Darkness
Darkness so profound as if all the stars have been extinguished in the universe, a dying universe.
No
The universe is not dying
I am dying
Vague memories of past lives flash before my
Mind, tragedies and celebrations both meaningless to my current state. Past holds no meaning to current and The future of my putrid self.
I loathe myself
I hate myself
A life wasted with just one wrong step on The roadside.
I was never an outstanding human being but just a average mundane guy with some little aspiration and desires, just a little bit as someone who hates being average but makes no effort to better themselves can have.
I have no tragic back story , no greater then life goals and definitely no desire of love or validation.
I simply am without and reason or goal just a lost soul that was being dragged by The flow of the world as far as the bag of flesh, bones and blood that we call a body can take me.
My body felt heavy but no longer am I burdened by its weight
I have no limbs but I want to move
I jave no legs and feet but I wish to stand
I have no eyes but I wish to see
I have no lungs but I want a grasp of air
I have no mouth but I wish to scream
I have no stomach but I Hunger
Hunger which gnaws at me, it gnaws at my very being.
A hunger which I have no way of satiating, Why am I so hungry, The dead have no need to feed so why must I endure such suffering.
In life I was dragged by societal expectations but even in death I deserve no rest.
Am I really that horrible
Am I really that worthless
Maybe I deserve it
But why only me
Please make it stop
It hurts
Why must Only I get hurt
Is this my karma?
Please whoever is listening, I beg of You
Release me from my torment.
Then a flicker of light appears, its not very bright but it starts growing , Its warmth I can feel even without skin. Its comforting, its getting hot.
IT BURNS
Make it stop
Please
Then the burning sensation stops followed by a rather chilling sensation, then a lights starts swirling around me completely engulfing me.
A red sun shines upon a gore filled battlefield, corpses, blood and dismembered limbs scattered like glitter decorate the ground. Men holding swords and spears covered in sigils of opposing empires fight like animals.
Vultures, crows and dogs scavange the dead and decaying corpses some even eating the disabled alive with their screams echoing in the battlefield like music in a opera.
I am present in The battlefield, No I am floating above it. Men soldiers are busy butchering each other around me but none of then look at me like I am not even there.
I don't understand This world is clearly not earth as there are two moons in The sky as well The people here wear medieval style coating with some variation in exact styles and fight with primitive weapons like swords and spears.
[Congratulation on your successfully reincarnation Host]
A black screen appeared before me, Then it hit me. I have been reborn in a new world with a system just like those other protagonists from light novels.
I wanted to speak but I had no mouth, Heck I don't even have any limbs. Where am I ?
I just thought in my mind and The system spoke
[You have died and been reborn in the world of Giaia a planet much larger then earth with many mystical species and monsters alike]
It seems like I can access the system with thoughts Only. If I have a system that means I must have some cheats also right?
[You have zero cheats, the system is Only here to give you descriptions of items and guidance rest you have to manage by yourself just like all the other reincarnators dear Host]
There goes my Only little excitement but it seems like other people can also reincarnate like me. Then that dreaded feeling of hunger snapped at my mind, it was not painful as before and quite tolerable now but it waa still irritating. System what am I and why I am feeling so hungry even Though I have no stomach hell I don't even have a body am I a ghost?
[ Host you are a Lesser demon, you are a spirit that has no body which accidentally escaped from hell ]
[ Lesser demons like all other demons feed on vital energy present in living beings and environment, Your hunger will not kill you but will definitely make you irritated ]
I have become a demon and a lesser one at that?
System how do I eat?
[Just go near someone dying and your instincts will do the rest Host]
There was no shortage of dying people in war and one soldier wearing leather scraps lied just below me barely grasping for air as his abdomen was bleeding, I flew down towards him even though I had no idea on how to move as I am just a spirit without a body but still I could do it as if it was some basic thing engraved in my demonic instincts.
I floated near his heart and then I felt as if a straw was kept near my mouth, I sucked in even though I had no mouth but the hunger which tormented me began to dissipate and the complexion of the injured man grew paler until his breathing ceased.
[Congrats on your First murder Host ]
..
...
....
Ok
I had just killed a man by draining all his life force but I felt numb I had no sympathy, it was just like when we eat chicken. Just predator and prey as nature intended.
Status
[ Name : Not Decided ]
Age: 1 hour
Race: Lesser Demon
(A Lesser demon who was Just born and escaped from hell, barely above the souls of the damned in the infernal hierarchy)
Skills: Soul drain, Possession, Alteration, Spirit ]
[Title: None]
Its clear that soul drain means how I drain the life force of The living to feed myself and spirit refers to my lack of body as I can't be seen or harmed by regular means, but what does possession and alteration do?
[Possession: Allows you to posses objects and living beings]
[Alteration: Allows you to alter the possessed host or object, its easier to alter the possessed living organism instead of a inanimate object]
So I can possess and objects and living beings just like in those horror movies?
[Yes]
And Alteration allows me to change the possessed object and host the way I see fit?
[Yes]
Son if I possess a human can I grow horns, wings or any other cool stuff?
[Not yet as you are just a lesser demon and won't be able to do any major transformation, you need to become a regular demon to utilize your abilities much more efficiently and get new skills]
Hmm so how do I become a regular demon?
[Live long enough and absorb adequate life force through passive means or killing your selected prey]
The System didn't specified on how long do I need to live to become a regular demon but it seems like I need to absorb enough life force to get stronger because even if I reach the desired age if I don't absorb enough life force I won't be able to evolve.
I flew across the battlefield experimenting,
I have managed to learn that I don't need to kill a person to sustain my hunger as I can absorb Only The required live force rather then squeezing the person dry.
Its easier to absorb from the already dying as compared to The perfectly healthy because the rate of absorbtion is negligible it would take decades to completely absorb from a healthy man as compared to few minutes or few hours from an already dying man.
Completely killing a person gives more life force and Satisfaction.
I have tested out all my skills except possession so I began to look for a test subject.
The battle was coming towards an end and my invisible gaze fell Upon a man wearing crude peasant clothes with a leather vest covering his chest. The man appeared to be in his mid 30's with patchy heard, double neck, short hair and a pot belly with flabby arms holding an axe.
I flew inside his chest and the man shivered for a few seconds then returned to being normal. His Memories flew in my mind as I looked through his life and felt his emotional.
This fat slob was a low life murderor and a drunkard who managed to join a gang of bandits which were hired as mercenaries for a war.
Status I yelled in my mind
[Name: Dobby]
[Age: 34]
[Gender: Male]
[Traits: Human body]
[Titles: Fat slob]
Hmm, there were no skills as skills are special abilities belonging only to mystical creatures such as a lesser demon like me. Regular humans like dobby had traits such as well Nothing.
He is a regular human being with a regular body that is fat and weak. I could now see, hear and smell everything that Do ny could but I couldn't control him
[Host the possessed creature must be very weak and have less willpower to be completely controlled by force or must hand over their soul to you by their own will]
The system explained to me that I can only completely control creatures that have much weaker then me or have extremely low willpower like wild animals who only rely of instincts. A lesser demon like me can't dominate a human, if I want to control dobby he must give his soul to me willingly until then I am just a passenger in his body.
Then I felt a deep chill of fear from dobby, I saw through his eyes as three rather starved looking bald men wearing rags and holding knives and dragged surrounded dobby, most likely they were slaves of one of The Warring empire.
*Damn it these scrawny peices of shit had to appear just when the war is about to end, I didn't signed up as a Mercenary to die all I wanted was some coin and free booze*
I could hear dobby's thought,
Hehe, Time to play with my new toy