Chapter Three: The First Taste
The forest was alive with the sounds of the night. Strange and eerie cries of wild beasts echoed through the trees, creating a symphony of fear. In the dark stood a young boy holding a bloody dagger. His crimson red hair, along with the blood stains covering his face and clothes, made him look like a blood demon summoned from hell. His expression matched his bloody appearance as he stared at the corpse of the man like a hungry beast.
His hands trembled as he held the dagger, his mind a whirlwind of conflicting emotions. The hunger gnawed at him, an insatiable craving that seemed to come from the depths of his very being. He had never felt anything like it before. After killing the man, he could somewhat control his hunger, but now it was out of his control and it terrified him.
He knelt beside the corpse, his breath coming in shallow gasps. The smell of blood was overpowering, and his stomach growled in response. "Just a little," he whispered to himself, trying to justify the unthinkable act he was about to commit.
With a swift motion, he cut a small piece of flesh from the corpse. His hands shook as he brought it to his mouth, his mind screaming at him to stop. But the hunger was too strong. He closed his eyes and took a bite.
The taste was unlike anything he had ever experienced. It was both repulsive and intoxicating, a mix of revulsion and satisfaction. As he swallowed, he felt a surge of energy coursing through his body. The hunger subsided, replaced by a strange sense of fulfillment and something more.
Suddenly, Evel's vision blurred, and he was overwhelmed by a flood of memories that were not his own. He saw flashes of training, battles, and the use of shadow magic. He could feel the power to hide and dissolve into shadows, the skill to wield a dagger with deadly precision. The memories and abilities of the dead cultivator were being transferred to him.
The memories began with the cultivator's childhood, growing up in a harsh and unforgiving environment. He was trained from a young age to be a warrior, learning the art of combat and the secrets of shadow magic. Evel saw the cultivator's struggles, his triumphs, and his darkest moments. He felt the pain of countless battles, the thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat.
From birth to his last breath, being pierced by Evel, all of his pain, happiness, sorrow, training, and experiences, every emotion and action of that cultivator were just engraved in his memory. He felt like they were his own memories, as if he was not Evel but that person. However, Evel quickly controlled his mind and took a long breath.
As the memories continued to flood his mind, Evel's brain struggled to process the sudden influx of knowledge. He clutched his head, the pain intense and overwhelming. He could see through the eyes of the cultivator, feel his experiences, his fears, and his desires. It was as if two minds were battling for dominance within his skull.
The strain was too much for his young mind to handle. He felt like he could faint at any moment. "No, I can't faint here. Fainting here means becoming easy food for those wild beasts," Evel gritted his teeth and tried to climb up the tree with his weak body. Evel always loved to climb trees; he would always sneak away from his home to go to the 100-year-old tree that was very close to his house. His parents would try to find him here and there, and at last, he would be found sleeping in a strange posture on the branch of that tree. But today, he was not climbing the tree to have fun; it was a matter of life and death.
The tree was very big, its branches spread all over the area, its trunk sloping, increasing the difficulty of climbing, and its shadow covering the range of miles around it. "Wait, how can I see the shadow of the tree in the dark? And my vision also seems to have improved; I can see more clearly in the dark." His situation started to worsen suddenly; he felt like his brain was about to explode. "No, no, just a little more," Evel gritted his teeth with all of his strength, increasing his pain to gain clarity.
After some moments of climbing, which felt like more than a century to Evel, he finally reached one of the branches of the tree. His weak body couldn't hold up anymore, and he collapsed onto the branch and fainted.