//------------------------------// // Chapter 8: Desaturated // Story: Displaced into Nothing // by Rockstar_Raccoon //------------------------------// As sapient beings, we often like to think that we can wrap our heads around all sorts of concepts, and that we could describe anything we saw through our mastery of language.  This is simply not true. Language was created to reflect what we need it for, but if no one has needed a language to describe a thing in the past, then there is no reason for it to be up for the task in the present. A good example is the images of “sea monsters” one can find on  maps from the Middle Ages, which are actually drawn from the descriptions of real life animals given to researchers, who documented and drew them to the best of their ability.  Without existing words or pictures to describe those animals, however, the meaning became blurred. An explorer might describe to an artist, “a sea-creature, not resembling a fish, with ten or so limbs, beady eyes, and a long body that is more tail than anything, six feet long.”  You and I might know what he’s describing, but the artist this is being described to has never even seen a picture of the creature in question. He has seen lobsters though, which he remembers are... Not like fish Many limbed. Beady eyed Long Bodied Mostly Tail And although he’s never seen a lobster more than a foot long, he can easily picture this, and so he draws it, and that’s why cartographers adorned their maps with giant crustaceans known as “Squids”, thinking that this was a totally accurate depiction of sea-life. As the first explorer of this novel state of being, I could attempt to describe the form I’d chosen in that moment, but language would fail me. I could tell you about the tentacle-like appendages, the long, wickedly barbed spears, which opened into pincers so they could both grab and spear, the roiling black mass of plates and black ooze which hid my core, or the sacs of flesh-melting substances which were spread across it, but these are simply parts of a whole, a construction that was far more than that. I could tell you about the coloration I’d taken on, but the most precise phrasing our language gives me would be “all of them and none of them at the same time.”  Even if this were not a vast oversimplification, it would not adequately describe the pattern and the spectrum. I could tell you about the emotions I was registering at the time: a range of anger, desperation, sadism, and ― blaring unhelpfully over all others as usual ― fear, but I was not in control of nor controlled by my emotions.  Even if I were, every person has a choice of how to express their emotions, regardless of what they are, so this would only be for the sake of empathy. I could attempt to summarize myself with words like “abomination”, “killing machine”, or perhaps even “shoggoth” to describe what I had turned myself into at that moment, but these are simply vague summation. What I had become was so outside of all prior experience that it would baffle a mind made by evolution to simply behold it. What I had become was so beyond the realm of possibility that I could feel reality itself straining to reject its presence. What I had become was something both beyond words, and yet, a simple concept. I had a will to impose upon reality, and my body had become the awful tool with which I would do so with extreme prejudice. What I had become... ...was Death Incarnate. Splinters flew from where the door had been a moment before, riding the shockwave of force I dragged into the room with me.  In an instant, two, six, nine of the small minions were torn asunder in a mangle of flesh. I skewered more of them on my sharp-pointed appendages, opening the claws to tear them apart. I opened the “mouths” on my forelimbs, wrapping each around the creatures, two at a time, the hundreds of teeth I’d filled them with crushing the enchanted stuff into nothing but matter and energy for me to consume. I grabbed against the floor with my forelimbs, dragging my body forward, feeling myself ooze across the icy floor as I quickly covered ground, feeling the mooks grind beneath me as I plowed their bones like dry earth. “WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?” I heard one of their leaders shout. What the fuck, indeed. Within a minute, the minions had been shredded and scattered, and I heard the faux-Illidan incanting something.  A wide ring of green flames sprang up around the altar, creating a barrier which burned away my form wherever I tried to cross it. I allowed myself to consolidate in one spot, congealing part of my form back into some vague semblance of the pony shape I’d taken to communicate.  As that figure of shadow, I spoke, my voice the same as it had been in every other form. “Let him go and I’ll let you live.” Spike’s eyes widened as he looked at me from where he’d been pinned.  He looked down at the altar, where the sacrificial dagger had been left beside him... The Dreadlord snarled in rage, “What the hell are you!?” “The one making the demands here, that’s what.” I shot back, “Your army is destroyed.  Your position is compromised. Now let him go.” “The hell we will!” he glanced back at not-Illidan. He sneered, “The god who sent us here has demanded action of us, and we will not stop until we have seen it through.” “You mean the otherworldly creature who Displaced us, don’t you?” “Displaced?” “When an entity from the void reaches into reality and drags someone from one universe to another ― and, in our case, changes their form in the process ― it’s called being Displaced.”  I had my body take a step towards them, flaring its wings slightly, “That’s what you are, isn’t it? A human turned into something else?”  Not-Illidan paused, lowering his voice, “So, you were from the convention...” The Convention.  That was the “festival” I’d been at.  That’s where I’d found... ...that vendor. That was where this had all started. Danger can lurk in any shadow, and ours is a world of darkness.  I’d let my guard down for one moment, and immediately fallen into the web of some great monster, snatched up like any other prey.  I’d’ve cursed my former self for being so foolish, but hindsight was always 20-20. “Yes!” I pressed on, “That’s how all this happened to me.  I was at a convention, I was attacked, and I ended up here without a body.  I don’t remember anything else though. I don’t even remember what my name was!” The Dreadlord laughed wryly, “We haven’t remembered our own names since we got here.  The only name I remember is Varimathras.” Behind them, Spike watched intently, breathing gentle streams of fire against one of his cuffs, slowly turning it hot enough for him to bend. As long as they didn’t catch him, he’d eventually escape.  I could tell that fighting them together like this would be a risky endeavor, even if I overpowered that ward, but now I knew what they were after, giving me ground to negotiate. “We don’t have to fight!” I called out, “We can work together to get out of this mess!” The Dreadlord scoffed, “You think we’re gonna fall for that?  We were given some pretty clear instructions: the only way off of this world is to do what the god who sent us here commanded, and his command was to kill you.” “But there is another way!” I insisted, “If you just work with me, I can get us back home!”  This was a stretch of the truth: I wasn’t sure I could do that, but presenting the possibility might de-escalate things long enough to get Spike out of danger. “Lies!” Not-Illidan roared, ”We’re nowhere near earth!  We’re not even in the same universe! How could you possibly get us out of here?!” “Twilight and I are very good at magic.  We’ve been looking into where I’m from since she found me.  If you just give us time, we’ll find a way to cross the void and get back home!” He scoffed, “Even if she could do it, we’ve already killed her guards.  We’re the enemy. She’d never agree to help us!” “She’s forgiven countless enemies in the past, even befriended them, no matter what they’ve done!  She doesn’t want to fight, she just wants to protect her friends!” “Ugh, don’t you get it?” the Dreadlord shouted, “We don’t even know if any of this is real!  This whole place is based off that stupid show for little girls!” “...What show?” Not-Illidan scowled, “Don’t tell me you’ve never heard of My Little Pony!  Grown men, call themselves ‘Bronies’, posting the damn thing all over the internet!” “Yeah,” The Dreadlord added with disdain, “Goddamn adults who watch the show religiously, make fan clubs and conventions, and write stupid blogs and fanfictions about fucking horses!” The show... There was a show... My Little Pony. It was about a pony named Twilight Sparkle, and her friends, who went on adventures together... I’d seen that show.  I liked that show.  How could I have possibly forgotten about that?  That’s how I knew so much about them. I’d literally been watching snippets of their lives for the past four years! Spike had melted his way through the shackles holding his wrists down and was sitting up, looking fearfully at their backs as he hurried through the ones binding his ankles.  I had to keep their attention focused on me, or else they might notice him. I kept talking, “But this is real!  If you’d only stop to talk to them you’d realize that they’re real people with real lives, and you’re hurting them when we should be working with them!  Everyone from those guards to that cow, to the little girls I stopped you from killing had people who cared about them!  How can you justify all the suffering you’re causing?!” “Justify?” the Hunter waxed philosophical, “Suffering is part of nature!  If it wasn’t us, it’d be something else causing it!” “Just because something is natural doesn’t mean it’s good, and just because someone else would do it doesn’t mean you’re not making it worse!  Hurting them is wrong, no matter who does it!” “No it’s not!  That’s just the excuse of the weak!” the Dreadlord jumped in, “The europeans suffered and it made them strong enough to conquer the world: if these horses are real, we’re doing them a favor by creating progress!” I had my body shake its head, “Progress is supposed to benefit the people making it.  Progress of the sake of progress is pointless if the only gain is suffering.” “Yes,” the Hunter pointed out, “but didn’t a wise man once say that suffering gives life meaning because it gives someone the chance to endure it, and prove themselves?” “Nietzsche said a lot of things, then he spent the last decade of his life smearing his shit on the walls of his cage.” I retorted.  “Even if he was right, how can you possibly judge whether or not anyone is suffering enough? Just how much do they have to endure for you?” “As much as we need them to.” the Dreadlord declared, “Our god has the power to make these decisions, and he has given US the power to carry them out as we see fit! “Just because he’s powerful doesn’t mean you should listen to him!” I argued, “Everything you’ve told me about him tells me he should be fought, and destroyed if possible.” “You think you can stand in the way of a god who walks between planets?” the Hunter scoffed, “The Greeks called that hubris!” “Listen to yourself!” I shot back, “The dark powers you’ve been using have corrupted your minds!  Just because you have power doesn’t give you the right to use it!” “Why should we care about ‘right’ and ‘wrong’?” the Dreadlord sneered, “In a few moments, the ritual will be complete, and no one on this world or any other will be able to stop us from carrying out our task!  We’re beyond judgement by mortals!” “Isn’t there a part of you that feels guilty about this?” I demanded, “Don’t you have a shred of morality or shame left in you?” “Morality is only the excuse the weak-minded give to beg for mercy.” The Dreadlord spat, “It only serves to hold the higher-man back!” “That’s the demons you’ve become talking!  What would your human selves think?” “I don’t care what they’d think!” he snarled, “You think we don’t know what you’re doing?  You’re just telling us this bullshit to trick us into letting our guard down! You can’t possibly believe in it!” I stopped for a moment, caught off guard by that one, “What are you talking about?” “You may have fooled those horses, but we know who you really are!” the Hunter growled, “How can you possibly hold us accountable with everything you’ve done?!” “What do you mean, ‘what I’ve done’?  I don’t remember anything before I came here!” “Oh really?  One of the most dangerous criminals in the New England area doesn’t remember that she’s the real bad guy?” I had my body shake it’s head again, “I don’t remember any of that, but I do know that that’s not how it works.  Just because someone does unethical things, even if they benefit from them, doesn’t make ethics themselves invalid.  Ethics is how people behave to create a better society for everyone, just as you could’ve avoided all of this if you’d only tried to work with  the ponies like I did instead of trying to kill them!” Bart laughs at this, “Now I see why we’re pinned against each other: you’re everything we’re not.  We are men of POWER, we TAKE what we want without begging, while you are a coward, a degenerate desperate to hide within the herd.  You’re nothing but a slave to society!” And in that moment, I saw the briefest reflection, within him, of who I’d been before I died, almost the exact same excuses echoing in my head in that voice I called my own.  Every fallacy, every weak justification, every shred of evidence you seek out to tell yourself that no, you are not the bad guy. In my emotional state, it had been easy to blind myself enough to believe, but in the light of my logical mind, removed from that person I once was, I saw it for what it had always been: a self-deception to lull one to sleep at night. Everything both he and my past self had said had been correct... ...But none of it could possibly be right. “We all pretend, but none of us are innocent!” he continued, “Given the chance, anyone would be a criminal: we’re just the ones with the guts to do what we want!  And now, because of it, an angry god has decided that this is our punishment! But we're getting out soon. As soon as we complete this ritual, his will will be done!” “How will that help?” I pressed, “Do you even know what you’re opening a portal to?” “To the place where evil souls like ours go to rest!” “No it’s not!” I insisted, “I've seen what's on the other side of that wall, and it's not what you think it is!  They’re not interested in helping you, they’re just using you to get into the world and kill people!” He smirked, “Of course they do, that’s why we’re giving-AUUCK!!.” Spike roared as he slammed into the back of the Hunter, jamming the sacrificial dagger into his neck, clawing at the seams of his armor to keep hold of him. With his focus broken, the circle of flames wavered, and I pressed in. The Hunter snarled, whirling about as he grabbed at the attacker clinging to his back, becoming more frantic every time that knife cut into him.  His hand finally took hold of Spike by the neck and hurled him back at the altar. His head and the stone collided with a sickening smack, body falling limp to the floor. “Damn lizard!” he shouted, pulling a sword, “I’ll use your guts for-”  It was at that moment that my central mass collided with his with a force comparable to a thirty-five thousand kilogram semi truck barreling down the freeway at fourty-five meters per second. I could feel his bones flatten against me as I let my body fold in on itself, like a giant fist made of solid pony and tentacles, the force of the punch carrying him through the air until he reached the far wall, where the ornate carvings were turned into a much less ornate spiderweb pattern. And that’s why you look both ways before you cross the street. I could already hear a sound like screaming metal, the fabric of reality in the center of the room becoming visibly warped, stonework crumbling away as the eyes and mouths underneath rolled and gurgled, smashed in and exposed to the air.  It was like standing on the surface of a massive pulsing boil that was ready to burst open and spew its infection at the slightest touch. I didn’t have much time left. I didn’t know how to stop it at this point, and there was no time to figure it out, but as long as I took care of the summoners who created it, I might’ve been able to contain it. The dreadlord’s axe collided with my backside, sinking in deep as it split the weave of spellwork that kept the matter together.  I wrapped the end of an appendage around it, yanking it back out as he bull-rushed me with a greatsword. Meanwhile, the Hunter had rolled to his feet and was hissing an incantation, lifting his hand and pointing the palm at me.  I caught the Dreadlord’s swing on the axe he’d thrown, twisting the underlying matter to support it against the force. A wave of negatively charged magical energy, some sort of anti-healing spell, pressed against my other side, forcing my will against it as it peeled through the top layer of my carapace. Above us, the bricks were crumbling away, the eyes beginning to swell and pop as the mouths pushed their teeth outward, as if trying to reach forward and bite at some unseen sexual partner, writhing in the throes of some terrible orgasm.  I could feel it radiate from the altar, like a burning neither hot nor cold, that cut through skin and bones and got to the very meat of the soul.   I generated a large number of spines within my body, sending them outward to the surface, opening holes in my exterior to launch them from.  I didn’t waste any time containing the ichor within, I just let it ooze out as I fired a volley in both directions. My opponents saw this coming, and both turned and ducked, trying to catch them on the solid metal of their armor.  In this opening, I split every appendage I had between the two of them, coming at them from the sides. The Dreadlord rolled back, standing up with a huge sweep of his greatsword, managing to slice through three of them, the dark fire within the blade burning everything around where he’d hit to ash.  The fourth and fifth made their mark, however, jamming into the gaps in his armor to draw blood, but he brought his sword down just as I began to twist in. The Hunter came out of his crouch with both swords drawn, slicing two of the tendrils intended for him in half, causing them to crumble uselessly to the ground, leaping to the side to avoid the last one.  I managed to cut a deep gash in his arm before he brought them in like scissors and took that appendage.   And then it happened. Not with a bang, but with a terrible ripping, like the womb of some great primordial abomination being torn open to spill the squirming fetuses within as they choked for amniotic bile.  The wall of reality hung agape and their tatters flapped in the putrid wind as a force of hatred like no other poured forth, setting the walls ablaze with agony, casting the room in a light that desaturated all matter of semblance of positive emotion. I was thrown back from the event horizon, the very presence of it burning away at my being.  I had to drag what was left of me behind one of the large pillars which supported the ceiling just to re-collect myself. Through that gaping hole, an ashen wind blew.  Beyond it were endless seas of fire and ice, swirling and falling eternally in the absence of both the laws of gravity and thermodynamics.  Great spines, of what material I could not tell, reached forth from beneath the churning maelstrom, and from beneath them we could hear an ear-splitting cacophony of screams, like an entire world of people being tortured. I had to recoil as it burned away at the magic that kept me alive. “Fools!” I amplified my voice over the roar of noise, “Can’t you hear them screaming?  Our very existence brings them pain! Their only goal is destroying our reality! They'll betray you the moment they don't need you!!” “LIES!” the Dreadlord shouted, “Our time has come!” The Hunter held his hands up to the opening, and began to chant, “O’ great destroyer, O’ mighty herald of the end, O’ purchaser of perverse product, O’ gluttonous retch, O’ mighty ruiner of life.  Come forth, and feast upon the flesh of the living, I invite thee. Cometh into this world and wreak your havok...  “...I summon thee, Rekedeth the Devourer!!” The world itself gave a deep wail of agony, like a section of living brass instruments being strangled, long and drawn out, becoming louder until a hand was lifted into view.  It had seven fingers and measured at least half a meter across, but was otherwise not unlike an ape’s. It grabbed onto the side of the portal, pulling up a large head, more mouth than anything else, with four eyes sunk into its sides seemingly as an afterthought.  It huffed like a beast in its death throes as it’s lips were peeled back as it peered through the opening, as if reality were an unseen wind against them, showing the jumble of haphazard teeth which went back further than could be seen. “I am Rekedeth, devourer of life.” it demanded, “What use would a mortal of this world have of me?” “We have one who you must kill, O’ mighty Rekedeth.” the Hunter beseeched. “Only a youth of great life is equal exchange for Rekedeth.” it rumbled, “A mortal must pay the price or suffer it.” Spike groaned, trying to drag himself from where he’d fallen, when the Hunter grabbed him by the skull, holding up his limp body, “We’ve brought you a dragon whelp.  It was his blood that opened the portal.” Rekedeth separately rotated all of its eyes until they pointed at Spike, studying him calmly.  “This one has great life, great purpose...” it stated, reaching out to take him with those massive claw-like fingers, “It will suffice.” Seeing this as a last chance, I leaned out from behind the pillar and had to brace myself, to press myself forward, using most of my will to shield my existence from that terrible wind, that pure energy of anti-life. At first, I had thought Rekedeth would simply devour him, as that seemed to be his schtick, but instead, it flung him back towards the portal.  “Equivalent Exchange”, I realized it had said: it wasn’t asking for a sacrifice, it needed a life to equal out it’s anti-life when it crossed over. Spike was merely fare for the toll. My tentacles flew forward as fast as I could push them, crossing that distance just as he crossed the threshold.  They wrapped around Spike, holding him in place, just beyond the precipice of that portal to infinite terror. He wailed in horror as he clung to me, trembling violently as I slowly pulled him back. Rekedeth’s eyes wheeled over my entirety, “This mortal would interfere?” “She is the one you must kill!” the Hunter proclaimed, pointing at me, “The monster who we were sent to destroy!” “The contract must be fulfilled.” Rekedeth explained, “Rekedeth may only act once the exchange is complete.” “I’ve had enough of this shit!” the dreadlord rushed the length of my appendages, bringing his sword down to hack through them one at a time. I grew them back to replace them, but I could barely hang on against that howling wind as it was.  I couldn’t keep up, there was just too much pressure, too much interference. He just kept cutting, faster than I could replace them, and it was clear it was only a matter of time. Spike stared at me with tears as the last thing holding him to this plane of existence was severed, disintegrating around him as that thing that couldn’t have been true gravity took hold. I watched him fall, shrieking through those impossible skies, away and into those clouds, neither of us able to be anything but passive observers to his final fate. And then, with a gurgling shudder, the portal swirled shut, the rift in reality collapsing, the screams fading out where his had joined them. The wind had gone, along with the main purpose of my even being there... ...the only thing that would’ve stopped me from killing them. I let myself melt into a liquid, slipping into the space between the floor and the flesh, reaching out across the room with the tendrils of my will.  I didn’t even bother fully integrating it at this point, opting to work as a parasite, disintegrating the stone around us as my tendrils writhed within the flesh.  Its many mouths began to scream recoiling from my presence, but it had nowhere to go. I entered it, violated it, took control of its very being, making it into another part of the weapon that I was.   Rekedeth stared down at the floor, unmoving and confused, “This being is already dead.”  He stated. “Then destroy her ghost!” The Hunter growled, “I don’t care how you do it, just help us take her down!” “Rekedeth shall devour.” it stated, reaching down with a mighty shoveling claw. I didn’t give it time to put its hands in me. With a mighty yank, I pulled down the curtain of flesh that made up the ceiling, slamming it down on them like a giant meaty tarp. I felt them all go down beneath it, but I didn’t relent, I lifted it again, and brought it down once more.  Like my own form, everything within it became a weapon in some fashion. I found some sort of digestive system within it, and let its acids and enzymes gush into that space to eat away at them.  I felt rudimentary bone structures breaking within the membrane, and turned the pieces outward like spears, jamming into them wherever their flesh was uncovered. The former-humans managed to bring their weapons to bear, pushing blades in, slicing through it as the loose stone and mortar was thrown about with them like a hailstorm, but it wasn’t much use against the constant onslaught which threw them about. Rekedeth reached out, grasping at clawfuls of the stuff, ripping it away from me and shoveling it unceremoniously inside of the pit of teeth that was its mouth, yet I was relentless, pounding them from every angle.  I could feel... taste the blood coming out of them, feel and hear bones snapping as I broke them down, their choking screams echoing through the wrecked chamber. Rekedeth was the only one who didn’t seem perturbed, simply tucking in its legs and shoveling as much as it could grab into that gaping mouth, slurping it down into whatever void was within it.  Soon, it began to pull enough of the ceiling and floor away that I could no longer surround them. I didn’t care.  I brought a section of sinew from behind a wall, whether it was intended to act as nerve or intestine, I didn’t know or care, letting it be a giant meaty tentacle.  It slammed into the three of them, plowing them into the other wall. The two former humans, to their credit, managed to keep hold of their weapons this time, slashing wildly at everything I was hitting them with. Rekedeth finally managed to grab hold of the center of my being, yanking me from the floor and shoveling me into its mouth like everything else, severing the connection with a mighty chomp of those endless teeth. Torn from my control, the remaining flesh went limp, shuddering as it finally died from the shock of what I’d done.  All around them, the room went calm again, the dust and stone settling on the ground without the constant motion of my attack. I’d left quite a deal of damage on both the Hunter and the Dreadlord.  Thick plates of armor had been pulled away, and what remained was dented, warped, and cracked.  Tough hide had been cut to ribbons, leaving them to bleed profusely, barely able to stand at this point. Rekedeth, by contrast, had no more than surface wounds.  There were scuffs, scratches, and chips in the uneven plates covering its back and limbs  It’s exposed hide had been cut enough for a sickly dark green ichor to bubble forth, but the cuts were neither deep, nor the bleeding profuse.  Two of its claws had been chipped, but that hardly mattered as it had far too many and they were far too big to begin with. Three of its eyes had been injured by debris, and were shut, but that still left the rest of the strange multitude scattered over the front of its head. But even with all that, it was still standing, still in apparently good health... ...The only truly life-threatening injury it had sustained was that I was now within whatever passed for its stomach, preparing my next attack. “The being of no world is consumed.” It groaned with a shudder, “The contract is fulfilled.” “Good work, Rekedeth...” the Hunter panted, “Now... Leave this plane, and return to that from whence you came...” Rekedeth looked down upon them dismissively, “That was not our contract.” The Hunter just stared at him dumbly, “W-what?” “The contract was that Mortals would bring Rekedeth across the divide, and Rekedeth would carry out a task of devourment in return.” it narrowed its eyes, “The contract is fulfilled.  Rekedeth will now commence the undertaking upon this universe.” I could feel an excitement stir within the very essence of its being, a perfect hatred, a will built entirely around the desperation to consume all life, suddenly given a shmorgishborg to devour. I kept track of it, but turned my attention inward, focusing my will as my edges began to fray, degraded by whatever thick miasma of anti-reality was contained within the anti-creature’s stomach.  Preparing myself for the next stage of my plan. Around me, Rekedeth began to raise itself up, towering over them in all its terrible glory as it began to command them, “You will bring more souls for sacrifice.  This place will be defiled until the barrier is undone eternal.” The Hunter’s eyes widened, “That wasn’t our deal!” “Your deal did not include your lives.” it narrowed its eyes with a growl, looming over their weaker forms, “If you are not useful to our undertaking, you are worthless to us.” As it spoke, I allowed myself to disperse, to expand within that literally bottomless stomach.  I settled into my new home, made myself comfortable, sank my teeth in... It continued to orate, unaware of my actions within it, “We will enter this world en masse and purge it of all that is good, we will turn all love to hatred, all happiness to despair.  All hope for the future will be erased, replaced with only pain and loss. “We will snuff all life from existence, from the largest world to the tiniest microbe, and sterilize it of every nutrient and all energy, deny it any chance of return. “We will travel to every edge of this universe, no matter how many millenia it takes, completely annihilating all within our path. And then, only when no life can take root in this world, We will rest in peace.” it gave a shudder of ecstasy, almost orgasming from the thought alone of such destruction. And as it writhed, I continued my unseen attack.  Like a tape-worm within the gut of a bloated hog, I fed and grew, remaking myself into a parasite.  After all, I was the ultimate adapter, and there is no adaptation more competitive than parasitism. “H-holy shit...” the dreadlord breathed, “D-Dan, you didn’t say anything about that part...” “I... The book didn’t... It just said ‘devourer of all things’, it didn’t mention any of this...” “Fools.” Rekedeth grinned sadistically, “To delve into such matters without knowledge of that with which you parlayed?  Now your fate is certain. You will join the ranks of the Great Undoing, or, you will die with the other mort... all... llehh... ehh...” It’s eyes started to roll about, frantically looking for the source of the disturbance, eventually pointing inwards towards its own skull, where I had penetrated what passed for its brain. It convulsed violently as I tore into the magic that made up its being, consuming it as it had consumed my flesh. It let out little wails, gaining its first experience of genuine terror.  It tried to discorporate, to pull itself back out of reality, but my claws were already too deep within it for the effort to dislodge me, and I held it to the plane of existence. As the connections within it broke down before me, I carved out the very essence of its being, undoing the configuration of every part of its energy, using it to refill my own reserves, to rebuild all the damage I had taken. It’s soul was nothing but sustenance for me, and I reveled in this new source, far more than the ambient eddies I’d been feeding from so far. It occured to me that this may even be suitable to replenish the loss of my own soul, though taking stock could wait until later. The husk that had been Rekedeth’s body slumped down, the light fading fast from its eyes, leaving the amateur-hour duo that had been stupid enough to summon it gawking in confusion... ...At which point, I figured it wasn’t using its corpse, so I might as well take it for a joy ride. Without much care for the finer points, I connected myself to the equivalent of its nervous system, and once I had them tethered, the mirth which I now felt spewed as laughter from the mouth of my new body, which I flapped carelessly as I lifted its limbs like a marionette. The two would-be demons backed away, even more confused and terrified than before. “Really?” I gargled in a voice somewhere between Rekedeth’s and my own, “You thought you could kill me like this?” “You...” the Hunter gasped, “H-how are you doing this??  How are you even still alive?!” “I’m alive because you’re worthless and can’t even summon something to be a threat to me.” I grinned maniacally with that horrible mouth, “You should’ve gone with something that ate energy, not matter.” The Dreadlord stumbled back, trying to raise his sword against me, “What did you do to him?” “He liked to consume so much, so I consumed him.  I slurped up his insides like a milkshake...” I had the body narrow its many eyes on them, “...just like I’m gonna slurp up yours.” Before they could respond, I set upon them, throwing the entire mass of that fat, bulbous body against them, swinging every limb it had in their direction. They immediately had to pull away, swinging their swords in a panic, desperate to block any part of my redoubled attack. I laughed as my meat-puppet lumbered forward, completely undaunted by them, even as their swords struck in and damaged it. The Dreadlord chanced a step forward to give a heavy swing.  His sword gouged deep into the arm I’d set against him, nearly severing it.  With the next swing I made, it came loose from impact against his side, breaking into ash as it smashed against the wall.  He stumbled and moaned as I formed a weaponizable appendage of my own, letting it sprout from the opening, swinging it against him without any real loss. The Hunter continued to back away, shrieking with terror now as he frantically tried to swing at the limbs raining down upon him.   I wasn’t even worried about the rest of the body at this point: every swing I made forced them backwards a step, another step I could take forward.  And as I pressed on, as I turned what had once seemed like a battle into a massacre, the last of what had been Rekedeth ripped into pieces around me, the tatters becoming nothing as they hit the floor, allowing me to retake the form of that mass of roiling matter which words could not describe. Their screaming, begging, and desperate swings of their swords did nothing to allay me. Finally, I had them against the wall, and with that, I surrounded and bore down upon them.  I tore the swords from their grips and skewered them, pinning them to the wall like an overzealous crucifixion, my tendrils entering them to writhe through their innards. “NO!!” The Hunter begged as I began to absorb him, “Please!  We’ll give you anything!!” I allowed part of my matter to congeal once again into that crude pony form I’d been taking, a new protrusion taking on the appearance of a dripping tar-like sculpture of the front half of a horse.  “There was only one thing you could offer in exchange for your life right now, and you threw his life away quicker than I’m about to throw away yours.” “Please!” the Deadlort sputtered, “We didn’t know what we were doing!  W-we’re sorry!” “Too late.” I stated without emotion, “Forgiveness is for people whose lives I value.” The Hunter shook as he gasped his final plea, “Please... Please... You talked about... ethics...” I responded only to humor them in their final moments, “Ethics only matter if you care about coexisting.  I no longer have a reason to care.” I pressed in deeper, and their begging became less coherent, replaced by forlorn wails of agony as they tried desperately to think of any way they could get out of this, the sinking realization setting in that nothing would convince me to stop. I could taste their fear, comfortingly familiar as I lapped it up like a favored vintage, but it only served to whet the hunger that I now recognized as insatiable. I’d reached the core of their life force now, sucking their very being out like a shake through a straw, drawing it up from them.  At the time, I couldn’t even figure out for sure what it was I was taking from them, or how I was doing it, only that I’d never consumed a source of energy so rich, so pure, in my entire existence.  They shook violently like fish on the skewers of a spear, trying in vain to free themselves as they gasped desperately, suffocated of life itself. “META!  STOP!!” I froze at the sound of her scream, lingering in the moment before their final expiration. “Twilight...” I hissed. The princess had burst through the half-melted doorway, her other friends following close behind.  I noticed Flash was no longer with them, but I didn’t care to ask why. “Spike’s gone.” I synthesized the words in a manner entirely ethereal, “They used him to bring in a demon.” Twilight hesitated for a moment.  “Meta, I...” she took a deep breath, “Killing them won’t bring him back.” “That doesn't matter.” I stated, “They're the enemy.  No matter what we offer them, we’ll never be able to trust them.” “I know,” she pleaded weakly, “But... We stopped them.  It’s over Meta. We don’t have to kill them to be safe from them.” “Even if we could make the threat from them virtually non-existent, it wouldn’t be worth it.  Their lives have no value: they deserve to die.” “No one deserves to die.” she shook her head sadly, “Not Flash, not Spike, not even them.” “But why do they deserve to live?  What did they ever do to earn our mercy, Twilight?” I asked with annoyance, “What have they done but make lives miserable for no reason other than some so called ‘god’ told them to?” “You don’t know what brought them here.” she offered, “You don’t even know what’s going on.  Maybe... Maybe in another circumstance, they could’ve been the good guys. Maybe... Maybe they just needed the right friends.” I had to take a few cycles to process this. It was utter nonsense, utter fucking nonsense. It didn’t matter who they might’ve been: the circumstances that had led us here were in the past.  None of us could change them, Who they were now was an enemy, and my enemies were a threat to be eliminated. Killing was the most efficient and effective method of eliminating that threat. How could Twilight possibly weigh the distant hope of reforming them with the permanent solution of me killing them? It was nonsense! They had to die! I had to kill them! Killing them would keep us safe! I had to kill them, and everyone who stood in my way, and I had to keep killing until there was no one left to stop me! I needed power... ...the power to kill. Because killing was always necessary! And I needed more power so that I could kill more... ...And I needed to kill for that power! I needed more power, the power to kill, so I could kill for more power, more power, so I could kill, to kill for more power, more power to kill, for more power, to kill more, for more power, to kill for more power, to kill more, for more power, to kill, for power, to kill, for power, to kill, power, kill, power, kill, power, kill... power... ...kill... ......kill...... .........kill......... ...Where was this even coming from...? ......What the hell was I even doing? I stared into their terrified faces, two mortals caught up in the game of uncaring gods, just as I was... I stared back at the faces of worry on Twilight and her friends... The people I’d wanted to call my friends... I thought of myself, prepared to take actions that most would consider the ultimate transgression against nature without even thinking about them.  I’d not just become death, I’d become some sort of soul-eater, feasting upon the existence of others to preserve my own. It was almost like I’d become completely detached from the living creature I remembered being, a deranged spirit, obsessed with power and death. And I thought, maybe she was right... Maybe they wouldn’t be this way if the circumstances were different... After all, a person themselves isn’t evil, only the actions they take. No one really deserved to die. I let go with a growl, letting them fall to the ground before her, where their limp bodies shook with exhaustion as they gasped for breath against the shattered stone. I craned my neck down to their level, growling, “I’m only keeping you alive because of her.  Don’t make me change my mind.” Both of them shuddered, pulling away pathetically, no fight left within them.... It was at that moment that I felt the barrier of reality shift, as something truly gargantuan reached through the curtain and slipped a part of itself inside. We all must’ve felt it, because the others went tense, Twilight herself gasping as her eyes nearly rolled back in her head. The moment I became aware of him a feeling of utter domination washed over me: it was like being a climber staring up at an endless mountain, knowing you don’t have the rope to conquer such a god.  I had to shut my sense of fear back off entirely just to stop it from overwhelming me. Clap. Clap. ...Clap! We all jerked to see a tall, thin, human male... An actual human, like I’d been before, slowly clapping as he waited for our attention.  “Well, well, well. It looks like the mad dog has finally found her leash.” With a clawlike hand, he reached into his pocket, pulling out a silver pocket watch, flipping it open to check an inside adorned with glowing runes, pointed to with what looked to be multi-dimensional hands, “You know, I expected my two villains to last far longer...” He glanced back at us, his thin lips peeling back in a smirk, showing a hint of his sharp teeth.  “...But then again, when I cast my net, I was merely looking for a few small fish. I never expected to catch a shark like you...  ...Marilyn Susanna.”