The Sin's Virtue

Death, was nothing like I had imagined her to be.

When my eyes raised to meet hers as she stood a little too sweetly on the top landing of the magnificent stairs, I realised how people can live up to their names in so many different ways.

She smiled at me and made her way downstairs to where I was waiting at the end which fetched me enough time to observe her, to see how immortality has been generously generous with her.

She was inversely proportionate to her profession, if mastering death could be called that.

Dressed in a pair of tight jeans and what looked like a spaghetti tank, topped with a shiny leather jacket, strong jaw line and sharp feature that gave her a superior look, despite the plastered smile which looked almost fake her face had a dark brooding edge, the look that was scaring the heavens out of.

The way she took every step down the staircase with such an audacity in those heels which clicked against the floor like a power booster had me thinking of a hundered ways to escape this maze and the master of it as soon as possible.

If I wasn't so intimidated right now, I would have awed at the aura she was carrying around with her that had everything around in her submission.

Get a grip. You are not here to sing a song in her glory. Focus.

Right. Calm and composure. That is how I deal with this.

I took a step forward as she finished her walk of glam making her way towards me.

"Good evening, dear Virtue." She smiled trying to be polite but I could see those eyes of hers which were glaring at me fiercely. There was something so gloomy about those orbs which matched the atmosphere of the meadow and forests out there I came from. It was like they reflected what she felt. Did she feel sad? Maybe it was what Death felt like. Those gray-ish iris of her, deep and toe curling, had two sides to them. Sadness for what everyone looked for into them and anger for never being truly looked at as she was.

Fierce. She was a snap of current that could burn you down to ashes and leave no room for questions.

"Good evening, Death." I nodded politely, returning the pleasantries.

"Oh its Mortem for you." She waved a hand dismissively. "Come."

I followed her wondering why she was being so cool about things that were obviously making me uneasy under my own skin. She could potentially be having all the Virtues in her dark confinement. May be. At the same time may be not? I do not know. That is the problem here. I have no idea why I am here. If she did not have the Virtues with her, she could have told me the same in the letter she sent me. If I am here per her words then, there must be some connection that I am overlooking. May be she knows who took them?

Don't ignore the trace.

True. The trace is stabbing my nose, so I take notice of it and I do. I am aware of how she is leaving a soft terrorising trace behind her, the same path that I am following as she leads me through different corridors and we enter into a large but cosy looking drawing room.

The room was furnished in the shades of midnight black and blood red, glowing softly under the dim lights that were spread all over the ceiling.

Death or as she asked me to call her, Mortem, made herself comfortable at one corner of the elongated couch and waved me over to take a seat as well which I did, complying with her but at the same time maintaining a safe distance, if she ever decides to lash out, I will have enough time to dodge her and make a run for my dear life.

I may be an immortal but that does not mean I take my life for granted. I am not dying before I find Virtues, before I see my sisters alive and all okay. I would never be able to rest in peace knowing that I failed to find them and judging by the looks Mortem is putting up for me, I have a feeling that I am finally going to have some answers which are desperately needed to quench my thoughts.

Her behaviour is a front for me to get confused, I can tell that.

A person can be sickly sugared only in two conditions. Either they are extremely furious about your existence and the fact that you are sharing the same air as they breath or they want something out of you.

Or I don't know may be both?

The odour she has around her self is very much similar to the one I found in the castle back in Santo. I have a strong feeling that it was her who broke into the personal grounds of the Virtues because someone only as high in the ranks as her would know how to penetrate the old charms that protect the walls of castle.

I do not dare to voice my thoughts though. Her lashing out on me is not even the last thing I want right now. So I decide to stay quiet as long as she is the one to break the ice between us.

"Why do you think I took the Virtues?" I like those people who do not beat around the bush. It contents me to know that they value time. Time that they have got and the time which I am left with. How cool is that? To know Death values time. Ah but then it is her job to keep a track of time for people right? That is why life warns us to live while we still have some time. That 'some' can fluctuate anytime considering its dependency on Death's mood.

"The odds undoubtedly point towards you." I said keeping my voice as soft and polite as possible even though that is hard considering my knowledge about her. She chuckled under her breath or was that a seethe? I would never know.

To the lords up there, look out for me please.

"To be able to put a name to a mere trace, I must assert the need for you to be very sure." Her voice was just above a whisper. So soft that only an ardent listener would be able to keep up with the secret voice that she spoke in.

"That is my job and I don't fail." I said confidently. I am sure she is just trying to put me in a dilemma. To subject me to humiliation but I am not going to fall for that.

"Don't you?" She asked me giving a look that clearly displayed her lack of agreement with my words. "Because I would be happy to remind you that you have never met me before this once."

I am sure that is the case and that is where my knowledge keeps me one step ahead of what tries to pull me back.

"My ability is not confided to people. Knowledge is what fuels it best." And why not? I mean I never thought that I would be thanking Chao but right now I am really grateful for his boastful remarks that unknowingly gave me so many clues to follow.

"I am sure it does." She said nodding.

Oh this is exhausting. She is not leading me anywhere. If anything, her motives are only becoming as knotty as her character is. I know Chao referred her as one of his most elusive friend but this bad?

I sighed.

"I am not here to offend you Mortem if that is what you think. In no way I would ever want to do that. I respect the hierarchy and gap we carry between us that is why I chose to pen down my doubts rather than confront you in person. As it is, I would appreciate if you just clear me on this because I don't have much time left with me."

Does she not know that? She is Death, the exact person who would know when someone is going to die.

"Breathe, Humility." She said, those scary eyes gleaming unnaturally. "I don't think you want to die before you meet your sisters."

Meet my sisters? How am I going to do that if you are going to remain this coy with me?

I never replied to that scared that I would loose my composure because that was the only thing that kept me up and right in front of this woman who seemed to give away nothing.

"However," Mortem started. "You are just precisely right about me in your castle."

Is that correct?

I blinked as she confirmed and accepted my assumptions. This is some real start. She was there. She was the one who took away the Virtues. Even though I should be scared about her motives, there was a tad bit of relief that washed over me, giving me assurance of being right all along.

"Why?" My own voice echoed in my ears. The only thing I do not understand is why? Why, Virtues? What does she want from them?

She kept staring at me with nothing given away, a long pause stretching between us for a long time.

"For the supreme good."

Supreme good?

What does that mean?

"Tell you what," She got up, her hands shoved in the pockets of her jacket, strolling lazily towards the fireplace. Her gaze was focused on the burning flames that were colliding with each other. "I have no interest of mine in all of this."

"Then why did you take them? Where are my sisters?" I burst out. Frankly at this point I do not care who she is or what sort of powers she possess. All I know is she can give me the answers I have been desperately looking for.

"Safe, for now." She turned around and pinned me with that sharp gaze of her. "And if you want to see them alive, I suggest you comply with me."

"Not until you answer my questions." I stood up folding my hands over my chest, I gave her an equally challenging look. If I show her how freaked out I am and how her words are leaving trail of dread inside me, I am gone. I lose this very second if I don't control my emotions. I am not here to be all over the place.

"I don't think that is needed." Her voice was quiet and soft. Just accurately dangerous. "Still, try me."

I bit my lips and pondered over my thoughts once more.

"What did you mean by the supreme good?" I asked. She smiled slightly but I could see how that small curve of the lips never reached her eyes, to her almost dead eyes.

"You will understand once we proceed for that after your questionnaire session." She shrugged, taunting me to challenge her further.

"If this isn't for you, then who is behind the mess?"

Now that is the real question that has been bugging me for a long time. When we listed down the possible culprits behind the disappearance of the Virtues, Diablers and Diablo were on the top. Now here I sit in front of one of the Diablers who is admitting to be there that night and at the same time showing no interest in her own moves, which throws me back to where I started.

Death looked deep in her own thoughts. A look of contemplation on her face, deciding whether to tell me or not. I silently prayed for her to have some mercy and tell me who is the actual culprit.

"I would tell you but it will take away all the fun." There was an evil edge to her tone, one that made me anxious and uneasy and I wanted to get as far away from her as possible.

Primarily, it was the air that was terrifying me. Its texture had changed and the trace that reached my senses had chilled me to the core. My eyes widen as I realised who was on the way towards us.

"Ah, there you are, Humility was missing you." Death looked over my shoulder to address the person standing behind me whose presence alerted me before he could. I wanted to run away from the nightmare that stood greedily to consume all of me but I could do nothing. Even my voice had cease to exist due to the unnerving panic that was rising with me.

How did I not see him coming?

This is so not good.

"Is that right, my love?"

I am doomed at the mercy of Chao.

So I am gonna put up Kian and Shye on my wall again for those who haven't seen them because the banners disappear as I keep realeasing the new one.

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