“Can I eat that?”

The first thoughts to occur in newborn demon’s mind are universally similar to this one. Easy on its flat feet, the fur matted black demon waddles out of its birth crevasse and approaches a smooth rock in its sight. The rock is large compared to the demon. The surface is smoother than the dirt it tried to eat earlier and potentially tastier. Biting into it the demon recoils at the jagged pain of nearly losing its single fang and heaves the rock aside.

Waddling further from its crevasse the demon spots something a few waddles away, something like itself and it wonders, “Can I eat that?”

It sets off to find out, climbing over dry terrain and resisting the urge to bite into more rocks. The something like itself see the demon and the demon sees it. The two study themselves as replicas, imitating one another with little snarls and arm raises before meeting in the middle.

It doesn’t have a fang like the demon does and somehow its fur is wet and slick with sticky slime. Both bear perky, long ears so thin tendrils of veins are visible. Curious, both lean into an embrace, taking slow and deep sniffs of themselves. But the demon doesn't stop there, it bares its fang and seeks to find out if it can indeed eat that.

“Eeek!” The Replica shoves the demon away.

A delicious something stains the demon’s fang, energizing it back on its feet in an instant to pursue. Unfortunately, the replica has run off, waddling back into a crevasse to whimper. A crevasse too deep for the demon’s short limbs to reach in and too full to poke its head for another bite.

So for a moment the demon sits by the crevasse and waits. As it does the demon scans the dry land for more to eat. A winding path trailed by bone dry trees slopes downward, cutting off its sight. It would have to leave its station at the crevasse to explore further.

Impatient, the demon reaches into the crevasse again but still, its arms fall short and the replica recedes further in, yelping at the intrusion.

And so it waits, choosing this time to sit behind and somewhat atop the crevasse. Should the replica exit the demon will be there stalking. The demon sucks on the blood soaked fang, the flavor of the replica’s deliciousness still lingers on its tongue and the smell excites at the back of its throat, furthering a growing impatience.

The demon doesn’t wait long. By the time the shadows blend into one shroud of darkness, the replica deigns to peek out its crevasse. Once the demon sights the same spot it’d bitten, it leaps down onto the wary replica eliciting a squeal and bloody gurgle as it rends the replica’s neck apart.

The replica—being a newborn itself— doesn’t survive long enough to endure the anguish of the demon’s tasty discovery. Every part of the replica is subject to be devoured and the demon hurries to do so, discovering its ravenous hunger as it eats. Despite the enthusiasm to do so, the demon only gets as far as the replica’s left side before feeling bloated. Motivated by greed it starts on the right before noticing another difference between itself and the replica.

A tiny pink crystal sticks out of the replica’s right hand. For the demon, it sticks out on the left and is only slightly deeper in hue and a fraction larger. The demon gives some thought to the new observation, rubbing both crystals with interest before biting into the replica’s crystal. It shatters, releasing a plume of hot pink mist that the demon’s crystal siphons into itself in a vacuum, turning an even deeper shade of pink and prompting a ringing in the demon’s head.

“Nyahh!” It grunts, slapping away at its temples before the ringing melts into a demand before its eyes.

{Elect}
[STR]—[AGI]—[FAI]—[ARC]

Without stopping to think the demon swats broadly and the demand fades.

[FAI] Elected.
{Elect}
[STR]—[AGI]—[ARC]

This time it finds a difference and with the ringing gone it bothers to consider a choice and perhaps the consequences of its rash swatting. Already chosen [Fai] the demon tilts its head at the three options left, intrigued but confused as no explanation it could understand now presents itself.

And so it swats.

[FAI] and [AGI] primaries chosen.
2ESQ Absorbed!
[FAI] Perk {Reais Smite} Attained!
[AGI] Perk {Blood Rush} Attained!
Reais Identity Sheet Unlocked!

Name: —

Race: Demon

Class: Vampiric

Age: Immortal – 2days.

Crystal Essence: [Pink]- Lvl.1— 12ESQ

[Available Essence Points— 0]

Faith:2

Agility: 2

Perk: {Reais Smite}, {Blood Rush}

As with every other thing in the past minutes, the demon swats and the meaningless words fade away, leaving the demon, unnamed but set for a powerful journey in search of its next meal.

For now, it continues gorging on the remnants of the replica, noting pleasantly a second fang growing out of its gum. With more food and possibly more ESQ, a bright set of teeth will soon occupy its little maw.

***

Name: —

Race: Demon

Class: Vampiric

Age: Immortal – 9days.

Crystal Essence: [Pink]- Lvl.1— 12ESQ

[Available Essence Points— 0]

Faith:2

Agility: 2

Perk: {Reais Smite}, {Blood Rush}

The demon slumbers for a time, only waking on the sixth day of its birth to finish the rest of the soon rotting corpse of the replica. It learns then that fresh is best.

When again it hungers, the demon squeezes out of its crevasse. Having grown in fatter, taller and stronger with a new milky fang pulling over the right side of its lip, the crevasse is a tad smaller than it needs. Unbothered, the demon kicks over the dried, broken bones of the replica as it sets out down the short slope, following the winding path of desiccated and charred dark trees.

The demon doesn’t bother biting into them, none behave or look like the replica, more like the rock and that wasn’t nice. Instead the demon sniffs at the red misty sky, finding clouds of soot and smog overhead as well as a distant scent of blood, of food. Licking its one and half fangs, the demon waddles down the trail in anticipation, alongside its new fang it has grown a few inches taller. In time its waddle would become a strut.

For now, it waddles to the end of the slope, presenting itself to the wide unknown world of death, decay and gloom. The land before and around the demon is scoured with crevasses— some long collapsed and others littered with brittle bones of forgotten creatures. Ever curious, the demon continues its pursuit of blood. Sniffing the air again it squeals as the scent grows stronger with each waddle forward and it is not long before it comes upon the source.

Not long away from a crevasse, a pair of feathered, skull-bald creatures peck at the corpse of something similar to the demon. Curious of the feathered creatures the demon waddles closer, “Can I eat that?”

Flat footed and weighing little, the demon unwittingly creeps up on the scavenging birds and immediately sinks its fangs into one of them. The sudden squawks of panic startles the other into flight. It ascends and perches on a brittle branch to reel at the scene. Trashing and flapping about the ensnared bird squawks out in agony as the demon rips into its neck. Doing its best to ensnare the bird in its embrace, the demon drains the bony creature of every drop of blood it provides— their skulls and much of their torso are little more than bleached bone and cavity, presenting little flesh or blood for the ravenous demon.

The bird melts into the demon’s arms as it dislocates the neck and ravishes its wing. Turning it's corpse over for a better palate, the demon finds the same pink crystal it saw on the replica and on itself, except here it’s embedded in the bird’s skull.

“Hoo-hoo!”

Swooping into the air above the demon the second bird screeches down, snatching and scratching the demon as it passes by in a blink. Rolling with the blow the demon snarls up at the circling fowl. Nursing a gouge in its shoulder the demon glares as the fowl perches once more on a branch, leering down with hollow red lights flickering in the crystal embedded on its skull.

The standstill allows the demon breath for a minute, though its ears perk and its eyes dart between its prey and would-be predator. The crystal still embedded in the corpse is a final prize it won’t give up but the fowl has other intents.

Spreading its wings, the demon flinches but the fowl doesn’t lift off, simply stretching and as though mocking or testing the demon. It does so twice over until the third time the demon dashes out for the crystal. The fowl lifts off, taking itself far away in its fear of the demon, a mistake it swiftly pivots on by charging an attack from its Soul Crystal.

A short blast blows the demon away from the bird’s corpse, taking off one of its flat foot and ending all the demon’s attempts. The demon scurries off for safety, lodging itself into a nearby crevasse, whimpering not unlike the replica did.

The crevasse isn’t cramped fortunately so it has space to lick at its wounds. The fowl descends, pecking into the crevasse with a long hooked beak, but the demon isn’t so timid and smacks it away, tearing out a fresh scar of flesh for its troubles.

Retreating, the fowl squawks, lifting itself in the air only to descend on the corpse of both its fallen companion and the forgotten meal they shared. Injured, humbled and hungry the demon can only glare as the fowl rips out the Soul Crystal and absorbs it in a burst of pink mist before gorging on a feast of both corpses. The demon recedes further into its new crevasse, trapped with its lost foot and gouged shoulder it won’t be stepping out into the wild for a time to come.

But at least now it knows, it can be eaten as well.

***

Name: —

Race: Demon

Class: Vampiric

Age: Immortal – 17days.

Crystal Essence: [Pink]- Lvl.1— 10ESQ

[Available Essence Points— 0]

Faith:2

Agility: 2

Perk: {Reais Smite}, {Blood Rush}

A week passes by the time the demon is well again. Though for a moment it thought it would never leave its crevasse for fear of the fowl and its powerful crystal blasts, it peeks out into the world once more. Ravenous from the time spent regenerating its limb and lost flesh, its lost some of its strength in the process. It searches the skies from atop the crevasse and all around for signs of an enemy of any kind before stretching out its fluffed, dusty body.

Sure that its alone, the demon takes the opportunity to imitate the fowl that had so humbled it. Flapping its short limbs and leaping off the top of the crevasse, it smacks face first into the ground a couple times before giving up on achieving flight. While it regenerated within the crevasse, the demon grew curious of the fowl’s speedy ability and envious of the crystal attack that took its foot.

What could be the difference? Pondering this the demon trails down the path once more, coming upon the skeleton of what would have been its second meal. Growling, it kicks it over and reveals the skeleton of the replica the fowls shared. The side by side gives the demon pause. If the replica is just like itself and the fowl is like the one that blasted its foot off, then…then...

It loses the thought and scratches its head in growing annoyance. In doing so it stares curiously at the crystal embedded in its hand. The fowl had one like it as well, both of them did and the crystal shot an attack out of it. The crystals aren’t delicious like flesh or blood and can’t be eaten— it tried already— but if the fowl is any example then…then…

It loses the thought again, “Rarr!”

Leaving the similarities and differences for later the demon chooses to satiate the hunger and weakness creeping up on it. Sniffing the air for a scent of blood it senses none, prompting yet another growl. The demon rips a long bone from the fowl and it comes out with the skull attached and waving about. It waves and twirls the piece of bone and skull, having mirth in the way it rattles.

With its new toy in hand the demon continues further down the trail, occasionally sniffing the air for a whiff of blood. The dead, dehydrated land and trees spread and multiply from this point, thickening into a dark forest grown on barren land. Beyond the forest is something else, some kind of multi-coloured mess of flora and giant trees poking into the clouds with overgrown, orange tinted umbrella tops.

The demon’s ears perk at the unmistakable sound of violence, or rather, the sound of food at the end of the steep trail. It wastes no time appreciating or even contemplating the view and rushes towards the sound. Waddling as fast as it can, it sniffs and sure enough, blood is spilled where its headed. It salivates in anticipation.

Coming upon a two pairs of creatures, three of which bleed the demon is certain, “I can eat that.”

Of all the battling creatures one stands uninjured. A hairy brute with four arms and propped hind legs pivots around two slithering, winged creatures. It screams as one launches at it, spewing some kind of mist in its face before the brute can swat it away. Distracted, the second slithers behind it, coiling itself up the brute’s legs, revealing long retractable fangs that sink into its back.

As the brute rages in agony, the demon notes a third winged creature curled up at the base of a tree. Careful in its approach the demon stands over the limbless creature, it only bears one of its green feathered wings and bleeds out of a bite sized gash at the end of its tail. The winged serpent heaves, without the strength to whimper much less give the demon’s approach a note of concern. The demon snatches it up from its neck, raising it up to its face and the winged serpent flutters an eye open to look and there, within its socket is its crystal. One socket bears an eye while the other bears a deep pink crystal, much deeper than its own— a telling sign that this will be a good and easy meal.

Yet as the serpent pants and bleeds over, the demon recalls how it hid in a crevasse not too long ago and hesitates to devour. The short pause grants the serpent a chance to spit right in the demon’s eyes, scalding the it with a searing acid.

“Yeii!” The demon tightens its grip on the serpent in its blindness, feeling it coil around the arm holding it up. Having seen what happens when these creatures coil the demon snatches all it can grab with its free hand and blindly stuffs the struggling creature into its maw. Chewing vigorously whilst scrubbing away at its hurt eye, the demon bites into the serpent’s crystal and puffs out a plume of pink mist that its own crystal hungrily absorbs.

2 ESQ Absorbed!
5 Essence Points Absorbed!
Crystal Essence Level 1—> 2!

“Raaarrrr!!” the four-armed, hairy brute roars victorious albeit badly hurt over the two winged serpents. Beating its chest, it huffs and puffs as the demon rejuvenates itself with the newly absorbed ESQ.

The vibrant power fuels the demon, healing the acid burnt eye in a flash and filling it with renewed strength. It turns to face the brute but is immediately smacked off its flatfeet, tossed into the thick of the forest as the brute rages.

Slamming through bark and blackened wood the demon skids to a stop, already bleeding once more as its new aggressor, twice its size and with double the arms chases after it, eyes glowing with primal intensity.

Unfazed, the demon hops to its feet and meets the challenge sporting longer, stronger fangs, “I can eat that.”

***

The demon vaults off tree bark, sliding through the brute’s legs and escaping another blatant charge. With its broad, hairy back exposed, the demon swipes its new, sprouting claws across it, spilling blood and rending flesh.

One, two swipes and the demon dashes away in time to avoid the brute falling on its own back in an effort to crush it. Something in the demon has evolved. When it ate that winged-serpent and sprouted sturdier fangs, new claws, something else evolved as well. Something greater than mere physicality.

Rather than slash at the brute while it’s down the demon scurries up a gnarled tree, taking the high ground as for the first time it attempts to use to power within its crystal. Realizing the innate connection, it shares with the crystal, the demon wills the power within, the power it has earned from the moment of its birth to manifest in its palm.

A swirl of pink mist becomes apparent as the brute lugs back onto its feet— having faced off against many opponents and now the demon without stopping to heal, its fate is all but sealed. It searches, left, right, too late to look up as the demon leaps from the tree top, a soft red coating of power, of Essence coats its clenched fist and blazes as it descends, "Reais Smite!"

The blow rattles the brute, knocking out teeth and sending it stumbling back into a tree. The demon holds onto the brute as it slams against the bark, summoning more Essence into its fist for another strike but in its greed leaves its back vulnerable to the pair of the brutes extra arms.

Snatched off the demon finds itself held and restrained, unable to fight off the brute’s considerable strength as it recovers. In the centre of its bloodied chest lies the deepest pink crystal its seen yet, glowing like the fowl’s did.

The demon gasps, overcome with fear of being obliterated the way its foot was. The brute roars spittle in its face and with a single arm flings the demon into the ground. As its soft, brittle bones crack and its head fills with its own blood the demon does all it can and pulls on its only source of power.

Flooding its entire body with Essence, overriding its senses with the scent of blood— its own and that of the brute the demon screeches, “Wrreee!”
[{Blood Rush} Active!]

Uncaring for its own well-being or even its limitations, the demon rips its arm from the brute’s grip, snapping it in half in the process as it leaps onto the creature twice its size and sinks its fangs deep where blood gushes the most.

The brute bellows out in agony, slapping itself frantically as the demon skitters across its body like a rodent, biting and sucking wherever blood pools. The winged-serpents did good work on the brute, already parts of it seep with poison and acid burns. The demon slashes into these gashes as the brute trashes about unable to get a grip on the scurrying foe.

It’s not long before the massive creature tires, groaning onto its knees in a pathetic final struggle against poison, acid and the vampiric bites of the demon. It succumbs by a tree, using what little strength it has left to slam its back as well as the clinging demon into the gnarled bark of the tree.

The demon is unfazed, draining the brute gives it the strength to withstand its laststand and soon the brute struggles no more, crumpling by the base of the tree as its blood is drained into the demon.
[{Blood Rush} Disabled!]

As the last drop drains down the demon’s gullet it awakens from its frenzied state, eyes bloodshot, mouth and torso drenched in the blood of the brute. The demon flinches and whimpers in pain forgotten, finding its arm twisted to the side and part of its rib sticking out its back and chest.

However, the crystal of the brute is set for the taking and so are the crystals of the winged serpents it fell. Gently, it dislodges itself from between the bark of the tree and the brute’s corpse, undecided between feasting on all three corpses for what it is beginning to understand is strength and growth. It decides to pluck out the brute’s crystal, smashing it in its hand the familiar and warm pink mist erupts, funnelling into its own. With a vicious, yet soothing crack its arm snaps back into place and its ribs sink back into its flesh.

4 ESQ Absorbed!
5 Essence Points Absorbed!
Crystal Essence Level 2—>3!

Similar words had sought its attention when it devoured the winged serpent, its crystal had taken a deep hue at that moment as well, like it does now. Many things the demon was curious about began making sense with each creature it gorges on and each crystal it absorbed into its own.

Tilting its head to the side it turns its intrigue to the talk of points, what would it do with these points? “Can I eat that?”

As though responding to its curiosity, the words fade and replace with another it’d seen before.

Name: —

Race: Demon

Class: Vampiric

Age: Immortal – 17days.

Crystal Essence: [Pink]- Lvl.3— 16ESQ

[Available Essence Points— 10]

Faith:2[+]

Agility: 2[+]

Perk: {Reais Smite}, {Blood Rush}

When it had seen these words before its instinct was to swat them away, some of that persists but now having devoured the winged serpent and drained the four-armed brute of its blood, the demon wonders. There is a difference in what it had seen before and what it sees now.

“Rraar?”

It lingers on the changes, for one it now has a higher, stronger numbers and soon deigns this to be better than less. Also, the addition of new symbols beside the numbers that hadn’t increased prompts a separate set of words the longer the demon stares.

Faith— Attribute manipulating and bolstering Essence of Reais and its perks.

Agility— Attribute manipulating and bolstering Demonic rapidity and its perks.

Even with its increased intelligence and patience, the demon fails to understand what any of this means. It’s most significant takeaway however comes from its use of Essence in its fight with the brute.

Perhaps these points are for that, to make its smite stronger and faster. Sniffing the demon swipes at the words and they fade back into the Identity Sheet and with but a thought its uses up all ten points on [Faith].

In an instant it senses a difference, now vividly aware of the power, the Essence of its crystal flowing throughout its body, not only its left hand. The pathways reach every point of its body and it finds that it can control the flow, willing it with but a thought to strengthen its claws, fangs or even manifest right before its eyes.

But exercising this new ability is exhausting. The demon cuts flesh from the brute and fills its stomach before reminding itself of the winged serpents and their crystals left behind. Retrieving their corpses, the demon sits by the brute’s corpse as the wind howls through the forest, with this much flesh and crystals it will be sometime before it goes hungry again.

Plucking out their crystals the demon shatters them in its hand, absorbing both into its own.

2 ESQ Absorbed!
2 ESQ Absorbed!
5 Essence Points Attained!
Crystal Essence Level 3—>4!

Again its crystal deepens in hue and a bright mirth fills its centre knowing this means it grows stronger. This time it chooses to spend all five new points into [Agility] and unlike with [Faith] it doesn’t sense any immediate changes beyond a slight weight and height gain in its flatfeet and legs.

In bliss it ties one of the winged serpents around its neck and snacks on the other, slowly piecing together the pattern of how it grows. Every 4ESQ must mean a new level and every level brings five points it can spend on its attributes.

Tired of thinking the demon nestles into the brute’s corpse, wishing there were a crevasse it could hideaway in but glad to have a bounty of food nonetheless. It was a good hunt.