Chapter 7: Gula of Gluttony (Kayla)

My name is Kayla Graven. Also known as "Gula of Gluttony".

I am a homunculus born in an artificial womb through genetic engineering. The genes of my parents were combined in order to create me in a laboratory.

I am very well aware that I am inferior compared to almost all of my sisters, who are also homunculi. But it never bothered me.

I do, however, believe that gluttony is the most successful trait out of all other 7 Traits of Success, which humans erroneously coined as the 7 Deadly Sins.

Because I am living the most pleasurable, satisfactory lifestyle. And this is due to my gluttonous nature.

I often go to raves, wherein I use drugs together with my friends. I also consume alcohol and wine. I smoke weed and eat anything my heart desires.

I somehow never gain weight, nor do I ever get intoxicated. I only get the pleasurable feelings of "high".

I've known my friends ever since middle school. We are all girls who love to party and enjoy life.

We mess around with boys. I in fact have multiple boyfriends, none of them know about it.

I don't want to be tied down to one man when I'm still this young. I want to go out and experience different things first.

One night, me and my friends went to this illegal underground rave that was hyped up for months. The artist to perform on stage is an underground female musician who forbids any recordings of her performances, so that she can stay on the low.

We call her "Darkstar", since she is just as good or arguably even better than any other star in the music industry. Yet because she doesn't want public attention, she emits little or no visible light.

Darkstar only performed once before this rave. And she became a sensational hit in the rave world abnormally quick. She's renowned for her great angelic vocals and angelic beauty.

Darkstar only performs at raves once a year. This is her first rave I ever attended, and the second rave she performs at. The year was 2030, and this occurred somewhere in the month of May.

A lot of smoke appeared on the stage, causing everyone to go wild. And then we saw her; Darkstar. But I was a bit taken aback; she resembled Ashley a lot. It's as if they are twins, or maybe Darkstar is just Ashley's alter ego? I don't know.

I did hear rumors about Darkstar being the same person as Ashley but I dismissed it. Ashley, however, is none other than my sister Luxuria Haniya al-Bacchus. The fact that Darkstar looks identical to her, can only mean one thing…

Darkstar is Lilith Alisha. But I was too high to feel this immediate threat and danger. I actually enjoyed the fact that Darkstar turned out to be Lilith herself.

Darkstar threw drugs in the audience as she performed her unpublished hit song. Everyone went wild.

"What type of drugs are these? Is this even legal? Should we take it?" My friends discussed it among themselves.

"Ah, just take it!" I retorted. "Who cares about the legality of it?"

"But it could be dangerous…"

"You are all such pussies."

I took the drugs, and so did many others. My friends decided to do the same when they saw how much of a good time we were having.

But something strange is going on…

People started emitting rainbows and stars from their mouths and passed out one by one. At least, that's how it looks from my point of view; the point of view of a girl that's high beyond redemption.

My friends and I found it funny. And the rave only got wilder and wilder every time a person emitted rainbows and stars from their mouths.

It didn't take long for my friends to be the ones to pass out. And after some time, I was the only one left, enjoying the rave.

Darkstar ended her performance and looked me straight in the eye, as she said: "You're so shameless, Gula. Truly so shameless."

"That was a great performance sis! I loved it!" I laughed. "Can you sing me one more song?"

"I wasn't planning to perform a second song," she smiled. "Your resistance to intoxicants truly is abnormally high. As expected from a homunculus created to be a hedonist!"

"Huh?" I didn't understand what she was talking about since I was too high. Until it dawned on me…

"Let me sing you a lullaby instead, since you're about to fall asleep anyway…"

Lilith began to hum and sing a song: "Open your eyes, everyone dies. Nothing lasts forever in this eternal strive we call life. Screams and cries, sorrows from dawn till midnight. Close your eyes and get this misery out of your sight…"

I regained sobriety, and touched my face first. What I thought was rainbow and stars on my face from what my friends emitted from their mouths, turns out to have been blood.

I was standing in blood, surrounded by corpses of all the rave goers, including that of my friends. I screamed until I passed out…

Lilith truly is evil incarnate. She knew I wouldn't die from drugs. So she deliberately targeted the rage goers, including my friends.

Why did she use drugs; of the things that I derive ultimate pleasure from, to kill my very own friends? And she killed many more people in the process too. People that had nothing to do with our battle for supremacy…

Unfortunately, though, since this was an underground illegal rave, and since Darkstar isn't known to the public, I couldn't gather evidence against Lilith and report her to the authorities. She managed to get away with this heinous crime.

7.1

I woke up in the hospital. And the first person I saw in my room was Lilith; she was looking out of the window. "I brought you some flowers," she said.

I removed the flowers from the vase and threw it at her in anger. "Are you out of your damn mind, Lilith?!"

"Hey, that's rude," she said as she turned around to face me.

"I knew that you were evil and dangerous, but even this exceeded my wildest imaginations," I cried. "You're not just a psychopath or a sociopath. You're literally a she-devil."

"I haven't done anything wrong."

"Taking innocent lives isn't wrong? You knew I wouldn't die from intoxicants. So this wasn't an attempt to take me out and to use people as sacrifices to get it done. You deliberately targeted others."

"I didn't deem them to be innocent. They attended an illegal rave, so they were guilty of a crime."

"But who are you to inflict punishment on them for it? And why should the punishment be execution?"

"Well, why not? Why can't I inflict punishment on them? And why can't the punishment be execution?"

"Well… Because…"

"I am homunculus, I am not human. We are higher beings, superior to mankind. I believe none is more worthy of judging people except for us. And since I am the most superior homunculus, that role is mine to fulfill."

"You're a psycho."

We heard some knocks on the door. "Looks like you have some visitors," she smiled.

Alisha left the room and allowed the visitors to come in. To my utter bewilderment, they were all of my five boyfriends… This must be Alisha's doing as well!

"Kayla… Explain what's going on…" One of them said.

"How can you date multiple guys at the same time? That's disgusting!"

"You're an unfaithful bitch."

"You broke my heart, Kayla. I was truly in love with you…"

"What you did is unforgivable. Just wait and see what I'm going to do to you…"

"I never told any of you that I would be monogamous in our relationship," I retorted.

"What's that supposed to mean?! Kayla!"

"Life is too short! I'm a pretty girl that a lot of guys pursue! How in the world could you expect me to waste my youth and beauty?"

"You're a pig, truly a pig…"

Alisha listened to the commotion from behind the door, and smirked…

I got released from the hospital and headed back home in the evening. Today I started to believe that we homunculi should not have been created.

Lilith is the epitome of evil. And it seems that I myself harm people with the lifestyle I'm living. I'm sure that my sisters are also quite harmful to human society in one way or another.

One of my ex-boyfriends approached me from behind without me noticing. He put his hand on my mouth so that people wouldn't be able to hear me scream.

He dragged me towards his car and forced me inside. He tied me with robes and put duct tape on my mouth.

I then remembered that he threatened me in the hospital: "Just wait and see what I'm going to do to you…"

I panicked. I was certain that he would either rape me, or kill me. Or maybe even do both. He drove to the woods and parked somewhere.

He then opened the passenger seat and took me out of the car. He removed the duct tape from me, and I asked: "What are you going to do to me?"

"Kayla, what you did to me was unforgivable."

"Please! Don't hurt me!"

"But you hurt me, so why can't I hurt you back? How is that fair?"

"I didn't mean to hurt you. I was born wanting to pursue the ultimate pleasure. That's why I had multiple boyfriends at once."

"So why were you born that way? Is that a valid excuse to hurt the people around you?"

"I apologize, Mark. I'm sorry for hurting you," I cried. "I'll reflect on what I did wrong. I'll never do this again. I promise."

"How are you going to prevent it from happening again?"

"I'll go to a psychiatrist."

"Would you still want to be with me?" I noticed that he softened up towards me.

"No," I replied. "I'm sorry."

"Why not?!"

"Because you kidnapped me Mark!"

"But that's because you cheated on me!"

"But like I said I never said I'd be monogamous!"

"That's not something one must say! It's the default!"

"But for someone like me, being polygamous is the default. I already told you that I am a pleasure seeker."

"In that case, you're better off dead… But before I kill you, I should at least make good use of your body one more time."

7.2

"Get your hands off her right now!" A voice shouted, as a thunderbolt appeared. Mark and I turned our heads to where we heard it coming from.

There we saw a dark-complexioned young man holding a gun, pointing it toward him. Mark put his hands up in the air and took a few steps backwards.

"You're going to jail for what you did, Mark," he said. "I heard your entire conversation with the girl. What you did is unacceptable."

"Oh and what she did isn't?!"

"I don't stand behind her actions either."

"Society is so messed up!"

The police arrived, and Mark got arrested. They put him in handcuffs and drove him to the police station.

"Thank you for saving my life," I expressed my gratitude to the young black man…

"Don't mention it."

He was tall, well-built and quick-witted. I feel like he could help me and my sisters in taking out Lilith.

"But how did you know this was going on?" I asked.

"I got a tip from someone," he answered.

"From who?"

"Follow me to my car. I'll bring you to the police station, since they want to hear from you what exactly transpired."

Honestly, I felt a bit apprehensive about going in a man's car. Since it didn't go so well the last time I did. But he saved my life, so I guess he won't harm me.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Sansula," he answered. "Yours?"

"Kayla," I said. "You heard of what I did to him, right? Why did you still save me despite knowing what type of a girl I am? Don't I deserve to die?"

"Absolutely not," he responded, as he stopped in his tracks and turned around to face me. "What you did is despicable. But killing you isn't the solution."

"Then what is?"

"You should know how to build healthy relationships with people. I am not an advocate of polygamous relationships. But if that is what you're looking for, you should look for men who are also comfortable with the idea. Otherwise you'll run into guys like Mark again, and no one might be there to save you when that happens. You can't always be lucky in life."

"I guess you're right…" He's a wise young man.

We arrived at his car, and he opened the door to the passenger seats for me. I went inside and noticed that someone was sitting next to the driver's seat.

A thunderstorm encompassed the region. We saw lightning and heard thunderbolts.

That someone had white hair… It was Lilith. She turned around with a smile, and said: "I'm glad to see you're doing okay, Gula!"

Sansula stepped into the car. "She's the one who gave me that tip," he said. "So technically, she saved your life. Her name is Alisha."

"How did you know I was kidnapped?"

"Because I heard the commotion in the hospital room. I expected something like this would transpire as a result."

"But you caused the commotion! So it's because of you that I even got kidnapped in the first place!"

"I don't know what you're talking about. You were hospitalized and lost your friends, so I felt sorry for you, and invited your boyfriend so that he could perhaps be at your side in this tough period you are going through. Only to see that you had multiple boyfriends."

"So you had the brilliant idea of inviting them all?!"

"I thought you guys were in an open relationship. How could I have known that you're a cheater?"

"Alisha!" Sansula urged her to stop. "You've said enough. I don't even know what you two are talking about exactly. But this girl is a victim, so please don't put the blame on her."

"I'm sorry Sansula. I didn't mean to upset you," she said.

It looks like Lilith is close to Sansula. So he might not be willing to help me take her out… What should I do?

7.3

I received a voice note from one of my ex-boyfriends called Milan. He's the one that was heartbroken because he was in love with me.

"I'll end my life because of what you did to me," he said. He sent me his live location with that as well.

Sansula and I were shocked to hear the voice note. "Sansula! Can you drive to his location? We should stop him from committing suicide!"

"Where is he located?!"

"On that bridge that's close to the shopping mall in the North! Hurry!"

Sansula drove at high speed to the location, as I sent Milan a voice note, saying, "Please don't do this Milan! I am so sorry for what I did to you I swear! I learned my lesson! I'll never do this again!"

We arrived at the bridge and stepped out of the car. There we saw Milan standing on the railings of the bridge. Below was a deep body of water, stretching all the way to Amsterdam Central Station.

"Get off the railings Milan! Please! I beg you!" I cried.

"Why did you do this to me, Kay? I love you to death, you know?"

"I'm sorry Milan. I really am."

"I can't live knowing what you did to me. I love you so much. When my mom passed away, you were there at my side, offering emotional support. And you became a big sister figure to my sister. Why did you do this to me, Kay?"

I was speechless. I didn't know what to tell him. I had no idea his love for me was so deeply rooted into his heart.

"I was born as a gluttonous girl, Milan. It's in my nature. I didn't know it would cause this much harm to people."

"No one is born gluttonous. You're making no sense."

"Milan..."

"If you promise to remain faithful to me, I will get off the railings."

"I don't think it's healthy for either of us to try to fix our relationship. I think we both need psychiatric help first. We could think about getting back together after we recovered, okay?"

"So I take that as a no..."

Milan leaned backwards and fell over the railings into the body of water. Since a thunderstorm was going on, no one was outside. It was dark and rainy after all.

Sansula wanted to jump in the body of water, but Alisha held him back by taking him by his wrist. "It's too dangerous," she said.

Sansula pushed her away and went down the hill next to the bridge, in order to jump into the water and try to find Milan.

I dropped on my knees and began to cry. Lilith stooped and tried to console me, rubbing me on my back. But her words were anything besides comforting...

"Look what you've done, Gula," she gasped. "You cheated on five guys, one of which went psycho and kidnapped you. And was minutes away from taking your life. And the other became depressed and ended his own life. So you basically nearly caused someone to become a murderer, and you caused another to commit suicide. So how exactly is that any different from me executing criminals? You and I both caused people to die. So we're the same."

"Please Alisha... Stop it, please..."

"Cheating is truly psychopathic and sociopathic if you ask me," she continued. "Doesn't that make you a she-devil, too? How are you any different from me, huh? When you think about it, none of you seven girls are any different from me. We're all the same. Indeed, I am a reflection of all of you, Kayla."

I realized that she is right about everything she says. It's ironic how I critiqued her for committing mass murder, and for taking innocent lives, when I myself spread harm to the people around me. And I even caused someone to die, too.

"But do not despair, Kayla dear," she smiled, as she put her hand on my shoulder. "We are homunculi — not human. We are governed by different principles. I believe that, since we are higher beings compared to humans, we are allowed to treat them in whatever way we deem fit. Even if it is for selfish desires or ambitions. So I don't believe that you did anything wrong. Do you still regard me as a she-devil, Kayla? Am I still the embodiment of evil to you? Tell me. I want to know what you're thinking right now..."

Alisha proposes a different philosophy for homunculi...

"The age of mankind being the hunters, and of animals being prey, has come to an end," she continued. "We homunculi are the hunters, and humans are the animalistic prey..."

Sansula returned empty-handed; he was unable to find Milan. Lilith managed to psychologically destroy me as she promised she would…