_Chapter Begins_
William sat on the small wooden chair that was neatly placed near the desk.
He looked around the room for a moment.
Small sounds, like water drops falling from one stone block to another, filled his ears.
William took a deep breath.
"I have to say that this is just too peaceful for me."
Was he really complaining about having a peaceful atmosphere?
Well... yeah, he actually was.
"A peaceful place in Hell?"
William chuckled a little.
"Yeah, there's no way that's possible."
He knew that there was some type of danger lurking nearby, but he simply couldn't do anything about it, because his sister warned him not to.
He knew his sister well enough to know that she didn't mess around when warning someone.
If she warned you of something, she really meant it.
Despite the fact that William was now much stronger, faster, more durable, and not to mention his abilities—despite all of that... he did not dare to walk outside of his room.
So until Jane decided that she was ready to bring him out of this room, he was going to spend some time reading.
William glanced at the old, disheveled books stacked on top of the desk.
His eyes seemed to shine a little.
Then a small drop of saliva rolled from his lips and fell on the stone floor of the room.
He was literally salivating at the information that was lying right in front of him.
William's curiosity was like an addiction, and information was the drug that fueled that addiction.
William shook his head and wiped the saliva off his lips.
"My lust for knowledge will be the end of me someday, I swear."
Seriously though... what sin had affected William?
At first, he had been pretty confident it was either Pride or Envy, but now he wasn't really sure.
He was prideful and had a fragile ego.
He was jealous of his brother for most of his childhood and adult life.
He lusted and hungered for knowledge and information.
He was lazy and cut corners in a lot of the things he did.
And he also had a record of letting his anger overtake his emotional maturity.
So... the sin inside of him could literally be any of the seven sins.
William sighed and picked up the first book of many.
"I guess there's only one way to find out."
The book had the color of deep purple. It was also the smallest of all the books lying on the desk.
William paused for a moment.
"Wait a second..."
A cold shiver ran down his spine.
How was William... seeing?
It sounded like a dumb question, but no really—how was he seeing in this room?
There was no light source in here, and yet the place was illuminated by a weak purple light.
William's eyes widened a little.
Purple orb, purple book, and a room that was mysteriously lit up by a purple light that seemed to come out of nothing.
"Gods... Hell really has a thing for colors."
What... what was it with the color purple?
Was it the Devil's favorite color or something.
William looked back down at the purple book in his hands.
Right in the middle of the book was a golden tag that had a few carvings on it.
William squinted his eyes to see what the carving said.
There was a long pause.
William grabbed his chest, the place where the orb had entered.
There was a dark expression on his face.
"So my predictions were right after all."
Carved with neat precision on the golden tag of the book was the word...
"Envy... I am the Pillar of Envy..."
Even after all the things that he had done to ruin his brother—and after all these years that had passed—his jealousy had not diminished even a little.
William looked up at the ceiling of the room.
A small drop of water slowly started to form on the stone block above him.
The water drop hung for as long as it could, but eventually it slipped and fell down.
The water drop landed right on William's cheek and slowly slid down.
Before it could go further, William wiped it away.
He looked down at his hand.
A forlorn expression was painted across William's face.
"I wonder... where is he now?"
William's expression darkened.
"Hans..."
His brother's name was Hans.
He was the person William had despised since childhood and all the way to adulthood.
He was also the person whose life William had ruined.
What if... what if they met again, here in Hell?
William shook his head in anger.
"I don't have time for this... I need to get going with these books."
Distracting himself from the emotional turmoil he had created with his family by reading books.
Truly, William was the lowest of the low.
William quietly read through the first book.
His grip on the book tightened as he continued to read through it.
Then, it was done.
William slowly put the book down and released the tight grip that had formed over time.
His expression was one of...
Bewilderment?
William looked back up at the roof of the room.
"So this was the home of the previous Pillar of Envy?!"
William held his laughter.
"And if this book is actually correct, then..."
William looked at the wooden door of his room.
"I am inside a castle... Envy's castle."
A dark smile contorted on William's face.
"My castle."
_Chapter Ends_