NOVEL WEB Chapter 6: Chapter 6 – The Feast of the Damned
A Taste of Madness
Aeron awoke with blood in his mouth.
Warm. Thick. Sweet.
His hands trembled as he lifted them to his lips, and in the dim, flickering remains of the temple, he saw the truth.
Meat. Flesh. Bone.
His fingers were sticky with something dark, something wet—something that had once been Selene.
His breath hitched.
His stomach twisted.
And then—
His body shuddered in pleasure.
It was delicious.
The hunger inside him roared to life, a bottomless, screaming thing that demanded more—more—MORE.
He didn't even remember falling forward.
Didn't remember his teeth sinking in.
Didn't remember the way his hands clawed at what remained of her chest, tearing away strips of pale, ruined skin.
But he remembered the taste.
Like something forbidden.
Something holy.
Something meant only for him.
---
The Horror of Being Alive
He couldn't stop.
His nails scraped against shattered ribs, digging past broken bones to the warmth beneath.
Her heart was gone.
His father had taken that from her.
But the rest of her—her blood, her muscles, her soul—was still here.
Still his.
And Aeron—
Aeron was starving.
Every bite filled him.
And yet, it wasn't enough.
It would never be enough.
The hunger only grew—twisting, writhing, consuming him as he consumed her.
And when it was over—when the bones were cracked, when the marrow had been sucked dry—he sat there, trembling, horrified.
His stomach was full.
But his soul was screaming.
Because for the first time in his life—
He had felt happy.
And that was the worst part.
The thing that made his vision blur, his hands shake, his throat choke on a sob that could never leave.
Because he should have wanted to die.
But instead—
He only wanted more.
---
The Witness
A slow clap echoed through the ruined temple.
"Magnificent."
Aeron stiffened.
His father was standing at the edge of the chamber, watching him with pride.
"Do you feel it, my son?" Malik whispered. "The truth of what you are?"
Aeron couldn't answer.
His mouth was still wet with her.
His body still burned with satisfaction.
He wanted to vomit.
He wanted to tear himself apart.
And Malik—the monster who had made him this—only smiled.
"You are beyond salvation now."
Malik stepped forward, kneeling beside him. His hand reached out, stroking Aeron's bloodstained face.
"You are Gluttony itself."
Aeron shook.
His fingers twitched, instinct screaming at him to lunge. To consume. To make Malik part of him, too.
Because the hunger—the hunger had no master.
Not anymore.
Malik saw the look in his eyes.
And he laughed.
"Then do it, my son. If you can."
Aeron's body moved on its own.
His teeth bared. His nails turned to claws.
And the hunger—
The hunger sang.