"HOW ARE YOU THE MOST POWERFUL?!" Hawk demanded, staring at me with wide eyes, his entire body quivering and sweating. I deactivated my power and huffed at his comment, "YOU'RE LIKE AN OVERSIZED FRIGGIN KID!"

"Rude- and I'm not. Escanor and Meli are way outta my league- Merlin could probably take me too, in terms of sheer power," I responded, "Which is why I don't believe Meli's numbers." I turned to him, "What happened? Are you an imposter?"

"I dunno maybe you should check me out and see," he grinned suggestively and I rolled my eyes.

"What happened to your power?"

"It's the same as always."

I stepped forward and grabbed him by the throat, his eyes widened for a split second, then returned to their usual nonchalant gaze. I'm not stupid, though- I caught it. He tried to dodge, he tried to prove that it hadn't changed- and he couldn't. I tightened my fingers around his neck, glaring at him imploringly, begging him for an answer. One thing was for sure.

This was not right.

His eyes flashed with seriousness for a split second, and my own widened. Something happened. He wasn't at his strongest- nowhere near it- but obviously now wasn't the time to tell the story of why. Much less the time to alert the others of this.

"(Y/N), wait! Please don't hurt Sir Meliodas!" Ellie exclaimed, and I let go of him. I turned around and grinned widely, chuckling in an awkward fashion as I rubbed the back of my neck.

"Ah, sorry, my bad!" I grinned, hopping back in line. Meli followed after me, throwing the uneasy princess a wide grin and a wink.

The ceremony was relatively short- and didn't have much of a purpose. King Bartra and the princess presented us with medals, then thanked us on behalf of the kingdom for our protection. He said he now understood that we weren't traitors, and we were welcome at any time, and blah, blah, blah. It was cool, I guess. Not really the highlight of my life or anything, but it was a nice gesture.

We were now standing in the throne room, in front of Bartra and Ellie, who was now in a deep purple dress and looking upset. The King day in his throne, looking troubled as well.

"So why did you want to see us?" I asked expectantly, earning a swat across the head form Meli. I frowned, rubbing my crown as I poured, "What, we're all curious..."

"Well, I must thank you again- personally," he said, "Those were taken have been saved, and those who who still believe wholeheartedly in the previous Holy Knight Grandmaster's cause weeded out. Our capitol is being restored much faster than predicted with the help of you and the Holy Knights, and we are now stronger than ever. Because of what you have done, the ill-omen that clouded over Liones has now dissipated."

I narrowed my eyes. Why do I get the feeling there's a 'but' coming? What am I saying, there's always a 'but' coming. That's how life works for us Sins. Being a hero is exhausting.

"However..."

Aaaand there it is.

It's a curse to always be right- insert obnoxious hair flip.

"The omen of the Holy War has not disappeared, only grown stronger," The King said, his voice deep and full of sadness.

"Omen? How do you know?" Hawk asked, eyes narrowed as he stared at the man.

"Is his power, Vision," I said, "He gets cryptic prophecies and stuff."

"It's accuracy percentage is nearly 100%," added Gowther.

"It regards a kingdom in the South," Bartra said, glaring at the floor. "A beast with the likeness of a mountain shall awaken. Three heroes shall stand against it. Darkness shall bore a great hole in the land."

"Wait, the south..?" I mumbled, then looked over to Merlin, who seemed extremely serious- more-so than I had ever seen her. I furrowed my brows, "Merlin isn't that-?"

"Hush," she said quietly.

"Bartra," Meli said sternly, "What did you see?"

"A great evil is bearing upon the new kingdom in the south- your previous home, Merlin. I say with deep sorrow that... Camelot may be in grave danger..."

We all walked down one of the many rebuilding streets of Liones, where townsfolk waved at us, shouting their thanks and saying hello. A few children ran up, asking for high-fives and hugs, which Hawk, Diane, and I gladly gave, while Meli just ruffled up their hair and Merlin smiled at them, kindly refusing. I immediately jumped in after, giving them a hug and swinging the children around. It's good to have positive experiences like that as a kid.

"Hey, Captain, are you sure you know what the King's vision meant?" Diane asked, bending down and looking at Meli. I have a feeling it means we were in for a lot more shit- a lot more shit.

But obviously, he didn't.

"Yeah, no sweat," He hummed, his arms behind his head as he walked forward, seemingly without a care in the world. "It just means that something bad might happen in Camelot, right?"

"I dunno, Meli," I sighed, looking off to the side. A man waved to me, and I waved back, but the weary frown still stayed on my features. "It kinda seemed like there's more bad than he was letting o-"

Suddenly, the entire ground began to shake, jerking me onto my hands and knees. My eyes widened as an overwhelming magical power seemed to envelope my being, my entire body shaking along with the world and people around me. I almost choked on the suffocating feeling of the power's strength.

"EARTHQUAAAAKEE!" Hawk squealed. He couldn't sense it? How couldn't anyone else sense it?

I started panting heavily as the earth shook, an ominous aura encompassing my whole being. I got up off my knees and curled into a ball, covering my ears with quivering hands. My eyes were wide as I stared at the floor. I was being attacked on all sides by ten, extremely ominous, powerful, and familiar magical presences. Just sensing them was enough for me to feel like I was going to vomit.

My entire body was caving in on itself. I could hardly breathe, but I was panting as if I had just ran seven marathons without a break or water. My eyes were wide as I stared at the floor, unable to look anywhere else as tears began to spill onto my knees. I felt like I couldn't move, but my body was rocking back and forth and shaking without end. I felt like my throat had dried up, and I would split my trachea if I made any noise, but I still let out quiet, involuntary whimpers of the word 'no'. I couldn't hear anything, other than the shrieks of surprise form surrounding people, which were relatively quiet, but I still shakily covered my ears as if I could hear their taunts.

The rumbling stopped as soon as it started, and all of the other Sins looked at me and Meli quizzically. None of them felt it. How could they not feel it? It's choking me- I can't feel anything other than them.

I could still feel them. They were everywhere and nowhere. It's almost as though there were here, towering over me with wide, ominous grins.

Traitor.

I could hear the screams of everyone- somehow everyone who I had ever hurt, or who got hurt because of me, their voices had filled my mind.

Guilty.

My panting grew louder as I choked on a sob. Everyone who I had ever loved flooded into my brain, throwing guilt and blame at me.

Evil.

All ten of them towered over me, wide malicious smiles on their faces as they prepared to slaughter everyone again. Again.

Failure.

"GET AWAY!"

My scream pierced through the silence around me instantaneously, and everyone turned to look at me. I choked on a sob as I rocked back and forth on the floor, clutching my head. The images wouldn't go away- everything I had tried so hard to surprise my entire life was hitting me in an instant, destroying every fiber of my being.

Every murder I had committed- soul I had stolen away from someone. Everyone I ever loved killed in front of my eyes over and over again: millions of times over in a fraction of a second. Despondence and guilt flooded over me in tsunami waves, which only seemed to grow bigger and stronger as they attacked me, seemingly without end.

You aren't getting away this time.

Merlin immediately came to my side, kneeling next to me. She put a comforting hand on my back as I continued to cry as hard as I could. She looked as distraught as she could, her eyebrows furrowed and her lips in a tight line as she stared at me.

"(Y/N)? (Y/N), are you okay?" Merlin asked, her voice harsh, with noticeable sympathetic undertones. "What's wrong, what happened?"

"Meliodas! What happened to you and (y/n)?!" Demanded Hawk, who stomped his foot down in frustration.

Meli and I seemed to speak in tandem, the same waves towering over and crashing into us. But we were tied to the immovable pillars of our sins, unable to break free. The more we struggled, trying to escape the feelings, resurfaced in a matter of seconds, the more they hurt. They struck us with unprecedented force, knocking the air out of our lungs and freezing us. We were shaking with the cold of the waters, which swam black with our guilt, our emotions, suppressed over the years, but brought back within seconds, just at the mere presence of the ten demons.

"They're back."