Vale was left alone with the sleeping beauty, who slowly raised her head and blinked, showing off the misty blue hue of her eyes.

Sloth steadily craned her head from left to right. After confirming she was alone with Lust… she put her head back on the table and returned to sleeping.

'The hell?'

Vale awkwardly watched the sleeping girl, who began to snore, but he noticed as her eyes twitched ever so slightly. Then, the girl of blue blinked awake in a sudden motion, unbefitting of sloth.

Vale curiously stared at Sloth, who pushed her hands against the table and threw herself into the back of her comfortable-looking throne. Then, the girl closed her eyes for a couple of seconds. When she reopened them, the blue aura emanating from them grew to frightening levels, as if a blue sun had risen in the black expanse.

Yet this sun was by no means warm. It felt frigid and damning.

Each second Vale spent staring into the radiant blue gleam, he understood Wrath more and more.

This small, delicate, beautiful girl…

Was horrifying.

Sloth's lips drifted apart, and a calming, yet terrifying, banshee-like voice escaped from her lips:

"The woman of the waterfall awaits

to set you on the path of righteous fate,

you must follow this destined strait,

whether to life or death, your choice to make.

Fall together,

together fall,

all to rise on the day anew,

as Envy rises, passion too.

Take all gifts through and through,

but don't heed the wail emotions call

else the withered rose claim all.

Claim your neighbors,

claim yourself,

never cry for the oceans' help.

For when tides change, and rivers flood

the raging storm will be of blood;

Lust, Envy, and Gluttony's tears

Kindness, Humility, and Chastity's fears.

Call upon the dawn of time,

but when time ends

and its twine unwinds

the moon shall reflect the sun's dying eyes.

As Wrath slings fire,

and Patience waits,

in the mourning night lost from light,

a corrupted world full of woe,

where forever the sun set,

and the endless night sky grow,

the constellated path of fate,

once again, a choice to make:

guide that night sky to hell's gate,

for it is there where light awaits."

'Oh…'

'Oh gods…'

'She speaks in riddles!'

Sloth, when she was done speaking, reached out her gloved hand toward Vale, then flicked up.

In the next moment, Vale's body was gripped by an invisible force and flung into the air, high above the round table. Then, still rising, he felt the embrace once again take hold of him and launch him away.

Before he could even register anything, his eyes shot open, and he was lying on the floor inside of the white core, looking up at Six, who returned his panicked look with a curious one.

'What just…'

Vale barely had time to mull over anything Sloth said before his body had been flung around and expelled from the black world.

Not that any of what Sloth said made sense…

The only thing he could pick out from the entire prophecy was 'waterfall'.

He was almost certain of which waterfall she meant. If not that grandiose waterfall to the north, then what else would that refer to!

Six looked confused, but a warrior had no right to question their general without command, so she stifled her wandering thoughts. And Vale was in no mood to talk to his warrior.

The next thing that stood out was…

'If that is actually the waterfall Sloth meant… who is the woman of the waterfall?'

Laertes' village worshiped a 'goddess' who lived at the base of this waterfall. Vale couldn't help but second-guess his disbelief. Perhaps this goddess wasn't so fake after all. Or maybe he's barking up the wrong tree entirely.

Pushing past that…

'What did anything else mean?!'

Crying for the oceans help?

'How can one ask an ocean for help?!'

Withered rose claims all?

'What is this rose claiming?! And is this rose alive?!'

Vale already disliked all the riddles written by the system, which made interpreting Traits and his Aspect fairly tricky, but now he had an even more periphrastic passage to deal with. One that he had to remember and couldn't hear again!

Not to mention the warning about telling anyone. He couldn't even enlist Salome's help! Well, not without consequence at least. With that consequence being most certainly death… or worse. Vale wasn't keen on taking that risk and pissing off Sloth.

Who knew what the delicate-looking girl had in store?

'There are some skulls carved into the frame of her throne. Perhaps she's not as innocent as she appears.'

Of course, she wouldn't be innocent! She's a Master of Vice!

Vaulting the prophecy in the back of his mind, Vale began to think back on the meeting overall. He had mainly been an observer for the second half of it. However, the observation helped him understand the wider world. What he learned was that he now lived in a—

'world at war.'

None of the Masters of Vice had a peaceful life.

Wrath was constantly fighting Beakon, the nearest human nation to his dungeon. Envy was currently tied down and bunkering for an impending assault. Greed was sewing discourse in a country to take it over. And Sloth was constantly fighting a Seed outbreak alone in what Vale assumed to be the southern pole of the world, but it might have been the north.

As for Pride…

Well, from what Vale could understand. Pride was the reason for half the wars in the world.

Pride didn't seem to care about the Seed crisis at all, yet he didn't seem to be entirely an enemy. Pride was a neutral force that only sought gains for himself. Though whenever Pride was brought up, Wrath's mood would flare, and Sloth would have to calm him.

Yet, even without the Masters of Vice, Pandora was steeped in blood. Without the intervention of any of them, the other half of the world was at war with one another, oblivious to the doom their world was marching toward. Or perhaps they weren't so oblivious. Maybe it was because of the doom the world was marching towards that they began to tear it apart without regard. Living in the moments instead of the future…

A sentiment Vale now understood all too well.

He knew how dangerous it could be to indulge in the present when the future outlook was overshadowed by dismal prospect.

But thinking of himself…

Apparently, his progress was quite impressive. He'd even impressed Wrath! Not to mention, he got to shut that annoying, wicked bitch up.

'Her fault for going at me when she obviously did much worse when starting out.'

Vale, thinking back to Envy's embarrassment, felt bliss return to him. Why think on such terrible topics of death and destruction when he could think on the gleeful times?

After all… It's not like he'd get to enjoy tranquility for much longer.

The Chameleon King was beginning to make a move, positioning more and more troops around the Dungeon of Lust's entrance. There were so many that it was too risky for Salome to venture out anymore, temporarily cutting them off from outside resources.

Full-blown war was about to greet Vale and his posse. By his estimation, the first strike would happen within the next three days.

So, before that, Vale would take care of his urges he'd yet to fulfil since his mishaps with Awilix…

After being graced with the figures of Greed, Envy, and Sloth epitomizing beauty, combined with his recent abstinence, Vale's desire had reached an all-time high.

In fact, his desire was so inflamed that he was getting aroused at the sight of Six, who only held a female-like silhouette at most. She had no reproductive organs at all… the only hole she had was a mouth…

A mouth that looked soft and inviting…

The swirling, inky black and pink of her skin. What did it feel like on the inside? Did she have saliva? Was it…

'Nope!'

Vale cut his thoughts short right there. As much as his curiosity was gnawing at him, that was his 'creation'! It was practically his child! He had no right to lay a finger on her. Besides, he wouldn't even get satisfaction from Six. Nor did Six seem to possess a sex drive at all. If she did anything to Vale, it would be more out of obligation as a servant than any real feelings, which just felt wrong and fake.

It was a clear violation of his principles.

So, the warriors, archers, mages, and whoever he summoned, other than Champions, were off limits.

As for who was there…

If they were still doing what they were before Vale left, then…

Ximena was guarding the entrance, Salome was sparring with Awilix. And Toy… Toy was probably huddled on the throne like a scared cat in the new core room — the position of overseeing the workers given to her in hopes it would help cure her fears.

Vale picked himself off the 'ground(?)' in the white void and watched as the black door closed upon itself and the timer restarted from 720 hours. Then he sauntered into the pink portal and was spat back out behind the throne, immediately greeted by the sound of the workers mining tirelessly.

Sure enough, once Vale rounded the throne, he found Toy in tears while in a fetal position on the cushion.

"Hey."

Toy's green eyes shot open.

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