The Lord of Rot

It wouldn't be long before he had walked for several days on end. A particular numbness was coursing through his veins. These days would be filled with nothing in particular, except the same as he had done before. It was the cycle of living in the wastelands. A cycle where one would revel in the death of animals, then be reborn in it. 

This rebirth made each day seem significant, but all the same, forgettable. In comparison to the rest of life, moments had flown by. It seemed as though Konrad had already gotten used to living here in the wastelands, almost like he had never been living in the housings at all. 

Was Konrad becoming something of a wild person? Some acolyte of believing the wilderness to be freedom...? But however you slice it, Konrad was becoming less and less civil. Not that he had been before. 

In each day the mountain would seem far in the distance. He would across its jagged edges, wondering how far into the heavens the mountains reached. He saw the whiteness at the top and wondered of its feel. To Konrad this whiteness must have been a rock of sorts. 

The journey would be a cycle of hunger, of hunting, and of absorbing the rotting flesh of the creatures he had hunted. When he absorbed the rot, he would stop being hungry. Thus he began to hunt more. There was a certain excitement in this lifestyle. 

His eyes would light up when he saw one of the rotting creatures, he would run towards them as though he was a starving child, seeking for sustenance. Only to live a day more! But this was the way he behaved... 

*** 

The boy whom was no longer quite as frail pushed himself off the ground into the air for a few moments. The wasteland that covered the ground around him seemed perfect for what he was about to do. 

His leg flew through the air, almost with a whistle. It pierced through the thick hide of the rotting bison, splitting it with the force of tens of men. 

It was difficult just to accomplish this feeble task. First Konrad had to approach one of the rotting bisons, making sure that none ran away. Then and only then could he run at it with the intent to kill. 

At this point he would be fuming with anger - something that followed being increasingly hungry. Then he would charge at it, keeping most of his focus towards the lower portion of his leg. 

By now he could manage keeping a bit of his focus towards the target. It was rather him acknowledging the existence of a target rather than actually pointing his leg towards it. But still this was a step in the right direction. 

He chose to use his leg against larger creatures, he would approach them with speed, almost brute with his actions. His leg would pack a hefty hit, and when he jumped into the air, he would twist his body around, trying to push as much of his weight against the target. 

This impact would be inhuman, the force would cause the beast to shatter from the inside out. However, it was still different from the explosion which he had not yet been able to replicate. 

"I'm getting better at this...", Konrad would see the pieces of the creature crawling towards him. "But I'll never get used to this."

[ You've cleansed a rotting soul ] 

"That voice again!", Konrad would increasingly grow irritated by it. It was the same voice as the whisper, but the more of the rotting creatures he killed, the louder it would grow. It was the same tone of voice, but somehow it felt different. 

"Stay quiet... please..." 

*** 

Even this excitement had its limits. Whether it were the Rotting Bisons or the hare-like creatures, none of them would pose a challenge after a while. Konrad would learn when to use the sharpness of his hand or the strike of his leg, and then these animals wouldn't be dangerous. 

Once it stopped posing a threat for him, he seemed to disassociate himself. The voice that whispered in his ear telling him such things as, "This was good...", and "Continue like this...", or "Go towards the mountains" made the situation far more strange. He could not believe in the noise, therefore he believed he was going mad. 

But Konrad was not taught about madness - instead Konrad prescribed to the idea that he had become accursed. The Church Lords had warned of this, how the curse would infect the mind and body. But he had never listened to them, and even if he did, he wouldn't have remembered it. 

Growing with his own madness, believing in his accursed state, he would become something of a spectacle. At least in his own eyes. For the days that went by between his last encounter with the void, his body continued to change. 

His exhaustion would go quite quickly now. Not only that, but it would feel far easier to control the rot flowing through his limbs. He must have been stronger than that, but he couldn't sense anything else. It wasn't like he had any means to see his progress. 

He looked at his hand again, glancing slightly at his leg. Then with intention he pulled his focus towards his hand, slowly going outwards. 

His hand would twist inside out, the bony protrusions, as sharp as blade would grow out of his hand. The warmth was noticeably different, perhaps it was burning, but he could not feel it as anything other than mild. Looking down towards his arm, he could see how the rot almost enveloped the entirety of his forearm now.

The feeling of rot spreading through his body was not something noticeable either. He could only notice the strength and vitality that came along with it. Rather, Konrad had never seen more mirth in his own appearance. 

When Konrad finally saw the rise of the mountain before him, both his arm and entire leg were covered in the rot. However, the scar which had run along his body had all but faded as of now. 

His body was feeling lighter than ever. He did not feel hunger or thirst. He had not for a long time. His body seemed quicker, his instincts more acute. And now, he saw a mountain before him, the sun was out--scorching as it had done weeks prior. But Konrad could not feel the heat. 

Before setting off for the mountain, Konrad heard the voice again. There was no reason for it to speak, but it must have had something to say... 

[ I wish to offer you a contract ]

...