I Shall Devour Everything

But no matter how loudly he shouted, no voice other than frightening growls and roars escaped from his mouth.

He couldn't even understand how he could even let out such hair-raising roars. Even he himself felt his soul shaken by hearing it.

If it were anyone else, he was sure they would have peed on the spot. But he slowly realized that he was starting to lose control over his own emotions and instead was feeling more hungry, angrier, and most of all, intense bloodthirst that seemed to cloud his senses.

Within just a short while, all he felt was primal hunger in the depths of his soul, wanting to only kill and devour.

And seeing his claws tearing through the Jawfiends, his rage and killing intent only seemed to skyrocket.

'I have to kill...kill them all...devour their hearts...devour everything!'

The more pranic hearts he devoured, the more his thirst and rage were becoming feverish. Even his mouth couldn't stop salivating after relishing the taste of the hearts he devoured.

It was as if the more he devoured, the hungrier he was becoming, thirsting to shed and devour even more blood.

Soon he felt like he was becoming one with whatever he was right now; his thoughts and actions all coming into sync as if his consciousness was merging together.

"Ari!" 

But suddenly, Mei's voice entered his ears, disrupting his consciousness to again split into two and regaining some clarity of mind in the process.

'What the hell am I doing??' Arion's heart thudded against his chest when he realized that he had almost started to think like a monster, feel like a monster, and most of all, he felt like he was about to become one for real.

The scenes before him suddenly started to dissolve as his thoughts became chaotic, and all he wanted was to let this nightmare end.

"Ari! What..are you doing?"

He heard Mei's voice again, which made him suddenly regain some control of his consciousness and opened his eyes, only to receive the shock of his life to see that he was trying to strangle Mei while sitting atop her!

Mei was holding off his hands, but he seemed to be applying intense strength to grab her neck involuntarily.

Arion was horrified, and he quickly jumped back, his eyes still rippling with shock and panic. He looked at his own hands to make sure they were his, and indeed they were looking human, like his own hands and not the terrifying claws and limbs he saw earlier.

Mei got up immediately with a shocked expression as she asked worriedly, "Ari...are you okay? Why were you trying...."

"No! It isn't me...it isn't…." Arion mumbled as he clutched his head, his mind full of chaotic thoughts.

Then as he took a glance at Mei, he saw how there was a reddened mark around her neck, which meant that he must have taken her by surprise at first with all his strength before she was able to pull back his hands.

Seeing it made him feel intense guilt and anger at himself for doing something that was the last thing he would ever do.

Mei slowly came forward without saying anything but the worry in her heart was showing up on her face, not understanding what was going on with him.

She could see that Arion probably wasn't even conscious when he tried to strangle her, but that also confused her since he never did anything like this before and wondered if he had a bad dream.

And the most surprising thing was she felt his strength skyrocketing for a brief moment and wondered if it was just her imagination.

"No, don't come near me!" Arion saw Mei approaching and gestured her to stay away while he stumbled back, only to have his back hit against the wall.

Right now, he was afraid of himself, wondering whether he might 'attack' her again. He was quite shaken by what he saw in his nightmare and couldn't help but wonder if the things he saw came true in front of Mei, wouldn't he hurt her for sure?

'Am I really a monster?' Knowing about his bloodline and Devour Aspect, Arion couldn't help but come to that conclusion which made his muscles stiff just by thinking about it.

Suddenly, a hand gently grabbed his wrist and said, "Ari, it's okay. It was just a bad dream. I understand."

Arion wanted to tell her to move away from him but feeling her gentle touch and soothing voice, he couldn't find the heart to move his mouth.

Mei came even closer and pulled down his hands to see his face while hugging him, letting her hand rest on his chest.

Arion's body froze, but his thoughts began to become calm after feeling her gentle warmth and smelling her pleasant fragrance.

It was as if his heart and mind were slowly harmonizing, alleviating all his worries and fears. He didn't know if she was using her powers or if it was just her natural aura, but he didn't care and slowly hugged her back.

He literally felt like he was embraced by a holy and sacred goddess, her face so mesmerizingly beautiful which could even entrance one's soul. Even the most hardened criminals would feel their souls melting in her sacred presence. 

Mei didn't ask anything else, and Arion felt grateful that she didn't seem to be the least bothered by what he tried to do. It was as if nothing had happened before.

After a few moments, Mei smiled as she gently moved her hand over his chest, "Have you calmed down? You must have had a very bad dream. Want to talk about it?"

Arion held her dainty hand as he gazed down at her breathtaking eyes and said in a low voice, "It was nothing. I just…"

Mei's expression became pained as she asked, "Is it because of what you suffered when those Dreadlings dragged you away? I can't imagine how painful and horrifying it must have been for you....the things you must have undergone and experienced."

Arion partially opened his mouth, but he didn't say anything, thinking that it was best for her to misunderstand for now since he can't tell her the truth without telling her about everything.

"It's okay...you don't have to tell me anything. I don't want to make you remember any unpleasant memories. Let it be, and soon you will forget about all of them. Soon you will be strong enough to overcome them, including the Dreadlings who gave you this nightmare," Mei said as her head leaned in more.

Arion felt his soul stirred hearing her words, but his worries showed no signs of going away. 

He knew that the place he saw in his dream was the same place where he fought against those Jawfiends. But now that his memories about his nightmare seemed to become a bit vague, he didn't know if the monster-like claws he saw were his or just something his mind made up out of some subconscious fear he had towards the Dreadlings, just like Mei said.

The reason he thought so was that he couldn't remember any of such things back when he was struck in his heart by the Queen Jawfiend. All he remembered was collapsing on the floor and waking up on his bed later on.

Yet there were other signs that made him think otherwise, but right now, all he remembered was the frightening claws in his nightmare and how those claws tore through those Jawfiends as if they were nothing when he had to struggle to even kill one of them.

But now, he couldn't help but think if it was safe to stay near Mei or if he should run away till he figures things out.

However, seeing her beautiful smile, he pushed those thoughts away as he thought, 'Fuck it. Let me see how things are going to be. I am done running. I am not going to push her away.'

Arion was literally tired of running and decided to keep silent about his worries but at the same time decided not to run away from his problems but face them on his own without having to leave the only person he cared about.

"Thank you...Mei," Arion said in a low voice.

Mei's eyes fluttered as she said softly, "That's the first time you are calling me by my name."

"You don't want me to?"

"No, I don't mind. It sounds better."

Arion smiled, and then seeing the red mark on her neck, he felt a stinging sensation in his heart as he asked, "Does it hurt?"

Mei shook her head and said casually, "Of course not. Don't worry about it."

Arion nodded softly, and then he smiled as he suddenly grabbed her legs and lifted her into princess carry.

"Ari!" Mei was surprised by Arion suddenly lifting her and locked her arms over his neck in a hurry as she looked at him with a startled expression.

Arion slightly laughed, "What? Let's go back to sleep," He said as he gently laid her down on the mat as the two hugged each other without any hesitation before dozing off.

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A/N: Cheers everyone :D We made a new PS record by getting over 350+ votes last week. Let's break this record as well ;)