Greed, Pain and Deception

The blood flows like a river,

Of pain, deception, and greed.

The hate knows that we never,

Take what we honestly need.

The room is square in shape and endlessly dark. Nothing stands in it, for it has all fallen. Holes in the black walls allow eyes to peer in and observe their victim. From some holes a red liquid, human blood, flows forth. The liquid snakes its way around obstacles on the floor to find their way to a drain in the center of the room. The smell of death dominates the air, choking any living thing that dare enter Death's Room.

“Do you think that it is finished now?” Greed's voice asks its hidden companions in an impatient tone. The voice echoes through the room and finds nothing but an empty and unfulfilled death. It quickly fades away and is replaced by a deafening silence.

“I... do not know...” Pain speaks back to Greed. It is weak and unable to find motivation like its companions do. That is, unless there are mortal beings to infest itself within, it knows no strength. A shifting sound can be heard from behind the walls and candlelight escapes through a hole. The light blinds the darkness and causes it to retreat further back.

A door creaks open and a red light surges into the room. Nothing stands in the doorway, and yet it gazes upon the horrid scene before itself. “It is not finished.” Deception says with its empty eyes upon the twisted and beaten corpse that lay curled around the drain. The body was once a female human, and the blood that now stains it is its own. The skull is littered with short hairs that were violently torn apart. Strands of crimson-stained golden hair are scattered across the room. Her jaw lay open and empty of the teeth that now occupy the vast space of the room. The fingers at the end of her limp hands are without fingernails, which now surround the drain, slowing the drainage of blood.

“What do you mean it is not finished? I do not want to spend another hour of my time on this pathetic creature!” Greed yells ferociously. It stomps over to the doorway and peers in with its invisible eyes. It looks over the broken, bruised, and naked body of the woman to find nothing but the aftermath of Death's visit. “It is finished. Do not waste more of my time, Deception.”

Greed stomps away and disappears back to where it came from. “When will the next pure victim be getting here?” It asks the others.

“In a... matter of hours...” Pain replies and slithers into the blood-filled room in the form of a large snake. Green scales coat its body and as they make contact with the red liquid, they change to crimson. The blood swishes from side to side as the snake finds its way toward the woman's corpse. The slithering serpent opens its mouth wide, revealing two large venomous fangs and a gaping chasm of a mouth. Pain devours her limp body, beginning with her head. She slowly enters the snake and disappears into nothingness, returning to whence it came.

“Ah. I see you have begun cleaning, Pain. Good. That should speed up the process.” Greed's voice echoes through the room as Pain finishes its meal. The crimson snake slithers out of the room, vanishing once it has made its way through the doorway. For several minutes the only sound that can be heard is the rushing flow of the fountains of blood inside of the room. Greed interrupts the silence. “How many souls does that make now?”

“Two.” Deception replies swiftly. Greed grunts in vicious disbelief.

“Actually... it is 530 million souls...” Pain, in its own slow manner, informs Greed.

The blood flows like a river,

Of pain, deception, and greed.

The hate knows that we never,

Take what we honestly need.

Time passes quickly for the corrupting aspects, as a man walks into the room in what seems like minutes. The man is fresh and still very alive. He is only just tasting the corruption and enjoys it very much so far. Pain, Greed, and Deception watch over their disciple, their victim, in great pleasure. He moves about the room, drinking the sweet nectar of another man's suffering. His mind twists and turns with the greedy thirst for blood that the nectar grants. The fountains begin to run dry, as the last victim's blood can only last so long.

“More! More!” The crazed man screams at the walls. He pounds on them, but nothing happens. He begins to tear out his hair in frustration. His addicted body begins to shake with pain. His vision distorts and slowly his body loses familiarity to him. He twitches violently and looks about the room in a crazed state. His eyes begin to deceive him as he recognizes blood inside of it. He gazes with a thirsty hunger at his fingernails. He begins ripping them away with his teeth, causing both pain and blood to spring forth. The man puts his fingertips in his mouth and savours the sweet taste of the nectar once more, but it quickly stops flowing. He begins to lose his mind again and throws himself across the room in search of blood.

He hits the wall with great force, causing his nose to break and bleed. The blood streams down into his mouth and he rubs it all over his lips passionately. Thoughts of relief from the crazed withdrawal enter his mind and he begins to relax but swiftly, as if to spite him, the blood ceases its flow. His mind disappears for a moment and returns to allow him to remember a certain memory from his childhood. His fist pounds him in the mouth, attempting to break loose his teeth. Slowly they begin to fall out and the nectar fills him once more. At this point, it has become clear that once one has tasted the blood of others, one will sacrifice their own just to satisfy that thirst. Eventually one will run out of blood.

He begins to feel light-headed as he drinks his own blood. He collapses to the ground, curling up into the fetal position. With what little strength he still has, the man beats himself in the stomach and chest, causing him to bleed internally. His ribs crack and shatter, piercing his stomach with a sharp shard of bone. All the blood that he drank now drains from him into his body cavity. His own crimson nectar fills his lungs and suffocates him. Death comes and takes him as Greed, Pain, and Deception look on with great pleasure.

“Was that one from the same place as the others?” Deception's voice echoes through the dark room.

“Yes. He was the last of the Americans.” Greed replies in a proud tone.

The blood flows like a river,

Of pain, deception, and greed.

The hate knows that we never,

Take what we honestly need.

-Zero