My master insisted that I never refer to the beast as
Animal, for it displayed not even the slightest inclination that he
was in control. In an instance the beast disappeared from their
sight, and then immediately reappeared hovering above Ghast and
delivered a blow with such force that he was sent straight through
the floor of the tower's apex, but one attack was not nearly enough
to satisfy the beast. Bloody tendrils had latched onto Ghast's
skeletal frame when the first attack was made. Though Ghast fell into
the darkness below the tower, ruby ribbons tethered him to the beast
and was quickly pulled back up wards towards the demon. Ghast, still
gripping his weapon, attempted to shield himself with the massive
blade as the bloody steams pull him back to his attacker. But with
not hesitation the beast threw another burning fist as Ghast came
sailing back to him and shattered the weapon into nothing but vapor
and dust, still making contact with its intended target.
As the beast continued to assault Ghast, my master
struggled in agony as the mere presence of the beast caused his body
to rend itself apart slowly. Though his flesh boiled and his very
bones burned, he continued to watch. He had to see it, he had to
witness the death of the immortal stain of his family. The assault
was never ending and Ghast was powerless to stop it. His fabled
abilities were no longer at his beck and call, the power of the beast
was so great that it could suppress the power of even the Black
Heart. The beast continued to strike and retrieve Ghast back to it
like a game human children have been know to play with a wooden
paddle attached to a ball with elastic string. The speed at which
this wicked game took place was so fast, that it appeared as if the
beast was striking with multiple arms, and Ghast was little more than
a green streak zipping back and forth, the walls of the tower
erupting at random, but in fact were the high speed impacts of Ghast
striking the surface and then sailing back to the beast.
The beast soon ceased its barrage, laying Ghast's
smoking body at its feet. His bones burning red from the friction of
his high speed impact with the surrounding structures. Grasping at
the beast's feet, Ghast pulled himself towards the demon. “I still
live... I have been given a gift... You can't take a life that
doesn't even belong to me anymore. Lord Mammon owns me, body and
soul. Do your worst!” The beast lunged its claws clean into Ghast's
left shoulder, penetrating his bones, and for the first time in over
a century, Ghast howled in pain. The beast raised him to eye level as
Ghast screamed, unable to comprehend how such a thing was possible.
The beast then grasped Ghast's right arm and flooded his bones with
the bloody appendages. Ghast looked on in horror as his arm burned
away into nothing but red vapor.
It was at this point in my lord's tale that I was
reminded of a verse from an ancient Primeran text, “That which is
not dead, with eternity may lie. But with strange aeons, even death
may die.” This quote meant little to me as a child, but now I have
come to understand the truth in its words. Existence must be filled
with beings that we could never hope to comprehend, entities so
terrible and powerful they contradict all that we have come to know.
The beast, whatever it is, is nothing known to Ferus Mundus or Earth.
Why it slumbers in Animal is a mystery that my master has confessed
he hopes no one ever solves. If it where his will, knowledge of the
beast would cease to exist, and Animal be given a life free of anyone
foolish enough to go looking to coerce that devil from within him.
With pain flooding his mind for this first time since
his flesh was stripped from his bones, Ghast could have only been
left in a moment of disillusionment and insanity. This was a being
who knew no pain, no death for a time long enough for him to forget
that most basic of sensations, fear. The thought that death, true
death was upon him must have been maddening. But he would not know
death so quick, for the beast was not done, not satisfied. The
beast's bloody tendrils burrowed themselves into every crevice they
could find among Ghast's skeletal frame. Then, as if by the beast's
will alone, raised him from the ground and then quickly embedded his
body into the floor. The beast bellowed and then dragged Ghast
through the floor tearing across the crystalline matter. Shards of
the tower were scattered throughout the apex and the beast continued
to plow through the tower's structure with Ghast's body. Pieces of
the tower began to shatters and collapse under its own weight from
the loss of material.
When the beast had enough, Ghast once again layed at its feet, his body now penetrated by hundreds of sharp pieces of debris. Was this spite? Did the beast abuse Ghast the same way he had harmed Animal? Was Animal somehow still there, deep inside the beast? Or was something else in control, fighting back to protect Animal? If so, then for what purpose? As I've stated, my master wishes I refrain from ever associating Animal with the beast, but I can't help but wonder. For what purpose does it exist and for how long can something presumably more powerful than the Black Hearts survive without drawing attention.
To my knowledge, there are only two who even know of
the beast's existence, my master and I. To think that such a being
exists and that the two of us must bear the burden of this knowledge
with us until either we perish or the beast reveals itself to others.
I know that my master would wish to never encounter the beast again,
as its very presence seems to unravel Primeran flesh, almost as if
denying its right to exist. For as of this moment, I am convinced
that Animal, though a kind and honorable soul, has more than a body
that shelters a beast, it is the temple of a cruel and angry god.
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