Sovereign of the Forsaken Path

Ezra sat in the ruins of the temple, breathing hard.

His fingers twitched as he flexed his hands, still feeling the echo of the thing he had devoured.

His chest ached where the Sigil had burned itself deeper into his skin.

And worst of all?

He was hungry.

Not for food. Not in the normal, human way.

This was something else.

Something wrong.

Ezra groaned, rubbing his temples. "Great. I come to another world, and instead of magic or sword skills, I get eldritch cannibalism."

He let out a bitter chuckle.

"Yeah, that's fair. That's exactly my luck."

A faint crackle of energy still lingered in the air around him, as if the temple itself hadn't fully realized that its horrific resident had just been eaten.

Ezra glanced at the pile of ashen bones where the creature had once stood.

"Sorry, buddy. I didn't mean to make you my first meal in this world. But, in my defense…" He gestured vaguely to the dust. "You did try to rip my spine out first."

The remains didn't respond.

Which was good. He wasn't in the mood for another round.

Ezra stood, testing his body.

He felt… different.

Not stronger. Not exactly.

But sharper.

Like something deep inside him had shifted, unlocked, changed.

And whatever it was, it had come with knowledge.

Not full memories just impressions. Echoes of the thing he had absorbed.

A sense of how it moved. How it hunted. How it saw the world.

Ezra exhaled. "Right. So, that's horrifying."

The Sigil on his chest pulsed faintly, as if agreeing.

He ignored it.

No use panicking now. He had already crossed the line.

Might as well see where it led.

Ezra turned toward the temple's exit a narrow passage that led further down into the underground.

A sane person might have turned back.

Then again, a sane person wouldn't have eaten a corpse demon.

Ezra sighed and adjusted his coat. "Well. Time to see what other bad decisions I can make today."

And with that, he stepped into the dark.