1192 years ago:

Fu was hungry. He hadn’t eaten for ten years. Not a single drop of water, not even a grain of rice had entered his mouth all this time. He had forgotten what food tasted like.

He had forgotten many things: his voice, what he looked like, how tall he was. None of them stung as badly as the loneliness. He hadn’t talked to someone since the accident; since he got trapped down in this dark cavern.

Of course, in the beginning, he wasn’t alone. When the ground first caved in and sucked in their carriage many people lived here. He rubbed the bed of bones he laid upon. They hadn’t survived for long, which was unfortunate, the boredom was almost worse than the hunger. Almost.

In this sea of forgetfulness, there was one thing he would never forget; his parents. They had been his idols, the ones he looked up to. Of course, they died as well. Not in a horrific slow manner like everyone else in this cavern. No, they died in the initial fall, a piece of rubble had landed on them, killing them quickly. Well relatively quickly, everything was fast compared to starving to death.

He still remembered their last words.

“Son, become someone we can be proud of,” his father said.

He still remembered the way his mother had coughed as she had been trapped underneath the boulder.

“Be a good person. I’ll love you no matter what.”

The words were not the most eloquent or well thought out, but he took them to heart. After all, they were all he had left.

His parents' death left him alone and confused in a cavern of hungry strangers. At first, he tried his best to live by those words. He really tried. However, his mind was changed by a single mistake and the unending march of time.

He still remembered what he did. How he would never forgive himself for what he had done.

He gave his last morsel of food to a starving child, the only remaining survivor.

Fu regretted it.

He thought his parents would be proud. That he would receive some divine reward for his actions. But he discovered the only reward for his sacrifice was hunger, unending hunger. He wished he had never helped that child if only to postpone the inevitable for a few days.

Something was different about Fu no matter how much he went through, no matter how much he wanted to, he never died. Some part of his body refused to give up.

He raised his stick-thin arm and scratched an itch on his chin. The weakness bothered him, he struggled just to move his limbs. He remembered all those years ago when he had been able to run like the wind. He wanted that freedom back. More than anything he just wanted to experience life again.

He had missed out on so much. If he hadn’t been trapped down here he would have settled down and had a family. He was 23, the average wedding age after all. Maybe he would have been a cobbler, he always enjoyed making shoes. Fu lost himself in his fantasies for an unknown amount of time.

With a sound so loud it left his ears ringing the rock cracked and light illuminated the cavern. He shielded his eyes from the light. Without moving a muscle his body began to levitate. Slowly, he floated above the skeletons and out of the cavern.

The sun he used to love so much blinded him, its presence unbearable. He crouched to the floor relishing the feeling of soft grass on his feet.

“So you were cursed with eternal life as well. I’m sorry.”

A black-haired young man wearing Hawaiin-shirt and khaki shorts stood above him with his arm outstretched. He looked very average, not like what he thought an immortal would look like. Most importantly, there was muscle and fat on the man’s body, he clearly had been eating well.

Fu grabbed his hand and let himself be pulled up. The moment their hands made contact the man’s eyes flashed and Fu’s mind went blank for a moment. When he came to, the sun no longer blinded him and his ears no longer rang.

“I’m sorry for the intrusion, I had to confirm what happened. My name is Jian, would you like something to eat?”

Fu nodded vigorously, saliva running down his mouth. The man talked, but Fu largely ignored him, he had more important things to worry about; namely food. Fu sampled hundreds of dishes, his belly unable to be filled.

Jian watched on in amusement as Fu gorged himself. “What’s your name,” he asked.

“Fu, thank you for the food,” he said, his deep voice foreign to even himself.

“You have suffered more than anyone your age deserves to, so I have decided to give you a gift.” Fu raised his head in attention, slightly slowing down his feast.

"You will never be hungry again. From this day forward you will be the devourer, there will be nothing in this world you can’t claim for your own. You will never want for something again,” the world resonated with his voice, rampant torrents of Qi swirled around them.

"All the life, joy, and happiness you missed out on will be yours for the taking.” Jian reached out and touched Fu with a glowing hand gifting him practically unlimited power, but also knocking him unconscious.

The sky darkened and a light drizzle of rain began to fall from the previously clear sky.

“To think after all this time there was another like me and the second we meet the heavens decides to separate us.” Jian gently placed Fu on the ground.

Rolling mounds of lightning arched through the clouds, threatening to strike at any moment.

“Stay safe,” Jian said as he placed a pouch on the ground next to Fu.

Jian disappeared in a burst of speed, a mountain-sized lightning bolt following in his wake.

1 year later:

Fu crouched on the ground shoes scattered around him, his head spinning. Devouring a wisp always left him disorientated, but it was always worth it. The man’s wisp had been delicious. Not to mention, the snippets of the man’s life he got to experience. It was more than worth it. He was finally experiencing all the things he never had the chance to.

Fu wiped his blood-stained hands off on the cobbler's apron. He would have enjoyed a cobbler's life. He took a moment to play around with the shoes, hammering on random pieces of leather. He grinned, it was fun, but he couldn’t see himself doing it for a profession.

The cave had changed him; he had tasted greater delicacies, he would no longer be satisfied with the simple life of a cobbler. Fu walked out the front door of the shop, the man’s body cooling on the floor.

Before anyone could notice him, he disappeared in a flash of speed.

I’m still hungry. Fu frowned the voices of all those he devoured echoing in his mind. Maybe a doctor's soul would fill me up?