Chapter 1: Dark Beast

Once upon a time, in the Age of Gods known as second Age of the universe, there was a race called the Creators. They were mighty beyond limits, and in their pride and arrogance they created gods and devils to serve them. Forging them of soul and magic, binding them with purpose to reign supreme, they crafted an empire of such might and power that every race bowed down to them in wonder and sought to possess the slightest hint of their power. Their blood was the fountain of youth, granting eternal life, and their flesh the ambrosia with which any injury could be healed, and even death itself reversed. They forged metal from the light of stars and the cold of the void, legendary metals which could never be broken nor destroyed. And so they reigned, supremacy unhindered by anything greater.

Yet still they worshipped something. A throne, which it was said had given their race their power, and which in the end would take it away if it was disappointed. They respected it, built around it a mighty temple and a great fortress, forbidden to outsiders of any kind. And so it was, for no lesser being, not even the greatest of gods nor the most terrible of devils they created, could withstand the sheer power of the magic that dwelled around that throne.

But all things must end, in time. The Creators grew weaker and weaker with the passing of time, for reasons unknown to any. The arrogance of nobility, some say, or the flaws of the younger generation. They devoured their own treasures to extend their lives, feeding on the godly and demonic metals and creating countless gods and devils to extend their legacy. Mortals, once weak enough to be destroyed by the mere look of a Creator, were now able to wound them. Little by little, they retreated, destroying their works behind them and leaving no trace but a ruined world and a collapsed civilization. They prayed to that throne, seeking salvation, but none was forthcoming. So they grew angry, and ordered their devils to destroy the mortal races who challenged them. Others, still proud and honorable, demanded that their race not sink so low in seeking its preservation, and ordered their gods to defend them. So the two sides fought, shattering continents and splitting oceans wherever they went, a great civil war that weakened them further and further.

Their treasures were lost, most devoured, some few picked up by mortals who joined a side. Some, for salvation and glory. Others, for destruction and chaos. As the last of the Creators died, unknown, unremembered, the gods and devils took up their mantle. Repairing the worlds the creators had devastated, they claimed to have created everything to hide the ignominy of their creator’s fall. Mortals, short lived and unknowing, believed them. But the gods and devils could no longer work together. Taking the last remaining artifacts of their Creators, they continued the war to save or destroy, the original meaning now long lost as their Creators were forgotten in the unending passage of generations.

The Age of Gods ended when none were left, on either side. Gods were long gone, destroyed by devilish power, just as the devils had been slaughtered by godly. Some managed to leave behind legacies, just as their Creators had left behind their, but the intent was lost as the eons passed. Some were inherited, only to be passed down again, then re-inherited, an unending cycle that sometimes weakened, sometimes strengthened.

So Ages passed, artifacts of great power claimed by the mortals who called themselves gods, then abandoned as they perished or claimed by another as they fell. Countless worlds rose, countless generations passed, and time continued its relentless march towards a future none knew or wanted.

Then, in a distant part of the universe, a star exploded. Striking with wrath unheard of, it scoured clean the last remnants of those Creators, shattering any chance that their memory might continue. Nothing saw it; for no beings were anywhere near that part of space, a dangerous realm where dark beings roamed the cosmos, beasts ordered to hunt between stars by the devils so long ago and grown mighty in their absence. Not even those beasts perceived its death. Only one, an old and mighty beast made curious by a surge of energy it barely felt, turned its path towards the ruins and set a course that would take it there in a few hours. It hoped there might be better prey than its own children or dead worlds, the only things that dared traverse its territory nowadays.

Where that star once was, in the old orbit of the fourth planet, a single girl stood. She was nude; her dress had not been able to withstand the force of the supernova, but she herself was unharmed. She touched her naked body and waved a hand, the matter around her swirling inwards and forming her cyan dress back, as well as a single smooth ring around her middle finger, metal inlaid with sparkling gems in the same color. Smoothing the dress against her skin, she nodded in approval.

“So not even that can harm me…” The girl muttered into the pocket of air she created around herself, more to hear herself talk than any actual reason. “Ah, well, not like it could have killed me anyway.”

She walked across empty space, flexing muscles long unused and getting used to her own body again. As she walked, she listened and heard on the song of the stars the amount of time she had slept, and the current state of the universe. Slowly, she began to dance in the void, stepping to a music only she could hear. For a time she twirled and spun in emptiness, swaying in time with a soundless song. Then she stopped and let her arms drop to her side and her head hang down.

“They’re gone.” She whispered sadly. “Everything is gone…”

She looked up at the heavens and started to scream. “What more do you want!? How long must I repay my sin? Tell me, Fate!! What should I do!?” She cried, collapsing to her knees and bowing down against the solid void she herself had created. “What should I do?” She choked out through streaming tears.

As she cried space ruptured on the outer edges of the system and the mighty beast of darkness, the strongest of his kind, emerged to see the ruined ashes of a star system. Slowly, it swam through the darkness, tasting the ashes of a dying star, feeling the remnant heat and energy it had left in its wake. Then it heard something, sensed something where nothing should remain. Changing course, it headed straight for the sound of tears it had heard.

There he found a girl, unlike any he had ever seen. She was untouched in the void, the void he thought he ruled completely, and yet she held the form of a mortal. Two legs, tiny sticks, and two arms, though they were hard to see as such from how they were also lain against the somehow solid void it couldn’t comprehend. With his tongue he touched the solid void, finding it difficult to bend or break. Uncertain, he closed his massive maw and watched the girl cry, not knowing nor understanding what she was.

Still, he wanted to know. He did not like uncertainty, and had a curiosity which sought always to understand. So he examined her more closely.

Unlike others of his kind he had lived long enough to devour many mortals. They were delectable, in his opinion, but like candy instead of food. Some few had enough power to make a proper meal, but most were weak and fragile, a burst of flavor quickly there and quickly gone. He had tasted cultivators, followers of the dao and the martial path who had strong flavors similar to worlds, filled with natural energy. He had tasted mages, brilliant flavors filled with spice and heat, who left a lingering aftertaste that could flavor food for days. He had tasted the powerless, slightly sweet and innocent, a flavor that seemed unfinished. He had examined them all before they died, some begging for mercy, whatever that was, others defiantly challenging him without hope of victory. He had fought some that were strong, able to damage one of his fangs or tongues, but most were incapable of even scratching one of his children. Mages, he found, were more apt to plead for time to cast their spells while cultivators had an arrogance that made them challenge him head on.

Yet there were other flavors than that, he remembered as he realized this girl wasn’t like either of those. Perhaps a wielder of some artifact, the person themselves having an ethereal sweetness like the powerless and the item presenting a filling, delectable taste for something unliving. Or a contractor, hopefully. He enjoyed those, calling forth countless others for him to devour before he finally claimed their powerless corpse. A filling meal, that kind. Still, she neither drew a weapon nor called forth a beast… disappointing.

No matter, he decided. There were still many categories among the powerless. Different races, such as elves and dragons, demons and angels. He took a closer look, and ruled all those out. Her ears were rounded, unlike the elves he remembered eating, and she lacked the wings that would make her like the others. Perhaps a fairy, then… still no wings, he thought to himself. Then a djinn or a golem, or maybe an undead. He wasn’t picky, for while carnivores among the mortals had told him that undead and golems did not taste good he himself disagreed. But her flesh was intact, and clearly was flesh, not stone. Disappointed with himself, he continued running down the list of known races to try and determine what she was.

For a beast, not enough fur. Dwarf, not stubby enough. Also, no beard. Fallen Angel, wings remained a problem. A Lizardperson, then? Those had scales, right? Perhaps a succubus, or an ifrit, or an elemental… no, he couldn’t sense the tell tale scent of any of those races, even if her form was similar.

Ent, Giant, Dryad, Insectoid, Mermaid, Lamia, Zombie, Lich, Ghost, Werebeast… No, no, no, no, no, no, no no no no! Wrong smell, wrong proportions, wrong limbs, wrong shell, wrong wrong wrong wrong wrong! Somehow, this girl matched none of the myriad races the darkness beast had seen in its long, long life. He even considered that she might be a shapeshifter, but the form she was using was unique and most of all she did not smell like one. And he was certain that no matter what she was, if he had seen her kind before, he would be able to correctly identify her. It was his pride as a gourmet of mortal races.

Frustrated, the beast of darkness stretched out his tongue towards the girl to tear off the back of her dress. Perhaps wings or a tail were hiding back there, though he could already see they weren’t, and one of the races he had taken off the table could be put back on it. He couldn’t eat her until he knew what in the universe she was!

His tongue flexibly stretched out and grabbed the top straps of her dress, pulling it down in a single rapid motion. He stared at the bare back, from the shoulders to the hips, but couldn’t even see the stumps of a pair of wings. He used his tongue to run over her back, wondering if maybe he just couldn’t see them. But that too failed, finding nothing but smooth flesh that felt absolutely nothing like anything he had ever felt before.

He withdrew his tongue and glared at the still sobbing girl, who was also reacting unlike any creature he had previously devoured. Based on his knowledge of mortal language and behaviors, he was being ignored! He, the mightiest darkness beast who had even devoured Devils and gods once, was being ignored by a mortal girl! But he was not angered or upset, as an arrogant mortal would be. Instead, he found it interesting.

Very, very interesting.

Opening his mouth slightly, he spoke for the first time in millennia, using a mortal tongue he hoped would be effective. There were so many, though, that he wasn't sure if she would understand him the first time. Still, he was patient and bored. For this interesting mortal in the midst of a ruined star, he was willing to spend some time.

“What species are you, mortal?” He asked in the highest tongue of elves, the closest approximation he could find to the girl. She twitched slightly and stopped crying, rubbing her eyes and moving to a kneeling posture, her dress falling further under the influence of some strange gravity.

He waited, but she did not acknowledge him, still bowing her head and holding her hands to her face. Intrigued, he tried again.

“What is your race, other?” He asked in polite general cultivator, the language used by an empire he personally devoured made up of many races. She didn't even seem to hear him, placing her hands on her knees and holding her skirt tightly. Her dress fell even further at the motion, yet she didn't even bother to care.

“Identify your kind, mortal.” He tried a gamble this time, using the language of the gods that no one had spoken in a long, long time. He had a private laugh at how much he had favored this mortal to allow her to hear that language, spoken only by those above a certain level of power.

“Stop ruining a perfectly good language, void swimmer.”

He froze, limbs and tongue stopping in mid-mirthful shake, his eyes fixating on the girl who was still kneeling and facing away from him. Yet her head was less bowed and had tilted to the side, allowing him to see her sculpted, doll-like face that made him even more sure she was not of any race he had encountered before and her closed eyes, still held unseeing as they had been since she was unsealed hours ago.

She had replied to him in the language of the gods, yet somehow had not put any of the requisite power into her words and had pronounced them as if they were the common tongues of mortals. More than that, she had pronounced them with an accent he had not heard even from his creators, the ancient Devils, an accent only possible for those who had truly mastered the language. Somehow, she knew the language of the gods, better even than he did.

“Are you a god?” He asked, unsure now if she was perhaps a remnant of his ancient makers. He couldn't detect any power or divinity from her, nor did she have the form and aura of a devil, but his creators had been able to conceal themselves once. Even he wasn't sure he could see through them, if they did not want to be seen through.

“A question, swimmer.” The girl said, ignoring his. He bristled, but remained more curious than angry. He wanted so badly to know, even more than he wanted to eat. As for punishing her insolence… That didn't even enter his mind. How could she be insolent to him? It was not like she was anything close to his equal, even if she was a long lost God.

Thus, he awaited her question, which came swiftly. “What do you know of this system?” She asked. The beast looked around.

He saw no system here, only the ashes of a recently dead star. It was not somewhere he had ever been, a small star in a tiny Galaxy he didn't even notice until it died, but within his territory now. Thus, he chose to answer, wondering if perhaps it was her system. That would explain why he had never seen her before, she was part of a new species entirely.

“That a star recently died here.” He said, making an effort to better pronounce the language of the gods. “Nothing more. It was unremarkable. Was your species born here? If so, I am truly sorry they perished.” And he was. He enjoyed the new and exciting, to learn of things novel and make them known. For an entire race to perish in the death of their star was truly a pity, even if he himself would have just devoured them anyway soon enough.

“You have never been here before? What of the colonies surrounding it?” The girl continued to probe. Curious as to her purpose, the beast continued to play along. This was an unusual and thus entertaining interaction with a mortal. No running, no screaming, no begging, no fighting. Only a few questions and a gentle conversation. He found himself enjoying it. Perhaps he wouldn't eat her so quickly after all. It might be fun to keep a mortal pet for a while.

“No. It never held enough merit for me to visit personally. Nor do I know of any colonies. I have never seen your kind before.” He gently reminded, trying to return things to his question.

“And it seems you never will, void swimmer.” The girl said, tears falling from her eyes again as she started crying. “Again and again I fail. Is not this punishment too extreme?” She asked, the void swimmer not comprehending why she was crying. He decided it was because her world had just perished.

“It is a pity. For a species to die because a star died so suddenly, I find it just as unfortunate as you do.” He said, trying to sound consoling, like he had overheard mortals do when he devoured their friends. She started laughing instead. He was startled; he was quite sure that was not the appropriate response.

“My species has been extinct for far, far longer than the life of a single star, void swimmer.” She said, standing up. “I, above all, should know; it was my sin, my acts, that caused it.”

The beast stared at her, startled. She claimed to have destroyed her entire species? Interesting indeed. He wanted to know more, the learn how that had occurred and what had caused it. Curiosity had overwhelmed even his desire to feed and protect his territory. A single tiny pet could not harm that, could she? Was it so wrong to want to enjoy himself every once in awhile. He extended his tongue and wrapped it around her in what he believed to be a comforting gesture.

“That must be difficult.” He said, trying to repeat words he had heard before, translating them into the language of the gods. “I am here if you want to talk about it.” He wondered, though, what she had meant by longer than the life of a single star. As far as he knew, even the age of gods had begun less than a star’s lifespan ago. Much less his even shorter span of existence.

“You intrigue me, void swimmer. I would have expected something forged as you were to strike already, to devour me rather than talk.” The girl said, turning at last to look at him with her closed eyes.

“I have devoured many. My hunger is sated, and I must know everything about you before I do.” The beast said, wrapping its tongue gently around her, ever so careful not to inadvertently harm this precious toy. “Perhaps I will keep you as a pet, to play with until you die.”

She started giggling into her hand, turning her face away from him. He was startled by that reaction. He wasn't sure what he had expected, but giggling wasn't it. “What amuses you?” He asked, curiosity still dominating every other emotion.

“Heeheehee… you want to keep me as a pet.” The girl said, still trembling with suppressed mirth. “You know what, I accept. It wouldn't be the first time the pet has been more dangerous than the owner, or more intelligent either.” She smiled, perfectly symmetric teeth shining pearly white under pinkish lips. She held out her hand, a gesture the beast recognized as a gesture of friendship and agreement among mortals.

He stared at it for a bit, then let his tongue wrap around her hand and lightly moved it up and down in response to her arms motion. Then he let his tongue wrap around her again, tasting her skin and trying to identify it's intriguing flavor. He couldn't tell what it was, not the natural flavor of cultivator nor the spicy heat of magic. Yet there was an energy there, a mortal, living energy he couldn't identify. The girl pushed his tongue away as he played too much around her chest, pulling up her dress at last and covering herself up.

“You're a touch perverted, aren't you?” She asked him in what he recognized as a teasing tone. Offended he withdrew his tongue. While he wanted to defend himself by saying he was merely tasting her, he had observed enough mortals to know that would not change the charge. It was also his fault; he knew that mortal females were sensitive about their skin, and yet he played his tongue over hers for so long.

“You aren't afraid of me?” He asked suddenly, noticing one thing he had forgotten in his delight at the extended interaction. Even gods and Devils had feared his kind when they lived together so long ago. Yet she didn't have a hint of fear in her scent or taste. Only traces of humor, patience, curiously, and overwhelming grief. She was sad about something, he could tell. He had seen her crying, though, so that was no surprise.

“Why should I be?” The girl asked, sounds honestly surprised. He stared at her, then opened his fanged maw slightly and breathed forth a hint of his terrible power. Given time, he could use that power to devour an entire world, whilst in instants it could crush and massacre legions of strong mortals and feast on their cities. The girl did not flinch, making him close his mouth and continue to stare at her.

“... I will eventually eat you, even if I said I will keep you as a pet.” He said slowly, trying to impose on her fear with his power’s pressure. Even as he rose it to more than 10% of his strength she was still unmoved. Slowly, walking on nothing, she stepped away from him and looked towards what he knew to be the center of the now dead star.

“Shall I tell you how this star died, void swimmer?” She asked in a soft tone. And at her words he saw something he knew to be impossible.

The remnants of the star swirled around her, matter forming and reforming on her command before accelerating to the speed of light and transforming into pure energy. Energy of terrible magnitude and intensity, energy not even he was confident of surviving, slammed into her body and disappeared, consumed completely as if by a deep, dark pit. Flashes of lightning surrounded her as the matter ionized and tore apart in a flash of Cherenkov blue light, a color very similar to her hair and dress, and yet somehow less threatening and dangerous right now. The mighty beast of darkness, for all his power and fury, realized something. He realized that he did not want to know how that star had died, for if he did he would be reaching towards something he should not know, something that would change him forever. Coursing through his veins and hearts was something not quite like fear, but apprehension and caution, warning him not to proceed, warning him that some knowledge was dangerous enough to be avoided. So he answered in accordance with those instincts.

“No.” He said simply. “I would prefer not to know that.” He elaborated, lacking the pride of a mortal that would demand he offer an explanation for his fear. He simply trusted his instincts and said straight out that he, for the sole reason that he didn't want to, would not like to know how this star died.

The light surrounding the girl dimmed and vanished. She turned her closed eyes to him and nodded, approving of the choice he made. “Very well.” She said, walking across the rapidly disappearing nothing to stand close to him. “As I am the pet, I guess I should just wait to be picked up, right?” She asked with a teasing smile.

Understanding that as permission, though why he needed permission from his pet was beyond his ability to understand even as a question, the dark beast that had roamed in the void between stars since the end of the age of gods reached out a tongue and wrapped it securely around his prize, withdrawing her into a pocket of his mouth he reformed himself to create. He kept it there, enjoys the unknown flavor of her skin and the also unusual taste of her dress. He decided not to try and touch her chest or back anymore, not seeing the insult in being called a pervert but also wanting to experience different interactions. Enmity he had already played out in all its forms. Amiability, on the other hand, was as of yet unknown.

Once he secured her he started feasting on the remnants of the star that filled the space around them. Drawing in the space around himself he fed very well, tasting energies like magic but also like something else, a wonderfully sweet and sour flavor he did not recognize but thought was somewhat similar to the intriguing taste of the girl and her dress.

“Can you hear me in here?” The girl asked while he was eating. He thought for a second how to respond, then simply spoke, trusting his throat to convey the sounds to the cavity near his mouth.

“Of course.” He said, and felt the girl move in his mouth, clapping her hands over her ears and wincing as if in pain.

“For the love of a thousand stars, could you speak a bit softer? I'm right here you know.” She complained. He considered that a reasonable request and lowered his tone significantly.

“I've never done this before.” He explained. “Better?”

“Much.” The girl said. “Though to say no one has ridden a void swimmer before… Are your kind not working with at least one other race? Equals, superiors, or inferiors, any of those?”

The beast thought over her question and saw only answers in the negative. “Of course not.” He said plainly. “We were made by the gods and Devils to hunt in the void between stars, and prey on mortals who dared to tread those corridors.” He said with a trace of pride at his illustrious origins.

“... Void swimmer.” The girl said, her voice seeming to break and his tongue tasting a burst of grief as intense as that he had tasted when he first came upon her. Only now his tongue was directly on her skin, and the vivid flavor of her grief filled its mouth. “Those gods and Devils… Are they the same as those who fought a Great War to end an Age of Gods?” She said weakly, a trace of pleading in her tone the beast recognized, but did not understand.

“We are of that illustrious lineage, mortal.” He said proudly. And to his shock the girl burst into tears again.

“No… No…” She cried, shaking and holding herself tightly. He retracted his tongue as she trembled inside him, even forgetting to feast out of shock at the happening with himself. “This can't be… It just can't…” She begged some nonexistent entity, crying endless tears. The beast did not know what to do, so it went back to its comforting mortal playbook.

“Everything is going to be okay.” He said, patting her with his tongue’s tip. “We'll make everything better together.”

“That's impossible!” She screamed, his tongue flung away by some force. “I ruined everything! I destroyed hope itself and now nothing is left but an ever dying desolation! It's all my fault! All my fault…” She collapsed, her strength dissipating into nothing. Trembling, she cried, great, heaving sobs that the beast could not comprehend.

“You are alive.” he noted, trying to comfort her.

“... That, void swimmer, is the problem.” She said through her tears. “If only I were dead, I would not have to suffer so.”

He was startled and then horrified for a second. His tongue struck forth at terrible speed to restrain her limbs and force her mouth open, preventing her from biting her tongue or other methods of committing suicide. Another tongue was sent into the space that held her, stroking her immobilized form and trying to restrain the suicidal thoughts of his new pet.

“Death is the end of all things.” He said calmly, persuading her. “You must live, and only then can the pain stop. You can find happiness, and comfort, and good things. Life is good, death is bad. Suicide is the path to hell. You cannot kill yourself no matter what. Death is bad, life is good. Do not die, I forbid it, my pet. Your life is mine, so you cannot take it without my permission. Do not die. That is my order. You must live on, no matter what happens, for only then will those who have died for you be happy.” Spouting mortal platitudes he was surprised to feel with his tongues that the girl was sitting calmly in the center of her space, free from the bonds he had placed on her. He tried to wrap her up again but found that she could not be budged.

“I won't kill myself, void swimmer.” The girl said, shaking her head. “That is forbidden for me, by my promise to one of those who I failed to protect. It is cute you are so concerned, though.” She teased it, concealing a terrible grief he could still taste, covered by a thin veneer of humor.

He didn't understand this mortal; fear this intense was a characteristic of those driven mad by it, anger this intense reminiscent of suicidal charges into its teeth, despair even half this strong sufficient to make the strongest wills it had known collapse decrying the pointlessness of the struggle. It had tasted grief nearly this strong once before, at the end of the age of gods, from a devil who knew its race was doomed. The creature had been insane and incoherent with grief, only able to mutter half words and stumble to its death among his fangs. Yet this girl just sat there, laughing and teasing a monster that by all rights should have devoured her already. Her fit just before seemed like an illusion, disappearing without a trace.

He decided he loved his pet. Incomprehensible, unpredictable, possibly suicidal and insane, and completely new in every way. Perfect for an ancient and nigh invincible monster of the void to keep, creating more mysteries for each one it managed to solve. A delightful flavor that could be used to spice up the blandest foods, ever changing, and a willingness to act as a pet should, without any whimpering or simpering or any other kind of -pering. Satisfied with his decision, and full to the brim on his meal, he swam through space to the outskirts of the system and opened a hole in space to the region he had been just before coming here. One of his children was bound to be nearby to admire his new pet, and perhaps shed some light on what mortal world he should use to find her food and water. He had a few ideas, but wanted to exercise his rights as ruling beast instead of working for himself.

Still, he wondered one last thing as he traveled away. How, exactly, had that star died? What he tasted from its dust seemed more like the hot outer flames of a young, living star than the colder fire of an old and dying one. And everyone knew, stars only died of old age. Not even in the age of gods had it been possible to kill them, not for the strongest gods or the mightiest of their weapons.

Internally, he confirmed to himself that whatever his pet knew about that death, he should not be the one to ask. It was guaranteed to be beyond his ability to comprehend.