Lazy Salvation The Candlebearer

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'…Just being lazy is the best feeling, after all.'

His thoughts dulled, slowing to nothing.

The world faded to black.

.

.

.

He didn't know how long he stayed in that empty, drifting state before a silhouette erged from the darkness.

It was blurry… indistinct…?

But Ashen could tell one thing; its back was turned to him, moving with slow, deliberate steps through the void.

Then, a spark.

A single crimson fla flickered to life, cupped in the bowl of an ancient candle.

Its wavering glow spilled over the figure as he reached out; a middle-aged man, nearly Ashen's height, draped in the lavish attire of an English noble from centuries past.

Even his hat was a relic of another ti. Tall, stiff, and impeccably precise.

The man never stopped.

Step after step, he moved forward, his pace unchanging.

Steady and unwavering.

As if he would march endlessly, never slowing, never speeding.

Ashen didn't know when he opened his eyes.

But he knew one thing for certain.

"The concept of sloth…"

…He had taken his first real step as a Sloth Pathway walker.

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***

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A couple of days had passed since then, and Ashen found his mind lingering on the figure of the man conjured by his understanding of the concept of Sloth.

More than anything, his attention was fixated on the red fla of the candle in the man's hand.

Without anyone telling him, he simply knew that this fla was the key to tracking his advancent.

The mont its core shifted from red to orange, he could take the next step.

A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

This instinct wasn't unique to him. Every pathwalker could intuitively sense the state of their own advancent.

But one thing stood out to him… the way his Sin manifested was bizarre, even among the myriad ways he had heard of.

Take Seraphine's representation, for instance. White flowers blooming; simple, elegant, and nowhere near as eerie as his…

Regardless…

Taking the first step on his path is good and all, but beyond that, Ashen had practically stopped training altogether, save for Coach's mandatory classes.

He told himself it was just a break, that he'd bounce back stronger once he got his shit together. But he had no clue where his sincerity ended and the influence of his Perpetually Distracted trait began.

At the very least, he could console himself with the fact that he hadn't been idle during his break.

After all, how could he forget Chris? The bastard strutted around with his gang every day, as if he hadn't orchestrated his near-death.

So, Ashen started planning.

First, he tracked Chris's schedule, where he went, when he left, and who he hung out with. By the end of the week, Ashen could guess his whereabouts just by glancing at the clock.

And he had to say… Chris's life was a boring routine. Sa places, sa people, sa stupid shit.

Unfortunately, this made things inconvenient for Ashen. The guy was rarely alone.

The only ti Chris separated from his little flock was when he ventured into the city's red-light district.

Of course, he wouldn't bring his followers when going to satisfy his horniness. Wouldn't want to tarnish the white knight image he'd so painstakingly built for himself.

And after seeing Ashen and the others return alive from what should've been a certain death, Chris's nightly visits had beco more frequent.

Ashen wasn't sure what spooked him. Fear of retaliation? Frustration at his plan failing?

A fleeting thought made Ashen wonder if it was guilt, but he tossed that aside almost imdiately with an absurd look on his face.

'Yeah, right. I'd be surprised if he didn't already have ten more plans to get killed.'

With all this knowledge, the rest was simple.

He just had to hire a prostitute to lure Chris to a secluded spot.

And lo and behold, the fish took the bait the very sa day.

Now, Ashen was on his way to reel in the prize.

There was just one teensy little problem.

"---Sneaky Ash, trying to leave out of this~ Tsk, tsk. Too bad for you, the Sera Radar caught you red-handed, hehe."

Yes. Seraphine had discovered his plans and was now insisting on tagging along.

And that, dear universe, was why the absurd sight of the two of them waltzing toward the brothel quarter together in the middle of the night had co to be.

Ashen didn't even bring Braun along; he wanted to handle this alone.

He had no idea what kind of fallout his actions would bring.

Chris wasn't just so lowlife; he had ties to sothing lurking outside the academy, sothing with enough influence to pull strings from the shadows. And Ashen wasn't about to drag his only two companions into that ss.

But leaving Chris to roam free wasn't an option either. Not after what he'd done.

The city was slowly turning into a twisted rerun of their first-week test, back when they had to fend off wild beasts just to survive. Except this ti, the predators were rational, cunning, and far deadlier.

Murder cases kept piling up, yet the academy barely batted an eye. Was this so kind of second-stage culling? Another test for those "recruiters" to evaluate their potential candidates? Ashen didn't know.

But one thing was certain: he wasn't going to spend the rest of his ti here glancing over his shoulder, waiting for Chris—or one of his lackeys—to drive a knife into his spine.

Unfortunately for him, Seraphine was as stubborn as a mountain when she set her mind on sothing.

He briefly considered knocking her out with Dreamweaving, slipping away to finish the job alone, and returning before she woke up.

But he scrapped the idea almost imdiately.

Seraphine wasn't a child, no matter how much she acted like one. She had her own thoughts, her own choices to make.

And if, even after he explained everything to her, she still insisted on coming along… then who was he to deny her that?

More than that, though, he couldn't bring himself to betray the trust she placed in him.

She let her guard down completely around him, without hesitation. If he repaid that trust by manipulating her—even for her own good—then he wouldn't be able to consider himself worthy of that trust anymore.