Max woke up in Gluttony.
The moment his eyes opened, pain slammed into his skull.
It wasn't just a headache.
It felt like his mind was being flooded—memories, experiences, entire conversations playing out all at once, like a movie being fast-forwarded while he was forced to experience every single frame.
Max groaned, clutching his head.
"…Damn."
He staggered slightly as he stood.
"This is worse than a Beelzejuice hangover…"
He exhaled slowly, trying to steady himself.
"And of course… no immunity works on this."
The pain wasn't physical.
It was informational.
Which meant he had to endure it.
Max leaned against a nearby wall, letting the flood of memories settle just enough for him to function.
From what he could piece together—
Millie was currently away, visiting her parents to share the news about… everything.
Loona had been dragged off on some chaotic "vacation" by Blitzø, meaning she'd be gone for a while too.
Though they had agreed to video calls every other night.
Max huffed lightly.
"At least that part is normal."
He rubbed his temples again.
Strangely enough, there were gaps.
Large ones.
He couldn't even remember how he had ended up in the Ring of Gluttony.
That alone was unsettling.
Max pushed himself upright and finally took in his surroundings.
Gluttony was… overwhelming.
Neon lights stretched endlessly across the skyline, flashing in every possible color. Massive signs advertised everything from all-you-can-eat buffets to underground casinos and high-end clubs.
The streets were packed.
Restaurants.
Bars.
Strip clubs.
Shops.
Casinos.
Every possible form of indulgence existed here.
Max narrowed his eyes slightly.
"Right…"
He stepped forward, walking slowly through the chaos.
"Gluttony isn't just about food."
It was about excess.
Overindulgence in every possible form.
As he walked, he saw the consequences.
Sinners who had eaten themselves into grotesque, barely mobile forms.
Others sat on the street, broke and broken, surrounded by gambling slips and empty bottles.
Some laughed hysterically.
Others cried.
Some didn't react at all.
And then there were the ones suffering from more… physical consequences of indulgence.
Max grimaced slightly.
"Yeah… that tracks."
The cruel part was the cycle.
Even while suffering, many of them kept going.
Eating.
Drinking.
Spending.
Destroying themselves.
Over and over.
He shoved his hands into his pockets as he continued walking.
"Hell really leans into irony."
From what he remembered, the Ring of Gluttony actually received far fewer sinners than most other rings.
Maybe a couple thousand per year.
Which made sense.
Most people didn't die from pure indulgence alone.
"Kind of a waste of a ring," Max muttered.
"But I guess Hellborn make up for it."
As he walked, something caught his attention.
A glow in the distance.
Bright.
Massive.
Impossible to miss.
Music pulsed through the air even from miles away.
Max sighed.
"Of course."
The party.
Beelzebub's party.
The entire skyline seemed to pulse with light from that one location.
Bass-heavy music echoed through the streets, shaking the ground beneath his feet.
Max winced.
"Yeah… that's not helping the headache."
He rubbed his temples again.
He knew this moment was important.
He knew he had met Bee around this time.
But the memory of how it happened was buried under the flood of accelerated experiences.
Fragments came through.
Bee… laughing.
Dancing.
Chaos.
Vox.
Max frowned.
Right.
Bee was currently involved with Vox.
At least… partially.
But from what Max could piece together, it wasn't exactly a clean or stable relationship.
"Honestly…" Max muttered, "…I wouldn't be surprised if she just hooked up with me for fun at first."
That sounded like Bee.
Still—
Max shook his head.
"Going there now would be a mistake."
He remembered something else.
Something important.
Tonight.
Something went wrong at that party.
Someone pushed too far.
Bee lost control.
A lot of people died.
Max exhaled slowly.
"Yeah… definitely not the night to walk in."
Instead, he had something else to handle.
Another problem.
A bigger one.
"There's an Overlord here…"
Max's eyes narrowed as he walked deeper into the city.
"One that causes way more trouble than he should."
A name surfaced through the chaos of memories.
"Sir Tesure."
The Overlord of Rats.
Max let out a short, amused breath.
"…Still a weird title."
But the guy was dangerous.
Very dangerous.
He had built an entire information network using summoned rats. Thousands of them, spread across the ring, watching, listening, reporting everything.
Nothing escaped his notice for long.
On top of that—
"He works with the Vees."
Max's expression darkened slightly.
That alone made him a priority target.
Sir Tesure had even gone as far as proclaiming himself the ruler of Gluttony.
And Bee?
Max shook his head.
"She doesn't care."
Too busy partying.
Too busy indulging.
Too busy being Bee.
Which meant Sir Tesure had been operating unchecked.
Max glanced around.
Then he noticed them.
Rats.
Everywhere.
On rooftops.
In alleys.
Under tables.
Watching.
Always watching.
"Yeah…"
Max rolled his shoulders slightly.
"He was still a problem even in the present."
He remembered more now.
Sir Tesure's real ability.
"Possession."
Max's eyes sharpened.
"He spreads like a virus."
He could infect others.
Control them.
Turn entire groups into extensions of himself.
Max exhaled slowly.
"And if I remember right…"
A darker memory surfaced.
"…He was responsible for the Black Plague."
Max stopped walking.
Then smiled slightly.
"Alright."
Black smoke began to seep from his body.
His form shifted.
His clothes darkened and reshaped.
A long coat.
A wide-brimmed hat.
A beaked mask.
A plague doctor.
Thick, shadowy smoke constantly drifted from his body, curling unnaturally through the air.
His presence alone began to distort the space around him.
"Yeah," Max said quietly.
"This form will do."
He cracked his neck slightly.
Then looked toward the city.
"Alright."
A faint grin spread beneath the mask.
"Let's go hunt some rats."
[A: So, I had a request of a marvel story. Particularly a Spiderman one. I do have an idea for that as I have several symbiote Spiderman ideas and cool concepts. If that isn't your tea then understandable. Leave any story suggestions you would like to see here. Thanks and enjoy]