Heavy breathing broke the silence in the darkened cell. Mathew shot up from the rickety old bench, his hands darting around his body in a panic. His panic and few gave way to confusion. He clutched at his chest, expecting to feel the wet slickness of blood, but was instead met with the dry cloth of his shirt.

He patted himself down, now thoroughly confused. It was only then that he realised he shouldn’t logically have been able to do that at all. His eyes darted down to his arm, and realised it was completely fine. There was no hole, nor blood, or broken bones causing him any pain. Rotating his shoulder to find no injuries there as well, it dawned on him that he was fine.

But. It felt so real. He sat back down, his head leaning against the cold concrete walls of the cell. A storm raged through his mind, adrenaline flooding his body as he lost touch with what was real and what wasn’t.

He looked around the room with heightened suspicion, as if he was dreaming right now. His mind was a mess of emotions. Pain, fear, guilt, suspicion; his head ached under the sheer weight of it all.

Delirious, he curled up on the bench, ignoring the discomfort he was feeling and closed his bloodshot eyes.

~

The intense light started to wane, allowing the group to get their bearings. They found themselves in a room identical to the one before. The teleportation array cooled down as the light on the door changed, allowing them to leave.

Wilfred opened the door for everyone before following them through. The corridor they found themselves in was similar to the one in Lord Superbia’s palace, except where he had artworks depicting the different Sins, she had giant gemstones set across from each door. Each gemstone was a different colour, representing the different Sins.

A shining gold for Superbia, a burning red for Ira, a cloudy grey for Acedia, a dull yellowy green for Avaritia, A liquid amber for Gula, and a Hot pink stone for Luxuria

The shining golden gem grew even brighter as they closed the door behind them. Leaving the corridor, a finely dressed imp greeted them.

“Greetings Princess Elaine, Lady Invidia wishes to see you. Please follow me.” The imp bowed to the princess before turning around and walking down the corridor. The walls were lined with precious gemstones and artworks. Every inch of the building costing an exorbitant amount of money, unlike anything seen on Earth.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Where Lord Superbia’s palace was tasteful in its interior design, Lady Invidia’s palace bordered on being too gaudy, revealing her intrinsic insecurity. As if she was trying too hard to appear wealthy.

The imp led the group to a set of large golden double doors. “She is waiting for you in the throne room.” He stepped to the side of the door and bowed.

With a raise of Elaine’s hand, the massive doors pushed open, gliding soundlessly just above the tiled floor.

Guards lined the walls, all dressed in full plate armour. Their swords attached to their waist; the hilts encrusted with gemstones cleaned to the point of reflecting light around the room.

At the end of the room sat a throne made of a deep blue diamond, attracting everything to look at it. Atop the throne sat Lady Invidia, her brown hair tied up neatly into a bun. A string of pearls hung delicately around her neck, resting just above the collar of her black pantsuit. Her body was stylishly decorated with golden jewellery. Simple rings adorned her ears, along with bands around her wrists. However, the most notable piece of jewellery was the wedding ring on her left hand, which contained a giant diamond made from the same material as her throne.

To the right of her throne was a pedestal carved from a peerless black stone, holding a book just within her reach. This book was one of her most ancient and prized possessions. It contained constantly updated records of not only everything she possessed, but also everything her citizens owned, spanning across the entirety of Envy.

Lady Invidia looked down from her throne, eyeing the Princess and her cohort. “It’s not often that two things catch my interest in the same day, what brings you to Envy Princess Elaine?”

“Oh, what have you found? Has someone brought you a new piece of art perhaps?” Elaine asked.

“Hardly. There was a small power spike in the city. And it was not from anyone I am familiar with. You don’t happen to know anything about that, do you?” Invidia asked, squinting.

Elaine bowed humbly. “I must apologise Lady Invidia. I went against the rules and sent some of my men into your land without your permission. Please accept my sincerest apologies.”

Wilfred stepped forward, passing a jewellery box over to Princess Elaine before stepping back to join the rest of the cohort, who had all kneeled in unison when Elaine bowed.

With a bright flash, the box disappeared before anyone could notice, reappearing in Lady Invidia’s hand. Examining the box, she opened it to find a set of emerald earrings. “Lord Ira’s work.” She mumbled to herself. “Your apology is accepted, now tell me more about why you’re here.”

Like a well-versed machine, the group stood back up, secretly breathing a sigh of relief.

“One of your citizens sent a hitman after me, which was a bit of an annoyance. So, earlier today I sent some of my men to teach him a lesson. However, something happened which caught both mine and Sir Balthazar’s interest, bringing us here. I would like to request formal permission to enter your city to investigate.” Elaine said, neither arrogantly nor humbly.

Lady Invidia contemplated for a moment before rising from her throne. “Permission granted. The events seem to line up with that power spike from earlier, so now I’m even more intrigued if it’s caught your attention. I will join you.”