Bizarre Realm-Chapter 364 - 23: The Slothful City (Part 3)
Swarming flies lay eggs in the corners of the sewers, with dried excrement along the way showing no sign of upkeep. Beggars in tattered clothes lie in piles of feces and urine, faces slack and indifferent, as if they are unconcerned about starving to death.
Sloth!
Such incredible sloth!
Compared to the industrious and busy working class of Dorne City, the people living here are unbelievably lazy, and the entire city exudes an air of despair and decay.
The expressions of the people are extremely numb, their emaciated faces showing almost no vitality, as if they had only become hollow shells after prolonged suppressed living, struggling every day for three meals. After barely completing the necessary work to survive, they lapse into a state of profound sloth and apathy.
The Law of the Devil is stirring.
Shawn noticed an elderly beggar lying in a corner sunbathing. He appeared somewhat strong yet frail, with wrinkled skin stretching over his muscles, hinting at a past as a laborer. His right leg was festering with sores, yet he seemed unconcerned, watching passersby with a strange, numb satisfaction. He even scraped a bit of pus from his wound and licked it, ending with a slightly foolish smile.
Such an injury should cause him pain, even death.
But he seemed oblivious.
The flies and maggots here were so abundant they could be nauseating; rats even scurried across the streets, yet nearby pedestrians ignored them entirely. Only starving beggars would suddenly reach out with surprising agility to catch them and devour them voraciously.
Inside an equally filthy inn.
Akidina-Duwa stood gravely before Shawn, solemnly saying, "Lord Shawn."
"The past Ring City wasn’t like this."
"This transformation started two years ago and shows signs of worsening."
Shawn looked at Akidina, who appeared haggard, her hair somewhat dry and dark circles under her eyes. She no longer had the radiant glow she once had in Abyss City, her once beautiful face now seemed like a wilting flower, exuding extreme fatigue and numbness.
Shawn reached out to stroke Akidina-Duwa’s long hair, and suddenly, he pinched out a lively head louse, swollen with blood which he crushed with a snap, splattering blood.
Shawn asked quietly, his gaze deep, "How long has it been since you’ve washed yourself properly?"
Akidina-Duwa trembled all over, stunned into place.
Shawn gently stroked her cheek, calmly advising, "Go take a bath, and let’s talk after you’ve had a good sleep."
He gestured to open a secret passage to the Mage Mansion.
Akidina-Duwa was affected too.
After ushering her figure into the mage’s secret passage, Shawn turned, gazing at the distant towering Black Tower, whispering, "The old days..."
Under the night sky.
Shawn’s silhouette sped out, leaving the commoner area behind, and he smelled a pungent sweet perfume, as if the entire Upper City District had been drenched in it. Under the rich fragrance lies a stench of internal rot. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢
—The sweet scent is a diluted stench.
Shawn slowly landed, witnessing a luxurious banquet hosted by a noble. Numerous guests gathered around the table, feasting eagerly, their corpulent bodies and pale skin bearing a ravenous thirst for food within their eyes. Traces of their once handsome features could vaguely be seen.
Among them were Transcendents, whose physiques tended even more towards stoutness, resembling small fleshy mountains compared to ordinary people.
Everyone took everything for granted, spraying perfume and applying powders, adorning themselves as if nothing had changed, yet under Shawn’s Spiritual Vision, each fat head reflected a grotesque pig-like visage.
At that moment, Shawn too felt a twinge of hunger.
.........
