Ryan tore through the remaining gold wall with his blades, but his movements were heavy, his spirit weighed down by the sight before him. The golden idol of Lust stood perfect and cold, a monument to betrayal. A deep, sorrowful anger settled in his chest.
The voice of Greed echoed, smug and delighted. "Ryan! Behold my masterpiece! Do you appreciate the artwork? It's exquisite, is it not? And the best part... her power is now mine. I am twice as strong!"
"What kind of monster are you?" Ryan's voice was low, trembling with fury. "Lust was your ally! How could you do that?"
"Hah! What a sentimental fool!" Greed laughed, the sound like clinking coins. "Friends, family, loyalty—meaningless fairy tales! In this world, only one thing has true, permanent value. Gold. And gold is power."
A single, perfect gold coin appeared in Greed's palm. He tossed it carelessly, catching it with a flick of his wrist.
"Look at this, Ryan. Does it seem familiar?"
Ryan stared, his brow furrowed. "No."
"This," Greed said, his voice dropping to a venomous whisper, "is the price of a life. A peasant's life. A villager's life. This coin... is your price, Ryan!" He snapped the coin in half between his fingers and let the pieces fall.
Where they struck the ground, liquid gold surged upwards, flowing over Greed's body in a wave. It hardened into a colossal, ornate suit of armor, transforming him into a towering knight of pure, gleaming wealth.
Ryan watched, the cold anger inside him crystallizing into a deadly focus. "You're right. My life was valued at less than a coin. But you... you have fallen so far for gold that you've lost your mind. You're insane with greed. I'm going to end this game and put you to sleep."
A new, resonant voice boomed from the golden idol of Lust. "We shall see about that!"
The idol melted and reshaped itself, merging with Greed's armored form. What stood before Ryan now was a gigantic, golden king—a demonic monarch with a crown of spikes, a massive two-handed sword, and eyes that glowed with infernal red light.
Soul-forged blades extended from Ryan's fists. The Golden King attacked, its great sword sweeping down with the weight of a mountain. Ryan met it, not with a block, but with a surge of Red Soul energy that enveloped him completely. The colossal golden sword shattered against the concentrated power of his will.
"You are wrong, Greed," Ryan stated, his voice cutting through the clatter of falling metal. "The family you think has no value... they are the ones who stay with you. Who love you."
Fear flickered in the demon-king's red eyes for the first time. Ryan began to walk forward. The idol responded, shaping the surrounding gold into a storm of arrows and spears that shot toward him.
Ryan didn't dodge. His eyes held a desperate, unwavering light. His hands became a blur of crimson motion, deflecting and slicing every projectile before it could touch him.
"What is this? How are you so fast?!" Greed's voice was a panicked screech.
"The father you think didn't care," Ryan said, his speed increasing, becoming a streak of red light, "is the one who risked his life to put food in your mouth and a smile on your face!" He flashed past the idol's legs. There was a series of sharp clangs, and the golden legs were severed at the knees. The massive construct toppled forward.
"The mother is the one who gave you life, who loved you, who gave you everything she had!" Ryan was now standing on the fallen king's chest, right over its heart.
"The life you price at a gold coin—you are wrong! You can own all the gold in the world, but you can never buy back a life! You can't replace family with treasure! You can't replace a heart with metal!"
With a final, roared cry, Ryan plunged his blades deep into the golden chest. He didn't just pierce it; he tore it open. From within the hollow cavity, he pulled out the true form of Greed—a shivering, shriveled creature whose skin was the color of tarnished brass.
Ryan held him up, looking into his wide, terrified eyes. "You loved gold too much."
Carrying Greed by the scruff of his neck, Ryan walked to the remains of the Lust idol. With a careful slash, he shattered the golden shell. The pink essence of Lust, freed from her prison, shimmered into view. She looked at Ryan, gave him one last, grateful smile, and flowed into his chest as a warm, accepting energy.
Ryan then turned his gaze to the wretch in his hand. "Now, Greed. You will pay for what you did."
"W-wait, Ryan! It was a joke! I'll give you my power! I'll give you everything!" Greed babbled.
Ryan didn't reply. He threw Greed high into the air above the chamber.
"Wind Soul!"
A cyclone erupted, sucking every loose piece of gold in the tower—every coin, every shattered sword, every splinter of the idol—into a swirling vortex around Greed's screaming form.
"Fire."
Ryan channeled the burning essence of Lust within him. The whirlwind of gold ignited, becoming a blazing tornado of molten metal. Greed's screams turned from pleas to agonized shrieks as he was consumed by the very element he worshipped, burning alive in a self-made hell of treasure
As the tower crumbled, the world itself seemed to kneel.
Stone exploded into dust. Gold liquefied and ran like blood. Thunder cracked the sky open.
Ryan fell with the ruins, Wind Soul cloaking him like a shroud. He sliced through falling debris, a crimson streak in the chaos. When the earth finally stilled and the dust settled, an unnatural silence descended—thick, suffocating.
Then he saw him.
A man sat upon a throne forged from the tower's last remnants of gold, untouched by the destruction.
Silver hair cascaded down his shoulders like liquid moonlight.
His body was flawless—no scars, no blemishes, no trace of struggle.
His eyes were pure silver, devoid of emotion yet radiating absolute certainty.
He rose.
The ground did not tremble beneath his steps.
It waited.
"So," he said, his voice soft and effortless, carrying through the silence like a decree,
"you have finally reached the end."
Ryan's claws ignited, crimson energy humming. "You are Pride."
The man smiled—not with arrogance, not with cruelty.
A calm, knowing smile.
"Yes," he replied.
"I am Pride.
The first Sin.
The root of all others."
— End of Scene
Ryan stood below, his face an impassive mask, watching the tyrant be purified by his own sin. When the screams faded and the fire died, all that remained was a single, spinning orb of pure golden soul energy. It hovered for a moment, then shot downward, merging into Ryan.
The chamber was silent, stripped bare of its opulence. The trials of Greed and Lust were over.