Chapter Five: The Strongest Sin—Pride

Deep within the Forbidden Mountains, where reality itself bent to ancient powers, Kael stood before an altar black as night. The chamber around him pulsed with eldritch energy, its walls carved with symbols that predated civilization itself. This was the Temple of Sins, a place where mortals once communed with powers beyond comprehension, where the boundaries between divine and mortal blurred into nothingness.

Seven altars formed a perfect circle in the chamber's heart, each representing a cardinal sin. Greed gleamed with golden light, its surface covered in precious gems that seemed to whisper promises of wealth. Wrath burned with eternal flames, its heat carrying the screams of countless battles. Lust shimmered with an ethereal pink glow, offering pleasures beyond mortal understanding. Gluttony's altar was stained with ancient offerings, forever hungry for more. Sloth radiated a peaceful calm that could lull gods themselves to sleep. Envy reflected everything around it, its surface showing twisted versions of one's deepest desires.

But at the circle's center stood Pride—tallest among them, its obsidian surface drinking in all light. This was what Kael sought. Not just power, but the very essence of superiority itself.

The ritual required sacrifice. Not of blood or flesh, but of humanity itself. Pride demanded everything—every shred of doubt, every morsel of compassion, every fragment of what made someone human. It offered power beyond measure in return, but the price was absolute.

Kael had spent years researching this ritual, gathering ancient texts from ruins that mortals feared to approach. He had pieced together fragments of forgotten languages, decoded warnings written in the blood of those who had failed, and understood exactly what Pride would take from him.

He didn't hesitate.

"Pride," he spoke, his voice echoing in the chamber's depths, "I offer myself to your embrace. Take what humanity remains in me, take these lingering emotions that chain me to my past. Grant me the power to stand above all creation, to challenge the gods themselves."

The altar's surface began to ripple like liquid darkness. A voice that was not a voice responded, its words bypassing his ears to resonate directly in his mind.

You seek to transcend mortality, yet you cling to mortal purpose. Revenge against the gods—such a small ambition for one who could be so much more.

Kael's golden eyes narrowed. "Then show me more. Show me what true power means."

The darkness reached for him with tendrils of void, wrapping around his form like a lover's embrace. As they sank into his flesh, memories began to surface—his life as Hoshi, the friends he had known, the simple joys and sorrows of a mortal existence.

These bonds hold you back. These memories chain you to weakness. Let them go. Embrace the truth of your existence.

One by one, the memories began to fade. Not erased, but transformed. The warmth of friendship became a cold acknowledgment of past weakness. The pain of betrayal mellowed into detached amusement at mortal foolishness. Even his hatred for the gods shifted, becoming something colder and more absolute—not the hot rage of someone wronged, but the absolute certainty that they were beneath him.

The chamber trembled as power flooded into him. Pride's essence merged with his own, transforming him into something beyond mortal comprehension. His aura, once merely overwhelming, now carried the weight of divinity itself. Reality bent around him, acknowledging his superiority with every passing moment.

When the transformation was complete, Kael stood changed. His armor, once merely intimidating, now radiated an aura of absolute dominance. His golden eyes held not just power, but the unshakeable certainty that he stood above all creation. Even the air seemed to bow before him, creating a perpetual pressure that made lesser beings struggle to breathe in his presence.

He had become Pride incarnate.

The first test of his new power came swiftly. The Temple's guardians—ancient constructs of divine magic—awakened to challenge the one who had dared to claim Pride's power. They rose from their eternal slumber, giants of crystal and light that had guarded this place since the dawn of time.

Kael didn't move as they approached. He simply existed, and that existence itself was enough to make the guardians shatter. Their ancient magic, powerful enough to challenge armies, broke against his aura like waves against a mountain. They hadn't even warranted the effort of lifting his hand.

As he emerged from the Temple, the world itself seemed different. Not because it had changed, but because he now saw it for what it truly was—a realm of insects pretending at significance. The gods themselves were no different, merely larger insects playing at divinity.

His power had grown beyond reckoning, but more importantly, his perspective had shifted entirely. The concept of mercy had become foreign to him—not because he chose to be cruel, but because the concerns of lesser beings were beneath his notice. Compassion was a memory that held no meaning. Even his quest for revenge had transformed into something colder and more absolute—the gods would fall not out of hatred, but because their continued existence was an insult to his perfection.

Word of his transformation spread quickly. Those who had known him as a mere immortal warrior felt the difference immediately. His presence now carried weight that made reality itself strain, and his gaze could break the strongest wills with casual ease. Even the bravest warriors found themselves unable to meet his eyes, their instincts screaming that they stood before something beyond their comprehension.

The Imperial Academy of Sword and Magic felt his power from leagues away. Students and masters alike were struck by sudden, inexplicable terror as waves of his aura reached them. Akari, training in the eastern tower, fell to her knees as tears streamed down her face. She felt it more keenly than the others—the absolute void where Hoshi's humanity had once resided.

In his throne room, the God of War sat silent, contemplating his next move. The games of mortals no longer interested him, yet they could serve a purpose. The Empire of Ingrassia had offered him their allegiance, thinking they could use his power for their ambitions. He had accepted, not out of any desire for alliance, but because their resources could be useful.

His thoughts turned to the heroes—his former classmates who had been summoned to this world. They were nothing to him now, not even worth the effort of hatred. Yet their existence was curious, another move in the gods' endless game. Perhaps he would let them grow stronger, let them think they had a chance. Their eventual despair would be absolute when they realized the truth: Pride had no equal, no peer, no rival.

He was beyond them all.

And soon, even the gods would kneel before his perfection.

Driven by a cruel curiosity, Kael descended upon the Imperial Academy of Sword and Magic, where the heroes trained. His presence was not announced by horns or heralds—it was felt. The air turned dense, suffocating under the sheer force of his aura. Students and teachers alike felt their knees buckle, instinctively recognizing the overwhelming gap between them and the warlord who had once been their friend.

Two instructors, their pride overriding their judgment, launched an attack. The first conjured a storm of fire that could melt castle walls, while the other summoned a barrage of enchanted spears, each capable of piercing dragon scales. Kael didn't deign to move. The attacks dissipated before reaching him, swallowed by an unseen force. With a mere flick of his wrist, both instructors collapsed to the ground, rendered unconscious before they could process what had happened.

The heroes watched in horror. This was their first glimpse of what Kael had become, and it shattered any illusions they might have harbored about their chances against him.

"Hoshi! This isn't you!" Renji yelled, his voice shaking with desperate hope.

Kael's gaze was cold, distant, as if looking at insects that had learned to speak. "Hoshi is dead. The weak boy you knew could never have survived this world."

Master Aldric, the kingdom's legendary swordsman, stepped forward. His reputation had been built over decades of combat, his name spoken with reverence throughout the realm. Without hesitation, he launched into a flurry of attacks, his sword moving faster than mortal eyes could follow. Each strike was a masterpiece of technique, enhanced by divine steel and sacred magic.

Kael stood still, effortlessly parrying each blow with his bare hands. Between attacks, his lips curled into a smirk that held no warmth. "Is this truly the best this kingdom has to offer?"

Aldric gritted his teeth, his blade igniting with sacred fire—a technique that had slain demons and dragons alike. He roared and struck with all his might, channeling every ounce of power he possessed into a single, perfect attack.

Kael caught the blade between two fingers.

The courtyard fell silent, the weight of what they were witnessing pressing down on every witness. Their greatest warrior, a man whose name was legend, had been reduced to nothing.

"Pathetic," Kael whispered before shattering the legendary sword with a mere twist of his wrist.

Aldric staggered back, his eyes wide with the realization that he stood before something beyond mortal comprehension. The heroes trembled. Everything they had trained for, every skill they had honed—it meant nothing before the absolute power that Kael wielded.

Kael turned his back on them, his dismissal more crushing than any attack could have been. "You will never be strong enough to face me. Accept your fate."

And with that, he vanished, leaving behind only despair and the terrifying realization that the friend they sought to save no longer existed. Pride had consumed him utterly, leaving behind a being that viewed their very existence as beneath his notice.

The lesson had been delivered: Power wasn't merely about strength or skill. True power, as embodied by Pride, was the absolute certainty that no force in creation could stand as your equal. And Kael had become its perfect vessel.