The Greatest Sinner

"Snow?" Malespera asked, puzzled. It never snowed in her village. The Hills of Bloody Falls was warm all year round because of the special plants growing there. The influence of the local flora significantly altered the area.

"So you don't know what it is...how can I explain it to you. The snow is made up of millions of snowflakes, they are tiny beautiful crystals. You can't see them without the right tools. They are cold but beautiful. When many snowflakes fall to the ground, they turn into snow. We're going to a place where snow is everywhere." Said Evan..

"Wow...how far is this place? How far do we have to go?" Malespera asked.

"If we walk, about a month, but I have a better option." Proclaimed Evan.

He went into a dark alleyway and went to the door, and said the password. Malespera did not know where they were going. For her, it was all very strange and confusing.

Evan had decided that he was going to Vextin yesterday and, at the same time, began to think about how to get to that town. Even if he rode a horse, the way would take about a week. It was too long, Evan wanted to get there as quickly as possible. 

Evan didn't have to think long. Thanks to the memories of the informant, he knew that in the black market, a man was selling a very rare beast.

"Malespera, would you like to fly?" Asked Evan as he descended the stairs.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, feel the wind currents, see the world from above, get close to the sky."

Click.

Evan opened the door and faced the merchant. He was a middle-aged man with a big cigar in his mouth, and he was the only one peddling rare animals in Inlas.

Evan and Malespera were now in the slums. This part of the city had not yet been affected by the war in the central zone. Moreover, even though the strongest organizations were now fighting each other, the slums were not affected in any way. It was the same here as it had always been.

"Oh, Mr. Evan, have you come for your goods?" Said the man taking a drag on his cigarette.

"Yes, show me what I gave an incredible amount of money for." Calmly said, Evan.

But, the man was in no hurry to do anything. He extinguished the cigarette against the ashtray and said: "Money first, you only paid for me not to sell this stuff to anyone today. A beast like that, it can't cost that little."

The trader was not trying to deceive Evan, this beast was indeed an incredible rarity even for Inlas. Finding it and capturing it alive was almost unrealistic.

"How much?" Evan asked.

"Five million." Calmly the merchant replied. He quoted an insanely high price, but Evan could pay it. A few hours ago, such a sum was exorbitant to him, but now it was different.

"Okay, here you go." Said Evan and pulled a dimensional ring out of his pocket. It contained exclusively platinum coins.

One platinum coin was equal to a thousand gold coins. They were pretty rare, but large organizations often used them for large transactions.

The merchant was a mage, so he had no problem using the spatial ring. He checked the contents and smiled contentedly. Evan could have killed him and not paid, but he didn't want to waste his time and put himself in unnecessary danger. There were many formations set up in this room, and the merchant had many subordinates. The easiest thing to do was to pay. At this point, five million gold coins were not a very large sum for Evan. He could afford to pay that kind of money to get out of town quickly.

"Pleasure doing business with you, follow me." Said the merchant contentedly.

The man led them to a large underground room, where Evan had that beast waiting for him that he had paid so much for.

The merchant opened the door and introduced his merchandise, "This is a basilisk. A beast of the first rank, tame and with one evolution."

Evan looked at the creature, which was about seven meters long and two meters tall. The basilisk's body was covered in green scales. The feathers on its wings were yellow, and its eyes were amber. It had a long tongue like a snake and two long, swirling horns on its head.

This beast was worth so much money for several reasons. First, basilisks were quite difficult to find, being rather secretive creatures. Second, flying beasts and monsters were complicated to catch, much less tame. This basilisk was a rare specimen. Moreover, it had one evolution, which increased its price.

Evan nodded and approached the basilisk. The beast was not frightened of Evan. It was already used to humans. Evan gently petted it.

"Hey, what do basilisks eat?" Asked Evan without taking his eyes off the beautiful beast.

"Anything, meat, fruit, vegetables." Quickly the merchant replied.

Whooosh.

Evan's spatial ring glowed, and a large variety of food appeared in his hands. He wanted to feed the basilisk, to get the beast used to it a little.

The basilisk didn't refuse the treats and happily ate everything. After a while, Evan carefully climbed on top of the beast and called Malespera to him. The girl hesitantly approached the basilisk and slowly climbed on it. She was a little afraid of the basilisk, it reminded her in some way of the monster that had killed her brother.

"Okay, open up," Evan said calmly, looking at the merchant.

The man nodded and walked over to the lever hanging on the wall. He pulled it, and the next moment the ceiling shook. The mechanism came into motion and a passage opened above Evan.

"See you later." Proclaimed Evan, and the basilisk slowly took off. Its wings were massive, each sweep creating streams of wind.

Whooosh.

Not a second later, the basilisk was already over the city, and Evan was watching the central burning area from above.

<Ah, it's beautiful, it's been a long time since I've felt that feeling. It's like the whole world is in the palm of my hand.> Evan thought, looking at the beautiful scenery in the distance.

In his past life, he had been able to fly on his own, he didn't need any beasts for that. But, he was glad to feel that already forgotten feeling again. Flying was not only pleasant and relaxing. It was a symbol of freedom. For freedom, Evan was willing to do anything, even destroy the whole world.

"Malespera, how does it feel?" Evan asked.

"It's amazing...I've never felt better." Malespera was ecstatic. Unlike Evan, she had never experienced anything like this.

"Evan, what happened in this town? Why were people running away and their faces the way they were in the village..." The fear and terror on people's faces reminded Malespera of her village.

"This is war. Remember that word, thousands of people die in war, and it doesn't matter if they are guilty or not." Evan replied coldly.

"But...why start a war? Those people...they're going to die..."

"Yes, most of them will die. There's nothing good about war, but that's not entirely true. In war, the loser loses everything, and the winner, on the contrary, gains everything. But, wars are often so brutal that even the victor has lost more than he has gained. However, there are those to whom even war benefits. Some people manage to use the situation to their advantage."

"These people, they're villains, right? If they weren't, there wouldn't be any wars?" Malespera asked uncertainly.

"That's a complicated question. I can't give you an answer. But, one thing I'm a hundred percent sure of, there will always be wars. As long as people are alive, they will fight."