Jackson walked to his BMW like he did at the end of every day, nothing out of the ordinary. His car is where he left it, but some jackass was leaning against the driver's door, probably trying to decide if he could get away with taking it or hoping to impress someone who thinks it belongs to him. He looks vaguely familiar, but since Jackson didn't recognize him, he probably wasn't important.
"Mr. McCanaan" says the man. It's not a question but a statement, the man's voice a flat emotionless monotone. Something about the voice adds to the familiarity. He's standing there slouching, hands deep in his pockets
"Who the fuck are you and what the hell are you doing by my car?" Jackson's rich baritone dripped with condescension addressing this nobody in his way.
"You don't recognize me? I worked for you for 15 fucking years, I lost my wife, my family, my friends because I BELIEVED IN YOU AND YOU DONT EVEN REMEMBER MY FUCKING NAME!?!?" The man's voice climbing until by the end its a barely controlled yell.
Jackson suddenly realized how empty the spaces around his car were. This isn't his first time someone blamed him for their inadequacy, and with a couple quick gestures his watch sent an alert to the security guards. He just had to keep this idiot talking a few more minutes. "No, I don't recognize you. What department did you work in?" Jackson's voice stayed steady, not betraying the uneasy feeling settling in his gut.
The look on the man's face changed from a blank look to one of utter loathing. At the same time, this man's hand comes out of his pocket, holding a gun leveled at his chest. "Not this time Jack. I'm not letting you keep me talking. YOU GREEDY PIG I HOPE YOU BURN IN HELL!"
There's a burning sensation in his right shoulder, a feeling of stabbing heat and then another in his left before the sound hits him. BANG BANG. Then Jackson feels the asphalt on his back, the agony in his shoulders now accompanied by a sticky damp spreading through his shirt. The edges of his vision going black, but the pain keeping him conscious enough to see the man block the light behind him. "I'll see you in hell Jack" BANG BANG BANG BANG. The burning is in his gut this time, he can't breath, opening his mouth to scream all that comes out is an explosive cough spattering his chin with red blood. With his steadily darkening vision, Jackson saw the man calmly walk away. Next thing he remembers is yelling before it all goes dark again... he's being moved, someone is trying to get his attention but he can't force his body to work... then a jolt, his whole body jumps and slams down, it feels like something heavy just slammed into his chest... and then darkness...
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Slowly, awareness returns... "well at least I'm not dead" Jackson tries to say, only to hear nothing. Then Jackson realizes he can't feel his face... or his hands... or anything else... he can't see, there's no smell, as far as he could tell he was floating in an endless darkness. With no way to tell time, he wasn't sure how long he floated there, trying to understand what happened.
"Jackson McCanaan. I've watched you for a long time, waiting for your demise."
"Who are you? Where the fuck am I?" Jackson tries to say
"You're in the Void, and I am called many things by many people. I've existed countless eons, waiting for someone like you, and now I have you. The greediest existence, who feels not a shred of remorse, regret, empathy, or shame. Only greed and desire. The perfect tool for me."
"Bullshit, I won't be anyone's tool! If you think you can make me do anything, you haven't watched me long enough."
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The rumbling laughter that followed his statement felt deeper than thunder, and somehow shook Jackson to his core. "I wasn't asking you, and you cannot stop me any more than an ant can stop a tidal wave. You merely have to follow your greed and grow. Failure means death, and death means an endless eternity in this Void, and you'll find that the darkness and silence are preferable to what else I can make you feel." The brief impression of endless screaming, burning agony in every inch of the body he no longer had, as he felt like each nerve in his body was dipped in boiling oil was enough for Jackson.
"ALRIGHT ILL DO ANYTHING YOU WANT!"
"Go, then and be known as Eater of Sunsae. Grow strong and do not disappoint me, child. If you do, you'll know why they call me The End of All Things."
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HUNGER
Moaning in agony, Jackson knew he needed to move, he needed to find something to eat. As his eyes open, he finds himself in a burnt circle, surrounded by trees. Large trees with purple leaves high above. The air is crisp, no smell of smog, no sounds of civilization to be found. Opening his mouth, he feels it stretch wide, wider than he thought possible. Running his tongue over his teeth, he feels their sharpness. Looking down at himself, he finds himself looking at a black-green scaled body, trying to move, he feels 4 powerful legs, and lifting one leg to look, he finds sharp talons waiting.
HUNGER
The force of the feeling was enough to make his knees buckle. Looking around he noticed that the area around him is like looking through sunglasses. But then, a bright spot flashes between 2 trees. His nose twitches involuntarily, and his mouth starts watering like he smelled his favorite meal.
"Come on Altey! I saw the light from right over here! I bet it's some kind of magic!" A young excited voice sounds from the direction of the movement, before a young man bursts through the underbrush into his clearing stopping as soon as he's through the treeline.
"What if it's dangerous, Kelt?" A second voice called, this one sounding on edge.
"It's not, it looks like some kind of... lizard?" Says the one called Kelt, looking towards Jackson. Another young man steps through the underbrush, this one moving slower and holding a bow in hand.
Jackson suddenly notices that the one called Kelt has a bow too, but his is slung across his back. A long knife hangs from both hips, while Altey has a single sword on his hip. "What kind of lizard is that Altey? I've never seen one before, you've been hunting longer than I have."
Altey takes in the sight of the strange creature, standing still and staring at them with orange eyes, its mouth hanging open, a long tongue hanging out of the mouth of long teeth. "I dunno, Kelt, but I think we should leave. That thing doesn't look like anything I've seen." With those words Altey took a step backward. Kelt seemed to have a different idea as he started to take slow steps forward, his hand outstretched, "Hey little guy, what're you and where'd you come from?"
Jackson decided he'd waited long enough and bunched his legs under him as he pounced forward, mouth snapping closed around Kelt's wrist as his talons sank into his body. It felt instinctive, like his body knew exactly what he needed to do. The scream from Kelt ended as quickly as it began when he passed out. Jackson felt a warmth filling his stomach, just enough to take the edge off his Hunger. Kelt tasted like nothing he'd ever eaten before, sweat and leather with hints of woodsy green, any disgust he'd feel about eating a person drowned out by the euphoria of a successful hunt. Slowly, Jackson sees the brightness in Kelt pulling away from his extremities and concentrating itself in his chest. Taking another bite of the now handless arm, the taste was nothing compared to the first bite. Again and again he tried, eating mindlessly, before ripping open the rib cage with a powerful rip of his talons. Before him, the only bright spot left in the corpse was right over Kelt's heart. By instinct, Jackson's tongue flicks out of his mouth to wrap around the heart and pulls it free of the chest leaving arteries and connective tissue hanging off of it before swallowing it whole.
Like waking from a dream, Jackson looks down at the corpse in front of him, mind clear for the first time since waking up. The Hunger was still there, but it was manageable, more of a background urge to eat than actual hunger. The warmth at his core is comforting, at least until he hears a twig snapping from the direction Altey went. Cursing himself for getting carried away with his first course, Jackson takes off, following a scent he instinctively knew was Altey's.