The Sin Hunter: Double or Nothing

What a Time for Deals

"Does this Great Abyss have any real barriers? Any walls, or boundaries?"

'Ah, no, actually. Well, none that I've ever encountered in my decades down here, but that's a good question to ask.'

"Hmm. I see. What do you need to eat or drink, or how do you survive down here?"

'Easy on now, hotshot. Let's rest up with the questions, like you have a lot of rest to get after that nasty shock earlier.'

"I would fall asleep, I really would. But..."

'You falter. Worried about losing company?'

"I'm...sorta. I'm worried that if I fall asleep, rest will recharge me, but you'll just wander off and I'll be left here forever without any help."

'Oh. I see. Yeah, I suppose that would be a problem, now wouldn't it?'

"I could survive on my own. But I'd miss your company and-I'm sorry, are you crying?"

'Huh? Who, me? No, of course not. That'd be my sister, she's trapped in the same body.'

"Oh, okay. Wait, what?!"

'Uh, yeah! So, as it turns out, Void Ventrocians have this rare shot at being born in the same occupied space, but their bodies sorta twist and entwine. Very rare, let me emphasize that.'

"Wow. Kinda like conjoined twins?"

'Hmm, kinda. Guess you could see it like that. But the difference is, it's actually more like D.I.D, if you know what that is.'

"Dissociative Identity Disorder? Yes, I'm familiar with it. I had a client like that once. Wild guy, too. He would switch from a sea captain to a World War Two Austrian soldier."

'Jeez. And you said he would switch to a War soldier?'

"No, he would switch to a sea captain."

'Uh, 'scuse me, what now?'

"It's a really long story. Don't worry, I won't bore you with the details."

'Ms. Winters, don't you ever say that to a Void Ventrocian! We love stories, especially the long ones. Keep that in mind next time you see another Ventrocian.'

"Oh. Uh, okay then. So...guess I should get off to sleep now, huh?"

'Well...hey, listen, Ms. Winters. Could I offer you a proposal? Legal contract type stuff, y'know?'

"What kind of legal contract would you be looking to make? Because it won't guarantee freedom from whatever this is. You were chained up down here for a very specific reason, even if I don't know what that is."

'Fair enough. Here's my offer: a soul bind. Forever and ever, as long as you walk within the Great Abyss, I will stand beside you and offer my servitude as a guide. In exchange, you must take me wherever your eternity as a soul will flow to.'

"Really? That's all there is to it? That doesn't sound awful."

'It shouldn't be. But I have to warn you, this does mean that my chain has been moved off one pole and onto another. In this case, if you had accepted the deal-'

"Which I still might, but continue."

'Great. As I was saying, if you'd accepted the deal, I can only go where you can go now. And never exceptions to that.'

"So if I make this deal with you, it legally binds your soul to mine until I release you from servitude?"

'Well, I-' a loud cough. 'Ack! Ahem, I'm sorry? I don't think I heard you well.'

"I said, I own your soul, just like you own mine. Am I wrong?"

'Hmm...no, not at all. Think of it like shared custody of a simple being. Every Vessel, like you, has a spiritual placeholder in the grand scheme of the universe. In your case, your placeholder remains unaltered, but now three other beings are sharing the same pedestal.'

"And what are the negative implications of this contract?"

'Well, call it a simple yet complicated scenario. Simple, in that I'm now connected to you. But complicated, in that I'm now connected to you. And my sister is too. Thank goodness she hasn't woken up yet, by the way.'

"You say this like your sister is the worst creature to ever roam the surface of this Great Abyss. Is she really that awful?"

'No, not at all. But she can be careless, most often gratuitous in her emotions. She handles lust in a context I don't think anyone would enjoy. Same goes for all the rest of the deadly sins and their context.'

"Huh. Do you think I'll ever meet her someday? She doesn't sound completely awful."

'Perhaps, Ms. Winters. Perhaps. But you likely won't see her at all for a long while.'

"Well, then I'll give her time to get ready. I'm trapped in the Great Abyss. Time is everything I have."