The idea of someone being a "NPC" is a convenient illusion. There are no hollow people, only human beings shaped by the forces they surrender to. These forces are not personalities; they are conditions of the inner life, distortions of desire and weakness, an amalgamation of these seven states or as we know 7 deadly sins:
1. Sloth / Acedia:
A man with no will or desire of his own drifts into self-loathing, self-doubt, and depression. In a strange way, it becomes a kind of heaven to him, because it lets him feel valued for nothing. This state makes him subservient to society, and all he becomes capable of is sleeping, fantasizing, dreaming, and consuming entertainment.
The victim of this sin carries an irrational fear of the present moment. He cannot face himself for who he is, which leaves him suffering indefinitely in grief.
Acedia (from Greek akēdia, "without care") is a spiritual and psychological state of listlessness, apathy, profound boredom, and spiritual sloth, often described as existential emptiness or a lack of concern for one's duties or condition. Historically called the "noonday demon" by desert monks, it's more than laziness; it is a deep disinterest or distaste for spiritual things, work, or life itself, leading to restlessness and inertia.
2. Greed / Love of the World:
To them, money is God. They live to spend and earn, and the only thing that matters is what can be earned in order to be spent. Calling them materialistic almost softens the truth, it doesn't capture their real feelings toward the world or their sense of purpose. They will take every possible measure to secure any kind of monetary profit for themselves.
Their only source of comfort or peace is money and possession.
3. Lust:
Everyone knows this to some degree, most have lived through it or are living through it but lust isn't confined to adultery or self-pleasure. It extends into the mind as well. One acts or performs in the hope of drawing the attention of the one they desire, driven by the fantasy that these performative efforts will lead to some form of gratification.
Their souls become corrupted to the point where they can no longer understand human interaction as non-sexual or natural. To them, everything and everyone turns into a fantasy. Humans are reduced to looks, physique, scents, and scenes, rather than soul.
4. Gluttony:
Gluttony is the inability to tolerate emptiness. The glutton devours experiences, sensations, and distractions not out of appetite, but out of fear: fear of silence, fear of boredom, fear of facing the hollowness he refuses to name. Every bite, every indulgence, every fleeting thrill is a desperate attempt to fill a void that cannot be named or confronted. It is not a sin of pleasure, but a sin of escape, a relentless pursuit of anything that might drown the emptiness within, leaving the soul restless, never satisfied, always searching for the next distraction.
5. Vainglory:
Vainglory belongs to the attention hoarders, the ones whose lives are nothing but endless performances. Their acts are so theatrical that even they cannot tell where the self ends and the mask begins. Every gesture, every word is measured for the eyes of the public; they are soft clay, endlessly molded by the desires and admiration of those around them. They lack a spine yet harbor a grotesquely inflated sense of morality, a morality performed rather than lived. Even their virtues are acts, rehearsed and staged, designed to impress, to be consumed, never to be felt. In this world, there is no true self, only the reflection of what others love or what they believe others will love.
6. Wrath:
Wrath reduces humans to enemies. Every person with a differing opinion, a conflicting worldview, or even a stray thought becomes a threat, a target, a justification for their fury. They feed on old hurts, ruminating over slights both real and imagined, and even if they claim these wounds have destroyed them, they secretly crave the burn, the thrill of hate, the satisfaction of brewing it, letting it justify their rage. They seek validation for this anger, whether from like-minded groups or from themselves, as though shared fury makes it sacred. Their end is always the same: to humiliate, to dominate, to watch the suffering of those they deem enemies, taking pleasure in it as if cruelty were a reward, a proof that the world conforms to the scale of their wrath.
7. Pride:
Pride walks hand in hand with vainglory, but it wears confidence so absolute that it becomes a bubble, impenetrable and self-contained. They are trapped in their own individualism, unable to accept help of any kind, it humiliates them, threatens the image of the self they have elevated to "someone," "the one." Helplessness terrifies them. They convince themselves, and try to convince others, that they are tragic heroes, destined for greatness. They fear normalcy, mediocrity, the ordinary, even if chasing these ideals means bending or ignoring truth. They are not inherently evil, but they are capable of destruction when it serves the story of their own greatness. Even their values, however noble in appearance, exist primarily as ego-boosts, props in the theater of their identity. And in the end, all this leaves them profoundly alone, isolated within the fortress of their own pride.
Conclusion:
These seven states aren't doctrines, they're simply the patterns I've noticed — first in others, then inevitably in myself. A post I stumbled across on Instagram sparked the thought, but what formed here belongs to me alone: my interpretation, my attempt to understand the forces that move a human life from the inside. Whether these states are universal truths or just reflections of my own contradictions, I can't say. They're simply what I see when I look at people without their excuses, and when I look at myself without mine.