CHAPTER:8 [Pride]
Days had passed since Kai fell into the void. During that endless nightmare he had barely slept, surviving only on raw monster flesh and their thick, metallic blood to quench his burning thirst. He had been fighting non-stop, carving a bloody path through the darkness in search of any exit.
Kai stood over the corpse of a massive shelled monster he had just defeated. He wasn't sure what the creature even was — only that its shell had been nearly impenetrable. He sliced off a chunk of flesh, leaned against the enormous carcass, and chewed on the gummy, revolting meat as he muttered,
(Nia, how many days have passed since we fell here?)
Kai swallowed the last bite, then collapsed into a restless sleep against the dead beast's side.
The next day they found another crack and jumped straight through without hesitation.
(It's the 13th crack already, Nia. You said we would be able to escape if we kept following the cracks.)
Kai remained skeptical as they moved deeper into the newest crack. As they started running toward the next glowing fissure, a smooth, feminine voice suddenly echoed through the darkness.
"My… my… who do we have here? Why is there a mortal in the void?"
Kai spun around and saw a humanoid silhouette standing in the deep blackness. With a grim expression he asked,
"Who are you or what are you?"
His voice echoed through the void. The figure chuckled softly.
"My, I should be the one to ask that. But I'm Pride… one of the sins."
Hearing the name, Kai instantly conjured a sword and dropped into a battle-ready stance.
"Oh my, I'm not here to fight. I'm just inspecting the void. Now tell me, what are you doing here?"
Eren answered with a grim expression.
"I fell through the crack in the dungeon."
Pride thought for a moment, then spoke with a hint of pity in her tone.
"Oh, that is so unfortunate… But aside from that, have we met before?"
Kai looked at her cautiously.
"No. I don't remember ever meeting one of the seven demon kings."
He turned around and started walking toward the next crack while Pride remained deep in thought, trying to place the familiar energy she felt from him.
Suddenly her voice rang out with excitement.
"Now I remember! You reminded me of Chronos!"
Kai feigned ignorance and glanced back, asking in a curious tone.
"Who is Chronos?"
Pride was silent for a moment before answering in her cheerful voice.
"I think he was a friend of Satan or something."
Kai took a deep breath. He didn't care who Chronos had associated with. He kept walking toward the crack — until he suddenly jolted around, entered a battle stance, and conjured a sword.
"Your luck is truly shit. You should've walked away and minded your business… but now that you know the name, I can't let you live."
Kai armed himself to block her strike, but Pride closed the gap between them in an instant. Her speed was unparalleled compared to the Celestial he had fought before.
She appeared right in front of him and punched him square on the chin. She didn't have eyes like the Celestial — making her completely invisible in the darkness.
Thud...
She appeared again without a sound while Kai was still lying on the ground. She grabbed him by the throat, lifting him effortlessly and cutting off his air. In a half-unconscious state Kai rasped,
"You better kill me now… because I won't be that generous when we meet next time."
Pride's mouth curled into a twisted smile.
"Oh I will… but let me have my FUN first."
She started beating Kai with all her strength — senselessly, joyfully — playing with his unconscious body like a child playing with a ball. But because she was so excited to finally let loose, she mistakenly hurled him straight into the crack.
"Oh fuck… I should've killed him."
Pride thought for a moment, then burst into maniacal laughter.
"Hhhaahhaha… what can a mere mortal even do to me?"
......
Kai was found in a different dungeon, floating in a natural water reservoir stained red by his own blood.
Some awakened happened to be passing through. Monsters had been dragging him toward their leader when the awakened group killed the creatures and coincidentally saved him.
END OF CHAPTER:8