Synthetic Rift

As the sun began its ascent, the village remained in a peaceful slumber, blanketed by the morning dew. However, a figure stood outside, breaking the stillness.

Dora stood at the village entrance, clutching a kitchen knife in his hand. Despite the biting cold causing his nose to turn pink, his focus was on a scenario he was reviewing. Using a stick, he etched numbers into the mud, engrossed in calculations.

"If this world is exactly like the past, there are 8 years before the Twilight of the Gods... seven before entering the academy and therefore... approximately... 4 years before the creation of Shining Sword."

He stood up and took a few steps deeper.

"In the past, I had power from the start, and with the blessing of greed, I could master everything instantly... But now..."

 He glanced down at his hands, examining the lines on his palms before grimacing slightly.

"The blessing of sloth is the most useful for rapid evolution, I can create rifts and clear them by myself and obtain elemental and soul stones... but the downside is that that's all I have... no special power, no special talent, just a dungeon, and my smile to get rid of it."

The situation was quite awkward, every sin existed in Dora in a dormant state, and only by awakening them could he harness their benefits.

Among them, Sloth was the easiest to activate as the user only needed to be wired in any area, the reason for Dora's quest to be a perfect boy over the previous months.

The others in opposite needed perfect synchronization of the mind with the notion of sin, to put it simply, he needed to do some chores to awaken sloth but he needed to transcend human limitations to awaken another sin.

- To understand a sin you have to become that sin, to master it, you have to surpass it.

"How troublesome…"

Taking a deep breath, he let out a groan and embraced a moment of silence, allowing himself to find solace and regain his composure. With his eyes gently shut, he felt the final droplet of rain trickle down from his hair, as he delved into his thoughts, conjuring vivid images of his dear friends.

"Sloth is the sin of laziness, the eternal rejection of effort. It's the vow of never improving and the sin of fear and rejection... But if one can overcome this weakness..."

His eyes shone with a bright white light as he extended his right hand outward, causing light particles to gather and form a rectangular shape in front of him.

"If one manages to overcome the rejection of action, this person will be blessed with the opposite of a sin: the virtue of diligence, a synthetic rift."

In Dora's hand, a card with a drawing of a bird transformed into a radiant light. With a swift motion, he hurled it towards a tree, causing a dazzling explosion of light.

The resulting sparks scattered in every direction, casting a brilliant glow that resembled a second sun illuminating the ground. Gradually, the energy settled, revealing a mesmerizing sight before Dora's eyes.

His masterpiece had come to life, emanating delicate waves of energy accompanied by the crisp sound of a forest breeze and the pure white hue of a newborn star.

This marked the birth of the first-ever synthetic rift, a remarkable achievement that left Dora in awe, his eyes widening with a trembling smile.

"...Wow."

Dora was amazed by the masterpiece before him. It was a genuine artificial marvel, a replica of the singularity that threatened the world, and it was crafted by his own hands, driven by his determination. The delight on his face was so immense that he resembled a child admiring his snowman.

"It worked... it really worked! I can create rifts too... like her... But... isn't it just the same blessing of sloth? I thought the virtues were different?"

As he gazed down at his palms, he couldn't help but notice a slight tremor, possibly a result of his use of magic. However, his attention was quickly diverted by a sudden glimmer that caught his eye. It wasn't something he held in his hands, but rather something absent, right there at his feet, a knife serenely resting in a plate of water.

At that moment, a realization washed over him, weighing heavily on his shoulders. For the first time since rebirth, he comprehended the immense burden he was about to bear. The world was not merely in peril; it had already succumbed to defeat. His presence in that very place symbolized a feeble attempt to reclaim a sliver of hope.

A knife, an artificial imperfection, held the key to unlocking a brighter future.

"...It doesn't matter for now... with this power, I can do it, I have to do it, It's the only strategy!"

He knelt and rose, holding the knife. After a final deep inhale, he advanced towards the unfamiliar figure. Dora ventured into the rift and stumbled upon wreaths inside a tiny cavern. The area was so cramped that only a child of his stature could navigate through.

"Hm...I wonder if I can fight properly here... Speaking of which, what kind of monsters could live here? What level is this place?"

In the previous world, Candace possessed the ability to conjure rifts of varying degrees and manipulate everything encompassed within them, from the specific location to the strength of the creatures dwelling within.

However here, the quality was significantly more ridiculous, leaving no room for anticipation of what lay concealed within these portals.

Dora pressed on, traversing the path for approximately five minutes, as the pungent odor of mildew grew increasingly potent. With each step, the distant echoes of the creatures' clamor reached his ears.

His grip on the knife tightened, signifying that the time for mere amusement had unequivocally come to an end.

"It's coming…"

Gradually approaching, the sound resonates like a closed paper bag being vigorously shaken in the air. As it draws nearer, the distinctness of the sound becomes more pronounced, until it becomes unmistakable and easily identifiable.

"...wings flapping?!"

A projectile tore through the air, with a piercing velocity, brushing past Dora's head causing him to lose balance and plummet to the ground. Nevertheless, he promptly rose, lifting his head to survey his surroundings, and with his eyes gleaming, he could make out a bit more of his surroundings despite the complete darkness enveloping him.

The creature was the size of a bowling ball, with wings resembling a bat and the head of a horse. It seemed to be a new species of bat.

"Damn...so ugly..."

The beast unfurled its wings, stretching them out to their full span, and emitted a piercing screech, as though deeply insulted by his remarks. Dora sprang to his feet and charged towards the monstrous creature.

However, his valiant effort was abruptly halted as another projectile struck him forcefully in the back. The impact sent him sprawling to the ground, but instead of landing face-first, he tumbled onto his back, ensnaring one of the creature's wings in the process.

The beast thrashed and struggled, desperately attempting to free its trapped wing. Gradually, the weight of the boy lessened, granting the creature some respite and enabling it to regain its mobility, and just as it was on the verge of taking flight once more, a knife pierced its skull.

"Gotcha."

Dora rose swiftly, the creature tightly gripping onto the cold metal. It was an impressive maneuver, particularly for someone so young. However, what set this boy apart was not his physical strength, for he was feeble like the very monsters that surrounded him.

His true advantage lay in his vast reservoir of combat expertise acquired from a previous existence. With each passing second, he regained a bit of his physical memory and his reflexes returned. Despite his frailty, his understanding of battle tactics and his wealth of experience elevated him slightly above the rest.

"NOW…"

He confronted the second creature and bent down, clutching the knife with the monster still attached to it.

(Dark space, bat-like appearance, and the noise they make... these monsters are blind and use something like sonar to locate their prey... The pattern is always the same...)

The creature let out a piercing scream before rushing toward Dora who crouched down as low as he could while raising the sharp knife above his head.

(They scream to locate the prey and then...)

The creature charged at him and targeted the head of a three-legged prey from its perspective.

(They target the upper body!)

The creature's open mouth was pierced as the knife commenced its trajectory. Dora's swing carried the creature to the ground in a half-arc motion. Despite being mortally wounded, the creature let out a series of grunts, but the repetitive stabs of the knife on its skull offered it salvation.

On the ground lay two monsters, and at that moment, a new occurrence unfolded. A radiant glow emanated from the two beasts, illuminating the cavern. Dora's expression twisted in discomfort as he realized the significance of what was happening.

He had once personified the sin of greed and power, and he had become accustomed to a distinct sensation whenever he encountered these objects: an elemental stone and two soul stones.

After observing the monsters with a compassionate gaze, the boy caught hold of the stones and examined them attentively. His eyes turned white once more, granting him a deeper understanding of them.

|Soul Stone - Sonar: the user can spot any target in their environment thanks to the sounds it emits|

|Elemental Stone: Agility|

Dora grinned and tightly gripped his fists around the stones.

"... I'll need a lot more than that...to handle this."

The cavern was filled with the sound of dozens of wing beats. As Dora observed from a distance, his eyes shimmered with a radiant glow, and while he focused his energy, the stones within his hands illuminated before crumbling into dust. This transformation was a clear indication that he had successfully absorbed their essence and power.

"Like old times, let's go."