Beyond the Eternity

The Flame of Sloth, Acedia

She is one of the Seven Black Flames created by the Witch of Darkness. True to her title, Acedia was notoriously lazy.

Whether this was a deliberate "trait" woven into her programming or simply an innate aspect of her personality remained a mystery.

Regardless, she spent most of her days dozing off in various corners of the mansion. Her inactivity was a constant source of frustration for her sisters, who could only sigh at her perpetual idleness.n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

For Acedia, there was no greater ambition than the bliss of uninterrupted sleep.

To be fair, there wasn't much to occupy her time around the mansion. Chores were handled effortlessly by the servants, which spared the sisters the need to lift a finger. On rare occasions, one of them might tidy their quarters out of sheer necessity or perhaps boredom. Visitors were equally uncommon, save for the unfortunate participants of the narrative. Their arrival always ended the same way: hunted down, killed, and transformed into furniture to adorn the Witch's territory.

It was the same old story.

In this particular round, she and the Third Flame, Ira, had been tasked with confronting the enemy, a young girl who appeared no older than fifteen.

But Acedia had no interest in engaging in unnecessary violence. She slipped away and retreated to one of the vacant rooms in the mansion.

Ira would take care of the intruder, and she was one of the strongest among the Sisters, with great proficiency with "magic powers", so there was no need for Acedia to dirty her hands.

All she had to do was sleep comfortably and wait for the inevitable message declaring their victory.

Or so she thought.

POW! POW! POWW!!

BANG!!

Accompanying a loud crash, the wall exploded inward, sending debris flying across the room.

Amid the chaos, 'something' shot through the gaping hole, landing heavily amidst the erupting dust and smoke.

The noise abruptly awakened Acedia from her slumber, and she coughed after inhaling the dust-filled air.

"Cough! Cough! What the heck was that? An intruder? Such misfortune! Can't someone sleep peacefully in this house?!"

Still coughing, annoyed, with half-drowsy eyes barely open, she waved her hand frantically in an attempt to clear the suffocating cloud of smoke.

Her sharp gaze turned to the mysterious object that had shattered the wall and disrupted her peace.

Sitting on the medium-sized bed tucked into the left corner of the room, Acedia had a clear view of the destruction. Her eyes locked onto the ruined reading table, now splintered under the weight of whatever had crashed into it.

From her vantage point, it wouldn't take long to identify the source of the disturbance once the dust cloud settled.

How could anything, or anyone, break into this room, especially under our authority?

Despite her languid nature, she wasn't careless. Her hand moved to retrieve a hidden weapon.

She couldn't ignore the possibility of an enemy breaching the mansion's defenses, no matter how improbable it seemed. If an intruder had indeed found a way to infiltrate the room by some means, then she needed to be ready to defend herself against the lurking threat.

Her eyes narrowed.

Slowly, the cloud of smoke and dust began to settle to the point where she had a clearer picture, she gripped the hidden knife in her hand.

Then—

"....?!"

Her eyes widened due to shock as she saw something unbelievable, and the hand clutching the knife trembled.

What had landed there, on that table, wasn't some mysterious "object" or "intruder", but an individual she knew on a personal level.

The Wrathful Flame, Ira.

However, she was barely unrecognisable. Her body was ravaged, battered beyond comprehension. Bruises covered every inch of her skin, her cheeks gruesomely swollen, blood dripping steadily from a shattered nose, and her right eye blackened and swollen shut. She looked as though she had been mercilessly pummeled by a gang of assailants.

But that wasn't the case. Experience new tales on empire

Ira had encountered only one intruder. Even then, that solitary foe had reduced her to this pitiful state.

"Ah!"

Acedia gasped.

For a fleeting moment, she tried to rationalize the scene before her. Perhaps it was a cruel figment of her imagination or a malicious prank crafted by her sister to unsettle her. But no... this wasn't a hallucination, nor was it an illusion. Thinking about it, none of their Illusionary arts were as good as Envy or Greed.

Therefore,

"Cough! Cough! Ack!"

Ira's raspy groans, accompanyed by the wet sound of blood bubbling from her lips and nose, snapped Acedia out of her daze.

"What the hell happened to you?" Acedia asked, still trying to make sense of the situation.

Ira snarled,

"Ack... What does it look like? That little brat beat the shit out of me! This wasn't in my calculations at all! Damn it, I should've struck her down when she was knocked out! Have mercy on this pathetic display, Great Mother!"

Acedia blinked. Perhaps she was still groggy from sleep, but her sister's words made no sense.

"Huh? How did that girl beat the shit out of you? Surely, you wouldn't lose to a child, would you?"

She paused, trying to process it.

"Is this a prank? Yes, yes… this must be a prank, right? That's the only reasonable explanation. I won't fall for such shallow tricks!"

Acedia chuckled, shaking her head.

"Seriously, how would you expect anyone to believe this? I might have bought it if Gula was the one beaten, but even then, that's simply impossible, my dear sister."

She laughed as though her sister wasn't laying beaten on the floor.

"You really should put more effort into your pranks! Even Luxuzia could pull off something better than this!"

Finally,

"What Superbia would say if she sees you like this?"

What kind of person would willingly get beaten just to pull off a prank?

Ira had been tolerating her sister's incessant remarks, but the moment she heard the words "What would Superbia say?", something inside her broke and the floodgates opened.

Her teeth clenched as a scorching rage exploded from within her, and she screamed,

"YOU IDIOT! I'M LIKE THIS BECAUSE OF YOU! WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU WHEN I WAS GETTING THE SHIT BEAT OUT OF ME, HUH? WEREN'T YOU SUPPOSED TO HELP ME WITH THE ENEMY? WHY COULDN'T I SEE YOU AT MY SIDE?!"

"OH, THAT'S RIGHT! YOU WERE BUSY NAPPING COMFORTABLY IN SOME ROOM WHILE YOUR MAGIC SISTER WAS SUFFERING! YOU'RE A REALLY GOOD SISTER! I HOPE YOU HAD A GOOD NAP!"

"ARRRGGHHHH! IF I COULD MOVE MY BODY, I WOULD HAVE BEAT THE SHIT OUT OF YOU AND BITE YOUR NOSE SO YOU CAN KNOW HOW IT FEELS, YOU PIECE OF SHIT! DAMN TRAITOR!"

Despite her battered body, Ira mustered enough strength to lash out verbally and curse, despite the obvious pain it caused her.

Acedia, who happened to be on the receiving end of her sister's verbal lashing, could only remain silent.

The raw intensity of Ira's scream was enough to reveal the painful truth that Acedia had been dreading.

Ira had lost.

She had been overwhelmed by the so-called enemy, and beaten to the point of near destruction.

Acedia's brow furrowed.

What kind of person could overpower Ira and reduce them to such a miserable state? Was it an expert, or had they encountered an unknown entity disguised as a human? From the stories she had read, it wasn't uncommon for eldritch horrors to take on human forms. Could they be facing something of that nature?

"... Hah.... Hah..."

At some point, Ira stopped cursing and began breathing heavily. She was exhausted from putting all her strength into her shouts.

She clicked her tongue.

"It seems there's no other choice. Acedia, you'll have to use that."

Acedia's eyes flickered open. "W-What? You don't mean...?"

"Yes. I'm truly sorry to ask this of you, but I don't have the strength left."

Ira continued,

"As you can see, I can't even heal myself. I used up everything just to mend my broken bones and damaged organs."

Her eyes darkened as she glanced at the broken wall.

"That person is coming. I won't be able to defend you in this situation. There's no other way, you'll have to use that."

Ira spoke with a rare calm voice, and her words were filled with a different kind of desperation that one would have when their life was in danger.

She was worried.

It wouldn't be so bad if she perished alone. But if both of them fell, the consequences would be far worse.

Even so, running away wasn't an option.

They had a duty to complete, one they couldn't abandon, even if it meant sacrificing their lives.

Ira had asked Acedia to activate her emergency protocols. Considering that Acedia had no fighting skills of her own, she could only serve as a "weapon" in the most literal sense.

But activating her in that state came with risks. If Acedia sustained any damage in that form, it would also harm her. And if she was destroyed, she would die.

Gulp!

Acedia swallowed hard.

She would never have chosen to wield that power under normal circumstances. But now, with events spiraling out of control to the point of no return, she had no choice. Regardless of her feelings, she had to become the sacrifice.

Yoo Rin hurriedly approached the room where her opponent had crashed.

It would be a hassle if she managed to escape right under her nose, and that woman was far too dangerous to let run free.

She had to finish what she started.

When she reached the broken wall, the room was shrouded in a cloud of dust, obscuring her view of her opponent.

Where is she? Did she used the dust cloud to conceal herself?

Yoo Rin was certain the woman hadn't escaped the room, so she was likely hiding somewhere, perhaps preparing an attack as soon as she entered.

But she would only be attacked if she was naive enough to enter carelessly.

Instead of entering, she paused at the doorway, narrowing her eyes to peer through the swirling dust cloud. She clenched her gauntlet-covered fist as she waited for the debris to settle, ready to strike the instant her target was revealed.

However, before she could execute her plan—

"....?!"

The shadow of a massive hand shot out from the smokescreen. Before she could react, it seized her face at once and yanked her forward.

She barely had time to register the assault before she was slammed against the wall. But her attacker wasn't done.

With incredible speed, they dragged her across the rough surface of the wall as they charged forward. Sparks of pain coursed through her body with every jagged edge that tore at her skin.

Then, with terrifying ease, the hand hurled her like a broken doll.

Yoo Rin hurtled through the air, and slammed into the far end of the passageway with a tremendous noise.

"Keok!"

The collision rattled her entire body, and a sharp pain erupted in her chest as blood spattered from her lips. Her vision blurred for a brief moment, but she forced herself to focus, as her instincts screamed at her to move.

Before she could even catch her breath, she caught sight of something barreling toward her. It moved with terrifying speed, closing the distance in mere heartbeats.

There was no time to dodge.

Reacting purely on instinct, Yoo Rin threw up her arms in a desperate attempt to shield herself.

The next instant, a massive fist slammed into her guard with overwhelming force, and the wall behind her crumbled under the impact.

She was hurled straight through the wall.

Dust and debris exploded outward, and fragments scattered in every direction.

Her body hit the ground, and bounced once from the sheer force of the impact before tumbling uncontrollably across the floor.

Dazed and battered, she struggled to regain control, as her limbs flailed as the momentum carried her further.

Gritting her teeth, Yoo Rin extended her arms and activated the claws on her gauntlets. Sparks flew as the metal claws scraped against the floor, carving deep grooves as she fought to slow her momentum. After several grueling slides, the friction finally brought her tumbling to a stop.

She had managed to regain control at last.

Yoo Rin crouched low, her gauntlets still embedded in the ground, and took a moment to catch her breath.

What the hell was that? Did a bus just hit me? How did that woman suddenly get so strong? And... where even am I?

She surveyed her surroundings, while maintaining her vigilance.

To her left and right stood rows of massive stone pillars, reaching high into the shadows above. Aside from the pillars, the room was incredibly spacious yet eerily empty. Its design was plain, almost crude, as if aesthetics had been completely ignored during its construction.

Is this some kind of hidden floor? Yoo Rin was shocked, but then, she remembered something.

Ah, that reminds me. Hasn't the layout of the house been rapidly changing?

It was possible that this room was an additional floor created during a layout change. Most likely, such a change had something to do with that woman, but Yoo Rin doubted she was acting alone.

There was definitely someone working behind the scenes, aiding her in some way.

"!?"

The ground quaked as something emerged from the shattered wall, the same entity that had hurled her into this room.

As the dust cloud began to settle, the identity of her mysterious assailant was finally revealed.

But—

"…Eh?"

She witnessed a shocking scene that turned all the gears inside her head.