The Insatiable

Within a forest under the moonlit night a shadow dashed forward.

Following this shadow is a bunch of figures with different sizes. This figures are moving in the same pace, neither too fast nor too slow.

Yet they don't have a problem in following this fast shadow in front of them.

The shadow continued to run but if looking at this shadow closely one can see that it is at its limits. It run as it panted, the shortness of its breath made it despair and it imagined what will happen to itself if ever caught by its pursuers.

Looking behind him he can see the moonlit figures that are chasing after him. Those bloodied, dismembered and rotting figures.

Zombies.

He couldn't help but curse his luck...

And his stupidity.

This morning he was at the top of the world.

While scavenging he found an area that seemed to have just been through a battle. Corpses were littered everywhere, mixed with the corpses were the supplies that these group of corpses probably gathered.

He was immediately overjoyed and went forward to collect the supplies.

When he got out of the forest, his whole figure could be seen. His skinny body that's almost all bones. His pale face and dried lips shows the hardships he's been through.

This was indeed a lucky day for him, he hasn't eaten a thing in days and he's been living on water.

He picked up dried rations that haven't been soaked in blood and started feasting on it. Even the rations that had blood on them, he didn't let off.

He ate and ate. His bodies constitution is a bit weaker than the average and his level worse.

While eating he carefully looked around and gathered the supplies. Slowly but surely he gathered what he could and left what he could no longer eat or what he couldn't carry.

When he has finished he looked at his spoils and smiled. He really won big this time.

Packing up the things he gathered, he then for the first time actually observed the area he is currently in.

The litters of corpses and the spoiled supplies, along with the blood and tattered clothes of the dead covered the ground.

Everywhere he looked he saw nothing but death that is looming over the land.

Then, he noticed something.

A symbol.

Something that he was all too familiar with and something that made his face even more pale.

A dragon eating its own tail. An ouroboros.

The symbol of one of the strongest powers in the apocalypse.

Avarice, and now as he looked carefully at one of the corpses he can see a man of around 30-35. His eyes still open, unresigned to the fate that was placed upon him.

No one knows his real name but everyone calls him, Greed.

Greed is one of the leaders of the apocalypse and part of the alliance known as the Seven Deadly Sins.

It was known to everyone that the Seven Deadly Sins were special existences in this apocalyptic world.

Each of these seven has their own special abilities that are unlike the common skills of other survivors.

Of course it is unknown to the common people what their abilities actually are.

Greed was a middle-aged man with a black hair and a beard. He is muscular, his clothes are torn in a lot of places. His weapon is a huge two handed-hammer.

He knows the fact that despite their looks all the Seven Deadly Sins are over a hundred years old. Not one of them aged ever since gaining their abilities and the apocalypse started.

Which is why he felt that they were more like gods now.

Now one of these gods is right in front of him, dead. Unresigned.

His face still pale, he walked closer towards Greed's dead body.

When he was three metres away from the body a golden light came out of Greed's forehead and flew straight at him.

He froze.

Not knowing what to do nor how to react, he stood there stupidly. The light reached him within seconds and shot straight up to his head.

His mind blanked.

The fear finally spread throughout his body, making his knees soft.

That was the most dangerous event that has happened in his life by far. The fear of the unknown almost made him go mad. In this apocalyptic world, anything unknown is deemed as dangerous.

His face is pale from fright and his breathing uneven.

It took him a few minutes before calming down and looking at the aftermath of the battle that took place.

He saw Greed's corpse left on the battlefield. His once black hair now mixed with the color red. Not knowing what to do he just stood there, staring at the corpse and wondering what that light was.

Was it real? Or just some sort of hallucination that was the result of his hunger? His mind chaotic, he didn't notice one of the "corpses" move.

It slowly stood up. This "corpse" is covered with blood and internal organs yet strangely it has no visible wounds.

This "corpse" stood still and looked towards the boy. The boy didn't notice the "corpse" staring at him and continued to be in a daze. That light nearly frightened him to death.

"I just took a nap after the fight and I can't believe that someone else took the reward. Is this the classic case of mantis stalking the cicada unaware of the oriole behind?"

A lazy sounding voice broke the boy from his thoughts. He looked towards where the direction of the voice came from and discovered the standing "corpse".

Aside from the blood and internal organs all over its body, one could see that the "corpse" is actually a living breathing human.

His calm heart begun beating erratically once again. This person in front of him, is very dangerous.

Just one look from him and it made his whole body release cold sweat.

"You have the guts to come here and steal what's mine kid?"

He wanted to reply and say he didn't... But how could he dare to lie in front of such a monster? Therefore he could only stare with wide eyes towards the person coming close to him.

No, he was coming for Greed's corpse.

Each step he took the boy's fear rose even more. It was like a hammer drumming onto his heart. His breathing becoming erratic

When the person finally was close enough to touch the corpse, he stopped. The person observed the corpse intently. His face turning darker by the second until finally, "So it really was taken."

Saying that he turned his chilling gaze to the boy. The person thought about all the things he had to prepare for this fight and how he had to suffer.

"Kid, you just did something you shouldn't have. Now, on the account that you actually didn't know anything about any of this -I will give you a chance."

The person said so and lifted his right hand. As he raised his right hand, a green fog emerged out of his palm spreading to the surroundings.

It slowly spread in the surroundings until it covered all the area where corpses were strewn about.

As it spread, some of this green fog entered the corpses. When it entered the corpses, the corpses opened their eyes. Their eyes emitting green lights, they stood up teetering. Some of these corpses whose legs were cut off crawled, as some whose internal organs were coming out -completely came out.

These corpses groaned as they stood up and as they did the person spoke once again.

"Run, run for your life. If you manage to get away from them, I'll forget all about this. Besides, I'm too lazy to care about any of this."

Once he finished speaking the green fog stopped spreading and he stood there quietlt. His expression aloof, even chilling.

The boy heard this and woke up. His knees shivering, he slowly backed away. Disbelief is written over his face.

The moment the green fog came out he knew who this person really is. No wonder he felt that chill, no wonder all these corpses were just here, no wonder even Greed died.

Sloth.

The most mysterious among all the Deadly Sins. The only one among them that didn't form a group.

The Undead King, Sloth.

Unlike the other Deadly Sins that keeps their powers a secret, Sloth doesn't hide the fact that he can control the Undead nor does he hide that he can create his own. He is the only person within the apocalypse not afraid of the Undead that roams the world, he even embraces this world.

Knowing how a king is in front of him, and now how this said king is planning to kill him. He decided to run.

Run faster than he ever did before, run like he only knows that to do.

He run straight to the forest until where his current situation is now in.

Exhausted from running, afraid of getting eaten, regretting that he didn't think quite clearly.

If only he observed properly.

If only he planned properly.

If only he was stronger.

If only he wasn't that hungry.

If only he wasn't hurried.

If only he wasn't on his own.

What if his mother was never treated as a toy by those men? What if he had a father? What if he never left that place?

Questions of what's and if's filled his head as he continued to run.

Second, minutes, hours passed by as he continued to run. Looking back he saw the Zombies are now less than ten metres away from him. A bit more and what he feared would happen.

It was then that he finally looked in front only to discover that a single Zombie is standing there.

The bloodied hair, muscular body and giant hammer. He is familiar with this figure, he just saw him lying down the ground a few minutes ago.

Greed, he thought to himself and then cursed his naivety once again. Of course the Zombified Greed would be stronger, faster and better than the normal ones.

Now he's done for.

The Zombified Greed dashed forward and struck with his hammer. As the hammer closed in on him, his life flashed before his eyes.

He saw his mother being toyed with by men, he remembers how all the women were toyed with. He remembers how he was almost beaten to death one time when he tried to kill the man who killed his mother.

How after he was beaten it was those women that took care of him, and for taking care of him they were beaten up as well. Some were even fed to the Undead as a reminder for them all.

That was a lesson for him from then on, without power he could never do something for others. He could never protect someone he needed to protect.

He regrets not being able to take care of his only family. How powerless he was to protect those women.

A cool gust of wind blows on his face.

The hammer hit him and sent him flying.