“You just let those two muggers do that lady in so you could get her vita without lifting a finger. You’re an absolute savage, Jack!” The voice in Jack’s head said

“Just shut up!” Jack replied

“Oh wait, I see. You just walked away because you were scared. Wow, ok. You're going to have to do a whole lot better than that now that you're immortal. There are going to be a lot of people and things that want you dead, and you can’t run away from all of them. Besides, you can't die as long as you have Vita, remember? That means you need to grow a pair of balls and start kicking ass and taking names.”

Jack just shook his head as he continued to walk towards his objective. The yellow light in his eyes hadn’t moved or changed size or done anything other than point directly in front of him for hours now. The sun had started to peak over the horizon, and he had long ago left the harsh inner city behind and entered into the more upscale midtown.

Coffee shop owners were putting their menu boards with today’s breakfast specials onto the sidewalk as the city slowly came to life with the hum of morning traffic. People passed Jack, paying him no attention as they briskly made their way to work. Despite being ignored, Jack felt as if a million eyes were on him. He kept his head down and the brand on his arm covered. He knew it was dumb; even if someone saw the brand on his arm, they would think nothing of it, but still, the idea of someone noticing it bothered him.

Fatigue was starting to set in on Jack. He had been walking for hours with no break. Most of that walk had been fueled by adrenaline, and he had failed to notice how tired he actually was. Jack slowed his pace and pulled out his cell phone to check his bank account. He also considered getting a ride share but then realized he would have no idea what to set as his destination.

“Twenty-six dollars,” Jack grumbled. “At least I can grab a bite to eat and a water.”

Jack stuffed his phone back into the hoodie pocket and pushed the door of the nearest convenience store open. It was a small local run place, not one of those big fancy ones with the restaurant and touch screen ordering like they had next to the campus. This place had a roller grill and a microwave with a small selection of frozen breakfast burritos. Jack assumed that the microwave didn’t work, and even if it did, the amount of old food caked to the inside meant he wasn’t using it.

Jack made his way past the depressing hot food section to a small glass case that held less than a dozen doughnuts. He opened the case and used the thin paper provided to pluck two of the pastries and dropped them into a small bag. He could tell by their firmness that these doughnuts were at least a day old if not two.

“All the hipster coffee shops out there, and I pick the most run-down shop to stop in for food. Story of my life.” Jack muttered under his breath as he made his way towards coolers lining the back wall.

“I mean, you could’ve killed someone, you know, like proper killed them not bitched out. Then you could have eaten them, and then you wouldn’t be in this shithole getting rock-hard pastries that are one hundred percent going to make you sick later.”

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Jack didn’t respond to the voice. Its suggestion was too much to imagine, and the idea of getting into a fight with a voice in his head in the middle of the tiny store seemed like a good way to draw some bad attention to himself. He opened the cooler door and grabbed a bottle of water. The water was room temperature, and Jack was in no way surprised that the cooler in this place was not working.

He turned and made his way towards the register to pay. The thing the voice in his head had told him played over and over in his mind as he walked. Sure, Jack wanted to live forever. He was too weak to actually do anything to the people that had hurt him all his life. If he couldn’t die, however, he could do whatever he wanted to them with zero fear of anything bad happening to him. This whole idea of killing gods and now cannibalism, though, that’s not exactly what Jack had signed up for. He just wanted some petty revenge and maybe to be rich.

“Can I help you?” The voice came from behind the counter. Jack had been so lost in his existential dread he didn’t realize he was now standing in front of the cashier.

“Right, yeah,” Jack replied as he sat the doughnuts and water down on the counter. “Just this.”

“Three seventy-five.”

Jack fished his debit card from his pocket. He doubted this place had Apple Pay and wasn’t going to waste the time asking. After getting his receipt, he grabbed the worst breakfast in the world off the counter and walked out the front door. The doughnut was inches from his mouth when the yellow light in his eye flashed bright.

“Minor god Profugo sighted. Three percent Vita increase on kill, skill panhandling gained upon kill. This god is the target of a currently accepted quest.” Said the second voice in Jack’s head.

This voice was female and sounded almost robotic. The other voice was energetic and a jerk; this one spoke matter-of-factly and sounded like it was a menu narrator from a video game. The idea of one voice in his head was unsettling enough, and the appearance of the second made Jack think he might need to check himself into the local hospital.

Standing in front of Jack was an elderly homeless man pushing a shopping cart. The man’s hair hadn’t been cut in what looked like years, and his white frayed beard came down to his chest. Despite the moderate temperature, layers of shirts and jackets covered, the man's torso, and a pair of thermals could be seen poking through the holes in his jeans.

“That’s the god, kill him now!” The male voice in Jack’s head shouted.

Jack stood staring at the man. There was no way in hell that this homeless man was a god, and even if he was, there was no way Jack was going to kill him in the middle of the street.

“Spare a dollar?” The man asked.

“Kill the fucker!” The voice shouted.

The man held his hand out in anticipation of the donation. As he looked up towards Jack’s face, their eyes locked, and the man’s face turned to a combination of shock and anger. It was like the man had recognized Jack even though Jack had never seen this person before in his life.

“It’s you!” The homeless man shouted at Jack as he flung his layers of coats off. As the bundle of jackets and sweatshirts landed in a pile on the sidewalk behind the man Jack got the sudden feeling he was in trouble. The homeless man was much younger and much, much more fit than he had appeared while he was bundled under all the winter clothes. His rippling muscles strained against the stained tank top he was wearing as he flexed both arms.

“Oh well, you’re properly fucked now.” The voice said as the homeless man kicked his shopping cart full of random possessions towards Jack. The cart flew across the sidewalk at impossible speed and crashed directly into Jack’s stomach. He could feel his organs smash from the impact of the cart and heard his ribs crack as he landed on the sidewalk. The taste of copper ran through Jacks's mouth as blood poured from his lips, staining the sidewalk beneath him.

“Maybe now it’s time for some god-killing, eh?”