Both portals open close to the ground for the first time. To the left of where they land, there’s also a corner. This puzzles Wyn as the previous section had a corner on the left. The two enter the area in the same fashion as on the previous level. As they’re about to sit, they hear a commotion. A gang of souls is having a verbal argument with a single derpy cream shorthair. It’s unknown what started it, but one of the souls slaps the cat hard. The gray-banded soul follows the attack with a choke. The cat looks unfazed. Without a single word, it slashes the soul’s stomach twice with its sharp claws. The soul is down on the ground, still a single piece, stomach wide open, crying in agony. The rest of the souls step back in fear and carry the injured soul away. Though there’s no blood or guts spilling, the sight gives the pair chills. Yu takes a deep breath then walks toward the derpy cat. Wyn runs after Yu in an attempt to stop him.
“Don’t worry. I just want to know what happened and what will happen to that soul.” Yu explains.
Wyn lets go and walks after Yu. In his mind, he wouldn’t know what to do if Yu were to get slashed like that. But, he refuses to let him go alone.
“Hi! Can you tell me what just happened?” Yu asks the shorthair, trying his best not to mock any demon since his incident with CATOTO.
“One of his soul buddies exploded. One of my colleagues took his buddy away. He got upset,” the cat replies, looking very derpy.
Wyn has a few questions he wants answers to with regard to the cats, but they’re trivial compared to what’s going on.
“What will happen to that soul?” Yu asks.
“Which one?” the demon asks back.
“The one you just slashed.”
“He will heal in due time.”
“Not fed to Gluttony?”
“No.”
“How come?”
“A soul is only fed to Gluttony if it eats too much that it explodes,” the cat answers then continues her duty.
Yu then turns to Wyn, sighs in relief and wipes his forehead with his hand. He was nervous during the conversation. The pair proceed to sit down and order some North Americaneon food. Wyn guesses the reason for Gluttony segmenting the Americaneos like this is probably due to how North Americaneon food is so greasy, Central and South Americaneon cuisines look way too healthy in comparison. But as greasy as it is, it’s tasty. Wyn wants to try out the best steak he can find here, while Yu is hoping to get a taste of a juicy homemade burger. Due to the nature of the food in this region, their stomachs grow much faster than the previous region.
Just when they are about to resort to the exploitation technique they used in the previous region, a loud ‘POP’ is heard. Both quickly look around the room to locate the noise. Only about two aisles away and at a table corner, a soul is seen with an open stomach. The wounds are different from the ones inflicted by slashes. Chunks from the stomach are scattered on the level, but again, no blood, no guts. A different demon this time approaches said soul, then puts her on its back. The cat then coughs out a thick rope and asks nearby demons to help tie the soul securely on its back before it ventures deeper into the room. How can those thick paws even tie a rope is beyond the men’s comprehension. Wyn approaches a nearby cat, which happens to be the same derpy shorthair.
“Do exploded wounds heal while in Gluttony’s stomach?”
“No,” a short reply from a shorthair.
“Why?”
“Inside Gluttony’s body is a liquid substance that stops souls from healing.”
“Cruel,” Wyn remarks, as he gets chills on his stomach.
Wyn and Yu make their way back to the wall. They’re debating where to go next. Yu notices that Wyn doesn’t look so well.
“You okay?”
“Me not okay. Seeing someone explode is traumatizing. You, Yu okay?”
“You okay, Yu also okay. So what now?”
After some deliberation, they both have had enough grease for now and decide to pay Gluttony a visit. Their plan is to get back into the area, command demons to carry them, take a good gander, then come back. Wyn then commands two cats to drop him and Yu off close to Gluttony. As they get closer to the middle of the level, they notice the walls that divide each region, erected all the way up out of their sight. Looking ahead, they see a gigantic figure from afar. It is Gluttony.
Surrounding Gluttony are demon cats of different sizes and breeds, but this time they all wear body armor complete with armor helmets. The spatulas are replaced by spears. They are tiny compared to what they are guarding. Gluttony is ginormous. His height exceeds the ceilings in the dining areas. His body is of disgusting flaps of fat that stack on top of one another. His skin color is tan but is mixed with moss green that gives the illusion of mosses growing over his body. On the ground, the stacked flaps look much like a melting ice cream. At the tip of each body flap, there’s an areola with no nipples. Instead of the nipples, there are sealed holes that look like they can ooze out the liquid inside his body. From the bottom up, no one can see his face as the stacks of flappy skin obscure the view. The emitting stench is so strong, no souls can sit within the three kilometer radius from Gluttony. Wyn and Yu are doing their best to clog their noses and squint their eyes. While they are hungry right now, the sight and scent of Gluttony alleviates their desire for food. Wyn has some questions, but he’s unable to open his mouth due to the strong stench. Suddenly, Gluttony burps. The two men’s eyes burn, torrents of tears pouring uncontrollably as a reaction.
Wyn signals Yu to leave the area as soon as possible, however, there are no demons nearby that can take them back. Wyn buffs through the stench to command a guardian demon, but it takes an offensive stance in response. The two walk back, hands covering their noses and eyes, at the same time, fighting through hunger. Lucky for them, there are several cats monitoring the following area even though there’s no soul in sight. They manage to get out. Before walking to the wall, Wyn asks Yu to wait up.
“Where is Gluttony fed?” Wyn asks the two demon guards in front of the fence.
“Above the ceiling, souls are lined up to be fed to Gluttony,” one of the cats answers.
“What does Gluttony’s face look like? Like the whole face.”
“It looks like a chubby face with droopy skin. His eyes are small. No eyebrows. His nose is small. No nose hair. His mouth is large. No teeth. His tongue is believed to be long, but no one has seen it.”
“How do the demons get the souls up top?”
“They scale up the body fats.”
Wyn is satisfied. He’s now ready to leave. He discusses with Yu the next destination they should head to. They decide to visit other regions and proceed to list out the food they would like to try on the go by helping each other remember the items. The two spend many months eating around – some from the list, some from discovery. By this time, they have visited all six regions and have made multiple visits to a couple. Their favorite is hands down the Asianian region, where over ten visits have been made. Even then, they have consumed less than half of all the menus the first level has to offer. Throughout this time, Wyn has also grown accustomed to the exploitation – what they call, the ‘feed and yeet’ technique.
While the food is delicious, Wyn has lost his excitement. The feeling of emptiness has crept its way back to him. When he was listing out the food he wanted to try with Yu, unbeknownst to him, a purpose was also created. With every dish he checked off the list, he felt accomplished. And while there’s more to explore, he has tried all that he wanted to. Any additional meals he discovered during his stay on the level was more or less a bonus find, outside of the main purpose. Had he made a goal to try every single menu on the level instead, he might still be enjoying his time here. But regardless of what his main goal was, eventually, he would have come to the same realization of futility.
“Should we go to a different level? Or do you want to stay here longer?” Wyn asks Yu.
“If you want to, sure. We’ve been here for a while already. The moment we’re not under the effect, I feel sick just thinking about food!”
Wyn is relieved Yu shares a sentiment that compliments his.
“Where to?” Wyn asks.
“Let’s go down in order.”
With that, both enter their respective portals. They are now on the second level.
