Opening my eyes, I felt something amiss about my environment. My entire body had shrunk into a ball and was confined in a small space with air that reeked of rancid, sticky body fluid.
Out of instinct, I subconsciously opened my mouth to breathe. However, I was nearly choked to death by the liquid I inhaled.
Closing my mouth in panic, I flailed my hands around blindly.
Help!!
Am I drowning?!
My hands suddenly touched something that seemed to be a thin membrane. It felt thin and warm. I reached out and pushed at it. I pushed out hard.
Crack. Crack!
The sun's harsh light flooded into my eyes, followed by air that stank of sulfur.
I could feel my body, covered in liquid, lying atop warm sand. I breathed in like a dying pig.
After a while, life finally entered my chest, and I was now a bit calmer. It was all sticky and extremely uncomfortable but still more bearable than breathlessness.
My senses were all still disoriented, and the liquid covered my eyes.
Where is this?
I wondered as I used my red arms to clear away the liquid in my face.
My startlingly clear vision adapted to the light, and I could finally see my surroundings.
Everything seemed either red or grey.
I was in a barren volcanic scape.
Volcanic ash fell from the grey sky like dark snowflakes, writhing in the air as they fell. They accumulated on the desert-like ground—which was covered with hundreds, thousands of eggs.
I looked back to where I had crawled out of. Indeed, I myself had just crawled out of one of the eggs.
Everything already made me agitated and overwhelmed, but I still tried to stand up groggily. I failed and fell back on the ground.
"Gh…"
My body was currently incredibly weak. Each movement felt as if it weighed a ton.
I felt hungry. Tired.
No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't muster up any strength—there was a sort of craving for something budding within me.
My gaze instinctively moved back to the blue eggshells, one meter long, where I had come out of. With all my effort, I crawled back to them and began wolfing it all like a dead man on an oasis.
I even drank the fetal liquid.
They tasted incredible, like nectar and strawberries.
The eggshells were effective, and warmth flowered up inside my stomach. And inside my mind, some sort of puzzle began to complete itself with each piece I ate, and when I ate the last piece of the egg, the puzzle completed itself.
_
[𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐄𝐠𝐠!]
[𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐍𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐢𝐧𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧 𝐄𝐠𝐠!]
[𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬.]
[𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐍𝐚𝐦𝐞:
𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐮𝐬 𝐇𝐚𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐡 𝐀𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐧 𝐕é𝐱𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢ú𝐬 𝐍ó𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧â 𝐀ë𝐫𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫.]
[𝐈𝐟 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭. 𝐊𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐞𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐬𝐚𝐟𝐞.]
_
Mark came back to himself and grimaced slightly before standing up. He was way more energetic already. He could feel it in his bones—the egg had been effective.
His vision still swam slightly, but with hard focus, he steadied himself.
The volcanoes, dark desert full of eggs, and whatever detail that he noticed. They all made him realize he was not home on his bed.
Crack. Crack!
Some of the eggs around were already cracking.
Mark looked at it all blankly.
In fact, in the distance, he saw two red creatures with obsidian horns that were already eating their eggs.
Red creatures…
Mark also realized that he was way shorter than he had been. He was about the same size as the eggs—near one meter or so. But somehow, his body still felt stronger than when he was a human.
Feeling all sorts of emotions, Mark suddenly saw some of the red creatures—demons—in the distance completing their own eggs. They immediately moved towards the other unhatched eggs close to them.
They took up stones and cracked the eggshell; when the unborn demon inside tried to struggle, they broke its head, too. Then, they sank their hands into the fetal liquid and drank the egg juice while eating the eggshells.
What are they doing?
Mark felt sick in his stomach and wanted to look away, but one sight made him freeze.
They became much more energetic when they ate the second egg, and their bodies grew slightly.
Mark instinctively picked up a red stone by his side. His thoughts were immediately screaming murder, and without much hesitation, he moved toward the egg nearest to him and readied himself to smash it.
But then, he paused.
No…
He was not a Demon!
He was not going to follow his urges like these beasts!
What was going on in the first place?!
Why was there a violet screen shimmering inside his mind?!
Didn't he die when his overheated smartphone exploded?
Hesitation made him look around without doing anything, and that made him see two demons tearing each other apart in the distance.
That made Mark's heart go… cold.
This was not the kind of place where humans would survive.
And he really did feel hungry.
Why should he reject his demonic self in the first place?
With a heavy hand, his stone fell, and he felt the unmistakable sensation of the eggshell breaking—along with a broken head that splattered green blood all over him.
The eggshells scattered all around, and he took a deep breath.
They said that the first kill was either too easy or too hard. But in his case, it seemed to be right in the middle.
_
[𝙺𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚊 𝙳𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚗 𝙲𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚍—𝚂𝚘𝚞𝚕 𝚂𝚙𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚋𝚜𝚘𝚛𝚋𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚝'𝚜 𝚂𝚘𝚞𝚕 𝚂𝚙𝚊𝚌𝚎.]
[+𝟶.𝟷]
[𝚃𝚘𝚝𝚊𝚕 𝙽𝚞𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝚂𝚘𝚞𝚕 Spheres: 𝟶.𝟷]
_
Mark ignored the message and tried to eat the egg, but there was no taste like earlier, nor was a spike of vitality there within him after he ate it. It felt mundane, like normal eggshells.
The corpse of the demon that he had killed had also changed and had become grey and lifeless, like a piece of greyed-out mud.
Mark didn't understand what was happening, but one thing was clear: he didn't feel remorse. Nor did he feel like dying. His instincts were also screaming for more.
Without delay, he moved towards the next egg near him and went in for the kill.
When he reached it, its eggshells were already cracking, and the demon inside was trying to move out. With a single crack from his stone, its story was a history.
_
[𝙺𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚊 𝙳𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚗 𝙲𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚍—𝚂𝚘𝚞𝚕 𝚂𝚙𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚋𝚜𝚘𝚛𝚋𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚝'𝚜 𝚂𝚘𝚞𝚕 𝚂𝚙𝚊𝚌𝚎.]
[+𝟶.𝟷]
[𝚃𝚘𝚝𝚊𝚕 𝙽𝚞𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝚂𝚘𝚞𝚕 𝚂𝚙𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎𝚜: 𝟶.2]
_
Mark paused this time and finally acknowledged the uncanny interface within his mind.
"What the hell are you?!" he screamed.
There was no reply from anyone… except for the demon nearest to him. His eyes immediately turned to it.
The red-skinned creature ran as if it had a spring under its foot and smashed into him like a heavy rock.
Mark all but had his breath knocked out of him, and he rolled on the ground for about a meter before he came to a halt.
He sat up, face marred with volcanic ash, and glared at the demon with intense irritation.
It sprang towards him once more, and he stood up this time to face its fist head-on. But again, this demon was one of the fiercer ones among the bunch and had already eaten more of the Eggs around. Its attacks made him get pushed backward, and his fist ached after every punch he endured.
Mark jumped back and distanced himself.
Somehow, when he looked at it with the intent to get a sense of its strength, information about the demon streamed into his mind.
_
[𝔇𝔢𝔪𝔬𝔫 ℭ𝔥𝔦𝔩𝔡]
[𝐓𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝟎—𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠]
[𝐏𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞: 𝟎.𝟑]
[𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝: 𝟎.𝟑]
[𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬: 𝐍𝐨𝐧𝐞.]
[𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞: 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 (𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬)]
[𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐬: 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐥 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠.]
_
At the same time, his own strength also flashed in his mind like a spark of thought.
_
[𝔐𝔞𝔯𝔠𝔲𝔰 ℌ𝔞𝔢𝔩𝔦𝔤𝔞𝔯𝔱𝔥]
[𝐓𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝟎—𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠]
[𝐏𝐡𝐲𝐬𝐢𝐪𝐮𝐞: 𝟎.𝟏]
[𝐌𝐢𝐧𝐝: 𝟎.𝟏]
[𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬: 𝐍𝐨𝐧𝐞.]
[𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞: 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐁𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 (𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐞𝐧 𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐝𝐬)]
[𝐃𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐓𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐬: 𝐒𝐨𝐮𝐥 𝐃𝐞𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠.]
_
His body was indeed weaker, yet Mark also had unused souls in his Soul Space.
It was all weird and alien, but simultaneously, it was all intuitive and natural to him. Almost as if it had come to him the same way that eating the egg implanted an entirely new language into his brain.
Mark used the (0.2) soul spheres on his Physique, and suddenly, an electrical impulse traveled up his spine and meshed throughout his body.
He felt himself growing slightly taller, and his muscles also seemed to gain in substance.
[Physique: 0.1 ➟ 0.3]
Even though it all seemed as if a lot of time had passed while all this happened, it all happened in the time it took to blink once.
Mark growled and jumped towards the demon.
It sprang up at him, and its fist went straight for his face.
Mark ducked down, dodged its fist, and, with a quick pivot, gave its crotch a harsh kick. The demon's eyes widened in fear and panic.
"Gr….r…"
Before it could recover, Mark pulled down on its scraggly hair and slammed its face hard with his knee. He smashed its nose again and again until he felt warm blood oozing down his legs.
With a gruff grunt of effort, he pulled up the unconscious demon and pushed his hand into its mouth. Teeth gritted, he tore off its jaw with a tearing pull.
Blood literally splattered out of it. He kicked it away with a final move.
Its mouth was entirely torn off from the cheek to the neck!
He himself didn't know how he had done that. It just felt right to do that. Mark silently looked at its dying form.
The powerless demon writhed around in the ground for but a second before it became lifeless. The newborn would never see the wider world.
Green blood coated Mark's face and body.
_
[𝙺𝚒𝚕𝚕𝚎𝚍 𝚊 𝙳𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚗 𝙲𝚑𝚒𝚕𝚍—𝚂𝚘𝚞𝚕 𝚂𝚙𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚋𝚎𝚎𝚗 𝚊𝚞𝚝𝚘𝚖𝚊𝚝𝚒𝚌𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚊𝚋𝚜𝚘𝚛𝚋𝚎𝚍 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚘𝚜𝚝'𝚜 𝚂𝚘𝚞𝚕 𝚂𝚙𝚊𝚌𝚎.]
[+𝟶.3]
[𝚃𝚘𝚝𝚊𝚕 𝙽𝚞𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝚘𝚏 𝚂𝚘𝚞𝚕 Spheres: 𝟶.3]
_
Mark turned for the next egg without much thought, but only then did he realize. No, there were no longer any unhatched eggs…
He was in the middle of a demon apocalypse.
Demons were all around the world as far as he could see. Red demonoid creatures that all emanated fierce and wild vibes.
All of them, though, were not fighting each other.
All of them were looking up with wide eyes full of shock.
Mark followed their gaze, and he met the grey sky and a humongous shadow that blocked the sun.
Floating there regally, a demon with two dark wings—so wide it seemed to cover the heavens—looked down at them all.
In the shadows, her appearance was vague. Yet, her golden eyes seemed alit as they regally took in the sight beneath her.
She looked somehow dangerously enchanting even to a demon with a human mind, even though her appearance was unclear.
The woman's wide wings flapped once. Her music-like voice spread out into the atmosphere like a lullaby.
"Little ones, show me who is worthy enough to return to your Mother first. I will be waiting for the one worthy."
A dark hole opened up below their feet and devoured them all.
The last thing Mark saw as he fell was a dark feather. It floated down amidst the red light of the sun and vanished… as if it never existed in the first place.