Free Web NovelChapter 2: Descent of the Sin of Pride
12:00, Seoul, South Korea.
In the heart of the bustling metropolis of Seoul, an impressive security perimeter encircled a building with an ordinary appearance. This unremarkable structure had been transformed for the occasion into an impregnable fortress. Dozens of guards stood in tight ranks, wearing their reinforced combat suits and equipped with various types of weapons. Anxiety was visible on every face, because for nearly a week a spatial rift had formed, and its level had been evaluated at SS+. Inside the complex, the agitation had reached its peak: technicians and subordinates were running in all directions, carrying monitors and magical energy sensors.
"You can leave now."
This cold voice echoed in the center of the main room. It came from a woman who stood motionless in front of a massive spatial fissure. The energy escaping from this tear in reality was so oppressive that the walls seemed to groan under the atmospheric pressure. This woman displayed a dominant appearance: her long purple hair cascaded down over her long black coat. Her ethereal skin contrasted sharply with her piercing purple eyes, which were accentuated by pale red eyelashes. She wore a magenta-colored shirt unbuttoned, and her plunging neckline inevitably drew the eye, while a black tie was knotted with apparent negligence around her neck. The lower part of her silhouette was molded into shiny black faux leather pants, adorned with golden chains and pendants that jingled softly with each of her movements.
As the last person left the room running, the woman finally found herself alone in the silence. She crossed her arms under her chest, then stared at the spatial anomaly with a face of marble: she betrayed no emotion, despite the turmoil raging in her heart. Suddenly, a sharp crack rang out in the rarefied air. Cracks began to appear on the edges of the tear, then they spread out forming a network similar to a spider web across the void.
---
POV First Person
In the deepest darkness of the Void, silence was my only companion for an eternity whose duration I could no longer quantify. I eventually stopped counting the number of years that had passed since I had been chained in this abyss by those fucking bastards. It was not entirely impossible for me to escape, but according to my calculations, it would take a considerable amount of time. After thinking one last time, I closed my eyes, then plunged once more into the darkness.
After what seemed like a long moment, a sound echoed in the immensity of the void, and this event illuminated the space with an electric blue. A screen then materialized in front of me.
[The system has been successfully installed.]
[Reset protocol activated.]
[Soul transfer to destination: Earth.]
[Transfer rate: 1... 2... 10... 20... 30... 50... 70... 100%.]
[Your soul has been transferred successfully.]
A hoarse laugh escaped from my dry throat. The black mana chains that had held me prisoner for millennia creaked under the effect of my movements, as I slowly straightened my torso. The sound of the cracks echoed in the void, then the space around me began to shatter like glass subjected to too much pressure.
"Ahahaha... I warned you, you bitches," I said, just before my soul was sucked into the hole.
---
As the cracking sounds grew increasingly deafening, a brutal and oppressive pressure suddenly descended upon the entire sector. This force flooded the space indiscriminately: inside the complex as well as outside. The weakest individuals were pinned to the ground, unable to move a single muscle. Cold sweat beaded on their foreheads. Moreover, the intensity of this presence caused the immediate destruction of the magical sensors installed in the control room.
Recognizing the familiar aura, Electhra felt a smile distort her lips. Her violet eyes lit up with fervor at the moment when a dazzling light appeared in the center of the room. This light gradually condensed, then stabilized to take on a human form. As soon as the appearance of this silhouette became fully visible, its aura disappeared as instantly as it had come, as if it had never existed.
The silhouette now stood naked in the middle of the laboratory, exposing the body of a young man about eighteen years old. His musculature was athletic but not excessive. His grayish hair fell messily over his forehead, and a few rebellious strands framed his face. His eyes, of an icy gray, slowly scanned the entire room with coldness. On the left side of his neck, a tattoo representing a spider web began and descended along his torso.
He took a deep breath, savoring the air that had been missing for an eternity. Then he cast an indifferent glance toward the kneeling woman. She did not waste a second: she quickly bowed until her forehead almost brushed the tiled floor. freeweɓnovel.cøm
"I, Electhra, your humble servant, greet the presence of my sovereign, the Sin of Pride," she declared in a voice made vibrant by emotion.
He advanced toward her with a measured but inexorable step. He stopped right in front of her, so close that his shadow completely covered her prostrate body. This immediate proximity immediately made Electhra blush.
"How much time has passed since my imprisonment?" he asked.
His voice sounded younger than in his memories, but it retained intact that tone of sovereign arrogance that once characterized him. Electhra replied without raising her head.
"It has been nearly ten thousand years, my lord," she articulated.
"I see," he acknowledged. Then he placed a hand on his own hip in a nonchalant posture, his gaze scanning the technological equipment arranged in the room. Finally, he fixed his eyes on the walls and narrowed his eyelids, because he clearly perceived the magical energy fluctuations coming from outside the building.
"What exactly is happening? I sense different presences around. They are weak individually, but numerous," he specified in a neutral tone.
Electhra straightened up slightly, while maintaining a respectful posture.
"I will answer all your questions, my master. However, I think it would be better to change location before curious people dare to approach to investigate this resurgence of energy," she suggested in a more assured voice.
He seemed to think for a few seconds, his eyes half-closed, then he nodded in assent.
"That is acceptable. Guide me," he ordered simply. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com
Electhra stood up, then headed toward a hidden door located at the back of the laboratory, a passage specially designed for the discreet evacuation of high dignitaries in case of an incident. Both exited through this back door, taking a narrow corridor that kept them out of sight of the guards and staff. These were only just beginning to recover from the psychological pressure they had endured, some helping themselves up by leaning on the walls.
As they walked in a dark and poorly lit corridor, Electhra removed her coat and placed it over the bare shoulders of her sovereign. In the same movement, she took a cell phone out of her jacket pocket and dialed a number.
"What exactly is happening?" a female voice immediately asked, audible from the device.
"Stop getting agitated," Electhra cut in sharply. "The situation is under control. Immediately interrupt all ongoing emergency protocols and invent an official excuse to explain the mana fluctuation detected outside. I do not want to see any official report mention what happened in the laboratory. Understood?"
She hung up without waiting for a response, then cast a furtive glance at her sovereign. He was observing the technological device with curiosity, but he made no comment. Without exchanging another word, she guided him toward an armored vehicle parked in an isolated alley two hundred meters from the building. They both got inside, then Electhra started the engine and headed toward her private apartment, located in a secure neighborhood of the city.
