Vitmori POV
I find myself getting more worried about others nowadays. It's an odd sensation that I haven't experienced to this extent in many, many years. In the end, back in my old life, I didn't care for much after I lost those I cared for. Sure, there were probably still people who cared for me, even worried about me, perhaps. But I didn't care. I couldn't. My heart was too tired, and there was no place I could call home anymore. I was just moving forward with my day-to-day, making sure I had enough to eat and drink while killing the zombies that came my way. Sure, I helped those that asked for it or needed it. But ultimately, I was living for myself.
It's a small wonder that I volunteered for that job that killed me, a potential cache of supplies in a warehouse that was stashed in the first few years of the apocalypse. When things turned bad, I should've just cut and run, left the others to fend for themselves as I made my escape alone. But what did I have to live for? Ultimately, the fact that I got bit probably drove me to make the sacrifice play. I'm pretty sure I led that horde far away enough, and if the others were brave enough, they should have been able to go back for at least some of those supplies now that the zombies were no longer concentrated in that place. But that doesn't matter anymore since I died and moved on to a new place.
Now I have people to care for and look after, trusted allies that trust me unconditionally, and I have to do my best to make sure they survive and thrive in a world that is wholly unfamiliar to me. Thinking about it, I have been neglecting Dread and the Sinners. I've been judging them through the memories of the people that their bodies used to be, and that is definitely not fair to them as wholly new and entirely innocent beings. Back when I first made them into what they are now, I used the bare minimum of mana that I could spare, and it shows. Sure, in the last month or so they have all done their best to develop their own mana hearts, but they're still lacking compared to the years of training and discipline the previous owners of these bodies had developed. Ultimately, I've decided to finally grant them the memories of the people they used to be, the people whose faces they now wear.
Leading them up to my core chamber, Basti joined them as she had little to do. Oururu had gone off to join Frisby in the greenhouse rooms, they haven't had much time together since Oururu developed into more of a person. Frisby was pleased, to say the least, and the last I saw of them, they were sitting together, with Frisby resting in Oururu's coiled lap as they held hands and talked about how the sprouts were doing. As for everyone else, they gathered in my core chamber, settling down in the stone sand as I instructed them to lie down in a circle. I was about to give them all their memories back, and while I had done this already with Basti, I was admittedly worried about doing it at this scale. Ultimately I figured I should get it done all at once. and then we can sift through everything after to make sure the right memories ended up with the right people.
The process began as I started with Dread's memories, thinking of his early life as a child growing up in a church orphanage, going through his learnings and studies as he grew up as a soldier of the church and stood out with his potential for growth and capacity for mana absorption. He was something of an investigator, not for the church, but for a faction within the church who was responsible for the trafficking. His job was to track down dissentors against the church, and to primarily get rid of beastkin wherever possible while not drawing attention to the church. He was the perfect soldier of the church, and was loyal to a fault in no small part to his grooming as a child.
The memories kept flowing into him as I turned my focus over to Pride. She had a similar childhood, though she went through some more disgusting things as a young orphan girl trying to make something of herself in the church, having been convinced that such sacrifices were needed by both the men and women of the cloth. It made me sick, having to live through them so vividly. Of course, not everyone in the church knew these practices, but far too many were in places of great power and influence. Pride emerged on the other end as a powerful woman who had to get tough too early in life.
Letting the memories flow even more, I made my way over to Wrath; she was a quiet child, reserved and reclusive. She had a family and loved ones, enjoying a peaceful life on a farm in frontier land. That was until her life was turned upside down by a roving band of marauders; they didn't even want the food or coin, from what I can tell from her retroactively examining her own memories and using church resources to investigate what happened that day, they turned out to be a mercenary band who showed up to kill a neighbor of hers that cheated one of them. Everything else was just collateral. Her life, home, and family were just an afterthought in all this. She took the lives of many that day, her young body developed by hard labor, along with great genes, led to her being a furious whirlwind that liberated many limbs from torsos using a variety of farming tools. The church found her and turned her fury into a 'righteous' one, she was blindly loyal to the church that had taken her in where she had nowhere to go.
Greed was up next, he was a relatively normal man. His parents were mercenaries, and he followed in their footsteps. It turns out he was just really good at his job and was part of a notable mercenary company that was based out of the Theocracy. He had recently taken a job regarding a delivery from the church that was heading to the Hegemony. The pay was good, especially since they would cut through Lichtdren's Folly. He had heard of this job before and heard it paid really well. He was just lucky to be able to sign up this round for that pay. His mercenary band was still back in the Theocracy, likely still waiting for his return.
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Envy and Sloth turned out to be acolytes cut from the same cloth as it were. They grew up together at a church-run orphanage outside of the capital, and were transferred to the Capital after displaying talents with life magic, which was prized above all else. Sloth had a much easier time than Pride, as genuinely good people surrounded her. Envy, however, fell pray to a voracious woman in the church, being instructed in other forms of life magic and seeing the crueler underbelly of the church. He didn't leave though; he couldn't leave. Not with so many eyes on him and with Sloth also in the eye of the church, for her talents rather than the secrets like he had known. He was instructed to join this delivery like he had done before on the last delivery half a year ago, and the year before that. Only this time, Sloth had volunteered to join the escort, joining on the excuse she would get to see lands outside of the church for once. She was granted permission, though she didn't know the truth behind these deliveries like Envy had.
Following them were Gluttony and Lust, the two were part of an adventuring team that recently suffered a critical failure, the rest of their party falling in battle to a monster nest. This delivery job was supposed to be their last one before they retired, Lust was hoping to buy a tavern in a small town from an old man who had been looking to sell, and Gluttony was gonna live it up as the tavern's guard for the food and drink. Things didn't turn out well in the end of course, and here they were now.
Going through eight entire lifetimes was no simple feat, and the whole process lasted throughout the entire night. Dread and the Sinners had been writhing in pain for the entire experience, and I could tell that something was changing within them. The memories seemed to contain the soul as it were, the memories ending up being the sum of a person and that would take its toll. For one, their eyes no longer faintly glowed, appearing almost wholly normal if not for the fact their irises were still green. Their skin now had normal, healthy hues and appeared full of life, unlike the close imitation it used to be before. They were no longer just Egos, but a hybrid of the imitation souls I created and the people they used to be.
All eight of them became dramatically more powerful, Envy and Sloth developing their second mana ring while their mana hearts pulse with the vitality of a warrior. For the rest, their mana hearts pulsed with the vigor of high end warriors, though Dread, Pride and Wrath developed a mana ring around their hearts, as is the needed requirement to be a paladin as their bodies used to be.
As they 'woke' with the rising sun, they all had various reactions to the situation they found themselves in. Dread was the first to rise, getting to his feet silently as he seemed to examine his new body, there was no sign of any external emotion, yet I felt the maelstrom of emotions and thoughts coming from his mind as he internally debated the dogma that was beaten into his young mind, and the fresh perspective of this past month living without those views and now having become a beastkin himself.
Pride was sick to her stomach, fresh wounds in her mind as she was suddenly aware of her repressed memories. Despite the tears in her eyes, I felt a fury like no other for the indignations and cruelties she suffered in her youth and the trials she has had to face just because she was a woman and was targeted by those who were supposed to watch out for her.
Wrath... Wrath was stoic. Her mind was cool and calm, yet she had a clear and direct goal in her mind—the utter destruction of those who led her to bring suffering to others without her realizing it.
Envy and Sloth woke up next, it seemed some of Envy's memories bled into Sloth, Envy feeling relatively sullen as he was reminded of his youth, but Sloth clung to him, tears in her eyes as she sobbed for her childhood friend. Shedding tears he never shed for himself. I could feel his resolve wavering, but Envy managed to keep his composure as he embraced Sloth, his better half and trusted friend feeling what he shut away a long time ago.
Greed woke with a start, remembering himself as he looked over his surroundings and silently considered what he should do. I could feel his mind wandering back to his home and his allies. I could see him looking over at me, his brow furrowing in thought as he considered what was in his power to do about the cruel underbelly of his hometown.
Lust and Gluttony were the ones to wake up last; they were relatively fine compared to the rest of the sinners; Gluttony was more impressed and intrigued by her bear-enhanced form, while Lust was just happy to be alive. It seems the two of them were just excited to be alive and to have each other.
After a few minutes, Dread spoke up, his fur bristling with anticipation as he looked over at my core. "You didn't have to give our memories back... You didn't have to give me my memories back." He said slowly, his cadence much more natural and lifelike compared to the stilted and relatively rigid manner from before. "Yet you did anyways, and I am grateful. If you let me, I shall continue with the mission you set before Dread; I will root out the rotten aspects of the church and set it ablaze if I need to."
Pride spoke up at that, even if she wasn't Pride anymore, as she sniffled forcefully, willing herself to calm down. "Same here; I can't believe that there was so much I ignored, I closed my heart to many things, and I forgot to open it again after it was all said and done. I'll do whatever it takes to cast down those bastards in their ivory towers."
Wrath was silent, but she watched intently, her thoughts following the same path as the other two paladins.
"I'm in, so no more little boys have to suffer as I have." Envy stated coldly as he gently rubbed Sloth's upper back and looked over at my core.
Greed piped in as well as he crossed his arms. "I have no real part in any of this, but kids and innocents being put through that kind of suffering is not something I can turn a blind eye to; you have my support, and I'm sure my people will be up for it if I can get to them." He stated, letting his hands rest at his sides.
Lust and Gluttony shared a look, and Gluttony gave a nod of confirmation as Lust sighed before looking over at my core. "We're in, but we have a demand."
The others look over curiously, and even Wrath quirks a brow at that. However, Gluttony piped up this time with a grin. "We want you to build a tavern for us to run when this little village of yours gets going."
'I think I can manage that, sure.' I offer kindly.
Soon enough, the eight of them began to discuss a plan on how to move forward. However, as the talks went on, Reyvyre walked into the chamber, the bags under her eyes now apparent while looking at everyone curiously as she seemed to realize there was something different about everyone. After a few moments, she looked over to my core and spoke up. "I'm sorry if now is a bad time, but I have something for you, Vitmori, if you could come to the workshop."
'Oh, sure Reyvyre… But, have you been up all night? Are you feeling okay?' I can't help but ask; she looked more than sleepy, she seemed downright exhausted.
She offered a small smile as she shrugged a bit. "Nah, but it was worth it. Come along." She said as she began hurriedly making her way down the mountain.