A Demon's Core

When I first awake, my vision is dark and hazy. As it clears I can see that I am on the floor of an old dilapidated room. There is a broken TV hanging on the wall in one corner of the room, its form bent and cracked. A ruined couch faces the TV. A lot of the padding has been torn and shredded, though the frame looks intact. The coffee table between the two appears undamaged, there is even a coffee mug resting on it.

To the right of that I can see a kitchenette. It does not appear particularly fancy, with only basic counter tops and cabinets and a small bar fridge to one side. On the opposite side of the room there are three doors, two of them are open. From my current position I can only see into one of the rooms. There appears to be a simple desk with a wooden chair that has been knocked over, but I cannot see anything else from this angle.

On the wall by the kitchenette are windows, but all I can see beyond them is a dark empty void. That is...disconcerting to say the least. The more I focus on it, the more unnerving it feels. I turn my attention to the opposite wall, which has only one door that is currently closed. The wall either side of the door lacks any kind of decorations, making the whole wall look rather bland.

Near me is a table that has been knocked over and is missing a leg. There is also a couple of chairs, or rather, one chair and the remains of another. It seems most of the furniture in the room is either damaged or outright destroyed. I cannot help but wonder how things ended up in such a state. There is also a thick layer of dust coating every surface. Clearly no one has been here in a long time.

I do not know where I am or how I got here. This place feels strange and alien to me, yet also familiar. Such conflicting feelings leave me confused. If I had to guess, I would say this room is an apartment of some kind or perhaps a rented temporary accommodations. A hotel? Is that what they are called?

I cannot shake the feeling that this is not where I am supposed to be, but try as I might, I cannot think of anywhere else that I should be. This only adds to my confusion, but there is nothing to be gained from worrying about it. I try to turn my focus to something more productive.

I think I have spent enough time on the floor. I should get up and take a better look around... Only I can not. I do not appear to have arms to push myself up. Nor any sort of body to be pushed up. That is strange is it not? Or maybe it is normal. Why did I think I should have a body?

This does complicate things though and also raises some questions. If I have no body, how can I be conscious? And what keeps my consciousness anchored to this one specific spot?

It seems there is little for me to do other than continue observing my surroundings and hopefully spot something that can help me or at least explain my situation. It is only then that I take note of something odd that I did not register before now. I am currently observing everything around me in all directions simultaneously. That is odd right? Is it odd though? Compared to what? I am not sure.

In my continued observations, the only thing I can see that I did not notice before is a fist-sized hole in the ceiling. Though I do not actually have fists so that is a difficult size comparison to make. Through the hole I can see the same black void that I see out the windows. I can not see anything else noteworthy, but there is something here, I am sure of it. If I concentrate, I can feel it. I do not know what it is, but it is right above me. If only I could reach out and touch it.

Suddenly I am touching it. I think. I do not have a body to touch things with, but I feel like I am touching something. A rather unusual sensation. But something is wrong; I am starting to feel sleepy. I do not know what is happening, but I suspect it is draining my energy somehow. My vision is going dark again. I think I have made a terrible mistake.

When I return once more to wakefulness, the first thing I notice is that I am no longer alone. There is a creature beside me, crouched down and staring at me. Maybe it is somehow aware that I am conscious again because it smiles. A wide smile that literally almost reaches from ear to ear. Seeing its teeth makes me think of a shark...shark? What is a shark? A highly feared marine predator with a mouth full of many pointy teeth. Why do I know that? I have never seen a shark before. There are certainly no sharks in here and I do not think I have ever been anywhere else.

I am shaken from my musings when I am suddenly picked up. That means I must have some kind of physical form right? One that is apparently small enough to be picked up. It looks around briefly then moves to place me on the mostly intact chair by the overturned table and I can see a clear divot in the floor where I had previously been. It then starts casually wandering around the room, inspecting its new environment I suppose, much as I had done.

This gives me a chance to get a better look at her, for I can clearly see it is a her. She is bipedal, has reddish-pink skin, blond hair, two small horns protruding from her forehead and pointed ears. The sclera and pupil of her eyes are black with a red circular iris. On her hands she has short but clearly sharp claws. Her legs are digitigrade with muscles that appear toned, but also wiry, giving an impression of power. That combined with vicious looking talons on her feet could surely make them dangerous weapons.

She has a long tail, thicker at the base and tapering to a point. It seems disproportionately long in fact. About three quarters as long as she is tall. Then again, I do not have any other examples of her species to compare to so maybe this is normal. While I am sure I have never seen such a creature as her before, she too feels familiar.

Her stature is quite diminutive, at least if I compare to the furniture here. She is clearly much smaller than whatever creatures built this place. She has a well defined feminine form that is quite alluring. But overall, I find her to be cute more than anything else...She is also completely naked and that will not do.

In a civilized society it is simply not appropriate to wander around in public without wearing clothes. Although, does this count as a society, or “in public” when she is the only one here so there is no one to see her nakedness? Well, I am here and I can see it and I say it is unacceptable. Hey! You need to find some clothes... And now I realize I have encountered yet another problem. I can not speak. That will certainly prove an obstacle to communication. Maybe if I concentrate and reach out to her like I did with that invisible thing that brought her here? I definitely need to investigate that thing later. I can feel it is still there.

But what if she sucks up all of my energy like the first thing did? I feel like I still have not fully recovered from that yet. But surely just making simple contact with her would not take as much energy as... Summoning her? Creating her? How did she actually get here? Worry about that later, I need to think about clothes now. I concentrate and try to reach out like I did before. It is a little harder this time, maybe because my target keeps moving. But I soon make contact. And I did not lose consciousness this time so I am off to a good start.

You need to find some clothes to wear.

She perks up and looks towards me, then starts searching the room again. Though this time with clear purpose instead of just casual wandering. That seems to have worked, which is good, it would be disappointing to not even be able to communicate with the only other living creature here. It did take a little bit of energy, but nothing like before. What even is this energy? Some kind of magic perhaps? I am going to call it mana for now I think. At least until someone tells me otherwise or I think of a better name for it.

My little friend wanders through one of the open doors and after a couple of minutes she comes back wearing a shirt. It is tattered and far too big for her, almost dragging on the floor. While it does have some holes, it keeps her properly covered so it will do for now. Presently I am far more concerned with what else she brought back. In her right hand she is holding a bone and casually swinging it around like it is a toy. It is thick, straight and as long as her entire arm.

Where did you get that?