Location: The "Sinkhole" (Uptown District)
Time: 2:00 AM
The police had cordoned off the area with yellow tape, but the D.P.S. had already taken over.
Sora stood at the edge of the massive hole in the middle of the perfectly paved street. It was perfectly round, about twenty feet wide, and pitch black. It didn't look like a collapse. It looked like a bite mark.
"Deep," a voice said behind him.
Sora didn't turn. "Hello, Eri."
Eri walked up to the edge, holding her tablet. She was wearing a trench coat over her business suit.
"This wasn't authorized by the Dominion," Eri said, adjusting her glasses. "My sensors picked up seismic activity, but no explosives. The ground just... vanished."
"Eaten," Sora corrected. He kicked a pebble into the hole. They didn't hear it hit the bottom. "Someone is hungry."
"Gluttony?" Eri asked.
"The Gourmand," Sora nodded. "Cardinal Gluttony. He usually stays in his underground restaurant, feeding on the excesses of the rich. If he's eating the *city infrastructure*, something has changed. He's expanding his menu."
Eri tapped her screen. "If Gluttony surfaces, he will consume the Uptown District in three days. That is bad for real estate values."
"And bad for the people living here," Sora added dryly.
"Sure," Eri shrugged. "That too."
She turned to leave, dissolving slightly into static before reforming.
"A tip, Sorcerer," Eri said. "Gluttony has been importing something new. Not Red-Eye. Something biological. Check the sewers in Sector 4."
"Why are you helping me?" Sora asked.
"Because Gluttony is messy," Eri smiled cold. "And I hate a mess."
She vanished into sound waves.
Location: Smile Mart (District 9)
Time: 3:30 AM
Dante was restocking the "Mystery Meat" hot dogs when his phone buzzed.
Sora: [Location Pin Sent: Sector 4 Sewer Access]
Caption: "Field Trip! Bring waterproof boots. And snacks."
Dante groaned. "Benji, GiGi. Gear up. We're going to the sewers."
"Ew," GiGi said from the magazine rack. "Why?"
"Because Sora said so. And because I don't want to clean the grease trap here, so honestly, the sewer sounds better."
Location: Sector 4 Sewers
Time: 4:15 AM
The sewers of Kagura-Zaka were a labyrinth of brick and sludge. The air was thick with humidity.
Squad 4 trudged through the knee-deep water. Benji was wearing a full hazmat suit he had ordered online. GiGi was walking on the pipes above the water to stay dry. Dante was just miserable.
"I can smell it," Dante said, covering his nose. "It's not just sewage. It smells like... rotting fruit. And acid."
"My sensors are picking up biological mass ahead," Benji's voice echoed inside his hazmat helmet. "Massive. Like... whale-sized."
They turned a corner and stopped.
Blocking the tunnel was a wall of flesh.
It was pulsating. Veins the size of tree trunks throbbed under translucent, pink skin. It looked like the inside of a stomach.
"What is that?" GiGi whispered, for once looking grossed out.
"It's a nest," Dante realized.
He stepped closer. Embedded in the fleshy wall were... people. Or what used to be people. They were half-absorbed, their faces frozen in expressions of bliss. They were being digested slowly, kept alive by tubes feeding them a neon-green liquid.
"They're smiling," Benji whimpered. "Why are they smiling?"
"Because Gluttony doesn't just eat flesh," Sora's voice came from behind them.
Sora stepped out of the shadows, holding a flashlight.
"He eats desire," Sora said. "These people... they surrendered. They gave up their will to live in exchange for eternal pleasure. They are being digested by their own happiness."
Dante looked at the faces in the wall. He felt a chill.
"This is the new import," Sora said. "Gluttony isn't just eating the city. He's turning the population into a battery."
Suddenly, the wall of flesh twitched. A slit opened in the center—a giant, vertical eye.
It stared at them.
A low, wet voice echoed in their minds.
"More... guests? Come in... the soup is warm..."
The flesh wall tore open. Dozens of Gastric Ghouls—creatures made of stomach acid and bone—spilled out, hissing.
"Squad 4," Sora said, clicking his flashlight off and igniting his violet aura. "You are authorized to use lethal force. Don't get eaten."
Dante opened his umbrella. The Hello Kitty keychain rattled against the handle.
"I'm not on the menu," Dante growled.