100 Years into Human Kind.
After the birth of the second generation of humans, humankind grew rapidly in number. Their primitive urges driving them to reproduce, to carry on their kind.
Within a hundred years, the world had a substantial amount of humans residing upon it.
Closer to the mountains where flowers loved to grow, fourteen teenagers played around.
The boys to a side, discussing their topics of interest, and the girls to aside enjoying the beauty and tranquility of being surrounded by such pretty flowers. Even from a distance, someone could tell how close they were. Innocent smiles on their faces, a curious shine in their eyes. And they unmistakably held a driving passion for life and a newborn mindset about life.
Towards the side of the girls, a little bit further from them was a small figure crouched down. Her expressionless eyes watching the movement of the flowers. Fascinated her ruby eyes moved to the rhythm of the petals, taking in the color and softness of it as she felt it from her thumb.
Despite already living a hundred years in the world she'd always found flowers, trees, and the lives of small creatures such as butterflies, beetles enchanting.
The beginning of the earth was not as complicated as the present times. The humans were simple and the years were not enough for one to take in the beauty of the world.
Little hundred years old Lilith was the same. Despite being a powerful Sin she'd not experienced much corruption.
But despite it, she could not run from her natural disposition.
These past few years, the relationships between the sins had been becoming more and more stagnant. Different opinions arousing conflicts between them.
Most of all the topic of humans tended to vex the seven of them, even Lilith not feeling any emotion toward the creatures so close to her origins.
But the virtues were very different from them, they seem to want to act more and more in favor of humankind and it was rubbing her and the rest of the sins wrongly.
Caring for humankind was none of her business, she did not care for a lot of things for the matter, but their incessant preaches about the species was even making her and Aaro irritated.
But still, Lilith kept an optimistic mind. She at the time still believed all of it was nothing but a simple phase. Nothing serious.
As she caressed the flowers a butterfly, in the colors yellow and black landed on her finger. The little thing's wings fluttered in the wind but stayed firmly on her finger, her gaze fevered as she watched.
'How pretty!' She thought inwardly a sweet smile adorning her lips.
"Lilu! Come here! Look!" Just then an urgent voice called. Turning her head she found Ellysetta beckoning her. Amara and Celene standing next to her, but their attention was on something on the other side.
But even though curious Lilith did not want to move. She liked lazying around watching flowers and butterflies.
"I don't want to." She pouted but then whipped her head to the boys' side as she heard shouts.
"Seize your incessant blabber. Humans are not a lesser species, they are the descendants of our siblings! Have some tact Nicholos!" Kieren shouted in Pride's face his tone judging. Nero, Jasper, Lukas, and Ronard were standing behind Kieren and seemed to be supporting his ideals but the boys of the sins were supporting Nicholos who had an odd look in his eyes.
He stepped forward, looking in Kieren in his eyes disdain apparent in his stance. Having enough of the virtuous ones' useless ideals.
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"You are a righteous fool! The humans you so defend do not value you. We are far better, do your duties well but keep a distance. If not the kind would walk over you." He spat but Kieren did not flinch, instead, the following words leaving his mouth made Lilith step back, her heart squeezing tight, as if in pain.
"They do not abhor us, they fear and dislike the lot of you. The sins that corrupt the world. It is the lot of you that humans do not value, not us." The words made Nicholos flush red, him standing to his full height, his eyes portraying an unreachable coldness.
All seven of the sins felt betrayed by the words. While Kieren maybe speaking out his beliefs to degrade them so was unacceptable.
And above all Nicholos felt slapped. While he'd referred to them as 'we' the other party had directly isolated themselves away from them.
Despite his indignation, he had not dreamt of treating them anything less than family.
But this merely showed, baser instincts always come to play, and this time it was in the form of righteousness and selfishness.
~~<<>>~~
The sin of Pride was the king of all deadly sins, the nature of itself prompting it to think it superior to all. The perfect combination of self-confidence and self-esteem but it was also the truest form of arrogance and hubris.
So to be undermined as such, to be described as of no value to a species he'd deemed lesser than him, lesser than them, Nicholos felt his self-control dwindling.
The powers of pride were vast the essence of it started leaking from his very being. His blue eyes gained a violet sheen as his entire demeanor changed.
"The Virtue of Humility, your thoughts do not matter. I am the Deadly Sin of Pride, the human species is of no value to 'me'. The species you so love will now bear the punishment for your crimes!" Nicholos's voice landed grimly around them as his powers spread, erupting beyond the mountains reaching the humans living at the bottom.
In shock, Humility stepped back unable to comprehend what was happening. While Lilith ran towards her brother clutching her hands tightly onto his robes as her eyes stayed fixed on Nicholos.
"Nicholos! Calm down!" Lucien stepped forward trying to stop the devastation about to happen but Pride was far gone he did not have the patience to listen to others ordering him around.
Ignoring everyone present Pride vanished from his place, his destination unknown.
"He has to be stopped. The humans would not fair well. You are very troublesome." Diligence then sighed his voice holding blame and sorrow but the sins all felt words resonating in their hearts.
For a hundred years the fourteen of them had been traveling together, sharing everything together.
Lilith had thought it would always be like that, but now looking at the seven virtues dissatisfied expression she felt she had too naive.
The sin of Sloth, the neglect of activities from mental, spiritual, pathological, and physical states. But currently, while Aaro abided by the natures of sloth, Lilith felt enshrouded by an intense flame of feeling. Her blood boiling, as a fit of unusual anger, encased her being.
Panicked she tugged at her brother, her voice a hoarse whisper, "They have gone too far..." The words escaping her was not what she intended to speak, but the innermost thoughts plaguing her mind at the moment.
"Lilu no..." But it was too late, she too had vanished from the place.
"We need to stop them." The virtues intoned before Nero and Kieren too teleported away.
It was only a simple argument but the escalation it led to was forever irreversible.
That was the start of their rivalry, a moment the seven virtues regretted immensely.
But it could not be helped.
~~<<>>~~<<>>~~<<>>~~
Sides were chosen, the sins naturally choosing their own while the virtues banded together in the hope of stopping the berserk sins.
Pride and one of the twins of Sloth the start of the devastating feud.
As everyone scattered the virtues following behind the hotheaded sins only Celene and Lucien remained in the flower field.
"Stop this. We do not need to fight." Celene tried speaking but Lucien shook his head.
"No, it is too late now. It has come to a moment of survival of the fittest. Our natures are too different and unless we measure it out, our natures would not allow peaceful existence between the sins and the virtues." Lucien disagreed explaining calmly his eyes holding stark truth.
Even though the sins and the virtues were classified as similar existences, the origins of the two were starkly different. One kind born off the laws of heaven, and the other by the corruption of hell.
Now they walked the neutral ground of earth, their mortal dispositions at the beginning aiding them to remain neutral beings, neither siding with hell or heaven instead serving Balance herself. The Apocalypse.
But still, their innate traits cannot be overcome hence the inevitable battle.
And Lucien could not deny the greed flaming his heart, greed for superiority over the virtues. Greed for more power and greed for more greed.
And just like that his very being started affecting the world.
Celene watching this, closed her eyes and when they opened back all thoughts of reluctance were traceless. Instead, her only thoughts were to prevent the influence of greed from distributing.
She was Liberality the symbol of giving and her mortal enemy was the one standing opposite to her, the epitome of greed.
Both holding their own agendas, clashed their powers together, the sin of greed and liberality fighting for dominance. Both of them trying to influence each other.
One greed himself and the other liberality herself. Was it even possible to influence the other to your will?
The answer was soon portrayed to them as their powers repelled each other instead scattered to the surroundings, lashing out at the world.
The confrontation had left them out of control, all fourteen of them were out of control, a hundred years far insufficient for them to learn all about themselves.
The village nearest to the mountains was the first to be affected by the sins of greed and virtue of liberality affecting the human emotions.
The counterpart emotions tearing at the humans' hearts. While one part of them yearned for more, more food, more shelter, more clothes, and simply more the other drove to give.
Unable to withstand looking at the ones with less.
While at this point greed and liberality tore at each other in another village distance away from the mountains Nicholos stood looking down at the humans mockingly as they fought each other due to pride.
The pride he influenced.
But soon as rage consumed him as the effects of his powers became hindered by another. The virtue of humility coming into play. The earlier prideful humans gaining hints of humility in them.
"You think that will stop me?" Nicholos sneered, this time sending the brunt of his attack towards the one who had come to bug him.
"This is revolting!" Kieren growled, still firm in his beliefs.
And so he to did not withhold anything, giving back as good as he got. Despite all his good intentions for humans his innate opposition for Pride driving him to momentarily even disregard the humans he so valued.