Chapter 38: KI: A Taste of Freedom | Just a Pawn

Pain. 

Unimaginable Pain.

That was all it had ever known, and all it ever would learn as far as the world was concerned. It could not think, or well, it could, but it did not have a fully formed consciousness, it did harbor one thing, however. Abhorrent hate for those that imprisoned it. Eerie laughter escaped from its loose mouth, dripping ichor and blood. The flesh it had feasted upon coincidentally allowed it to form complex thoughts, nowhere near enough to obtain a personality, but it was able to perceive this act and notice the changes it made to its body and energy. 

Power bulked up its reserves, it was far more robust than before, and the embers that appeared to tickle things it abhorred now caused shrieks of pain to the small things inhabiting the forest it fled to. It was a curious thing, it had found a chance to escape, and now all that prevents it from returning is the weakness it still has. 

Power.

Power held far value to it now, and it was needed as a way to kill things that were stronger than it. And once the adversary was killed, it could feast and gain power. A most wonderful never-ending cycle.

As its volatile emotions got the better of it, its pulsating body cracked and the phantasmal energy leaking from it chaotically tore down the natural life around it. Trees were splintered and burned to ash, the ground beneath it sizzled and exploded, while the slow critters went aflame in shrieks of terror and pain.

Its right eye looked at the damage that ensued from its power exiting its body while its left eye swirled round and round. It grinned and heaved out a grating sound. This destruction is a welcome surprise, but it still has a burning need for its next kill. By consuming prey, it could feel its strength returning, just enough to keep moving its broken and dissipating body. Though a defeating roar did shake it to the core and with it an unspeakable amount of pain, it still did not know how or why it was able to escape. It seemed impossible, but now that it had this newfound freedom in a random forest, nowhere near those abhorrent beings, it will survive. 

A sound it heard off in the distance distracted it from its feeble thoughts, draining away any sort of revelation that it was on the brink of discovering. Ecstatic at the thought of killing new prey spurned it forward, and soon it came upon its victim. The demon jumped at the creature with four legs, what appeared to be fur, and pointy things at the top. Its only defense was a poor use of hardened skin that did nothing to prevent its own flames from burning through and smoking the flesh underneath. Though confused by the paltry defense of the creature and its obvious weakness, it did not hold back and feasted. 

The gain in power left much to be desired, but satisfaction at a primal level filled it up, causing wheezing laughter to echo and blood to spill from its maw. Phantasmal energy coating its body manifested whisp-like balls around itself that it sent crashing onto a prowling predator that was lying in wait to pounce on it. The spontaneous attack spooked the creature and itself, and as it wondered how it was able to trigger such a thing the predator vanished in a flash. Its floating claw-like hands shot out to prevent it, but they weren't fast enough and only grasped the dirt it had kicked up. In anger, the serrated spines along its back trembled and let out a terrible screeching rattle that resounded throughout the forest it was traveling in. 

Bird-like creatures flew up and scattered, it grew increasingly annoyed at prey running from it, but it once more dove into the meal before it. Its humongous maw opened wide and with a nasty crunchy chewed through the flesh and bone alike. Anger began to spike as it feasted, and a chant began to form within its head. Kill. Kill. Kill. It imagined the faces of those beings as it dug into its meal with relish. Soon it would not be a dream and if they tasted half as good as that one that was not so lucky to escape then it would all be worth it. They would learn pain and fear. 

A grin so wide it split its body in half-formed upon its ghastly visage. 

As a demon, it already had a potent miasmic aura, but it had since doubled because of the devil it had eaten. The demonic energy seemed to spur the miasma further, agitating it and boosting its corrosive properties. The wisps hovering around its body were a consequence of eating a phantasmal being and with it, it could launch them and infuse its soul-eating flames within them. 

Weakness plagued its mind, it was nowhere near enough to the ones that had imprisoned it. It was only once, but it remembered a being so far removed from it that it had no way of knowing if it would even come close. The devil it remembered had this sticking smile on it, nearly the same as its own. It trembled slamming its fist onto the ground, cracking it as it let out roars and shrieks of rage. 

Ragged breaths were let out, its senses taking in all that was around it and once it did, it dove into the bushes, skulking around and heading deeper into the forest. Its beady pupils constantly rotated as it searched for prey, its grin never leaving its face as power continuously coursed through its previous weak body. It had reasoned that all it needed to do was kill creatures and then aim for stronger and more dangerous ones to progress. 

A rustling sent it lower into its hiding place, and from one of the trees, a creature appeared. It had the same appearance as the one it killed, but this one had feathers, wings, and a tail. Wisps silently rotated above itself and were launched, it then sent out its hands to follow and grasp the legs of the prey. It had detected the danger far too late and the attacks impacted it until it lay sprawling on the ground. The smoke reached the canopy above and with it the sweet scent of its prey. The demon fusion silently cackled to itself and as it made its way over in glee it did not detect the looming shadow above it. 

A silent whisper was detected as it ominously seeped into its simple mind. Danger echoed within it, but no amount of force could set it free from whatever had taken hold of it. "What... a fascinating specimen... What luck I have, what luck! By the looks of things, you got smart and attacked one of my employees, not that I care, but hey, that was a fortuitous encounter and it made you stronger, didn't it?! And now would you look at that, aren't I insanely lucky?! After that annoying meeting, you have now uplifted my spirits. Yes, you will do nicely."

It had the same voice as the one in the past. The power emanating from the man standing before it sent waves of fear within it. Escape was not an option, it knew that but hated it all the same. The man before it could never take away the fury and hate boiling underneath the surface within its still-breathing body. Its beady eyes stopped rotating and trained it on the man above. Its claws dug into the ground in defiance, but the man only appeared amused. 

"What an interesting fellow, that look in your eyes is what I love to see! It just means power will come to you if you so desperately grasp it! Which you will because well, you're not too difficult to understand now, are you?"

It flailed, but its body was not moving, flames burned brighter within the wisps, but they were snuffed out. Struggling was futile, but biding its time was within its grasp. It lamented its potential freedom since it would be a prisoner once more. But this also presented an opportunity. 

The simmering anger kept it from shifting its eyes, it snarled and eerie laughter bubbled up.

A promise was made within its head. 

It would kill this man if it was the last thing it did. Even if it got killed in the process, this man will lay in a pool of his blood. 

"Oh? Now don't get me wrong, just because I am ecstatic, doesn't mean anything," A tone that sent shivers down its spine echoed. "You're just a pawn, a piece to play to topple and ensure chaos. That's all you are, and all you will ever be," 

He sneered. "Soon there will be many of you, so you will be worked to the bone to ensure the others stay in line. You will be made an example of so struggle all you like, you are nothing against me. Plan whatever simple little ploys you like, in the end, it will amount to nothing. Heh, this is all assuming the man can deliver his promised upon project. For now, you will do."

Those words stoked and rekindled the flames within its body. Hate oozed off its pores and set the volatile energy within it aflame. Fear was placed on the back burner. It was then sent reeling by a force of power slamming onto its mind, and before it could recollect itself, another wave of power knocked into its body bursting its insides.

Darkness took hold of its mind, and the last thing it saw was the grinning man cackling to himself.