Erik let loose a sigh of contentment as he tossed aside the last rib bone, stripped clean of its edible flesh. It was hardly one of the best-prepared meals of his life, lacking in any of the fancy spices or herbs he was used to, but it had something else. It was a meal he had prepared with his own hands, and one eaten after an entire day's fasting.

The Seventh Prince of the Royal House of Arvelt, for the first time ever, felt the future stretching forth in front of him in a way he had never experienced before. Yes, he was on the run, likely presumed dead or traitor, but he was also free. So much of life until now had been confined in approved spaces, constricted inside an itinerary he had no say in.

He had been useless and hopeless, a trophy of his father's line. Behold Prince Erik, the useless one without a noble house or wealthy faction behind him! The one whose mother had left him with little besides his life, but because his father so happened to wear the crown of Eastmarch had been elevated to the ranks of cultivators that the common masses could only envy.

Erik's right hand brushed his chest at the thought of his mother and her final gift to him. It was a mark over his heart, something that had appeared the day she vanished, back before he could even remember. The one time he had worked up the courage to ask his father if he knew anything about it, the king had commanded him to never speak of it or her to anyone ever again.

For a long while, he had daydreamed that one day his mother would return and take him far away from the royal court. Those were the dreams of a child, though, and with time he had resigned himself to life in a gilded cage, waiting for the executioner's axe to fall.

Until now. Until he encountered the Godweapon Onyx.

That brought Erik back to the here and now. "Onyx? You said there was another test you wanted me to perform?"

"Indeed, master," the metallic voice of the weapon rang in the prince's mind. "You did well in maintaining your energy circulation during the cooking process, and you have relieved at least some of your hunger now. There is an angle of inquiry that arose during your exploration of the Darkness affinity that we should pursue. It may be a bit discomfiting, though."

Erik chuckled before he could help himself. "Apologies, Onyx. I already volunteered to get struck by a lightning bolt, so I'm wondering what we could do that'd justify you warning me before we even discuss it."

"That was by your own proposal, master. It is by design that I approach certain topics with care. In this case, you have a demonstrated affinity for the concept of emptiness. Inside the school of abilities those with a Darkness affinity develop, emptiness is near to the concept of devouring, which in many cultures is a realm of taboo."

The prince frowned. "I'm not sure what you're getting at, Onyx. Doesn't everybody eat?"

"Yes, master, but if devouring is in fact a primary technique of yours, would you restrain using it when in a battle against other human experts?"

Erik's eyes widened as Onyx hammered the point home. "I see."

"If you are against using it, it would be better to not pursue it in the first place. Once you are in a critical situation, hesitation could provide your opponents with an opening."

Erik nodded and took a deep breath. "I'd like to try it, Onyx. I'm already something of a pariah, so adding something else to the list doesn't bother me. If this is potentially my strongest card to play, I should have it available. My survival's in my own hands now, and I can't pretend otherwise."

If the prince's upbringing had been kinder, if he had not lived in a family where treachery and backstabbing were the norms, and if he weren't on the run because of that, then he might have hesitated. But now, with a future to look forward to, he would do whatever it took to survive.

"As long as you are aware of the issues, master." The weapon floated up from where it had been resting on the floor nearby. "If you would select one of the more intact carcasses, it will be our first test subject."

Erik made his way over to the two deer carcasses that he hadn't touched since returning to the cave and hefted one over his shoulder, taking it to the center of the cavern before laying it down on the stone floor. "Okay, Onyx. What now?"

The Godweapon flew next to the prince's shoulder, supervising the proceedings. "I am going to dim my remaining light to bring this chamber to its lowest level of light. You will sit near the carcass and try and feel the surrounding darkness."

The prince did as Onyx instructed, sitting cross-legged on the cave floor. The metal bar's faint glow cut off, plunging all into darkness.

"Darkness is an absence, the lack of Light," Onyx's metallic voice continued. "Emptiness yearns for fulfillment. Devouring is the process of drawing in something to fill that nothing. Think of how your stomach hungered before your meal and remember it; that is emptiness. But when something is empty enough, it exerts a force all its own."

"Wouldn't this have been better to try before I ate?" Erik asked.

"That may seem optimal, but in reality it isn't, master. It could have caused complications if you were to fail. Still, you are not fully reinvigorated even now. While evoking the proper image would have been easier, it would also cause problems if you grew dependent on being completely empty before using devouring power. Now focus on those recent feelings."

Erik steadied himself, falling into the rhythm of meditation but maintaining his consciousness. Though he had sated his physical hunger, there was more he was hungry for. For a future he controlled, for a life free of royal matters. For the past, that ancient era of glory where the kingdoms were one in the March Empire, a place where he could have distinguished himself as a scholar or an expert without the tarnish of the modern era covering all.

"Extend your right arm and let your hand rest over the deer's body, master," Onyx intoned. "Gather that famished emptiness inside yourself and let it out through your palm acupoint. Let it expand and cover the carcass entirely. See it all in your mind's eye, a more complete emptiness than that of the dead branches you saw before."

The prince did as he was told. In his mind, he could see a cloud of inky black shroud expand from his palm, dropping to the cave floor and covering the deer completely. It flowed with ease, much more naturally than the lightning he had tried to emit before.

"Now, let it consume the deer. This darkness is an extension of you; what it eats nourishes your body in a way more direct and complete than chewing and swallowing with your mouth could ever accomplish."

Whether real or imagined, Erik could hear a distant sound of chewing, of large gulps. The fatigue of the day's exertions lifted from his shoulders and the small bit of hunger he still had disappeared. A cracking sound then came from the inky darkness he emitted.

"Take back that darkness, now!" Onyx barked. "Absorb as much as you can before it shatters!"

Erik pulled the cloud of darkness back in through his palm, seeing it lessen in his mind's eye. When it was about two-thirds gone, the cracking noises grew louder and the cloud exploded into motes that escaped throughout the cave. The prince felt stuffed as though he had just had a birthday feast and couldn't take another bite.

Onyx emitted its pale blue light, revealing a scene in front of them: the deer carcass was gone, only a few fragments of broken bone and desiccated scraps remaining to mark where it had been. "That was a very thorough performance, master. Congratulations. This appears to be a far more compatible method than the lightning was, although with practice both will become the foundation for powerful abilities."

"Ugh, I think I had too much," Erik complained, clutching his head in a hand. "And my head aches something awful."

"The deer you consumed had been long separated from its life and spirituality, master," Onyx reported. "Using an hours-dead corpse for the process is inferior to an immediately fresh or still-living subject. Exerting that strength does tax your faculties, but you will gain more than you lose on those targets."

"That's good. It would be inconvenient if I had a splitting headache every time I had to do this."

"The process appears to have fully recovered your vigor, master. The technique will be useful for recovery, but we will need to work on its speed and stability. There may come a time when you need to use it on something that isn't going to sit still as a corpse. Let's do something that will let your mind and essence recover now. If you would strip down and head to the pool in the back of the cave, your recuperation in those areas can begin."

Erik's cheeks heated with a slight blush. If he had been one of his siblings, the prospect of disrobing in front of another would probably not be as embarrassing, since they had servants that handled their needs including bathing and other matters. The Seventh Prince of Eastmarch received no such treatment, though, and so hadn't developed their shamelessness.

But Onyx was just a stick of metal with a mind made by men and not a person, the prince reminded himself. After a moment's hesitation, he did as he was directed, standing and taking off his dusty clothing as he walked to the back of the cave. The Godweapon followed, glowing more brightly so the pool could be clearly seen.

"As I have mentioned before, this pool receives an infusion of essence from a spirit vein below. We are going to make use of that energy to not only replenish your reserves but to cleanse your currently open meridians. Step into the water and submerge yourself up to your neck and I will instruct you in the process."

And so it was that one man and one construct began a process that ran through the rest of the night. Once he was refreshed, the prince eagerly attended the Godweapon's words as it ran him through the fundamentals of cultivating essence that he had never been exposed to before, bit by bit bringing him up to speed to a level of knowledge that matched his cultivation level.