Hunger... Frightening Hunger... Azekiel had never felt such hunger in his twenty-five years of life as he did now. It had been twenty days since he last ate. He hadn't even had a single grain of rice in the last twenty days.
His frail body laid weakly on the ground as his stomach kept growling. There were multiple wounds on his chest, as if someone had scratched him brutally. These scratches were all over his body. Other than these scratches, there were also some whip marks on his back as if he was brutally beaten.
He laid bare-chested, weakly staring at the roof of his dark cell. His vision was already dark. He couldn't see anything. He just laid blankly.
A single tear left his eyes. He didn't know how long he was going to live anymore. He wished for death. He desired death. Unfortunately, he couldn't even kill himself as his hands and legs were both tied with a rope to stop him from harming himself. It was evident that whoever did it wanted Azekiel to die of hunger.
Tuck~
The metallic door in the small cell opened, making a screeching sound.
A dark-haired man stepped inside the cell and observed the condition. He could see water on the floor, which clearly wasn't drinking water. With a disgusted look on his face, he glared at Azekiel. "You still haven't died, you bastard. I'm surprised you lasted so long."
Azekiel glanced toward the source of the voice. Even though he couldn't see anything, he could still hear something.
"It's alright. Live as long as you want to. The longer you live, the more we can enjoy your suffering for the crime you committed!" The man chuckled.
He brought a small vial out of his pocket and stepped closer to Azekiel. "Here, today's quota of water. Even we aren't that cruel."
He opened the small vial, only as long as his finger, which barely had any water. He poured the water inside the mouth of Azekiel before he turned. "It's the twentieth day today. I wonder if you'll last twenty-one? Maybe more? You know, outside, they have started betting on how long you'll last."
"What did you bet on?" Azekiel weakly asked.
"Hah, I betted on seventeen days. I already lost, thanks to you," the dark-haired man rolled his eyes.
"I guess I apologize for not dying fast enough," Azekiel sarcastically answered. He could barely even speak, but he didn't stay silent.
"Hahaha, it's alright. My wife has bet on twenty-one days. So please live one more day. That would be enough." The man burst into laughter as he started leaving. "You can die in peace tomorrow.'
He stopped right at the door before glancing back. "Oh right, one more news. King of Pride has already cleared the tenth floor. I thought you would like to know that. If only you could see the rewards, we received for it."
With a wide grin on his face, the man stepped out of the cell. He closed the metallic doors behind him, sealing Azekiel once again.
Azekiel closed his eyes, still tormented by hunger. 'One day or the other, I will die. But if there's a next life, I swear I would kill you all.'
He couldn't believe he was here after everything he had done for these people. For the last five years, he had been working for the King of Pride as a porter, carrying heavy stuff for him, collecting items and all. He had lived the last five years of his life only for the King of Pride since he didn't have enough strength to survive on his own in the Tower of Sin.
However, one mistake! All he did was one mistake, and that man didn't think twice before declaring the punishment that Azekiel would be killed with hunger! All because Azekiel was hungry and ate one of the rice balls from the plate of King of Pride before delivering it.
For the single sin, he was punished to his cruel death with no way of escape. Only he knew how cruel the last few weeks had been for him and how embarrassing.
He was whipped and beaten often, and that wasn't even the worst part. It was only a miracle that he was still alive; however, he knew he couldn't last long. His breathing was already feeble, and he could feel it. His end was near. He wasn't even sure if he could survive one more day.
After a few hours, Azekiel closed his eyes, falling asleep. Unfortunately, this wasn't an ordinary sleep. He had fallen to his eternal sleep, finally becoming free of these cruel shackles! Finally, he couldn't feel pain. Finally, he didn't feel hungry. Death came, but it wasn't all that bad since that's what Azekiel had begged for all this while.
The scary thoughts ceased to exist. The world returned to silence... However, no one knew that it wasn't the end of Azekiel. It was just the beginning of his legend. It was the start of his legend... The legend which was going to put fear in the hearts of everyone: gods and demons!
It was just the silence before the storm...
*****
The world had long turned dark for Azekiel, even before his death. He had mostly lost his vision. With his death, he thought he was never going to regain that light. He was never going to feel that happiness of watching the world again. He was never going to feel any senses that weren't accompanied with pain; however, something changed.
The darkness started disappearing as he felt light through his closed eyes. He was also able to hear some chatter in the surrounding area. He wondered if he was still alive? Did he still not die? Why wasn't he feeling the pain in that case? Moreover, why was he sensing the light in the surrounding area? How did light enter the dark cell?
He opened his eyes swiftly as his brows furrowed. As soon as he opened his eyes, he felt some pain in his eyes. His eyes got wet. He hastily closed them again. This time, he slowly opened them just to let him be safe.
"What? I am outside?" he recognized the scenes in his surroundings. It wasn't the cell on the ninth floor! It was Floor Zero, where his story had started five years ago.
He found himself in a massive hall with thousands of people in the surrounding, cheering for something.
He could see a massive screen at the front as well, which was showing some scenes of a battle in which a man was fighting multiple monsters.
Seeing the man on the screen, Azekiel subconsciously clenched his teeth. That bastard was the one person he hated the most, but he wasn't the only one. He was none other than the King of Pride, one of the six King of Sins of the tower!
'That bastard! All because he received a System of Sin of Pride, he thinks he is the King of this Tower! I might be weak, but I swear I will kill you,' he thought, gazing at the screen.
Azekiel didn't only hate the King of Pride, though. He hated every person in this place! When his punishment was announced, not a single person here had asked for mercy for Azekiel. Instead, they all cheered when the King of Pride declared the punishment for the minor crime of Azekiel.
He still remembered the faces of all these people when they asked for him to be killed brutally for his crime. Many even yelled that he didn't deserve to live. The more Azekiel saw these people, the more he hated them. His heart was already hollow of all the compassion for these people, only to be filled with darkness.
As Azekiel tried to think if he was really here or just dreaming, he saw a semi-transparent screen pop up before him.
[Congratulations]
[Your Sin has been recognized!]
[Sin selected: Gluttony]
[Title Received: King of Gluttony]
[System of Gluttony has been received!]
[Tap for more information]
