Desire

 A crimson streak of light burned through the inky skies of Invid. The only lights that shined there were artificial and grand. Large skyscrapers towered all around a giant castle in the distance, made of pure emerald light. The crimson beam hit it with a hard crash.

False fire swirled around Nabi and Greed. Their bodies materialized within a garden on one of the many balconies of the castle. Green surrounded them from all sides, from the exotic plants to the symbol beneath their feet. Nabi’s crimson reiju had retreated into her; not daring to trespass any further than she had within the guardian of this castle’s domain.

Greed yawned at the sight of it. No matter how much she appeared to get, this place was unmistakably the most boring part of the castle. He rubbed the back of his neck, looking at Nabi’s hand slowly healing from the cut she had.

“Why does it seem like she always gets more?”

Nabi offered a light shrug in response. She kept her hands in her pockets; unlike Greed, her eyes locked on the darkness ahead and the odd silence that filled the air around them.

It was unsettling to no longer hear the sounds of battle for her.

A dim green light flickered on and the sound of footsteps quelled Nabi’s worry. As the footsteps grew closer, more and more the lights would flicker on until the figure of a young man with silver hair stood before the two.

His lime-tinted gaze flickered between Nabi and Greed and he allowed his face to turn from calm to one of inquisition, cocking back his head to reveal a smile of familiarity.

“Took you both long enough,” he said.

As he examined both of them, he noticed there were no scratches on either of them, and neither seemed tired. He stared at the two of them, and his eyes flared with intrigue.

"Impressive. To think you both were able to shut down another rebellion affiliated with the Zodiac Alliance is quite the achievement, especially in the manner you both did it."

"You act like that's such a big deal," Greed replied. His tone had no form of respect for the man. He tilted his neck until he heard an unsettling crack. "It was child's play, maybe even you could have dealt with it, Akamon."

"It was very simple. I barely had to even do anything this time," Nabi said as she approached Akamon. Her gaze was unwaveringly cold.

Akamon sighed, motioning for Greed to follow behind them while he pushed the silver of his hair behind his ear.

"Perhaps, but that aside — You both might as well report to Lady Leviathan already. We wasted enough time here," he said, walking into the dark with Nabi at his side while Greed followed behind.

Glimmering emerald green gems filled the room they walked through and the bright lights around them only made the color burn brighter. The three walked through the hall, and each had yet to say much of a word to the other. Paintings rested on the walls detailing of a battle. An entity descended from above, with legions of winged beasts unmistakable to the human eye.

“It’s odd…they appear so human, yet in the same way look so distant,” Akamon muttered at the sight of them. His brain processed the untold story behind the paintings like clockwork while Greed was more focused on the glittering emerald, yet his eyes were dull, gazing past it.

“You believe in that kind of stuff, Akamon?” Greed asked. Things like this even being real mattered little to him. Then again, not much ever did. A long, drawn-out sigh escaped his lips. He walked ahead to see Akamon's pale face.

"Not belief, but let's just say a childish interest. It's ⸺ just odd," Akamon replied.

The remnants of a smile faded from Akamon. His mind thought about reports that he'd heard in the years he spent within Leviathan's Court. "Stories of people whose bodies were pure light or even blades that could burn a demon to their core being." His face darkened further. He tried to think of a plausible explanation for it all.

Uncontrollable laughter escaped Greed's lips. He glanced at Nabi, barely able to grab hold of himself to ask her. His voice carried such a tone as if he knew the response she'd give.

"Hey, Nabi, what do you think of all this?"

She cupped her chin; thoughts ran through her mind.

"It sounds pretty stupid, but you never know these days. Maybe it might be true or just not what we expect. Something along those lines," Nabi said, with a hint of interest carried in her voice.

"Really? Maybe you two might be delusional or something," Greed said. He stared at the large obsidian door that clashed with the bright of the halls.

"We're here," Akamon said, stopping in his tracks. "Lady Leviathan will await you both. Try not to waste too much time."

The three stopped in front of a wall separating the physical world from one beyond. Akamon placed his palm on the wall, letting his reiju infect it and bypass the barrier between them. The wall opened like a door, overtaking the entire hall with light.

Nabi gave a nod in response to Akamon's words before walking into the room, Greed following in toe. He rested his hands in his pockets; the change in atmosphere wasn't much of anything new to him. With a single step, it engulfed them in the light emanating from the entrance.

Greed was the first to break through the golden barrier. He took in the wooden smell that radiated from the room. Instead of an office, he was met with the sight of a cozy room. His golden eyes flared at the emerald lights twinkling around him.

He felt himself freeze at the sight only to feel Nabi’s warm hand pressed against his back and with it; the fire in front of the two came to life. Despite the comforting air that swirled around them, there was also an underlying pressure within it.

It felt like a snake in hiding, yet made the two feel like prey in its presence.

Within the darkness, a woman grinned at the sight before letting the words that rested within her finally come to surface.

“Welcome back.”

A woman with pine colored hair tapped the desk she sat at, having appeared from what would be nowhere. Her voice was like silk; escaping her lips with each word she said like a mother to their child.

Nabi's eyes widened at the sight of the woman, dropping to take a knee while Greed allowed his eyes to keep wandering to inspect the beauty of the room. He never seemed to understand the beauty of a room like this, yet something about it all seemed alluring.

The golden light of his eyes noticed her. He offered a nod, less arrogant in his speaking.

“Oh, hey Leviathan—”

He could barely react, taking an elbow to the gut from Nabi. He clutched his stomach, focusing on Nabi while Leviathan held her hand over her mouth, chuckling at what Nabi did. Greed fell to his knees in a similar manner to Nabi, still clutching his stomach.

"Lady Leviathan," Nabi said, both as a correction for Greed and to acknowledge her presence.

Nabi let her gaze focus on the wooden floor beneath her, mind as calm as a tree in a clearing. She glared at Greed from the corner of her eye, frowning somewhat before resetting herself.

“You’re so mean to Guisei you know, Nabi ⸺ you really could be a bit more gentle with him,” Leviathan said in between her laughter. Light poured out of her desk, overpowering the flames. “Oh, speaking of Guisei, you have a visitor, you know.”

He looked up at Leviathan, finally reeling back from the pain, appearing almost confused.

“Who?” Guisei asked.

Leviathan smiled at the thought of Guisei’s expression before she’d tell him. He waited almost expectantly for her.

“Who else? Lord Mammon finally decided to come see his precious little Guisei himself.”

Guisei kept his mind calm at the thought. He remembered the last time the two had talked but tempered any latent emotions within him, not wishing to feel the wrath of Nabi’s elbow especially given it was weaker than the usual.

For now, all Guisei could do was smirk and Leviathan read the expression as clear as day. Nabi’s voice blurred to the back of his mind when she gave the report; fixated on the idea of speaking with Mammon.

The light grew into a bright screen of hardened emerald. Nabi’s crimson eyes flared. She viewed silhouettes through the translucent screen, yet kept her tongue dormant for the time being.

After moving through the information-filled screen for a moment, Leviathan remembered the two before him, both appearing restless in wait for something.

She stared back at Nabi; her eyes focused on Nabi's feline gaze. The two continued to stare at each other in silence. Guisei continued to tap his finger against his shoe. Leviathan blinked.

"Why are you two still here?" Leviathan asked, her eyes blank, only filled with inquisition.

Guisei and Nabi looked back at Leviathan, mirroring her own gaze. Silence filled the room for mere moments. Each of them debated in their minds about who should shatter the air.

"Ahem!"

Nabi coughed, waiting for Guisei to speak, angling her gaze towards him ever so slightly. The golden eyes of Guisei narrowed. He realized what Nabi was telling him to do, exchanging a quick nod… and did nothing.

A sigh escaped Nabi's lips, a hand coming quickly over her mouth. Leviathan perked up in response to the sound.

"Something you wanted to say, Nabi?"

"We were told that you had our next assignment ready for us… something about a project involving the nobility?" Nabi asked silently.

"Yes! The project," Leviathan refocused her gaze. The light slowly drifted into her wooden desk. She tapped it once and then again, remembering the remnants of the information she had to relay.

"For your next assignment, we've decided after a long time of waiting to begin a special project that we've been holding off on. That is.... the cultivation of the New Cardinal Sins."

"It's about time, don't you think?" Guisei stood up a bit, stretching his arms out. He let out a small chuckle. "I've been waiting since forever to kill that old man and take his place —— You do mean I finally get to take his place, right?"

Leviathan chuckled.

"Yes, in your case Guisei, you will finally be able to prove yourself as a worthy heir for Mammon's place as the Sin of Greed and Nabi of course will take her rightful place as the Sin of Wrath like her father and his before him," Leviathan said. Her lips curled into a smile.

Nabi exhaled slowly. Her mind pulsed at the idea or the mere thought of the Deadly Sin of Wrath. She lowered her gaze. More thoughts crept into her mind…one’s she was aware weren’t her own.

"Then that means the other three are also being chosen?" Nabi gasped out, and the heat dwindled. She let out a sigh of relief, and color slowly returned to her face.

"Correct or, well, somewhat correct. I have already chosen an heir and Lord Lucifer has made his candidate known to us as well. Asmodeus, on the other hand, has always been...neglectful and hasn't chosen a successor to our knowledge."

Leviathan glanced to the side; eyes narrowing with a bit of disdain. An envious thought passed through her head of how one could live so freely, yet she herself felt confined to the room of flame and darkness.

"Since we haven't had the cooperation of each of the Sins in such a manner in many years and the lack of belief of some noble houses, we are required to test you all," Leviathan said. "In an... controlled environment."

"What do you even mean by that? You'd think after forcing us on all those missions they'd think we already proved ourselves," Guisei replied.

Leviathan only offered a light shrug to the question. Her eyes moved to the ceiling, away from the two. "Who knows, I for one have complete trust in you both. Perhaps it has something to do with someone in particular not wanting to pick up any other Curse Series from other courts," A sly smirk spread across her face when she spoke, a hint of judgment in her gaze when she shifted it back towards the two. "Curse Academy…”

Guisei rolled his eyes, looking at his companion and then at the orange light that fought for power against the overwhelmingly icy green. His expression of arrogance became that of something else, a hint of wanting, envy of his own.

"High-class school to have those lazy noble children prove themselves so they can sit around for the rest of their lives, I'm aware," Guisei said.

He slowly turned around. With every word he spoke, the shivery feeling in the room was unsettling, almost as if he wanted to speak more than he truly wanted to. He walked to where he believed the two entered; the feeling seemed to rush throughout his entire body.

An inhale and then a calming exhale caused Guisei to focus his mind. He exchanged a glance with Leviathan. His eyes spoke for him entirely. She only offered a nod, not out of submission but rather intrigue of what he wished to achieve. His mannerisms were all too familiar for her.

"He's in the lower levels. I'll brief Nabi about the other details," Leviathan said.

The bright lime lights converged from all around the room, like ants joining together to form an arch. The interior faded like an illusionary dream, replaced only with a bright light that, despite its strength, could only dream of overpowering the warring lights within the room.

Guisei took a step forward, confidently basking in the light. His smirk broke free into a full grin. His hands opened before he closed them back. The time finally had come, a day he spoke of for many years.