Summary: some things hide just below unassuming appearances
Warnings: gender neutral reader, this is an introduction with seven possible endings
Words: 466
~
There is an old forgotten warehouse. Over the rusted doors you would find a sign, reading “septem peccata capitales.”
As you slip past the doors and under the broken fabric, you will find the main room waiting for you. The ground has been cracked and broken, slabs of broken concrete stand at angles like icebergs. They protrude above the standing water that covers the floor. No matter how close you look, the murky water makes it impossible to judge how deep it is.
When you blink however, you may catch a glimpse of the overgrown swamp that lives in the same space as this warehouse. The low hanging trees, their branches brushing the water. The buzzing of all manor of insects crawling down your spine. And the unmistakeable eyes that watch you from just below the water. The scaled tail just barely braking the surface.
When you blink once more, you find the warehouse back around you, the cracked walls and chained windows. The scribbled writing and the broken fixtures. You swear you can hear the ticking of a clock, yet the one that hangs on the wall is long since dead.
If you wander around the edges, you might feel the heat of the fire from years past, the singed walls sucking light into their black ash. If you reach out to the marsh you might prick your finger on the thorns that are tangled in the trees.
However, if you dare to dip your toe into the water, you will trigger him. Dance with him and your feet will glide over the murky depths, never stinking into its jaws. But, if your foot slips, you will find him taking your weakness and devouring you alive.
The seven sins lay in wait for you. The question is, which sin have you committed?
~
Pride | stand on the edges of the torn floor and say hello to the creature lurking beneath the murky water. There the sin of Pride waits for you.
Envy | find the source of the echoing ticking of an unknown clock. There the sin of Envy waits for you.
Wrath | light a match and return to the scorched corner, there the sin of Wrath waits for you.
Sloth | venture to the torn fabric over the doorway, long stained and ripped bedsheets. There the sin of Sloth waits for you.
Greed | wander to the chained window and glimpse the world just beyond the overlapped swamp. There the sin of Greed waits for you.
Agony | prick your finger on the many thorns and watch as the red turns to rose petals before your eyes. There the sin of Agony waits for you.
Loneliness | try and decipher the scribbling on the walls. Broken letters and mismatched numbers. In the jumble, the sin of Loneliness waits for you.
Summary: below the marsh | you found yourself guilty of the sin of pride
Warnings: gender neutral reader
Words: 328
~
You tip toed along the edges of the pond, your arms out to either side as not to lose your balance.
You turned you gaze down into the murky depths.
“Hello~” You hummed to yourself as the dragonfly’s buzzed passed your ears.
“...hello.” Responded an unknown voice from the water.
You took a step back, caught off guard by the unexpected response.
However, you found yourself unfortunately losing your footing, falling into the depths of the water.
The water was warm and sticky, covered in plant life, all pressing against your skin and clothes.
You tried to swim but your limbs were tangled, causing you to be stuck just under the surface.
The dirty water stung your eyes, making it impossible to reorient yourself. You wanted to struggle, yet still found yourself to trapped to do anything.
You had just about let the panic sink in and except your fate when a pair of arms pulled you from the water.
You reentered the world with a gasping breath, pulled up and out and into a stranger’s arms.
“My my, that was rather ungraceful.” He chuckled, carefully guiding you away from the water’s edge.
“I don’t usually speak to the wanderer who find there way here, but I have to say your upturned nose at all the other triggers certain caught my attention.” Your shaking form was trying to recover as you rubbed the dirty water from your eyes.
“I’m sorry but broken matches and cracked minds are not enough to satisfy me.” You muttered, blinking away your blindness to try and catch a glimpse of your savior.
“Indeed, a little to prideful for the others.” He chuckled darkly.
“I guess I just know what I want.” You shrugged, a small laugh falling from your lips. The man hummed in response.
You could feel his grip on you tightening, like the jaws of an swaying alligator.
“There is danger in that prideful water, and you fell in head first.”
Summary: Below The Marsh | you found yourself guilty of the sin of greed
Warnings: gender neutral reader
Words: 309
~
the light cast from the cracks in the hidden window lured you. you wandered closer, one moment your shoes fell on concrete, the next they were met with soft moss. the uneven shifts in reality jumbled your head.
you turned from watching the water shift over your shoulder to facing forwards once more, finding yourself peering into a shaded room from the window.
you squinted closer, trying to see through the bars and the darkness to see what you could find.
a gasp left your lips as your eyes finally registered what lurked in the dark.
“you know you don’t need it.” it took you a moment to register that the voice did in fact not come from your own thoughts.
you reluctantly pulled your head away, glancing behind you.
“oh but how beautiful it is.” the blonde man smirked at you. the grin of a waiting reptile.
“who are-”
“shh now, that’s not important.” he smirked. “but you found me.”
you felt a shiver down your spine at his words.
“you know that what lays in that room, is your greatest desire.” he purred, taking another step closer.
the wall was cold against your shoulder as you watched him carefully.
The man’s eyes passed from you to what lay beyond the window. You felt a gasp lodge in your throat as you saw his eyes flash.
“Oh my, what an interesting desire.” The purring smirk from him had your skin crawling.
“What do you want-“
“Oh so many things.” He growled. “So, so many things.”
You pressed your back further into the wall as he began advancing on you. Slowly creeping forwards.
“But I do believe, I have my sights, on something new.” You felt the bars hiding the shadowed window press into your back, the metal clinking against your skull.
Summary: Below The Marsh | you found yourself guilty of the sin of sloth
Warning: gender neutral reader
Words: 302
~
Your fingers glided over the torn bedsheet that lay over the door, offering another gateway into the strange double sided swamp you found yourself in.
You blinked and felt the softness of blankets around your body, wrapping you in warmth and safety. You felt a pare of arms around you, and steady breathing on the back of your neck.
The warmth of the many blankets and the body behind you combined with your own body heat became stifling. It was warm and wet, much like the foggy marsh below.
The man behind you sighed, his arms tightening around your middle as he woke slightly from his slumber.
“Go back to sleep, won’t you?” He purred in your ear.
You found yourself above the warehouse in one of the upstairs rooms. You lay on a silk bed, snuggled with an unknown man pressed against your back.
“Who are you?” You asked. The man shifted behind you, turning you around to face him.
He looked at you with sleepy half lidded eyes and a quiet smile on his lips.
“You know who I am.” He grinned a lopsided smile. His strong arms wound around you again, pulling you closer once more.
“Don’t lie to yourself, you know this is what you truly want.” He purred, his cheeks squished against the pillow, his chest bare for you to see.
“What do I want?” You wondered, in a haze from the sleepy atmosphere of the room around you.
He blinked at you, snuggling himself against you once again.
“Rest, little one. And that is what I have to offer you.” He mumbled against your skin.
You felt yourself fall back, your eyelids growing heavy from the sinful laziness that was overtaking you.
And just like that, you fell into the arms of the sin of sloth.
Summary: Below The Marsh | you found yourself guilty of the sin of Agony
Warnings: gender neutral reader, blood mention
Words: 351
~
The blood that dripped from your fingered turn to shriveled rose petals before it fell to the moss.
The marsh was warm and sticky on your skin, only intensifying the prickling pain from your finger.
“It’s agony, isn’t it?” You nearly jumped out of your skin at the warm breath on your neck.
You found him just behind you, the sadness in his eyes left a deep pain in your heart.
“Please, I’ve been though so much pain... wouldn’t you help numb it for a while?” His request seemed honest and genuine as he reached out for you, taking your wounded hand in his.
You stared on silently as he brought the bloodied finger up to his lips, licking away the sticky substance and kissing the wound.
His eyes lifted back to you again, not dropping your hand from his lips. He nipped at your irritated skin, earning a flinch from you. While you tried to pull away from the man, he over powered you and only pulled you closer to him.
“Let me go.” You said, trying to pull away. His face fell at your words, your hand falling back to your side as he hung his head in sorrow.
“I’m sorry... just please... please let me touch you.” You felt a shiver run down your back at his odd request. Yet you remained still as he wondered back towards you again.
“You smell so lovely, and your skin is so soft.” He mumbled as he rubbed his cheek on the back of your hand, a blissful smile on his lips.
“It hurts so much here, nothing but that sinking pain in my chest. But you...” He wrapped his arms around your middle, nuzzling his face into your shoulder. “...you make me feel whole again.”
You licked your lips preparing yourself to pull away. As if sensing your hesitation, he only pulled you tighter to him.
“Please, please don’t ever leave me again. Please, take away my agony, won’t you?” He begged, his eyes shimmering with tears as he looked up at you.
Summary: below the marsh | you found yourself guilty of the sin of loneliness
Warnings: gender neutral reader, blood mention
Words: 524
~
You traced your fingers along the stone walls, gently gliding over the scribbles that were etched there. You felt as though, you could almost hear them being made.
You could feel the chock in your hand, taste the dust on your tongue. The scribbled equations and poetry were unknown to you, yet not unfamiliar.
You could hear a heavy whispering, yet as the world around you bent and warped, your stone wall remained.
Almost as though these writings were not simply written on the wall, but scratched onto that space in all of time and reality.
“1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13,” The muttering in your ear you quickly identified as not your own.
You dropped your arm, looking instead to the side.
The man stood beside you, close enough that he should be touching, yet you felt no contact. Like he wasn’t really there. Or perhaps, you weren’t really there.
He paused for a moment, pulling away from his work and looking around.
He turned to look at you, blinking twice, before turning back to his work scribbling.
“Um... hello?” You tried to speak, but the words were far away and echoed in your own head.
The man paused again, looking around once more. He looked straight at you again, furrowing his brows.
“Blasted torture, don’t they think the solitude is enough.” His voice was muttered just under his breath. You wouldn’t have heard it, if you hadn’t been nearly leaning on him.
“... torture?” You repeated, looking back to the numbers and letter on the space before you.
“It’s not funny!” You jumped at the man’s raised voice.
“It’s not funny anymore! Not when I’m hearing voices in my head!” He let out a demonic growl as he slammed his fist against the wall.
“Just let me be!” He shouted, turning around and slamming his head against the wall hard enough you felt it shake.
He sunk down onto the floor, hiding his head in his hands.
You listened quietly at the slight sobbing that began to slip from him.
“I-it’s not funny... just leave me alone... please, I can’t-“ He hiccuped, the red from the head wound standing some of the write writing.
“I can’t bare it anymore... don’t torture me with them...” you knelt down to the man, concern filling your chest.
“Don’t torture me with their existence. I can’t seem them, can barely hear them... I can’t even touch them... don’t pretend like that’s better... it’s so, so much worse.” You listened closely to the man’s words as he placed his hand on his head, trying to stop the bleeding.
“It’s so much more painful, to be lonely when you know someone else is there... just out of reach.” He pulling his hand away from his eyes, showing the tear and blood staining on his cheeks.
“But, I’m right here.” You tried to comfort him. He blinked open his eyes again, looking at you. Or rather, looking through you.
“But yet, you’re not.” His voice was quiet and you reached out to him, you hand passing through his face without making any contact.
summary: below the marsh | you found yourself guilty of the sin of wrath
warnings: gender neutral reader
words: 315
~
the scratching of the match echoed in your ears. the second the spark lit, you were blinded by the flames.
all around you they danced. you found yourself in the inferno of the old fires that overtook this warehouse. the heat licked at your skin like an eager pup.
you felt a cold hand on your shoulder, a shiver running down your spine. you turned to face him as he stepped out of the ashes of the singed corner.
“welcome to the world of wrath.” he offered you a kind smile.
“with the flames all around...” you began. “...why is your hand so cold?” you asked. the man looked down to the hand he had removed from your shoulder.
“wrath is usually said in anger, however, the true curse of the sin is the cold dead of your heart.” you watched as the screaming flames around you turned to freezing ash.
the cold winter wind cut through the swamp around you, slicing at your skin. you shivered to the bone, turning back to the man in the corner.
He offered you another sad smile, opening his arms for you. you hesitated for a moment, before wandering into his embrace. his body was still cold as the swamp around you, but something about being held in his arms, offer you a comfort.
“if you were wiser, you would have been more careful.” you paused at his words, his hands gently rubbing up and down your back.
“you see, the reason wrath is so painful, is how quickly it can jump from cold and heartless to scorching intensity.” you tried to pull away but it was already to late.
the screams fell from your lips, as the sparks flew all around you. your tried to turn away and bury your face in his chest as the flames licked at your ankes, begging for attention from their master.
