Mattias staggered towards the horrors feeding on giant horror, his body twitching as though it belonged to someone else. His fingernails now black and much longer than they had been scraped against the unseen ground. Every motion felt wrong. It jerked and was raw, like a creature that had forgotten it was human. His chest burned with the thick, black sludge that had replaced his own blood, and his mind was swimming in hunger and rage.
He lunged at the first moving shape. It was a writhing horror, with long centipede legs and a mouth that opened almost sidewise. Mattias's blackened hands tore through it before it even had time to shriek. He sunk his teeth into its throat, the taste was rancid and the blood was sour, but he ate it anyway. Then, there was another. And another. It didn't matter. He clawed, he howled, he bit.
He was no longer himself just following the raw instinct in a body.
But then a noise sliced through the dark it was wrong in its beauty The melody twisted above him and made the shadows ripple
Mattias stopped moving his head snapping toward it, his body trembled not from fear but instinctive excitement
The singer moved into view.
It was human looking with feathers feathered black as oil his wings folded against its back.
"Ah" the creature's voice was soft
Mattias roared and threw himself at it.
The horror moved more quickly than sight. A wing, sharp as a blade, hit him, twisting his jaw sideways. He was thrown backward jumped back up as black blood spilling started helping He growled and charged again.
Another hit. His ribs crunched.
Again. Again.
Each time Mattias managed to get back to his feet the horror hit him back down then it finally declared "my name is Miras Nightingale and am going to devour you" with that he sent him back to the down with a kick to his gut then as Mattias was falling Miras grabbed his skull and slammed it into the ground cracking on the spot then mushing Mittias' face till it was no more that a puddle of blood and flesh But the black liquid inside of him put it back together.
"Persistent." Miras tilted its head, the song never breaking rhythm. "But amusing."
Then it stomped down breaking Mattias's back ,he clawed at the ground, dragging himself forward as far as he could manage with even his torso alone, teeth snapping at nothing. Miras issued a soft trill then laughed
"Your something else almost makes me not want to eat you only if you could think ."
Mattias let out a snarl half a word coming out raw and desperate. "K... kill you…"
"Mm." Miras crouched low putting his face close to his so near that his mouth almost touching his. "You can speak that's something you don't see here every day ?"
He didn't wait for an answer. One wing raked down Mattias's chest opening him wide. His organs spilled out but then his flesh reformed a living Puzzle. Miras raked him again and again, humming as if conducting an orchestral
"You're not a Horror that's for sure ," Miras finally whispered almost delighted "But you're also not not a horror hmm... what are you A half breed of some kind."
Mattias's eyes flickered just for a moment, a wedge of clarity punctured his own insanity. His voice came out ragged weak, but it was a voice.
"Am….HUMAN!!!"
Midas's eyes widened, then narrowed, in amusement. "Ahh, there you are"
It hit him across the jaw again, and snapped bone.
"…we're not done here then ."
Mattias stepped up to stumble upright as ribs would twist and stitch together in sickly jerking motions as the black hands would furl up protectively around him. He inhaled a ragged breath and finally had his wits back. His thoughts were not a whirlpool, they were back to being his.
And then Miras kicked him.
Not a killing kick Just a lazy backheel to separate him from sanity and smash into a wall, like it was an afterthought.
"If you're back," Miras said voice spilling out like silk over thorns. "I have a few questions ."
Mattias spat blood and righted himself. "Then stop an-"
WHACK! miras slapped him off to the side. And said "I didn't tell you to speak yet"
"look at that face" Miras cooed, circling him. The Nightingale's slender figure walked around him consuming space with predatory grace "Not used to being treated like food, are we? Poor little half breed."
Mattias lunged, the black hands shooting forward crack! Miras caught one hand mid strike, twisted it until the limb popped like it was a snapped branch and pressed Mattias flat against earth.
Miras sitting on him. Just straddled his chest and hummed a lamenting tune as if it were just a leisure activity pinning him down.
"You... play with me well," Miras stated, pushing two fingers to Mattias' chest. An aura ripple poured out of him, filched, milked like water from a leaky bucket.
"Why Y-You doing this to me?"
"Isn't it clear"Miras craned their head, eyes sparkling. "Why waste good entertainment ?" He scooped off one of Mattias' fingers and ate it. "You taste like...shit"
Mattias wanted to scream, fight, claw but every effort was tamed with a mortifying finesse. A trip a shove a flick to the forehead that cracked bone. Miras didn't need to kill him. This was worse.
"I will kill you," Miras finally said as he stood in one smooth motion. "But for now.You're much too entertaining to eat right away."