X X V I I - [ C H R I S T I A N A ]

the moment I step foot in the fifth circle. I don't know exactly what to expect from this level, since, after all, no one's ever made it this far, but how bad can it be, right?

All of a sudden, an incredibly bright light appears and I involuntarily bring my arm in front of my face to cover my eyes from the blinding beam that shines before me.

"." Says a collection of dark and rather mysterious voices, and I attempt to search for the source of it by squinting through my fingers. I failed, though, for the light really is disturbing my sight.

When the brightness subsides and I manage to blink out the black spots away, I notice seven luminescent orbs floating meters away from me. I squint once more, trying to see just what their purpose is, exactly, but failed in doing so.

"," their voices repeat, "?"

I gulp, trying to suppress my sudden nervousness. "No," I answer, not really knowing who to look at when I talk.

"." The voices announce, and I understand now just why there are seven orbs; one for each deadly sin present.

"." They command, and I oblige to it, walking closer to the balls of light and stopping just a foot away from them. "."

Timidly, I squeak out, "Which one?"

"." Comes the answer, so I decide to start with the first one on the left.

I walk to the orb and level my gaze with it. "Like this?" I ask, making sure I'm actually doing it right.

"."

I do, and then all of a sudden, I feel the sensation of getting sucked in and I squeeze my eyes shut.

"Christie, dear!" My mom's voice rings in my ears, and I tilt my head to see her standing by the doorframe of my room. "Can you please run out to pick up some groceries?"

I inwardly groan. "Can you give me a couple of minutes, mom? I'm talking to Zel on the phone." I answer, holding my phone to my chest.

"But it's almost time for dinner! I go to the supermarket myself, but I've got pasta boiling on the stove."

". ." The voices speak in my head. "?"

I know that sloth's never really been a problem of mine, and I rarely ever procrastinate, so almost instantly, I answer, "Yes."

Immediately, the scene before me disappears and I'm back in the dark room.

"Choose your next orb, human."

Since I've already started with the first one on the left, I've decided to go for the one beside it and continue this pattern until the end.

I look straight into the next orb and I feel the same sensation once more.

This time, the situation is completely different. Apparently, I am now sitting at the dining table, with Zelda on the opposite side.

"Hey, can you pass me that cake?" She asks, gesturing at the plate sitting in front of me.

I simply sit there and stare at her blankly. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm usually not a pig—but she's asking for a here.

"?"

I guess I can give up the cake so long as I can become a full demon.

"Of course," I reply without hesitation, and the same process as before is repeated—I'm guessing it'll be the same with the rest of the five Deadly Sins.

This time, I don't even need the voices to tell me to move on to the next orb. I step to my right and stare at it, and pretty much the same thing happens all over again.

"Hey, what'd you get for history?" Abigor—uh— asks, pointing at the paper on my desk. We're sitting in history class together, and I think the teacher's just handed us our papers back.

I look down at my paper. "I got 92, not bad." I nod, somewhat satisfied. "You?"

He huffs out a breath. "64, this is bullshit."

"?"

Now, it's true that I can sometimes take pride in the thing I have accomplished, but it doesn't mean I can't live without it.

"Yes."

Alright, what next?

Looking to my side as I open my eyes for the umpteenth time, my gaze meet with Lilith's and I know immediately that this isn't going to be good.

"Oh, I am tired." She complains, studying her perfectly-manicured nails.

"Why, is thinking taking too much of your energy?" I sneer, having not liked her since the beginning.

"No, no. Nothing like that." Her plump lips twitch into a condescending smirk as she looks me straight in the eyes and say, "Having incubi all over me and just for my attention can be a work."

A feeling overwhelms me then, and right away I know just which Deadly Sin this is.

"?"

I bite my lip and ball my fists by my sides as to keep it all in. If I react in to this feeling, I will fail—and that is another thing I've never really liked.

Swallowing back the string of retorts that threaten to spill out of my mouth, I reply a yes and close my eyes.

When I reopen them, the first thing I see are a pair of fierce, red eyes looking straight into mine, and I involuntarily gasp.

"?"

He says nothing, simply responding with that devious grin of his. I look above me to see his arms pinning mine down on top of my head, and I can't help but feel a sense of déjà vu course through me.