"Jonas, oh, Jonas," Pride sighed, and Jonas' blue eyes shot open while his entire existence came crashing towards him, and it made him realize he was still alive. He took a few deep breaths, tried to remember his fight with Wolf, and he noticed that he was back in the room of shadow and blood.

"What happened?" They were both seated on comfy armchairs underneath the shade of a glossy blood-red gazebo. The sky above their heads was almost pitch black, but a very large star was glowing in the distance. Jonas hadn't looked, but if he did, he would have noticed that the room was so full of blood that he would no longer be able to stand up without being submerged. Sure, it was only a metaphor for his power, but Pride knew it was good for measuring his progress as a Sinner.

"You nearly died," the glowing blue eyes that came from Pride's shadowy face narrowed into two slits, it made him look menacing. "Your luck hasn't run dry, yet. Just as Wolf was preparing for the finishing blow, Brow and Ahmed arrived and managed to talk him down. I'm surprised it worked, but to be fair, Wolf never really cared about killing you. All he cares about is being loved and feared by those in his gang."

"Shit," Jonas remembered being pinned to the ground, and there was lingering anxiety that told him the situation hadn't been kind to his body. "He was good. Too good. I underestimated Wolf."

"Oh?" Pride said, "Do elaborate."

"He's stronger than Ahmed, I do not doubt that. He might not know because they haven't fought, but now that I've seen him in action, he'd beat Ahmed within a few minutes."

"Very astute," Pride smirked, "Tell me, do you know what you did wrong?"

"I lost my powers as a Sinner," Jonas sighed, "I got so lost in my anger that I couldn't focus on my Pride, and I felt like a toddler fighting an adult."

"At least you know what you did wrong. Trying to channel a Sin that doesn't resonate with you is a sure way to get yourself killed, especially against an experienced Sinner. You already knew this, but you're a hot-blooded youth, and sometimes that means you let your emotions get the best of you. I understand."

"You're being weird," Jonas didn't like how agreeable Pride was acting to the situation, normally he would have been much more sour and rude.

"Don't be ridiculous," Pride realized he had been too obvious, "Everything I do is for you. You made a mistake, you survived, and like always, I'm sure you've learned your lesson, right?"

"I have," Jonas gave a self-deprecating smile, "I wish it didn't take so many near-death experiences for me to get the lesson, one day I won't be so lucky."

"You've gotten lucky a few times, this is true. Don't let it dissuade you and make you forget all the hard work you put in. There are only a few thousand people on Earth that could've embraced the pain that you've been through. You've got all the qualities to be a great Sinner, you just need harsh lessons to help you make up for the lost time. If you had been raised here in Hell, you'd already be taking the Sin Assessment with the other Hellites."

"You think?" Pride's honeyed words were affecting Jonas' mood, "Do you think I'll be able to leave this place soon?"

"Very soon," Pride nodded, "You built a meaningful connection with your Original Sin, and you even managed to perform an act of Sin that goes beyond improved physicality."

"I did?" Jonas had no idea what Pride was talking about, "You mean the healing?"

"No," said Pride, "When you broke out of your cage, it wasn't pure strength that allowed you to snap the padlock. It was Sin, your Original Sin," and Jonas tried to think back to that moment of desperation when his fingers had been split and bleeding as he tried to pry open the padlock of his cage.

"I still don't understand."

"It was the blood. The blood from your fingers drenched the lock, and you infused your willpower into the blood. You made it do your bidding. You filled your blood with your desire to break the lock, and then you made it happen. It was the first time as a Sinner that you performed True Sin, otherwise known as Sin Sorcery."

"Like magic?" Jonas' expression spread into a slight grin, "I made a miracle happen, right?"

"Sure, like magic." Pride rolled his eyes, "The way you heal, the way you opened that padlock, these are both examples of your Original Sin in action."

"So, what is my Original Sin?" Jonas felt like he wasn't getting the whole picture, "Control over blood?"

"Not exactly. Of course, it will take years before the full extent of your powers reveals itself, however, it seems to me that our Original Sin is the ability to infuse your blood with desire, willpower, and Sin," and Jonas went silent as he considered Pride's words.

"To infuse my blood with my will? I guess that's pretty cool, right?"

"Yes," Pride sounded exasperated, "It's pretty cool. Yesterday you used your Original Sin to break a padlock, maybe next time you'll break down a door. The thing about Original Sin is that it's just a guideline on how your powers will function. It's not the end all be all of Sin. A good Sinner will base their abilities around their Original Sin, but they'll also branch out and learn different types of Sin Sorcery. It's a bit confusing to explain to you right now, I want you to just focus on the basics, and not to look too far ahead."

"Fair enough," Jonas respected Pride enough not to continue prying, "I guess I'll try finding other ways of applying my Original Sin. I'm assuming that you healed me?"

"I did," Pride lied, "Don't you dare think about picking a fight with any more top-fives. Take what happened to you as a warning that you weren't ready. It will be months, maybe a year, before you have the strength to take on Wolf. Don't be impatient."

"When will we talk next?" Jonas could see the end of his conversation was near, and he turned his head to watch the ocean of deep crimson blood. It made him feel nostalgic for some reason, but it also gave him hope for the future. He survived, again, and he knew that he had the power to take Hell by storm. Little by little, Jonas was accepting the fact that he was special.

"When I feel it's necessary. Now wake up," Pride waved his hand, and Jonas felt his vision go black. It was moments later that deadly pain told Jonas he was back in the real world.

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“Fuck,” he mumbled, as the pain flooded his entire body, and he groaned loudly. The door to the infirmary crashed open, and Ahmed came stumbling in.

“Jonas?” He was in complete disbelief.

“How’s Ralph?” Jonas gingerly propped himself up on the gurney, it seemed that his body was completely healed. Maybe it was due to his Original Sin, but Jonas felt like something was off about how fast his body had healed.

“Alive,” said Ahmed, who was still wide-eyed. Jonas grinned at the news.

“Good,” he said, “I’m a huge idiot, sorry for worrying you. How long has it been?"

“Fuck,” Ahmed felt like berating him, but considering he had just had his brains bashed in for the second time that year, he decided against it. “Yes, you’re a huge idiot. It's been an hour, how the hell did you heal so quickly?"

"I think it was my Original Sin," Jonas made a confused expression like he had no idea how he had been healed so quickly. Ahmed raised a skeptical brow.

"Your Original Sin? I don't know about that. That seems rather unlikely."

"Do you have any other explanation?" Jonas tried playing it cool, "My ability to heal, combined with my Original Sin, healing in an hour isn't that big of a deal," and because Ahmed had no better explanation, he shrugged his shoulders and stroked his long beard.

"What were you thinking, trying to fight Wolf? You should've known better, you should've waited for me."

“Err,” Jonas gave a cute smile. “I thought I’d just, you know, kick his ass and save the day.”

“Moron,” Ahmed shook his head. “You’d be dead right now if we had gotten to you just a few seconds later,” Jonas could tell from Ahmed's serious expression that he wasn't joking.

“Fuck,” said Jonas, “I can’t believe that asshole had my brains bashed in with a fucking weight.”

“It was disgusting,” said Ahmed, “I truly thought you were dead. How do you feel now?"

“Ignoring the pain, I’m feeling pretty good. Nothing is broken from what I can tell," Jonas began feeling himself, and he emphasized checking his skull for damage. Besides some tenderness, he was completely fine.

“Well, you’re going to be feeling pretty shitty when Brow finds out you're awake and starts bitching like a maniac,” Jonas couldn’t help but shudder at the thought.

“Goddamn, can’t you just block him from coming in?”

“Hell no,” said Ahmed, “Whatever bitching that comes your way, you deserve it,” and there was no pity in his eyes. Jonas sighed and laid back against the thin padding of the hospital bed. He knew that he was bound to get an earful from Brow, and sure enough about twenty minutes after he awoke Brow entered the room. At first, he just looked stupidly at Jonas, but the initial disbelief wore off very quickly when Jonas spoke.

“Sup.”

“Fuck you!” Brow unsheathed his metal baton and brandished it menacingly toward Jonas, “You almost fucking cost me everything!” he shouted as spittle flew across the room, “How the fuck are you awake right now?”

“Put away your rod,” said Jonas, “I’m alive, your investment is still in place, and I have no fucking idea how I’m awake right now. I got lucky, and my healing went into overdrive as I slept. I'm like a cockroach, you just can't kill me.”

“Goddamn slaves,” grumbled Brow as he was beginning to overheat, “No fucking respect from any of you, I'm sick of the attitude."

“You don't deserve respect. You lord over the rest of us with no power of your own, using Howard's name as a threat. It's pathetic."

“I own you, I fucking own you! Don't you dare badmouth me after all the shit you caused, I'll take everything away from you!" Jonas shook his head and got up from the gurney.

“No, you don’t own me,” he approached Brow until they were only inches apart.

“I fucking made you,” Brow snarled, “Get out of my face.”

“Brow, I’m starting to think that you’re just a pussy with a little cock, and a big rod.”

It was the straw that broke the camel's back. Suddenly, Brow threw a punch, but Jonas dodged it easily, and in return hit Brow so hard across the face that he went flying backward and crashed into a metal locker. His body crumpled onto the floor, and with widened eyes, he stared transfixed at Jonas.

Ahmed was equally in disbelief, did Jonas hit his head so hard that he lost all sense of reason? It was mutiny to consider attacking a member of the gang, even Ahmed had never dared to try.

“You fuck!” Brow was red-faced, and his yellow eagle eyes were bulging as he stood back up, “I’ll have you fucking executed, fucking tortured!”

“You could try,” said Jonas, “But you won’t because I’m the only chance you have at reclaiming all the respect you lost when Keal died.”

“Don’t say his name!”

“I’ll say whatever I goddamn please,” said Jonas, and the crosses on his hand began to glow pridefully.

“You think you have something on me?” Brow knew he was stuck between a rock and a hard place, but he still couldn’t allow himself to be pushed around by a slave.

“I do,” said Jonas, “From now on, you’re going to speak politely to me, and you’re not going to ever call me a slave.”

“Fuck you!” Brow laughed menacingly, “You think you’re so fucking special, don’t you, a dumb ass who would've been killed if it wasn’t for me!”

“Don’t bullshit me,” said Jonas calmly, “We both know that Wolf doesn’t take orders from you, no one takes orders from you, not counting lowly dummy slaves who still roll their eyes at you when you're not looking,” his words were like arrows that pierced Brow from every angle.

“Just wait,” Brow growled.

“Wait, for what?” Jonas curled his lip and looked around curiously, “For you to reclaim all your power and glory, for another talented Sinner to fall onto your lap, or perhaps for someone to finally show you the respect and fear you crave so badly?” He added coldly, “It’s never going to happen, Brow, not without me.”

“Fuck!” Brow swore as he took heavy breaths, he felt extremely embarrassed and hateful, and Jonas even noticed a slight glow coming from beneath his leather gloves.

“Brow, you can either rat me out to the gang, and go back to beating on dummy slaves and being a joke to others,” said Jonas, “Or you can treat me with a little bit of decency, and I’ll help bring back everything you once had. The choice is yours to make, but either way, you no longer own me, and you’re no longer going to treat me like a slave,” Jonas crossed his arms and allowed his near-perfect Sin Scars to glow splendidly in Brow's face.

Brow opened his mouth and then closed it. It took him a moment, but Jonas could tell that his desires had finally won out, and the sight of those glowing Sin Scars was enough to change his mind.

“If you get yourself killed,” Brow looked grumpy, “How does that benefit me at all?”

“It doesn’t,” said Jonas, “I won’t be making the same mistake I did last time.”

“Oh really?” Brow looked at him in disbelief, “What if Wolf kidnaps one of your little friends and threatens to kill them?” Jonas couldn’t help but take his question seriously.

“Then I’ll get revenge for them, but from now on I need to stay true to my Pride. I can’t let anger cloud my judgment.”

Both Brow and Ahmed couldn’t help but think that the young man in front of them didn’t much resemble the naïve shit-talking kid that they had known for so long. Ahmed contemplated quietly, he was nervous that Jonas' Sin was starting to impact his personality too much. “So what will it be, Brow?” Jonas wanted a clear-cut answer, “Treat me like a human being, or go back to obscurity?”

“Fuck,” Brow looked completely and utterly defeated, “Just get my position back, get it all back.”

“Please,” Jonas corrected him, and Brow nearly shit his pants in anger.

“P-please,” it sounded more like a grunt that started with the letter p, but Jonas thought it was good enough, and he gave an extremely warm smile.

“Thanks for saving me, Brow,” and the gangster nearly choked as he watched a childish expression beam from Jonas' face. Ahmed chuckled and shook his head, apparently he had been worried for no reason.