In the heart of a dark palace, Sloth withdrew his divine sense and returned to his true body.
The palace remained heavily guarded by generals and high-ranking demons.
"Welcome back, my lordship," they intoned in unison, kneeling the moment Sloth opened his eyes.
He sat upon a towering, shadow-wrapped throne, his gaze gleaming with a dim, eerie light. Beyond the line of kneeling demons, the vast chamber stretched into absolute darkness so thick and ancient it felt as though it could swallow the world.
Sloth's voice echoed coldly through the silence,
"The Devourer awakened fifty years too early. And I sensed another divinity at play... Dream."
Whispers stirred among the generals.
"One of the hidden gods and goddesses," Sloth continued. "The Lady of the Ethereal Veil ,The Painter of Illusions ,The Lucid Flame and The goddess who hides her name she was there."
For a moment, silence returned. Then a small, unsettling smile curled across Sloth's face.
"We may have failed to kill the Ice God... but I succeeded in corrupting Raka Frozenlight. Envy managed to imprint both Lust's and Greed's divinities into him."
A deep voice rumbled from the kneeling crowd.
"May I ask something, my lordship?"
Sloth turned his head slightly toward the speaker a four-armed giant with blazing crimson eyes.
"Xalvor," Sloth said, "Captain of the Nighthunt. My loyal subject. Speak."
Remaining on one knee, Xalvor asked carefully,
"My lordship, did the Council of Hell not decide to kill the God of Ice and corrupt Raka Frozenlight, turning that land into our feast? Forgive my boldness... but did something occur that caused you to alter the plan?"
Sloth chuckled softly.
"Dear, dear Xalvor... You are among my most loyal. Had another demon dared to question me, I would have slaughtered him along with his bloodline. But because it's you... I shall grant you this small truth."
No one laughed. They knew the Lord of Sloth rarely joked and never lied.
Xalvor, a demon from the previous generation who had also served the former Sloth, remained silent in solemn respect.
Sloth leaned slightly forward, the air around him growing heavier.
"Tell me, Xalvor... aside from demonic divinity, which others amplify under the Crimson Moon?"
Xalvor replied instantly, "Dream, Death, and Distortion, my lord."
Sloth nodded slowly.
"I once faced the former Goddess of Dream beneath a Crimson Moon. She nearly unraveled half the Demonic Realm. Had the former Governor not intervened to calm her, our domain would've been swallowed entirely into a never-ending illusion."
"In truth, my lord, the Dream Goddess is a kind entity if not for what happened to her, and what the Demonic Realm did to her. If any other god had endured the same torment, they would have lost their sanity, destroyed all of Hell, and slaughtered countless demons in rage. So, I respect her."
Sloth tilted his head slightly. "You may be right. We have bad blood with her, regardless… but she does seem more composed now."
He leaned back, his voice tinged with annoyance. "Still, your so-called respected goddess used her divinity to send me and many other demons into a dream state while I was sealing North Frozenlight. She twisted my thoughts with illusions and rescued him."
"At first, I intended to kill him, as we agreed. But some among us opposed the idea, fearing it would cause instability."
"So, we voted. The decision was to attempt to kill North Frozenlight only once, and in a way that minimized disruption. Our true objective was to corrupt Raka Frozenlight."
Sloth's eyes narrowed with a glint of satisfaction.
"He's connected to two divine entities. Corrupting him would yield far greater results dragging both realms into chaos."
"So we changed the plan beforehand. And remember, Xalvor if you ever create a plan, cloak it beneath other plans. Disguise it well, for there are many entities in existence who can read thoughts with ease."
"In our realm, we are supreme. But not everywhere. The previous Sloth met his end because he believed himself to be the strongest and died because of it."
"Remember this, Xalvor, there is no honor in death. Once you're dead, you're simply dead."
As Sloth finished speaking, the red aura around him dimmed, turning darker, and a new, blurry figure began to emerge in the shadowed hall. The figure spoke in a low, snake-like voice.
"Lord Sloth, as always, the meeting will be held today at the appointed time."
"Please ensure your presence, my lord."
With those words, the figure vanished as quickly as it had appeared.
Sloth sighed. "Xalvor, go and prepare for my departure."
Then, he rose from his dark throne and returned to his bedchamber.
"Yes, my lordship," Xalvor replied, standing up. The other demons followed suit and returned to their duties except for one, who lingered, silently staring at the place where Sloth had disappeared.
.......
"Brother Raka! Can you hear me?"
Alexander was shouting at the top of his lungs.
"Not there that way. You still have no sense of direction," North said with annoyance.
But his legs never stopped moving, not even for a moment.
After giving the others their orders, he rushed toward the place where Raka had last been seen.
Now that Sloth's authority had been broken, time in the area had returned to its natural flow.
Slumber Pit was known for its serene night view. Millions of fireflies fluttered beneath the moonlight, and the crimson hue had faded back to normal after the Devourer moved on to pursue another moon.
But they knew he would return the next night to devour it again.
And once more, the blood moon would rise.
Guided by the bright moonlight and the glowing fireflies, North and Alexander pressed forward toward where Raka might be.
As they walked across the frozen field created by Raka himself they saw blood staining patches of the ground.
North and Alexander exchanged a grim look and continued following the trail.
Soon, they spotted Raka unconscious, lying beside a large rock.
But something else caught North's eye as his eyes wide open.
A strand of black hair…
Etched with the symbol of corruption.