My words, my thoughts - neither were my own.
It felt like somebody had hijacked control of my body and mind. I expected as much when giving myself up to Voracity, yes...
But nowhere near this extent.
After all, I'd never truly allowed it to consume me whole. Not after being warned, time and time again, of its dangers by my elders.
Was it a good idea, then, to allow Voracity full autonomy?
The answer came instantly:
It was never even a choice. Kill or be killed, simple as that. And I am one self centered guy, tell ya what.
Still, I clearly didn't grasp the full extent of the entity residing within me.
That was, until it forcefully separated itself from my mind and stated acting on its own. As a result, I'd restored some semblance of sanity.
I watched myself amass huge quantities of flesh, and subsequently speak with the king of Nether in a manner entirely unlike my own; a name I'd never heard left my mouth, confidently proclaimed to be my true title.
None of it made any sense.
I tried wresting some control back, but it was a futile effort. The thing within vigorously resisted my attempts at interference, as if the body were never mine to begin with.
It called me the host? Fuck's that supposed mean? Vaynar looks stupefied… Was that supposed to be some sorta grand reveal?
As I watched myself perform incomprehensible actions from a third person perspective, detached, it suddenly spoke yet another name.
"Voracity, Hunger Incarnate."
My eyebrows would've shot up if they could.
Incarnate..? Like, one of the three Primordial Incarnations?
"Hey, the hell are you spouting with that long tongue of yours?! You're gonna make me look like an idiot!"
However, despite the embarrassing words spoken through my very mouth, the king's reaction was dead serious.
Has the world finally gone mad? No, how on earth would a below average Threadripper host a dead Primordial Incarnation within my body? That's, like, logistically impossible; and why's this guy staring at me like he actually believes Voracity's bullshit? Arghh, I'm so damn confused…
Unfortunately, all the superior entities around me, fake or not, had a habit of cutting my thoughts short.
Out of nowhere, both me - Voracity piloting my body to be exact - and the king stopped talking, before promptly jumping into battle.
My brain strained from the overwhelming amount of sensations I experienced through every fiber, every thread of my being, as I launched into an all out assault.
At the same time, the king threw some tiny object my way.
What's he expecting to achieve with that glowing pebble?
And yet, against my will, I retracted every appendage and lunged to the side, which prompted me to grumble at my incompetent inhabitant.
"Why are we dodging now? Grow stupid from eating too much-"
*Craaack*
*BOOOM!!!*
A deafening crack, followed by a colossal explosion.
I shifted focus to my peripheral eyes, to hopefully figure out what the hell just happened.
"Hah. Hahah. I take it back, my dear partner; you clearly know what you're doing. Keep it up…"
I started dancing a different tune, realizing that I'd just had my ass saved from instant annihilation.
Behind me was a mountain. 'Was', in the past tense.
Because all that remained of it was a pool of molten rock, topped by a mushroom shaped cloud that broke through the clouds.
If I got hit by the explosion… Yeah, let's not think about it too much.
"I'm leaving everything your hands! Go, do your thing!!"
With figuratively clutched fists, I cheered the beast on.
I could've sworn that I heard it grumble in annoyance, but also doubted that a being that thinks so highly of itself would stoop so low as to talk back.
That aside...
My survival now hinged entirely on the surprisingly reliable Voracity, and of course - on my dearest of friends, and the only one at the moment.
I hope you succeed on your side, Kaela.
***
Kaela ran at breakneck speed, burning through her essence reserves in the process.
First, she made it across the volcanic mountains surrounding Nether, before eventually crossing into the dreaded Red Zone forest.
Jeez, can't believe I'm actually going along with his request.
The air grew thick with vile demonic energy - the same kind currently muddying the air from within her pocket.
Still, she didn't heed it any mind; couldn't really, what with the chaos unfolding only a few kilometers away.
*Rumble*
*Boom*
Earth trembled and trees creaked. Didn't take a genius to point down the cause of it all.
The king of Nether… Just how strong is he, really?
Even more incomprehensible, though, was her friend.
Ori did say that he had a trump card up his sleeve, but to hold his own against one of the strongest men on the continent… More to him than meets the eye, he said? Couldn't have underplayed himself any harder.
Eventually, a few notable landmarks came into view.
She slowed down to catch her breath, all the while frantically scanning the surrounding in search of her true target.
"Oh, that's it!"
She jumped in excitement once her gaze landed on a particular section of the forest, overgrown with purple tingled roots.
I shouldn't touch those, right?
Choosing to play it safe, she traversed over the roots with agile steps, careful not to make direct skin contact with any of them, until finally…
"This is the one, I think..? Sure looks like it."
According to Ori, whom she believed wasn't mistaken, many such corrupted patches littered the forest, some larger the others.
This one in particular was rather small, while also being located in close proximity to Nether.
At the center of each stood a deformed tree - one that had been turned into a semi-sentient beast due to the demonic energy's influence.
It fed on flesh and blood, paralyzing any creature unfortunate enough to touch it before slowly digesting with that same paralyzing venom.
And here she was, willingly traversing into the depths of its roots.
"What a day… I'd love to give Ori a smack on the head for making me do this, but oh well; he's already getting enough of a beating from Nether's king."
The demonic tree had hole lined with spikes in place of it's center, suspiciously reminiscent of a beast's maw.
It's just as he said; but what does a tree need a mouth for, anyways? Pff, as if I'd know something even researchers don't.
Shoving those thoughts aside, Kaela rummaged through her pocket before pulling out a… A thing.
Her expression turned sour for a second, but quickly returned to neutrality after another gust of wind tore through the forest.
Focus.
She unwrapped a cloth, tightly woven around the indiscernible object, and gave it a disgusted look.
What she now held in her palm was a heart. A living, beating heart.
Ori's own.
***
A little earlier, during Ori's plan breakdown, one detail stumped Kaela:
He clearly said that they needed to supply the tree with a very potent source of demonic energy, and when she asked where they'd get their hands on such a thing-
*Squelch*
"?!!"
-Ori punched a hole through his chest, tearing his heart out without a hint hesitation... And then spoke with a smile, as if he hadn't just done something absolutely insane.
"Hehe, whoops. Almost forgot. Anyways, here ya go; should have enough essence in it to feed the tree, and then some."
With those words, he carelessly tossed the bloodied heart into Kaela's hands.
After scrambling to catch it, she slowly shifted her gaze from the hole in Ori's chest, and then back towards the heart. And then back to Ori once more...
Her eyes begged for an explanation.
Suddenly, Ori planted a fist into his palm, as if struck by a realization.
"Ah, of course you'd be confused! But don't worry, I'm, uhh, already two steps ahead - I wove a closed loop of veins and arteries around it, so the heart shouldn't stop beating for at least a few hours."
"..."
Though Kaela wished nothing more than to shower her madman of a friend with insults, she was too taken aback to form any coherent thoughts.
And so, after letting out a long sigh of utter exasperation, she accepted the situation for what it was and dashed off.
***
Recalling that fiasco of an exchange made her want to run a hand down her face, but time, as always, was tight.
With no real options remaining, she forcefully shoved the pulsating heart straight into the tree's 'mouth', leaping backward right after.
The tree gently trembled, as if excited to be provided with such a delectable gift, before suddenly snapping its teeth shut.
Here goes nothing… Actually, no; something better happen.
A few seconds passed in silence.
"Uhh… Huh? Is-is that it? Did I do something wron-"
*Creeeeak*
Right as she was started questioning herself, something did indeed happen.
Every root suddenly writhed to life, and with their movement came an overwhelming flood of demonic essence.
The energy rapidly encompassed the nearby surroundings, before spreading further still. Shortly after, a cacophony of howls echoed from every direction.
Kaela lightly nodded, a contemplative look on her face:
"Okay, great. The plan worked even better than expected, but, uhh… How exactly do I go about surviving the assault of, like, a thousand demons?"
Didn't think that one through, now did I?
She tapped on her chin in thought a few times, before letting out a defeated shrug.
Welp… I do believe that I am fucked.
It was truly quite the predicament.