Dream System Of Seven Sins

"Life essence? What exactly is that?" Adam asked slightly worried.

"You know how they say the blood is the human essence like how it keeps one's body alive?" Eevie explained slowly, "Don't give me that look, I'm not saying that I'm going to draw your blood but that the concept's almost similar. I might be as ancient as some vampires but I'm not one. Think of it as blood in a spiritual sense. And just like blood, your life essence will regenerate itself over time, so really, you're not losing anything. It's a real bargain for you." Here, Eevie winked.

Adam pulled his hands back instinctively and questioned, "Are there going to be side effects, like... shortening of longevity? Things like that."

"No, no, no. Of course nothing like that." Eevie shook her head and tutted like she was lecturing a petulant child, "In fact, I dare say this is safer than even drawing or donating blood. What harm can an old granny like myself really do? Trust me..." Eevie persuaded with a gentle smile.

With obvious hesitation, Adam slowly pushed his right hand forward.

Eevie smiled encouragingly as she pulled out a rectangular object that looked like a credit-card terminal. It had a pen-like object that was attached to the terminal's side.

She placed it between them and said, "Now, honey, just hold onto this. Do not worry, it will not hurt even a bit."

Adam touched the pen gingerly and felt the cold sting of steel. He eventually wrapped his whole palm around it and held it firmly in his hand.

Eevie pressed some buttons on the terminal and announced, "Okay, here we go."

Adam felt something like a sense of numbness spreading from his right arm, but nothing beyond that.

He looked at the terminal because something was coming out of the slit opening where people usually slot in the credit card.

It was a rectangular card that was the size of a normal poker card. The back of it was pure black while the front was white with the words, "Essence of Life" written in cursive and bold near the bottom.

After the first card finished printing, Adam started to feel light-headed as if he was really donating blood.

Adam felt his focus wavering as the second card started to get printed. For the first time, the sound of alarm cropped up in his mind.

His first reaction was to drop the pen but for some reasons, he couldn't. It was as if the hand was no longer his. It had become as unresponsive as stone even though he could still the touch of the pen in his grasp.

His panic was soon overwhelmed by fatigue as the second card finished printing.

His eyelids started to droop and he could feel the room spinning.

By the time of the fourth card, he tried to say something to Eevie or even yell at her but he was too drained to be able to do that.

By the start of the fifth card, Adam collapsed onto the table. He appeared to have gone unconscious.

Eevie was unfazed throughout all these. She sat there waiting patiently for the process to finish.

As the fifth card hit the table, Eevie picked them up before they disappeared down her billowing sleeves.

Suddenly, the chair underneath Adam disappeared and so did the room. Adam fell through the darkness into the abyss below.

The only things that remained were Eevie who still sat in her chair and the table that now floated in the middle of nothing.

Seconds later, a blue card with the picture of the earlier room appeared on the table. Written on the bottom were the words, Sloth Level One: Small Shelter.

Eventually, the card, the table, the chair and the person all blinked out of existence.