Enigma of Sin

Kayn quickly fell asleep that night, but didn't have a normal dream. He woke up inside of a familiar but also unfamiliar room, just as he had twice before in the past. Knowing more this time, he realized that he was just inside of his own mind. And knowing this, he expected someone to have invaded it like before.

"What is it this time? Am I taking too long?" Kayn sounded annoyed as he spoke out loud, but even after waiting for a few moments, he didn't get a response.

"…"

"Hello?" Kayn asked again as he didn't think he would enter his own mind realm without being contacted or forced into it first.

"You know…you're quite impertinent. First, you strengthened your defenses significantly somehow, making it very difficult for me to get into contact with you.

"Second, you start off with a rude attitude when I'm only here to give you a small hint and congratulate you on bringing yourself out of the pit you were in." A voice spoke, but rather than sounding mad, it just sounded like a disappointed parent.

"I apologize. I just figured you were here to yell at me for taking too long. I couldn't help but get annoyed, especially now that I've finally found a peaceful and quiet environment to raise Lara and myself for a while.

"As for making it harder for you, I have no clue how that happened or what I did, so you can't blame me there." Kayn spoke while laying back down in the bed and relaxing as the position he talked in really didn't matter.

"I can understand your position, but I think I should clear something up. I never expected you to complete these missions so soon, as far as you see time currently anyway. If you remember what I said last time, you're far too weak. If you think reaching the stage you're at currently makes any difference I guess it would. Maybe you'll live around…a second longer in a fight."

"So how long do I have before you rescind the help that you're giving me?" This was the question Kayn really need an answer to, as it would determine how much time he had before he needed to start seriously pursuing his targets.

"Well, your first target is at the peak of the stage one above you. While I'm in a hurry, a hurry for me is several decades for you. Rest assured you have many years before I allow Wrath to affect you again."

However, in this entity's mind he was slightly nervous about losing his pawn. He hadn't felt nervous for billions of years, but this brat's talents were too high. He was somehow already becoming one with Wrath and making it his own.

In a twist he nor Kayn ever expected, he was actually getting rid of the downsides to Wrath subconsciously, something even the original holder couldn't do.

So, if Kayn took away his ability to provide Kayn with benefits on his own, then their deal might be in jeopardy. He had already fixed the imbalanced nature of Kayn's soul as it should have been normal to start with, so reverting the changes wasn't something he would do or could do without any backlash. This made him curse for binding himself to his own system.

Back to their conversation, Kayn was relieved that he could watch Lara grow up in safety and find her own path before he had to pursue his own. "So, what is it you wanted to help me with if I'm not able to even beat my target yet?"

"Why are you in such a hurry? Can't we just have a decent conversation for a bit? You know, most beings in this universe would do anything to converse with me."

"You want me to converse with you, but I don't even truly know who you are or even your name! I'm perfectly fine with having a relationship of mutual benefits. While you seem to know all about me, I know next to nothing about you other than that you are well above my knowledge in terms of both power and existence." Kayn's voice almost oozed with bitterness.

"That's fair, but I haven't introduced myself for a reason. Even talking like this is purely by chance and luck. There are rules in the universe that have existed since the beginning of time that even I cannot break. I'm not telling you such things for your own good as the information will put too much of a burden on your mind, causing it to collapse in on itself." The entity replied with no emotion in his voice other than trying to be a good instructor.

"Forget it then," Kayn spoke as he could only sigh at this whole situation. If he couldn't talk about a lot of things, what was the point of even conversing in the first place?

"Sigh, I understand why you have such a hostile attitude towards me based upon what you experienced after obtaining the Sin of Wrath. However, please believe me that I'm trying to help you, and I'm not scheming anything on the side that I'm not telling you about.

"I need your power in the lower worlds, and you need my help to not suffer, that's all there is to it. If I give you a few pointers from time to time, that's because I'm honestly quite intrigued with your talent."

"Intrigued with my talent?" Kayn asked as he was finally interested in this conversation.

"You think you're the first person to reincarnate with their memories in a mana filled world? What do you think they achieved? Nothing in comparison to you. No one in all of my existence has ever succeeded in what you have as quick as you have. Not even those born in the Celestial worlds or higher can match you. That is why you have me intrigued."

'I'm that talented? That makes no sense, as there should be plenty of people who have surpassed me in the past, especially if they have more resources. I'm not some untold genius or something, but from what I can tell, this entity has no reason to lie to me.' Kayn thought to himself as he picked up on a minor detail that the entity was hoping that he would miss after it came out of his mouth.

"Wait…Celestial worlds? Plural? And there are worlds above that?" Kayn asked in as he had become a bit stupefied. But suddenly, a severe pain started to fill his mind, so he clutched his head. Little did he know he was doing it in the mind realm as well as the real world as his head felt like it was being stabbed.

The entity let out a deep breath as it sighed. "I apologize, I didn't catch myself before I spoke. The pain should recede in a couple of minutes as the burden on your mind stabilizes. Luckily, the information you just learned won't affect you after this slight bit of pain. Do try and forget about it until you ascend though."

What felt like hours later, he was finally not in pain anymore and could think clearly. Fortunately for Kayn, it had really only been a few minutes, so he didn't have to worry about missing his first day of classes as the night had only just begun.

"I can feel our connection weakening, so I have two things to say before I go. First, if you'll allow it, I will leave a trace so that I can contact you easier in the future."

Kayn thought about it for a minute before replying, "That's fine, as long as this trace isn't kept within my body. I won't allow for you to put anything foreign that could harm me inside my body permanently."

'I realize now that he has some restrictions interacting with these "lower worlds", so I don't think he'll have the power to forcefully do things to me though.'

Kayn had learned from his last experience how to block out the entity from hearing his thoughts, even if they were inside of his own mind currently. Slowly, he was trying to build up his resistances to such existences.

"That's fine, I wasn't planning on doing anything anyway. You will be delivered an item in the upcoming days. Just hold on to that and when you've made progress, I will contact you with the item as a relay point. I expect the next time I want to speak with you, you would have increased your defenses as you have been, so this is necessary."

"Okay, what's last?" Kayn honestly just wanted a good sleep before his first day of teaching as he was slightly nervous. Having his sleep interrupted only made him grumpy, even if he didn't really need to sleep for days or even weeks at a time at this point.

"Lastly, is what I wanted to tell you initially. I can't be too direct, but I can say this, you should look into joining the opposing twin of your current organization. That is all. It was nice speaking with you again young Kayn. Even if your hostility is still there, I'm sure you'll come around eventually. Until next time!"

Kayn could feel that he was being waved goodbye to with those last words before he didn't feel any presence there anymore. Shortly after, he fell asleep for good as he did his best to clear his mind and focus on the near future, his future as a professor.