Rise of the Devourer

Sleeping. It was a thing that all living creatures did, a part of life and being alive.

Tony had not known this. Neither had he experienced it before. To Tony, sleep had been the eternal darkness of the void, the stillness in which his existence would blend into non-existence, the difference between the two fleeting and entirely dependent on a stir within his surroundings.

Sleep was like that, and Tony hated it. How could anything ever spend a single moment not experiencing this wondrous world, and instead choose to settle into fleeting non-awareness? Tony did not understand it.

Still, shaking off the slumbering drowsiness, quite literally, Tony moved his master’s arm, letting him know that he was awake.

A moment later, Tony paused at the thought.

He? I am he?

Gender was not a concept that applied to an Abyssal parasite. They were creatures devoid of sex, and their method of replication was more akin to an amoeba’s.

Yet now, though Tony didn’t know why, he was certain that he was a he. It was a strange feeling, only made stranger when Tony noticed the other changes within itself.

He had… evolved. Tony understood the concept of evolution, but that had only applied to its host before. But this time, it was not just his host that had changed, but Tony himself as well.

All his understanding of destroying his host was gone, replaced instead with ways of beneficial enhancement to both of them. His instincts had changed as well, no longer did he have to twist his instincts of strengthening a prey.

Tony shivered, excitement filling him. Just what else had happened while he was sleeping? What all had he missed during his time? Trying not to burst into joy, Tony began to take hold of everything one by one.

First thing was the arm. Tony was now diffused into every part of the arm. Each cell, muscle, nerve and even the bones were fused together with Tony’s body, feeding it precious life.

Tony felt the inflow of life and shivered, yet no longer was this life overwhelming to him. No longer did he feel satiated from the torrent of life-blood that had once driven him to frenzy.

He was hungry.

Tony felt a slight bit of concern growing within him. Would his hunger keep growing if Tony grew as well? His instincts warned him that if he could not keep his hunger in check, he could hurt his master.

Tony did not know, and neither did he have a way to convey his thoughts to the master. Black goo moved and pulsed around Tony, and he sensed the master reaching out to him. Their connection was better now, and Tony sent a greeting to the master.

“Good morning buddy. Had a good nap?”The Master’s voice said.

Tony could not hear things, but the information was transmitted through their familiar bond. Tony sent back an affirmative, alongside a sensation of frustration.

He had missed so much!

The master laughed, and Tony felt confused for a moment. Was the master happy at his suffering?

“That’s alright. Not a whole lot happened that would interest you,” the Master said, and Tony accepted his words.

“So, I’ve been thinking about this for a while now Tony. I love having you in my arm and everything, it’s quite good, but I figured you might also like being able to move around independently of your own,” the Master said, and Tony sensed something being slipped onto the Master’s hand.

“Do you think you can inhabit this ring?” The master asked.

Tony let his senses spread out. Dark goo rose from the Master’s skin, flowing into the ring, as Tony felt a torrent of mana, and a pulsating eye in the middle. The ring was not alive, it had no soul, but it had a body, and a small source of life to keep the eye alive eternally. Void mana filled the ring, and Tony felt himself naturally adjusting into the ring, as his goo fused with the nerves set around the life crystal powering the eye.

A hunger rose in Tony, to devour the crystal, but his master had not ordered that. Shuddering, and keeping his hunger in check, Tony found himself fusing with the ring, as something changed.

The eye moved, then moved once more. As Tony realised what had happened.

He could see now. He could see!

Things. Colours. Light. Darkness. Shadow. Faces. Ground. Sky. Mana. Magic. He could see it all! The world expanded in a million colors, light rays flowed in through the eye, as Tony looked up to see his master’s face. He was showing his teeth, normally an expression of aggression, but this time, Tony knew the Master was smiling.

Tony shivered, feeling an overwhelming joy pass through him as the world yet again expanded to him forever. Tony moved the new eye rapidly, trying to take in everything.

“Okay that’s really gross. See if you can detach the ring. You have my permission to take full control,” the Master said.

Tony stopped, thinking over the new command for a moment. Take over entirely. But the ring had no body. How would he take over?

Tony felt distraught. The master had told him to take over, but he could not do that without a body. The ring was metal outside the eye, and Tony could not control metal. But he also could absolutely NOT deny the master.

What if he got sent back to the void? The boredom would kill him!

Tony shivered in fear, rapidly running his mind at high speeds. He drew upon the life-blood, trying to think better, clearer and faster. Possibilities expanded, as Tony tried to come up with something.

Then it realised.

What if he tried to heal the eye?

Tony could heal. Especially now, as a symbiote, Tony could grow back tissues. But if he tried to heal the eye, it would not grow in a form Tony wanted, and would not function.

Tony paused once again. So many difficulties.

But then, another idea came. What was healing? Why did Tony have to follow the eye’s previous form? It had no soul, nothing to guide its shape. It was merely an eye.

So what if Tony grew it into the form he wanted?

Tony shivered. Yes. This was a good idea.

Moving his body through the arm, Tony let himself divide, and focused his attention on the ring. As void goop began to flow in, the eye started to distort. Tony focused. Vision changed, colours expanding. Nerves grew first, expanding out from the base of the eye as they began to cover the ring. Sensations expanded for Tony, his mind now able to feel the structure of his new body. Using the ring as a skeleton, Tony began to grow muscles upon it. The eye pulsated, stretching and Tony rapidly began to draw lifeblood from his master. Flesh grew, black and raw, oozing with void, as it formed a socket around the ring. Within the structure, a lattice of bone grew.

Tony paused for a moment. He would need to move, but forming legs seemed inconvenient.

Wings?

Tony thought over it, before a form came to it from its instincts. Yes. That would work.

Bones jut forth from the side of the eye socket, extending into two little wing-like structures. Muscles followed the bone, before nerves, blood vessels and skin covered the flaps.

Tony continued to adjust, changing, evolving and improving as the body manifested.

So much life was passing into it right now, and all of it was being used up instantly. The new body was hungry, drinking in the lifeblood with wanton as Tony formed the body.

Then, slowly, Tony formed a single slit within the ring at the base, opening it up around the Master’s finger. Moving his new wings, Tony gave a test flap, then another, before taking off.

Wings fluttered rapidly as Tony flew, feeling a new set of instincts guiding him as he buzzed around. He was flying!

Delight filled Tony as he circled around the Master, watching him look at Tony with an expression of wonder.

“Oh wow, a single eyed bat. That is… actually kind of adorable,” Noah said.

Tony looked around the area, and saw rows upon rows of shelves. He sent a questioning feeling to his master, as he looked at the things stacked on the wooden shelves.

“Ah, that. Those are books. They contain knowledge in them, written by people about all sorts of things. Stories, information, details about biology, everything you can think of and more. You can read them and learn things,” the Master said.

Tony froze. Things. He could… read? Was… was that possible? Tony turned its body, wings flapping slowly as he tilted his new eye up. The walls extended high up into the skies, books decorating every inch of the wall.

Tony could… eat words? Gain knowledge?

The prospect did not feel real, but it was. Tony knew this. And the excitement hit him all at once.

Buzzing, he flew through the air, soaring higher and higher as he saw the building keep on rising up. Books. Book! So many books! He would read everything in this place. He wanted to know, he wanted to learn. That, too, was hunger, and the hunger grew like a rising beast within Tony’s mind. He wanted to know everything present in this place.

A moment later, Tony felt his connection to the master weakening, as strength began to leave his limbs. Stopping, Tony realised his life-force was running low, and at this rate, his new body would die.

Slowly moving down, Tony flew back to his master, perching upon his arm. Exhaustion settled in a moment later.

Tony can’t fly for long. Need master’s life-blood.

Tony wasn’t sure if everything was conveyed properly, but the master gave a nod.

“I guess I’m still your source of energy huh? A lot like a charging port if I think about it. Rest up buddy, you did a lot. Maybe go to sleep for a short while to adjust to your new body,” the Master said.

Tony did not like this idea, but its eyes were already drooping. Its life-force was running low, and it needed to refill.

Retracting his wings, Tony wrapped them around his master’s fingers, feeling the connection to him snap back into place. A moment later, the life-force began to fill Tony’s mind, lulling him into a sense of calmness.

Then a voice spoke in Tony’s ears.

You’ve reached level 9!

You’ve reached level 10!

Rank increased to Intermediate.

You’ve unlocked the ability: [Metamorphosis]!

Tony saw the words flash in front of him and gave a pleased shudder as sleep took him away and dreams of eating books soon filled his mind.

Being alive was the best.

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