"Are you done yet?" The divine voice calls out as you rise from the bloodied pieces of armor, those red-crusted metal scraps all that remains of what was once a knight of great renown, now devoured bones and all.

You turn and face the source of the voice. Before you stands a radiant figure, a woman bathed in a light that is at once golden and crimson. She is tall, and clad in an elegant white and gold toga, though you spy at the bottom of the fabric a number of bloody handprints. Her face is beautiful, sporting raised cheekbones and luscious lips. Her red eyes shine in her face, and her long, wavy hair cascades from a burnt brown to a flaming red. She smiles at you.

"Good," she continues. "Now we can finally get started."

You stab her in the chest. Your blade is buried in her bosom, but you do not feel it bite flesh. Rather, it seems to have passed harmlessly through. Confirming your suspicions, you withdraw your blade to find it unbloodied- as unbloodied a blade made of blood can be- and her chest lacking a wound.

"That's not how things work, honey," she says as she puts her hands on her hips. "I'm not here. Obviously. Why would I actually be here?"

You shrug your shoulders.

"That was rhetorical. Ever heard of astral projection? I'm here in spirit, because you summoned me." She gestures behind her, to the bloodied wooden helm that was once worshipped by the knight you so recently devoured.

"My name is Lucretia," she continues. "I am the Goddess of Conflict. Ever heard of me?"

You shake your head.

"Of course- what? What do you mean you haven't? You're joking, right?"

You shake your head again.

"I- well, I, I mean- look never mind. I'm a very important goddess, understand? All conflicts, everywhere and for every reason, are the source of my power. With humans as they are, I am naturally among the most powerful in all the pantheon!" She looks very proud of herself. "But you wouldn't know anything about that, would you?" She bends down slightly after a pause, drawing very close to your face. You consider biting at her, but know it will achieve nothing, and decide to resist. "You're not like... them. You're different. And I must say, I'm quite a fan of the work." She stands back up, and smiles at you. "May I interest you in a covenant?"

As she says those words, which echo throughout the halls of the building, you feel the strength leave your body and the lights around you begin to dim. You unconsciously and unwillingly fall to your knees, kneeling before the goddess.

"Have you the courage- no, I should say the appetite- to devour this land?"

You cannot feel your tongue in your mouth to speak. You cannot muster the strength in your lungs to breathe. You cannot bring your mind to fathom the meaning of her words.

"I offer you a simple covenant- to act as you have, to slaughter and devour those who cross your path, and in exchange I shall increase your appetite and power in equal measure. Slay for me all that I ask of you, and I shall grant you power beyond your greatest fantasies. And when the time comes, wherein you- like every other predator- stand atop the food chain without equal, I will ask that you turn your blade against the world as a whole. When the time comes, follow my instructions, and I shall guide you to a realm beyond our world. From there, you will be able to feast as your heart desires upon each and every soul this planet has to offer."

You nod your head.

"Excellent!" At once, the pressure upon you disappears. Light returns to the room, and you stand up once again of your own free will. "Now, allow me to explain the terms of our covenant in greater detail. Come, sit down by the altar- this may take a while."

You sit down in front of the idol. Once you've seated yourself, three illusions appear before you; each of them a square lined with several numbers.

The screen to your left contains only four numbers: Strength, Dexterity, Occult, and Appetite.

"Those are your core stats," Lucretia explained. "Strength is how strong your body is, meaning it affects both the power of your attacks as well as your ability to lift and carry. Dexterity is your finesse, and affects how adeptly you wield that weapon of yours, as well as your ability to wield new ones. Occult allows you to exchange your blood for magic spells, which I can explain better if you decide to invest in it. Appetite is a stat I cooked up just for you- it affects how efficiently your body regenerates after... eating, as well as unlocking abilities based on the act of consumption."

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You nod along, though you don't understand how numbers can improve your strength.

"I know that look. You're skeptical, aren't you? Don't worry, the numbers are just an interface. When your power grows, you're not increasing a number, you're increasing your body's strength in a particular aspect, and that increase is reflected in the numbers here."

You nod impatiently, ready to become stronger already.

"This screen in the middle shows you your skills. Each of your four stats affects three skills, for a total of twelve skills. The Strength skills are Breaking and Entering, Lifting, and Pushing. The Dexterity skills are Leaping, Lockpicking, and Petty Theft. The Occult skills are Perception, Arcana, and Lore. Lastly, the Appetite skills are Tracking, Beast Speech, and of course Cooking." She pauses and looks upon your expression. "Need an explanation?"

You shake your head. You're ready for this to be done with.

"Are you sure? Looks like none of this is sticking."

You nod that you're sure.

"Sure, your loss. Next up is your skill tree."

You look at this screen, which appears to bear an X-shape with numerous smaller lines, and on these lines are numerous nodes. These lines spread outwards from the center, growing wider as they progress out before collapsing into one singular node at the farthest point. Some of the nodes appear to exist between the main shape of the X. At present, you can see only the four closest nodes, as well as the four farthest.

Brute Force

Strength 1

Your unarmed damage becomes equal to your weapon's damage.

Rabid Heart

Strength 30

You are invincible while dealing damage.

Blood Spear

Dexterity 1

Allows you to transform your weapon into a spear, extending its reach.

Bloody Trigger

Dexterity 30

Drinking blood causes time to slow down by 50%.

Blood Shot

Occult 1

Allows you to fire a projectile made from your own blood.

Rupture

Occult 30

You strike an opponent, causing their blood to boil and explode outwards as shrapnel. Living things killed by this shrapnel replicate the spell's effect, exploding as well.

Starving Beast

Appetite 1

Biting an enemy stimulates your regeneration briefly, regardless of how much organic matter you actually consume.

Dragon's Heart

Appetite 30

Eating a creature's heart causes total regeneration, as long as the creature died less than an hour ago.

The rest of the nodes remain obscured by a thick black fog. You gesture to the fog.

"Oh, that? Well, that's because I can't let you know everything, can I? Besides, too much information at once will rot your brain." She giggled playfully. "That's all. No other reason."

You ignore her teasing, and look at your stats.

Strength 0 Breaking and Entering 0 Lifting 10 Pushing 10 Dexterity 0 Leaping 10 Lockpicking 10 Petty Theft 0 Occult 0 Perception 10 Arcana 10 Lore 0 Appetite 0 Tracking 10 Beast Speech 0 Cooking 10

"Whenever you speak to me, I'll allow you to increase your stats based on how many people you've killed since we last met. For today, since you've killed eight people, I'll be giving you four level ups. That ratio will get worse over time. Once you increase your stats, you'll get points you can use to unlock the nodes on that skill tree, and your skills will improve on their own."

You gesture to the skills menu, and how some of them have a 10 and others have a 0.

"Oh, that's because you have some natural skill in some of the skills. More like, you should have a 10 in all of your skills, but some of your skills were so untrained that they left you at 0."

You pretend to ignore the insult, and look upon the stats presented before you. Now you have to ask yourself: which stat should you prioritize?