As I got to my feet and was about to say goodbye, Pride waved me off and returned to whatever he was doing. From what I could tell, it was some spell, not a skill. The magic was being controlled directly by Pride. I shrugged, unsure what he was up to, but I made a mental note to remember everything he did and try to recreate it later. I will have to learn about spell crafting from my newest summoned. From the little I could piece together from the smarter demons under my command spell crafting was a way to do things without the system having control over what you can do.

As I pulled the door open, a giant hand seized me, yanking me through the portal into Wrath's domain. I was disoriented from being forced through the portal. Just as I began to regain clarity, I was flung into an ice wall. Pain blossomed throughout my body as I slammed deep into the ice. I tried to move, struggling to understand what was happening. Letting my senses flare out, I felt everything: vibrations, temperatures, and sounds. All of it pointed to an imminent attack. If I didn't roll, I would be hit again. As I pushed myself to roll, I was too slow; the attack was too fast, hitting me before I could even twitch.

Checking my HP, I saw it hadn't gone down at all, but the pain from the attack was very real. What was even going on? I was confused about what was happening to me. Something was wrong—I hadn't taken any damage, but I could still feel the pain. It wasn't a severe pain, hardly bothering me after all my time in the chair. Soul damage hurts more than any physical pain ever could. As I was pondering this, I was lifted to face a massive leech maw, five black beady eyes staring at me with cold, dark hatred. The massive brute squeezed me so hard that I thought I would turn into paste from its strength alone.

"Because of your weakness, we have to suffer. Had you done something instead of hiding under the corpses and fallen rocks of the burning houses, you could have been bait so they could have survived. You heard her screams and still hid. Even now, we cannot sleep without hearing Mother's cries. Even now, the screams echo through our mind, never-ending, even when awake," Wrath screamed in my face.

So this was Wrath—my future self, who succumbed to the sin of wrath, unable to control it, and became Wrath. "Why are you blaming me when you also had a chance to act? You hid as well. Isn't that how you became Wrath?" I retorted arrogantly, my voice dripping with condescension.

Wrath became enraged at my words and started slamming me around again. This continued for about twenty minutes until he finally stopped and stared at me once more.

"You done being a little bitch now? I can't believe a version of myself is such a coward, blaming others before himself. I know I hid, and I can never take that back. But I also know I wouldn’t have been able to do anything. I would have been gunned down, and Mother still would have died. If I had the powers I have now, all of them would have survived. That’s why I will have my vengeance and make every single one of them pay for their sins." As I spoke, Wrath's body began to shake, and I could feel the chill emanating from him growing colder and colder.

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That's when Wrath decided to unleash his fury on me, stomping on me repeatedly without pause for an hour this time.

He loomed over me, his dark eyes burning with a hatred that seemed to sear into my very soul. "You think you're strong now?" he spat. "You think you can handle this power? You’re nothing but a shadow of what I am. I have done things that make even the very gods of this universe fear my very name."

"Handle you?" I spat out pieces of ice that had gotten inside my mouth. "No, I want you to bend the knee and stop crying like the scared, helpless little boy we once were, lashing out at everything. Did you ever get revenge on the people who hurt them? I know at least Pride was able to get it, but what about you? Could you get the vengeance we desired?"

Wrath's eyes narrowed, a dangerous glint flashing within their depths. "Vengeance," he hissed, "Is not something you simply take. It's something you earn through blood and pain. And no before I was able to I was sealed away by the gods of this universe inside a new hell of unending cold. Had I been mortal I would have starved to death a long time ago."

I stepped closer, unflinching under his cold, intense gaze. "Then you're no better than I am, hiding behind your anger because you couldn't do anything either. But I am not like you anymore. I refuse to let that helplessness define me. I won't let Wrath or any of the other sins take hold of me. I shall be my own master."

Wrath's form seemed to waver, his fury a palpable force in the air. "You speak of strength, yet you rely on hope and determination—weaknesses that will get you killed."

"Hope?" I started laughing like a crazy person. "I'm not some idiot who believes in the power of friendship. The only thing I hope for is the day I get my hands on those people and make the ones responsible for that day suffer unending torment for as long as possible. Determination is the only thing I have in spades. It is what allowed me to continue."

Wrath paused, seemingly taken aback by my outburst. His cold eyes bore into mine, searching for any sign of weakness. "And what will you do when your determination runs dry?" he sneered. "When the endless pursuit of vengeance leaves you hollow and broken?"

"I won't let it," I replied firmly. "I've seen what happens when you let wrath consume you. You become a monster, losing sight of everything that matters. I won't fall into that trap. I may hate and loathe people or things, but it won't control me."