Ashbone: The Record of Burning Heaven

Chapter 3: The Hunger

Splash.

Cold, foul-smelling water filled Lin Jin’s mouth. He gagged, coughing violently as he dragged himself out of the muck.

His lungs burned. His body felt heavy, like it was filled with lead instead of blood.

He looked around. Towering, twisted trees blocked out the moonlight. The air was thick with the scent of sulfur and decay.

He knew this place.

The Blackwater Swamp.

It was the dumping ground for the Lin Family’s failed experiments and executed prisoners. It was a place of death. And now, it was his sanctuary.

"I... I'm alive," Lin Jin wheezed, collapsing onto a patch of relatively dry moss.

He tried to circulate his breathing to heal, a habit from his days of trying to be a cultivator. But the moment he tried to draw in the world's Spirit Qi, a sharp, tearing pain ripped through his chest.

"Argh!" He curled into a ball, clutching his heart.

It wasn't a wound. It was emptiness.

A hollow, gnawing void in his bones that screamed for sustenance. It was a hunger so intense it made him want to chew on the rocks, to swallow the mud.

"Stop trying to breathe air, you fool," the ancient voice echoed in his skull. It sounded weaker than before, but just as arrogant. "Spirit Qi is for the living. You are... something else."

"What... is happening to me?" Lin Jin gasped, sweat dripping down his forehead. "I’m starving."

"Of course you are. You unleashed the Ashbone Force to destroy that cave. Energy is not free. You spent it. Now, you must replenish it."

"Food?" Lin Jin looked around desperately. "I need meat?"

"No. Meat is for the flesh. You need fuel for the bone. You need Essence."

Crack.

A twig snapped nearby.

The hunger in Lin Jin’s belly suddenly spiked, reacting to a presence. He looked up.

Ten yards away, emerging from the grey mist, was a pair of glowing red eyes.

A Rot-Tooth Wolf.

It was a common beast in the swamp, the size of a calf, with mange-ridden fur and teeth capable of crushing ironwood. Usually, a mortal like Lin Jin would be dead in seconds.

The wolf growled low in its throat. It smelled the blood on Lin Jin. It smelled an easy meal.

"Great," Lin Jin laughed bitterly, struggling to stand up. His legs shook. "Out of the lion's den, into the wolf's mouth."

"Perfect," the voice sneered. "Here comes dinner."

The wolf lunged.

It was fast. A blur of grey fur and yellow teeth.

Lin Jin’s mind couldn't keep up. He was just a boy who had been locked in a room his whole life. He threw his arms up instinctively to protect his face.

CRUNCH!

The wolf’s jaws clamped down on Lin Jin’s left forearm.

"Ah!" Lin Jin cried out.

But then, he paused.

There was pressure. There was the sensation of teeth sinking in. But... there was no pain.

He looked down. The wolf’s teeth had pierced his skin, but they hadn’t broken the bone. Instead, where the wolf’s saliva touched Lin Jin’s blood, smoke was rising.

Ssssss...

The wolf yelped. It tried to let go, but its teeth were stuck. Lin Jin’s blood was like superglue mixed with acid. The beast’s gums began to turn grey and flake away.

"Grab it!" the Entity commanded. " seize its skull! Drain it!"

Driven by the maddening hunger, Lin Jin didn't think. He slammed his right hand onto the wolf’s forehead.

"DIE!"

He didn't know a technique. He just willed his hunger to flow into the beast.

The effect was instant.

The grey mist on Lin Jin’s palm surged into the wolf’s brain.

AWOOO—

The howl was cut short.

Visibly, rapidly, the wolf shriveled.

Its fur lost its luster and fell off in clumps.

Its muscles atrophied, drying up like old jerky.

Its eyes dimmed and turned to dust in the sockets.

Lin Jin felt a rush of cold, refreshing energy shoot up his arm, through his shoulder, and settle directly into his spine.

The gnawing hunger vanished.

The fatigue disappeared.

It was better than any meal. Better than any sleep. It was euphoria.

In three seconds, the massive beast was gone.

Lin Jin pulled his hand back.

The wolf collapsed. But it wasn't a corpse. It was just a skeleton, wrapped in dry, loose skin. The bones were brittle and grey, as if they had been weathering in the sun for a hundred years.

Thud.

The dry carcass hit the mud.

Lin Jin stared at his hands. The bite marks on his left arm were already closing up, leaving behind faint, grey scars that looked like cracks in porcelain.

"I... I ate it," Lin Jin whispered, horrified and exhilarated. "I ate its life."

"You ate its Foundation," the Entity corrected. "Flesh creates blood. Bone creates power. You, Lin Jin, are the apex predator of this world. As long as there are bones to break, you cannot die."

Lin Jin looked at the pile of dust that used to be a wolf.

A dark realization settled in his heart.

To live, he had to destroy. To heal, he had to consume.

He wasn't just a cultivator anymore.

He was a walking apocalypse.

He clenched his fist, feeling the new strength coursing through him. It was the strength of the wolf, refined and added to his own.

"Lin Feng," Lin Jin murmured, looking toward the direction of the Lin Family estate. "Father."

"Wash your necks."

He turned and walked deeper into the swamp. The mist seemed to part for him, welcoming its new King.

End of Chapter 3