Chapter 1

"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.