Yorktun

A dimly lit chamber in the depths of Yorktun, a forgotten place where shadows writhed and the air hung heavy with despair. The scene unfolds in flashbacks, memories fractured and incomplete, playing out like a dream-or a nightmare.

The chapter's narrator is Pride, one of the Turkerin, recounting the truth to Retsuki during their final confrontation. Pride's voice is calm yet cutting, each word weighted with centuries of bitterness and accusation. Retsuki listens, his confusion and disbelief growing as the revelations pierce through his constructed sense of purpose.

Pride's voice echoed through the burning chamber as Retsuki stood before him, his body flickering with unstable energy. The two figures were locked in a standoff, but Pride's tone was almost conversational.

Pride:

"You think you're the hero, don't you, Retsuki? The beacon of hope. The lightning bolt to strike down tyranny. How quaint. Do you even know why you were created? Do you understand the true depths of Paragus's madness?"

Retsuki frowned, his fists clenched.

Retsuki:

"Paragus created me to bring hope. To fight against oppression. To free Yorktun."

Pride chuckled darkly, his monstrous form shifting in the firelight. His golden eyes gleamed, reflecting the chaos of their surroundings.

Pride:

"Hope? Freedom? Is that what he told you? Did he tell you about us, the Ketuinkin? Did he tell you how we came to be? Or did he conveniently forget to mention the price of his so-called revolution?"

The scene shifted suddenly as though the chamber walls had melted away. Retsuki was no longer standing in the ruins of Yorktun but in a darkened study cluttered with papers, books, and diagrams. Paragus sat at a desk, his face gaunt and his eyes hollow. He was surrounded by scribbled notes-philosophical treatises, manifestos, and strange equations.

Pride (voiceover):

"Your creator wasn't the saint you think he was. Oh, he had noble intentions in the beginning. He saw the Upbringers' tyranny, their lies, their control. He wanted to fight back. But somewhere along the way, he lost faith-not just in them, but in humanity itself."

Paragus's voice rang out, broken and trembling as though he were speaking to someone unseen.

Paragus (in flashback):

"They're broken. All of them. Greedy. Selfish. Weak. They can't be saved-not like this. They need to be remade and reforged. Only through suffering can they be purified. Only then will they rise to something greater."

The flashback shifted again, and Retsuki saw Paragus standing in a massive chamber deep beneath Yorktun. The walls were carved with ancient symbols, glowing faintly with an otherworldly light. Paragus stood at the center of a circle, surrounded by seven figures cloaked in shadow.

Pride (voiceover):

"He thought he could save humanity by burning away their flaws. So he turned to something ancient, something he didn't fully understand. He called upon forces older than the Upbringers, older than Yorktun itself. And in doing so, he created us."

The seven figures stepped forward, their forms grotesque and shifting. Each manifested a deadly sin: Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, and Pride.

Paragus (in flashback):

"I offer myself as the vessel. Let my despair, anger, and fear serve as the foundation for their awakening."

Paragus raised his hands, and the chamber erupted in light. The seven figures roared as they were bound to Yorktun, their essences merging with the psychic fabric of the city. The air grew thick with oppressive energy, and screams echoed in the distance as the first Ketuinkin was born.

The scene shifted again, showing the streets of Yorktun in chaos. People clutched their heads, their faces contorted in agony as the essence of the sins invaded their minds. One by one, they transformed-ordinary citizens twisted into monstrous reflections of their darkest desires and fears.

Pride (voiceover):

"We weren't born from the Upbringers' cruelty. We were born from Paragus's despair. He unleashed us upon the city, thinking he could force humanity to evolve through suffering. But all he did was break them further."

Retsuki watched in horror as the first Ketuinkin tore through the streets, their screams mingling with the cries of the innocent.

The flashback dissolved, and Retsuki was back in the present, standing before Pride. His body trembled, and his mind raced as he tried to reconcile what he had seen with everything he thought he knew.

Retsuki:

"No... that can't be true. Paragus wouldn't... he wouldn't do that."

Pride stepped closer, his voice dripping with venom.

Pride:

"Ah, but he did. And when he realized what he had done, he needed someone to blame. Someone to carry the weight of his guilt. That's where you come in, Retsuki. You were never meant to be a hero. You were a distraction, a scapegoat. A way for Paragus to wash his hands of the blood he spilled."

Retsuki shook his head, his voice rising in defiance.

Retsuki:

"That's a lie. I've seen the good in people. I've seen them rise and fight back. They're more than their flaws."

Pride laughed, the sound echoing through the chamber like thunder.

Pride:

"Believe what you want, a little spark. But you can't deny the truth of what you've seen. Paragus didn't create you to save them. He created you to die for his sins."

Retsuki fell to his knees, his body flickering as the weight of the revelation threatened to consume him. Memories of his battles, triumphs, and losses played out in his mind, now tinged with doubt.

Retsuki (thinking):

"Am I just a lie? A tool for someone else's guilt? Or am I... something more?"

He looked up at Pride, his eyes blazing with determination.

Retsuki:

"I don't care what Paragus intended. I don't care if I was created to die. I'll still fight for them-for the people of Yorktun. Not because I have to. Because I choose to."

Pride tilted his head, a faint smirk playing on his lips.

Pride:

"Interesting. Perhaps you are more than a scapegoat after all. Let's see if you can prove it."

The two clashed in light and shadow, the echoes of Paragus's sins lingering in the air as the battle raged.