SIN, SAINT, AND STRENGTH 

The floor I was lying on was sheathed with a thin blanket. The coldness of the floor easily percolated through the fabric.

I must be dreaming.

My body was sore from lying down on the hard surface for a long duration of time. My hands and feet were bound tightly. I blinked at the dimness of the room. Rays of moonlight passed through the thin curtains.

There was no doubt about it.

The cold breeze of the night made the curtains sway gently. The crickets filled the line of silence. As I watched the curtains sway from the gentle breeze, a figure with gleaming red eyes appeared at the shadowy corner of the room.

"You're awake..."

Yes, I was kidnapped.

Klepton emerged from the shadows with a small smile decorating his lips.

"I thought you'd sleep until morning."

I let my head fall gently on the ground.

"I would if I was provided with a mattress."

A small chuckle came out from my new and improved rapitore. He took steps towards me.

"Forgive our lack of resources. We just moved in after eliminating every Grim in this temple, but they did not have what I was looking for," Klepton told me and crouched.

"Grim?" I questioned.

"Yes, Grim Reapers. There are a whole lot of them scattered all over the world. They collect souls and are perceived as one individual."

I think I heard of this before but my good memory cannot be bothered now.

"Release me or you will face a panicking werewolf at your doorstep," I warned him.

Klepton's grin widened. "You think that werewolf has a chance against me?"

"Yes, provided that you won't cheat like last time," I deadpanned.

He crossed his arms, tilting his head at me.

"Oh? Well, forgive me. I wasn't informed of the rules. My subordinate was only trying to help."

"Nothing you say will make a difference. Release me."

"You're right. I wasn't called Sin Klepton if I didn't swindle my way to victory," he murmured.

He pushed me on my back, gliding his hand under my shirt to feel my chest.

He inched his face close to my own and pinched a tender nipple.

"If I were to kill you now, would you have any last words?"

I maintained undeterred by his eyes that were meant to daunt his prey. I found his warm hand comforting.

"I've said everything in the past when I faced the door of death many times. You will not milk any fear from me. Just know that if I die, I cannot assure your safety. You'd soon follow the same fate and the only difference is: I won't be asking for any last words from you. It would be a waste of my time."

Klepton's eyes widened in amusement.

"What an interesting fellow. Killing you won't be fulfilling at all"

He rose to his feet, snapping his fingers. The ropes loosened and I was brought to a stand as if my body had a mind of its own.

"Call me Sin. It is the only thing I know about myself after losing my memories."

He turned his back away from me. The door clicked open. Somehow I felt as though he wouldn't lay a dangerous finger on me yet, but this given freedom made me curious about him and his objectives.

I followed Sin to the most crowded place of the temple. Rough-looking men and women were having a good laugh. One of them was wearing a black cloak that was similar to what I was wearing—

Now that I think about it, I was left with a mere mesh shirt.

"Are you looking for this?" Sin asked, waving the black cloak in his hand. "Did you face one of the grims and manage to take his cloak as a trophy? You are more formidable than I thought."

I sighed, scowling at him.

"I will not do a troublesome thing. Your expectations of me are too high."

He raised his hand towards the man goofing around with the black cloak.

"It's your fault for setting it high for me."

A blood-curdling scream arose from the man entertaining his audience. Bodies scattered away in fear. I closed my eyes to free myself from the gruesome image. My hearing was not spared from the pained sound of splintering bones and choking noises of agony.

"Plea—"

I opened my eyes, finding Sin holding another black cloak in his hand that was drenched in the blood of his recent victim.

"A gift from me, I hope you like it," he chirped.

"I don't want it."

His smile widened. "But I made effort to—"

"Your effort is not appreciated," I cut him off.

The temple trembled and caused various reactions from the dwellers. Rui pushed past the crowd, bowing at his waist.

"Grims are here."

Slashing noises came about. Sin's subordinates were about to escape only to find the leader blocking their route. They were more afraid of Sin than anything else. They suddenly readied their gear to fight the intruders.

"Are you ready to lose your life to them?" Sin questioned coolly.

"Yes sir!" They fearfully replied.

"Good, it's better than losing your life to me, no?"

Sin glanced at me, hauling me against his hard body. He forced his lips to my own before pushing me away.

"I'll let you escape now but not for long. I'll hunt you down again," he warned and snapped his fingers.

Sand crawled up to my body. The cloaked individuals slashed their way through the fleshy blockade. The weapon they were using was similar to the one I saw in the cabin.

Blood splattered everywhere. Sin moved in front of me to hinder my view of the massacre.

"You won't be free from me for long."

My vision was completely obstructed with sand for a few seconds before the grains fell off. I was left sitting outside of the dark forest. I looked around and stood, brushing off the grains from my body.

I was a magnet for crazy lunatics like him.

The sound of flapping wings caught my attention. There was a shadowy figure that wasn't there before. He was squatting and wearing tattered black clothes. He had charcoal smeared skin and a tall-built appearance. Horns grew out of his head and black feathers descended from nowhere.

"Domo," I greeted him. "Are you perhaps a sane individual who will not resort to kidnapping?"

"Wait!—"A boy from afar shouted.

The bizarre figure disappeared and I felt something land gently on top of my head. A loud squawk was enough for me to know that Squawkey found me and the man from before disappeared without a trace.

'Oh, nephew…' A voice inside my head sighed.

A skinny, pale-looking, and sickly teenager emerged from the dark. He was looking frantically for something. He was tall and lanky and was ready to be blown by the breeze at any moment.

There were numerous bruises on his skin. His red-colored hair was messy and so was his breathing. He was about to perish at any moment as he fell on the floor and gasped for air.

I sauntered towards him and knelt by his side. I cupped his cheek and stared at his red eyes which were filled with fear. He was running with a fever. What made such a sickly boy come out in the middle of the night with a mere stick of a life?

I slowly placed my lips over his and breathed out air that he was in desperate need of. The boy's pale skin reddened. He scrambled away, clenching his chest.

"Wh--what are you doing?!"

"Giving you air, isn't that what you needed?"

"What a malevolent way!" He blurted out. "You mustn't do such things. Come," he urged and knelt before clasping his hands together. "Let us pray for your sins."

I sighed. "I had enough Sin for one day. Please let us not mention him."

"Hey El, where are you?! The Shepherds are looking for you~" a playful voice called out.

"Come out, we promise we won't throw rocks at you anymore!" Another one of them tried to persuade.

Snickers occurred after that. Their objectives became even clearer to me now. The sickly teenager was still on his knees with his hands still clasped together.

"Are they hurting you?"

The boy opened his eyes to look at me. He lowered his gaze in shame.

"They...they didn't mean it."

Ah yes...the rocks must have slipped from their grasp just as how Wye Fye lost touch with her arrows.

"They must have been ruled by fear. They just lacked faith. I was placed in this world by Father to test them."

I stood, boring my eyes to him.

"Forgive me for my rudeness but you are in no shape and form to be giving these tests."

The child looked at me with determined eyes.

"I...my Father would not put me in such a predicament if he had no plans. I believe in Him. I do!"

I turned away and stared at the crescent moon. Caleb should be awake by now. I shouldn't worry him any further.

"If you insist," I told him. "It is a pleasure to meet you. Please do not break apart upon heading back home," I advised him, beginning to walk.

I kept glancing at the faithful boy and stopped in my tracks once I heard his bullies arrive.

"Found you!"

They began to beat him up with much amusement. I waited for this boy's father to come and save him. Whenever he got the chance to kneel, he would crawl up and clasp his hands tightly and pray.

"Why waste your time? Father won't listen to any of your pleas. He won't save you, you know why?" His tormenter asked and yanked his red hair up.

"He gave you that accursed name. He was expecting us to punish you for having it."

What?

A tree trunk burst out of the ground and knocked the bully in one swoop. The others cowered and ran away. El seemed to be overwhelmed by the fact that his prayers were technically answered.

"Fa--Father?"

"I am far too young to parent you. Call me Lucian."

El became teary-eyed and rubbed his tears off.

"You are God sent. Thank you."

"Can you stand?" I asked.

"Y-yes..." He replied but fell forward at his first try.

I caught him and wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

"Barely I see. I will take you home,"

He glanced at his bully; concern was etched on his face.

"I will not help him. Do not even dare to ask," I deadpanned.

May he decompose alive as fast as possible.

"But he is family no matter how much pain he has caused me."

"No," I rejected. "Stop being stupid. I beg of you."

El broke away from me. He automatically fell on his bum. His glare was broken by a harsh cough.

"I won't leave him here. Monsters will come and hurt him. I must accompany him."

I tilted my head in question. "So you'll die with him then? It must be a touching scene for some, but it is stupid in my eyes."

El's face reddened but he remained firm with his decision, leaving me no choice but to comply with his request. I stuffed a carrot in his mouth in which he questioned with much bewilderment.

"Do not question the carrot."

The tree roots tossed his tormenter ahead of us while I assisted him to his feet. Although he was against my method of assisting his relatives, it was the only method I will use for those who were not worthy of life.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Sa-Saint, my name is Saint," he stuttered nervously.

"Is that the accursed name they were mentioning?"

Saint swayed his head.

"It's better if I don't tell. El is a fragment of my real name but please call me Saint," he explained.

His eyes glanced up to my head and he gathered the courage to speak.

"By the way, what is that evil bird doing on top of your head? Do you need a blessing?"

"Ah, this is Squawkey. Squawkey says Domo."

The bird released a piercing shriek that caused Saint to cower for a bit before regaining his composure.

"Ni–nice to meet you."

Squawkey released another shriek in which I translated to:

"He says likewise and please consume more carrots."