,
" Don't be scared, he's going to be fine." He said in a neutral tone as he tried to hold her shoulder but pulled back.
" HOW IN THE FUCKING HELL IS THIS FINE?" She shrieked in rage with bloodshot eyes, ready to anyone's throat if they came near.
" I know what you feel towards us, but believe me he'll be fine, he's undergoing The Trials right now, and he'll wake up by midnight." He said barely holding his tears back as he saw his daughter in such a state.