"Enough!" Sloth rose from their chair and the other five figures froze in shock.

"Pride, you've made excellent suggestions given the scope of your authority, but you're all underestimating the situation at hand. But perhaps that's my fault for taking a back seat in this matter.

"Envy, thank you for your extract of Draugner's System. It was very helpful as I compared it in detail to the system embedded in Silvie's soul, which helped me discover one key thing. Her system contains a fragment of Draugner's divinity."

"What!? How!?"

"Lady Sloth, how on earth is that possible?"

"Why!?" All of the figures began shouting before Sloth calmed them down with a gesture.

"It's hard to speculate the exact reasons, but it's obvious that Draugner at least is treating the matter of the summoned as far more than just a game for entertainment. Pieces are moving on the board and Silvie is our only way in."

"Why would they throw her out then?"

"Do the other gods know?"

Pride cleared her throat and began speaking. "Well given what we know I think we can probably rule out all of the other gods knowing. For instance, the demigods are in on the matter of the summoned but 9 out of 10 of them would do anything to get their hands on a piece of divinity if they thought they could get away with it."

"Did Draugner really sacrifice a part of his divinity just to go along with the plan to throw Silvie out…" Greed said breathlessly.

"He may not have had a choice. If the decision came later, he wouldn't have been able to go against a majority decision without risking his secret getting out." Pride replied.

"If that's true, then it means his allies either aren't numerous or don't necessarily have his best interests at heart."

"So…what do we do about Silvie?" Envy turned her attention back to Sloth.

"I'll show her everything. It's too hard to hide it all as this goes on. Either she becomes an equal partner with us, or I'll strip her of Draugner's divinity, whether it breaks Lust's heart or not. This is too important now."

***

"Goddess! Wh-what brings you here t-to this unworthy one?" I got down on my knees, unsure of where she was in the purple void around me.

"Stand up," her words were gentle even with a hint of amusement. "I have something to show you."

I stood up reluctantly, still looking around to find where she was, until the void around me started shifting, colors rapidly filling the once blank space. "Wh-what's happening?!" I asked, a note of panic entering my voice.

"Hush, you needn't worry. This is my power. Stand back and watch what we have to show you."

"Wh—" I wanted to ask more questions, but the scene around me materialized and I stopped to pay attention.

"Where are we going?" A girl's voice.

"It's too far, Mom and Dad told us not to go too far out of the village."

"Come on slowpokes. How is Eliana supposed to get married without garlands? Huh? The flower field is right ahead, we'll be back before they know it."

Three young girls carrying baskets were hiking up a steep path through a forest of pine trees, the walls of a village barely visible behind them.

The scene glazed over, and soon the three girls were standing in a field of flowers, picking as they idly chatted with eachother.

"Ooh! Look at this one, it's so pretty!"

"Says you, there's no way purple is going to go in a wedding garland."

"I don't care, I still like it." The girl examined the purple flower happily.

The girl who had led the other two, though, suddenly froze. "Hush!" She whispered, beckoning for the girls to get down.

"Melphie? What's the matter?" One of the girls came up to her.

While the other girl froze also before dropping her basket and screaming.

"Elsa!" The girl named Melphie whispered horrified, before watching as the lone skeleton rider on the other side of the flower field suddenly stopped, and looked in their direction, the flames flaring in its empty eye sockets.

"Crap! Run!!!" Melphie tried to grab her two friends to dart back towards the village only to freeze again as a skeleton materialized in front of them.

"Look what we have here? Three perfect specimens to bring to my lab all delivering themselves up quite eagerly. You have my thanks." The skeleton spoke in a cold, eerie voice and bowed to the girls before a mist emerged from its mouth engulfing the three terrified girls as the scene once again morphed roiling like the skeleton's mist before the scene rematerialized in a dungeon.

Melphie was standing against a cold dungeon wall, her clothes in tatters, her arms chained up against the wall completely helpless as the same skeleton from before strolled down the corridor outside her cell checking his notes as he went.

"Ah yes, experiment #526," he stopped outside the cell across from hers where her one of her friends had been staying. "Injection of beast blood for the purposes of post-life resurrection. Well, good luck! Do your best to live and you can be my undying servant." The girl was bloody and half-conscious as some of the skeleton guards dragged her out.

"Elsa, Elsa," Melphie whispered in desperation as she watched her friend disappearing down the corridor. Not long after she began hearing horrible screams echoing through the chamber that seemed to go on and on.

The vision morphed again, but the scene remained in the dungeon. Melphie now was only chained by the ankle to the wall and even looked rather better than she had before, except for the hollow, vacant look in her eyes.

Again the skeleton strolled down the chamber, only this time he stopped outside of her cell. "Well 524, how are you enjoying your accommodations?" His voice was cruel and mocking.

"Why…" She whispered hoarsely, her mouth dry. "Why won't you kill me?" She looked vacantly at the skeleton.

"Kill you?" The light seemed to flare happily in its eyes. "My dear, why kill you when it's so much more fun to watch you suffer? You're not like those other girls whom you came with, you're strong-willed, and I want to watch you break. But don't worry, your turn will come soon enough." His voice turned to a mocking whisper. "I'm sure you'll enjoy it."

A distant clanging sound rang out, and the skeleton turned away suddenly. "Well I'd love to entertain you further, but It seems I have guests." His voice turned into a sinister sneer and he vanished from the corridor.

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