Devil's Sabbath

Chapter Six: Relentless Gluttony

Chapter Six: Relentless Gluttony

When Zain and I tumbled into our next destination, we found ourselves about to have dinner with the Sin of Gluttony. What could possibly go wrong? Well, a lot more than you might think. It wasn't like we just plopped at the table, we hadn't exactly gotten a warm welcome from the beginning.

The Gluttony Ring was a bizarre realm unlike any other I had come across on Arcadia. Unlike most of the other wastelands our demonic brethren resided within, the Gluttony Ring was unusually beautiful- almost deceptively so.

While the skies were choked by ominous, pitch-black clouds just like the rest of the rings, the land itself consisted of immense forests with towering trees that stretched on as far as the eye could see. The trees bore jagged black leaves and red heart-shaped fruit that gave off a distinct sweet smell. The residents of the Gluttony Ring lived in treehouses connected to one another by wooden bridges.

On the ground level where Zain and I began walking, we were crossing over an enormous lake filled with suspiciously red water. I didn't think it was really water at all. It looked more like a lake of blood. We traversed the scarlet lake via bridges made of shiny stones that gleamed and shimmered when we stepped on them. The bridges connected to odd "islands" that resembled massive saucers for teacups, complete with etched black and gold patterns on the rims.

Why there were islands composed of giant teacup saucers in this bloody lake, I couldn't imagine. Nothing here made sense. It was such a sensory overload that I dropped my guard just to take it all in. This place was a far cry from the barren desert I called home. It was starting to make sense why the demon race couldn't get along. The places they lived in alone were so different from each other, each ring may as well have been another planet of its own.

I was still shaken from our encounter with Kimaris, and how Zain effortlessly dispatched her. Part of me wanted to reason that he really wasn't trying to hurt anyone on purpose- he only ripped them apart when they were hurting me. He wanted to protect me, that much was obvious. He was attached to me for whatever reason, and he couldn't stand by while I was on the brink of death. I was grateful of course- I owed my life to him twice already. But despite that kind smile, he was intimidating to me for that same reason.

If he decided to loose his hunger on me, even with all my power, there would be nothing I could do to escape him. Zain wasn't like the other demons- he was a predator, and I could only hope that he would never come to view me as his prey. Whatever his identity as a vampire meant, if there were more of his kind, and they were just as powerful and hungry...that would be a very bad sign for the demon species. I kept a bit more distance from him than usual today.

I didn't look at him or speak to him very much.

That was, until the locals decided they didn't take too kindly to our sightseeing. The demons of the Gluttony Ring were an odd bunch. They were all rather average-looking minor demons that aimed bows and spears at the two of us.

But they all had white threads wrapped around their heads, concealing their eyes. The threads looked a lot like spider silk, and it completely covered up their eyes, ensuring that they were most likely blinded. But they could still see us somehow, and they poked their weapons at our flanks.

Without speaking, they pushed us forward, leading us across the red lake and to a castle on the other side. It was carved out of a gigantic tree trunk, and I couldn't help but notice the random spiderwebs and strands of silk dangling from its lower branches. We were brought to the castle's dining room, and here we were now. The table we sat at was huge- it was wide enough to walk across in more than a few steps, and it was long enough to nearly reach the ends of the room. The chairs were so tall that there was no way I would be able to sit on them without climbing up to reach them.