Prosperity: “… and that is why I am the most important of the three of us. Without me, it would be almost impossible to have you two.”
Shade 1: “I concur absolutely.”
Law: “And who would you be?”
Shade 2: “We are shades, damned to the underworld for our unholy deeds in life.”
Shade 3: “Sinners all three of us, of different degrees and magnitudes.”
S1: “We couldn’t help but overhear the interesting conversation going on over there on your pedestal.”
Power: “We were having our age-old debate: which of the three of us are valued most. I like to let these two think they might win every once in a while, it adds some excitement to these monotonous days. However, we all know that it is I, Power, that humans value most.”
S2: “You couldn’t be more correct! In fact, love of power above all else is the reason I was damned. I remember with such fondness how I was able to control the destiny of others, how much control I had! There were a great many shades like me in that dark pit, damned to a fate worse than most.”
S1: “The stars above are such a welcome sight. Such a change from the dark depths of the earth. If only we were to have cherished our numbered days while we still lived, we may have avoided this grim fate.”
L: “Wait, wait, that’s utter nonsense. Law should be what the people uphold above all. I am obviously the most important. Society wouldn’t be able to function without me!”
S3: “Law is the very thing that has damned us all. It is at the heart of every punishment that we face. I abhor the laws and the lawmaker that sent me to my doom below, as I’m sure the rest of my fellow shades do as well.”
Pr: “See, Law, you aren’t as important as you wish to be. As I was saying before, I am what these humans value most. Look at all of the souls damned for eternity for their love of money! Obviously Prosperity is most important in their hearts!”
S1: “I am one of those souls you speak of. During my lifetime I saved every penny I earned, even those that I gained through no honest work. Any money that passed to my hands was immediately kept. It was a wonderful life, hoarding so much that my purse was never light.”
Po: “Please, what you all were really after was Power!”
L: “And yet another abuser of the Law, that they should be upholding! I have never seen such absolute mockery of the most important of human rights.”
S3: “Judgement Day will come eventually for all of us, Law – then will you see your cause triumph above all. Humanity is for now occupied in fulfilling their every whimsical desire, no matter how detrimental to their fate.”
Pr: “The pursuit of Prosperity is not a ‘whimsical desire!’ I am outraged at the suggestion. Although many trek far from the honest path, it is an honorable life to lead!”
Po: “I will not masquerade as a pursuit for honest men, as Prosperity does. Those that want and pursue Power above all else must be willing to use every resource available to them, they must go the extra mile into dangerous territory, no matter what the consequences would be in their afterlife. May are aware their deeds are wrong in nature, yet they pursue them without faltering.”
L: “Am I the only truly honest pursuit here? The only honest one in company of sinners and the damned? To spend eternity trapped on this pedestal with you is surely its own Hell!”