Jasper stared up at the horrid abomination with a feeling of dread so powerful it felt like his bones would shatter under the stares from the dozens of eyes the creature possessed, each the shade of the setting sun looking down on him with hunger shining in each.
His body refused to move from its gaze, as if a single movement would mean his sudden and inevitable death, Jaspers body was weak and fragile in comparison to the overwhelming intensity of the nightmarish spawn looming above his head, its spindly legs piercing into the alloy and stone as it slowly crawled its way into the foyer, its mandibles flared causing mind numbing clicking and chirping to enter his mind.
As the noise rattled around his skull he was overcome with an overpowering calmness, his mind relaxed as he stared into the eyes of the creature, 'When did its eyes become so beautiful?', his thoughts were muddled with the only consistent line between them being how he didn't have to be afraid of the Lesser Devourerer, huh…when did he learn its name, he wasn't quite sure but he knew it meant him no harm, in fact it was his salvation, he was so entranced by its appeal he failed to notice the horde turning to face him.
The creature was calling to him, to all of its children as if it was their one and only mother, that it meant them no harm and only wished the best for its thralls, its spawn. Jasper walked towards the approaching creature losing himself in its eyes as if they were the most important thing to ever be, and to him at this moment they were. With each step he took forward he felt like something inside was trying to claw its way out, as if a force was scraping against his psyche begging to escape, but what was there to escape from he had found his salvation in a world gone mad.
Damian watched as the horde turned away from the auditorium, entirely losing interest after a few long moments of searching for the mysterious prey which seemingly disappeared into nothingness, his presence completely concealed from their senses . He had seen the devastation Jasper had delivered to his enemies, his bare fist seemingly more powerful than a speeding bullet, it was hard to adjust to this new reality where people could outshine even the greatest of human creations, his rifle was top of the line and customised to allow for the highest force behind each shot, and the young fool had managed a feat far greater than Damian could ever hope to accomplish with sheer strength alone.
His attention was drawn to the foyer, he couldn't see past the horde even with his enhanced sight but he could tell something was wrong, these creatures had been acting strange since before they even entered the building acting slowly and being more subdued than would be expected from creatures hell bent on consuming all living things as he had seen before. The odd behaviour filled him with an ominous feeling but in this new age it was hard to tell what was now the new normal or not so feelings of fear were of course going to be natural but this was different.
He didn't know why but before he even realised it a force in his body compelled him to move forward in the search for the young fool, he knew that the kid had somehow found himself in danger even before the horde turned towards him, he had seen him grind to a halt and look up before the swarm blocked his view.
They were acting too calmly, they should have been clambering over each other in order to reach their next meal but instead they slowly trudged across the broken floors in a somewhat orderly fashion.
Slipping through the horde unnoticed Damian had managed to reach the spearhead of the formation and what he saw filled his body with a cold chill, Jasper was kneeling on the floor with his arms spread open facing upwards, a wide smile plastered across his face which was painted in an eerie calmness as he seemed to be offering himself as a sacrifice to the horrifying foe that was making its way in the same way Damian did, its bulbous body hidden by the reptilian skull encasing its entire body. The creature's mandibles were flaring and its eyes were fixed on its newest prey; he didn't know how but this thing was the reason for the strange behaviour.
Damian raised his rifle towards the creature hoping to take it out before it reached his companion, but he froze, as the beauty of the eyes finally dawned on him, it was so beautiful…maybe he should join Jasper to appease the new master, taking a step forward he looked down at his trembling hand the last remnants of rational thought vanishing as a cloud of pale sparks weaved into existence.
The sparks coalesced into a strange double ended chain which he had stared at in a strange curiosity, his mind was rapidly fading in to something he didn't recognise as he raised his hand, his mind may have been all but subjugated but his body knew what it had to do, as the first spike pierced into his thigh. The sudden pain jolted him back, causing him to wince in pain as he stared at the beast, its temptations were alluring but he didn't with to be its slave, the only master he would serve would be humanity itself, after a moment the tendrils of calmness infested his mind once again but before it could take hold he stabbed the other end of the chain into his side.
It was a strange feeling, being connected so deeply with yourself was something he hadn't experienced to this degree before, it was different than being connected to the strange stone armours of the Army of Truth, his body was filled with inhuman levels of strength or received any new magical abilities unlike before, but just like last time his desires had become connected by the chain, it was just that he was connecting with his own, and with every second those desires were becoming stronger and stronger, he had continued waking forward at first his mind fully accepting its role as a sacrifice to the Devourer.
Soon however the world shifted, his desires could be felt like a burning star in his chest, a similar kind of burning that he had felt upon ascension, the memories of those moments were intoxicating, the euphoric feeling of awakening to inhuman strength was something he wished to experience again and again, he would be lying if he told himself that he had never truly let go of that moment, just waiting for the next one to come like an addict.
The greed and hunger to feel the void lying deep within his soul made him feel complete, like a part of him he had been rejecting was finally allowed to come to the surface from where they had been buried long ago, as his desires began to burn brighter and brighter a sudden wave washed over his mind, as if a wall made of glass had shattered allowing him to see what was in front of him as if he had been blind all along.
He was in the process of kneeling down as the realisation broke, the creature loomed above ready to devour the pair and at some point he had even dropped his Dormant ability without ever realising, Jaspers eyes never left his new master, fully embracing his fate, all around them the horde was gathered watching the strange show as if they were a putrid form of entertainment. Filed with a renewed will to survive Damian stood defiantly, as he did every creature in the room look at him, the eyes devoid of individuality, he wanted to activate his ability and fight from where they couldn't see but he didn't want to endanger Jasper's life he was a powerful ally after all, he would prove to be useful on their travels if they managed to survive this ordeal.
The room was dreadfully still for a few long moments, with neither side wishing to make a move on the other until the lesser Devourer's eyes turned a pale shade of purple, like a bouquet of lilac blossoming in front of him. Suddenly the creatures of the room began to move, their jaws unhinging as they began to salivate over their next meal, their numerous appendages scraping against the floors, and of course Jasper rose from the ground, his face no longer calm and idyllic, instead contorted with anger and malice as broken words escaped his lips,
"T-t-t-ime t-to F-F-FEA-SSS-T!"
His words paired with snarls and groans from his new companions, ready to lunge.
Damian staggered back for a moment as he finds himself in the center of a ring of monsters all hoping to strike him down, and as he swivelled his head to gauge his remaining opponents, a wreath of lightning appeared over Jasper's body as he charged at his saviour