I go through the motions of scooping what I consider to be jam into my tea, knowing that I don’t sweeten my already sweet drink, but someone knows tea this strong and dark as being super bitter, and they prefer sweet things, and, while I can’t fault them, I’m not sure what they’re expecting. The berries take on a raspberry note in the tea, and I end up eating soup that tastes like sweet raspberry black tea with bursts of sour that someone, -- again, not me, -- finds enjoyable. I don’t hate it, but I don’t feel that my tea needs to be doctored right now.

I get up and wander outside onto the steps of my home, not venturing forward in my house slippers before I realize that I’m wearing house slippers and a house robe. I spin around, looking back at the table of food I didn’t finish eating, remembering that I was running off the feeling of eels in my guts, -- among other uncomfortable things, -- and wondering when I shifted back for a soothing cup of tea in some robes that tear as I roughly strip them off.

“Not what I was going for,” I sigh, hanging my head as taters of delicate silk hang off of me.

I’m pretty sure silk doesn’t tear this easily. How hard was I pulling? I eat the robes slowly, washing mouthfuls down with the weird tea. Not a fan, but it’s a new experience, so there’s that. I get to sit through an internal debate over all silks and learn that my stuff is imbued with elements, yes, but not strength. I shudder as I wonder if the robe I just destroyed was actually made with my silk, flashing back on all the times people tore through it so quickly as I got into more prosperous areas.

Then I sit on the steps, -- I don’t bother getting dressed, I’m not sure what I feel like wearing or when I’ll pop back into bed, -- and remember all the times I tore through my silk. I just thought I got a special pass, immune to my own bullshit, and whatever. But I’ve definitely bitten into myself, knocked my own scales off and more, so why --.

I’ve consumed and absorbed cultivators, physical cultivators, and I’m stronger now. I empty my cup, slapping my hands against my legs as I bank it and stand up. I’ve got more stuff to check into, but I’m still digesting, aren’t I? I could just meditate again, but a nap sounds better.

Not sure why this elicits another vote, but there’s no consensus on whether or not I should meditate or nap, and I honestly don’t know why they think I’ll care about their choice. When I’m out I’m out. True, they can pilot me like mind-controlling parasites while I’m waking up, but that’s a consideration for later. The voices, which were amicably discussing the pros and cons of naps and the value of good rest, slowly taper off.

“Whatever nonsense you get up to in my body affects you assholes as well,” I say out loud, just to remind them that their souls are my fuel if they fuck something up.

I look down at my hands and arms before doing a general wellness check. I don’t have any sores or bald patches, the places where I should have scars are probably a different shade or something, but I appear uniform enough to me. I look like I’ve got a good layer of fat, and when I poke at my shimmering, dark skin I squish a bit, so that’s fine. A quick check of my danglier bouncier bits and they’re not just shaped over hard surfaces, but I do wonder why I need boobs as an insect, and a choir chimes in that milk comes from some breeds of wumples, and it’s actually liquid silk?

I sit down and stare blankly as I wait for that thought to drip out of my head. I’m mocked, by how’d they like to hear that milk is made of liquid hair or they drink fermented shit that’s solidified. There’s a roar of protests before I remind everyone that I don’t go to the bathroom, at all, and, yes, foods are processed into Qi and essence, but they’re also processed into silk. When there are more protests I get irritated until I remember the triplets telling me that, while some people have to go to the bathroom, it’s usually a sign of an unstable core or poisoning.

So... That’s a thing.

I sit and breathe, steadying my nerves, and some fucker casually points out that I’m meditating already, so why not be productive? Vibing? No~ no no no no no... Working? Ye~s, yes yes yes yes yes... I huff, make myself comfortable, close my eyes, then get up and head to bed. I’m already getting comfortable, so why don’t I just go to sleep? It’s the same thing, right?

There’s cheers and jeers. Some people think what I did was a creative slap in the face to everyone who says you’re already doing that so try doing this, while others are angry that I’m being lazy and there are people encouraging my laziness. In the mean time I’m cleaning off the stuff on the table so I can clean up, wash up again, then keep digesting. I’m getting great insights, -- although the hunger meter isn’t attuned to me, but a hunan physiology. It’s been full for a while, but I can still eat. Several people find this mind-blowing. -- but it’s hard to find a way to calibrate my new skills away from their owners and towards me. Might just be a matter of practice.

Table clear, “scraps” sent to the fish farm along with more grain and intact standard fish, -- it’s nice to know that some of the people I ate are familiar with the less esoteric aspects of life in order to make such a thing as “standard” knowable – and then it’s another bath before I’m back in bed.

I nod off while poking through menu’s same as scrolling through stories, feeds, or just reading on my phone when I was human. My mind’s not fully there, but it doesn’t have to be, I hope. Piercing Shot is upgraded, I can fire it from multiple angles instead of just spamming it on one, so it looks like it’s not going the Silk Spray shotgun route.

If I’m willing to sacrifice the points I’ve gone over, I can keep it the same cost, which I think is nice although Silent Howl says that at this point it’d be better to get better piercing in exchange for a higher cost. This sounds like a good idea to stop people from deflecting it unscathed, so I accept his guidance. At 50 Qi it’s still pretty cheap, and the loss of 15 Karma per shot is because I’m producing silk but it’s not going into the market. How dare?

Some of the people who were most offended that I could eat past “my” fullness meter start shouting that I fix my Devour ability. I wait until someone, -- clearly as annoyed as I am filled with apathy towards the vagueness of the “fix my Devour” suggestion, shouts out that I should work on my Feeding skill while telling everyone to stop shouting if they can’t be helpful.

My options for Feeding on Qi are to feed on more things, feed on a greater area, or, by sacrificing some extra points, to auto-absorb. Considering I thought I was already auto-absorbing the things I fed on, -- that’s how I recovered energy in quick bursts, -- I don’t understand why this is an option. There’s quiet discussion about what people think I was doing before versus what they think I’m being offered now, and Silent Howl just asks me for patience while he goes through my information. Without actually telling me what information he’s going through. Which would be helpful for me learning about my development. So that I can work on it in the future.

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-Am I being too subtle for you, asshole? Tell me what you’re doing!- I angry chitter and buzz, weakly thrashing.

I’m comfy, and me going to sleep and not learning is going to fuck up what he’s trying to do as much as my cultivation, so...? There’s a brief flash of a window that disappears, and when I attempt to focus on what I saw my Devour window opens. But what’s the trigger? There’s a weird yellow outline that races around the edge of the hunger meter, but I’m pretty sure I didn’t always have that --. My thought is interrupted by a message from Silent Howl that simply reads “visible”. So I didn’t always have the hunger meter visible? ‘Cause it’s useless or it doesn’t work with Devour. That last one feels right.

Okay, so what was I doing? Greater area? No. More targets? Maybe. Auto-Absorption does what? If a soul is weak enough I can just eat it instead of having to digest it? So Auto-Absorption is just faster digestion? Why couldn’t they say that? I agree to sacrifice some of my extra usage points while Silent Howl is spamming me with angry messages about my impatience.

What’d I do? Thought he wanted me to go for auto-absorb? No, wait. What were the other options? He spams me with all caps, which I ignore as I go back to the options screen to look at what’s no longer available. There’s one non-screaming message asking me how did I do what I just did, -- which was look at something I found? -- and requesting I don’t do it again. No?

In response I go back over all of my skill selections, -- wait, I only did like two, but there are dozens, and how did I even get here anyway? -- and start reviewing the changes that Silent Howl had selected for me.

Son of a bitch. Not talking about his mama either.

I sit up, legs crossed, elbow on knee, just resting my chin on my hand while I scroll through all of the things that were done to me.

Entomb? Oh! When I buried myself. I got bonuses whenever I did something while buried, which is good. Could have learned to camouflage myself instead of burying myself, but that would make it harder for them to keep track of me, wouldn’t it?

Steel stomach versus selecting a specific plant to eat. I guess this is where I developed my ability to eat a variety of things instead of focusing on one. That’s served me well as a Devourer, but being beholden to one thing would have made me easier to control, so was this done out of greed or for my own good?

Silk production increase instead of Reinforcement was definitely out of greed. I could have been miasma-rific even earlier, but I pooped out the essences instead of having what looks like a miasma aura. Definitely definitely not for my own good...

Hormone detection versus being able to mask my scent. Fuck you, that was greed, one-hundred percent. You identify this person as familiar, or you can skip out on work and we can’t track you?

Sturdy... Probably helped reinforce my body so I could hold and poop out silk.

Oh~. My fucking Gods... You bitches! Silk production! I could have had all kinds of attacks, but no~, all that essence into silk, plx! Could have learned to fly, swim, hide in embers, even heightened elemental resistance. But no. Moar syk, plx! Assholes!

Ooh, I see some things I accidentally-ed. Bioluminescence from being essence charged and eating the light orb. That was me. I snicker as I remember wanting to eat all the lights until I realized I could glow. Totally thought it was the same as hiding in the dirt. Climbing reminds me of being stuck and my first taste of some nasty ass citronella plants.

Ooh! Silk Spray. I curl my fist and shake it proudly. Fook yeah, still got that shit. It was my go to considering I didn’t have any other ways to defend myself. And just like that I go from nostalgic to pissed off. I could have been so much more capable if some asshole wasn’t going out of their way to nerf me for profit.

Ah! Screaming! I scream as I remember using it to fuck up some sticky fingered brat --. Oh. Right. Golden Blade God. Right~!

Absorb --. I do a double-take. Absorb? I close the windows, give myself a shake, then go back in. Yeah, no. Absorb. So I did have it already. I’ve had it for a while. Oh! Is this when I started changing colors? No, when I started storing essence in my scales? Yeah. That sounds right. Okay. Cool? Kinda not as happy with this as I think maybe I could be... Did they accidentally me into a all the things Devourer with or without their permission? They could have specialised me, but instead I can and do eat all the things.

I close the window and rub my hands down my legs, flinching and looking around when I notice I’m wrapped up in sheets and still naked. I groan, climb out of the bed and then wear my old Phoenix Emperor robes, modified for my not so slim build, and then head out to grab some comfort food. I’ve got my ears out for suggestions before I realize it’s dead quiet. Aside from message pings. I take a deep breath, close my eyes, turn inwards, and look out on a square of unhappy faces. There’s shock, despair, and a glare here and there before they notice me.

“Oy...” I turn slightly, presenting one side and narrowing my profile to present a smaller target as people start folding.

By the time the folding spreads across the bulk of the souls present I realize that they’re bowing. To my logs, away from actions and deeds to thoughts and speech, scanning past Silent Howl’s lines, and --. Oh~! I’m a man-made cataclysm! I get it. Yeah, no. I was supposed to be some void bug thing that just sat in the ground sipping on ambient energy and some jackasses made me active, immune to a lot of shit, hungry as hell, and then treated me so poorly they lost control of me. Yeah, no. Not my fault, but now I’m everyone’s problem. And it could have been avoided.

“Suck it!” I shout out, fists raised to what I’m realizing isn’t the sky, and maybe the hip thrust was a little much.

I leave my inner void to head down to the kitchen to see what I can make. I want snacks while I do my reading. Who knows how long I was digging through those windows to find this shit, and cool that I can go back to the beginning versus having to slog my way through, but I’d rather not pull my mind away and realize I was chewing on my own leg because I was too focused on my findings.

I’ve got berries, I’ve got jellies, I can make more jellies, I’ve got a lot of tea stored away, and I don’t know why or how I don’t have stuff physically located in my world, but it is nice just being able to go into my bank and have everything all organized. I think the emperor tried this before I was ready and it just fucked me up. No, he was storing it all in a jade. Where are those jades?

I check my bank for the mutton fat jade and the emperor’s jade and get nothing. No results in my void either, although there are a lot of weird structures that I haven’t found or fucked with yet. So... Food logs? I cringe and cross my fingers hoping to return nothing, -- although I think I’d rather absorb the jade for my spatial storage expansion than have the bears sell it for a comb or something, -- and, yep. They got et. Which is why I’m storing and manipulating so much in and out of my bank and void without getting sick or nickled and dimed to death with Qi and Karma costs. Wow, jade is some good shit. And I can construct jade slips if I want.

Aunty casually tells me that the library is still under construction, that they keep having to expand it, and I want to know why in the hells I have a library.

“Expand it ‘cause of what?” I ask, kinda annoyed that they’re wasting resources on something that’s gonna just be a big empty building that serves no purpose.

They could expand the inn into its own little Eager Heart. That sounds like it’d be more productive than having a big empty quiet building. Make homes if you need a quiet spot away. Or a park. That I can eat.