Asari's breath echoed in the gorge, each inhalation sharp and ragged, the weight of the Stone of Gluttony pressing heavily against his chest. His body trembled with its power, the raw hunger inside him gnawing at his every thought. The Stone was no longer a distant presence—it was part of him, coursing through his veins like fire, amplifying every instinct, every desire, every urge to consume.
The blood of the beasts he had slain still pooled at his feet, the air thick with their fading screams, a reminder of his victory. But it wasn't enough. It was never enough.
Hungry... The voice of the Stone whispered, soft and insistent, a constant hum beneath his skin. Consume, devour, take more. Satisfy the hunger.
Asari clenched his fists, forcing himself to focus. The hunger was there, constant, like an itch he couldn't scratch. It was the Stone's gift—and its curse. Every victory fed it, but it always wanted more. It was endless. Unstoppable.
He could feel the power building inside him, an energy so vast it threatened to burst out. His mind swam with visions of distant lands, grotesque beasts, and moments from his past—faces of those he had loved, those he had killed. The Stone fed on them, pulling at his memories, warping them into something dark, something insatiable.
But he wouldn't let it. Not yet.
His gaze snapped upward as something moved in the mist. A figure, tall and shadowed, emerged from the darkness, its presence both oppressive and familiar. It was the same being that had appeared before him in the heart of the gorge, when he first encountered the Stone. The entity, a form of shadows and flickering light, stood silently, watching him.
"You've done well, boy," the figure said, its voice carrying like a weight on the air. "You've accepted the Stone, taken its power into your very soul. But you're far from mastering it. The question is, what will you do with it?"
Asari's heart pounded in his chest. The Stone's hunger flared again, urging him to act. To devour.
But he couldn't let it control him. Not like this.
"I will control it," Asari said through gritted teeth, his voice steady despite the storm within him. "I will not let it consume me."
The figure tilted its head, its molten eyes narrowing. "You speak of control, but control isn't something that comes easily. The Stone is a part of you now. The hunger it brings is in your blood. How long before it overwhelms you? How long before you become just another puppet to its will?"
The laughter that followed was deep and chilling. The figure's form flickered, its shadows stretching and twisting like living tendrils.
"You will feed it, just as you always have. It's in your nature. And when you do... it will be too late."
Asari's grip tightened on his glaive. The hunger surged again, a wild, chaotic force inside him. His chest burned with its intensity, and his vision blurred with the power threatening to break free. Every breath he took felt like he was inhaling the Stone's insatiable desire.
He stepped forward, shaking off the voice, the laughter. "I won't become a monster."
The figure's expression remained unreadable, its eyes glowing like molten embers. "Then prove it. Let the trial begin."
Without warning, the ground trembled, and Asari was forced to react as the world around him distorted. The gorge morphed, walls of stone becoming living, breathing flesh, shifting like the stomach of some ancient beast. The air grew thick with heat, and the ground beneath him began to sink, the walls closing in as if he were being swallowed whole.
From the depths, shapes began to emerge—beasts born of hunger and darkness. They were not creatures of flesh alone, but amalgamations of every sin, every gluttonous desire ever felt. Twisted things with too many eyes, too many mouths, and too many limbs. They screeched in hunger, their bodies writhing as they drew near.
"You are the master of the Stone, are you not?" the figure's voice echoed. "Then prove it. These creatures—each one of them hungers for the power you possess. But do you have the strength to control the hunger, or will you feed them as you fed the others?"
Asari's fists clenched, his glaive raised high. The Stone within him roared, demanding that he strike, that he consume.
But Asari held firm, closing his eyes for a moment and silencing the hunger. It was there, deep within him, a constant whisper. Take them. Feed.
He could feel the power building within, the Stone urging him to give in, to feed these creatures, to unleash his hunger upon them.
Instead, Asari pushed forward, his glaive cutting through the air with precise, practiced strikes. He tore through the monsters, each swing of his weapon sending them crumbling to the ground. But with each blow, the hunger inside him grew. It was like a fire in his chest, roaring to life, wanting to consume everything in its path.
Asari's heart pounded in his ears as he fought, but with every step, he felt the Stone's grip tighten. He could feel himself slipping, just for a moment, into the hunger. But he caught himself. Just in time.
He wasn't a slave to this power. He couldn't be.
The final beast fell to the ground, its body disintegrating into shadows and smoke. Silence descended on the gorge once more, but Asari's chest still heaved with the intensity of the fight. The Stone's hunger was still there, gnawing at him, but he was stronger now. Strong enough to resist.
He turned to the figure, his breath steadying.
"I will not be consumed," Asari declared. "Not by this power. Not by anything."
The figure's eyes gleamed with a strange, unspoken amusement. "You think you've won? The trial was never about victory. It was about the hunger. And you will always hunger, Asari. The question is, what will you do when there is nothing left to feed on?"
Asari stood tall, his glaive planted firmly in the ground before him. His heart was resolute. "I will never give in."
The figure's laughter echoed in the distance as it faded into the mist.
Asari stood alone, his body exhausted, the hunger still lurking in the back of his mind. But for now, he had won. The trial was over. But the journey... that was just beginning.