Journey Towards Dao

“bwothew i tiwed. les goe home.” (Brother, I’m tired. Let’s go home.)

Aiden was startled, thinking to himself shortly before agreeing, “It is about time for your nap, isn’t it Auslen? Alright, let’s head back home.”

As they turned around, Auslen’s body couldn’t help but tense hard, causing Aiden to glance down at him once again with a small frown.

However, Auslen was not paying attention to Aiden any longer.

The shadow-cloaked figure had silently and inexplicably approached, standing right in the center of the group of painfully unaware guards.

The figure’s hooded head slowly lowered straight towards the young Aiden who carried Auslen.

Rapid inhaling suddenly rang out in the temple, alarming the servants and guards nearby. The agitated guards paled before hurriedly pulling out their silver sabers, finally seeming to notice the interloper that stood amongst them.

Even Aiden, who was facing directly towards the figure, only just now trembled as he finally perceived the shadow-like existence in front of him.

The figure lifted their large, pale hands to remove their thick hood, revealing a unexpectedly handsome, yellow-eyed man, long black hair falling messily around his sharp-featured face.

However, all of their attention couldn’t help but be disturbingly drawn to the rivers of drool that flowed down from both corners of his open mouth before thickly dripping from his chin onto the collar of his soaked black cloak.

At this moment, the servants’ and guards’ breaths froze as they all instantly understood what sort of creature they faced. Most of them involuntarily retreated a step away from the man in fear.

One of the servants was as white as a sheet of paper as he stammered, “It’s a… D… De… Demon!”

The black-cloaked man continued sucking in air, ignoring their frantic actions as his pupils began to vertically elongate, eyes targeted straight on Auslen’s small frame.

The man savored his last deep inhale before speaking, his voice deep and tremulous: “Your soul smells far too good… little boy. I’ll save you… for last.”

As soon as he finished his shaky sentence, his cloak rippled nearly imperceptibly.

In the next instant, the yellow-eyed man was holding a single vambrace-covered arm in his left hand.

Harsh screams and blood splatter erupted within the temple as the man shook the detached arm around until it was completely bare.

Under Auslen’s indescribable gaze, the man lifted the arm to his bared teeth and bit down harshly, mouth instantly covered with blood as he relaxingly chewed.

“Hmm… not too bad, for Foundation Establishment.”

The man briefly critiqued the taste to himself in between the wet, mushy sounds that escaped from his bright red lips.

The guard closest to the trembling Crown Prince clenched his jaw and attempted to grab Aiden with intentions of escape.

But as soon as his hands moved, the guard’s head exploded like a crushed watermelon, sending blood and brain matter raining down onto Aiden’s short frame.

Aiden’s eyes grew as wide as saucers while fearful tears quickly filled them, clear streams running down his cheeks as he listen to the horrifying screams that began resounding around him.

The man was mercilessly butchering the rest of the servants and guards, gushing blood and flying organs reflecting in Auslen’s golden irises.

Nerves were clenched with overflowing anxiety, Auslen harshly bit his tongue until the burning taste of iron was all he could perceive, trying his best to force his attention away from the fear stifling his ability to concentrate.

His eyes began to shift around constantly as he took in as many details of the surroundings as possible, trying his best to ignore how repulsively nauseating and utterly terrifying the scene in front of him was.

His thoughts were flowing at lightning speeds as he desperately tried to think of a way out for himself and his brother.

However, after just a few more moments, he sighed in his heart in self-acknowledged defeat for perhaps the first time in his two lives.

It’s hopeless. I don’t see anything around that can suddenly enable an infant and an eight year-old to protect themselves from such a terrifying monster. Or is it a Demon?

Wait… protect? Protect!

Thoughts quickly forming and dispersing within his small brain, Auslen eventually allowed him to relax somewhat.

He then turned his gaze upward to scrutinize the body of his blood-covered brother closely.

Tears had flooded from Aiden’s shaking eyes, and his body was trembling so hard from his rapid hyperventilation that Auslen found it difficult to keep his jaw still.

Aiden glanced down dazedly at Auslen moving in his arms, blood-dyed tears plopping onto Auslen’s mostly clean face.

Small whimpers could be heard from his slightly open mouth as his arms absentmindedly shuffled his baby brother into his soiled robes, as if the thin, cloth barrier could somehow protect the boy from the monstrosity a few meters away.

…

The loud screams echoing within the small temple gradually began to weaken as mutilated body parts continued to litter the temple floor.

Soon, the only sounds left were soft chewing, Aiden’s sniffles, and muted rainfall.

The man could be seen hunched over the messy remains of a corpse that was being chaotically devoured. As he lifted his head from the still twitching corpse, not an inch of unsoiled skin was visible on his face.

But before he could finish his appetizers, a high pitched, but surprisingly intelligible voice rang out like a bright bell chime through the sparsely lit temple.

“Excuse me!”

The man’s jaws, which were full of guts, halted as he lifted his eyes towards the young boy who sported a noticeable lump in his robes.

Aiden himself was astounded at the origin of that brief, yet clear sentence.

In his surprise, Aiden's trembling arms accidently released their hold on his baby brother, causing Auslen to slip from within his robes, falling gently to the floor on his tiny, boot-covered feet.

“Au… A... Ausl…n?

Auslen ignored his brother as he lifted his small robes. His calm face was a stark contrast to his brother’s as he walked forward with a litheness that an infant should not have possessed, stepping through blood puddles before he halted his steps directly next to the beast-like man.

“Excuse me sir, if I may ask, what's a Demon?”

Once again, a strangely coherent sentence sounded from the small boy.

Aiden’s fear receded by a fraction, and he couldn’t help but tearfully frown. He stared at Auslen as if he couldn’t recognize his own baby brother.

Even the man’s bloody eyebrows raised minutely, somewhat surprised at the unusual maturity that exuded from the boy. He stared deeply at the blonde infant’s calm face while he swallowed the mush that was sitting in his mouth.

Auslen waited patiently as faint echoes of dripping blood resonated from the horrific scene in front of him.

The man bared his red-stained teeth in a frightening smile. His gravel filled voice left his mouth, asking simply: “Why?”

Auslen tilted his head with a smile. His delicate lips opened in question, “Are you asking why I want to know? Or are you asking why you should bother explaining anything to a child fated to be eaten by yourself?”

The man’s eyes widened obviously this time, his yellow irises growing increasingly brighter as he once again examined the child in front of him.

Faint interest growing, the man decided to humor his future meal.

“The second one.”

Auslen considered his words for a moment before speaking once more with a faint smile.

“From the way you previously trembled at the sight of me to the way you're drooling in my presence even now, I can tell that the idea of consuming me is extraordinarily attractive to you. At the very least, it’s far more appealing than the servants and guards that you're consuming at the moment.”

Auslen glanced with visibly undisturbed eyes at the corpses around him before he continued.

“For that reason, I can estimate that consuming me should be very beneficial for you, whether it be to increase your already overwhelming strength or for some other important purpose entirely.”

He stopped speaking briefly to catch his breath, as talking this clearly for so long was somewhat strenuous for his small lungs.

“I'm quite talented, as I am sure Mister is aware. By devouring me, you'll be taking away the bright future that I'm destined to traverse! Since taking away a baby boy’s life will directly supplement your own, you could, at the very least, answer my dying questions. After all, respecting your meals is the same as respecting yourself!”

After Auslen finished his explanation, stunned silence fell from both the man crouching in front of Auslen as well as Aiden standing from behind.

Aiden’s fear had completely dissipated, the feelings of bewilderment and disorientation taking its place. He couldn’t believe what was happening in front of him, even wondering if this was all just one long, horrible nightmare.

His skepticism continued to increase as he thought to himself: ‘Is that really my cute, babbling brother?’

The man burst out in sudden laughter, convulsions shaking his body from unrestrained emotion.

After a while, his amusement began to subside. He sat down unmannerly as he stared at Auslen deeply, his pupils elongating into sharp points with contemptuous ferocity.

Auslen didn’t look away, maintaining eye-contact with the black-haired man with no signs of fear or unease.

“Hmmm. Truly a talent. But that only makes me want to eat you more! But… I'm indeed willing to show some respect to such a wonderous genius. I don't mind answering three of your dying questions.”

Right as Auslen was about to speak, the man firmly interrupted.

“Nonetheless, I don't like to lose out so easily.”

His piercing gaze darted past Auslen, falling on Aiden’s face that was once again drained of color from terror.

Auslen felt pools of anxiety beginning to build within his heart, but he let none of it show on his still smiling face.

“Would that happen to be your brother?”

“Yes, that's my older brother.”

Nodding to himself in understanding, the man looked up with an interesting smile.

“Then, as punishment for interrupting my meal just now, I'll consume you in front of your beloved brother, slowly and torturously. Then, I will rip out his tongue and take him back with me as my slave. That sounds fair enough.”

Aiden was shaking badly again, tears threatening to fall from his young face once more.

After taking in the older boy’s distress, the black-haired man gazed back at Auslen in amusement, hoping to see a crack in the young genius’s face. However, he regrettably couldn’t catch even a ripple in his expression.

Losing interest, he continued, “You may begin your three questions.”

Auslen asked immediately, “What are Demons?”

The man leaned back to rest his elbow on a corpse in brief consideration before he explained, “The term ‘Demon’ encompasses a truly wide variety of creatures. To keep it simple, a Demon is any living creature, other than humans of course, that has somehow managed to cultivate to the Lesser Demon realm, awakening their Ancient Bloodline."

Ancient Bloodline?

Wait, any living creature? Are these monsters so common?!

Unaware of Auslen's perturbation, the Demon continued, "From dogs and cats to trees and flowers, there's no living being that is obstructed from the Demonic Dao. Regrettably for most, the vast majority of creatures will never succeed in attaining that Lesser Demon realm in their entire lives.”

Auslen’s eyes slightly betrayed his relief and surprise.

He wasn’t too shocked at the knowledge he received, but the amount of information the Demon was willing to disseminate truly stunned him. He had only expected some perfunctory answers.

With increased enthusiasm, Auslen asked, “You mentioned the Lesser Demon realm earlier. What are the other cultivation realms for Demons?”

“I only know of four. I am sure a talent like yourself is already familiar with the human cultivation system, so this should be simple enough for you to understand.”

No, no! I really don’t know anything!

Not caring of Auslen’s thoughts, the man continued, “The first realm is the Lesser Demon realm, which faintly equates to the Foundation Establishment realm of your human cultivation system. The second is the Medial Demon realm, equal to the True Core realm.”

Before he continued, he took a bite out of a bare leg he casually picked up, frowning somewhat as if the flavor was less than appetizing.

Before long, he spoke once more.

“The third realm is the Greater Demon realm, equal to the Dao Soul realm. And finally, the fourth realm is known as the Demonic Lord realm, equal to the Dao Integration realm. However, despite all that I told you just now, human cultivation realms are simply not on par with the Demonic realms. Humans will nearly always be defeated in one-on-one combat against Demons of equal realms.”

Auslen closed his eyes in silence as he committed all of this new information to memory, mentally setting aside the terms he couldn’t yet comprehend for his future studies.

He thought to himself for a few moments before opening his mouth in preparation to ask his final question.

“Mister, why do you desire to eat me so badly?