Surrounded by blood and shadow, Jonas knew he had once again been summoned by his evil alter ego, Pride. However, if Jonas wasn't mistaken, there seemed to be more blood than the last time he was there and instead of the warm bloody sea reaching his ankles, it was halfway up his shins. Looking up, Jonas noticed another change. The dimly glowing red star in the sky had begun to shine much brighter than before, and it seemed like his surroundings had grown clearer.

"Pride," Jonas' eyes fixated on a shadowy figure standing in the darkness. There was no fear in his body when he interacted with Pride, and although the feelings weren't intimate like the ones he felt for his brother, he noticed his attitude towards the shadow was much more pleasant.

"Not bad," Pride's voice echoed through the room, "You managed to learn absolutely nothing while also nearly getting us killed, I'm impressed," he strode through the blood, right until he stood face to face with Jonas.

"It's been a month, why has it taken so long for you to make contact?" Jonas raised an eyebrow, "Maybe me getting knocked out by that ogre is fate, I wanted to talk to you."

"Fate?" Pride rolled his blue eyes, "There is no such thing as fate when we have mysterious deity-like creatures pulling our strings, making us dance. As for why I've been away so long, it's because we had no reason to talk. You would have pestered me for answers on Sin, and I have already said it's much better if you learn these things on your own. As for why I'm here now, I think you're ready for a little lesson."

"Deity?" Jonas scrunched his eyebrows, "You think the man of light is some god?"

"Forget him, I shouldn't have brought him up. It doesn't matter who or what he is, nothing else can be learned about him until we meet with that old fool," and although Jonas wasn't happy with that answer, he couldn't help but agree with it.

"What little lesson could you possibly want to offer? Weren't you just chiding me a minute ago about learning absolutely nothing," Pride began to chuckle.

"Don't be upset, I was only joking. Sure, you didn't learn much from your fight with the ogre, but that's what I'm here to fix. Secondly, I wasn't joking about the past month, you've done a good job of training your body, mind, and Sin. You tossed the goat herder, you have that pathetic gangster under your thumb, and you managed to come on top against that idiot, Pete. You've done a very good job and it's the reason that I'm here."

"Well, thanks," Jonas shrugged his shoulders and took a seat in the warm blood. His two hands that were covered with glowing crosses wet his bangs out of his face, while little droplets of crimson liquid dripped down his cheek and onto his chest.

"You like the blood, don't you?" and it took Jonas a moment to register how unnatural it was for someone to sit in a sea of blood so nonchalantly, almost becoming one with it. He looked at the blood in his hand and then flipped it over to stare at the glowing Sin Scar. Yes, he had to agree that he did rather enjoy the blood, though he didn't know why.

"Why is the sea of blood here?" Jonas watched as Pride sat cross-legged across from him, but the blood did not stick to his shadowy body the same way it did to Jonas.

"Today's lesson is about the Original Sin, your Original Sin."

"Original Sin?" A thought had come to Jonas, "You mean Cain killing Abel, that biblical nonsense?"

"Not at all. Original Sin is a lesson all Sinners must learn. It's the next step in your training. First the Cardinal Sin, then the Original Sin."

"So, what is it?" Jonas was beginning to feel impatient.

"Every Sinner has an Original Sin, but not every Sinner will discover it. This is an unbreakable rule that has been around since the dawn of Hell. Fortunately, you're one of the lucky Sinners who will have Original Sin handed to them on a silver platter."

"Come on, Pride," Jonas sighed, "Just get to the juicy bit."

"Very well," there was some annoyance in Pride's voice, "Original Sin is a unique power that each Sinner has. No two Original Sins are quite the same, although they can be very similar at first appearance. The reason I'm teaching you about this now is that you've unwittingly come across someone who has begun to unlock their Original Sin."

"Ahmed?" Jonas asked, "Or perhaps Wolf?" He hadn't noticed anything unique about either but they were the two strongest Sinners he had met so far.

"Neither of them has unlocked their Original Sin, I doubt they even understand what it is. Of course, a more experienced Sinner could tell them, but this is unlikely in a lot of situations. The rule of thumb is if your Original Sin hasn't begun to show itself early on, you'll have a very difficult time unlocking its full potential."

"If not them, then who?"

"That giant of a man, Ralph. He has a good talent for Sin, and he has already begun to unlock his Original Sin. Could you tell me what it is?"

"Ralph," Jonas was surprised to hear the name of his recent foe, "He's unlocked his Original Sin?" There was a long silence as Jonas thought back to his recent encounter with Ralph. Although the man was huge and made of steel, Jonas didn't remember him accessing any strange powers.

"No?" Pride sounded disappointed, "Maybe I was wrong to bring this subject up. Perhaps you're not ready."

"Fuck off," Jonas laughed, "Just give me a minute to think," the answer didn't take long. There were only two things that Ralph had done that could be counted as special. The first was his size, the second was the fact his body was nearly indestructible. Jonas knew that it was the second point that stood out most.

"His body was hard as steel, I felt like I did no damage to him, at all."

"Good answer. Ralph has probably been in touch with his Original Sin for some time, yet he has no idea that locked within his own body there is a great power just waiting to be used. Although I can't be sure of the specifics, his Original Sin does have something to do with his incredible durability. Some Original Sin powers will have a physical aspect to them, extra strength, speed, flexibility, or durability. They may even appear as superhuman to others."

"So is that all an Original Sin is?" Jonas looked a bit disappointed, "I assumed it was a bit flashier."

"Who said an Original Sin couldn't be flashy? My entire explanation was simply because you had your first run-in with an Original Sin, I didn't say that was the extent of the power. Even if the Original Sin manifests itself as improved physical ability, that doesn't mean it will always be like that. An Original Sin can grow and evolve, and it will slowly reveal its true powers over time. I'm teaching you this because your Original Sin has reared its head ever since you've got to Hell and I woke up."

"My Original Sin?" Jonas scrunched his eyebrows, "You're referring to my ability to heal very quickly, but I thought that was your doing."

"Correct," said Pride, "I simply harnessed the bit of Original Sin that was accessible, it wasn't my powers that have healed you all this time, it was your own."

There was another prolonged silence as Jonas stared at the flowing sea of blood that he was sitting in. When he thought about it, his ability to heal very fast was quite abnormal when compared to other Sinners. Perhaps, he and Ralph had both been born with the same type of Original Sin, one that improved their physical abilities.

"My Original Sin is an accelerated recovery rate, is that it?"

"Is that it?" Pride looked annoyed, "Could you look any more disappointed? Need I remind you that you would have not survived up until now if it hadn't been for your incredible Original Sin. Do you think this is all your power has to offer? No, your Original Sin has a lot more to offer than just healing from wounds, look around you, Jonas," and Pride gestured to the endless room of shadow and blood around them.

"What?"

"This room we are in is a manifestation of your powers. The star in the sky represents your Sin Scars, the shadow represents your potential, and the sea of blood represents your Original Sin."

"The sea of blood is my Original Sin?" Jonas narrowed his brow and stared heavily around himself, "I don't understand."

"Isn't blood important to you? Aren't you doing all of this, suffering every day, for blood?"

"Uh…" Jonas was at a loss for words.

"Do you not bleed for your brother, your blood? Do you not long to know where you come from, where your blood comes from? I would say that blood is a very good representation of you. I don't know the extent of your power, your Original Sin begins with your ability to heal quickly, but I don't know how it ends. Later on, when you're a real Sinner, you may be capable of things beyond your wildest imagination. Do you understand?"

Jonas was shocked that Pride could find such hidden truths, even if those truths were extremely simple. It was true that blood was important to Jonas, but he hadn't realized it was to the extent that it would represent his Original Sin. He had been baptized in blood ever since he died and suffered his way through Hell, in search of his blood.

"You're right," Jonas nodded.

"Regardless of what your Original Sin looks like, the important fact is that there is more to be discovered."

"What you're saying is that my power to heal is only the tip of the iceberg, and the rest of my Original Sin will reveal itself?"

"Exactly," Pride nodded his shadowy head, "You'll need to keep improving your Sin, and as you do your Original Sin will continue to reveal itself. If I could make a suggestion, you need to continue getting hurt. I think that by using your Original Sin, you should be able to establish a better connection with it. I'll be the first to know as soon as you've unlocked a new power. Haven't you noticed that the blood is rising?"

"I have," Jonas could see where Pride was going with the conversation, "The blood rising represents my connection with the Original Sin."

"The next time you bleed, focus on your blood. Don't let it scare you or make you lose control. Embrace the pain, revel in it, and allow yourself to feel pride in your ability to heal. This is your next lesson. I want you to bleed, and I want your confidence to grow."

"My confidence in my ability to heal?" and Pride's eyes turned to blue slits that told Jonas he was smiling.

"This lesson is over, for now. Do you understand what I've asked of you?"

"I do," Jonas stood up from the blood and watched as it dripped off his body, "You want me to train my ability to heal, to slowly reveal my Original Sin."

"Don't disappoint me. As for Ralph, I want you to fight him again. Don't stop fighting him until you win."

"How? I could barely do any damage to him, and my ability to heal is no good to me."

"Fuel your punches with Sin, and stop overthinking the size difference. You're doing yourself no favors by second-guessing your attacks. You can cause Ralph damage if you're confident in your ability to do so. Goodbye, Jonas, I'll see you next time."

When Jonas finally awoke, it was a few hours later, and he was laying on his back in his cage. The memories of his meeting with Pride seemed fresh in his mind, but it only took milliseconds for the memories to begin fading into the past, as if they had happened a long time before.

As Jonas' brain roared to life, a myriad of emotions and pain erupted through his body. It felt like a jackhammer was going off in his skull, and he couldn't remember experiencing such a painful migraine, like little cold ants that were crawling across his brain and slowly consuming it.

He gingerly touched his face but found that multiple parts had been fractured. His teeth were missing, his nose was crooked, and he could barely move his mouth.

“You’re awake!” Simon said excitedly, “Jonas, what were you thinking?”

“Goddamn moron,” said Johnson, “You nearly died. Luckily Ahmed was with you.”

“Shh,” Jonas shushed, their loud voices made his head hurt. He took a deep cold breath to help stem the nauseous feeling in his stomach, “What happened?”

“Well,” began Simon, “Ahmed said that you fought the big guy and lost. He also said that he stepped in once the fight was over to make sure that they didn’t take things too far. Apparently, they tried."

“Fuck,” whispered Jonas, “How long has it been?"

“An hour I think,” said Johnson. His estimation had been quite correct as Jonas could judge time by how much he had already healed. Jonas didn't have to think much about being confident in his ability to heal, because he knew that as long as he drew breath, his body would repair itself back to normal. His nose would reset, his teeth would regrow, and his bones would mend. He didn't need to actively think about healing because he was already very confident in his ability to come back from the dead. Jonas turned his head and saw that there were two wooden trays of food and two pitchers of Swamp Beer.

“Sorry, guys,” said Jonas as he painfully heaved himself upright, “We’ll split this,” and he divided up the food and beer.

“No worries,” said Simon who didn’t mind the cold stew, “I’m just glad you're okay. Your healing ability is crazy, I’m jealous.”

“I can feel new teeth growing in,” said Jonas who was feeling the tips of the teeth with his tongue.

“It’s only been an hour,” said Johnson in disbelief as he tore a piece of bread and dipped it in his stew, “That’s just special.”

"Funny you should say that," Jonas internally commended Johnson for his instincts. It seemed that his two friends also had realized that he, Jonas, was special.

"So, how did the fight go?" Johnson asked.

"Not great. I could barely get a clean hit on him, and when I managed to hit him my attacks didn't do any damage. It seems there are other people like me, special people, and just as I can heal very quickly, Ralph has some sort of super-strong body."

“Interesting," Simon sipped his beer, "So, how are you going to beat him?"

"Beat him?" Johnson looked confused, "You're not going to fight him again, are you?"

"Of course, he is," Simon laughed, "He won't stop until he wins," this statement caused Jonas to smile wryly, it seemed his friend knew him well.

"You got your brains bashed in and you're only living because Ahmed stepped in. Jonas, you don't have to beat that guy to prove anything. He's bigger, older, stronger, and more experienced than you," Johnson hadn't known Jonas for as long, but his words did show his concern.

"I know that," Jonas chugged his bowl of soup and belched, "If you want to become a good Sinner, you need to understand yourself and that includes your desires. If my soul is telling me I need to challenge that giant a thousand times to accomplish my goal, then I have to do so. It doesn't make sense, and I could die, but it has to be done. My Pride won't allow me to walk away."

“This is why I never wanted to get involved with that Sin nonsense,” said Johnson, “I just wanted to live a peaceful life, but fuck me I just had to let that bastard buy me drinks.”

“Tell me about it,” mumbled Jonas as he recalled that bitter memory of Old Louie getting him blackout drunk.

After consuming all his food and beer, Jonas laid back in his cage and waited for his body to start healing, and a few hours later he felt rejuvenated. His new teeth had finally grown in, his nose was mended back to normal, and he could tell that most of his facial fractures had seemingly been mended back together. Besides some minor bruising, Jonas looked whole and healthy, as if he hadn’t been hit in the head by a giant.

The morning soon came, and after the three slaves ate their breakfast, Jonas was sitting in the sandpit with Ahmed, discussing the fight.

“I know what you meant now when you said Ralph was special,” Jonas began, “The same way that I heal faster than most people, he can take more damage than normal, right?”

“Too bad you couldn’t have figured that out yesterday,” said Ahmed, “But yes, that’s what I meant.”

"Original Sin," Jonas said, and Ahmed scrunched his eyebrows.

"I've heard of this term, yes, the question is, how did you hear it?"

"I had a teacher," lied Jonas, "He's the one who sold me into slavery after a night of drinks."

"Did he explain what it was?" Ahmed had an eager look in his eye.

"Everyone is born with an Original Sin, it's a sort of special power that is unique to the individual. Most Sinners will never find their Original Sin, but it's the next step on the journey of becoming a strong Sinner. First, you find your Cardinal Sin, next you find your Original Sin. My Original Sin has to deal with healing, while Ralph's has to deal with his super-strong body."

"Interesting," Ahmed looked a bit confused, "Every Sinner has an Original Sin, but not every Sinner will find it. I wonder why I have yet to find mine, perhaps it's a matter of talent."

"I don't think so," Jonas shook his head, "This is another one of those things that happens because there aren't any good teachers who are willing to share their knowledge of Sin. As you said, it's a selfish power in nature and people don't want to share power. I'm willing to tell you what I know though, it's not much, but you're my friend and I don't mind teaching you," and Ahmed beamed.

"Thank you. You're a good kid. I'm also willing to share what I know."

"Tell me, how would you fight Ralph? I know for a fact that if you fought him right now, you’d win.”

“Obviously,” said Ahmed, “I’m stronger, even if he has much more mass than me. My attacks are more experienced, more impactful, and most importantly, they're filled with Sin.”

“What do you mean filled with Sin?”

“I fuel my punches with my Wrath, I transfer my anger to the rest of my body, infuse it with Sin and it makes it more powerful. I don't usually do this against you, but you saw how hard Ralph was able to punch you, he shot you across the room."

"There's so much crazy shit that happens in Hell, I forget that being sent flying from a punch isn't a normal occurrence," and Jonas felt a bit silly for not noticing, "So you Berserkers can fill your attacks with rage?"

"Essentially," Ahmed nodded, "I always believed this was truly Sinning, but I might have been wrong. There is always more to learn. It’s difficult to do something you have yet to fully understand, but we slaves have had a lot of trial and error and have managed to come to a small degree of understanding when it comes to the basics of Sinning. It's not like gang leadership is going to give us the keys to escaping."

"That's true," Jonas nodded, "They need their fighters to be talented, and entertaining, but not superpowered."

The rest of the sparring session wasn’t special, but Jonas focused on trying to make his fists explode with extra power, but this seemed to be an impossible task. He understood that his power came from his confidence, but it was a tough task to feel confident about doing something he didn't know how to do.