200 The Primordial Sin of Lust POV (2/2)

”Are you skipping school again, Georgie? You know you cannot do that. You have to study. You have to have a good job in the future. Become like your father. Before. Before he died.”

My mother utters tearfully. Her hands grip mine tightly. So, very tightly.

”I will, mum. I will become the richest person in the world. I promise that I will become someone you can rely on. Someone who can protect you. Someone who will never hurt you.”

I response tearfully. Despite that, I know that I will fail. I cannot change the past. I cannot change the future. I cannot do anything. I am hopeless.

”I know you will, Georgie. I know you will.”

My mother tells me and pats me on the head so gently. So very gently.

And I want this moment to last longer. Last much longer, but sadly, it is but a memory. A memory that I cannot change. It is my past.

Once I open my eyes again, I am no longer with my mother. I am on the ground, cradling my head with both of my arms. My body curls into a ball to protect myself.

Every punch. Every kick. Every jab. I feel it all. It is as if I am here in person, taking place of my younger self. Taking place of my helpless younger self. Utterly powerless to do anything.

”Collins. You shithead. Where the fuck did you hide the money!?”

That fucker Eric demands. He and his buddies continue to kick the shit out of me, but regardless how much they beat me up, I will never tell them where I hid the money.

I need that money. That money will help me get my mother away from here.

From this fucking place.

”Strip him.”

They proceed to strip me of my clothing and hang me up naked like a punching bag. I could barely see out of my swollen eyes, capturing each of their faces. I remember them all. I remember each and every one of them.

That asshole Oliver Burton looking smug at me every time he looks up from his book. That fucker Bucky Danton. That druggie Marco. Self-serving Sammy. And of course, Eric Chou, their fucking leader.

”I am going to ask you one more time, Collins. Where the fuck is the money?”

Eric questions again as he presses his knife against my bruised skin, drawing blood.

But I did not say. I never did first time around, so there is no point to. I just take all their beating. Their punching. Their kicking. Their slashing. Everything.

I didn't remember what happen after that, but I find myself in the hospital.

My mother is the only person who visited and stayed with me for many days. She wants to stay longer, but she has to go to work because that asshole of her husband doesn't.

I want to tell her where I hide the money, the money that I earn by being a drug mule, but I could not, not when she has so much hope in me. She didn't even know that I was expelled from college because of cheating.

I didn't cheat. I swear, I didn't, but it didn't matter what I say, it is what I can prove.

And I cannot really prove that I didn't copy the thesis. That bitch copies me and submits it as her own work, and with her asshole father backing her, I have no choice but to accept my expulsion.

Damn it. Why is the world so unfair? Why is the rich always have everything? Everything!

I swear that I will become rich and powerful. Rich and powerful enough that my word is the law itself!

Fuck this world. Fuck everyone. Fuck everything.

I eventually get discharged from the hospital, and the money that is rightfully mine helps me open an antique store. It is also my home.

It is not much, but it helps me make some money, living day by day, waiting for my big chance to come.

The big chance to become rich and famous. Sadly, it never came, not until I found an ornate box sitting on the table at a garage sale. I was drawn to it due to its beautiful design. It feels out of this world.

”Caught your eyes, huh? It belongs to my great, great grandfather. A family heirloom of sort, you may say, but I never manage to open it. No one can, and there doesn't seem to be anything inside.”

The old man tells me when I ask him about it. I also shake the box, finding no sounds whatsoever, but that could be because it is soundproof. Since it intrigues me, I take it home with me.

I try to open it for many days afterwards, but to no avail. It doesn't look like it is locked or bolted down with anything. It couldn't be glued shut either since I can push a knife in between, running it along the lips.

It is very strange.

Since it is beautiful crafted, I left it on display, but not for sale since it doesn't really worth that much to be honest. I had brought it for $10 bucks.

I didn't pay attention to the box anymore until I run into Eric and his new gangs.

They demand protection money from me, as they have done so with everyone in the neighborhood, and when I refuse, they smash up my store and me as well.

Battered and bruised, they drag me against the table and spread out my hand.

”I believe that you owe 20G, Collins. Adding onto two years of interest, that comes to about 97G. So, how will you be paying for it? Left hand or right hand?”

”Fuck you!”

I shout with all my might, but it is mostly out of defiant. I know that he would break my arms regardless of whatever I choose.

”Both hands, okay? Cool.”

Eric and his buddies smash both of my hands before looting my store, stealing any worth of value.

Luckily or maybe unluckily, in their looting, they smash the box onto the floor, breaking it open, letting out three golden coins. They immediately grab the coins but missed one.

Once more, luckily or unluckily, I pick up the coin with my mangled and bloodied hands, and the instant that I did, my blood seeps into the coin, causing it to glow brightly.

That is when I met him. A silhouette shrouded in utter darkness. Only a pair of crimson eyes can truly be seen, and they pierce into my very soul, terrifying me. I could feel the incredibly pressure crushing down upon me.

”What is this? A completely unremarkable soul dares to hold my medallion and summon me?”

The shadowy entity questions, as darkness spread across the room, seemingly consuming everything.

”Are you the devil? Please. Please give me the power to become rich and powerful. I will give you my soul. I will give you everything.”

I call out.

”I don't want your shitty soul, and how dare you compare me to the devil? I am a Primordial Sin. Devils are insignificant speck of dust before me. Oh. I am but a memory.”

His eyes glows, forcing me to recoil in fear. The ground shatters under his gaze alone.

”What did I say the first time around. It has been so long. Whatever. I should compliment you for being able to come face to face with me, but it will be your undoing.”

That is different. The Primordial Sin of Lust did not say that the first time.

”Quite human. I am not talking to you. Even with the power I have granted you, you still fail to truly amount to anything after so long. I should destroy you right now, but killing you is meaningless. I will let you trap in this memory along with him.”

The world begins to flicker.

”You still think you have any control here, Aeon? No. I should call you Maximilien Maxwell now.”

The world then morphs, collapsing as darkness envelops me.

What is happening!?