Enigma of Sin

Kinzie watched on as tears started to steadily drip onto the pages in Kayn's grasp. She couldn't read what the letters said, but apparently Kayn could. As curious as she was to ask him what it said, she held back in order to let him deal with the emotions he was currently feeling.

Kayn felt a soft embrace around his body as he finished reading the letter from his father. He then glanced at the other two pages which listed the locations of possible research sites, people who were involved, and also the exact overarching idea behind the research.

Much to Kayn's disappointment, it was all based upon his theories that he gave Lydia on how to replace organs. It seems that the Emperor of Carnet was trying to mix and match different races in order to put together a perfect genetic being, which would be himself.

Kayn honestly found the whole thing an utter joke. A perfect genetic being? That just wasn't possible. Incorporating the best attributes of a few races into his own body? Sure, that might be possible, but it wasn't something easily done. He would essentially be making himself an abomination of stitched together pieces if what the notes said were correct.

Lydia had quite a good grasp on organ transfers, but that was only between two same race people who had similar structures and blood. Healers could just as easily grow a new organ for a patient, but this was a way for less powerful healers to try and save someone.

He never intended for someone to want to replace their existing parts with more powerful alternatives, hence he had never explained everything that went into it very in depth to her. He could only assume that's why Tessa had mentioned that he was supposed to be captured, not killed.

Kayn scoffed, but he was silently simmering in anger. Truly, Wrath was trying to put him into situations where it would trigger as early as his childhood. How could something that wasn't sentient cause so much to be put in motion, that years later things would violently spiral downhill. The perfect combination of circumstances was brought together to end at a certain effect, the use and awakening of Wrath, it was all just so unbelievable.

Kayn chucked in self-mockery. His father had said for him to not blame himself, but how could he not? This was all 100% his fault, or more specifically Wrath's intention. His selfishness and desire for a new life and family ended up being the exact reason this loving family perished.

Rather than getting angrier though, determination began to rise stronger than ever. He was going to get the chance to erase his regrets, and maybe even bring his family back. He would do whatever it took, whether that was killing and torturing or traveling to the Celestial Worlds. He would do it.

However, he was also going to fulfill his father's wishes for him by living a good life and taking care of the people whom he loved, like Lara and Kinzie. It was selfish of him to want to do all of these things and keep the happiness that he had and he knew that. He promised himself that he wouldn't repeat the mistakes of the past and would do whatever was needed to keep Lara safe and happy.

Seeing that Kayn had stopped tearing up and was back to being lost in thought, Kinzie spoke up as she wasn't able to hold back her curiosity any longer. "What does the letter say?"

Kayn, snapping himself back to the present, answered her with a slight laugh. "It appears that my father spent a good amount of time studying my notebooks, which he would sneak from my room, in order to see if there was something that could help him get stronger. This is the language I use in my spell books, or grimoires as I call them, and he secretly learned it over the years without my notice.

"The letter itself just talks about the ring and what I should do moving forward. Somehow, he knew that I would end up with it after his death."

"I see…" Kinzie's words trailed off. She wanted to know more, but the Kayn she knew was always a private person. He would open up to her about everything once he was comfortable sharing it, and she was okay with that. The parts of his life that he shared with her were already enough for her to feel happy.

"Well, what about the ring? You said it was a dimensional ring, right? Did your dad leave anything else behind for you?"

Kinzie's question brought him fully back to the situation as he grinned, knowing there should at least be some good things in there from what he had seen so far.

He immediately closed his eyes and focused his senses back on the ring. He first thought about money, so that's what appeared in front of him. Kinzie couldn't help but noticed the corner of Kayn's eye twitch while his jaw had become slack. Just what was inside the ring to surprise him so much?

"It's safe to say that I will not be needing money anytime soon, or ever." Kayn spoke but he still had his eyes closed, examining the sight in front of him. There were several piles of all kinds of currency. However, there were also two different groupings of the coins, one significantly smaller than the other and not having nearly the amount of wealth. 

The only conclusion that Kayn could come to was that the smaller pile was his own family's wealth while the other pile was the treasury of the Obsidian Void Dragons. His father did state that he wasn't able to access everything inside of the ring since he wasn't attuned with the void and apparently the wealth of the clan was kept inside one of those hidden spaces of the void.

He shook his head looking at the vast space in front of him, it was going to take a while to get through it and organize it all. There were even several bookshelves inside of the ring, which Kayn couldn't help but be irritated about because this is definitely where his family kept the good books!

Opening his eyes, he looked at Kinzie and gave her a small peck on her forehead before picking Lara up and standing. "I'll put Lara to bed and then I need a distraction. How about we practice our resistance to the collars? I still need to put yours on again anyway."

"Sure," Kinzie replied, but she had other thoughts on the matter.

A few moments later, the two were sitting on Kayn's bed facing each other, preparing themselves mentally for what was about to come. They went back and forth for an hour or two with one giving a simple command to follow and the other trying to resist the influence of the collar which forced them to perform said action.

Kinzie seemed to be a natural as she was improving with each and every time Kayn tried to give her a command, that or it was genetics. Kayn himself had on an extremely powerful collar, and even with his innate talents, he was finding it difficult to resist even the most ridiculous commands, like flopping around on the bed, as a fish out of water would.

Finally losing her patience and becoming a bit tired of the training Kinzie gave the command she planned from early on. "Kiss my cheek."

Kayn was caught off guard by her demand as they had promised originally that they wouldn't take advantage of each other using the collars, but it only took him a second to understand. She already knew he would be able to resist such a simple command, so she wanted to see what he would do.

Kayn leaned forward and planted his lips against hers, holding them there for a prolonged period of time. When he finally separated from her and leaned back, he saw that she had a bright smile filling her face which quickly turned into a grin. Kinzie then leapt at Kayn and pinned him down on the bed, their lips clamped together.

For the remainder of the night, rather than practicing anything worthwhile, they practiced their kissing skills while their hands explored the other's body before Kinzie fell asleep in Kayn's arms.

Kayn couldn't help but imagine that maybe this kind of life is what his father had wished for him to have in the letter. A healthy relationship, steady and peaceful job, and happy little sister. The only sour point was his alter ego as an assassin.

He was tempted to give up on the mission he was given by the entity as he had the feeling that he was gaining control over Wrath himself, but he also didn't want to stop helping Charlotte or give up on the other possibility he was told about.

He eventually fell asleep, imagining and dreaming of a reality that wasn't too far off from his current life.