Jonas awoke with a startle, immediately jumped out of bed, and prepared to sneak off to his cage before anyone knew he had slept out. His heart hammered because he knew he would be in trouble once the guards saw him.

“Where are you going?” Yuki groaned sleepily.

“My cage,” Jonas sounded breathless from anxiety, but he froze on the spot as the rationality in his brain flipped on.

“You don’t have a cage,” she mumbled into her pillow, and her silky black hair was a mess. That’s right, Jonas didn’t have a cage anymore, and he no longer had a curfew, which meant he could spend as long as he wanted to with Yuki.

“Fuck,” he grumbled. “I gave myself a heart attack,” but it fell on deaf ears, as Yuki was a heavy sleeper and didn’t often wake up. He got back into her warm bed, closed his eyes, and a few hours later, Jonas made his way out of her room and toward the fight pits, where he was preparing to meet his friends for sparring.

“It's so weird, not waking at the crack of dawn,” he said to them. "I haven't had a good sleep in ages."

“Must be nice, sleeping in,” said Johnson. “In a fucking bed.”

“It is,” said Jonas, but he didn’t mention it was Yuki's bed he had just left.

“Hey, J,” Jaden appeared.

“Sup, bro,” they pounded knuckles. “You sparring with us, or what?”

“Johnson said I could,” Jaden looked a bit hesitant. “But if you don’t want me to, you won't offend me.”

“Don’t be silly,” Jonas shook his head. “I'd be happy to have you spar with us. When it comes to fighting, more diversity means more experience. It will be nice to fight against someone else,” from that day, their group became seven. They split off into pairs while Jonas teamed up with Jaden, who he figured wouldn't be comfortable sparring with any of the others yet. Over in another pit, Ahmed paired with the two former wolves of their group.

“You’ve improved, Ralph,” said Ahmed, who had to crane his neck to meet eyes with the giant. “Pete, you’re still using way too many wasted movements.”

"Thanks," Ralph said in his deep voice.

"It's hard not to move so much when a top-five is whooping your ass," Pete looked exasperated; however, he kept a polite tone when speaking to Ahmed. He might have been part of Jonas' crew, but that didn't mean he could offend whoever he wanted.

In the next pit, Johnson and Simon were sparring while beating each other until they were black and blue. They were no longer slaves or bottom feeders, and they had become middle-of-the-pack fighters, respected for their humble beginnings and relationships with Jonas and Ahmed.

Although Jaden wasn’t on his level, Jonas noticed that his opponent's diamond-shaped markings on his hand looked rather good. When they started sparring, Jonas commended his new friend for his athleticism, martial arts, and instincts as a fighter. However, it seemed that Jaden was still struggling when it came to Sin.

“I still can’t figure it out,” Jaden pinched a nosebleed that Jonas had given him.

“Figure out what?" Jonas stopped to give him a breather.

“I'm still trying to understand how to incorporate Sin into my attacks. I understand I need to fuel them with Sin, but I don't get what that means or how to do it with Greed."

“It’s hard for me to give you advice because I don't know anything about Thieves."

“Pride, Greed,” Jaden argued. “They're both Sins, right? If that's the case, you should be able to infer a bit."

“I guess,” agreed Jonas. He recalled Old Louie's definitions of the Sin types. “I mean, Greed is the sin of hoarding, valuation, and theft, right? But I don't want to give you incorrect information. Sin is one of those things you need to figure out most on your own. It's a self-taught skill."

“I know, but at this point, I have no information. I've just gone off the tidbits I've picked up here and there. I can feel my Sin, and sometimes I activate my Sin Scars, but I can't do much after that."

“Well, if I were a Thief, I'd focus on the things I value the most. Maybe you focus on how much you value winning or how much you value your life. Find those feelings within yourself, and transform them into willpower. Then, you transfer that willpower into your fists.”

"What do I value most?" Jaden narrowed his brow. "I mean, sure, I value my life. I don't get how to turn that into willpower. Thieves are the weakest Sinners because their power is so complicated."

"Well, there's your problem right there," Jonas chucked. "You don't even value your Sin. How the hell are you going to channel it properly?"

"It's hard to value it when it doesn't work," Jaden titled his head. "You think it's because I look down on my power, that it's weaker because of it?"

"Definitely. You're killing your potential. If I were a Thief, I'd convince myself that my power was the greatest thing since sliced bread, and I'd value it to the point where I thought it was more important than my life and better than all the other Sins. If I wasn't prideful about my Sin of Pride, I think it would be much worse."

"That does make sense," Jaden looked like he had an epiphany, and a grin blossomed at the corner of his lips. "So, if I think my power is the best and I value it more, that will help me value other things and use my Sin of Greed in different aspects of my fighting?"

"When I want to use Sin, I focus on my confidence because the more confident I am about my ability to accomplish my desires, the better my chance at succeeding. When I succeed, I become more confident."

“Like a circle,” said Jaden, “Confidence leads to success; success leads to confidence.”

“That’s Pride in a nutshell," Jonas grinned. "The more you value your power, the easier it will be for you to place value onto other things. You can't fill a bank with fake money, right? So, make sure your Sin of Greed is worth a million bucks, then deposit it into the things you love most."

"That's so simple but so smart," Jaden was beaming. "I've been beating myself up over my Sin when all I needed was a little self-love. No wonder you're talented; you understand Sin like it's your second nature.”

Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.

“Pride can be a pain in the ass,” said Jonas. “The minute you lose confidence in yourself, the harder it becomes to accomplish your goal, and then no matter how much you try to tell yourself that you can do something, you just can’t do it because failure is in the back of your mind, like a shadow.”

“As opposed to me?”

“It doesn’t seem to matter if a Thief fails,” Jonas reasoned. “If you’re not using enough Sin, it’s because you don’t value what you're doing—something like that.”

“No, no, I think you’re right about me not valuing my power. So, I should be able to channel my Sin for other things I value: my life, getting out of here, standing up for myself; things like that, you know?" Jaden found the topic quite interesting.

"That's how I would reason it if my Sin of Greed. Remember, your Sin doesn't suck; you just suck at using it."

"I guess mine is kind of cyclical too. Right?" Jaden looked full of thought. "The more I value my Greed, the easier it is to use it correctly. The more I use it correctly, the more I value it?"

"Bingo," Jonas nodded. He felt proud of himself for being a good teacher. His Sin Scars began to glow brightly, and Jaden gave them a hungry look.

"Mine will glow like that someday," he said with a sparkle in his eye. "It might take a few years, but I'll get away from this place and hone my craft on the surface. I'll train until I can take care of myself, and then no one will enslave me ever again."

"Hell yeah," Jonas knew the feeling. He had spent many nights in his cage, dreaming of a return to the surface while being one of the strongest people in Sun City. No one would screw with him. "We have to make sacrifices to get what we want. Good Sinners need to suffer; it builds character."

"Thanks for the lesson," Jaden stuck out his hand, and Jonas shook it. "You didn't have to take me in or include me in your plan, but you did anyway."

"Don't mention it. I like you and think you'll make one hell of a Sinner. Stick with us, and I'll make sure no one here screws with you. If you have questions, just ask, and I'll try my best to teach you."

“About those birds,” Jaden whispered. “The birds that will be flying the nest.”

“Mhm,” Jonas nodded. “What about them?”

“This bird wants in,” and Jonas could see a look of determination in Jaden’s eyes that helped inspire confidence. There was a slight glow to the diamonds on the young Thief's hands, and Jonas could see that he truly valued the opportunity to escape.

“Alright,” said Jonas. “We’ll fill you in with more details at the next meeting. For now, keep things quiet and practice your Sin. If you want to help, we'll need fighters."

“I got it, J," Jaden put his fists up. "Let's get ready for round two. I think this time I'll shock you."

Later that night, the boys hit the gym, and they found themselves under the spotlight as everyone stared in their direction, trying to get a look at the new top-five fighter and his crew. Some gladiators had missed the epic death duel between Jonas and Wolf, and unfortunately, they had to hear its recount from their friends.

After working out, he made his way back to his room for a quick bath, and then he found himself sprawled out on Yuki’s lounge with a glass of wine in one hand and a custard tart in the other.

“Yuki,” Jonas said as she laid her head on his lap. “Do you feel like your sin of Lust is cyclical?”

“What do you mean?” She looked up and gazed into his eyes.

"As a Hunter, you lust for a certain desire, but when you accomplish said desire, does it make you lust it more?”

“Sorry,” she said, “Can you give me an example?”

“For me,” explained Jonas, “If I succeed at my desire, I become confident, and by becoming more confident, I succeed at accomplishing my desires. Do you see what I mean?”

“I get now,” she said with a thoughtful expression. “I think for me, instead of lusting after that same desire, I feel inclined to move on to a new desire because the old one is gone, and I need to fill that void.”

“Void,” he narrowed his brow. “I think that makes sense, what you just said.”

“Why?”

“No reason in particular,” Jonas brushed the bangs off her forehead. “I’ve just been curious about Sin and how it applies to people who aren’t Crusaders."

“Yeah, you’ve got it good,” she smirked. "I'm still trying to figure out Original Sin. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if I have one."

"Everyone has one, but not everyone will be able to access it. I think that you will be able to find it. You just need to figure out what makes you special."

"You've said that before, but I don't think I'm special. I'm above average in talent, and I'm resourceful.

"Oh, shut up," he flicked her forehead. "You've got so many good traits—"

"Little shit," she looked ready to attack, but his compliments held her at bay.

"—You're smart, confident, beautiful, beyond clever, and you've got a huge heart."

"What else?" She glared at him.

"Uh," Jonas looked around the room. "You're pretty good in bed," but his comment earned him a punch to the ribs. The war was on.

"You're not funny," she huffed after a few minutes of play fighting.

"I know, I know. I'm sorry. Let's be friends again."

"Fine. You're on thin ice," Yuki shook her head.

"Would you be willing to help me with something?" Jonas had some inspiration. He recalled his conversation with Pride and the training method suggested to him.

"Of course," Yuki's pupils dilated as a new hunt appeared before her eyes.

"I've had some ideas regarding my Original Sin and how to train it."

"You have?" She looked interested. "What do you mean?"

"My Original Sin has something to do with blood. I figured this out over the past few months. One time I busted a lock on my cage by dripping blood into the hole, another time, I made my opponent's arm burn when he had me in a headlock. Then, consider how fast I heal: it makes sense that my blood is responsible."

"All of that happened?" She looked amazed. "How come you never told me?"

"I didn't understand the changes at all. I barely mentioned it to anyone. Even my closest friends knew the bare minimum. I wasn't ready to talk about it until I understood everything. Howard Hurts thought I had a blossoming Original Sin, and he was correct. Original Sin is responsible for my strong healing powers, but I don't think that's the limit."

"So you want to try something; you want to test something out?" She narrowed her brow. "You want to try and heal me with your blood."

"See," Jonas smiled, "Positively brilliant. I want you to cut yourself a bit, and I'll spread my blood over the wound and try to heal it."

"Of course, you can," she got up from the lounge and procured the sharpest object she could find: a nail file. She handed it to Jonas, and he mentally prepared for what he wanted to do.

"You're sure?" But he could tell from the resolution in her eyes that she was sure. As gently as he could, he brought the sharp tip of the file to the flesh of her forearm and pushed until the file punctured her skin. Yuki didn't flinch, and blood seeped out from the wound.

Next, Jonas poked the tip of his pointer finger and penetrated much more deeply than he had done to her. His blood oozed out, and he began channeling Sin throughout his body. Jonas focused on his feelings, his desire to heal her, and his confidence. He knew he could do it because Pride wouldn't have suggested it if it was impossible.

Jonas' Sin Scars began to glow, and he wiped his blood across her wound. 'Heal her,' he said in his mind. 'I will heal her. It's too easy. I know it will work.'

"It's warm," her voice had gone quiet because she was concentrating on the feeling of her arm.

"Anything else?"

"I'm not sure. Give it a minute," the two waited patiently for a couple of minutes until Yuki wiped her forearm with a napkin.

"It's gone," she said, open-mouthed. "You healed it."

Jonas smirked because he had done it on his first try. This discovery meant that his blood was a conduit for his willpower. In other words, he could bend the world to his desires by using his blood.

"Don't tell anyone about this," Jonas was wearing a cocky grin, and his eyes were full of smiles. "Let's try it again."