98More time had passed, and the years passed by even faster. Mathias had drawn his last breath decades ago and his son did as well recently. Ghira, a young and idealistic man, mourned deeply for his father's passing. His father didn't have a regular funeral and instead was burned on a pyre.
It was a custom that many in the clans practiced to say goodbye to their loved ones for the final time. The funeral was held at night and it was heartbreaking to see. A few uninvited guests were present as well, sticking close to the shadows and watching from the darkness. It put everyone on edge when they finally spotted the tribe members and nobody knew how they had managed to sneak up on them.
Everyone watched in cautious silence as several tribe members emerged from the dark brush. In their hands were various trinkets and items. They surrounded the burning pyre, drawing a large maw on the ground around it. Several of them knelt down and began to let out a throaty bellow of some sort.
A series of chants were heard and an older shaman walked up to Ghira. Covering her head was the skull of a fanged beast and her long hair seemed to drape out of the back. The monstrous Faunus' eyes glowed brightly like lava, but they were nothing but golden orbs and could be seen through the empty eye sockets of the skull. Her old, clawed hands gently gripped the sides of his face and she stared at him.
"Fi Lokta Kil..." She chanted. Her voice was barely above a whisper, but heard by all. It was mystic in a sense and everyone else was stunned into silence. Those words were of condolences towards Ghira and she uttered another chant. Wisps of cinder flowed out of her mouth like fireflies and another tribe member crept up next to her. In his clawed hands was a bowl full of a glowing, red liquid.
Everyone froze when they caught the scent. Even the human members of the Organization, who were close to the clans, could smell it.
In this bowl was the Monster's blood. His very life essence swished around in the elegant, stone bowl. Just the sight of it made everyone realize how much power it seemed to hold.
Some would even say it was the blood of a god.
Three fingers were dipped into the blood and brought out. Red life essence dripped down thickly and Ghira closed his eyes when the middle, index, and ring finger of the shaman were slid down the middle of his forehead and towards his chin. The scent was so thick that it clogged his throat, it burned in an odd mixture of pain and pleasure.
He was knelt down on the mat that was set down. His mind wondered where it came from, but he ignored it and favored just keeping his attention on the shaman. He didn't understand what was happening, his father barely mentioned his work. These people in front of him looked more like beasts than men, yet here he was practicing in some sick ritual.
The rational part of his mind was telling him to reject it. To push the woman away and mourn his father in peace. Yet an unknown part of him wished for him to continue on, to dive into some hidden roots. Were these people who his father had in his hidden notes? Were these the fabled Beastmen of the Down Below?
His thoughts were interrupted when the bowl was brought up to his face. The almost burning scent of the blood stung his nose, it reeked of molten rock and a burning world. His stomach twisted uncomfortably when he spotted an orb shaped object.
The object rolled around until he froze when it finally faced him.
A bloody eyeball stared at him inside the bowl of blood and other herbs. His body started to react on its own and he brought the bowl to his lips. A horrible burning sensation met his throat as the blood slid down. It was like he was drinking molten metal and he could only watch in a combination of horror and fascination as the eyeball and blood slowly was consumed from the bowl.
The taste of the blood and herbs was indescribable, his mind desperately rejected it but his body accepted it. A series of chants from the tribe members and the sound of beating drums. Wisps of cinder escaped their mouths with each guttural word that slid from their lips. Some pounded their chests and looked towards the burning pyre.
The Shaman's hazy, glowing eyes peered into Ghira's own. His vision started to fog over as he finished the last of the blood and set the bowl down. A series of images assaulted his vision, some too fast to comprehend while others he could. He didn't understand anything, why were his father's coworkers not doing anything? What was going on?
He leaned forward and caught himself on his hands. His breathing was labored and he felt incredibly ill, the urge to vomit was present but he forced himself to keep it in.
The Organization members simply watched in silence. They understood what was happening, a shame that Ghira was never told about his father and grandfather's work throughout the decades.
The tribe was ushering Thomas, Ghira's father, onto what they believed was the afterlife. Their version of the afterlife was fields filled with nothing but Monsters. Instead of living as underlings and worshippers, they believed that when they died, they would become Monsters in their afterlife.
When an elder died in their home, they were usually offered as sacrifices to the Monster if he was awake. Instead of eating them like he had done in the past, he would instead melt them. A slow dribble of lava would seep out his mouth and immolate the body, releasing them from their mortal shackles to the next plane of existence.
If he was asleep, then they would throw the bodies in the molten pits in certain areas of the world. Different tribes had varying ways of disposing of their deceased. The tribes to the North under Atlas would eat their dead while the tribes under Mistral would simply bury them. It all depended on the location of what tribe they belonged to. There were dozens of them and each one had hundreds of members.
Thomas had somehow interacted with them all, managing not to get killed after claiming that he was part of the Belladonna clan. He coaxed them into teaching him about their way of life and his curiosity seemed to grant him a better understanding of their culture and general way of life.
Unfortunately, he didn't want Ghira to learn about the world under Remnant. He didn't want his son to be brought into a dark path like he was. A path where the world was nothing more than territory to a primordial, slumbering beast.
Ghira himself managed to sit down on his rear and quickly rubbed the blood from his shaven chin.
More images assaulted his mind and he saw a fiery crash, Grimm that was several stories tall, a small infant crying in the arms of its deceased parents. He couldn't seem to understand what any of it meant. His mind was a jumbled mess as was his body, and eventually he couldn't take it anymore and passed out.
From an outside perspective, this looked like some sick, cultish ritual. A horrid custom where the consumption of blood and flesh was the norm and death was highly worshipped.
The fire started to die down and the ritual ended when Thomas' body was nothing but ash. He was free from these mortal shackles and onto the next life. When it was all said and done, the tribe members gathered their trinkets and items. Curious eyes were on them as they started to leave as a group.
Only the shaman was left and she leaned close to Ghira's ear, whispering a chant for the final time. The ones that understood and barely heard her managed to catch small bits and pieces of her speaking of an unborn child. One that would be an outcast to its own kind but accepted by another and loved by them.
She stood up and began to walk away, leaving the area with the others. She would never be seen again by this group, and she had completed her final task in this life. Now that her goals in life were complete, she could join the others in the afterlife. Her time spent in the other plane of existence would be untamed and free, no rules or restrictions. Only doing what her heart pleased in that moment.
It was true enlightenment in her eyes.
Deep within the temple was the Monster's slumbering form. His rumbling snores bounced off the walls and jerked around in his sleep a bit. All seven of his eyes slowly opened and he opened his mouth, letting out a large yawn. Wisps of cinder escaped his maw and he stood up, shaking his body several times and looking around him. The temple was still the same as it had been since he last woke up, the only exception was that there was a canal of what he knew was his blood flowed around him.
He peered down and saw dozens of tribe members frozen as they stared up at him in awe. He simply stared at them calmly and noticed a body wrapped in cloth; little flowers and decorations surrounded it and he bent down near it. A slow dribble of lava slid in between his teeth and immolated the body. The scent of cooking flesh entered his nostrils and he stood up to his full height.
The ceiling seemed closer than before and he was larger than last time. He made his way out of the temple, not caring if his subjects followed him or not.
All it took was for him to shove his shoulder into the colossal stone doors to open them and reveal a large village. It was in a lush, tropical looking valley. The whole underground ecosystem seemed to have that look with the exception of a few places in the world.
He looked down at the tribe emotionlessly as they bowed down to him instantly. He ignored their offerings as he made his way out of the village. They had to move out of the way to avoid being crushed by his colossal body.
Something woke him up and he wasn't in a good mood. He felt the tribe following him from a distance and quickly whipped around, letting out an angry snarl while pounding his chest like an ape. Thunderous slams echoed across the area and each one felt like a mini earthquake. The tribe seemed to get the message and wisely backed off while he turned around and made his way towards his destination.
The feeling was getting stronger and he tucked himself into a boulder and began to roll towards one of the entrances to the surface. A large trail of fire was seen in his wake as he sped towards one of the tunnel entrances and stopped. He slammed his hand against the ground and the earth seemed to bend to his will, splitting the entrance like a crack in the world.
He slammed his claws into the ground below as he rapidly climbed up the slope. He came across a thick membrane and easily slashed it open, allowing him to continue up. His mind became clouded as he focused on ascending higher and higher. The concept of time wasn't completely understood by him. All he knew was that he had been climbing for some time. He didn't seem to realize how deep the underground actually was.
Water was felt and his body glowed brightly as his body temperature increased suddenly. What was once cool water suddenly turned to a scorching, boiling area that would cook anything unfortunate enough to be in the area. A thick membrane slid over his eyes and kept the water from getting in them as he slowly felt weightless.
He was underwater, but he was near the surface. Holding his breath for long periods of time wasn't an issue, his lungs being so large and strong that holding in oxygen allowed him to win many of his battles with underwater creatures.
The water continued to boil as he slowly ascended and the pulsing noise kept reaching him. His rumbles were carried across the waves and the soft feeling of wet sand was felt.
As he continued to climb, he didn't know that the thick membrane that separated the water from the Down Below was actually a rapidly healing organism. It was harmless in nature but acted as a barrier and fed off the energy from the underground.
The Monster's form slowly started to ascend from the depths and copious amounts of water slid off his super-heated body. He saw an island in the distance and saw dozens of people on a beach, all sitting neatly in rows while some man-made items were nearby.
His attention was turned to the large speaker standing dozens of feet above the water. It gave off loud pulses and his eyes glowed brightly with irritation. It made his head throb in irritation and he finally snapped, letting out a colossal roar and swiping his arm to his left. The speaker was destroyed instantly and he slowly turned his head at the individuals at the beach.
He made no movement and could tell that they were growing more nervous by the second. It wasn't the fact that he was actually real that scared them, it was the fact they could see the intelligence behind those glowing orbs one would call eyes. He was observing them, deciding if they were worth the trouble or not.
One of them made the mistake of suddenly running to the forest and that was all the Monster needed. Copious amounts of water splashed as he sped towards them at a speed that betrayed his size. He used his powerful front legs to rapidly haul himself forward. Although his hind legs weren't as large, that didn't mean they weren't as powerful as his front. However, none of them could prepare for what he did next...
They didn't expect him to literally be able to jump towards them.
There had never been any record of him being able to jump and that fact alone terrified several of them into a state of frozen shock. They had done all of the calculations and numbering crunching over the years. Chalking it up as he was too large and cumbersome to be able to jump.
Their thoughts were interrupted when he landed and caused a shockwave, throwing them in several directions. He grabbed the first one and grabbed both halves of the man's body and tore him in half. His body split like wet paper and his entrails spilled all over the sand.
Two of them tried to run away but he simply spewed a geyser of lava from his mouth, melting their bodies in an instant. The other several tried to run into the forest but he just swiped trees out of the way before catching them in his jaws. They struggled while screaming in terror before suddenly falling silent when he snapped his mouth shut.
Blood sprayed all over the place and their corpses could be seen in between his teeth. limps stuck out from the gaps and he tipped his head back, using his tongue to crush the bodies into smaller pieces before swallowing them. It's been so long since he's had food from the surface that he forgot how good they tasted.
His tongue slid out of his mouth and he licked the blood coating his teeth. A salty scent caught his nose and he turned his head towards the jungle.
He started to make his way into the lush flora and stalk the rest of the people. There was an unknown feeling that bubbled up in his body. A feeling that wriggled in his veins and caused his bloodlust and hunger for his future prey to rise.
He was feeling a sense of exhilaration.
Just the mere thought of consuming them made him seek them out faster. Each one he caught made him experience that feeling again. Their screams, the ripping and tearing of their flesh and bones, to the sensation of his stomach being filled. All of it made him all the more hungry for a hunt.
The last one managed to hide in a cave that was too small for his claws and the lining of the cave walls was unpleasant when he tried to use his tongue.
The survivor could only howl in terror when he saw the colossal, sharp, rocky claws tear up the ground in front of him. He barely managed to avoid being dragged by the Monster's tongue. He pleaded, prayed, and sobbed when he couldn't find a way out of his situation.
He fell silent when the Monster suddenly stopped and slowly bent down. He felt his breathing suddenly stop when he saw those eyes staring at him. All seven of those eyes simply peered into his soul and filled him with such large amounts of dread that it almost made him faint. He fell to his knees when a rumble suddenly bounced off the cave walls, causing him to cover his ears.
The Monster let out a thunderous bellow that started to cause the man great pain, too much for him to actually physically withstand.
All of a sudden everything went quiet. His eyes snapped open and he slowly took his hands off his ears. Blood cakes his hands and he felt warm liquid come from his ears. A wave of terror flooded his system as he realized that he couldn't hear anymore.
The Monster caused him to go deaf. His eardrums were ruptured and he legs felt like jelly. He was too terrified to move and could only let out a howl of fear. Nothing met his ears though, no sound ever would and that though alone filled him with despair.
Blood flew from his mouth as something impaled him and he shakily looked down to see a large crystal entering his stomach. His eyes widened in terror as he was slowly dragged out of the safety of the cave. The Monster had done another thing thought to be impossible.
He made himself a tool, although it was nothing but a spike he had conjured up from the rock. It was similar to how chimpanzees would use twigs to fish out termites from their mounds.
The Monster was using this rock spike in a similar fashion, skewing the man like a termite for him to gobble up. Had he not been the next meal, this would've been the next breakthrough in learning more about the Monster. He would've been given awards for his discovery... they all would have, had they not been his meal.
The man's screaming died down as he was lowered into the Monster's mouth and his life was snuffed in an instant when he was practically cleaved in half. The upper half of his body slid down the Monster's before the lower half slid down shortly after.
The Monster shook his body a bit before giving his chest a few pounds then taking off to explore. He was in new territory and decided to claim it as his own before heading back underground.
This world was his domain and his alone.
The Monster went back to the Down Below and explored it. He wanted to go back to sleep but decided that he had slept long enough. This lush, underground ecosystem was teeming with life. The gargantuan creatures satiated his need for food and a thrilling hunt. One gargantuan beast was enough to fill him for the day and keep him satisfied surprisingly.
As much as he didn't care for the tribe that worshipped him, the temple they seemed to make around his nest was comfortable and as long as they didn't bother him, he didn't care. They only approached him when it came to sacrifices of trespassers and to send their dead to the afterlife.
Right now he basked near a gigantic lake, slumbering soundly. The surface of the water seemed to glisten against the artificial light that the giant crystals seemed to emit. It would boggle the mind to many that these crystals seemed to have periods where they would dim.
It was the Down Below's form of day and night cycles. The Monster barely paid any attention to it and simply went about his days. He still gave those calls into the wild to see if he would receive anything back, but he was just met with silence like always.
He woke up and yawned a bit before dipping his mouth in the water and taking large gulps. He raised his head and hundreds of gallons of water fell from his mouth and chin. He looked up and saw a hunting party across the lake with a large creature being dragged back to the village. When they spotted him, they froze and began to communicate with one another before cutting off several limbs off their recently killed prey.
It was a strange, reptilian creature with six limbs and a large beak. It was about the size of a small bus and was considered a fairly formidable beast to hunt. Just one was enough to feed the tribe for a couple days and this creature's eggs were seen as a delicacy and used for ceremonial purposes.
The Monster watched as they went all the way around the lake, dragging the severed limbs to him before setting it nearby. He got up and stepped up to them, bending down and sniffing them several times. His mouth opened when he didn't smell any poison, not that the tribe would attempt to nor would it do anything to him.
Saliva dribbled off the tips of his sharp teeth as he greedily tore into the severed limbs. Flesh and blood coated his mouth as he gorged himself on the offering and the tribe left him alone after that.
He shook himself several times and snorted once before looking back at the lake. Despite his lonely existence, in this moment he felt a bit of peace. He trekked into the water and looked at his reflection, tapping the surface of the water in curiosity.
While he was looking at himself, a drone with a camera attached to it observed him from afar. It recorded every second of him and broadcast the video to the ones that sent it.
He dunked his head underneath the water and thrashed around before bringing his head up when something bit his tusk. An annoyed roar was heard as a large and fat crocodilian-like creature bit him. He gripped its fat body and suddenly stood up on his hind legs, slamming himself to the side and throwing it off of him.
The creature was deceivingly fast in the water and darted around him, using its powerful hind legs to spring up and onto his back, biting the nape of his neck. Sharp teeth dug into him and he bellowed in anger before reaching behind him and throwing it onto the shoreline.
It flopped around for a few seconds before flipping upright. Its powerful hind legs resembled a bullfrog and the muscles bulged as it tensed up. It sprang towards him, but he was ready and caught it in his claws. It snapped out him with thunderous clamps and he raised it above his head before slamming it into the ground.
He raised his arms and began to repeatedly slam them into the creature. It thrashed around and tried to escape but he pinned it and kept bashing his left hand against its skull. Just before he could kill it through bludgeoning, he gripped its snout and pried its mouth open. It squealed in agony before suddenly falling silent when he ripped its head apart.
Standing on his hind legs with one half of its skull in his claws and body in the other, he raised his head and bellowed into the air in triumph. He dropped the mutilated creature and began to pound his chest multiple times. His roar echoed across the entire area and dozens of unique bird species flew into the air.
The drone that was recording him had continued to record. It continued to do so as the Monster ripped the creature apart and sat on his rear, ripping off one of the legs easily and gripping it in his claws. He brought it up to his mouth and started to strip the flesh from its bones. Giant globs of blood dribbled onto the ground and caked the Monster's face.
Each chunk he swallowed filled his stomach and satiated his hunger. For some reason, this creature was more filling than the others and he had decided to make this creature a top priority if he encountered it over some other prey in the future.
As he was eating, he looked around and slowly stopped chewing, letting strands of flesh dangle from his teeth when he spotted the drone in the air. He didn't make any aggressive movements or anything, and it unnerved the people on the other side.
When it made the mistake of getting several feet closer, he dropped the leg he was feasting on and uprooted a small tree, throwing it at the drone and managing to hit it and knock it out of the air.
It landed nearby and he stomped towards it, shaking the ground with each step. He picked it up, bringing it close to his face and sniffing it. His loud breathing resembled the sound of a volcano rumbling and he observed it. While he did manage to damage it, it wasn't enough to stop it from recording data.
The people on the other side could only watch in silence and awe as the Monster took a few bites to see if it was edible or not and sniffed it several times. Due to him never seeing something like this before, he assumed it was an odd species of bird. This is the first time the researchers in the Organization had seen him this close before without being killed.
They watched as he seemed to drag it through the water and drop it on hard surfaces multiple times as if to test its durability. He seemed to get bored of it and dropped it without a care in the world.
The drone still managed to fly though and it flew high up into the air to avoid the Monster damaging it further. Everything stopped when a roar was heard in the distance.
The Monster froze and turned around quickly in the direction of the roar. He let out one and received one in return. It echoed across the underground and the people operating the drone heard it too. They were stunned at the sound and felt their minds short-circuit slightly.
Was there another one? This question seemed to spark their curiosity and had the drone follow the Monster. They were once again stunned by his speed and shocked into silence when they saw him tuck himself into a boulder and take off like a rocket.
With each encounter they had, they seemed to gather more information and some pieces of the puzzle made sense now. Ancient paintings from the tribe were now understood when it depicted the Monster changing form.
They watched as he uncurled from his boulder form and came across a large ravine that ran even deeper into the underground. His claws gripped gargantuan vines and he swung himself across the gap with ease.
For something so large and cumbersome looking, he was deceptively agile and it disturbed them. He could climb, jump, and roll. The one thing that seemed to ease their worries was that he couldn't fly or swim.
He landed on the rocky other side and continued to make his way towards the noise. There was a delighted feeling that filled his body as he ran on all fours like an ape to the source of the sound. All while the drone followed him to the source as well.
After a while, he stopped and gave off another roar along with some croaks and chitters. He heard the response again and looked around when he heard it was close before looking up when he saw a large avian creature.
It's chest puffed out and it opened its beak, letting out the roar he gave earlier along with some of his chitters and croaks as well.
The group of researchers let out a breath of exasperation when they saw a creature they have observed in the past. However, they weren't prepared for the Monster to let out an angry bellow and suddenly flick his tongue out.
It caught the poor creature and it squawked in alarm, flapping its wings desperately as it tried to free itself. The Monster didn't care as he pulled it close and grabbed it. He spun around and violently ripped one of its wings off before throwing it into a tree.
He pounced on it and raised his claws above his head, repeatedly slamming them down on the creature in rage. Once he was done with that, he pried its beak open and spewed lava down its throat. It was so hot that its neck melted instantly as did a good portion of its body.
His anger didn't subside and he continued to bash the creature's mutilated, melted body until nothing but red paste was in the ground. Once he was done, he began to angrily storm his way back to his temple.
The Organization had decided not to use the Monster's roars or anything resembling it in the future. They didn't want to anger a god...