SYNN Chapter 1

Midnight was the time each day when the sky above Luelle was the most beautiful. The sun had already set hours ago, taking the clouds along with it. Now the only light in the sky was the moon, shining in an eternal fullness only experienced by the residents of the island. There were no stars in the sky for it had been said that the angels condemned the island many millennia ago and refused to look upon it. As to what sparked this saying, no one knew. However, the legend provided its own comfort to the people with the great eye that casts its white glow on the town.

The townspeople were at rest. The shops closed after dinnertime and with nothing else to do, everyone returned to their own house. Adults and tourists returned to the apartments and hotels in the town center while other families departed to their homes lining the side streets and outskirts of the town. Mothers called their children back at around eight o’ clock each day and after washing up and quick prayer, they were all bedded before ten o’ clock.
To any visitor to the island, they may find this habit quite strange. There were no night clubs or entertainment centers opened past nine so the tourists must wait until morning until they could see more of the island. Why did this town which thrives in darkness be so set on not going out after dark?

To answer this question, most adults would give the same response. It was not because there are criminals running amuck in the streets; none who terrorized the town lived to see the next day. It was not because there lived wild animals that prowled in the forest and came out at night to steal the children away; the island’s beasts were too afraid to even whimper in the night. It was not because it was too cold to venture into the night; cold air refused to blow onto the island when everyone slept.

The answer that these people would give is vague yet it struck fear into the hearts of those who heard it: The master of the castle watches all.

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In the castle which rests on the highest point on the island, all was quiet. In reality, the building was more of a large castle-themed mansion. The shape of the building was rectangular with a high turret at each corner. A battlement was placed at the top of each of these towers and along all four sides of the mansion. In the center of the mansion was a courtyard with grass and flowers growing there. On the roof of the mansion were two stone bridges that connected the opposite midpoints of the roof. These two bridges met in the center of the roof to create a cross-shape. In the area where the bridges intersected stood an old man in a suit.

The old man was tall and donned a three piece suit. His hair was white but by no means was he balding. The old man’s face was pale, wrinkled, and aged. His eyes were hidden behind a pair of opaque glasses. His nose was long and comes to a point and his lips were thin and small. At the end of his pointed chin was a short goatee that also came to a point. It was hard to discern the man’s age through his appearance. His back was completely straight and his clothing was very slightly tight on his arms and chest.

The old man was by no means the master of the castle. On the contrary the man was Nico Hale, the castle’s head butler. He continued to stand on the intersection and looks up in the sky as if searching for something. Sensing something coming from above, Hale took a step to his left. A single drop of blood fell from the sky and splashed onto the ground, all the while just missing Hale’s suit jacket. After taking out a handkerchief, Hale bended down to scrub the blood stain. Once he was satisfied, Hale returned the dirtied handkerchief to a pocket inside of his suit jacket.

“Welcome back, master.”

Hale stood up and turned around. He was standing face to face with a dark shadow which seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. Upon closer inspection, the shadow was a man in a long black cloak which covered his entire body save his head. His face was hidden in its own shadow but that was not the most mysterious aspect of his character. The man seemed to be holding something rather large under his cloak. Short breaths could be heard from within.

“I trust that you have found what you were looking for, master?”
“Yes Mr. Hale. This one was by far the easiest to find. The night is still young. Have I kept you waiting long?”
“Not at all, master. The six children ate each meal and sat through their lessons each and every day without even a groan. I put them to bed just a few hours ago. They are sleeping now as we speak.”
“Thank you Mr. Hale. I knew I could entrust them to you.”
“If I am not mistaken, master; you are now in possession of the seventh, correct?”
“Yes Mr. Hale. Starting this coming New Year I will begin the next step in my plan. During my journey, I came across an island covered in these.”
The man reached into his cloak and pulled out a single pink.

“It is called an IQ plant and it is exactly what I needed for the next phase. Come inside with me, Mr. Hale. Oh, and could you wake Pride up and bring him to my office? There is something of importance with which I need to speak to him about.”
“Yes, master.”

Six years ago on the island of Luelle.

It was the middle of the day but no one could tell unless they look far off the coast and identify the few sunbeams that pierced the sky several miles off coast. The town was in a bustle that day; merchants came to and from the harbor to trade their wares and those who were permanent residents of the island were hanging up Luelle Roses on every building. It was New Year’s Eve and every family wanted their house to be festive. Shops were hanging up decorations in preparation for closing the next day. Crates were delivered around the island at a mind-boggling rate. This was the time each year when those who worked in the underground caves gained the most business but also had to push their asses. In these caves were the natural gardens for Luelle Roses. Unique to the island, these roses glowed a light blue; truly something to behold. The main commodity of the island was these roses and so those who worked in the caves were the backbone of the island. The citizens also enjoyed the glow of the flowers; they were indeed considered the most beautiful roses to anyone who had never sailed to the New World.

These Roses also had a second unique property of near instantaneous regeneration from where the stem is cut inside of the cave. However this meant that flowers that had been cut and were taken out of the cave could not regenerate. In fact, these Roses couldn’t be planted outside of the cave. There was a mysterious life-force inside of the cave that gave the right nutrients to the roots of Luelle Roses.

The Roses also had a lifespan of about 6 days. This was a sufficient amount of time for the residents of Luelle and those of islands that are only a few days sailing away but this once proved problematic for consumers who live great distances away. It was about ten years prior when a solution to this problem was found.

The man was named Doctor Orion Gemares and he was a top world government scientist. When he heard of these roses while working in the world capitol, Mariejois, he became interested in its description. He tried to place an order for several thousand but was told that none of the roses would make it to him alive due to their short lifespan. Wanting to solve this problem, Gemares personally took a marine vessel and sailed to Luelle.
Upon immediate inspection, Gemares was enthralled by the beauty of the rose. He stayed on the island for several weeks; just long enough to see a batch grow and die. During these few weeks, Gemares dissected the roses, both living and dead, and made an incredible discovery.

These Luelle roses shared a similar cellular structure and composition to Devil Fruits. As such, they behaved similarly in that a single person would die if he/she consumed more than one in their lifetime, as proven by a few “volunteers”, and that when immersed in seawater, the roses lost their luster until taken out of the water. Thus, to transport a Luelle Rose over a great distance, one must keep them in a container filled with seawater. However the fact remains that they can only live for 6 days outside of the water. For making this discovery, Gemares was given the several thousand roses that he wanted.

Now, back to the present (being six years ago).

Every building in town was decorated with these roses. At midnight, when the full moon rests directly above the island, the sight would be one that anyone would trade a lifetime to see. However, there is one building on the island that is not decorated for the new year.

We must turn our attention to the castle on the island. Not a single rose hung from the walls or the roof. Only torches and lanterns could be seen from the castle’s glass windows. Why? It was because the master of the castle wished to abstain from such a trifling tradition. While the master sat in his great chair at the end of a great table in the great hall, he stared out at the rising moon and listened, not to the silence of the bats, but to the sound of the air inside the castle. In fact, he could hear eight individual breathing patterns around the castle. One belonged to the butler, Hale. The other seven belonged to the children…

Before the children are described, it is important to note that all of them possessed several similarities in physical appearance. All seven children had hair that is black as the night sky. Their complexions were more pale in comparison the other residents of the island. All had the same bright green eyes which were made more defined by their dark apparel. However, the most conspicuous aspect of the childrens’ anatomies were the demonic black appendages that came as a result of exposure to IQ plants at a younger age. All children had these appendages though on different parts of their bodies. To present the children in a simple way let us look at them from order of birth starting with the oldest.

The first of the seven children was named Pride. At this point in time, Pride was nineteen years old. His build was fairly tall and well-built. Looking at him from a more modern perspective, Pride would be the ideal image of an athlete. His face was narrow and had no defining features other than the fact that had he been able to live a normal life with the townspeople, he could have swooned young women with his looks alone. His voice was manly and deep but not so deep that any sounds he made with his mouth would cause the hearer to feel vibrations. It was a mellow tone that was not oppressive but when used correctly, could command armies.

Pride’s hair was kept at a medium length. His hair was longer in the front and had to be brushed to the side every so often. On the sides, his hair came to cover the tips of his ears. In the back, it reached the bottom of his ears. However, one did not pay so much attention to his hair when looking at his head. Instead, people focused more on those mysterious protrusions coming out of it.

Pride’s jet-black demonic appendage formed on his head. On his head there was a thin band that was one inch in width and made a circle around his head where his ears connected to his head. On the section of the band on his forehead were three thin horns that pointed upward. Each was a triangle whose base was the top of the band and narrowed as it got higher. The longest of these triangles, whose base was the very center of his forehead, was seven centimeters in length. The other two, located two centimeters from either side of the middle one, were both five centimeters tall. Looking at Pride’s head from any angle, one would describe his demonic growth as a sinister crown fit for a dark king. Indeed the shape the appendage took was like that of a jet-black crown.

Pride, as well as all of the children after him, possessed a special ability that was directly linked to both their name and their personalities. Pride was a young man who hated disrespect to himself above all other things. This included self-disrespect. If Pride asked someone to do something, he expected them to do it. Anyone who did not answer to his wishes faced the consequences. Fortunately, Pride was not a greedy or selfish child. He never asked for things that were too difficult for Mr. Hale to obtain. On the other hand, if Pride was asked by someone to do something, he would not object to that person’s wish, no matter how far-fetched it was. Whenever Pride was asked to do something he would swear “on his pride” that he would do it. Even if he was not asked, if he did anything he would swear on his pride that it would happen.

Pride’s ability was one that could fulfill any wish no matter how impossible it was. Pride was the physical incarnation of his namesake sin and as such, he would do anything in his power to maintain his pride. Pride’s power was one that could be likened to a God’s. He had the ability to manipulate the universe in any way as he wished. If there was someone trying to kill him, Pride could will that person to be the only victim in a randomly fatal accident. If someone pleased him, Pride could bring a lifetime of prosperity to that person. This ability also applied to objects. If an object was falling, no matter how great it was in size, Pride could stop gravity’s pull on it and will the object to return to its original state. If a bullet flew toward pride, he could will it to turn around and destroy the very gun it came from. The possibilities were endless for Pride. All of these commands were initiated by one very simple phrase: “I swear on my Pride.” No feat was too great for his pride.

Though it had never happened before, it could be inferred that Pride possessed the very power to destroy the universe in its entirety with that one simple phrase…