Chapter 3 - The First Sin (Continued)

The valley was not merely a reflection of Hell; it was Hell in its purest, most horrifying essence. The melted fat, a viscous mass forming the ground, bubbled with a violent, almost orgasmic intensity, splattering scalding liquid that burned the skin as if the air itself was thirsty for pain. The stench was unbearable: burning flesh, rot, and a metallic odor that permeated everything—each breath an effort, every movement a provocation.

The trees were not trees, but living bones writhing in agony. Each of them had human bodies intertwined, their limbs stretched to the breaking point, their eyes dead and decaying, yet still silently screaming, as if they were condemned to eternal suffering. Their groans were not just any sound; it was the sound of pain never alleviated, the sound of lives that never ended. I saw some people opening the skulls of others, merely to feed on their brains, thinking that by devouring the brain of another, they would gain their intelligence. The air was thick, heavy like an invisible prison, making every step a battle against the weight of the place itself.

Gigantic insects, their dark exoskeletons like charcoal, crawled up the trees, gnawing on the flesh of those who had been transformed into part of them. With every movement, blood and innards splattered from the insect, and human body parts fell out of its wounds—hundreds of legs twisted like tentacles, trying to resist the endless hunger of the worms. There was no mercy, no rest.

And I was in the midst of it all, breathing in the rot, feeling the ground devour every part of me that still wished to escape. But I was not afraid. Not here. Not now.

Along the path, I crossed a shallow lake filled with the remains of human debris, smelling of decay, my feet sinking in the blood that flowed there, as if the corpses were pulling me into the lake.

As I moved forward, a monstrous figure came into view at a distance, like a mirage of flesh and despair. Gluttony was an entity, not a being. Its body was a mountain of bloated flesh, covered with hundreds of mouths frantically chewing, some already empty, others vomiting blood, organs, corrosive human entrails, and expelling heads and legs like it didn't like their taste—everything spilled onto the ground in a repulsive puddle. Each mouth emitted a constant sound, like a low murmur of insatiability, but nothing seemed enough to sate its hunger.

Its eyes—if they could even be called eyes—were deep, empty holes that absorbed anything that dared to approach. Every glance it threw felt like a cold stab in my mind, tearing pieces of me without me even realizing.

"You came to me," Gluttony's voice slithered across the valley, reverberating from the mouths on its body. Each word seemed like a burden, as if it were being forcibly extracted from a suffocated throat. "Don't you know that everything here belongs to me?"

I smiled, letting the irony flow. "Belonging is a flexible concept. Maybe I'm just here to test your collection."

It laughed, but the sound it emitted was not one of pleasure. It was a scream of power, a noise that made the ground tremble, as if Hell itself were listening and waiting. "Do you believe you can negotiate with me, mortal? I don't negotiate. I consume."

"You consume everything but the emptiness you carry within you," I said, taking slow steps forward.

The environment responded to those words, as if it were in tune with Gluttony, as if everything there existed to amplify its hunger. The trees groaned louder, the ground bubbled with increasing intensity, and the air became unbearably heavy. But I did not retreat. Not now. Each step I took only reinforced my conviction: it was not invincible. It was the very essence of weakness.

"Do you think you understand what I am?" Gluttony roared, rising from its throne, causing the ground to shatter beneath its weight. Its monstrous form loomed before me, even larger, a mass of rotten, repulsive flesh that seemed to expand with each movement. "I am the infinite hunger. The appetite that never ceases. The desire that consumes even the universe itself."

With a grotesque movement, it pointed beyond the valley. For the first time, I saw the true extent of its domain: an endless labyrinth, without end or limits, where sin lived, feeding on everything and everyone. Walls of teeth rose like gates to torment itself, opening and closing with an insane rhythm, as if chewing the air. Anyone who tried to enter to end this torment was dissected by the teeth of gluttony for eternity. Floating islands contained scenes of indescribable suffering: souls trapped in eternal banquets, consuming themselves until they exploded, only to begin again, without rest. Fountains poured blood, wine, and a dark, viscous substance, creating a lake of agony where muffled screams mixed with sounds of pain.

"This is my domain," Gluttony said, its voice laden with grotesque pride, as if this Hell were its divine creation. "And you... are just another meal."

— Just another meal? — I replied, letting out a muffled, dry laugh, almost a spasm of contempt. — Is that how you see it? A dish to be devoured, chewed, reduced to nothing? You're wrong. I already am nothing. I am already that which cannot be consumed, because I am the emptiness that does not satisfy, the echo that cannot be swallowed.

Gluttony's eyes, or whatever those ravenous, insatiable orbits were, fixed on me, bewildered. It tried to laugh, but its laugh seemed choked, as if even its pride was too heavy to expel.

— The emptiness... — it murmured, almost mocking. — Empty words from someone who is about to be devoured. You don't understand what stands before you. This is my kingdom, my appetite. Here, everything has an end.

I took a step forward, undeterred, feeling the fat-made ground writhe beneath my feet. The smell of rot filled the air, but to me, it was nothing more than another reminder of the ruin it represented.

— What is hunger, Gluttony? A bottomless pit that you try to fill with the world. But here's the secret you never wanted to admit: you don't devour because you're powerful. You devour because you're weak. A slave to the emptiness you don't understand. Do you see this labyrinth? This Hell you call home? It's a joke.

The teeth on the walls chewed harder, as if an extension of Gluttony's rage. It clenched its fists but didn't respond.

— You built all this as a reflection of your own essence, but you forgot one thing — I continued, drawing closer until our faces were nearly touching. — I see the emptiness as it really is. I don't try to fill it, I don't run from it. I embrace it. You? You're just a scared child trying to fill a hole that will never close.

— Shut up! — Gluttony roared, its voice echoing like a storm.

— Why should I? — I retorted, my tone calm, almost cold. — You can't touch me, Gluttony. Not because I'm strong, but because I am nothing. Nothing doesn't bleed, nothing doesn't fear, and nothing doesn't feed. You can chew on everything you want. In the end, you'll be the one devoured by your own desire.

It hesitated, its grotesque figure wavering for a moment. I smiled, cruel and serene, as I pointed to the souls trapped in eternal banquets, condemned to explode and begin again.

— Look at them. Your reflection. They eat, explode, begin again. An illusion of satiety, an eternal cycle of suffering. But you know what they don't understand? Deep down, you're exactly like them. No matter how much you consume, no matter how much you feed. You'll never be whole.

— And you think you're different? — it replied, trying to regain control.

— I'm not different, Gluttony. I'm worse. Because, unlike you, I don't seek fulfillment. I accept nothingness. I am the emptiness you try to deny. And when you finally realize this, you'll see that I've already won. Because nothing doesn't fight. It just exists.

The teeth on the walls began to grind, more violently, and the air around us seemed to vibrate with tension. But I didn't stop.

— Then devour me if you can. But know this, Gluttony: by consuming me, you will consume nothing. And nothing is the only thing that can swallow infinity itself.

The monster advanced, each of its steps like thunder before collapse. The ground trembled, and the trees bent, as if the earth itself had been corrupted by its hunger. But I didn't retreat. I knew what I was doing. It wasn't a physical battle. It wasn't about strength. It was about the mind, about dismantling the symbol of its existence.

"If you're so powerful, why am I here, challenging you?" I asked, my tone disdainful.

There was a moment of pause, a falter. It wasn't doubt, but confusion. Gluttony couldn't understand my challenge. It thought I was just another soul to be consumed, but I wasn't here to be just another dish.

"You didn't come to challenge," it said, with a laugh full of contempt. "You came to beg."

"Beg?" I laughed, and my laughter echoed throughout the valley, defiant. "You're confusing me with your victims. I don't beg. I negotiate. And more importantly, I win."

Its eyes flared with anger. "Then prove it, mortal. Show me how you think you can defeat eternal hunger."

As it roared, the world around us seemed to distort even further, as if Hell itself were in tune with its rage. The trees bent more, the ground twisted, and the flames of lava rose like serpents. It was bringing everything to the game. And that was exactly what I wanted.

I knew that to defeat it, it wasn't enough to destroy it physically. I had to rip away from it the very meaning of its existence, make it consume itself. There was no room for naive heroism. Not in Hell.

I took a deep breath, and with a smile, I prepared to destroy eternal hunger.