Prince of Gluttony: Born from Betrayal

Cain had a lot of things on his mind as he ran to class. Once he stepped back onto the campus, he wasn't allowed to use any of his skills so he could only rely on his physical ability to make it.

Every step echoed with a mixture of purpose and irritation. Not because he was late, but because of everything else. Mira, Jayden, Gaius., the Duel.

Whatever game the gods were playing with him now. The pieces were moving, but he wasn't entirely sure who was setting the board.

Cain vaulted over a railing and cut across a patch of grass, ignoring the signs asking students to keep off. His breath came in even bursts, his body efficient in motion. Even now, he was still surprised at just how much his body had changed due to that Dungeon.

'What's so special about this class of yours that you are running like this?'

Gaius' voice echoed in his ears. That was another thing he couldn't explain. How had Gaius returned? He had devoured him with Gluttony, no?

Cain didn't answer right away. His boots struck the pavement in rhythm, each step carrying him closer to the main academic building. He didn't have time for this. Not for Gaius. Not for questions without answers. Still, the thought gnawed at him.

Had Gluttony failed?

No. That wasn't it. Cain had felt it. The Gaius he had met inside of the Abyss had provided him power but had disappeared as a result.

So what was this?

An echo? A hallucination? Some lingering fragment of the soul he had consumed?

Cain clenched his jaw as he turned the corner and took the stairs two at a time. His lungs burned slightly, but it was nothing compared to the agony he had endured in the Dungeon. Still, that didn't mean he welcomed Gaius' voice whispering in the back of his mind like an itch he couldn't scratch.

"Don't look at me like that, Cain. You're the one who invited me in."

Cain didn't respond.

Not with words. At least not yet.

He threw open the doors of the academic hall with a little more force than necessary and marched down the corridor. Eyes glanced up from students and staff alike, but none dared stop him. Not since he had returned.

'Why are you ignoring your teacher you little brat? I am getting lonely over here!'

Cain's pace didn't slow. If anything, it quickened. He didn't look around. He didn't need to. Gaius wasn't anywhere to be seen, not in the traditional sense. No body, no shadow. Just a voice that curled inside his thoughts like smoke, stubborn and impossible to ignore.

"I devoured you," Cain muttered under his breath, just loud enough that no one would overhear. "How are you still here?"

Gaius snickered, the sound warm and annoyingly pleased.

'Tch. I gave you a crash course on Gluttony and you still didn't get it? You really are hopeless. What did I say about taking in power without taking it at the root?'

...That it would eventually be able to come back.

'Ding,ding,ding! Looks like someone finally remembered~!,' Gaius said, smug as ever. 'You consumed the power I offered, but you didn't take me. Not the part that mattered. Not the seed.'

Cain turned another corner, his eyes narrowing slightly as he processed that. His feet carried him on autopilot, but his thoughts twisted and churned.

'So what are you now?' he asked, glancing around for any sign of the ethereal spirit he had come to call his Master.

'Still your Teacher, I'd say. Just a little more ethereal.' Gaius chuckled, like he found the whole thing amusing. 'Think of me like a campfire you tried to snuff out by throwing a blanket over it. You got rid of the flame, but the coals? They're still hot.'

Cain rubbed at his temple. 'Is this going to be a problem?

'For you? Only if you ignore me. I'm not some ghost that came back to haunt you. I'm still me, just... thinner. Hollowed out. I'll regain what I lost, eventually. Could take a while on my own. Years. Maybe decades.'

Cain's hand dropped from his temple. "And with help?"

'With help, I'll be back to my charming, loveable self in no time. In fact, if we can retrieve pieces of my bodies those traitorous little shits scattered, I can be even better than I was!

Cain didn't slow. But for the first time since stepping onto campus, the edge in his stride softened.

He adjusted his bag and exhaled. "You always talk too much."

'And you never listen enough,' Gaius replied with a chuckle. 'Though I suppose I can't complain. You did agree to help me, didn't you? Chasing down those backstabbing little worms that called themselves my disciples. I should be thanking you.'

"You already have when you saved my life."

'And yet here I am again, whispering wisdom into your ear like a ghost with style.'

Cain's lip twitched, but it wasn't a smile. He could still feel the weight of that oath, not as a burden, but something else. Something heavier. Familiar. They had both been betrayed by those closest to them. Separated by centuries, maybe, but it didn't matter. Some wounds never healed. Others just found company.

"I said I'd help you," Cain muttered. "You don't have to keep selling it."

'Force of habit. Besides, it's not just revenge, is it? Not really. Those bastards didn't just betray me. They're still out there. Twisting things. Tainting what I left behind. If you're going to survive in this world, you're going to have to clean it up anyway. Might as well do it together.'

Cain reached the academic hall doors and pulled them open with one sharp motion. The metal hinges creaked, a sharp contrast to the steady rhythm of his thoughts.

"You think they're still around? The Heroes...I mean your former disciples. They were around hundreds of years ago."

'Cain,' Gaius said with rare seriousness, 'they never left. They just changed clothes. In fact I can sense two familiar mana signatures.'

Cain froze, his hand still resting on the door's handle. The chill in Gaius' tone cut through the usual bravado. He knew better than to think that his teacher was joking.

"Where?" His voice was tight as if the word was forced from his lungs. It was much too soon. How could he fight a legend that were treated like gods!

'They're in this school.'

The silence that followed was deafening.