Chapter 3; Sloth

Eventually, the Great Darkness that was resting over the South Gate as a powerful pressure that pressed down on everything that started up the trail would lift from the mountain, but only slightly. A vast majority of the mountain, which was, if not visibly illuminated before the eyes of those walking the path, draped in garments of darkness that robed it like a fine linen. Where the greatest pressure rested over the Southern Gate, it would begin to hover over the Zero Worlders as what was covered by the Great Darkness that pressed down on them looked on without moving from its place.

Sooner or later, the Puppet King made its way all the way down to this level of the mountain in a hurried manner. It seemed like it was searching for something or someone rather ferociously. "And Just To Show You That Even With All Of This, I'm Still Only Just Baiting You Out Because 'YOU WILL NOT' Escape Is An 'Absolute Final,'" the voice blared into the minds of all of the open vessels in the area, as the titanic toy toddled along. "You Have To Go Get Lesser Envious People And Show How Ugly Envy Looks One Step At A Time." The Master of Envy spoke into the mind of the collective souls within Puppet King, "Uh, Go Get A Trap Rat And Trap It." That was first on the list of things to do in order to start educating people on Envy.

So, Puppet King was sent off, having given instructions to the ones under its control to start beginning to set up the trap for their rat, whomever that may be. "Looks like Lust has already purchased some of them, so I can have a free sample..." The Voice of the Presence sounded different from the Voice that commanded the Puppet King, and very distinctly in tone and authority, the latter having less force and more personal, informal depth that others would have trouble hearing. "I only need the weakest and the easiest..." The Voice, which was feminine, and emanated the powerful pressing presence of the Great Darkness, would make clear before allowing everyone else to finish doing what they were doing. "There's my input." The Presence rested.

The Great Darkness rested. She was tired after doing so much work rather than sitting around, like she normally did, waiting for just the right moment. "Damn... *pant* I'm... Tired..." She yawned drearily, not having realized that all of the mental hopping was physically taxing, something like a workout. She sighed heavily, as if having a bit of trouble breathing. "... But at least now, all I have to do is tell them what happened and help them out when they get up to this point." Tabitha, or, 'The Great Darkness,' which was 'Sloth,' was already completely clean the moment she returned to take Sloth's place. All Tabitha could see were some old drawings that looked like her childhood flashing before her eyes, yet in an orderly manner that all made sense. "... Vision's lining up..." she said, looking down at the darkness under her. All of the other Sins were running about, having not been claimed by the Tensei. "I've got Gluttony and Envy..." she muttered to herself, batting her lashes lightly with a dark, downcast look on her face, "Plus, Wrath, too..." Tabitha inherited Sloth from her father long ago, and that was passed down to her through her genetics as a Tensei.

The Tensei Family conquered the Sin of Sloth a long while ago, and as the Goddess of Darkness that was over the area, she was monitoring the untame ones and capturing them as she saw fit all on her own. "... I really wasn't expecting to be part of something like this. I didn't plan for it at all," she mentioned, somewhat muttering to herself, in an almost bored fashion. "... I wonder what is taking them so long...?" She'd only dealt with Four of the Seven Deadly Sins, and the other Three were still running around trying to capture and enslave people, as she'd been seeing during her time capturing and taming the various Sins, like she's done with Sloth. "... I wonder." She thought to herself about the Divine Pet that her father had given her for taming Sloth. The 'Slowth,' which, before it was a 'Divine Pet,' was classified as the 'Demon Of Sloth.' It was her teddy bear whenever her father was gone out for his business of running a village, and she would stay with it inside the Pit of Havoc. "Sloooowwwwth~!" Tabitha nearly yawned like a cat, falling over into the loft of her dark drapery of her covering like a comforter. She began to sink into the darkness and fade out, with a powerful pressure pressing down on the entire mountain like the intensifying of gravity.

Tabitha would rest on the shade of the backside of the mountain like a pillow, with the pillar resting almost completely adjacent to the length of her back to the crown of her head. Her eye lazily glazed over to the side, gazing at the people on the other side of the mountain walking in the light. The entire group was somewhere approximately the size of her iris. "I wonder if they can see me now..." Tabitha was only peeking her head out from the darkness, and hadn't truly revealed any of her features save for her gleaming white eye.

The Slowth appeared from the Great Darkness as Tabitha continued to peek out from the darkness, watching carefully.

Sooner or later, a man stepped forward, finely dressed, atop a high place in the mountain, peering over the edge to oversee what was going on. It looked like he was waiting for something.

The Great Darkness would 'Cover' the land, stretching out over the mountain trail. Nothing could be seen into nor through it, however something was going on within and throughout it. The sound of shuffling and scuttling could be heard.

The man atop his high place smirked and chuckled, beckoning his hand forth a bit. A regal chair was pitched where he began to sat and he kicked a leg up over his knee as he looked on, watching The Great Darkness pass by.

Temporal displacements speckled the pathway, littering random blots like that of ink completely invisible, with distorted eyes flickering about the inside. It looked as if some sort of Presence was in motion, and it was lingering behind as these flickering Distortions of Darkness.

"I. Step Forward One At A Time, Single File And In Order."

These were instructions that would come into each of their heads collectively as Common Sense once they reached the edge of the darkness, and after hearing all of the whispers of the 'Great Darkness,' which was the 'Kurogami,' speaking and guiding them through the ins and outs of Gluttony. No one had actually come out of the Great Darkness yet, and the one that was looking on could not see who would jump out first. All he would be able to see were the eyes of the Slowth, which was what the dark presence left behind belonged to. The actual Slowth was nowhere to be found, speculatively.

Those had heard the whispers of the story that this Voice told, which guided them this far and into the light, would make sure to heed what was spoken and what was heard collectively.

You realize now that unlike before, where You were prone to have ignorantly pushed your brother or neighbor out in front of You to go Test the waters before you got in, Testing both they and the situation for You, You instead realize that it's better to work collectively as a group, since getting each other into terrible situations collectively as a group through influencing each other ended up getting everyone captured in the first place. After such a traumatic near death experience, You definitely have it locked into your head that You will not be doing something like that again, at the risk of, if for no other reason, simply not letting Yourself get snatched up in the tailwind. You are still very hesitant to pass through, because of what you have seen and been put through, but You are still excited to get out of the slave chains of Lust, and eager to exit the place where You'd been set free.

Because of this, Someone steps forward first and begins to walk out of the Great Darkness that was covering, in order to pass through the trail, hoping not to get struck with anymore afflictions like before near the beginning.

"Aha!" the finely dressed man shouts at seeing anything step forward and into the light. "I knew you couldn't stay hidden forever." He rose from his fanciful chair and immediately pulled out a wad of cash from his pocket, the exact number of which had no real weight, considering the heft of the thickness of the band. "You there!" He called out from above, looking down to the area he was overseeing, "How much will it take for you to work for me? Price isn't a number, just your desire." He smiled deviously, hurling the mound of money down into the pathway between the darkness, so that whatever came out would have to pass through the money maze.

Someone was paid to start doing construction on the area, and a building started to be built from the ground up. "Tell me now, and your name will be all over it. Just name it." He watched carefully, patiently awaiting the response of the potential investment.

'Game Rook :: Cover'

The Slowth That Was Covered In And Covering The Great Darkness Would Also Be Covering All Of The Individuals That Were Inside Of The Great Darkness At The Time. When Someone Attempted To Step Out Of The Darkness, At Once, One Of The Great Darkness' Game Pieces Was Sent Out In Their Stead, Whilst The Person That Stepped Forward Walked Only Further Into More Darkness.

"II. Step Further Into The Darkness By Following My Instructions, Directions And Commands."

The Individual That Heard, Who Was Also Collectively Consciously Connected To The Others That Were Waiting At The Other End Farther Back, Of Whom Can No Longer Be Seen, Can Also Hear Everything That You Hear.

"Game Start."

-This Is Where The Second Person Plural Becomes Second Person Singular.-

You Are In Darkness And Are Bid Cautiously Throughout It, Following The Sound Of A Strange Woman's Voice. You Do Not Do Anything Except What It Tells You To Do, And It Seems To Assist You By Guiding You Properly Instead Of Into Your Doom. You Decide To Follow.

A 'Puppet' stepped out of 'The Great Darkness.' It was called the 'Archduke,' and it looked like a pitch black castle tower with a steeple and a crown at the top, something similar to a Chess Piece, except looking as if it were a King and a Rook combined as a single Piece. Many Distortions kept whatever and whomever was inside the mobile fortress of darkness from being seen, and their identities being disclosed.

The Archduke, who was a Valparaiso Denizen, would be hidden by the ambiguity of the Darkness, but still was able to step forward without being discovered. When approached by the mysterious stranger's advocate, he would claim, "I am Archduke," as if stating his name. "Can I help you?" All the while he spoke, the Archduke moved throughout the darkness without coming out to be seen visibly once. Only his voice could be heard.

The Great Darkness spoke unto the Zero Worlders still covered by the Slowth, "Follow The Ones I Have Sent Ahead Of You. They Have Special Names And Ranks And Titles And Are My Servants That Will Guide You Out Of Here Alive." The rest of the process, which was automated, was left unto the appointed officials that existed inside of the Great Darkness that Tabitha, the one to whom the Voice of the Great Darkness belonged, could conjure up at any time from her private stock to be of assistance at anytime. "My Archduke Is Out Handling Business With The Businessman Trying To Purchase You Away From Your Own Lives And Your Own Freedom. Follow The Archduke, As Well As His Instruction, And You Will Be Set Free."

With these words spoken, the Great Darkness rested, and the Slowth was given the full authority of the Great Darkness whilst the Zero Worlders were passing through. The automated process, which was a system that Tabitha already had prepared in the shadows, known as 'Mechanica,' would begin taking care of the finer particulars whilst the Great Darkness herself rested over them and covered them to protect them from being seen as a group. They would be escorted out single file, but still led as a collective whole.

Having learned your lesson about disobeying these higher powers or falling into whatever sort of traps or snares that were placed specifically for You, You watch as the Archduke speaks to the envoy that was sent out by the mysterious man that You notice is watching and was waiting for someone to come out of the other end. You find this behavior suspicious, and figure that perhaps, whomever this person is, they have a plan that involves purchasing you for any price. You do not give into this, and You continue to walk through the darkness, waiting to see what this finely dressed man intends to do. You wait to hear what his proposal is before You even think to take whatever his offer is, in case that taking his offer is a deal to enslave You by terms or means You don't know nor understand, as with Lust, previously. Narrowly escaping that fate, You are more wary and careful of Your life, even if You are tempted to take the large sum of money that was offered. You wait and listen and see what the man does with the Archduke, who seems to know how to deal with this sort of matter professionally, as opposed to You. So, You remain hidden in the darkness, walking through silently with your unseen escort.

"I'm looking for some new recruits," the man in his nice attire would say flat out, "And I think you look like just the ticket." Instead of some lowly operational level member, the one that was sent out to speak to the paid official was a rather supreme looking official, himself. "How much for your services? I could use some management level help." He outstretched his arms, "Come! Talk with me. I'm sure we can come to some form of an agreement, yes?" The man's mind seemed made up about who he would have for his own, and this 'Archduke,' as it was said he was named, was a prime target. "I already have a stencil and a layout. All you have to do is fill the position and play the part, and I pa you, and cover all of your health, medical and dental. Lifetime contract, guaranteed services, as long as guaranteed service is guaranteed by you." Greed would retract his hand, curving his wrist upward, then flung it outward like the unraveling of a scroll, and in a burst of fluttering green paper would a long scroll, indeed, sprout from the palm of his hands and out into plain sight. "Crisp," he said, in reference to the paper and the fine print upon it. "Just sign and date and the special limited time offer is yours." He smirked deviously. "Guaranteed."

The Archduke, who stood as the representative for the Great Darkness and the people that were covered by the Great Darkness, would consider the offer of the finely dressed man and begin to logically contemplate and calculate the options that were available. "Hmmm..." After so long of thinking, with quite the challenging puzzle of thought locking him up as he thought to move, eventually the Archduke came to a rather promising conclusion for this man. "I think I'd like to have a tour," he said confidently. "Show me your wares and around your business, and I will consider taking your offer." When the man would lead, the Archduke would follow. "Final answer."

You decide, after everything that's happened and what You've learned about these Sins and this realm and its elements, that it is best to not try to take too many matters into Your own hands until You are in a safe zone and can resume Your normal life again.

You stay quiet, gazing at the eyes that are looking back at You, as if peering into Your soul. You can see what is going on outside and know that they cannot see You, however You are still terrified for some unknown reason. Probably, because of the striking accuracy in which at any given moment, things actually could become very real for You and Your life would be on the line. That part intimidates You, but You know better than to stop what You are doing. You end up walking through the darkness with the Archduke that was sent to be your Guide as your new leader, something like the Puppet King was to the Puppets. You continue to move chiefly and quietly, single file, no sudden movements and as carefully and composed as humanly possible without lagging for too long or loitering about idly, where something could expose Yourself or the group and get everyone killed or put them into danger. Each of You that were still alive learned a very valuable lesson about the group and the team effort. You do not stray from your instructions nor your path; you walk a straight and narrow path, right down the line as directed in an orderly fashion.

The man's devious grin widened, and he couldn't help but let out a restrained laugh he'd been holding back, seeming to be out of anticipation. "Just what I wanted to hear!" It was just his lucky day today that he'd happen to pass by someone so willing to help out his noble cause. "Step right into my office, Sir, and we'll discuss these matters further in more detail." The man snapped his fingers, and shreds of fine green paper spontaneously sparked from his fingertips, and each of the leafy greens would blow away in the wind. A trail was left behind as a line of corresponding events all funded by the same organization, which was this man, himself.

The well dressed man brushed off his suit and adjusted his shoulders and sleeves, then started off back across his high place, waiting for the investor to make his way to the location that was being arranged for them to meet. The Archduke would be escorted there promptly and with the utmost haste, but the regal man would depart go long ahead of him. There was nothing left to be done here.

A heavy sigh of relief at the release of tension in the area came from beyond the Great Darkness. "Finally," Tabitha said, her own Spider Eyes lining up in all their sight. "It's all a straight shot from here." Once she was able to see all the same paths at the same time, there was a higher probability of that outcome occurring because she'd been able to see the same route in multiple different viewpoints or vantage points and each of them ending up coming together all seamlessly at the end. Her Divine Pet of Sloth, 'The Slowth,' which was named as the new 'Sloth' in place of Tabitha, who was the original 'Sloth,' would take care of guidance and the Mechanica that were already infesting the area in their various forms, such as Puppets, were about if she should need to intervene due to the 'Slowth,' now 'Sloth' itself, moving too slowly. "I'm sure they won't need any help," she muttered monotonously to herself. "I'll guide you to where you need to go, but then I'm going home. I'm tired." She was always tired, much like her father, and she honestly didn't need to be here anymore now that she accomplished some personal things, and these people were a completely independent party that couldn't hold up the rest of the things she had going on for too long. Even as a spirit, she, too, still needed her rest, and she was also only volunteering her services to repay for some other debts and personal business involving the Tensei family and main branch of the Veritas. "I suppose I can tell him 'Mission Complete.'" Tabitha was pleased with herself and this outcome. "Mmm... Yeah..." She cherished the moment and many sentimental feelings emanated from her heart. She smiled softly, starting to nod off a bit.

"Night."

With the covering of her face in the dark pools that soon overtook it, and the light of the once gleaming white eye as well, The Great Darkness fell upon the land, which was the absence of Tabitha's Presence, which would be the fullness of the body of the Slowth. Kurogami Tabitha, The Great Darkness, would disappear, and the bright of day would become the dark of night.

The Pressure Of The Absence Of The Presence Rested Gravely Over The Entire Mountain, Pressing It Down Thoroughly. All Who Walked Through Could Feel It Over The Land, As The Depression Of 'Sloth,' Which Would Be The Bearing Eyes Of The 'Slowth' Boring Down Into The Flesh Of The Mountain As It Oversaw The Walkers.