Sinners

The world I lived in wasn't one of fairness.

Power dictated your worth, and the paths to achieving it were limited.

For most, strength came from mastering mana arts—manuals that helped an individual harness the mana inside their core and use them as a channel.

There was only a finite amount of mana arts and techniques, which made it very hard for the people to gain access to them.

The worst part was that while everyone was born with a mana core, only a handful of them had the potential to become a mage.

Then there were the Sinners.

People who went against the world order and integrated themselves with a hollow. 

By integrating with a hollow, you not only gain access to that creature's abilities...But occasionally, you also take on their 'bodily characteristics'.

Some grow too tall, develop wings and some can even become invisible.

While these 2 were the only paths an individual could take to gain strength, there was another path.

A path... that could give you all that and more.

It was the rarest and most coveted of all: A Heavenly Physique.

Only a few people were born with these gifts, granted by nature itself as though she had chosen them for a greater destiny.

These physiques weren't mere physical traits; they were foundations of power, limitless in their potential.

They dictated what one could achieve, what heights they could reach, and how far they could leave the rest of us behind.

Heavenly physiques came in many forms. Some were simple but powerful—the kind that would enhance a single trait, such as strength, agility, or stamina.

Those born with these common physiques were often revered in their local communities, and hailed as prodigies destined for greatness.

Then there were the rarer physiques, ones tied to the elements.

Fire, water, wind, earth—individuals with these gifts could command the forces of nature themselves, bending reality to their will.

Such physiques were the kind of thing you'd find in old stories, where a single person could hold back armies or reshape landscapes.

And above them all were the legendary physiques. They weren't tied to mere traits or elements; they wielded abilities capable of altering the course of history.

These physiques were the things of nightmares and dreams alike, containing enough power to destroy cities with a flick of their hand. Even things such as space and time were in some of their hands.

These wielders were gods among mortals.

Yet, even among the legends, my physique was something else entirely.

It wasn't bound by the conventions of this world. It wasn't constrained to enhancing a single trait or aligning with an element.

No, my physique defied definition.

It didn't just stand apart from the others; it surpassed them.

The Empty Physique.

For years, I had thought it was a curse.

Some cruel joke played by fate, chaining me with the worst possible trait a person could have.

A body that could neither harness mana nor hold any elemental affinity. It was a hollow shell, devoid of potential.

I had carried that shame like a collar around my neck for as long as I could remember.

But now…

As the truth began to settle in my mind, it was almost unbearable.

The Book of Sin hadn't lied.

My so-called curse wasn't just some defect. It was a mark, something deeper, darker, and far more twisted than I could have ever imagined.

It wasn't just a hollow shell.

My physique… my existence... was tied to one of the Seven Deadly Sins.

The realization tore through me like a blade.

"Mom… Dad…" My voice came out like a rough whisper, trembling as it cracked under the weight of my emotions.

'Now I know why you had gone out on my birthday.' I thought, subconsciously bitting at the insides of my cheek.

It was to get that book. 

The Book Of Sin.

An empty tear fell down my cheek as I suppressed all those emotions and feelings inside me and cut them off.

My face turned rigid as I grit my teeth.

"It was their choice to leave me behind that day."

"I did not fucking ask for this."

I took a shaky breath, staring at my hands.

They no longer trembled with weakness.

I had finally become stronger.

But would all of this have mattered if parents were alive?

Would all this have mattered if all I truly wanted was for them to stay with me?

If only they were with me...

My fingers curled into fists and I could practically hear my knuckles crack as I felt the raw strength now coursing through my veins.

From being born with the worst physique in the world…

To awakening an origin-grade physique…

I was no longer the same person.

A rush of emotions surged through me.

I thought of all the years I had spent as nothing.

As the weak, insignificant boy who was bullied, ridiculed, and dismissed by everyone around him.

I thought of the moments when I had wished for anything, anything, to make the pain stop. And now, standing here, I realized I no longer had to wish.

And in that moment, as my voice filled the room with unhinged laughter, one thing became clear:

The boy I had been was dead.

And the world would come to know the man who had risen in his place.

***

———————

The scene shifted on the screen, my eyes gleaming as I observed the boy—Noah—his face bright with the fleeting joy of discovering his newfound strength.

He was smiling, a wide, naïve grin that filled me with a deep, unsettling sense of amusement.

The kind of smile that would soon be erased.

"Look at you," I whispered softly, my voice like a caress. "You're happy. You're so happy, but you don't know... you're about to learn that happiness is a fleeting illusion."

I leaned forward, my fingers tapping rhythmically on the armrest of my chair, the sharp metallic scent of my excitement filling the room.

This joy... I thought, it'll vanish soon enough. It's just the calm before the storm.

I leaned back with a chilling smile, crossing my arms as my fingers drummed against the sides of the desk.

But Noah's joy, as innocent and pure as it seemed, would never last. It was far too premature.

My eyes wandered to the new device I had summoned, a sleek, glowing tablet that appeared out of thin air.

An evil grin flickered across my eyes as I tapped on the screen, revealing a selection of 'villain training systems'.

Each option was more enticing than the last—each promising to mold Noah into the perfect villain.

But nothing seemed to excite me.

Nothing felt... right.

"Ugh. Boring, boring, and more boring," I muttered, my lips curling into a grimace of disdain.

"You can only break someone in so many ways with these petty little systems. Where's the real fun?"

My gaze landed on a hidden folder, tucked away beneath the mundane options and there I found it.

One of the first-generation systems.

The one that had been abandoned, the one 'that being' had discarded.

I felt the air around me grow heavier as I unlocked the folder.

And there it was.

The system that had been left out in the cold, never meant to see the light of day.

I smiled.

A twisted, gleeful smile.

"There you are," I muttered, my heart filled with anticipation as I clicked on it's image.

"The real fun... has just begun."

***