Meliodas

I jerked awake with an expression of shock and confusion on my face. As I observed my unfamiliar surroundings, my confusion deepened. I was on a hard bed with a straw poking out in a wooden, almost primitive room with oil lamps instead of the enchanted lights I was used to. I slowly got off the bed and walked towards the sole window in the room, through which I saw a dense collection of buildings with stone foundations and white-washed wooden stories built on top. (Insert random medieval architecture image here).

The door of my room suddenly burst open as a small blond boy in a white cloak with a green-handled sword on his back entered with seemingly endless energy and a very annoying, childish grin as he said in a cheery voice, "Yo, Escanor! Hope you had a good night's rest. After all, today is the day I have you admit defeat and join the Seven Deadly Sins!"

"Impudence!" I say with great annoyance at the bug that dares to assume that he can defeat me while at the same time loathing the thought of working under someone else.

Realizing it was already day, I jumped through the window, ran at full speed towards the green fields past the city walls, and stopped near a mountain with a significant chunk of it destroyed. I turned around and was unsurprised to see the emerald-eyed child behind me while waiting for it to turn noon. For some reason, I seemed to hold a great hatred toward myself and my power and wished to be killed. My self-hatred was so intense that it allowed me to hold back my increasing pride to wait and fight another bout with the boy who seemed to hold power enough to finally kill me. That is when I realized these thoughts and this body were not mine. I also couldn't influence this body, as if I was a foreign observer pushed into this body, seeing and feeling everything this person could while at the same time feeling familiar and nostalgic, as if it were my own memory.

I continued to experience the memory as it turned noon, my body filling with incomparable strength while the boy eyes of the boy in front of me turned purplish-black, almost like a void. A strange black mark appeared on his forehead, his white cloak turning the same purplish shade of black and moving against the wind as if alive. He unsheathed his sword, which was almost completely broken, and charged at me as I prepared to receive his attack and fight back.

The intense fight continued till I was pushed to the brink of death again and lost consciousness.

This scene repeated multiple times, with minor differences in each fight, but the result was the same. After who knows how many times, even with my pride, I had to admit that the boy, Meliodas, was stronger than me, and he held to power to kill me whenever he wished, but he didn't. He inspired me to make up for my sin by helping as many people as possible, using my strength to protect instead of destroy.

That is when Meliodas, no, the captain, gave me my new name and title: Lion's Sin of Pride, Escanor.

...

I jerked awake yet again from my strange dream/memory, the intense self-hate from my dream/past self seemingly choking me. On the verge of hyperventilating from the intense emotions, I took a few deep breaths to try and put a lid on those intense emotions. As I slowly got off the bed with my head feeling like a hammer was bouncing around inside it and sweating heavily, I observed my surroundings.

I seemed to be in a prism-shaped tent made of an unknown cloth, with my bed being a few layers of animal skin pulled over the hard wooden frame. The poles holding the tend up had a few runes carved into them that absorbed the heat and made the surrounding air cooler. Now that I think about it, why is it so hot here?

I got up, still feeling weak, and made my way out of the tent. Outside, the black, sandy soil of the ground seemed to actively cook the air above it as waves of heat emanated off it. There were several tents beside mine, though larger, placed in rows on either side with many armored soldiers hurriedly walking to and fro. In the distance, I saw the sky tear open as a squad of Valkerie landed with large crates of supplies in the sleds fastened to their magical space-hopping horses while another squad carried carcasses of giant beasts with them.

As I made my way through the camp, I spotted a group of soldiers geared up for battle standing in a circle, facing someone who spoke with authority and confidence in their voice. Getting closer, this person seemed to sense my presence through the wall of new recruits and called out. The soldiers parted to reveal Hela, who smirked at me and said, "Ah, so the sleeping beauty wakes! How is Muspelheimer treating you, Escanor Freyrson?"

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A/N: Yo, I'm back. Read so many terrible, terrible fanfics that I had to return and write another chapter.

What are your thoughts on changing the starting point to Muspelheimer?

I also removed the system entirely and gave MC Escanor's memories because it made more sense. I mean, I already gave him the looks and the grace; why not the memories as well?

Due to discovering so many terrible fanfics, I'll give suggestions of some good ones in my chapters from now on (many might not be on Webnovel, so try googling it).

This chapter's recommendation is: A New Player in the Force by USSExplorer.

Dude somehow writes chapters that are over 10,000 words each. What a madlad.