It started with a hum.
The Seeker's Compass, resting quietly on the table, began to twitch.
Then it glowed—a sharp, pulsing orange light—and its needle jerked violently, spinning before locking in a single direction.
Straight at Bob.
Bob, who was sitting cross-legged on the rug, cheerfully munching through a roasted chicken leg.
Everyone stared.
"…Bob?" Derek said cautiously.
Bob looked up, mouth full. "Mmrh?"
Bam raised an eyebrow. "Why is the compass pointing at him?"
Marcus blinked. "Did he… eat it?"
"No," Anna muttered. "It's reacting to him."
Then it happened.
Bob's body gave off a faint shimmer—then glowed, just for a moment, with an orange aura. Ethereal, warm, and somehow… hungry. Like a phantom appetite pulsing just beneath the surface.
The room collectively freaked out.
"HE'S POSSESSED!" Marcus shouted.
Bam readied fire in both palms. "TAKE HIM DOWN!"
"Waitwaitwaitwaitwait!" Bob stood up, waving his arms, still holding the half-eaten leg. "Don't cook me, I'm the tank!"
Kain held up his staff warily. "He's radiating spiritual energy."
Anna narrowed her eyes. "That's not normal magic."
The doll sat up straighter on the bookshelf where he'd been lounging. His button eyes squinted at Bob. He looked… impressed.
"Well. That explains a lot."
"What?" Derek asked, still holding his sword at the ready.
The doll pointed at Bob. "Orange is the color of Gluttony. One of the Seven."
Bob blinked. "Me?"
The doll nodded slowly. "It must've latched onto him during the escape—drawn to the strongest compatible energy nearby."
There was a long pause.
Then the doll added flatly, "And of course it hid in you. Look at how you eat."
Bob looked down at his food. Then at the others.
"…Is that bad?"
They all turned to the doll again.
He tilted his head. "Not necessarily. The Sins aren't malicious in the way you'd think. They aren't cartoon villains trying to destroy the world. They're desires—amplified, wild, ancient. They take the form of what they latch onto."
"So Gluttony isn't dangerous?" Bam asked, still aiming his flames.
"Gluttony isn't," the doll replied. "Not yet. But left unchecked, it could twist its host. You get greedy, hungry for more—more food, power, attention. It becomes obsession."
Kain stepped closer. "So what do we do?"
The doll grinned.
"We seal it."
Bob's eyes widened. "W-Wait, what does that mean?! Am I gonna explode?!"
"No, no. Probably not," the doll said cheerfully. "You'll be a vessel. Bound. The Sin stays inside you, but trapped. Dormant."
"You could've opened with that!" Bob yelped.
The doll stood and raised one stitched hand. Glowing runes circled his palm.
"Hold still."
A blast of light filled the room as the doll spoke an incantation in a language that crackled with power. Ancient glyphs circled Bob's chest, his eyes widened—
Then the glow vanished.
Bob blinked. "Did… it work?"
The compass stopped glowing.
The doll nodded. "Sealed. Gluttony is bound. Bob is now its vessel."
Everyone exhaled—except Bob.
"…Do I still get to eat like normal?"
The doll looked him over. "Actually, you may have a stronger appetite. But so long as you don't consume an entire village, I think we'll be fine."
Bam dropped his fire. "Well. Convenient."
Marcus smirked. "We were ready for a continent-spanning hunt. Turns out the first Sin was already bunking with Bob."
Bob sat back down and picked up his chicken. "Guess I'm useful now, huh?"
"You were always useful," Derek said.
Pause.
"…As bait," Marcus added.
Bob glared.
The doll chuckled. "One down."
He looked out the window, where the sky was still and dark.
"Six more to go."