Enigma of Sin

"Similar? What do you mean by that?" Kayn asked out loud as he wasn't sure how exactly she was communicating with him or if it was just a recording.

"Similar because we both are holders of one of the seven Virtues. I also know that you're the holder of a Sin though, which makes you an unprecedented individual."

"Wait, wait!" Kayn interrupted her after she finished her sentence as he needed confirmation about what she just said. "I have a Virtue in my soul? Are Virtues similar to the Sin of Wrath that I hold?"

"You didn't know?" She asked with a confused tone. "Yes, you hold a Virtue, Patience if I'm correct. You say the Sin you hold is Wrath, yes? Patience is of the opposite nature, so I'm guessing that it has balanced you out and negated any side effects from having both Sin and Virtue.

"Meaning, you probably will still feel rushed at times and will be able to control your anger fairly well. These are only my assumptions though. I, however, can only tell you what holding the Virtue of Kindness is like, both its benefits and downsides."

Kayn stood in silence for a moment as he contemplated on the words she said. 'Patience is the coinciding Virtue to Wrath if I'm going by literature. Is this what that entity was talking about when he said that I was taking control of Wrath? Am able to negate the curse aspect without him now? Do I even need to continue helping him then?'

The more he thought about it, the odder he found the situation. How was this god able to tell that he had Patience when the entity who was talking to him within his own mind wasn't? Did it have something to do with where he was?

"How did you know that I carry Patience as well as a Sin? Also, what are you trying to give me and do I have to take it?" Kayn asked as he was curious what she wanted with him.

"I only sensed you when you finished absorbing what I left behind here, and curious about you, I examined you with the little bit of mana still present within the temple that belongs to me. That is how I knew you had a Virtue and Sin, their presence is detectable by those like you if they have a way to examine an individual. As for what I want to give you, it is my own Virtue, Kindness."

The information about being able to sense other Sin and Virtue holders near him if he examined them was big news for Kayn as he assumed this meant that he would be able to tell from a distance using Mana Sense.

On the other hand, she wanted to give his soul yet another aspect to absorb. He didn't know what the downsides to having Patience were as he hadn't experienced them. This was due to having Wrath to negate Patience, but if they were anything like Wrath, it wasn't worth it to have one without the opposing nature.

"And if I refuse?" Kayn replied.

"Then you can be on your way and forget about it. However, I recommend you hear me out before coming to a decision." Clementia responded in a soft, motherly tone.

"I'll listen, but unless I'm missing something, it doesn't sound like a great idea to add yet another Virtue into my soul."

"Then I will proceed. The first thing you should know about Kindness is that as you'd expect, there are downsides. I am forced to almost always show mercy, no matter what the other side has done to me or my loved ones. If you've heard of the phrase 'turn the other cheek', that's what I'm compelled to do essentially.

"I am ready to be free from this burden, and while I can't exactly feel the need for revenge, there is a lingering emotion deep within that yearns to take back what I've lost over time. After examining you and looking into your recent past, I saw how you healed all of those sick children, so I believe that you would be able to accept Kindness without any issues as you have a gentleness to your soul."

Kayn didn't say anything, but he was grimacing. He definitely didn't want to be compelled to forgive those who had wronged him, he had people to kill and revenge to take, not being able to do that would go against everything he was striving for.

"Now, before that dissuades you, let me tell you what else Kindness allows for. As I just spoke, I was able to see your recent deeds due to my Virtue, but it also allows me to glimpse into the future of an individual based upon certain actions they may or may not take.

"I can't reveal everything to you as you are not the holder of Kindness yet, and that could possibly change the future. However, if you accept Kindness from me, you will greatly benefit from it. In fact, you could say that it is a necessary part of your growth and future. If you do not accept it, your path forward will be more difficult." Clementia stated.

"So, in summary, you were able to glean two different futures of mine based around you offering Kindness to me. In one, I accept it and it becomes a major boon to me, and the other I decline and I struggle more than I would need to otherwise, but still succeed. Does this sound about right?" Kayn replied as he was skeptical of what she was saying.

"Precisely." Clementia responded.

Kayn didn't want to just out right believe her, but Wrath enabled him to fight far beyond his conscious ability, so maybe Kindness allowed for foresight. Before he decided though, he wanted to know more about how her power actually worked.

"How does your ability to read the future work exactly?"

"If I'm more accurate about it, I would say that I am able to watch different futures based about acts of Kindness that I make and how they impact the individuals or objects I'm making my decision on. In this case, the act would be giving you my Virtue.

In short, I see potential outcomes of the choices I can make. Technically, I saw the outcomes of either offering you the Virtue or not. I was not shown what happens if I didn't, I would assume that your fate would lead you down the same path had I not offered it to you."

"I see…can I have a few moments to think about it?" Kayn asked as he didn't want to decide without thoroughly examining his options.

"Of course. Take all the time you need child. I can tell there are outsiders trying to get into the deeper parts of the temple as the restrictions are now gone, but I assure you they won't be able to get near this place before you decide."

"Thank you, goddess Clementia. I will give you my answer in a bit then."

"I'm no goddess, just stronger than you are currently. I will be listening for when you make your decision." Clementia giggled at first because she hadn't been called a goddess in a long time.

She was nothing compared to some of the others, people like Odin, but she was powerful in her own right. Only mortals would see her as a god, but to others she was just further along the path than them. But once you get far enough along, the distance between the amount of power between each step was astronomical.

…

Meanwhile, the UNTA halted their evacuation once they noticed that parts of the temple were still inaccessible, which could mean that the protection was still active.

As tempted as Dr Elaine was to enter the temple to see if she could find Kayn before he left the area, if he hadn't already, she knew that taking his warning to heart was the best option. She prepared all of her personal belongings to leave as soon as her escort team was ready.

Fortunately, she didn't have much aside from clothing and a few personal keepsakes that she traveled with. She didn't have a single living family member anymore, or a significant other, so it made traveling all around the world for her research easier on her.

She couldn't help but wonder if she would meet Kayn again, and if she did, would he be willing to take her with him when he left for his home?

If the energy called mana was as amazing and versatile as he made it sound, she wanted to see what a world filled with it was capable of. Surely their technology had soared to heights that she couldn't even fathom!

Little did the good doctor know that, at least from what Kayn had seen, magic had replaced technology for the most part. He hadn't seen much for incorporating both into one specialty nor was he about to try and introduce technology he knew about from Earth into Talgonoth.

Then again, he had read books from the Void Loop written by people who could travel between a few of the lower worlds who talked about the amazing technology they had witnessed. Perhaps Lavanth had the knowledge, they just didn't care or bother incorporating it as it wasn't worth the trouble?

Whether that technology existed on Talgonoth or if he would take Dr Elaine with him when he left, only time would tell.