"Thank you so much!" Ordin cried happily, "you saved my wife!" he hugged her tightly as a dazed look in her eye began to fade.
A voice shouted in my mind, "Good! Good! Kill this harpy quickly and take her wings!"
I hesitated.
"You should quickly kill her! This boy's enslavement spell will not last much longer." Urged the Lord of Stars.
"Honey, I lo- "Ordin's voice was quickly cut off by a sharp talon swipe to the neck. He held his throat for a few seconds, blood spilling wildly out of three cuts at the jugular. He died in confusion.
It seems the spell broke instantly.
The woman stared at me, a beast. Like a tiger in a pouncing position facing a man with a spear. I slowly said, "I am not your enemy". The silence remained for what felt like minutes. I took a step forward when she suddenly and quickly lunged.
A wild animal with no reason. This was the way of most of the beings I encountered up to this point. I was not too surprised. It would have been stranger for her not to attack,
A swift kick, talons taking a beeline to my neck. I brought up an arm to block; the thin fur on my arm serving as light armor coating. The talons locked on to the arm, as I brought the other forward in a swift punch.
The punch was deflected with her other leg, both my arms trapped by her talons. She began squeezing hard, piercing the fur coating. My regeneration healed the wounds ever so slightly. She tried to let go, seeing as she was unable to quickly disable my arms, but it was too late.
I grabbed her with my arms firmly locked on her legs and used my beastly strength to slam her on the ground.
Boom!
The ground cracked, and the harpy's bones crunched. For good measure, I slammed her into the ground again.
Boom!
Two devastating attacks, and the battle was over. She lay in the crater now still and half dead, her spine likely shattered. I did not draw my blood earlier to save this woman, it was a simple test, with extraordinary results.
She had healed fully; my blood was usable on others. But it was unfortunate I would have to kill the first person I saved. I did not have the time or energy to save this woman. I needed her wings.
I used my tail, wrapping around her neck. My control of it was fine-tuned, and as natural as a fifth limb with no joints. Somehow, it was easier to kill this way, rather than use my hands. The life squeezing out of her, I ended her life like this, lifting her in the air, wringing her neck with a long monkey's tail.
I truly felt bad.
"Well done, now, you must drink most of her blood. Eating her whole would be the most effective method. You must surely eat her wings, at least." Spoke the voice in my mind.
"You're kidding, right?"
"Not at all, Little Star. This path is brutal, and beasts are called such for a reason. Consume this woman, drink her blood. Take her strength and evolve accordingly. It is brutal, yet beautiful. No time wasted, no long periods of cultivation, no struggling for resources and no worry of talent. It is all skill and luck on this path. Simply kill beasts and eat them. You do not have to worry about eating the blood of lesser creatures, your body will weed out the lesser genes, and evolve. Now, eat."
The next 10 minutes was not something I would discuss with anybody. I threw up time and time again, my stomach turning horribly. My beastly teeth could eat flesh, and even eat It raw. It tasted fine.
Yet, psychologically, it caused me to vomit continuously. It was a quiet torture. In these moments I questioned my resolve, and in these moments I felt my strength grew, my resolve hardened. I could only weep internally as I ate. Anybody would be willing to crawl through mud to find a pot of gold.
I decided to devour the woman entirely, leaving no trace of her existence. When all was said and done, I felt my body transform once again.
Blood boiling. Fur strengthening. My feet became a hybrid of monkey and harpy, with five sharp talons forming a foot. One extra talon stuck out in the back, for gripping and balance. My legs strengthened many times, and the bones in my legs became harder than steel.
My back sprouted a set of bird wings, Long and wide, feathered wings that carry a hint of the stars. The wings burned brightly, forming two miniature suns on each side of my body. Color on my fur and feathers fading very slowly amongst a wide range of red, blue, and green. The color of the stars, the power of the Ape kings blood heightening slightly.
After all was done, I was chimeric. Light coat of fur, taloned feet, long tail, and large feathered wings.
"Good job, Little Star. Not many could be as decisive as you." The Star Lord sighed. "This harpy was powerful, It strengthened you quite a bit. Too bad she was quite weak at the time and made a hasty decision. This is the path you will walk if you want to see the top."
See the top. It was ingrained. It was all I ever lived for and died for. It was the sole purpose of all beings, whether they knew it or not. To see the meaning of it all, to touch the source of it all, to become one with it all. I traveled a long, long time, searching for my path up.
It was now found at last. My heart thumped wildly, and the horror of the act was quickly forgotten in the feeling of this newfound strength. It was unbelievably euphoric; it was excellence itself. A slow path towards perfection. I was determined at this moment.
To walk the bath of beasts, all the way to the stars.
Just at that moment, a voice came from outside the door of Ordin's house.
"Son, what's the matter? What were those noises? Open the door."
I thought for a second, the harpy was eaten, yet traces of blood remained everywhere. Ordin's jugular cut open, he was lying dead in a lake of blood.
"Could I eat him and take his fire ability?" I spoke to the star in my mind. My eyes sparkling.
"Well… that is a special, and rare ability. A known beast can take the powers of Qi cultivators, if you were to eat this beast. You would have that ability. As it stands however, you cannot." The slime gave a rare honest answer.
"What is this beast called?" I asked in amazement.
"Your Grandmother! There is no such beast I know of, you can eat that human, but cannot use its power. His power comes from manipulating the outside world with Qi. You can, however, eat his core, and begin cultivating yourself."
"Really?!" I couldn't help but excitedly shout.
"Of course not! Dumbass, you are walking the path of beasts. You are no longer human. Heed these words strongly: You will never learn cultivation. You will never be a mage or cultivator. You will only have the power of beasts, but beasts are creatures made of magic. This human could make a knife of fire by manipulating the mana in the air. A Fire Djinn can make a thousand fire swords rain down with a single thought using inborn ability. Some mages may manipulate space to travel great distances, but a Cosmic Helix can swim in the ocean of space, traveling across worlds instantly. This is a difference between men and beasts.
"Humans imitated beasts by using sharp weapons and putting on strong armor. A trained knight may be able to kill a tiger, but if it loses its sword, it's over. If he falls, he dies. Man and Beasts are not on the same level. Do not be discouraged. This is a worthy path of strength."
The door began knocking loudly.
"Ordin, what are you doing, open up now!"
As a voice inside my head played with my emotions, the situation outside began to require immediate action. Against my better judgment, I asked the Lord of Slim- I mean stars one more question.
"What do you suggest I do at this moment?"
"Gahahahaha, just kill them all. It will be a sorely needed combat experience. You may run across some more beast blood. Kill them. It will be fun!" the voice laughed with no undisguised madness.
"For once, we can agree on something."
I felt a tinge of madness inside. Maybe the voice, or maybe this boiling beast blood. It wasn't such a terrible feeling though. It was a form of comfort in a dark world.
I walked towards the door, opening it.
"Hey dad."
"Wha- "The man's voice was cut off with a fierce punch to the throat. He quickly recovered, bringing out a bone sword and attacking in fierce overhead motions. I dodged to the left and right quickly, after a few dodges, I used my newly strengthened legs to kick him straight in the chest. The kick was fast, and six holes punctured him as he flew backwards many feet.
He looked up weakly once and died.
The village was now shouting, on full alarm. Guards surrounded me. Soldiers using bone spears, swords, and axes, Skeletons, and undead beasts. They didn't bother to ask why I attacked; it was pointless at this point.
No questions, the spears came first. Luckily, I now had wings. A small flap upwards and the spears whiffed. A spinning maneuver allowed me to shred soldiers with my talons, my tail acted as a hammer, a whip, and an extra fist. The few attacking soldiers were flung back, suffering fatal injuries. The only methods of attack were my legs and tail, so I attacked like a harpy.
Flying high and swinging down, each swoop ended a few lives. There was an undead bear of note. It struck fiercely and even landed a swipe on my left shoulder. It pierced the fur coating, and I bled. I flew up high again and regenerated the wound a while later.
Carefully, I kited and attacked where openings presented themselves. My talons were sharp and plentiful, my tail a weapon of versatility. I spun around and smashed the bear's head with my tail, a large chunk of its head flew off, and it fell, dead.
Skeletons were smashed with my fists. A few soldiers managed to get lucky hits, but my regeneration made the fight pointless. They all soon lost morale. Fleeing and breaking rank. This village was small, and hidden. Its destruction will likely remain unknown. A last ditch attempt, one remaining commander shouted wildly.
"Release the Rakasha!"
And so came one worthy foe. It was a large horned beast, in red and white strips. It was bipedal, clearly fast, and violent as all hell. It has razor-like claws that were many feet in length, sharp and glowing, they seemed to signify death itself.
It shot forward like a bullet, wildly swinging its claws. I stayed out of range, dodging the attacks. My flight was limited here, and it could jump great lengths. Fast, strong, sharp, and ferocious. It managed to get many deep cuts that would take a while to heal. I had a strong sense of death, and my adrenaline peaked. More so than that, I wanted its blood.
I flew high in the air, diving down like a hawk. The collision of claws and talons created sparks, and it flew back a few steps. My tail shot forward like a spear, smashing the creature back violently. It was a true battle, it jumped up, both claws extended like an arrow, I once again used my tail, sidestepping and smashing it into the ground.
Dodge, smash, dodge, get cut, smash again, I once hit it with talons, but its body is a hard carapace. Only blunt attacks would do the trick here. Cracks slowly formed on its surface. It would extend its claws a small distance to catch me off guard at moments, shrinking them at other moments. It had the instincts of a veteran warrior. A number of scars grew on my torso.
As the battle continued, I grew calmer, I remembered my instincts. Instincts of the Star Ape, instincts of the harpy, and my instincts of battle. I grabbed its arms, it wiggled free and stabbed me cleanly through with a single claw, my tail then smashing it backwards. It was cracked and bloody, I was cut and stabbed.
I flew into the air once more. It had no energy to jump so high. Like this, we sat at a stalemate. Both resting, yet it could not compare to my recovery speed at all. It made a leap toward me eventually, anticipated, which resulted in a spear strike from my tail.
It landed on the ground firmly in a crater, nearing its end. My wounds were now healed slightly. The holes now closing, and slashes smoothing over. One final flap downwards, like a guillotine landing on a neck. It attempted a counterattack with its arms, my talons grabbed both of them and my fists, along with my tail, smashed on the Rakasha as it was helpless to defend.
Smash
Smash!
SMASH!
Each one harder than the last, the demon creature's shell finally cracked open, blood spilling like a fountain. I gorged into the creature then and there.
The most powerful beast I've encountered so far, I eagerly ate it up, the shell included. The remaining few onlookers were terrified, some fainting, some falling and running. Others shout 'demon' and 'monster'. None of them fought back anymore, and in a few minutes, only the sound of me eating remained in the village. Corpses were sprinkled around the village like flowers.
I ate and ate like a beast. The damage was quite heavy, I needed time to heal.
The Rakasha took a good few hours to eat, the shell was very hard. Next came the bear, with its powerful body and form. It was much easier to eat.
At the end, A carapace-like armor formed underneath the fur, increasing my defense by many times. My strength and speed increased greatly, and most importantly, I obtained the razor-sharp sword claws of the Rakasha, which could be extended and sheathed at will. The instincts of a warrior grew.
The bear made my muscle grow stronger, my fur a little more resistant. Sharper fangs and teeth. Slightly increased hearing and instincts.
I looked at my reflection. Color-fading fur with a carapace underneath, massive claws, talon-like feet, large and broad feathered wings, and a long monkey's tail. Strong muscles, the strength of a great ape, and a bear contained within. My face was still human, with sharp, red eyes.
"You are now officially a beast, congratulations." A voice half mocked inside my head. I slowly walked out the cave, looking upwards, the sky was blood red, as usual.
It was time to leave this place at last.
I took one last good look. The land was filthy, corrupted, impure, and grotesque. A flap of my wings and I took to the sky. Through the clouds, through the sky, I soared straight upwards.
Like an arrow shot upwards, like a tower building itself. The sky was closer than ever. I had never been closer to the light.
It was then I heard the sound of hundreds of horses galloping, thousands of voices roaring, millions of souls shaking endlessly. In front of me, was an infinite creature of blood, massive as an ocean. It suddenly blocked the sky and shook the earth.
It was one creature, one being, so completely corrupted. It had become a sea of blood and will. It was once a spirit that blessed these lands. Now, it was a nightmare given form.
The Blood Horde.