Thud! Thud! The sound of Hikari's boots striding on the stone ground. They stopped in front of the abbot's cage.
With a flick of her finger, the lock unclicked itself, the door swung open. The abbot crawled out of his cage, bowing his head before HIkari's boot print.
"Your execution is tomorrow."
The abbot raised his head, looked up at Hikari and chuckled.
"I have fulfilled my mission, guiding the misled sheep on the right path. Death had always awaited me at the end."
"You betrayed your comrades?"
"I did not. It was they who betrayed the path. They who read the scriptures sideways. They who could not see the avatar right before their eyes. They who met their ultimate demise at the feet of the avatar. But the ones you brought to me. I opened their eyes. Set them on the right path. Serve the true avatar. The bearer of the true flesh. The true flesh born of the avatar. They who now see the light and bend themselves to the avatar's well. They want nothing more than to become the avatar's flesh."
"Was it worth it?"
"For me at least. I'm not so sure about those fools who cooped themselves up in port Carla. A beast wrought from a thousand sacrifices. No, tens of thousands. And you came back unscathed. Barely seemed to have even exerted yourself."
"You knew I'd win?"
"For your flesh is true. What those imbeciles were doing in Carla was nothing but knitting an oversized doll with mortal flesh. The true flesh besting the weak flesh. That is the natural way of things."
"True flesh?"
"The true flesh of the avatar. The avatar bears true flesh. They are one and the same. I conducted countless experiments. Dissected countless bodies. All in search for the true flesh. Flesh that does not tire, does not hunger, does not tear, does not die, does not rot. Neither does it need the redundancy of steel, nor the bindings of the carrion tree."
"The carrion tree?"
"The carrion tree. Its source and powers are secret to us. I know nothing beyond its name. It grows on the flesh. Relying on its support and nourishment. It moves the flesh that is otherwise dead. We provide only the flesh. Weak flesh. Mortal flesh. Squeezed out the blood. Feed them to the carrion seed. Extract the muscle. Mesh and compress many layers and yet the true flesh still cleaves through them with steel. "
"Did you know about the Titan?"
"Wagons upon wagons of flesh we sent them. More than anyone but the scribe would care to count. Wagons upon wagons of harvest organs. Enough to make a fortune. The chasers of the false flesh chases no luxury. It was clear what they were meant for. "
"What would they have done with the Titan?"
"Rammage the land. Consume. Grow. Ascend. Until it attains the true flesh. "
"What then?"
"Salvation. Deliverance. Ascension. We will be free from our mortal weakness. We will be assimilated into the true flesh. The true flesh will form the avatar. We will be part of the avatar."
"You believed it?"
"I was blind. Then I witnessed the true flesh. The one born by the avatar. I realised my folly. Flesh that tires. Flesh that hungers. Flesh that tears. Flesh that dies. Flesh that rots. That's all I ever sent to Carla. The rotten flesh can never match the avatar who bears the true flesh.."
Thud! Thud! Hikari tapped her boot.
"Kiss."
The abbot pressed his lips into the crevice of the boot print.
"Just kiss. You're rambling nonsense again. You could have just said you wanted to kiss my boots. Now I destroyed your order and turned the survivors into my slaves. All so you could kiss my boot. Are you happy now? You're not even kissing my boot, ur kissing the ground where my boot touched. How pathetic."
The abbot couldn't stop kissing.
"Oh and you even helped me convince them to be my slaves. They will toil away for me indefinitely. Even though they would never get to kiss my boots. They will never even get to kiss my boot print. But here you are, at least you get my boot print. How selfish of you."
The abbot shivered in excitement. His hands flexed, fingers clawing at the stone ground.
" I'll allow it. But keep kissing. And back off so that you don't get any of your mess on my boot. Or my boot print."
The abbot slides back his hips, supporting his upper body with one arm and his moving lips on Hikari's boot.
"This is your last."
"Ahh…" in less than a minute the abbot released.
He leaned on his arms, facing his own mess. Hikari gave him a moment to catch his breath.
"You stayed hidden for so long. Kidnapped so many people. How?"
"It's not hard. The Kingdom of Herdial is in crisis. Too many mouths to feed. But the coffers are dry. Many sold their children. More died on the streets without anyone noticing. People disappearing indicates nothing. We did them a favour by culling the weak."
"The Eldarsoars. What did you do with them?"
"I do not know. I have not had any knights brought to my table. Nor did any artifacts go through my outpost. Our orders were to send any captured knights to Carla. The Eldarsoars do not possess the true flesh. They are but fuel. Fodder. Stronger than common flesh but still not of the true flesh. I do not know their name beyond the ink markings on the map."
"The titan core. What is it?"
"A construct. An artifact at its core. I know neither its name nor origins. Illenium crystals, we were told to ship any we find. Blood by the tankfuls we shipped. Harvested organs that the golems had no need for. I can only assume they were sold in the one place that they can legally be sold to fund the project. That's all I know."
"What should I do with it?"
"Consume it. Digest. Assimilate. Shape it in your image. Grow. Ascend. Until you tower over the walls of Carla. Leaving the battlements in your shadow. Grow. Dwarf the mountains in the lands beyond."
Hikari scratched her cheek for a moment.
"Nope. Finding socks is a pain."
Thud! Thud! Hikari's boots circled one round around the abbot.
"Do you have any regrets?"
The abbot chuckled.
"None. I see the true flesh. My life mission was in vain. But my words have reached the true flesh. I can rest. The true flesh will carry on. Does not tire. Does not hunger. Does not tire. Does not die. Does not rot. The avatar has come to deliver us all."
"Uh sure, any last requests?"
The abbot laughs.
"Eat me!" he bellowed in a demonic voice.
Hikari took a step back.
"No thanks. You don't look tasty."
"I see! The true flesh demands a more filling sacrifice! I shall deliver it!"
The abbot's stomach churned, pushing out an obsidian stone, catching it between his teeth.
"Thats!"
With all his jaw strength, he shattered the stone, releasing a wave of demonic energy. A set of carvings in the stone ground obscured by the mud lit up blood red.
Stomp! His body splattered into pieces as Hikari's boot crashed down on him. His blood drifted towards the demonic circle, feeding the growing rift.
A being started materializing before her.
Hikari backed off, drew her sword and assumed her stance.
"I'm wearing a new shirt. I hoped to wear this to bed clean."
A humanoid creature. Standing at just below Hikari's chest height. Lacking a face nor any other features. Its skin of pure ivory.
"…. Hunger …." It stared at Hikari motionless.
Then, its face opened wide, revealing rows upon rows of teeth.
It lunged at Hikari.
A kick with her boot staggers it. A vertical swing with her searing sword severs the horror in half. Each half was engulfed in flames.
Hikari dusts off her shirt as the demon's body disintegrated, leaving several grey glowing mana stones on the ground.