SWNOVELXO Chapter 27: Chapter 21
CHAPTER 21: THE KNIFE SHARPENS
...
The Descent to Sector Zero
The air grew colder with every step.
Envy and Slothborne walked side by side down the long spiral into Eden's underbelly, boots echoing against steel. The faint golden glow of the upper city faded, replaced by the sterile blue lights of Sector Zero, where the city kept its most dangerous secrets.
Neither spoke at first.
Envy's psionic aura shimmered faintly around her as she broke the silence.
"Tell me, Sloth," she said, her tone more casual than it should have been, "why do you follow him?"
Slothborne didn't glance at her. His hands stayed in his pockets.
"You follow him too isn't," he replied.
"I do," she admitted. "But… do you ever wonder if it's worth it? If following Zero will cost us the world?"
Slothborne shrugged lazily, though his gaze stayed fixed ahead.
"I don't care about the world," he said. "Too much of a hassle."
Envy studied him for a moment.
"Then why?" she pressed.
He stopped walking.
"I owe her," he said finally.
Envy tilted her head.
"Her?"
"Naomi."
Envy blinked.
"The Naomi? The one you replaced?"
He nodded faintly.
"She was my twin," he said, his voice distant now, almost hollow. "We weren't born for this. We were just gutter rats in the lowest sector, scraping together enough to survive. She always believed we could make something of it. That we could… matter. She was chosen as Sloth. I wasn't. That should've been the end of it."
His hands tightened slightly in his pockets.
"When the Rupture came, I was trapped under rubble. Dying. But she… she dragged me out. Even though she could barely stand. Even though she…"
He trailed off.
"She saved me," he finished simply. "And when she died... however she died ... I didn't care about the details. I took her place. Because that's what she would've wanted... well thats how I see it though.. Even if it's a hassle now."
Envy's faint psychic glow dimmed a little.
"You never asked what happened to her?"
"I don't want to know what happened," he said flatly. "The Rupture swallowed her whole. Like it does everything.... am I right. Why bother asking why?"
For a while they walked in silence.
Then Envy said:
"I follow him because he found me when no one else did."
Slothborne gave her a sidelong look.
"I was nothing," she continued. "Not even worth naming. Just another psychic anomaly to be catalogued and forgotten. Zero gave me a name. A purpose. And even if he's… wrong, sometimes, even if he's cruel, it's still better than being nothing again."
Slothborne nodded faintly.
"So we're both ghosts chasing the people who saved us."
Envy smiled thinly.
"Seems that way."
"Uhhh God we fucked."
...
The Silent Watcher
They reached the core of Sector Zero... a cavernous, humming space lined with cold consoles and dormant circuits.
And sitting on the edge of a steel table, watching them with unreadable silver eyes, was Rei.
He didn't move when they entered.
Envy gave him a faint, cautious smile.
"Rei," she said. "We weren't told you'd be here."
He said nothing.
Slothborne raised an eyebrow.
"You here to watch us work? Or just brooding in the dark for dramatic effect?"
Rei didn't reply.
He slid off the table, his coat whispering against the floor, and walked past them without a word.
The door hissed shut behind him.
Envy and Slothborne exchanged a glance.
"That one creeps me out," Slothborne muttered.
Envy just stared at the door for a long time.
"Let him be he takes after master Zero." She said
...
Between Swords (Greed and Genna)
Above, in one of the Spire's observation chambers, Greed leaned on the railing, staring down at the chaos below... the banners waving in the ash storm, the mob pressing against the soldiers' shields.
Genna stood behind him, arms folded.
She broke the silence first.
"Do you ever wonder," she asked quietly, "if what we're doing is right?"
Greed snorted without turning around.
"Nope, never how could i... ugh."
Genna's eyes narrowed.
"Not even for a second?"
He straightened, finally turning to face her.
"Listen, Genna," he said, his voice hard. "Those people down there? They need us. Every single one of them. Without us, they'd already be dead. They scream and they curse because they can't stand being reminded that they're weak. That they can't save themselves."
He stepped closer to the window, his reflection gleaming faintly.
"We carry the weight. We bleed so they don't have to. That's what it means to be strong."
Genna didn't answer.
His voice softened... just barely... as he continued.
"The strongest warriors bear the heaviest burdens," he said. "And Zero… he's seen more than anyone. If he says this is the way, then we follow. That's what faith means."
Genna held his gaze for a long moment.
Then nodded faintly.
"I hope we right."
...
The Fool's Gambit
Rei found Mr. P leaning against a cracked pillar outside his lab, cigarette dangling from his lips, grinning faintly at the chaos below.
"You don't waste time," Rei said coolly.
Mr. P smirked without looking at him.
"Ah. The boy speaks. What's the matter? Come to scold me? Or admit I'm the lesser of two bastards?"
Rei's expression didn't change.
"I don't trust you," he said. "But you're a better option than… him."
Mr. P chuckled, exhaling smoke into the wind.
"Oh, you wound me, kid. Really. Break my heart, why don't you?"
Rei just stared at him.
Mr. P's grin faded slowly. His eyes sharpened.
"What's the plan?" Rei asked.
Mr. P tapped ash from his cigarette.
"Oh, nothing really," he said.
Then his voice dropped, low and dangerous.
"We wait. And then we move. That's all there is to it."
He turned slightly, the faint orange glow of his cigarette the only light in his silhouette.
"And don't worry, boy… Zero won't see it coming."
...
The Knife Sharpens
Beyond Eden's walls, in the Choir's hidden sanctuary, Clone 3 stood at the dais.
The black banners of the Choir hung heavy above him, their numbers swelling.
Below, Luther lay in shadow, his golden veins dimly glowing as he slept.
Clone 3 raised his gloved hand.
"The people are already turning," he told the assembly. "The cracks in Eden widen by the hour. The false gods will fall. And when they do…"
He glanced toward Luther's still figure.
"…we'll be ready."
The Choir's hymn rose, dark and thunderous, filling the cathedral with a promise of knives and ash.
...
Closing Beat
Back in Eden, the ash storm howled.
Envy and Slothborne stood at the base of Sector Zero, watching the city riot below, silent.
Greed and Genna stood at the Spire, staring at the cracks forming in the golden barrier.
Rei leaned on the railing outside Mr. P's lab, staring down at the fires below.
And Mr. P himself stood in the shadows, cigarette burning low, his faint grin catching the light.
"Sharp enough," he murmured to himself.
And above it all, the Choir's chant carried through the dead air:
"Let the gods bleed. Let the knife carve. Let the ashes speak."
...
END OF CHAPTER 21: THE KNIFE SHARPENS