As we walked, we felt the ground tremble beneath our feet. It was not solid but a mixture of flesh, bones, and sludge, as if Hell itself were daring us to take the next step. In the distance, indistinct figures struggled against the weight of their own existence, arms reaching out but never grasping anything.
Gluttony chewed on a piece of human flesh we had gathered earlier, casting uninterested glances around. She spoke, her voice carrying a weariness that was not physical.
"Ironic, isn't it? Being here in the Circle of Sloth but still having to keep moving. It's almost… cruel."
Greed let out a dry chuckle, clutching the makeshift bag of human skin she carried.
"Cruel? I'd call it fair. These ones chose to stop. If you want to stay alive, you have to fight, no matter where you are."
Wrath remained silent, but her presence was like a burning flame, ready to explode at any moment. She gripped her iron bar tightly, as if expecting an imminent attack. Not that there was much to fear here. The souls in the Circle of Sloth were incapable of attacking effectively. Their bodies barely moved, their eyes seemed to beg us to do the dirty work of ending them.
"They don't want to live," I murmured, breaking the silence. "They don't have the energy for it. They just exist."
That's when we saw the girl.
She was sitting atop a pile of corpses, her makeshift knife resting on her knee as she calmly chewed on a piece of meat. Unlike the souls around us, she did not seem drained or trapped in a cycle of apathy. There was something deliberate in her stillness—something unsettling.
She lifted her eyes to us, her expression as empty as a corpse's, but her movements were controlled, precise.
"A human… and those shadows?" Her voice cut through the air like a blade, low but firm. "The first 'human' I've seen around here."
Wrath was the first to react, pointing her iron bar at the girl.
"Who are you?"
The girl was unfazed. She only tilted her head slightly, evaluating Wrath the way a predator evaluates prey.
"Me? I'm nobody. Just someone trying to survive, like you."
Gluttony stepped forward, licking her blood-stained lips.
"You don't seem like one of these crawling souls. How are you still here?"
The girl shrugged, tossing aside the piece of meat she had been chewing.
"I'm like you. I was brought here. I don't ask questions—I just keep moving."
Greed narrowed her eyes, suspicious.
"And why should we trust you?"
The girl laughed, but the sound was hollow, devoid of warmth.
"You shouldn't. But trust me, I'm not the one who'll kill you. This place does that on its own."
"Name," I demanded, impatient with riddles. "Tell me your name."
"It doesn't matter." She ran her knife over the dirty fabric of her clothes, wiping off the blood. "Call me Naka, if you need something to scream when I save your lives."
Wrath took a step forward, her posture tense.
"If you think you can walk with us, you'll have to prove you're not just another one of these dead souls still moving."
Naka smirked, but there was no emotion in it. Just cold acceptance.
"Prove it? Very well."
She lifted her knife and pointed at one of the souls crawling toward us, its hand extended as if begging for help. With a swift, unhesitating motion, she drove the blade into the creature's skull, which let out a short groan before collapsing into the mud.
"Enough?"
Gluttony laughed, genuinely amused.
"I think I like her."
Greed scoffed but did not argue. I simply watched, evaluating. There was something about her that resonated with me—something disturbing. She was cold, apathetic, completely amorphous in her intentions. Just like me. Perhaps that's why she was so unsettling.
Maybe that would be useful. Maybe it would be dangerous. But in Hell, all allies were temporary, and I knew that better than anyone.
We continued walking together, now with Naka in our group. As we moved through the swamp, she spoke without being invited.
"Have you noticed how this place drains more than just energy? It wants your will. Your fight. Sloth here isn't a choice—it's a disease."
"And you're immune?" Greed asked, suspicion dripping from every word.
"No." She glanced at him over her shoulder. "I just haven't been consumed yet. Maybe because I have nothing to lose."
Wrath shook her head.
"How poetic. But we won't die here. That's not our fate."
"Fate?" Naka let out a short, cold laugh. "There's no fate here. Only choices and their consequences."
We advanced through the Circle of Sloth, and the environment seemed to worsen with every step. The air was dense, almost solid, as if each breath required monumental effort. As we walked, we began to sense a strange presence. It was not immediately visible, but it seemed to envelop everything around us—a weight that seeped into our minds and bodies, trying to crush us under its influence.
Then we saw it.
Sloth.
It was colossal, an aberration dominating the horizon. Its body seemed to be part of the very terrain, rooted in a throne made of dead souls and rotting flesh. It was immense, swollen like a tumor that pulsed sluggishly, its gray, sagging skin covered in fissures that oozed a thick, oily liquid. Its eyes were deep, almost nonexistent, yet they seemed to watch us from every angle, even when closed.
Around it, hundreds of bodies crawled in slow circles, their movements so uncoordinated and dragged that they seemed more dead than alive. Each one was chained, forced to continue in an eternal, pointless rhythm.
The colossal figure of Sloth remained on its throne of flesh, its presence saturating the air with an almost tangible weight. Every word it whispered into our minds was an invitation to inaction, an insidious seduction to give up. But at that moment, something inside me became clear: Sloth was not just a physical opponent. It was a concept, a state of mind. To defeat it, we had to confront it on its own territory.
"Wait," I murmured to the others. "We don't need to attack immediately. We need… to think."
Gluttony raised an eyebrow, lazily chewing the piece of meat she carried.
"Think? About what? Can't we just smash it?"
But Naka seemed to catch something in my tone. She crossed her arms, observing me with cold, analytical eyes.
"You have a plan. Don't you?"
I nodded, deliberately slow. Everything I did from that moment on was intentional, a performance for the most dangerous audience we had ever faced.
I let my shoulders slump and sighed deeply, as if every word that came out of my mouth was a monumental effort.
Maybe... maybe there's no reason for this. - I paused, waiting. - Maybe... we should just sit down.
Sloth, even motionless, seemed to react. The air around us grew denser, as if it were leaning in to listen more closely. "Ah... You understand. Rest. Let go of the burden of desire. This is what I wish for you..."
Yes... maybe you're right... - I continued, dragging out the words and lowering my gaze, pretending to deliberate. - What does all this mean? Walking, fighting, surviving... It's not worth it.
Ira, who had been restless until then, huffed loudly, but before she could interrupt, Naka raised a hand, asking for silence. She understood my game.
Sloth seemed to expand, as if the recognition of my words gave it more power. Its voices now echoed inside me with renewed force. "Yes... that's right... sit down. Rest. Let the world move on without you. There's no need for effort."
I continued to bend under the pressure, my posture becoming more limp, my expression more apathetic. I started to drag my speech even further, pretending indecision.
Maybe... we should... just stay here... at least... for a while...
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Naka enter the game. She too relaxed her shoulders and threw herself on the ground, sitting casually with an exaggerated sigh.
Yeah, I think he's right. It doesn't make sense. Let's rest a bit.
Greed looked at me, irritated, but didn't question. He simply pressed the bag against his chest and muttered:
This is foolishness. But do as you will.
Even Ira, after a long and penetrating gaze, realized something was happening. She leaned against her iron bar, sighing heavily.
Finally. I thought no one would notice that fighting this is a waste of time. - Her voice dripped with sarcasm but sounded convincing enough.
Sloth, in turn, seemed to relax in its monstrous posture, as if satisfied. "Ah... You understand... Finally. Just stop..."
And then I began to plant the seeds.
While pretending to procrastinate, I started to murmur to myself, so softly it seemed like I was speaking only to the void.
But... what if we stop for too long? Wouldn't that be... dangerous?
Sloth hesitated. The vibration in the air lessened for a fraction of a second. "Staying... is the only truth... There's no danger in nothing."
I continued.
But... even nothing isn't safe... right? I mean, if we stay still for too long, maybe... something will come to consume us.
The hesitation became palpable. The creature wasn't used to being confronted with logic, and in its own lethargic nature, it seemed incapable of handling the complexity of critical thought.
Naka noticed the opening and entered the game.
He's right. If we stay still, maybe we'll become like those crawling souls. - She pointed to the creatures around, whose flaccid bodies and empty eyes exemplified the fate of those who succumbed to sloth.
Sloth tried to react, but its words came slower now, as if being suffocated by its own doubts. "Nothing... is... peace... You... needn't... fear..."
Peace? - Ira finally entered the conversation, her voice heavy with controlled fury. - This isn't peace. This is torture. You can't even move, you're trapped in your own throne. Is this what you call freedom?
The blow hit. Sloth trembled, as if wounded, but not physically. Its massive body began to contract, as if trying to resist the seeds of doubt we had planted.
Finally, I seized the moment to deliver the final blow. I stood up suddenly, my voice cutting through the air.
You're a fraud, Sloth. You're not free. You're as trapped as anyone here. We chose to move forward, but you? You can't. You don't know how.
The psychological impact was immediate. Sloth howled, a guttural sound that shook the entire ground. Its mass began to collapse in on itself, as if being consumed by its own inactivity. The souls around, once crawling aimlessly, began to disappear one by one, dissolving into the sludge beneath our feet.
Naka stood up, her knife still in hand, and threw me a dry look.
Not bad. But next time, warn me before you pretend to give up.
Gluttony laughed, chewing the remains of its flesh.
I liked the show. Reminded me a bit of myself.
Greed sighed, looking at the bag it was still holding.
I just hope this was worth it.
Ira, as always, just nodded, though her face showed a rare expression of respect.
Sloth then turned into a shadow. Not a shadow in the literal sense, but a distortion of the space around us, as if its body had been consumed by the void of its own nature. It no longer had form or substance, just a dark, pulsating blot in the air, a reminder of what it once was, now reduced to an idea. The darkness began to consume the ground where it had been, creating a spiral of inactivity and lethargy.
But the fight wasn't over.
This won't last. - Naka murmured, looking at the blot on the ground with disdain. - It will reconstitute itself. Not with a body, but with the mindset of those who follow it.
Gluttony, impatient as always, was already preparing to take a step forward, its insatiable hunger never satisfied.
It doesn't matter. What matters is that it can't stop us anymore.
I remained standing, absorbing what had happened. The fight wasn't physical; it was mental. And though Sloth had been defeated, we still felt the weight of its presence in the air. An invitation to stop, to give up. It hadn't completely disappeared. There was something else, like a constant pressure, a reminder of what it had been.
Greed, suspicious as always, looked at the shadow still rippling in the air.
This doesn't feel right. We can't just walk and hope it disappears. This isn't the end of it.
I shook my head, answering in a dark voice.
No. It isn't. It's what it is. It's the void. The lack of action. It can't be destroyed, only... pushed away. The human mind may be its prison, but it will never be completely extinct. It will live in all of us, like a seed waiting to grow again.
Naka shrugged, looking indifferent.
So, that's it? Sloth won? It just disappeared without leaving a trace?
No. - It was Gluttony who answered, with a ferocity that was rare for her. - It didn't win. Not while we're walking. Not while we're hungry for something more.
I looked at Naka, and she looked back at me with a gaze that could have meant anything, but in that moment, seemed to understand what I was trying to say. Sloth hadn't been defeated by force, but by choice. It wasn't about walking away from it forever, but about recognizing it and moving on. The true victory was the resistance to its pull. Not destruction, but overcoming.
Greed looked at the shadow still hanging in the air, a cynical smile forming on his lips.
I have an idea. Let's keep going. Let's do what Sloth didn't want us to do. Let's walk without stopping.
Ira looked at all of us, her expression rigid and relentless.
We can't allow anything, not even its shadow, to paralyze us. We'll move forward, no matter what comes. This isn't the end, it's just another part of the journey.
And we kept walking.