Reincarnated as the Death God's Vessel

The irritable squeaking of the carriage wheels fell silent as it halted before the Mission Hall.

The morning had ended, the sun at its peak, as Lidien stepped out. He pulled out a hundred merit slip from his space ring and gave it to the soldier who had accompanied him on his journey.

"T-Thank you... My Prince..." the soldier said, before he secured the carriage, leaving Lidien alone.

Lidien stared at the door for quite some time, a sinister smile touching his face.

"Open it."

The guard immediately opened the door, and one by one, the people inside stopped their voices... as their gulps were much louder than a whisper.

Lidien walked towards the woman, who stared at him trembling.

The status of Lidien being the Heart Eater had spread, making everyone who saw him flinch, just from the silhouette of his childlike figure.

"I am here to commission something..." he said, smiling.

Yet, his smile didn't help the woman to calm down; instead, it made her panic... still, she maintained her accommodating smile, afraid that one wrong squeak would give the Prince a reason to pull her heart out.

She immediately pulled out a papyrus and readied her charcoal to write his commission.

"What is it, My Prince..."

This time... Lidien pulled out another thousand merit slips... it was a good thing that Lily, being the eldest daughter, was rich.

"A hundred merit slips for every Beastfolk delivered alive to the Rift's entrance by tomorrow," he announced, his voice cutting through the silence.

"And fifty more for anyone who brings me those cowardly enough to hide them."

As his crimson eyes swept the frozen room, he added.

"And warn them... that I am not a fool. Anyone who tries to claim the bounty for hidden Beastfolk without irrefutable proof will learn why they call me the Heart Eater. This thousand is merely a deposit."

With that, Lidien turned and left, the heavy door closing behind him on a wave of erupting chaos.

He didn't need to see it; he could feel the frenzy he'd unleashed as the corner of his mouth twitched in cold satisfaction.

He took a deep breath, calming his nerves, and watched the clouds peacefully floating in the vast blue sky.

'So refreshing...'

Sighing, he proceeded to go to the Knowledge Spire, as he planned to read some books on the fourth floor to learn the history kept from the public on the first floor.

The same stares of hate and disgust followed Lidien, yet, no matter how irritated he was, he didn't do anything... for recklessly moving and attacking the onlookers would only prove what they truly thought of him.

Though it was a dog-eat-dog world, Lidien was not a dog... for he was a beast that could hide his fangs if needed to.

As he stood in front of the Knowledge Spire, he was met with the same middle-aged man with a grin of satisfaction on his face.

"My Prince! Welcome back... are you here to listen again? I-I found women who can satisfy your needs..."

The middle-aged man then gestured, as tens of women, smiling with dead eyes that stared at Lidien as if they were surrendering their lives.

Lidien shook his head, a cold smile touching his lips as he met the man's gaze.

"I despise when someone tries to play me." Lidien said, his voice sinking like a stone into the man's consciousness.

"It makes me want to tear the arms from anyone who dares."

The middle-aged man gulped, his forehead sweating non-stop.

Paralyzed as he was, he could only kneel in front of Lidien and beg for forgiveness.

Lidien walked past him and tapped his shoulder, before entering the Knowledge Spire.

There... at the table where he used to read, the ghost of the woman who first read for him was sitting, still reading.

Lidien sighed, and climbed the stairs going to each floor before stopping in front of the fourth floor room being guarded by an old man.

"I'm here to read inside," Lidien said, staring at the old man's dead gaze.

The Old Man raised his hand, his wrinkles and thin muscles looking ominous and ancient.

"Give me... your Token, child." His voice was hoarse, deep and resonant.

Lidien instinctively gulped, and pulled out his Identity Token from his space ring.

He slowly walked towards the Old Man, and reached out his Token to him.

When...

Whiff!

It was too fast for Lidien to react; the Old Man had already pulled his arm near him and stared directly into his eyes.

Lidien stared back without flinching... the Pride of a Prince!

"At last... the promise!" said the old man, whispering into the air.

Then he smiled... and giggled. Lidien pulled his hand back and walked past the Old Man, as all he could hear was the Old Man's laughter, so loud it vibrated the air.

And as he closed the door behind him, he heard something familiar yet distant.

"...end of all things." the Old man whispered, as he stared directly at Lidien, smiling sinisterly.

Click!

The definitive click of the lock echoed in the sudden silence. Only then did Lidien allow himself to heave a shuddering sigh of relief.

He looked down at his arms, where every hair stood erect.

After days of convalescence, this was different. This was the first true, primal fear he'd felt since the Rift.

After calming his nerves and mind, Lidien scanned the dusty room of books.

As he focused his senses towards his ears, Lidien couldn't hear anything... only his heart beating, the sound of silence.

'There's no one here... only me.'

Lidien walked to the corridor of wood shelves and books, and only his footsteps marked the dusty floor.

Scanning around, he didn't know where to start... there was no indication of what section to read, as if they were all placed randomly, and books were waiting for someone destined to pull them.

Without a guide, Lidien pulled each book he could touch and skimmed them one by one.

Some characters were unreadable, making them foreign to him; some were already gone from the passage of time.

Yet he endured, trying to find that key that would click in his mind.

As his fingers brushed against a book with a strangely supple and wrinkled cover, a jolt shot up his arm--his Echoes of the Flesh flared to life, screaming a silent truth into his veins.

Lidien hands recoiled, as he whisper a horrified realization.

"This is human skin..."