6 First Victim

He creeped out the cell, taking heed of the warning the man gave of those who would hunt him.

There were too many unknowns, keeping him from taking any drastic actions that would call attention to himself.

Sneaking down the corridor, he came around a bend and stared in shock at the sight before him.

Just where was he, that there was a medieval knight in armor guarding a door right now?

He considered his available options at the moment.

This was the only way out; therefore, he had no choice but to confront the knight, but that could lead to further complications.

While he was contemplating what to do, the ever-growing feeling of hunger interrupted his thoughts. He desperately needed to consume something. His hunger dictating his actions, he launched forward at the knight.

The knight remained oblivious as he approached and without thinking lashes out with his claws, knocking the knight to the ground.

As he crashes to the ground, his helmet flies off, as he looks around in confusion. He's double the guy's size as he easily picks the knight off the ground and holds him in the air.

The knight can only scream in fear as an invisible force restrains him while he floats two feet off the ground. As he looks around for his assailant, without thinking about it, I bite down towards his head.

His squirming stops after a couple of seconds as he drops to the ground lifeless. Spitting the head out of my mouth with disgust, I await my true prize.

Soon, the knight stands up, in confusion, as he looks around. He appears wispy, and ethereal as he suddenly remembers something as he looks at me.

Fear grips him as he stumbles back, and I lunge forward, grabbing him so he doesn't escape. Once again, he thrashes to and fro, trying to free himself, but I waste no more time, bringing him up towards my mouth.

Cocking my head back, his legs continue to kick about until with a final chomp, he disappears completely.

Only then does my mind return and I stare at the ceiling in absolute shock. What had come over me that I would do such a thing? Shocked at my sudden decision, I look down at my own hands, and I'm shocked at what I see.

I move my fingers to make sure that it is what I'm looking at, but it confirms my suspicion. I wasn't human anymore.

I wasn't shocked that I had easily turned to cannibalism. Instead, I was shocked at the newfound strength that I had. He was almost six feet and with the armor, around 400 pounds. But I lifted him without breaking a sweat.

The more he thought about the situation, the more he realized, that he didn't actually feel bad about eating that guy. In fact, he was feeling wonderful. The hunger was satisfied for a brief moment, before returning to that unbearable gnawing at his existence.

Standing over the dead body of the eaten knight, I start to reflect on recent events. I hadn't thought much of it at the time, but I was inclined to believe that I was in another world. One of magic.

Also, I was human when I arrived, but due to the man's interference, I became something more, a demon. From his display of power and past experiences as a human, he actually didn't mind being a demon. He just wished this hunger wouldn't be so devastatingly overwhelming.

Good thing he knew the solution to the hunger. The guy wanted him to take revenge on the town in his place, and it currently aligned with his need to satisfy his hunger, so he might as well.

Content with creating an objective, I decide it's time to move. Even though, I had come to terms with my current situation, I still needed information.

I pick the keys from the dead knight's body and hover over the lock before a thought strikes me.

'Surely, I'm not alone here. No one's going to miss just a couple of prisoners.'

Turning around, I backtrack to the first cell block. Using the key, I unlock the door to the cell and close it promptly behind me.

A guy sits up confused as he scans the cell but sees nothing. "Hello?"

He calls out cautiously. Judging from his lack of reaction, he definitely couldn't see me. I still didn't understand the cause of this, but that works out for me.

I have yet to see what I look like, but this new body wasn't remotely human and if something like me walked into my cell, I would freak out. I silently creep towards the guy, with the intention of interrogating him, but the hunger once again takes over my actions.

He hears the click of my claws against the stone floor and looks towards the direction.

"Who's there?" He asks, starting to get anxious at the unseen intruder.

I don't bother answering him as I slowly raise a claw and slash out at the guy's exposed throat. I watch as he clutches his throat with a look of fear as he starts gagging on his own blood.

After a few seconds he lays down, the life leaving his eyes as blood flows down to the bed he's on, dripping on the floor.

I see an ethereal version of him rise from his deceased body, and he instantly looks at me, his face frozen in terror.

Before he can do anything, my claws reach out and grab him as he begins screaming. Without control, my jaws open and pull him in, screaming. Swallowing him whole, the hunger disappears for a moment and my mind returns.

I sigh in disappointment that I can't control my own actions due to the hunger, but nevertheless, I still learned a lot from these encounters.

I don't know if they could harm me, but right now, they were powerless against me as I consumed their ghosts.

My persistent hunger came back as I moved on to the next cell. Needless to say, the same thing happened to the next five prisoners. Looking back at the bloodbath I'm leaving with almost no new information gained, I growl in frustration.

At the end is a wooden door with some floating symbols that moved around the door. As I neared the door, it began to glow blue that smoked towards me.

The smoke enters into body, and I can feel my hunger be relieved a bit. Reaching out, I place my claw on the door, and all surround symbols flash blue before they enter my hand.

As the last of the symbols fade, my hunger dissipiates like I ate a ghost. Not sure of what this substance was, I unlock the door and enter the cell.

I walk up a flight of stone stairs to a barred, spacious room. Unlocking the barred gate and entering, I can see the room is circular leading up to the ceiling where there is no roof.

In the center is a man chained to the ground, his head held down with his long black hair flowing down, blocking his face.

When I enter and stand watching him, his head slowly lifts and his eyes lock on to me.

"What in Luminous' great name are you?"