Yorktun

Darkness. Endless, suffocating, consuming. Retsuki feels nothing at first-no ground beneath his feet, no air to fill his lungs. He is weightless, yet heavy, as though chains pull him deeper into an abyss with no bottom.

Then, the darkness gives way.

Retsuki opens his eyes-or does he? It isn't easy to tell, for the world before him is not one of sight but of sensation. Shapes swim in shadows, twisting and writhing as if alive. The air is thick with the stench of sulfur and decay, sharp and burning. There is no sky, only a void pulsating with faint red veins like a diseased heart.

Retsuki (thinking):

"So... this is where I end up."

He takes a step forward, but his form is unstable. He's no longer light and energy but flesh. Raw, vulnerable. The cracks that once coursed through his body are now open wounds, oozing faint sparks that fizzle and die before they hit the ground.

The ground is a shifting mass of faces, screaming silently beneath his feet. Their eyes widen as he steps on them, their mouths contorting in agony.

Retsuki (thinking):

"This can't be real. This isn't..."

A voice interrupts his thoughts, sharp and cruel yet familiar.

The Keeper of the Abyss

Voice:

"Ah, so the false savior arrives at last."

Retsuki turns sharply. Before him stands a towering figure cloaked in smoke and flame. Its face is indistinct, shifting between a skull and a mirror that reflects Retsuki's fractured visage. Around its neck hang chains, each link bearing a word: Pride, Greed, Wrath, Lust... the Seven Deadly Sins.

Retsuki:

"Who... what are you?"

Figure:

"I am the Keeper. The warden of this place you call Hell. And you, Retsuki, are not supposed to be here. Not yet."

Retsuki (confused):

"Not yet? I died. I'm finished."

The Keeper laughs, sounding like breaking bones.

Keeper:

"Death is only the beginning, a little spark. You were not born as mortals are. You are... something else. Something forged. And when you were forged, something was taken from here, from me. Now you've come to return it."

The Keeper gestures, and the world shifts around them. Retsuki finds himself standing in a city eerily similar to Yorktun but grotesque and distorted. The buildings are alive, pulsing and breathing like diseased organs. The streets are rivers of blood, and the sky drips with black rain.

The people of Yorktun-thousands of them-wander, their faces blank, their eyes void of hope. Chains wrap around their necks and wrists, leading back to massive, grotesque towers bearing the Seven Deadly Sins symbols.

Keeper:

"Do you see it now? This is what you fought for. This is humanity, stripped bare of its illusions. They belong to us, and their sins bind them to this place. And so do you."

Retsuki steps toward a broken mirror that emerges from the ground. In its cracked surface, he sees himself-first, as he was, a being of light and energy, then as he is now, cracked and bleeding. But the final image stops him cold:

It is Paragus, holding his son. The boy is crying, his tiny hands clutching his father's robes. Paragus's face is stern, his eyes cold. He whispers something to the boy, and the boy vanishes in a flash of light.

Retsuki (whispering):

"No. That can't be..."

The Keeper leans close, its face entirely a mirror reflecting Retsuki's horror.

Keeper:

"Paragus lied to you. He didn't just create you. He sacrificed him-the boy-to give you life. You are not a savior, Retsuki. You are a consequence."

The words strike like a blade, and the mirror shatters.

Retsuki stumbles back, his body trembling. The ground beneath him opens, and he falls into a cavern filled with writhing figures. They reach for him, their fingers burning like fire when they touch his skin.

Each figure whispers a word:

"Pride."

"Gluttony."

"Wrath."

"Sloth."

The Seven Deadly Sins surround him, their voices a cacophony of despair and accusation.

Pride (mocking):

"You thought you were better than us. You thought you could save them. But you were always one of us."

Retsuki (desperate):

"No! I'm not... I'm not like you!"

Wrath (hissing):

"Your anger burned brighter than any flame. You wanted to destroy, to hurt. Admit it."

Gluttony:

"You devoured everything-hope, energy, even your purpose. Never satisfied. Never whole."

The figures close in, their hands reaching for Retsuki's chest. He screams as they plunge into his body, pulling out fragments of light. Each fragment is a memory, a piece of his existence:

His first battle against the Wardens.

Alitha's touch, her voice calling his name.

Paragus whispers, "You'll never be him, but you'll be enough."

The Keeper looms above him, its voice echoing like thunder.

Keeper:

"You are at a crossroads, Retsuki. Accept what you are-a vessel of sin-and take your place here. Or fight. Fight for a purpose you were never meant to have. But know this: there is no salvation for you."

Retsuki struggles to his feet, his body barely holding together. He looks at the figures surrounding him, at the faces of the damned, at the grotesque towers that define this hellish place.

Retsuki:

"I am not your vessel. I am not your sin. I am not his failure."

He thrusts his hand into his chest, gripping the fragments of light within him. Pain sears through his body, but he pulls the fragments free, holding them aloft. They merge into a blinding light, shattering the figures around him.

The Keeper screams, its chains snapping as the light engulfs the realm.

Retsuki finds himself in a quiet, gray expanse when the light fades. The screams and chains are gone, and he is alone.

He looks at his hands, now whole but faintly glowing. The cracks are gone, but so is the sense of power that once defined him.

Retsuki (thinking):

"This isn't over. I'm not done. Not yet."

A faint voice echoes in the distance-Alitha's voice calling his name. Retsuki turns toward it and begins to walk, each step taking him closer to the unknown.

Then Retsuki stopped walking. The endless gray expanse twists, folding in on itself like a writhing serpent. It's no longer silent. The once-calm air buzzes with a low, malevolent hum, vibrating in Retsuki's chest, skull, and soul. He stands at the center of this shifting void, his body trembling, his glowing hands dimming.

Retsuki stares into the horizon-or what he believes is the horizon, though it constantly morphs, flickering between light and shadow. His chest heaves as fragments of memories-his own, or perhaps stolen-swirl around him. Voices echo. Alitha's. Paragus's. The Keeper's. His own.

Retsuki (whispering):

"Fine. Maybe... maybe this is it. Maybe I'll stay in Hell."

The hum grows louder, almost approving, like the abyss is pleased with his words. The air thickens around him, and the ground beneath his feet turns black, tar-like, clinging to him.

Retsuki (shouting):

"I'm not a god! That's what I finally realized when I absorbed them-Gluttony, Pride-those twisted, empty things! I could take their essence, use it, wield it to save Yorktun, to be better than them. But I was wrong."

His voice cracks, echoing back at him mockingly. The black tar creeps up his legs, binding him as images flash before him.

• Gluttony: A grotesque maw consuming everything, leaving only emptiness behind.

• Pride: A towering figure sneering down at the world, its arrogance blinding.

• Himself: Holding their essence, feeling their power, and thinking-just for a moment-that he could be more than what he was.

Retsuki (breaking):

"I thought I was their opposite! I thought I was better. But no. No... I wasn't. I was them."

The tar reaches his chest now, pulling at him, dragging him down. He fights, his glowing hands clawing at the void, but the essence of the sins lingers in him, whispering.

"You are us."

"You always were."

"You thought you could escape, but you created us."

Retsuki (roaring):

"Shut up! I AM NOT YOU!"

His voice shakes the void, but the whispers persist. He falls to his knees, the tar now up to his throat.

Retsuki (desperate):

"I... I claimed to be something more, didn't I? A savior. A hero. But I was nothing. Nothing but a reflection of their sins. Maybe... maybe I've been Pride all along. Maybe I've always been the monster I was fighting."

The tar retreats slightly as though feeding on his admission. He gasps for air, his body shaking.

Retsuki (quietly, to himself):

"But... no. No, I said that before. I denied it. I swore it wasn't true. I fought it. I fought them. But now... now I see. There's no escaping it. I'm not just the one who fought the sins. I'm the one who carried them. Who spread them? Who became them."

He grips his chest, where the remnants of Gluttony and Pride's essence still burn faintly.

Retsuki:

"No more Gluttony. No more Pride. Just me. Just Retsuki."

The tar surges upward, enveloping his face. For a moment, everything goes dark.

When Retsuki opens his eyes, he is no longer in the gray expanse. He stands in a massive, crimson chamber. The walls pulse like veins, oozing a dark, viscous fluid. In the center of the room is a grotesque throne made of jagged bone and twisted metal, glowing faintly with the essence of the Seven Deadly Sins.

The throne calls to him.

Retsuki (terrified):

"No. No, this isn't what I wanted. This isn't what I fought for!"

A tall and commanding shadow forms beside him. It is the Keeper, though now it resembles Retsuki himself-a cracked, broken reflection of the man he tried to be.

Keeper:

"Isn't it, though? You fought to save Yorktun, didn't you? And you did. But at what cost? You absorbed them. You wielded them. You became the King of Sins, Retsuki. This is your reward."

The throne glows brighter, its power seeping into the chamber. Retsuki feels it pulling at him, whispering promises of strength, control, and purpose.

Retsuki (whispering):

"I... I saved Yorktun. I know I did. But I also damned it, didn't I? The sins were my weapons, my tools. And in the end... I let them consume me."

The Keeper steps closer, its voice dripping with malice.

Keeper:

"You're starting to understand. You saved them, yes. But you didn't save yourself. And now, you will reign here as the King you were always meant to be."

The throne shifts, its jagged edges smoothing into something almost inviting. Retsuki takes a step back, his hands trembling.

Retsuki (shouting):

"No! I'm not their King! I'm not their savior! I'm not there anything!"

The Keeper laughs, the sound echoing endlessly.

Chains shot from the throne, wrapping around Retsuki's wrists and ankles. He struggles, but the more he resists, the tighter they pull. The essence of the Seven Deadly Sins flows into him, overwhelming him.

Retsuki (screaming):

"I DID THIS! I BROUGHT THIS UPON MYSELF!"

The chains drag him to the throne, forcing him to sit. The moment he does, the chamber erupts in light and shadow. The essence of the sins floods his body, filling every crack, every wound, every space.

Retsuki's screams turn to silence as the transformation completes.

Retsuki sits on the throne, his form unrecognizable. His body is a fusion of light and shadow, the remnants of Gluttony and Pride swirling around him like a crown: the chamber quiets, and the Keeper kneels before him.

Keeper:

"Welcome, my King."

For a moment, Retsuki feels nothing. No anger, no despair, no hope. Only emptiness. He looks at his hands, now monstrous and clawed.

Retsuki (whispering):

"I saved Yorktun. But I'm also its greatest sinner. And now... now I'll never leave this place."

The throne pulses, and the chamber begins to fill with the faces of the damned. They look to Retsuki, their eyes filled with pain and accusation.

Retsuki (to himself):

"Fine. If this is my punishment, I'll take it. I'll stay here. I'll rule here. But I'll do it my way. No more Gluttony. No more Pride. No more lies. Just me."

The throne glows brighter, and the chains fall away. The Keeper vanishes, leaving Retsuki alone. Alone, but not free.

He looks out at the endless expanse of Hell, at the faces of those who suffered because of him, and whispers:

Retsuki:

"I am your King. And I am your prisoner."