The trio stepped into the cavernous hall, where the air hung stale and time itself seemed to crawl.
Dust motes drifted lazily in the few beams of light that penetrated the grimy windows.
A bored-looking demon with sagging jowls sat behind a massive desk. His eyes barely lifted when they approached.
"We're here for the Trial of Sloth," Rui announced, her voice carrying an authority that seemed out of place in the sluggish atmosphere.
The clerk sighed, the sound stretching for uncomfortably long seconds. He pushed a small paper tab across the counter with excruciating slowness.
"Take... a... number..." he drawled.
Rui glanced at the ticket: 10,843.
Above the service counter, a dusty display showed the current number being served: 127.
"This can't be right," she protested. "At this rate, we'll be waiting for centuries!"
The clerk's expression didn't change. "Everyone... waits... their... turn..."
Rui, Ran, and Kee Kee scanned the vast waiting room.
