Zeke approached the city cautiously, only to find that it was unnecessary. Without the burden of wealth carried by so many others, no one even looked at him twice. But even if they didn’t notice him, he certainly saw them.

  Most remained in the shadows, waiting to pounce on anyone they thought they could catch unawares. However, there were quite a few bands of outlaw types who barred various streets. There, they shook down anyone who crossed their paths, taking a toll that usually included everything that traveler had gathered. More than once, Zeke saw fights break out amongst those bandits as they warred with one another over who got what.

  But even with those dangers standing in their way, the travelers never faltered in their quest to reach the center of the city. By virtue of carrying nothing of worth, Zeke was left to his own devices, which allowed him to get a look at those travelers’ destination.

  And he was incredibly disappointed to find that it was nothing but a pile of treasure, to which each traveler added a significant share before turning around, clearly intent on repeating the cycle.

  Zeke wanted answers.

  So, after spending a little time observing the situation, he waited until someone had recently dropped off their burden, then pounced. He grabbed the man, pinning him against one of the golden buildings, and demanded, “What is going on here? Why are you so intent on adding to that pile?”

  “The beast must be fed,” the man stammered, obviously panicked. “If we feed it enough, it will open the gate, and we can escape. But it will not allow anyone who hasn’t contributed through. Please – I can’t stay here any longer. I need to move on!”

  Zeke let the man go, then repeated his interrogation a few times, getting the same answers. He had no idea if the situation was what they believed it to be, but he suspected that there was at least some truth to it. With that in mind, Zeke settled in to wait, all the while cycling divine energy through his body so he could counteract the greed threatening his mind.

  It was only barely sufficient.

  Even someone like him, who had never truly coveted worldly possessions, was very much affected by the need for wealth. He looked upon the travelers’ burdens with malice born of envy and greed. It would not take much to simply take what they had. He was more than a match for any of them.

  Perhaps that was the secret to passing through the circle.

  He only had to take enough. He only needed to possess enough wealth, and then, the gate would be open to him.

  Zeke was on the verge of acting on those thoughts when he caught himself. Down that road lay ruin. He knew that down to the core of his being, and yet, he’d nearly succumbed. That was the insidious nature of each circle of Hell. If he let up for even a second, he would become trapped just like everyone else.

  He forced more divine energy through his body. His long use had widened the gap in the cage, allowing the trickle to become something more substantial. He needed that now. Thankfully, that same use had acclimated his system to the destructive energy, giving him the ability to withstand its damaging effects.

  To a degree.

  He could still only handle a tiny flow, barely more than the trickle he’d endured in the past. It was enough to counteract the effects of the circle, though only just. And he still needed to remain focused, or he would lose perspective. Subsequently, he might end up as one of those doomed travelers, spending an eternity walking back and forth as they accumulated wealth that did not matter.

  As those thoughts flitted through Zeke’s mind, he saw a shift in the pile of treasure. At first, it was nothing more than a tremble, but then, the clink of coins and jewels echoed across the city. That was followed by a flood of people who clambered into position all around the giant pile of wealth.

  “The Magnificent One comes!” someone shouted.

  The others cheered.

  Zeke merely watched, curious as to what form the creature might take. And when it finally showed itself, he was not disappointed. It was another dragon, though one far larger than the creature he’d killed when he’d first arrived in the Circle of Greed. That one had been the size of a jumbo jet, but this particular specimen was at least five times as big, with a wingspan of more than a thousand feet.

  As it burst free of the pile of wealth, it spread those wings – which looked like they were made of spun gold – showering the locals in heavy coins. Then, it let loose a pillar of flame that melted the entire square into a morass of melted gold. Finally, it slurped it all up, and in only a few moments.

  Before it once again descended into the pit at the center of the city, it bellowed a single phrase. “Not enough!” it roared.

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  Then, it disappeared, leaving a stunned and disappointed crowd behind. For a long while, they just stared ahead, clearly wishing for a different outcome. Then, the fighting started.

  “Laziness!” someone shouted.

  “Someone’s hoarding their stash!”

  Accusations flew around, and soon enough, those words turned into action. Before Zeke knew what was happening, a brawl broke out. And given that each of these people had at least a modicum of power, it quickly turned to chaos. Buildings were destroyed, and lives were lost – sometimes brutally.

  But the battle didn’t last long. Maybe an hour, and then the looting began. They took everything that wasn’t nailed down, tossing it into the pit. Even bodies went in, along with whatever wealth the enterprising survivors could find.

  When that was all done, everyone – even the bandits – set off into the landscape, abandoning the city in search of wealth. Some went in groups, but most undertook the task entirely alone.

  For his part, Zeke just watched from atop one of the buildings. A few times, he was accosted by rioters, but they learned their lessons quickly enough. Mostly, though, they left him to his own devices, which allowed him to watch the whole situation unfold. He suspected it wasn’t anything new. It probably happened each time the dragon emerged.

  But Zeke felt more certain than ever that it was all just a trap.

  It would never be enough. Whatever lies the people confined to the Circle of Greed had been told, there would be no escape. As he’d previously suspected, it was a Sisyphean task meant to capitalize on their greed and desire to move on.

  Which made Zeke’s path easy enough to ascertain. He wouldn’t be participating in their search for wealth. He had no intention of playing the game as it was set before him. Instead, he would change the paradigm – but not until he knew more. So, he waited, spending the next few weeks meditating as he watched the city go through another cycle. It wasn’t long before the first few waves of travelers returned, and most of those set up as bandits. Next came the more earnest travelers, who paid their way through to deposit only a fraction of what they’d gathered.

  On and on it went, with larger and larger hauls coming in. After a month or so, the treasure in the pit approached the lip. Then, it spilled over. Still, the travelers piled more and more wealth into the collection until, at last, the dragon reappeared, though it was larger and shinier than ever before.

  More than anything, Zeke wanted to simply attack it right then and there. Even if he couldn’t kill it, at least it would mark the end of his time in Hell, which had grown much more tedious than he’d expected. Agony, he could take. Enemies, he could overcome. Boredom, though, was an insurmountable enemy. Zeke’s only recourse against it was to focus on his task of inoculating himself against the divine energy within his core. Otherwise, he would have had nothing to do.

  Fighting a dragon made of gold seemed like a good way to break up the monotony.

  However, Zeke hadn’t gotten where he was without leaning on his patience. So, he endured another four cycles before he finally decided that the time to act had come. So, the sixth time he saw the dragon emerge, he pounced, taking the enormous creature by complete surprise.

  He hit it like a bullet, carving a deep gouge in its forehead. It went out like a light, its long and sinuous neck hitting the ground in a shower of gold and silver coins. Meanwhile, the stunned crowd of onlookers gasped in collective shock before their minds caught up to the situation. Rather than attack the dragon that was their jailer – as was probably logical – they homed in on Zeke.

  Before a few seconds had passed, he was dealing with thousands of unburdened and angry travelers even as the dragon pulled itself back together. The coins flowed into place, filling in the hole Zeke had left behind, and it rose to its full height. The creature spread its wings, and it focused its gem-like eyes on its attacker.

  “You dare?!” it bellowed, its voice sounding like an avalanche of coins. “Be punished, puny –”

  Zeke hit it again, dislodging its jaw and exposing bones of diamond. The monster screamed inarticulately, but Zeke was incapable of following up, because the horde had finally fallen upon him.

  Individually, most of the travelers were not terribly strong. But there were so many of them, and buried amidst that crowd were a few powerhouses that put pressure on even Zeke’s mind.

  He fought them all in a desperate melee, at first relying on his hammer, and then discarding it in favor of fists and feet. He lashed out with every ounce of strength he could muster, flexing his control over the attribute to hit harder and faster than anyone could have thought possible.

  And in that moment, he was in his element.

  Fighting was so much easier than waiting. Than thinking. He didn’t have to plan or contemplate the nature of the universe. He didn’t have to think about overarching goals or concepts he didn’t fully understand. Instead, he simply met the horde of travelers with unmitigated violence, which was definitely within his comfort zone.

  He smashed through one person after another, destroying them with extreme prejudice and maximum joy. He didn’t see them as people at all – because they weren’t. Not anymore. They were only instruments of greed, and killing them was better than forcing them to endure more of their eternal and pointless task of gathering wealth to feed an unappreciative dragon.

  On and on he fought, reveling in the violence until, at last, there were no more left.

  He stood in a field of blood and broken bones. No one was left alive, save for him and the dragon, who watched with curiosity and more than a little fear.

  “What are you?” it rumbled. “I sense the divine flowing through your veins.”

  “My name is Ezekiel Blackwood, and I will escape this circle of Hell.”

  “I…I will let you pass.”

  As it spoke, the dragon shifted away from the pit.

  “Let?” Zeke asked, cocking his head to the side. Once again, he summoned his hammer to hand. “I don’t think you understand what’s going on here.” He leveled the weapon at the dragon, eliciting a tinkling shiver of fear from the monster. “I don’t want you to let me do anything. I intend to carve a path through you. I won’t be stopped – not by you or any of the other guardians tasked with barring the way. You think I don’t feel divinity in you, as well? I do. But it doesn’t scare me. It excites me, because maybe you’ll give me a decent fight. Probably not, but a guy can dream.”

  With that Zeke leaped forward and into battle.

  He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been happier.