Reincarnated as the Death God's Vessel

A soft and wet sound reverberated throughout the clearing as the people watched a monster eating a heart full of delight.

Its eyes were so red they reflected the blood that cascaded from his mouth to his clothes, splashing as it touched the ground.

All the people watched the feast, their eyes wide, even Azer's own crimson eyes glowed and slitted as his smile turned sinister.

They watched Lidien relive the rumor of a Heart Eater, turning it into reality.

Lidien steeled his resolve, forcing himself to stomach eating someone's heart for a second time while being watched by thousands of people without a care for his name being stained.

His Echoes of the Flesh had activated, and he flooded it with verve, pushing it to its limit.

Lidien didn't just watch; he relived the life of the beastfolk from birth until he was slapped and died in a heartbeat.

The beastfolk was the childhood friend of the Princess whom Lidien killed.

After the death of the Dark Wolf Clan's Patriarch, all of its sons and daughters battled for the position; however, this princess was weak and without a fighter... so they escaped, trying to find a place where they could live peacefully... away from the Dark Wolf Clan, away from danger.

However, they accidentally met soldiers from the Blood Rose Clan, busy hunting beasts of any kind.

The Princess was captured first, making the male beastfolk surrender too...

As they were being played with by Lidien to convince him to let them live, he told the secret of the woman being a princess... hoping the child in front of him would be scared and set them free.

Yet, he didn't expect that Lidien, without a second thought... would eat his lover's heart.

Without strength and being shocked by her death, he could only kneel and embrace her lifeless body, as he watched the caravan leave them.

A burning rage flooded him, and he promised to kill everyone who was special to the prince who killed his princess...

However, his Awakening Ceremony had not been conducted yet and his slumbering Essence as a Blessed of Life hadn't awakened.

To have his revenge, to have power, he did the impossible...

He ate the Princess's corpse.

This act of ultimate desecration awakened him as a vengeful and broken beast... and he chased the caravan while hiding.

Lidien's consciousness was pulled out from the Echoes of the Flesh after witnessing everything.

As he tapped his forehead continuously with his still bloody fingers, a hobby from his previous life... he smiled, before turning towards Alva, now kneeling before him.

"Let's go!"

However, after walking for a few steps, he looked at Mad Dog.

"Gather all the beasts, put them somewhere in the Rift; I need them for my experiment..."

Then he pulled out another thousand merit and tossed it to Mad Dog.

"I need hundreds of new slaves... and also, increase the number of soldiers... we'll go to the Dark Wolf Clan in another week."

Lidien walked with Alva towards the Watchtower before saying goodbye to Azer, who was smiling at him, and Kyer, still busy counting merit slips.

Lidien stayed just outside the Rift, watching the sun set on the other side, and glanced at the sky battling for light.

Alva watched Lidien curiously, without saying or asking anything.

And as the night came, he stared at Alva intently... warning her.

"No matter what you do, never... ever... glance at the Mirror inside the Rift, for it will show you how you will die... and being aware of it will make it happen sooner."

As he turned around and walked towards the Rift, he added.

"I don't want a loyal subject of mine to die early."

His words vanished, along with him, as he entered the Rift.

Upon hearing his words, Alva didn't know if she should follow...

Yet, as a servant she needed to, without much of a choice... and the only thing she could do was follow Lidien's words, and try not to see her own reflection dying in the mirror.

***

A few days passed peacefully inside the Rift, and the rumor outside of Lidien being the Heart Eater stopped.

Not because no one talked about it, but because it was already proven to all of the people... making it a useless topic.

And the good thing was, after the battle with the beastfolk, no one silently died in the alley without a heart.

It was after lunch when a boy arrived, claiming the Prince had summoned him.

Since no one would dare to use the Prince's name irresponsibly, the soldier guarding outside the Rift called for Alva, Lidien's personal aid, to fetch the boy.

"My Prince... I'm here to read for you..." said the boy, kneeling in front of Lidien while still holding a book.

Lidien then glanced at him, and then at Alva before smiling gently.

"Alva, teach him the small things you do when serving me... also, teach him how to read books..."

Lidien then rubbed his chin and smiled so sinisterly that the boy instinctively flinched.

"Also, add some sparring sessions... I remember he wanted to become a soldier... hmm, beat him just enough but don't kill him."

Alva bowed, then took the boy by the arm and dragged him from Lidien's room.

As the people left his room, Lidien once again stared at the book with a human skin cover.

It had been almost three days now since he opened the book... but no matter what kind of reading, flipping, or rotating he did...

It only showed him pages full of blood and text that was too easy to understand.

It was a simple cookbook, filled with recipes for various dishes, a grotesque mismatch for its binding of stitched human skin.

"What the hell am I reading... How could cooking help me control or absorb a Blood Essence..."

Sighing, he got out of bed and left his room... after walking for a few minutes, he left the castle and proceeded towards a small clearing with a large cabin.

Lidien helplessly smiled and opened the cabin door.

As he saw the sight inside, he couldn't help but force himself not to retch.

"I still can't get used to it."