Chapter 80: A filthy Pillow? (2)
The Seven Sins.
They had been among the major antagonists of the original novel until the story reached the point of near ending.
They were not a group in the conventional sense.
They had no common leader.
No organization.
No shared purpose.
In fact, some of them had never even met one another.
The name had simply been given to them because of the powers they possessed.
Unlike the Eight Stars of Astralis, whose members cultivated their own strength through training, comprehension, and the advancement of their Stars, the Power of Sin could not be cultivated.
It was something entirely different.
Something inherited.
Passed from one person to another.
The power existed within a single individual until their death. When the current holder died, the Sin would seek another successor, beginning the cycle once again.
A vicious cycle that had continued for generations.
That alone would have been enough to make the world wary of them.
But the holders of the Seven Sins were also notoriously reckless.
Some were cruel.
Some were violent.
Some simply possessed enough power to disregard the laws of kingdoms and the authority of the Empire.
They did not need armies.
They did not need noble titles.
They possessed something far more dangerous.
Power that could not simply be taken away by killing its wielder.
Because killing the current holder did not destroy the Sin.
It only meant that somewhere, sometime, another person would inherit it.
That was why the world hunted them.
Yet among the Seven, there was one particularly peculiar existence.
The Sin of Sloth.
Its wielder was perhaps the strangest of them all.
They were so lazy that they refused to commit even the simplest evil act.
They did not seek wealth.
They did not seek power.
They had no interest in conquest or revenge.
They simply wanted to sleep.
And yet, despite possessing one of the Seven Sins, that person had eventually become one of the most troublesome figures in the story.
Not because of the Sin itself.
But because of what they possessed.
A Divine Artifact.
An object said to have once belonged to a God.
Encrid stared at the filthy pillow in his hands.
’How did it end up here?’
He had no answer.
The novel had never mentioned that this artifact had once been kept inside the Wall’s Vault.
Perhaps even the author had not bothered to explain where it came from.
Perhaps the Wall had simply possessed it for generations without understanding what they were holding.
Whatever the reason, Encrid was not going to complain.
He was not foolish enough to question his luck when fate had practically placed something this valuable directly into his hands.
’The Pillow of the Sleeping God.’
That was what it had been called in the novel.
And this filthy, ordinary-looking pillow possessed an ability so ridiculous that Encrid had initially thought the author had gone too far.
It was one of those artifacts that made a character almost impossible to deal with.
An item that should never have fallen into the hands of someone who already possessed one of the Seven Sins.
And now it was here.
In the Wall.
Among unidentified objects that had been thrown into a pile and forgotten.
Encrid almost laughed.
He had entered the Vault looking for a Roamer core.
He had expected to search through piles of powerful monster remains, perhaps find something compatible with his Azure Star, and use it to force his cultivation forward.
Instead, he had found an artifact far more valuable than anything he had been looking for.
His luck was becoming ridiculous.
But this was not the time to think about it.
Steward Vess was still staring at him.
"Are you really taking that?"
"Yes."
Vess looked at the pillow again.
His expression made it clear that he still could not understand what Encrid saw in it.
"You should look around a little more."
"I have."
"No, you haven’t."
Vess gestured toward the enormous chamber.
"You came all the way down here. At least take some time to look through the valuable things."
Encrid glanced toward the deeper sections of the Vault.
"I already found what I wanted."
Vess’s eyebrows rose.
"That?"
"Yes."
The Steward stared at him.
"You’re telling me that after entering the Wall’s Vault, you found something among the unidentified rubbish and decided that was the thing you wanted?"
Encrid nodded.
"Yes."
Vess rubbed his forehead.
"Young Master..."
"Don’t worry."
Encrid looked down at the pillow.
"I know what I’m doing."
That answer did little to reassure the Steward.
Vess looked as though he wanted to argue again, but eventually let out a long sigh.
"Fine."
He turned away.
"If you insist on taking it, then take it."
Encrid’s smile deepened.
He tucked the pillow beneath one arm.
The two of them began walking back.
As they moved through the underground passage, Encrid remained unusually quiet.
His thoughts kept returning to the pillow.
He remembered the description from the novel.
He remembered what the Sin of Sloth had done with it.
More importantly, he remembered what had happened when others had attempted to take it away.
There were very few things in the original story that Encrid could confidently call unfair.
This was one of them.
And now he had it.
He did not yet know whether he could use it.
He did not know whether its power would function the same way for him.
There were still too many unknowns.
But he would find out.
Soon.
The massive door closed behind them, and the Vault disappeared from sight.
Encrid glanced back once.
✧ ✧ ✧
By the time he reached his quarters, the corridors had become quiet.
Encrid opened the door.
He took only two steps inside before stopping.
Something was sitting on his table.
A folded piece of paper.
His expression changed slightly.
He was certain it had not been there when he left.
Encrid closed the door behind him.
He did not immediately approach the table.
Instead, he stood still and looked at the paper.
There was no seal.
No name.
Nothing that would immediately indicate who had left it there.
He walked toward the table and picked it up.
The paper was folded once.
He opened it.
There were only a few words written inside.
’The wine has been found. A taste awaits at the Crooked Tavern.’
To anyone else, it would have been meaningless.
To Encrid, it was not.
His eyes moved across the message and his expression slowly changed.
A smile appeared on his face.
’So they had finally found him.’
It was about time he met with the Mercenary King.
✦ ✦ ✦