The archive wasn't meant to hold three Sins at once.
Not without rules.
Brix paced. Lio stayed standing still, arms crossed. Mav, however, refused stillness altogether. He danced along thresholds—between comfort and discomfort, reverence and irreverence, interest and insult.
"You know," Mav said, glancing between them, "you're both very serious. Is this what divine discipleship looks like? Brooding and posture?"
Brix didn't answer.
Lio didn't blink.
Mav sighed and wandered over to Kairon, who had now curled slightly on his scroll pile, back turned as if the world was a radio station he was no longer tuning into.
"You haven't said anything to me," Mav said quietly. "Not really."
Kairon mumbled, "You haven't said anything worth answering."
"Ouch."
Mav leaned forward, resting one arm on a carved stone railing. "So what do I need to do to earn the honor of being ignored by you properly?"
Kairon blinked. Sat up. Looked at him fully for the first time.
"You're not a problem," he said.
Mav raised a brow. "That sounds dangerously close to an insult."
"It's not," Kairon said. "You're a question I don't want to answer yet."
The System chimed in softly:
[LUST – Candidate status: Pending.][Affinity Level: 67%. Emotional Sync: Stable. Loyalty Anchor: Undefined.][Touch-Transfer Inhibited: Consent Flag Unresolved.]
Mav took a breath. Dropped the smile.
"Do you think I'm here to seduce power?" he asked.
Kairon tilted his head. "You'd be more honest if you were."
That hit harder than Mav expected.
Silence again.
And this time, even Mav didn't dance away from it.
He sat down. Really sat. Cross-legged near Kairon, hands folded in his lap like a student waiting for class to begin.
The others noticed.
Lio said nothing. But his hand rested lightly on his sword—not to draw, but to remind.
Brix's heat dimmed.
And finally, Kairon spoke again.
"I don't want loyalty out of desperation," he said. "Or loneliness. Or hunger for touch."
"Then what do you want?" Mav asked softly.
Kairon looked him in the eye.
"Permission."
[System Alert: Consent Registered.][Student Slot Assigned – LUST.][EXP Transfer: 640,000 delivered.][Skill Tree Unlocked: LUST – Tier 1.][Passive Aura: Magnetic Presence I. Title Granted: Whisper of Want.]
Mav's breath caught.
He blinked.
For a moment, his charm cracked—and real awe slipped through.
"I... don't seduce people like you."
"No," Kairon said. "You're not supposed to."
As the light from the System faded into Mav's veins and bones, Brix looked away first.
Lio closed his eyes, just once—processing what this choice meant.
Three were now chosen.
But no more would come today.
The archive seemed to know it.
The walls settled. The glyphs dimmed.
And the System went quiet again.