The Secret of Sin

Sean bled from all seven orifices, yet he still stood ramrod straight atop the raised mound, smiling as he looked down at the god beyond the Sky Island.

"Boring—"

An indescribable glint flashed through Pride's merciless crimson eyes. Its earlier Wrath, indifference, and madness all vanished in an instant.

It lowered its head slightly and studied Sean before asking in an even, ancient-well-still voice, "Mortal, are you not afraid of death at all? No, it is more than death. Your soul will vanish completely. You will not even have the chance to fall into the underworld."

Sean coughed up blood. Raising a trembling hand wracked by agony, he casually wiped it away, his smile unchanged. "Is there anyone in this world who isn't afraid of death? Pride... Heh, you are practically a god in the eyes of the world, but dare you tell me that you aren't afraid of death? That you aren't afraid of vanishing completely from this world? Vanishing from the underworld and the Realm of Illusion?"

Pride fell silent for the rarest of moments. Then, after a while, it actually nodded. "Yes, I fear total annihilation. Not because I fear being erased, but because there are still things I have not finished... Still, that is fear of death. You are right. Which brings us back to my question: why are you not concerned about death? You clearly fear it."

It could sense that if it threw caution to the wind and broke through this soul's barrier, the human before it—its bridge—would die completely. And because of that thief, even death would not grant him rest in the underworld. Yet despite all that, he feared no danger.

He possessed the Satori to perish together with it—even if that so-called mutual destruction would only earn it a period of