The Eater of Worlds

"Wha - What is this madness...?" King Greffins said, staggering backwards from the figure standing in front of him. He wore a white cape, with black trousers and white shirt and white gloves. His skin was blacker than any night he had seen, a featureless mask with slightly rectangular holes for eyes covering his face.

“I have come to usurp your control, good king,” the man said in a strong, familiar voice.

“Who are you? Guards! Take this madman away!” Greffins yelled.

Heavily armour knights marched towards the man, reaching out to grab at his shoulders. He pointed his hand at them leisurely and they each froze where they stood. He snapped his fingers, the sound of bones crunching and armour clashing against the floor, as blood leaked through their armour.

“Wha – What are you? A Demon?” the king said, hiding behind his throne.

“Wrong. I am more than that.” Again, that voice. It sounded so familiar.

“Where are the mages? The priests?!” the king yelled desperately. He backed away as the masked figure slowly walked towards him. He trailed his finger alone the edge of the throne, almost tasting it.

“They will not save you. They cannot,” he said casually. Greffins eyes strayed past the man’s left hand, noticing a signet on his ring finger over the glove. It held the Royal Seal. Only two people were given that ring.

“You can’t be my brother. My brother died twenty years ago! What did you do to him?” the king demanded.

“No, I am not Jerethin. However, I was him. He didn’t die, you know? Rather, he decided to fight. He was not happy that you left him lying there, bleeding to death,” the man said, circling the throne.

“There was nothing I could do! I was swept away with the other soldiers! There was a war to fight!” Greffins shouted, trying to deny the truth.

“He was found, moments away from death. And now, he is gone.”

“What did you do to him, you monster!”

“He has become me. He has evolved far beyond what any of you could ever fathom,” he said, turning to the king again. Greffins was stumbling along the wall, bumping into a suit of armour.

There was the loud shouts of several men coming closer. Greffins gave a sigh of relief as the mages and High priests ran into the room.

“Kill this man! He threatens the kingdom!” he yelled.

“Not today,” the man said, holding his hand up towards the newcomers, a semi-visible blue barrier forming between them.  None of their spells penetrated it, all being absorbed into the barrier soundlessly.

The king fumbled around behind him, picking up the sword from the suit. He readied it and charge as a last ditched attempt, while the masked man appeared distracted. The sword sank deep into his chest, coming out the back. The masked man looked at the king, and for the first time in that encounter, Greffins was paralysed with fear as the raw evil permeated from the stare he received. No blood came out from the wound.

“Naïve mortals,” the man said, snapping the blade and pulling it out with one hand. “You think you have a chance. There was no chance. I am from a realm so far beyond your own, you cannot even imagine it.” He grabbed the king’s head with his left hand, causing him to go limp. “Countless worlds have fallen before me, consumed by my eternal hunger. They, too, thought they had a chance. My power is unfathomable. Not even gods are capable of stopping me.”

He paused, looking around at the mages and priests, frozen behind the barrier. He looked up at the people flocking into the advisors’ seats about the throne room to see what was happening. He took a seemingly deep breath, and then spoke:

“I am the eater of worlds. I am Devian.”