(a/n) here it is, the final chapter of Seven Sins! I hope you all enjoy this because I worked my ass off on the fight between Rai and Pride. anyway, I hope you've all enjoyed reading this as much asve enjoyed writing it and I hope you love the "ending".

Chapter 25: To Sin Again Part 3

The red aura that had consumed Prides body began to die away and his body beneath the light began to become visible. Immediately his change was obvious. Most notably, other than his missing helmet, was that him shoulder covers with the bone spikes had vanished. The long sleeves on his shirt had vanished to reveal his muscular arms and his black sash was now red. The long braid of hair that Pride had kept revealed while wearing his helmet was now gone and the rest of his hair was long and greasy, hiding most of his face and neck underneath it. His short goatee also remained. And to top things off he had a long strip of cloth wrapped around his head, covering his eyes, and tied off in the back. "Now we'll see whose hand the worlds fate lies in… your or mine?" with that said he lifted his arm and pointed his fist as Rai. He clenched his fist tightly and a beam of light and energy shot out from his wrist and over his hand, stopping after about three feet to take the form of a sword.

Rai glared at him, tightened the grip on his sword and folded his wings. "The world decides its own fate, not you or me! Heroes like me are just here to point it in the right direction."

"Oh, how wrong you are." Pride murmured. With that, he charged at Raimundo, gliding just above the ground and his arm with the energy blade crossed over his chest. Rai extended his wings again and flapped once, lifting him off the ground so that he could do the same. The two flew straight at each other and their swords clashed together when they were close enough. Despite the two blades blocking them from going any further they both pressed forward, hoping to over power the other. However, they only succeeded in rotating slightly and shooting passed each other. Rai was headed straight for the wall and thought he was going to crash into it, but whatever it was that had given him his sword and wings seemed to take over. He quickly lowered his feet and jumped off the ground to make himself fly upward while still headed for the wall and then brought his legs in front of himself to jump off of said wall. His wings extended again, giving him enough control to flip over in mid air. Once again he found Pride headed straight for him. Knowing another deadlock wasn't going to work he opened his wings fully and stopped in mid air. He then grabbed his sword with both hands and slashed through the air, sending a wave of black energy at Pride. Noticing this Pride quickly swerved out of the way. He looked in Rai's direction (which was odd since he was wearing a blindfold) and gritted his teeth before clapping his hands together. Instantly his hands turned red and Pride pulled them apart in order to throw orb after orb of the red energy at Rai. Rai managed to dodge the first few but eventually his wings span got in the way and one of Prides attacks caught one of his wings. A few feathers burned away and Rai felt a small pain shoot through his wing, instinctively folding it in. this threw him off balance and he began plummeting to the ground below. Pride laughed menacingly as he watched his opponent fall. As he laughed he pointed both of his still glowing hands at Rai again, this time shooting off one huge red orb instead. Again, Rai's new powers took over and folded in his other wing only to open them both. The black feathers began to glow a metallic red color and began to shoot out of his wings directly into Pride's attack. Eventually the huge red orb exploded in mid air and Rai's wings returned to their normal black color, amazingly he'd lost no feathers and the ones that had burned away had returned.

Rai managed to land on his feet when he hit the ground and jumped up again. Pride just chuckled when he saw Rai coming at him again and then teleported directly in front of Rai, kicking him in the stomach and then slamming his fist into his Jaw, sending him flying upward. Rai simply shook this off but was caught off guard again when Pride teleported in front of him again. Pride summoned his energy blade again and went to slash Rai across the neck but Rai managed to block his with his own sword and push Pride away, putting a decent amount of distance between them. Giving Rai not chance to gather himself Pride came at him again, this time flying instead of teleporting. Rai clenched his sword with both hands and waited for Pride to close the distance. When Pride was only a few inches away Rai flapped his wings, sending him flying up and Pride went soaring right under him. Rai then dove at Pride, grabbed him by the back of his shirt and threw him down, slashing how sword through the air and sending another wave of black energy after him. Pride took the attack full force, causing a cloud of smoke to appear as the energy made contact with him. When the smoke cleared he was gone, simply vanished without a trace. Rai waited in the air for Pride to reappear, knowing that it wouldn't be that easy. Then, as suddenly as he'd vanished he reappeared only a few feet away from Rai, flying right at him with his energy blade ready to plunge into his chest. Not having enough time to react Rai simply tightened his grip on his sword and waited for Pride. But then, before he knew it, Pride had suddenly changed directions and was flying away from him. It wasn't like he turned around either; he just suddenly went from facing Rai to facing away from him. It didn't take long for Rai to realize that he'd just teleported like Pride and the other Sins could do as well.

"Finally realizing your true potential, are we?" Pride said suddenly from across the room. "Do you even know why you have those wings, or that sword? Well?" Pride paused to let Rai answer. Rai just remained silent. "It's because of the mark Lust made on your back. It's called the Seal of Thanatos. That seal on your back allows a small fraction of the chi that makes we Sins what we are flow into you."

It took Rai a few seconds to figure out what he meant, but it clicked quickly. "Wait… so…"

"That's right, Raimundo Pedrosa, you may as well consider yourself an eight Sin… but then again, your power is only a fraction compared to mine. I may as well stop toying with you now and finish this." With that Pride crossed his arms and went silent. His body was surrounded by another red aura. Before Rai could even ask what he was doing four exact copies of Pride appeared behind the original. The original grinned, "I hope you've enjoyed these last few moments, trying to save the world from me… but you should've know it was hopeless."

"If it's hopeless then I wouldn't be here right now." Rai growled.

Pride just chuckled. "You're courageous, boy; I'll give you that… strong too. But when it comes to wisdom and intelligence you have no hope."

With that Prides four clones flew passed the original straight for Rai. The first went to punch Rai in the face but was avoided easily. The other three, however, came too quickly to be dodged. The second rammed his shoulder into Rai's stomach while the third kicked him across the face. The fourth summoned the energy blade from his wrist and slashed it across Rai's chest, but only making the cut deep enough to torture him, not kill him. Two of the others then summoned their own energy blades and stabbed right through Rai's wings quite a few times each and then the first that had tried to attack him appeared just behind and slammed both of his fists onto the top of his head, causing Rai to plummet to the ground. This all happened so fast that Rai couldn't have done anything to stop it. He crashed into the ground head first, unable to even scream the pain was so intense.

Pride slowly glided down to the ground, absorbing his four clones along the way. He touched down just in front of where Rai was lying. He shook his head. "You should've known better, child. I was not simply comparing myself to one when I said I am a god." He then bent down and grabbed Rai by the front of his shirt, lifting him into the air. "Now I'm going to give you one last chance. Surrender, bow to me, pledge allegiance to the Seven Deadly Sins and I shall heal you, perhaps even turn you into a true eighth Sin… what say you?"

Rai only groaned as the black sword, still in his hand amazingly, evaporated away and his wings reabsorbed into his body. He managed to open one eye and get a good look at the man who, quite literally, held his life in the palm of his hand. He knew what he had to do.

The dragon of the Wind took and deep breath and then spat at the Sin of Pride, hitting him on the cheek. "You go die!" Rai managed to say.

Pride just shook his head. "I'm afraid that's not possibly." Pride then snapped his fingers with his free hand and the ceiling above them simply vanished, revealing the star filled night sky above them. Then the tentacle which held Kimiko and the others to the wall stretched out and unwrapped themselves from Rai's friends. "I told you, I am a god." Pride continued. One by one Rai's friends began to glow bright white and the tentacle holding them up reverted into the wall, letting them hang freely in the air. "And as a god I can make sure… that you never see you're little friends again." and then, one by one, they flew away, so fast that they couldn't even be seen except for the glowing white trail they left behind them. It wasn't long before all seven of them; Kimiko, Clay, Omi, Saya, Mimi, Julia and Elena; had all vanished into the night sky. It was then that Rai, too, began to glow. "Good bye…" Pride threw Rai into the air and just as the others he flew away in a flash of light. "… Raimundo Pedrosa."

LOCATION UNKNOWN

"Wake up, kid."

Rai groaned weakly as his eyelids cracked open. He found the blinding sun glaring down over him through the branches and leaves of trees above. The sounds of the forest surrounded him: singing birds, squirrels running through dead leaves, wind rushing through the leaves on the trees, etcetera. "What the…" Rai groaned as he tried to sit up, but a sharp pain shot through his spine and her fell back down onto his back.

"Easy, kid! I can't have you dying one me now."

Rai turned his head the best he could to find a strange man wearing armor leaning against a tree a few yards away. His armor looked traditional, like a medieval knight, only more form fitting and with bigger gaps in between the separate sheets of iron, probably to make it easier to move. Under the armor, where Rai could see at least, was a leather jump suite. "You ok, kid?" he asked.

"Hey, what's going on over there?" an unknown voice shouted from farther away.

The armored man turned metal covered head and cursed under his breath. He turned back to Rai and nodded, "Catch ya later." He said before vanishing into thin air.

Just as he vanished a boy about Rai's age came running into Rai's view. He had short, black, spiky hair and wore a black sweater and a pair of blue jeans along with sunglasses. "How the hell…" the boy muttered.

"Forget him." another voice said, this one female. "This guy looks hurt." The girl had long blond hair and wore a pink tank top and blue jean shorts. She also had a golden necklace with a cross around her neck. The girl kneeled down next to Rai. "Are you ok?" she asked. Rai only shook his head. "Can you tell me your name?"

"R-r-Rai… Raimundo." Rai managed before passing out again.

SIN'S MEETING CHAMBER

Pride appeared in his throne, alone in the chamber where he and the other Sins shared their meetings and conferences. He looked around at the six remaining empty thrones around him. "Time to take the world for our own." He muttered.

"Lust!" In a burst of green flames the redheaded witch that served as the Sin of Lust appeared in the throne to Pride's right. "Wrath!" Next the crazy Chinese man appeared, again in a blaze of green flames, polishing off one of his many guns. "Greed!" The dark skinned woman with the veils over he mouth and pelvis appeared in the throne to Wraths right. "Gluttony!" The colossal man in the stone mask appeared next to Greed. "Sloth!" Gabriel Spicer appeared next to Gluttony listening to an ipod in his pocket. "Envy!"

Nothing happened.

"Well look at that." Wrath chuckled. "The brat skipped out on the party."

"That 'brat' has months of seniority over you, Wrath." Wuya argued. "I'd treat him with a little respect if I were you."

Pride called for Envy again and still nothing happened. From under Prides blindfold the other Sins could see his eyes glowing bright red. "I will return with him shortly." Pride said before vanishing.

ENVY'S CHAMBER

Envy and Rush glared at each other from across the room, both on their knees and breathing heavily. Around them boulders were shattered and craters were all over the walls and floor. Their battle had been epic and still neither had succumbed to fatigue or died. Envy continued only out of the thrill he got from fighting this boy who he now considered his equal and rival. And as for Rush, he fought in hopes of getting some answers as to Raven's location.

"Where…. Is she?" Rush said, trying to shout but to out of breath to do so.

"Who're you talking about?" Envy asked, honestly not knowing who the African boy was talking about.

Rush slammed his fist on the ground. "You know damn well who I'm talking about!" he shouted. "Where's the girl who was with us in the Under World… the girl you kidnapped out of a loophole... Where is Raven?"

It took Envy a few seconds but he eventually remembered the girl Rush was talking about. "Oh! You mean the mute girl." Envy said. "Don't worry, she's nice and safe down in the dungeons… she's completely safe."

"For your sake she'd better be." Rush growled under his breath, digging into his back pocket for the Kazusu Atom. Then Envy started laughing. "What's so funny?" Rush demanded.

"Oh, nothing." Envy chuckled. "I was just thinking… I never knew how much fun you could have with someone… when they can't scream…"

Something in Rush's head snapped at that point. "You bastard! I'll kill you!" he stood up and pulled the Kazusu Atom out of his back pocket, aiming it directly at Envy. He wanted Envy to pay for what he'd done: Kidnapping Raven, impersonating Master Fung, making fools of them all and so much more… and this was how he was going to do it.

"No, you idiot, I was bluffing!" Envy shouted. But it was too late. Already Rush had shouted the Shen Gong Wu's name and a blinding light shot out from it. The light consumed the whole room, making Envy disintegrate on contact but leaving everything else in perfect condition. When the light faded Envy was gone, a pile of dust was all that remained of him. Rush just glared at it and shoved the Kazusu Atom back into his pocket.

He had no regrets.

"A fine display, young man."

Rush swung around to find a man wearing a blindfold standing behind him. Despite the major difference in outfit Rush instantly knew him to be Pride. Rush reached back into his pocket for the Atom but found it to be gone already. "Don't bother." Pride said, holding up the Atom in his own hand. "I take precautions before revealing myself."

"What do you want?" Rush demanded.

"To make you an offer."

At these words Rush lowered his guard but never took his eyes off of Pride. "I know who you really are, Rush." Pride continued, "You're a liar. You claim to be from a middle class family in South Africa, when in reality your home land is in Kenya, and your people are an indigenous tribe there. You say that you've already graduated high school when you've never been to school a day in your life. You say you came to the temple of your own accord, when you only went there because you were banished from your tribe for entering a realm that your people consider forbidden. I could go on."

Rush just gawked at him. "How'd you know all of that? I never gave anything away."

Pride shook his head. "You didn't have too. My eyes see anything and everything." He said, tapping two fingers to his temple.

Rush cringed and backed away from him. "So… what's this offer of yours?"

"Eager, I see." Pride chuckled. "How would you like to have anything you want just with a flick of your wrist of a nod of your head? Anything you desire could be yours: fame, wealth, power, women… anything at all."

"Not interested."

Pride was taken by surprise by this, but only for a second. "Very well then… let's talk about what you really want. The girl, Raven if I'm correct. What would you do for her safety?"

"Anything!" Rush shouted. "I'd die for her!"

Pride laughed again. "That isn't necessary. Here's the deal: I will guarantee Raven's safety and I will release her back to her home."

"And in return?"

"All I ask in return… is that you take the place of the in you just killed." Pride then teleported behind Rush and placed his hand on his shoulder. "Think about it. The girl will be protected and free to do as she pleases and all you have to do is say three little words." Pride leaned in and whispered into Rush's ear, "I… am… Envy."

Rush froze as Pride whispered these words to him. Raven would be free and protected from harm and all he had to do was become the new Sin of Envy. He had to choose between risking this mad man torturing and possibly killing the girl he wanted to protect or becoming he hated and fought so hard against. What was he to do? Rush grabbed his head as he weighed the two decisions in his head. It almost seemed like he was going to go crazy trying to decide when he finally came to a decision.

"I… am… Envy."

(a/n) As some of you may have noticed by now, I am not a big fan of completely happy endings. in this case the ending was one big disaster, but I have my reasons for that. I cant tell you how thrilled I am to finally anounce that I'm writing a third enstallment to the Fifth Dragon and Seven Sins duelagy, making it a trilogy. Im titleing this third instalment "Begun By Blood", why youll have to wait and find out. for the record, Im going to take a break from XS related stories before I start this. dont worry though, it wont be any longer than a month. in the mean time, feel free to ask me anything about my this story youd like, but please dont ask about "Begun By Blood", I really don't want to give anything away. until then, later.