The room was plunged into complete darkness. All the lights had been turned off, and only the cold glow of a computer monitor revealed the scattered shapes in the room. The floor was littered with piles of trash and discarded items: crushed cans, torn snack bags, remnants of forgotten packaging, strewn about as if no one had ever bothered to clean up. A hammock stretched from one side of the room to the other, almost occupying all the free space, swaying lightly under the weight of someone who had been sleeping there for hours or perhaps even days.
Fatigue suddenly hit me like a wave, pressing me downward. I leaned my head on Kate's arms, feeling my body heavy, almost incapable of holding itself up.
"Jin… hang in there just a little longer," she whispered softly, trying to soothe me.
"At this rate… you're just going to make me fall asleep," I replied, still staring into the darkness of the room.
In the hammock, a boy slept, seemingly indifferent to the chaos around him. He wore a beanie adorned with "ZzZ" symbols, and his brown hair escaped messily from underneath. His body was thin, pale, almost ethereal, and the way he rested was striking, given the state of the world outside. He slept with a near-childlike serenity, as if no disaster could ever touch him.
I knocked on the door three times before stepping fully inside. The sound stirred the boy awake. He slowly lifted his torso, rubbed his eyes, and stretched his arms high above his head.
"What…?" he mumbled, his voice thick with sleep. "You disturbed my nap. Couldn't you wait even a little longer?"
"You have no idea what's going on here!" I shouted, stepping forward in disbelief. Kate grabbed my shirt, holding me back.
"Hey, Jin… this guy doesn't seem dangerous," she said, stepping past me as if trying to manage the situation.
"It's a pleasure to meet you as well," he replied mockingly, rising from the hammock. "You can call me Oosawa… or Mutsuharu, if you prefer."
He grabbed a soda from the table and drank it casually, as if the world could collapse outside and it wouldn't matter to him at all.
Kate extended her hand to greet him, still hesitant. The instant their hands touched, a violent electric shock ran through the room. We fell to the floor, frozen, as the energy surged through our bodies like a brutal current.
"That hurts!" shouted Oosawa, clutching his head with both hands. "What… did you do?"
"I… I don't know… just make it stop!" moaned Kate, writhing on the floor, her skin prickling and muscles tense.
My heart raced; each beat felt like it would split my chest apart. My muscles locked, and my eyes widened in front of something I could barely comprehend. Looking at Oosawa, I realized it was more than his mere physical presence: he wasn't like the Trins, who could be dominated. He was emotion incarnate, a living force radiating from every gesture, every breath.
"What are you?" I whispered, almost voiceless.
As soon as the question left my lips, the deafening noise in my head ceased, along with the searing pain. Oosawa rose slowly and opened the window, letting the cold night air sweep into the room.
"Who would have thought… I'd be the first to find you," he said, adjusting his sleeve. "Look at the sky. Can you see the timer?" he pointed. "Only half an hour left."
I stared in disbelief. The number had drastically decreased; hours before, more than twenty remained. A single action, a gesture I didn't fully comprehend, had abruptly altered the remaining time.
"So I'm right," I said, picking up the staff near a pile of books. "What connection do you have with Omega?"
Kate stayed silent, merely observing. Oosawa yawned, took a small measuring tape from the table, and slipped it into his left pocket. His expression darkened, his head tilting slightly downward. He scratched his hair over the beanie, and his feet tapped the floor in a rhythmic, almost obsessive pattern.
"He's just an unbearable perfectionist, someone I've always hated," he said, his voice tense and clearly uncomfortable. "If you ask the other six, only one of them would lie."
"Has this guy gone insane?" Kate murmured, leaning against the door.
"Ask him…" Oosawa replied, pulling the measuring tape from his pocket again. His eyes radiated a palpable threat. "If you'll excuse me, I'm going to kill you quickly."
The tape, once small, transformed into a flaming thorn rope over ten meters long, adjusting to the distance between us. The sky darkened ominously.
"I am the seventh deadly sin," he said firmly. "Oosawa, Sloth."
A bolt of lightning struck behind the window, casting his silhouette into sharp relief. Suddenly, all the pieces fell into place in my mind: the timer, the Trins, Omega, and the sense that everything was intertwined. Before I could fully process it, the rope wrapped around my legs and torso, pulling me toward him.
A blade pierced my stomach. I felt hot, thick blood flowing, staining my clothes and dripping onto the floor.
"Jin!" I heard Kate's desperate scream as my vision began to darken.
When I regained consciousness, Omega's face was inches from mine.
"Don't worry," he said calmly, as he always did. "You're not dead. Time on Earth is stopped, and your friend is safe."
He placed a cup of tea, red as blood, and a piece of bread in my hands, both served on delicate dishes. Suddenly, two sofas and a coffee table appeared, creating a fully furnished space around us.
"I need to tell you some things," Omega began, sitting with a firm posture, watching every movement I made. "As you've probably realized, the Trins aren't your only obstacles in saving the world."
"I get that… but is there any way to defeat Oosawa?" I asked, still uneasy.
"Of course. Otherwise, I wouldn't limit your time to kill him," Omega replied. "I will give you the solution. I limit your time so that you can defeat all evil before the evil itself destroys the world. If you fail three times, the king controlling the sins will deliver checkmate."
He gestured dramatically, each motion emphasizing the seriousness of his words. A heavy silence fell, broken only by the sudden appearance of a creature of absolute light. Its body was covered with eyes of every shape and size, two transparent wings rose above it, and it was more than three meters tall. It had no mouth.
"Master, I request that you return time to Earth immediately," a deep, resonant voice commanded, shaking my hair with its force. "Your disciple is in critical condition."
Each eye of the creature blinked at different, random intervals, never in sync. Omega pointed to me:
"Take a good look. He is on our side."
"I will, but only for thirty seconds," replied the creature, curling its arms, bending its knees, and leaping with enough force to push me back before vanishing.
Omega took a deep breath, grabbed the plate, and fixed his intense gaze on me.
"Jin, I know this might sound strange, but you will need to make a blood pact if you want to complete your objective."
My heart raced. A pact like that meant surrendering both body and soul, with no right of return.
"Can you explain further?" I asked, leaning forward with my arms on my legs.
"This tea is my blood, and the bread is my flesh. By consuming them, you will gain part of my powers," Omega explained, creating three gray mists above his head, each inscribed with indescribable symbols. "Your abilities will develop as you carry out the pacts, but you will need to grow ever stronger to withstand the power itself."
The three mists merged into a single white cloud, inscribed with the name Dameyon.
"This is all I can offer. Do you accept?" Omega asked.
The weight of the decision fell on my shoulders like a heavy iron backpack. Sweat and blood began dripping to the floor.
"I accept," I said, taking the tea and bread with trembling hands.
"Then drink!" he said, offering the liquid. "It tastes good, like fresh juice."
I took it in one swift gulp. My body immediately burned like molten iron. Each rib seemed to break one by one; blood flowed rapidly, and a tingling filled my veins. My voice was trapped in my throat; I tried to scream, but nothing came out. My spine split in half, exposing my cervical vertebrae.
I stretched my weakened arm and grabbed the bread, knocking the plate to the floor, scattering shards. I ate the slice quickly. My body was restored, and a sweet fragrance filled my mind.
"What was that, Omega?" I asked, staring at my hand. "My hand… it's completely radiant!"
My right arm shone from shoulder to fingertips like the light of dawn. My strength and abilities had increased exponentially. I felt like an angel.
"This will suffice for now," Omega explained, touching the sofa and transforming it into an ark with a simple gesture. "The rest depends entirely on you."
My vision blurred. Everything around me became blue and orange. Waves of heat distorted the surroundings until a dense fog enveloped everything. My eyes burned, itching as if sand had infiltrated them.
"Please, make it stop!" I pleaded, spinning helplessly.
Above, Omega flew with arms wide open, his white robes radiating power, and his eyes burning with fire. To his right, a human-looking man with red hair and beard emanated strength. To the left, a transparent being with immense aura bore three rings: blue, green, and red. Around them floated thousands of impossible creatures; in the distance, a giant hand held a black pearl—the universe itself, in miniature.
"Go and fulfill what we told you, Jin," they said in unison, like a celestial chorus.
The transparent being descended, placing its hand on my chest. I was pulled into its essence, feeling absolute well-being.
"As you wish, Omega!" I said, clenching my fist and smiling.
An abyss opened beneath my feet, and I fell into deep darkness. Kate's words echoed:
"Hey, Jin… this guy doesn't seem dangerous."
"Don't trust him, Kate," I replied, blocking any contact.
Oosawa transformed the tape into a rope again:
"I've killed you once. The second time won't be a problem."
The scene dissolved. Time resumed its flow, as Omega had promised, but the timer showed only three minutes and nine seconds remaining. Oosawa remembered everything.
"Not cool, leaving me frozen in time. The nausea won't let me sleep," he muttered, aiming the rope at my feet.
"What is he talking about?" Kate asked, hiding behind the door.
"For now, take Shizuka and Ashi to the top floor and keep them safe. Just don't die before I return," I ordered, gripping the staff.
As Kate ran, I re-entered the room. Oosawa radiated an insane orange aura, thirsting for blood. I pointed the staff; it gleamed like my transformed arm. Knowledge I had never encountered flowed into my mind. The transparent being inside me amplified my abilities, preventing the overload from driving me insane.
I activated my first skill, naming it Laus:
"You are no longer a staff, but a destiny forged in light. Your essence, shattered, rises as a blade that judges, not by hand, but by decree. In you rests the verdict of the heights, and in my body, only the echo resonates. Now, as the sword of judgment, divide the world: what must remain, let it shine; what must fall, let it perish in silence."
"Gladius Caelestis," I concluded, making the light expand. The brilliance warped, and the staff transformed into a sword. The strength of a God pulsed in my hands.