"I-It's happening! The Baron will soon become more God than man. He will ascend and become one with the element in this Goblet! Two centuries of tireless work and we stand on the horizon! It is but inevitable. Scour the cattle, we must find a fitting last meal for the Baron!" I could hear applause and merriment from the open window. Their voices travelling easily up to my bedroom. The usual haunt that I escaped to infinitely, the only exception being when my appearance was required. Such as meal time...
"This calls for celebration!" Another man screamed in jubilation.
What in the world is happening?
The entire estate was in a huge commotion. Ever since the sudden rumbling and shaking of this land. What I had mistakenly assumed was a earthquake or some similar natural catastrophe was no such event. A mountain, a continent that looked down at this red wasteland.
The existence of even stronger adversaries appeared in my mind.
I struggled enough just defeating that man in the arena, now someone stands infinitely above his power... and might be aiming for my head.
My worries were ceaseless; these enemies on the horizon, the strange commotion between each and every one of my supporters, my continued reluctance to eat...
A knock came at the door, the usual pattern. I could already guess who was there, very few people would risk disturbing my reclusive self.
"Milord, I apologise for interrupting your rest."
"It's fine. What business do you have?" The bed shook slightly as I flopped over the side, my stubby legs impacting the ground with a meaty slap. The same butler was at my side, at my beck and call no matter the time of day. Even now I had never went to the trouble of asking his name. It would seem much too suspicious if I did such things. However, at this junction he was the only reliable figure in my grasp. This place was a den of dogs and snakes. That fight in the arena proved it. Everyone worked for their own greedy selfish interests. As soon as an advantage became apparent then another would approach and then another and so on.
However, I didn't get that impression from the butler.
He was an aged man of European descent (if that even existed in this world) with white hair and calm eyes. The suit he wore was picture perfect, as if it had been ironed and pressed whilst he wore it, not a single crease in sight. I wondered... Why exactly does this man help me? Is it fear, or is there some greater connection these two shared before I had been summoned to this nightmare?
"I can only apologise, Milord. It was the stalwart duty of this humble servant to reach such conclusions, yet I failed you. You find difficulty with your diet, yes? Then it is time to take the last step in your long laid plans. The final meal as a mortal." As a mortal? I would hardly say normal humans could do any of this in the first place. Growing tendons at will, manipulating blood. Those are super freaks or Gods. Though, that doesn't appear to be the case here, apparently even the normal human is seen as something different in this place.
The idea of what these more-than-mortals could be fascinated me... and struck fear into my heart. It can't be anything less than a God that shifted the very Earth itself.
Perhaps, the God that sent me to this hellish place was the very same apparition that plunged this land into the sea and created that vast ocean of red glass spreading from the Bloody Goblet as far as the eye could see.
"The meal has been prepared. We've been awaiting this moment a long, long time, Milord. The birth of a new God. The God of flesh and blood. Everything is to your specifications."
"Who are they?" I asked despite knowing it would be better if I didn't... But I couldn't help myself. Even before this, I had shied away from knowing these intimate details. I didn't want to accept that what I was eating was other... people. They had lives; albeit limited ones, friends and family.
I convinced myself it was acceptable. These people are suffering; tortured souls that await the sweet release of death. The least I could do as I survived in this world was remember their names. That was what I had promised myself from today onwards. I would carry them forward even if I would tread along their corpses. To keep some memory that they existed in this world, even if I was hated and despised for it.
"A brother and his elder sister. They were chosen for this purpose a long time ago, upon your request. They are somewhat special."
"In what way?"
"Well, I'm sure that will be revealed soon enough to you."
"Hmm?"
"You'll have plenty of time alone with them until your appetite reaches it's apex. Though, as always that is up to Milord to decide." That was what made the meal special... I was supposed to meet them and look my food in the eye. What a disgusting tradition. As much as I wanted to turn my nose at the offer...
Unconsciously, I looked out of the window through the corner of my eye. That huge cliff that loomed ominously on the horizon, peered back at me. A shiver travelled down my spine.
"...When are we meeting?" I would have to eat them... Of course, I would. That was the way of this world. There was no other route forward. Strength necessitated hard decisions, it requires sacrifice. The same as in my original world, that sacrifice was often the burden of the weak.
"Tomorrow. It seems the men want to celebrate, I'm sure you don't mind one more day. You've already waited this long, right?" He asked cautiously. It seems even he was unsure of how much he could overstep the boundary between a master and his servant.
"...I suppose."
A brother and sister... From the sound of it, this is absolutely essential for the progression of one's cultivation. The denizens of this world were completely enamoured with feeding. Every single part of the act was seen as divine, no matter the station or social status of the people involved.
The way he talked about it... Like a final supper, or a convict's last rites.
That might not be so different from the truth. Gods that can shift the Earth, create oceans with the wave of a hand. If such things exist...
Then I must become one.
To protect myself...
And never ever partake in this soulless act again.
After all; what God needs to eat?
To prove my humanity, I have to defile it and become no less than an animal, a demon in the flesh of man. Eventually I'll become a God...
Maybe then... this nightmare will finally come to an end?
...
I'm sorry, whoever you are.
This is no longer a dream for me.
I'm stuck in this nightmare. With no escape.
If I starve, the pain is real and it proves nothing. I'll just die trying to send a useless message. With my death another will take my place, this farm will continue and so your lives will end. Whether I comply or don't, the end result was always the same for the people I stood atop. The only thing that would ever change; the size of the shoe that pressed them into the ground. Whether mine or another, someone would do it all the same.
So then... why can't it be me? No, why shouldn't it be me?
...
Could it be, I always suited a world like this...?
What a drab thought... Sent to another world and nothing has changed, not in the slightest. I'll just continue to use and be used, until my death comes about all the same.
I'm selfish and ugly...
But I've decided to live, even if it means treading atop the rest of you.
If this place is hell, then I will become a demon. And I'll eat whatever I have to; in order to reach the pinnacle.
That is my...
No. That is the Bloody Baron's decree.