Gerald's expression was unnaturally calm and only mildly surprised. He just lost 80% of his body and yet for some reason, he wasn’t afraid, or in a panic. Why? Because it seemed too unbelievable, of course! How the hell did he suddenly find himself in the middle of a fight between two gods?
[Oh… fuck…] He groaned. He was still alive, but that’s just because his regeneration technique was still working. His body was on fire, burning with life, and literally burning his life at the same time. He could heal his remaining piece of flesh, but regenerating a whole body with what little of it remained? Impossible.
He had to do something though, and fast, or he was truly going to die.
Telekinesis seemed to be barely responding to his calls, and precious seconds slipped by as he dragged broken pieces of himself back. A speck of flesh here, a drop of blood there… A finger and a few pieces of bone, and a fleck of skin, maybe a piece of liver and spleen…
The pile of minced flesh bound to his burning form, bursting into flames.
Slowly, over long, arduous minutes, he grew, his bones mending, his muscles growing, his skin, taking a new form.
He stumbled and fell as he tried to stand, his body too weak to even support itself. He crawled over the ground away from the fight, away from the battle, towards freedom, and survival.
Another explosion shook the earth and he went tumbling to the ground. He heard the cries of beasts and felt the wind from their wings as they rose to the sky in swirly lights of sickly green and dangerous black, flying away, continuing their fight elsewhere.
And then, came the rain.
Dark green blood and small pieces of flesh poured from the sky, sizzling as they touched the ground, and burning everything like acid. Mixed in between was a shower of crimson, though less destructive, it was equally deadly.
[Aaaargh!] Gerald grit his teeth as the torrent of fluid washed ever him, sizzling on his already painful, burning flesh.
The pain was out of this world, yet the only thing keeping him alive was just as bad. He couldn’t turn off the regeneration burning away his life, yet similarly could not truly heal.
He tried to twist space around him and escape, yet his magic didn’t respond. The area was saturated with the lingering Aura of superior beasts, blocking his magic. The only thing that worked in the cursed environment, was what little things he could do inside his own body.
Storage pouches around his neck offered little protection from the rain, their form surprisingly having survived the ordeal, yet they also showed signs of pain. The material and enchantments from which they were made seemed to be degrading fast. It was unclear how much longer they would last.
[So much… pain… So… hungry… Must… survive…] Gerald’s body shrunk with each passing moment, the pain of flesh already forgotten, when the pain of hunger became so much greater. Insatiable, world-devouring hunger of a broken, sinewy skeleton.
His eyes glazed over as a primal desire welled up from within.
He lowered his head to the ground and touched the poisonous blood with his lips, and drank. He gulped, he slurped, and he licked the emerald crimson liquid fire. Smoke rose from his lips as his flesh decayed, counteracted by the eternal regeneration of flames.
And he drank.
And he drank.
And he drank…
As he drank, the chaotic energies around him diminished, allowing him the use of his magic again. But, instead of running away, he drank some more.
Blood of monsters rose from the ground and flew into his mouth. Pieces of flesh strewn across the landscape, some as small as a grain of sand, others as big as a fist, all found their way to him. He drank and he ate.
He drank and he ate.
He rose to the sky, and he drank and he ate.
Clearing the battlefield of mighty beasts was one man, his body on fire, his eyes hungry, and his stomach full. Eternal gluttony of a creature of the Void. Eternal regeneration of a Phoenix. And an undying will and greed of a human. Combined into one. An abomination that should not be. Yet it was. And now, as it ate and consumed, pieces of body and fragments of Souls, and made it its own, the body of three gained two more.
Gerald’s Soul cracked and expanded, gaining the hue of poisonous green and dark crimson, two new cracks among many. Wings of fire sprouted from its back, white, yellow, orange, emerald, crimson, and black.
A satisfied breath escaped the burning man’s lips as the flames subsided and he returned to the ground, the gray shell around him already falling off on its own. He spread out his thin hands and opened his eyes, his gaze tranquil, and his mind, serene.
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He opened his mouth and looked at the bright sky. [I am reborn… anew.]
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Survival. As long as I can stay alive long enough, everything else can be gained.
I was not aware of how prophetic my words could be. I donned a green robe and covered myself in cloth as I left the place of destruction. I was alive. I consumed them, parts of those creatures, the discarded fragments of their Souls.
Their battle was a cataclysm, a natural disaster, and a shower of treasures all at once.
I could not say whether I was better or worse for having eaten their flesh and drinking their blood, but I knew one thing for sure. I was… different.
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Li Chen took a deep breath, pushing the strings of Qi out from his lungs and into his body. He carefully examined each and every particle and aimed it at his legs and arms. He couldn’t afford mistakes at the moment.
They were out in the wild, in the Ancient Ironbark Timberland, he and his fellow Brothers of the Sect, battling against a group of large black panthers. He didn’t know their exact name, he just knew they were scary!
Despite the creatures being weaker than them as well as having been outnumbered, his Brothers were struggling. One of the creatures was already dead, having fallen to his blade. His body trembled with excitement as adrenaline pumped through his blood.
He was so happy that he listened to the Elders and finished the first round of tempering through Body Cultivation. His skin, his muscles, his organs, his tendons and bones, all of them were enhanced, becoming tough and hard, and strong. His body could finally sustain the Golden Qi without bursting into flames, something he was more than happy he could do.
The beast buried him under its own weight as he pierced its heart, and he would have for sure been crushed had he not done the arduous rounds of Body Cultivation. He pulled himself from under the beast, the top of its back still higher than his head. A solid, heavy Class III.
He looked at his kill proudly. He was only 60 years old, still a youngster, and already he could battle those beasts. Despite the lowered value during the Beast Tide, the creature was sure to bring him plenty of cash, not to mention a mountain of quality meat to boost his power. He grinned and turned toward the place of battle where his other four teammates were battling against three more of these creatures. It was a good day.
“Hey, wait for m-!”
Suddenly, from the corner of his eye, he noticed movement. He jumped around with a sword in hand, ready to do battle. But then he noticed the green robe of their Sect and instantly relaxed.
“Oh, Brother, you scared me, haha! I thought you were a wild beas-”
His words remained stuck in his throat as he looked at the approaching… man? It was difficult to tell. The person looked gaunt, his eyes bloodshot and his face with but a layer of skin over his bones. He moved slowly, rocking from side to side as he walked, his shoulders slouched and his gaze unsteady.
He walked past him, and Li Chen subconsciously took a step back to let him pass. The man looked to be walking along the razor’s edge between life and death, yet just looking at him made Li Chen feel nervous.
He wanted to avert his gaze and ignore the man, yet he couldn’t. It was too weird, too wild, to see a walking skeleton. He pinched himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. It kind of hurt, but not really. Tougher skin and all that.
“Hey, what are you doing?!”
The ghoulish man stood before his kill, staring at it with unmistakable hunger. His hands and mouth suddenly glowed with a sickly yellow light and he pounced at the dead creature’s neck.
“Hey! That’s mine! Get off!” Li Chen shouted and lifted his sword in warning, yet he didn’t move.
The ghoulish man whipped his head around and looked at him with bloodshot eyes as fresh blood dripped from his mouth.
[Mine.]
Li Chen almost didn’t understand what the man said as his words got distorted by the sticky blood in his throat. The word angered him and he grit his teeth. “What do you mean?! Get off right now, you thief! I killed it, it’s mine!”
[Mine!]
Li Chen felt as if he got punched in his brain. His head whipped back and he stumbled as the angry roar echoed in his mind, making him feel dizzy. He collapsed to his knees and nearly emptied the contents of his stomach, but remained to resist. The dizziness of a Soul attack was rapidly diminishing and he could finally shake it off.
“You-!” He began, but then his gaze meet those eyes. Those unblinking, hungry, cruel eyes. He felt as if he was staring at a predator.
The man opened his mouth slowly. [MINE.] And Li Chen collapsed to the floor spasming, blood pouring out of his eyes, ears, and mouth. The word was seemingly coming from everywhere at once, shouting, roaring, and screaming, pounding his mind over and over until he was beaten to the edge of death.
“Li Chen! Give us a hand!”
Li Chen shook his head and looked around. He was standing upright with a sword in hand feeling confused. He touched his eyes and ears, but they were just fine. He looked at the bony man feasting on the beast, devouring its flesh raw in big gulps. Black smoke was billowing out of his nose as he ate, and weird lights sometimes flashed through his pale skin, giving him the appearance of a devil.
Li Chen shuddered and took a step back. The illusion of death was still fresh in his mind. Giving himself a slap he finally woke up from the trance and decided to ignore whatever just happened and went to help his friends.
By the time they won the battle minutes later, the mysterious man was gone, with only the shattered bones of the large creature remaining behind as proof he ever existed. Not even the fatty marrow or brain remained. Heck, even the Golden Core was gone.
“What the fuck!” Li Chen shouted. “Where did he go?!”
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[So… hungry…] I groaned as I bit down on a spherical beast core. It was like eating rocks as I ground it down between my teeth. It was hard and rough and tasted terrible, but it was surprisingly rich in Essence.
My mind felt muddled and my great memory was spotty at best. I could barely remember anything that happened the last few days. Black smoke and flames escaped my mouth as the impurities in the core were burned off. I was so hungry. My stomach rumbled and it felt as if someone lit a fire inside it.
Oh, wait… Those were just the Phoenix flames refining the core… Still, I felt incredibly hungry. I thought I had found myself a snack in the form of a large black panther, but in the end, it turned out to be a small bony cat. Some guy even wanted to stop me from eating the roadkill.
Honestly, fuck that guy and his stupid green robe. He threatened me with a knife and shouted that it belonged to him.
Maybe he was a hungry hobo? Don’t know. Either way, the dead cat was mine! I told him as much and he backed off, the coward. Not that I wanted to fight, but still… If he wanted something he should have more balls to take it. I would have probably given it to him too.
Anyway… Still hungry. I stumbled through the forest. I was so ravenous I would even eat snails and snakes. Heck, even a frog would be nice. I was just so damn hungry…