Chapter 8 - The Oriole

Perched atop a crumbling building, a man remained unmoving, a statue against the backdrop of the city skyline. His dark form was barely visible against the night sky, the only signs of his presence being his forest-green eyes, like a sea of cutting leaves.

His gaze was fixed on the street below him, where dirty, tattered men were patrolling, or their best imitation of it.

A slight smile crossed his face as he watched them scramble around in confusion.

Looking at their weapons, It was evident that they were looking for the culprit of the recent murders.

'Seems like I won't even need to move a finger,' Felix thought with satisfaction.

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As the root of the void shard, Felix could effortlessly locate it no matter how far away it was from him. The feeling was so utterly distinct and familiar that he doubted anything less than a complete sealing of his flesh could hide it from him in this realm.

So, as soon as he left work, he followed the shard to its current location, the slums. 

As the fight below raged on, and brief flashes of light lit up the street, Felix stretched his eldritch senses in ways he hadn't been able to do since his being was bound so harshly to the laws of geometry 25 years ago.

Having a human body had been a novel experience, part of his existence a singularity for the first time in what felt like eons, leaving behind the structureless void with which he roamed freely, devoid of color or concept.

Of course, he could still feel the connection to his main body somewhere far away, but he could still vividly remember the first conscious moments of his mortal life being filled with existential anxiety.

Long before his untempered vocal cords could form coherent words, before the fuzzy haze in his vision cleared or before the turbulent ensembles of emotions that assailed him on a near-constant basis disappeared.

"Actually, on second thought, I don't think I will miss the 'human experience' all that much," He thought as he cast away the distractions from his fleshy brain and focused once again on the battle.

As yet another explosion ruffled his eardrums, Felix couldn't keep himself from smiling as he felt the man who lucked upon his Void Shard was sent flying once again.

However, his smile transformed into a full-blown grin when his first void incarnation finally ate a celestial shard. 

'Celestial shards... They are pretty disgusting. They have a fixed amount of power and abilities depending on their rank and path. Truly lacking' he thought as he shook his head.

'Void shards are much better, more malleable, and adaptable. Unlike celestial shards, a void shard would reveal its consumer their deepest desire and then give them a power that would make it happen…' he then paused a moment.

'Well... the user would slowly lose their mind, becoming a slave of the shard as it slowly devoured them from the inside out, but eh eh, that's a fair price for this much power,' he thought as he shrugged his shoulders.

'But I must say, this is quite convenient in a way. Once they inevitably become insane, they merge with the host and become "ripe". It ultimately means I can… Harvest them.' The creature wearing human skin lowered his binoculars, a small smile playing on his lips.

The sounds of screams and explosions echoed through the streets, a violent symphony that gradually faded into silence.

Felix rose from his vantage point, and he began his descent to street level.

His movements were fluid as he navigated the building's fire escape. Rusted metal groaned beneath his weight, but he paid it no mind, each step measured and precise.

Once on the ground, Felix made his way toward the alley where his first pawn's lifeless form lay.

The Void Incarnation had unleashed its fury here, and the evidence was all around-slaughtered bodies, twisted in unnatural poses, and the charred, scaly remnants of Jonathan's once-human flesh, which looked like someone threw it in a burning blender.

A normal man would have run away in fear, overwhelmed by the hideous scene before him. But Felix was no normal man...

He was an eldritch creature...True. But before that, he was a journalist.

Where lesser men were expected to turn tail and flee, Felix's livelihood depended on the stories and photos he managed to capture. His income was directly proportional to the risks he took, and for someone playing the role he did, this was the scoop of a lifetime.

None would suspect him, even if the police were to metaphorically teleport in front of him.

He could have chosen many paths in this mortal life, but none would have given him the benefit of the doubt quite so well if he were to be seen near catastrophic fights between incarnations. This job was the perfect alibi.

Felix raised his camera and began snapping photos, each click echoing like a distant heartbeat in the eerie stillness. He documented the carnage with a detached professionalism, his lens capturing every detail of the grim tableau.

As he worked, no one was around to notice the slithering darkness peeling from Jonathan's corpse.

It crept silently across the pavement, a living shadow that moved with a mind of its own.

The dark substance merged back into Felix's body, absorbed without a trace. This was the extent of control he could exert over his own flesh, given his current strength.

The void shard he had given away had served its purpose, and now, it returned to him, a part of his being once more.

Even if the one who killed his pawn were to search for the shards within it, with Felix so close, he wouldn't have had any luck.

Felix felt a subtle shift within himself, a familiar presence settling back into place, as the humanity that plagued him for so long became more of a suggestion than an iron-clad law.

It was a reminder of the power he would once wield in the future, but he showed no outward reaction, not even a twitch of his brow.

Instead, he continued taking photographs, documenting every inch of the scene.

It was unfortunate that he had to rely on puppets to slowly chip away at the Constellations, but such was the nature of this world.

Each time a Celestial Shard was corrupted by the Void, it caused ripples through the pathway, sending tremors that could reach far beyond the Midlands… Reaching even the realm of Stars and Constellations, The Beyond.

Low-level shards being corrupted was nothing extraordinary with Voidlings slipping into the Midlands now and then, but one couldn't predict the thoughts of Stars.

Felix wouldn't put it past some of them to cross the Realms and descend into the Midlands just to take care of the Corruption themselves.

The risk was extremely small, almost negligible even, as the journey was quite perilous. 

The Realms were vast, and the pathways between them were filled with danger, but Felix couldn't afford to risk this body he had gained. 

He had gone through too much to secure this vessel, and losing it now would be catastrophic.

Yet, despite the potential consequences, this first attempt had gone well.

Felix surveyed the scene one last time, his gaze lingering on Jonathan's lifeless form. This Void Incarnation had served its purpose decently. It even consumed a rank 9 shard before dying.

A breeze rustled through the alley, carrying with it the faint smell of smoke and blood. His job done and objective completed, he allowed himself a moment of satisfaction.

Felix smiled a goofy smile despite the carnage he was surrounded by.

He gave a small nod to the pawn that had sacrificed itself, acknowledging its role in the greater scheme of things.

With a final, almost gleeful glance at the alleyway, Felix walked away. The Midlands were his playground, and he would gift the taste of Death to all whom dared to stand in his way.