(Seventh Sanctum)

"Commander!" One of the Ouroborous rushed in through the door as Gerald looked over past notes that had accumulated over time. The number of papers was steadily increasing, giving him unwanted stress. Even though he was the leader of the Seventh Sanctum, he wasn't too thrilled with the number of problems that came with it.

Still, he was relieved that Marcus was gone for him to take over the whole community.

"What is it?" Gerald spoke, a bit annoyed that he was disturbed. He wanted to get over some of this stuff, but it seemed that wouldn't happen with the sudden intrusion.

"We have a huge problem!" Ouroboros was a young man in his early twenties that had recently joined the Seventh Sanctum. Beads of sweat sparkled on his face underneath the fluorescent light.

Gerald squinted, staring him down.

The young man oriented himself and took a deep breath, shifting from one foot to the other as if he were ready to go to the bathroom.

"Speak," said Gerald. Annoyed that he was taking so long.

"Envy has appeared!" The man blurted out.

"What?!" Gerald slammed his hand onto the table, pushing back as he stood up. "You're lying, right?"

"No, sir."

"What do you mean, Envy has appeared?" Gerald went around the table, coming up towards the man as if he was about to shake him.

The man stuttered, "w-w-we have reports on a sighting that Envy is not even two days away from the base."

"How is that possible?" Gerald was baffled at the sudden appearance of Envy. "We have been keeping track of all the Deadly Sins, haven't we?"

"Yes."

"Then do tell me how Envy may be a doorstep away?" Gerald asked with a growl that would put anyone at unease.

"We don't know, sir. He just appeared and disappeared on the radar."

"No," Gerald said sternly, "you guys are slacking on the job."

"But-"

Gerald raised his hand up, silencing him in seconds. "There is no way such a powerful energy signature can disappear and reappear in less than two days in a different direction. That would be considered god-like!"

"Yes, I agree, but-"

Once again, Gerald stared at him in silence, which made the whole room tingle with electricity.

"We didn't do our best, sir." The young man said to cover up his thoughts.

"What other things do I need to know?"

The young man opened and closed his mouth, contemplating what to say next.

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"Speak."

"We won't be able to stay in Seventh Sanctum."

"How so?"

"Our power is insufficient to keep Envy back and protect our people?"

"What else?"

"We don't know if the remaining technology is enough to fight."

Gerald placed his hand on his back, taking a moment to walk back and forth. "How quickly can we move all the citizens and our weapons?"

"We need three days."

"The nearest location to a safe house is two days away up towards New York," Gerald replied, thinking over what he had to say. There were a lot of important weapons and documents that he had to take with him in a short amount of time. Staying and fighting against a deadly sin without a backup was a sure plan to fail.

"What should we do, sir?"

Gerald was silent for a moment, taking slow but steady steps.

Eventually, Gerald stopped, turning in the direction of the young man. "We're all going on code red. All citizens will be escorted out of Seventh Sanctum now, and everyone must come up for a major meeting in ten minutes at the auditorium. Get it done."

"Yes, sir!" The man saluted and left in a hurry.

Gerald didn't go back to his usual desk, looking over the papers. He was glad he would get away from paperwork and onto something different. His mind churned, trying to figure out what to do next.

Heading out of the door, he headed toward the meeting spot, brewing different scenarios in his mind. But something was bothering him about this deadly sin he couldn't quite put his name on.

"What is it?" Gerald said, "Envy shouldn't even be here; what caused him to change?"

He stopped in front of the auditorium, pulling open the door.

"Gerald!" A young woman's voice called out to him from behind. He turned around, noticing Flora running over with a stack of paper in her hands. Her brown hair flowed as her glasses were tethering off her nose. She stopped in front of him, almost tittering over as the papers in hand were about to slide off.

Gerald reached over, stopping her from falling.

"Thanks," Flora spoke up; she quickly fixed her glasses. "What's this about an emergency meeting?"

"Envy is nearby."

Flora gaped, "you kidding me, right?"

"Do you think I'm playing?"

"Absolutely not." Flora shook her head, "I had to make sure that I wasn't hearing things."

"Well, you aren't."

"Though I couldn't help but think that Envy is moving because both Timothy and Alexus aren't

here."

"You think so?"

"Yes, both have taken the power of the Deadly Sin for themselves; the other deadly sins would be taken aback by it." But, flora stated, "now that we are out in the open, without protection, we are open to an attack."

Gerald had the same thought as well.

"But, it's not impossible to kill Envy."

"You have something in mind?"

Flora adjusted her glasses again. "Yes, I have been looking over the old files of the Animus Progressium back in the old Seventh Sanctum. There were remnant pieces of the core of the machine that I brought."

"You were able to take a piece of it?"

"Yes," Flora nodded. "I think it would be a great help for you."

"What have you found out about it?"

"Everything and nothing." Flora chuckled. "It's still a great mystery what it was used for, but I believe it's an energy pack. Crystal's dragon suit was made from the database from the Animus Progressium files as well, so using this battery should help assist you in defeating Envy."

Gerald was ecstatic. "Where is it now?"

Flora fumbled with her paper; she reached over, grabbing something out of her pockets. Opening her hand, an obsidian rock was glistening underneath the light. Its deep black color drew in his eyes.

Small facial features started to appear on its shiny surface; a few he thought he saw were screaming heads, crying out for help. He couldn't help but blink a few times, trying to figure out what this stone really was.

"Did i-?" Gerald stopped himself, wondering if he was going insane.

"Yes, you did. There is a strange power behind this stone; I have seen them too. I don't know what it is or how it is made, but this stone is strange. I thought it was just a regular piece of obsidian, but it's not. It looks like it, but it's hard as a diamond, and the energy fluctuation around is high with demonic energy levels that rival over six deadly sins."

"Really," Gerald's eyes gleamed with hunger. The thought of the power he would gain from this stone made him ecstatic. Then, reaching out, he grabbed hold.

A sharp pain of energy shocked him throughout his body. The rock liquified. It turned into a puddle as the liquid slunk toward the center of his chest.

Until finally, the liquified rock settled on his dragon suit. Not too far behind, another sharp energy spike continued to raid his body, causing him to freeze up in place. He closed his eyes, tightened his fist, and braced for the onslaught of pain. He thought for a moment that he would be put onto the ground, but he didn't. Instead, he tried to control his breathing with quick breaths until finally, he could control his spazzing body.

"A-a-are you okay?" Flora asked, concerned.

Gerald took a moment, opening his eyes. It wasn't the normal brown color he had before; instead, his whole eyes were dyed completely black.

"Yes, I'm feeling great," Gerald said with a deep, sinister voice. A dark light in him made anyone who stared shiver in fear.

Flora took a few steps back, frightened by his demeanor. It was something that she had never seen before, and he felt too similar to a demon.

"Gerald?" Flora slowly asked, hoping what she was seeing and the feeling was wrong.

"Yes?" Gerald said slowly.

"I-" Flora shuttered.

Gerald took a step forward.

"I-"

"What is it you want?" Gerald growled.

Flora squeaked, dropping her papers onto the ground as she bolted away, leaving Gerald alone.