According to the religions of old, there are seven deadly sins in this world, but time and time again one has proven more prevalent than the others: Greed. Greed consumes humans in a way nothing else can and leads humans to commit heinous acts one would think them incapable of. Atrocious crimes, betrayal, and murder…greed is a catalyst for all of these things, but I digress…let's go back to before this all started.

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It was a beautiful Sunday morning that day, and the town was as active as one would come to expect of the Sabbath. Birds could be heard singing in unison and the sun's rays traveled without interference from the clouds. Although the day was bright, to one man it was as dark as an endless abyss.

In a stiff, uncomfortable hospital bed laid a man. His hair was of an ashen-blonde color, which was reminiscent of Autumn when everything began to wither and die. His brown eyes devoid of emotion or light, and their stare unrelenting. The man must have been at least average height, perhaps sixty-seven or sixty-eight inches tall, but what was most notable were the effects of muscular atrophy which ravaged the body over the years. Stubble was present on his face due to the half-hearted care of a nurse who had all but given up on the man, but that wasn't surprising, as everyone had. 

Six years was the amount of time. Six years of never-ending, tormentingly slow time which gnawed and clawed at the man's sanity. Was he even sane anymore? What is sanity? Life is certainly not sanity, no, life is torture. A pained existence where one merely lives through a constant loop of monotony until you cease to exist.

Jak Dannikin laid in bed staring out of the window cursing his very existence as these thoughts plagued him. Jak is stuck in a vegetative state and has been for the last seven years since he was nineteen years old. The man returned to his thoughts and memories.

College is a great way to experiment and grow accustomed to new youths, social groups, and questionable morals which you didn't even know existed, but the fault with a college town lay elsewhere. Drunkenness and its prevalence were unparalleled. Jak was no stranger to this social custom and partook on many occasions, but one would prove to be life-altering.

After a party with a couple of new friends Jak had met in the quad, he had begun to stumble back to the dorm. The night air was brisk, refreshing even, and Jak was not inebriated to the point where poor judgment would cloud his decisions, but other people had indeed reached that point. As he crossed the final walkway, Jak looked left to a pair of previously unseen headlights which seemingly appeared out of nowhere. He was not met with the usual last thoughts, or words of repentance in his mind, only a mind devoid of thoughts. 

A drunk driver. Crippled at the age of nineteen and unable to experience the fruitful bounty which life had yet to offer him, which brings us to the present.

One must understand, Jak is stuck in a vegetative state and everyone thinks him brain dead. The man was in an accident, struck by a drunken driver, and has been staring out this window ever since. Jak has been stuck in this sorry state for six years since he was nineteen…now he is blessed with such luxuries as a feeding tube, a catheter, diapers, and a fat fucking forty-five-year-old male nurse that shoots him looks of pity every time he receives a sponge bath. The results of the tests on his brain activity were botched and no one is aware that he is still very much able to think and feel.

“Disgraceful. Disgraceful. Disgraceful. Disgraceful. Disgraceful. Disgraceful. I HATE IT,” Thought Jak as he continued to stare out the window.

“At least this nightmare ends tomorrow.”

See…Jak’s “family", consisted of a drunken uncle, a drug-addicted aunt, and a filthy little twelve-year-old cretin they claim to be their son. He had always wondered how the old man is so out of his shit that he hadn't realized the little bastard is part Hispanic. His real parents died shortly after his birth...Coincidentally, also a drunken driver. His parents, not having any other immediate family or close friends, assigned this heinous trio as his guardians in the case of an emergency. They immediately sued the drunkard and won the case, but they abused the funds they received leading to Jak's current predicament. Alas, his settlement money has run dry, and seeing as he has no advanced directive in place because he was nineteen and had no plans for such events to transpire...tomorrow his “family" is going to pull the plug providing him with...you guessed it...life support.

If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

They can no longer, nor do they want to, keep spending money on the young burden now that he is without usefulness to them...

In one sense, Jak was happy to be escaping this hell...on the other hand… well,

“Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Hate. Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill them and the other drunk who lived.”

His desire for revenge was something to be admired, but who could blame him. These years of entrapment have semi-warped his sanity and led to twisted daily thoughts which plague the young man. Brutal scenarios and horrific thoughts reverberated throughout his mind all day.

As Jak stared out the window, something strange began to happen. The sky distorted and it looked as though it was warping and reflecting itself. Then, seemingly out of nowhere, a dark robed figure floated outside of his window. The skin of the creature was pure black and seemed to devour light itself. It's neck and fingers were adorned with all manner of fine jewelry and gold. The most disturbing part, though...Its face was devoid of any features, save for one: A large white grin with pointed teeth almost the size of the figure’s face. Jak could only stare...as...well, he couldn't do anything else.

“Ah, you must be Death. Come early to watch my pitiful end perhaps?” Jak laughed to himself cynically.

The figure grinned wider, which would have seemed impossible if you hadn't seen it. The monstrosity then raised its long slender finger to its mouth as if to say, “Shhhhhhh.”

It was probably the most horrifying thing Josh has ever since in his twenty-five years of life. Then just as the figure appeared, it was gone…or so Jak thought.

The hospital was located on top of a hill that overlooked the city…and looming right over the middle of the city was the unknown being, except the being, was bigger than the city itself. Then, it spoke.

“Greetings humanity! This one is named Greed. No doubt you've heard my name used in many contexts over the years! Regardless, humanity and its ever-growing greed have pleased me and given me much power...enough so to appear in your mortal realm as chance may have it! This one has decided to reward humanity as a whole! What is it that you all desire? Affluence, status, power, or something greater perhaps? All of these things you shall be able to attain through the greed consoles. Greed consoles will be available after the first phase, how exciting! I'm going to turn your earth into a game of greed! What fun! Everyone will start with a random skill, I love gambling by the way…also, everyone will start with the skills identify, status, equip, and bag! This one is truly generous! Phase one will begin in five minutes. Phase one will last twenty-four hours, phase two will last indefinitely, and phase three is on a per player basis. Kehkehkeh. During phase one three of your deepest, yet realistic and accomplishable, desires will be made known to you in the form of quests. Whoever does not complete the main quest will be executed in a random manner as this one loves gambling! Whoever completes the second, third, or both other quests will be rewarded! Anyway, that's all for now! Phase one: Apocalypse...action!”

The figure vanished and the city was left in utter chaos. I couldn't see that far, but it seemed various land-dwelling and flying creatures began to appear randomly around the city. What looked to be a giant creature appeared as well, but I could not distinguish any features. In but minutes the city was rife with smoke and destruction and I can only assume the rest of the world was left in a similar state. It was then I heard screaming in the hospital. A male doctor passed by my room and the words he uttered made my heart stop for a second.

“The bodies in the morgue have risen!”

“Shit, well I guess my death won't come peacefully,” Thought Jak.

As he laid there silently awaiting his demise, a screen appeared in front of him.

Hey…dumbass...get up. Your paralyzed status has been removed and you're healed. It's a Miracleee! Halle-Screw-Yah! Praise Greed-zus! Get up, check your quests, and leave. That's all you get, kid. Kehkehkeh. - Greed

With shock on his face, Jak tried to speak. Remembering the feeding tube, he began to pull it out. Pulling out the tube was not a pleasant experience and left him gagging endlessly. Next was the catheter…

...Five minutes later…

Jak was panting heavily and attempted to curse, but all that came out was a dry, raspy noise. He then stood out of bed shaking and immediately fell to the floor. Slowly, he stood up and grabbed the stand which once held his I.V. Bag for support. Jak slowly looked himself over and noticed the effects of years of muscular atrophy were no longer present. Mustering all of his strength and slowly walking to the door...he finally managed to softly utter a single word,

“Quests.”