[??? pov]
Connection terminated. There was a burn within the very soul of mine, soldered with fire and rotted corpses. Each as dead and dressed as the next.
A patchwork that had been as… as stitched as was possible. As was told of me.
There was no other choice. There was a limit to talent. But there was not a limit on methods. Sometimes the most extreme of which, one that sacrificed my afterlife for momentary power.
Sometimes even that was worth it.
However…
"What!?"
A flicker within my eye, that sole eye of mine. Left from the pile of rotting corpses I had consumed to create this… this abomination.
Made from the rotting corpses of those who had died talented and young with veins and energy too pure for their worth.
Idiots that could not see the worth of their own existence. How I wished that I was stronger. That I could patch together a body greater than this.
Find an eye to fit that socket of mine.
So that when it comes to it, the lifeblood of this body…
I shook my head, irrelevant. There was nothing relevant within that head of mine. And so I transferred.
That sight of mine swiftly changed.
And the only thing I could see was the raven black hair of a girl. Her own red eyes trained intently on my own.
Once more that connection terminated. And this time… there was no tool, no power, nothing that could scry again that position of it.
I let out a quiet groan. A rage that seemed to echo within the utensils that scattered around the room.
"Lor-"
I cared not for the usefulness, nor the submissiveness of his posture. Only that he was close. That lifeblood of his nourished my own. Gave me intense pleasure that ran down my body like some rush of…
He fell to the ground… a useless chunk of nothing. Merely more materials…
My thoughts trailed off, the dead body, it had severed its connection. That wraith of mine.
"Damned bastards…" I muttered, gnawed on the nails of this body. Eye scattered in this and that direction until it landed on the nearest talisman.
I pulled it from its place, a quiet incantation that spoke of immense power. A puppet, made of human flesh, created and deployed. With power equal to that of a profound stage cultivator.
"That should be enough…" I once again muttered.
"Lord…" There was a mutter, and again one of the servants came upon my sanctuary, tore his eyes over the blood that scattered the floor.
The remains of his once comrade.
Fear remained prevalent in his eyes. But I merely scoffed. Let him take the body from its place, mop the floor of the crimson stain.
And soon after the morning had come.
I was expecting this. Three of the elementary realm. One skilled and another wounded. Healing currently.
They should be of no consequence. The problem comes after.
"If I'm lucky…" I muttered, still gnawing on that same finger of mine. Long ago had I bit skin and too soon had I sucked the very blood of this body back into its own digestive track.
"If I'm lucky then that will be the end. They will stay for two or three days, during which I will lay down my kidnappings… and report their job done."
Yes, that would work. Rarely if ever were these brainless idiots - especially at the elementary level where they felt the most invincible and inexperienced - especially then.
There was no doubt that they would abandon their post after days of nothing.
And so I waited. Merely sitting cross legged and waiting. Waiting and waiting… and waiting. Gathering the Qi in the air for a leap of realms.
From the profound to the core. Where I could truly begin…
…
I opened my eyes. Destruction reigned around. A battlefield soaked with blood and corpses.
A gasp of true excitement in my long dead eyes.
"My lord… to grace me with such a feast…?"
I turned and faced him.
"Yes, your power grows near."
There was a strange inflection within his voice. That seemed to grow nearer and nearer. Until I was forced to hang onto his words.
My own consciousness had faded. And with it a hymn rang in my ears. Foretold the words I would ring true in my next bout of cultivation.
For they were the next step. The core technique of that… that…
My eyes opened. Once more to the dank light of the cavern I had placed myself in. Renovated, yes. But a cavern it still was.
A smile reigned true on my face. A mere moment later and all had gathered. Every servant who had reluctantly and fearfully come under my rule. A tyrannic and forceful rule.
They stood with their hands behind their backs. A gaze forced downwards.
"I thank you all for coming." My expression brightened. A smile forced onto the faces of all as they clapped and cheered at my every word.
I drank in those… those…
A shake of my head brought me back to reality. Their blood had already nourished my floors. Placed tile after tile and equipment after equipment.
And now, "The final act. And you all will be set free."
They cheered, hopeful within those dead eyes of theirs.
I soaked it in. Their hope. Only to take orgasmic joy in their lifeblood, they fell to the floor and died. Their bodies turned into one.
A pill made of flesh. Turned into a core once it had been swallowed down my throat.
"Thank you. For that final act of yours, you will all be remembered."
I thanked them, truly I did. For they were key in the instrument of my rise.
"Truly… thank you."
There was a tear within my eye, I wiped it, and with that tear came a burst of power. A deadly gaze that burned down the nearest object. Tore it from reality by sheer force of will.
"Amazing. AMAZING!"