Mikael Anderson had given up his name when the new age dawned on earth, and he had gained a better one in return.

Cannibal King. A name that suited him far more than the old one.

A name worthy of him.

A name that he loved!

Cannibal found himself in a world that suddenly made sense for the first time. He reveled in his new role. As the King he was always meant to be!

Everything had been fantastic! Delicious! Succulent!

Until that wretched creature had shown up… A disgusting, vile thing that ignored its proper place in the world. A monster that cheated Cannibal out of his rightful place! A rat that left Cannibal trapped in the darkness!

There had been a few fleeting glimpses of his home throughout his time here. Glimpses that were always cut short by another monster that refused to accept its fate!

But now… now Cannibal felt hope. Someone had let him back in!

When he had been unfairly struck down, Cannibal had not despaired. For he was a King that would never die, could never die! He had bided his time in the dark, knowing that eventually, someone wouldn't be able to resist trying to usurp him. The greed for power among his lessers would make that inevitable.

And they had tried. Each one was a weak fool that tried their hand at being a King, and each one was devoured for their pathetic weakness! The gall of these insignificant insects! But it was fine. Cannibal couldn't fault them for desiring his power. Who wouldn't wish to escape from their pathetic existence when seeing a shot at such greatness?

No, the problem was that damned pretender king!

The audacity of that… that… Thing! Always striking Cannibal down at his most vulnerable. Never even waiting to bend the knee and beg for his life from a higher life form! Every damned time! Every fucking damned time! That bastard was there, waiting.

Cannibal had not given up hope, however, because he had a backup plan. It had pained him to lower himself to such lengths but difficult times. He had left a trap for those too cowardly to reach for greatness. A temptation that might appeal to the weaker minds of mere humans.

And now, someone had taken the bait.

Cannibal moved into his new home with an excited bounce to his step. Not that he had feet at the moment, but all in due time. He felt like whistling a jaunty tune, but alas.

This would be a slower process to his rebirth, but unlike before, Cannibal felt optimistic about avoiding the false king. He would linger in this new body, his Sacrificed power granting him a foothold, and it would take time to fully engorge himself on the pathetic life that had chosen mediocrity. He would savor every morsel!

He did not expect the building that he was drawn into. It was powerful, exceptionally so in fact, though it looked less than impressive. Cannibal would redesign the place once he took over, maybe turn it into a castle fit for a King. It would be a solid foundation for his rise, a very strong and powerful foundation, and the current pathetic excuse of an owner had invited him inside!

There was so much power here that Cannibal couldn't help but laugh! Enough power that he could manifest an actual body here! This was just so perfect…

"What are you laughing at?"

The voice behind him was so startling that Cannibal actually flinched! That would not do. Whoever dared attempt to embarrass him would most assuredly die! He turned to the speaker, prepared to offer forgiveness if they begged in a properly subservient manner, and froze… That face!

"You!" Cannibal cried out in rage.

"Me what?" the disgusting, vile creature said. "What the fuck are you? And why do you stink?"

"You… You… tried to kill me! You cheated and robbed me of my throne!" Cannibal would never forget that face. Though it looked younger now, he would never forget those eyes… Those eyes that condemned him to death…

"Ah," the monster said, "that was probably my brother. Easy mistake to make since we're twins, so don't sweat it."

This fool had the unmitigated gall to speak so casually to his King! But it was no matter; all would kneel in time. It was simply the way of things.

Cannibal's future castle shook violently around them. "What is that?" he demanded of the insignificant life before him. It felt like they were under attack.

The pathetic excuse for a man ignored him! Instead, he just stared off into space like a drooling idiot!

Cannibal had enough. He would begin this fool's education immediately. Starting with the proper way to greet one's King.

He took a step… and ran into a suddenly visible wall of glowing symbols. An unyielding wall. "What is this!?"

The moron stopped daydreaming long enough to glance back. "I didn't want you wandering around. Now shut up."

"..." Cannibal tried to speak and couldn't make a sound! He got angry then. It was too much disrespect. It had to be punished! He pounded on the wall, ready to break it down and beat this sad excuse for a man into a bloody whimpering heap!

The wall did not break. It didn't even seem to notice his righteous assault!

More violent impacts shook the world around them, and Cannibal screamed in silent impotence at the man ignoring him.

This shouldn't be possible! He had been invited in; the piece of his power offered up guaranteed that. He was inside the Fortress! This was his world now! But… something was wrong.

Cannibal could feel his link to this body, a connection forged of Power that would last forever… and it was shrinking…

Impossible!

Cannibal raged against the impenetrable wall separating him from this upstart, and the man didn't even look his way. Instead, he looked off to the side. "You don't want to eat that, Caff. It might make you sick."

Cannibal turned… and felt real fear for the first time. What was that?!

The glowing little dog was staring at him. Its entire body was lit up with more power than Cannibal had ever dreamed possible, and the eyes… those eyes… Cannibal tried to back away, and his back collided with the wall.

"Besides, I don't think he will last much longer." The man crouched next to the horrifying dog and started petting it as he glanced at Cannibal. Or, no. He was looking…

Cannibal followed the man's gaze and saw the holes appearing in his own body. No! This wasn't right! He was a King! The holes were getting bigger…

He pounded on the wall and screamed silently at the man until one of his legs faded away completely. Then the other went the same way, and more followed.

In the end, Cannibal watched helplessly from a fading body on the floor. He watched as the worthless peon of a man ignored him to pet that damned dog! The man ignored his commands to beg for forgiveness, ignored his demands to be liberated, ignored his increasingly desperate pleas for help… ignored him as the last spark of life burned away.

All to pet that softly growling Monster!

A Monster that stood arrogantly above Cannibal, a Lord that looked down on the King like one would look at a smear of shit on the bottom of a shoe…

It wasn't fair…

There was no message heralding the end this time, no fanfare for the death of a King, not even a whisper. He just faded… burning away… into... oblivion...