Chapter 34 — The Voice of Hunger

Darkness. There was nothing else. No sky, no ground, no sound. Saki slowly looked around the endless void, unable to see anything in any direction.

"...Is this... hell?"

Her voice was weak and barely audible.

"...Is this my punishment?"

A calm voice answered from everywhere at once.

"Why do you believe..."

"...you are in hell?"

Saki slowly turned around.

"...Who's there?"

The voice replied.

"...I am..."

"...the Void."

Silence returned. Then the voice repeated its question.

"Why do you believe..."

"...you belong in hell?"

Saki lowered her head, tears beginning to form in her eyes.

"...Because I deserve it...I failed my friends."

Saki muttered the words as she closed her eyes in deep pain.

"...I wasn't there for Taichi..."

She remembered Taichi with his bright smile, the young red-haired boy who had been their leader. He had always walked ahead of his friends, inspiring courage in everyone around him. No matter how dangerous the situation became, Taichi had always been the first to step forward.

"...I wasn't there for Roland..."

Then she remembered the large figure of Roland, perhaps her closest friend. He had always looked out for everyone, protecting the others while laughing alongside her through countless difficult moments.

"...And Sakura... I failed to protect her."

Her memories shifted once again, returning to the beautiful, shy girl with long pink hair. Despite being just as young as Taichi, Sakura had risked her life alongside her companions countless times, even when she was afraid. Saki had never said it aloud, but perhaps she had seen something of the little sister she had lost all those years ago in Sakura.

"...I failed all of them."

Saki muttered the words as she almost imagined the figures of her three beloved friends slowly vanishing into the darkness.

The Void remained silent for a moment before asking:

"Do your failures..."

"...torment you?"

Saki hesitated, her lips trembling.

"...Yes."

The answer escaped as almost a whisper.

The Void spoke again.

"...Then..."

"...let them go."

"...Abandon your memories..."

"...Abandon your emotions..."

"...Abandon your hopes..."

"...Abandon your fears..."

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"...Surrender yourself..."

"...to the despair of hunger."

Saki frowned.

"...Hunger?"

She didn't understand.

The Void continued.

"Among all instincts..."

"...hunger devours every other emotion."

Darkness shifted around her, and images slowly appeared before her. A pride of lions appeared first, protecting one another and living together peacefully. They stayed close, sharing the safety of their group. Then the landscape changed, and days passed without food. The lions became thinner, their bodies weakening as their eyes grew desperate. Their peaceful behavior slowly disappeared as hunger consumed their instincts. Finally, one lion attacked another.

The scene vanished.

"A starving beast..."

"...abandons affection..."

"...Compassion..."

"...Reason..."

"...Even family..."

"...Hunger consumes..."

"...everything."

Saki felt a chill run through her body.

"...That's horrible..."

The Void ignored her words.

"...Accept hunger..."

"...Become its vessel..."

"...Then..."

"...you will never feel..."

"...pain again."

Saki slowly shook her head.

"...I...I don't want that..."

The Void calmly asked:

"...Why?"

Tears appeared in Saki's eyes.

"...Because...there are things...I don't want to lose."

Deep within her heart, she still treasured the memories of training with Taichi, laughing beside Roland, listening to Sakura sing, fighting together as Bravers, and the friendships they had built together. Then there was her beloved missing sister, Sasha. Saki hadn't seen Sasha in almost a decade, and she still didn't know what had happened to her or whether she was even alive. Yet every time Saki closed her eyes, she could almost hear her cheerful voice again.

Big sister! Come play with me!

Those memories were precious. No matter what happened, she couldn't let them go.

Then the Void answered quietly.

"And yet..."

"...those precious memories..."

"...are the reason you suffer."

Saki froze at those words.

"...No...That's..."

Her words stopped. She wanted to say, No, that's not true, but she couldn't finish the sentence because, deep down, she knew it was true. Ever since Taichi, Roland, and Sakura had disappeared, those precious memories had tormented her every day. Every laugh, every battle, and every moment they had shared had become a painful reminder of her failure.

"...But...I don't...I don't want to...I don't want to forget them..."

Saki's voice broke.

"...The Bravers...they...they're my family...I can't just...surrender myself to hunger...and...forget them..."

Saki muttered desperately. However, the Void immediately answered.

"...Isn't that..."

"...what you have been doing..."

"...these last few weeks?"

Saki's body trembled as a memory suddenly appeared before her. It was a vision of herself during the weeks after Sakura disappeared. She was inside her apartment with the lights turned off, sitting in a corner on the floor and crying. She cursed herself, then ate. She stood up and smashed a glass during a fit of anger, only to start crying and eating again afterward, even if she wasn't hungry. The cycle continued over and over, repeated dozens of times as she desperately tried to fill the emptiness inside her.

The memory slowly faded.

"...You have already fallen..."

"...into hunger..."

"...trying to fill the emptiness..."

"...in your heart..."

Saki didn't utter a word. Suddenly, a low growl was heard from somewhere in the darkness, and Saki's eyes widened slightly as she realized the sound had come from inside her.

The Void continued.

"...The only thing you need to do..."

"...to escape the pain..."

"...is fall..."

"...completely."

Saki froze as a strange sensation suddenly spread through her body. An emptiness had appeared deep inside her stomach—a craving that slowly grew stronger and stronger. The hunger began consuming her thoughts as the Void whispered into her mind.

"Forget them..."

"...Surrender to hunger."

"Accept it..."

"...as your salvation."

Suddenly, Saki finally spoke.

"...Eat..."

The word escaped her lips, though she didn't know why she had said it.

The Void continued.

"Do not think."

"Only consume."

"...Eat..."

The craving became stronger.

"...Eat..."

The memories in her heart slowly began fading beneath the overwhelming instinct.

"No matter how much you consume..."

"...the hunger will never disappear."

"It will drown every thought."

"Every regret."

"Every sorrow."

"Leaving only instinct."

Saki's breathing became heavier as the emptiness inside her expanded endlessly. Her mind struggled to hold onto the memories of her friends and sister, but each passing second made them feel more distant.

"...Eat..."

"...Eat..."

"...Eat..."

The word became a chant. She could no longer remember why she was resisting. She could no longer remember why she was afraid, or even why she had once wanted to hold onto her memories. One by one, her thoughts disappeared beneath the overwhelming hunger until only the instinct remained.

"Let the world witness..."

"...your endless hunger."

Saki slowly opened her mouth as the darkness swallowed the last fragments of her resistance. A primal scream echoed through the endless void.

"EEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT!!"

The Void remained silent for a moment before calmly muttering its final words.

"Welcome..."

"...Witch of Gluttony."