There was a moment of complete silence, the seven Sins all stunned by the words.

  Until finally, Pride spoke.

  “This does not change anything,” it hissed, a hint of desperation in its tone.

  Perihelion raised an eyebrow, a challenge in the gesture.

  "No?" she echoed, voice soft but stern.

  Another moment passed before…

  CRACK. CRACK. CRACK.

  From seven directions, the ground broke open once more, each crack seething, red.

  Pride's eyes narrowed… and a low, furious growl rose in its throat.

  Gluttony spat a curse. Greed clenched its fists. Lust's tendrils twisted like snakes. Sloth's eyes flickered with grudging interest. Envy's form shuddered with barely suppressed rage. Wrath's form coiled like a serpent about to strike.

  And in the center…

  ...Perihelion stood unmoving, gaze fixed on the seven Sins.

  Waiting for them to make the next move.

  Then, Pride moved.

  Not forward, no. Back.

  It stepped into the shadows, horns dimming, and with a low, guttural command:

  “We retreat.”

  The other Sins froze, shocked.

  “For now,” Pride added, voice simmering with fury. “But we will return. And when we do…”

  Its hollow gaze locked onto Perihelion.

  "Nothing will stand in our way."

  One by one, the seven figures dissolved into their fissures, the crimson cracks sealing behind them like wounds closing in stone.

  Silence fell again… heavy… fragile…

  A soft gasp then echoed behind Perihelion as Alice and Bonnibel staggered back into view, breathing hard, eyes wide with shock.

  “You, you held them off?” Alice whispered. “You faced the Seven Deadly Sins?!”

  Perihelion swayed slightly, just for a breath, but caught herself before she fell.

  She turned to them slowly… her glow fading... exhaustion plain on her face…

  And smiled, a tired thing this time...

  “They weren’t ready,” she said softly. “So I wasn’t either.”

  Bonnibel stepped forward cautiously. “But… they’ll be back.”

  Perihelion nodded once, as if confirming fate itself had just spoken aloud:

  "Yes."

  She looked toward the sky where the silver light had faded…

  Then down at her hands, their faint tremble betraying what no one else saw:

  The cost of standing against eternity... and losing nothing but time.

  A loud rumbling erupted from underground again.

  And it was getting louder...

  Alice turned around sharply toward where they came from...

  The ground bucked violently, cracks splitting wider, not with violet or crimson… but gold.

  A warm, blinding light surged from below, pulsing like a heartbeat.

  Alice shielded her eyes. “Not another Sin, this… this feels different.”

  Bonnibel stumbled back. “It’s not dark… it’s like, like sunlight made solid!”

  Perihelion stared at the rising glow, breath catching in her throat.

  A whisper in the wind. Familiar. Gentle.

  “We heard your call.”

  From the golden fissure, a single hand emerged—armored in radiant silver-white metal etched with ancient runes.

  Then a second.

  She rose.

  Tall and regal, clad in flowing white robes threaded with starlight. A crown of interwoven laurels sat upon her brow—one leaf missing—but still glowing strong.

  Her eyes opened: soft as dawn… deep as mercy.

  "I am Temperance," she said simply, and the very air calmed around her voice."

  But she wasn’t alone."

  Behind her climbed two more figures from the light:

  One, a warrior wrapped in living flame and judgment:

  "Charity."

  Another, a silent guardian wreathed in vines that bloomed even as they moved:

  This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

  "Patience."

  While Alice and Bonnibel exchanged glances, Perihelion took a step forward, meeting the three Virtues' gazes:

  "You… you heard…”

  Temperance nodded gravely, a gentle strength in her eyes.

  "We did."

  Her gaze shifted, taking in the ruined ruins—the remnants of the Sins' awakening.

  "And we came as swiftly as we could…"

  Patience spoke up, her tone measured and calm.

  "But not soon enough," she observed, glancing at the cracks in the sky.

  Charity's eyes narrowed, anger flickering in their depths.

  "Those creatures dared to rise unchallenged?”

  "Not anymore," Temperance promised, the air around her crackling with the purity of a thousand sunrises. "We will make certain of that."

  She shifted her gaze to Perihelion, a glimmer of something like recognition passing across her face.

  "You...stood against the Sins...alone.”

  "I had no choice," Perihelion said, her voice soft—honest. “They were coming for her. For the Fragment.” She glanced at Alice.

  Temperance studied her a moment longer, then stepped forward, placing a hand gently on Perihelion’s shoulder. A warmth spread, not magic, not power… but something rarer.

  Recognition.

  “You did more than stand,” she said quietly. “You gave them fear. You reminded them they are not eternal masters.”

  Behind her, Charity crossed their arms, flames dancing in their eyes. “Now it’s our turn.”

  Patience nodded toward the horizon, the same direction Antiquus had flown with Elara and the IOTA crew.

  “And we won’t be fighting alone.”

  A pause.

  Then Temperance turned fully to Alice and Bonnibel, her gaze kind, but firm.

  “The Sins will return,” she warned. “Stronger this time. They’ve tasted freedom… and they’ll hunger for vengeance.”

  She extended a hand, not just to them…

  But beyond.

  “Which means we must move faster.”

  Her voice rose like wind through ancient trees:

  “The Seven Virtues have returned, and now...we take back what is ours.”

  The ground beneath them trembled again, not with threat… But awakening.

  …

  Far away, back in the old mill…

  Elara felt it first:

  a pulse in the air… warm… right...

  She looked behind her—at Hikaru's silent form—and then forward into the storming sky ahead...

  And whispered:

  “They’re awake…”

  …

  "We should move," Perihelion urged, voice low but urgent.

  "The Sins are not the only ones who felt that awakening."

  She looked at Temperance. "They'll know now—all of them. Denjiki... will act fast."

  Temperance nodded once.

  "Then we do not chase fate."

  Her hand rose, light swirling around her fingers like liquid dawn.

  "We meet it."

  With a pulse of radiant energy, three streaks of light shot into the sky, signals burning through cloud and shadow.

  "Charity takes to the skies," Temperance said. "Patience will secure the paths ahead—we cannot risk ambush from corrupted lands."

  She turned to Perihelion and offered a rare, small smile.

  "And you? You’ve done enough standing alone.”

  Perihelion opened her mouth to protest, but Temperance raised a finger.

  “You’re coming with us. No more one-sided wars.”

  Alice stepped forward suddenly. “Then… what about us?”

  Temperance studied her, the Fragment glowing faintly in her grip, then Bonnibel beside her.

  “The path ahead is dangerous,” she warned. “Denjiki won’t wait. She’ll send worse than Sins to stop us.”

  Bonnibel tightened her grip on her staff, but grinned anyway. “Worse than world-ending cosmic horrors?” She smirked sideways at Alice. “Sounds like Tuesday.”

  Alice let out a nervous laugh, but nodded firmly: “We’re in.”

  A beat passed…

  Then Temperance gave the smallest nod, as if sealing an oath older than stars:

  “Then walk with us…”

  “And let Heaven answer Hell’s return with fire… and grace.”

  ★

  “Well well well, Fortune Teller. I see that the Sins are back in action,” said Kaz.

  The Fortune Teller nodded. “Indeed,”

  “You see, I have a grand plan to pull in the Ephemerals.”

  “Do tell.”

  “Sure. So, I wanna strike a deal with Alice, Rachel, Zalgo, and also Elara. Elara has beef with a member of the Cabal, that being Gabrielle. I'm about to stage something that'll cause so much destruction that the Virtues will have no choice but to acknowledge it and bring themselves forward. All seven of them.”

  Kaz smirked, confidence oozing off him. "You sound doubtful, as usual," he observed, pacing around the Fortune Teller.

  "But this plan of mine? It's foolproof."

  The Fortune Teller remained expressionless, merely tilting his head.

  "Oh yeah. Foolproof," he repeated with a touch of mockery. "And pray tell, how do you plan to 'stage' this destruction? Enlighten me.”

  Kaz paused his pacing, his smirk widening at the Fortune Teller's challenge. "Gladly," he said, his voice dripping with arrogance. "I have a little surprise, you see. Something that'll make quite an...impression."

  "And what might that be?" the Fortune Teller asked, still sounding doubtful.

  Kaz turned around, his orange eyes gleaming with mischief.

  "I'm going to detonate a bomb at the heart of the Void Temple, the very place where the Sins were first sealed."

  Silence fell in the dimly lit room.

  Then, slowly, the Fortune Teller spoke.

  "...You would risk unleashing untold chaos, just to draw out seven celestial beings?" he asked. "You understand that such an act could awaken forces far beyond your control?"

  Kaz waved him off with a laugh. "Relax," he said smoothly. "I've accounted for everything." He pulled out a small device glowing with dark violet energy pulsing in rhythm like a heartbeat.

  "Controlled burst," he explained. "The explosion will only last three seconds. Long enough to destabilize the temple's seal and send shockwaves across all realms... but not long enough to fully break it."

  He smirked wider, proud of himself.

  "And when those waves hit? The Virtues will feel it instantly. They'll come running to defend what’s sacred.” His voice dropped low, charged with purpose:

  “…Right into my trap.”

  "You're playing a dangerous game, Kaz," the Fortune Teller warned, his voice heavy with concern.

  "The Virtues... they are not mere pawns to be lured and captured. They exist beyond mortal schemes."

  Kaz rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, I've heard it all before," he said dismissively. "They're ancient, powerful, blah blah. Still just beings with weaknesses like anyone else."

  He pocketed the device and leaned back against the wall. “Look,” he continued, tone shifting slightly, just a flicker of seriousness beneath the smugness, “I don’t want to…ahem, destroy them.”

  His orange eyes narrowed thoughtfully into the shadows.

  “I need them… to act as bait.”

  The Fortune Teller remained silent for several long seconds—the candlelight flickering across his hidden face.

  “So this is about Elara,” he realized quietly.

  Kaz didn’t answer right away.

  Instead, he pushed off from the wall and walked past him toward the room’s cracked window overlooking a storm-lit sky—a distant thunder echoing as if in warning.

  “Elara’s chasing Gabrielle,” Kaz said lowly. “And Gabrielle answers only to power.” He turned slightly over his shoulder.

  “When seven Virtues appear on her radar? She’ll move fast… make reckless moves…” A sharp grin returned, colder now.“And that’s when I hit her where she breathes.”

  The Fortune Teller watched Kaz carefully, the shadows clinging to his hidden face like a veil.

  "You speak as if you've seen all this in advance," he observed, voice as even as always.

  Kaz scoffed, not taking his eyes off the storm beyond the window.

  "I don't need precognition to see the potential here," he replied, a note of arrogance in his tone. "Gabrielle is obsessed with power. She'll act in predictable ways, and Elara is her greatest weakness.”

  The Fortune Teller considered this, a beat passing before he spoke again.

  "And what of the Virtues," he pressed. "What's to stop them from stopping you once they arrive?"

  Kaz chuckled, a sound that was cold and hollow.

  "Oh, I have contingency plans for days," he drawled. "I've spent years preparing for this moment. They won't be a problem.”

  The Fortune Teller didn't respond immediately this time. Instead, he stared silently at Kaz across the dim room, studying the young man with unseen intensity.

  "...You're playing with fire, Kaz," he warned, voice softer-but-deeper. "The Virtues, they cannot be controlled as easily as the Sins. Your plan hangs on assumptions and calculated risks. One misstep could ruin you..."

  Kaz didn't back down. He didn't even flinch.

  "Assumptions are part of the game," he retorted, turning fully to face the Fortune Teller. "And calculated risks... that's my realm. I take them every day."

  He gave a cool smile, confidence radiating off him.

  "I've thought this through, every detail, every possibility. I won't fail.”