Staring at the grotesque creature sprawled out dead before him, Solaris should have felt disgust and perhaps a bit of fear, yet all he felt was his stomach growling.
Ember pointed at the ground, and a spark shot out before landing on the grey ground, before sprouting into a blazing inferno. The size quickly shrank into a more tame fire, one that could easily be used for cooking.
The two grabbed the creature's foremost legs and dragged it, leaving a thick trail of blood across the ground. They moved it closer to the fire before letting it go and beginning to carve it into edible pieces of meat.
Ember is using his bone knife and club to break the thick carapace and then the knife to carve the white meat.
Solaris already knew that his shards could withstand the heat of Ember's fire, so he had used the rest of his shards to create a floating platform to cook the meat.
The scent of the freshly cooked meat was simply divine. So good it was drowning out the scent of the creature's blood.
"You're sure this is safe to eat?"
Solaris asked desperately. Ember shead a fleeting glance before replying.
"No, but I'll try it first."
A look of confusion appeared on Solaris's face for a moment before shifting to a look of contempt.
As the white meat cooked to what would be a sear on a normal piece of meat, Ember took the hunk off the shards and took a bite.
His eyes slowly widened as he chewed. After finishing the bite, he opened his mouth and spoke.
"This is the best thing I've ever eaten."
Hearing the last word of that sentence, Solaris started to eat before being stopped. Ember held up a hand.
"Eat slowly, and not too much, otherwise you'll get very sick."
Solaris nodded, took a small bite, and began to slowly chew.
His eyes began to widen as he ate. The monster meat was pure perfection without any seasonings; it was still very tasty; in fact, it was almost perfect. Everything about it was perfect: tender yet firm, juicy, savory, and sweet; it was absolutely delicious.
Had he never seen the abomination that it came from, he would have never expected such a creature to contain such delicious meat.
As Solaris swallowed a bite, he felt his stomach grow ever so slightly and now contained a facet of food. As he was about to take another bite, he realized something.
"This meat tastes... it tastes as if I've eaten more than it, like I've had a whole meal."
Ember sat staring at the meat and nodded his head.
"Yes, it's as if I had more than one bite, it's even as if I had a whole feast."
As they shared a few glances, Solaris once again had a realization: he was no longer hungry.
"Hey..have you ever eaten a demon before?"
Solaris asked, his eyes displaying genuine confusion.
"Yeah, once, it was a greed demon, I believe it was a sergeant."
"Did it...."
"No....but it was similar, it had a very thick iron flavor to it, kind of like blood."
"I see, I suppose it's lucky that we didn't kill those demons earlier."
"Yeah, except I'm not sure what this creature even is."
Solaris nodded in agreement.
This creature is very odd, tasty though.
The two simply sat in silence, both holding hunks of meat, both looking at the fire. Their faces displayed a strange expression, one of confusion, disgust, and satisfaction.
After a while, they stood up and began to walk away from the creature, an additional small container floating behind Solaris, filled with a small chunk of the meat. One of the cups of water was almost empty, so he had finished it off. leaving him enough room to hold the food.
As they walked, thoughts piled into Solaris ' head, most of this strange world, and if they would ever get back, and some of the creatures they had encountered so far.
Why had there been demons here, and if there were those two, are there many more? If that tree brought us here, and assuming it was a demon's creation, where are the others like it? Did something bad happen just before we got here? Is the reason there's no wind tied to that? Were those creatures before even demons? Was that tasty bug a demon? What was up with the meat? Why was it so filling? So many questions, no answers to any of them...
As thoughts piled into Solaris's head, he recalled a question that had plagued him for some time, one that could be answered. His eyes slightly widened before looking over to Ember, who seemingly had the same thoughts going through his mind. Taking a moment, he gathered his confidence and asked a question that had been brewing for many months now.
"Ember?"
"Yeah, what's up, Sol?"
Ember replied clearly, still deep in thought.
Taking a deep breath, Solaris opened his mouth and asked.
"Just who is Singulus?"
As the name left Solaris's mouth, Embers's entire body locked up and momentarily froze, his hands trembling slightly, as if recalling a bad memory.
"The strongest human, a god in human clothes, and the destroyer of earth."