Chapter 18: The Feast of Shadows

The school bell's shrill tone faded, but its echoes lingered in my mind, weaving in and out of thoughts that were already tangled and heavy. I drifted through the school corridors, lost in a haze, each step filling me with the unsettling feeling that something was coming, something I couldn't yet name.

I'd faced wrath, pride, sloth, and greed, each one stripping away layers of my defenses, forcing me to confront pieces of myself I wanted to keep buried. Each world had left me more exposed, weaker in some ways but also stronger, clearer about the dark forces pulling me forward. And now, with every heartbeat, I could feel the next shadowy path drawing closer.

The hallway twisted, fading into darkness, the walls falling away as I slipped into another reality. I braced myself for the familiar sense of disorientation, the feeling of being uprooted from one world and thrust into another. But when the world reformed around me, it was… overwhelming.

I found myself in a grand, lavish hall, lit by chandeliers that cast a warm golden glow over everything. Tables lined the room, covered in more food than I'd ever seen in one place. Every kind of delicacy lay spread before me, each dish more luxurious and enticing than the last—roasted meats, pastries dripping with honey, bowls of fruit that glistened like jewels.

And there, in the center of it all, sat another version of myself.

He was lounging at the head of the largest table, dressed in richly embroidered robes, his posture relaxed as he surveyed the feast before him with an air of satisfaction. His face was softer, fuller, his cheeks flushed, and his eyes held a look of lazy indulgence, as if he had long since surrendered to the comfort of excess.

I took a hesitant step forward, my stomach twisting. The smell of the food hit me then—sweet, savory, rich. It was intoxicating, and before I could stop myself, my mouth watered, the sharp pang of hunger surging through me.

"You look hungry," the other me drawled, his voice thick with amusement. "Why don't you sit down? There's more than enough here for both of us."

I shook my head, trying to ignore the hunger clawing at my insides. "I don't belong here," I said, though even as I spoke the words, my voice wavered, filled with uncertainty.

The other Takeru laughed, a low, lazy sound that grated against my nerves. "Everyone belongs here eventually. Don't tell me you've never wanted to just… indulge. To let go and take whatever you need to satisfy yourself."

I clenched my fists, fighting against the lure of his words. This place—it was a trap, like all the others. A prison disguised as paradise. But the hunger was real, gnawing at me, and with each breath, the scent of the food grew stronger, filling my senses, clouding my thoughts.

"You don't need it," I forced out, struggling to keep my voice steady. "It's just… excess. More than anyone could ever want or need."

The other me raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing at the corner of his mouth. "And yet you can't look away, can you? You're drawn to it. Don't pretend you're above it. This hunger—it's a part of you, whether you admit it or not."

He leaned back, plucking a piece of fruit from the platter before him, his eyes never leaving mine as he took a slow, deliberate bite. The juice dripped down his chin, glistening in the warm light, and a strange, primal urge surged within me, the desire to reach out, to take, to consume.

"No," I whispered, my voice barely audible. "I'm not like you."

"Aren't you?" he replied smoothly, his tone laced with challenge. "Look at yourself, Takeru. You're starved. You deny yourself, hold back, pretend that you're better than these desires. But in the end, it just makes you weaker. Why not give in? Why not feed the hunger and finally be satisfied?"

I stumbled back, the weight of his words pressing down on me, filling me with a sense of dread. He was right in a way—I was starving, not just for food but for something deeper, something I'd been ignoring, burying. The need for release, for freedom from the constant struggle, the endless cycle of denial and restraint.

But this wasn't the answer. This indulgence, this endless feast—it was hollow, a distraction that would only lead to emptiness, to ruin.

"By the way, do you know that this, is Piku?"

The other me pointed at the huge portion of meat on the table.

I started sweating and feeling like I want to vomit. I clenched my fist, I was ready to kill him right then and there. But I know it, if I had just killed him there, everything up to now will be pointless. I breathe in and out, and was managed to keep calm in the end.

"I don't need this," I said, my voice stronger now, though my body still ached with longing. "This… this gluttony, it's just another cage. It won't free me. It'll only trap me deeper."

The other Takeru's expression darkened, his eyes narrowing as he studied me. For a moment, his face twisted with anger, a flash of something cold and calculating beneath the mask of indulgence.

"So be it," he said, his voice laced with contempt. "Starve, then. Deny yourself and see where it leads you. But remember this—you'll always come back to the hunger. It's part of who you are, whether you want it or not."

The room began to blur, the golden light fading, the tables dissolving into shadows. I felt a strange weight lift from my chest, a clarity returning to my mind as the opulence of the feast faded away. But even as the world around me shattered, I could still feel the hunger, lurking like a shadow in the back of my mind, waiting for the next opportunity to resurface.

---

When my vision cleared, I was back in the classroom, the familiar sounds of chatter and laughter filling the air. Piku sat nearby, laughing with his friends, his smile warm and unguarded. He caught my eye, his expression softening as he gave me a quick nod, a wordless reassurance that somehow grounded me.

But beneath the surface, a sense of unease lingered. I had escaped the gluttony world, but the hunger, the need to indulge, was still there, buried but alive. And as I glanced down at my hands, I could still feel the faint, lingering traces of that world—a reminder that, no matter how hard I tried to deny it, some desires couldn't be erased.

The girl's voice echoed in my mind once more, soft and insistent.

"Five down, two to go."

The girl seems to know what is going on.

Her words filled me with a sense of dread and anticipation, the knowledge that the next world was waiting, that another part of myself was about to be laid bare.

And I couldn't help but wonder… what would I find next?