A hunger was ravaging his twisted soul. It was an odd, exceptional kind of hunger which Hollirix hadn't experienced in his previous life at all. No, it was something that had awakened inside him, perhaps as a punishment for his past sins, after he had died and went to hell, only to be sent back to the realm of mortals. Hollirix didn't quite remember what his previous life had been like, though sometimes he was blessed – or cursed – with flashing images of memories that apparently were stuck to his brain. But he was sure that the hunger that was now gnawing at him, wearing him down, was something he had started to suffer from only after he had gained a new body for his soul to dwell. It wasn't the flesh of other critters that he so much craved and it wasn't the pieces of plants that so selflessly offered parts of themselves to feed living beings. His hunger was something from a darker side, though it wasn't the souls he was after, nor was it blood. It was wickedness. Hollirix was ravenous for the evil that resided within other creatures and in some cases, inside some places as well. It would drive him mad and he would do absolutely anything to keep devouring that delicious malice. He would tear anyone apart, slaughter them, spill the blood, just to get his hands on the wicked energy.

Why was he like this? He had no answer for that. Maybe whoever was responsible for returning him back to the realm of mortals thought it would be amusing that someone who had committed countless evil deeds in his life would now become a creature that had an insatiable appetite for wickedness. It was a constant state, he would never feel satisfied, he was condemned to keep looking for more malevolence to devour. This hunger was making him wander all around the world in search of people who carried an exceptional amount of malice in their souls – and lucky to Hollirix, the world was full of such people, plaguing the land wherever they made their nest. He would find them, he would kill them, and he would feast.

Hollirix had done a lot journeying from place to place after the day when he had been spat out from the mouth of hell, driven by his hunger. His swift legs would carry him from town to town and wherever he would go, he would appear like a creature of bad omen. He had the form of a black fox with red blazing eyes that caused unnerving feelings to strike at anyone's heart who happened to meet their gaze. There was a pair of curved horns on his head and maybe their roots were deep down in his brain, straining his mind. But even without this characteristic, individuals who have died and turned back from hell probably weren't too sane to begin with. Though, in his opinion, he was free, although at the same time, he was restrained by the never-ending hunger, being a slave to this instinct that just continued to infest his head.

One day, Hollirix had been lurking around a town that had a port. Sneakily he moved from shadow to shadow, carefully avoiding the light which the street lamps were shedding in order to vanquish the darkness of the night. It was really cold and snowflakes were falling down from the dark sky; the winter had arrived and there was a thin layer of snow veiling the town already. Hollirix couldn't recall if he had ever experienced winter, but he certainly didn't like it now. He surmised that it would only get worse. Traveling on foot to avoid the cold season of this northern region seemed like an option he wasn't too fond of. He figured that maybe he should board a ship that would sail to somewhere with more pleasant temperatures. Hollirix had been creeping around these parts for a while, so he had a clear picture of how to get to the port. He headed there, still as sneakily as he could, moving silently under the cover of darkness and the only sign of his presence were the footprints left on the freshly fallen snow by his paws, but probably people would assume that it had been just a dog that had traversed that path.

The port wasn't as busy during the nighttime and most ships were still as if in slumber, their sails down like dark wings, involuntarily gathering snow on their bodies. Most people were indoors where it was warm, but Hollirix noticed that there were still some signs of life around the port. He stalked these few people carefully from the shadows, watching and listening. He thought that he would have to wait until morning before any of the ships would leave the port, but it seemed that he was in luck that night. He could hear a conversation between a sailor and a merchant that they should head out soon, to flee from the cold grasp of winter. This was exactly the opportunity Hollirix had been looking for. His whole focus was on these two men, he followed them from a distance so he could see which ship was theirs. They didn't notice the fox spying on them and eventually they made their way to their ship, generously showing Hollirix which vessel to infiltrate. It was a pretty average ship, nothing grandeur but not terrible, either. It looked like a merchant ship, so there was a big chance that it would travel somewhere in the south. This was the perfect chance for Hollirix.

The fox waited patiently for the moment when he would sneak into the ship. Hiding among crates and barrels and ropes, the gaze of his red eyes was nailed at the wide plank sailors used to board the vessel. Hollirix needed only a short moment, just a few seconds when nobody would pay attention to the plank. And eventually, this chance came for the fox, just like he knew it would. He noticed it immediately, there was a short moment when everyone was on board and preparing for the voyage, there was no one near the accessing point. Hollirix sprinted towards the ship, moving as fast as if he were an arrow that had just been shot, and in no time he was on board and blending into the shadows once again. Nobody noticed that they had a stowaway hiding in the ship now, and so it would remain for the whole voyage. Hollirix hid himself deep inside the cargo hold, staying there patiently, out of the sight of people. The journey to different regions had begun and Hollirix was all ready to conquer the new lands beyond the sea.

Time was fleeting in an odd manner for Hollirix. There was nothing but darkness surrounding him, he couldn't see how the sun would rise and set, how the night veiled the world or how the distant stars were shining their blessed light to guide the sailors. At times it felt like that time was passing very fast and he could hear the people on board doing their chores, only for them all to go silent like they had been up for just a moment. And then there were those days when he had a feeling that the time had almost completely stopped, crawling forward so painfully slowly. But Hollirix kept waiting. Patience was one of his very few virtues, so he remained concealed in the darkness of the cargo hold, his large pointy ears picking up nearly every sound the sailors made. He barely slept at all, he just waited for the moment when they would reach land once more.

Hollirix didn't know how long they had sailed when one day he could sense something strange, something extraordinary, something… exciting. It didn't seem like they had come to the next port yet, they were still in the sea. But Hollirix could already tell they were getting closer to a place which held an enormous amount of dark energy, and not just one kind, there were many different flavors. The sound of how water splashed against the hull as the ship plowed through the waves was somewhat altered, Hollirix could hear very faint screams of agony. They were sailing on dark waters, he surmised. So many people had drowned around these parts, their spirits still lingering and desperately crying for help so they could be released from their perpetual torment. But no ordinary mortal could hear them, just Hollirix. Maybe he could do that because he had been to hell and maybe it was supposed to be one more curse to punish him for his sins. But he didn't have a single compassionate bone in his body, so he didn't care about the fate of those poor souls.

Since Hollirix's perception of time was distorted, he wasn't aware of how much time had passed since they had reached the dark waters. But at some point, he could hear how people were making loud noises on the deck and barking orders, more than usual. Heavy footsteps were running around and it sounded like large objects were moved from place to place. Hollirix was listening to these noises with a great interest, because it seemed like they were getting ready to be docked. The fox was eager to see where they had travelled, he could finally leave behind the dark innards of the cargo hold. At this point he wasn't really concerned if somebody could see him, his little voyage on the sea ended here after all. He skittered through the cargo hold swiftly, stopping at the foot of stairs that led to upper levels. He was listening carefully, he wanted to know the exact moment when the ship would get to the pier.

The sounds subsided. Maybe they were docked now. Hollirix took this as a sign that they had successfully made it to the port, so he ran the stairs up, all the way until he found himself from the deck he hadn't seen for who knows how long. The world around him was shrouded in blackness, which felt rather welcoming to him. He looked around the deck, seeing people committed to their individual tasks, and none of them had yet noticed his presence. Hollirix shifted his gaze towards the point where he had originally boarded the ship and noticed that the plank was in its place. He could get out now. He didn't waste any time, swiftly sprinting through the deck, earning a couple of surprised shouts when a pair of sailors saw him running out of the ship. But he was gone before they could do anything about it, they just had gained an image of a black fleeting shadow haunting their sleep.

Hollirix was back at blending in with the shadows, they greeted him like an old friend even though they were unfamiliar. With his sharp senses he started to observe the new land where he had just arrived. The smells, the sounds and this unexplainable ill feeling that hung in the air… Hollirix was delighted and excited, it seemed he had found a new home. He could sense so much malice in this town, so much evil energy for him to devour. Like a predator he was, he started to sneak around this foreign place, to get himself acquainted with his new hunting ground. The dark time allowed him to get around unnoticed, even though there were street lamps with their feeble lights trying to cast away the darkness since humans were so uncomfortable with it, they were afraid of the darkness because monsters were hiding in there, although more often than not they were the monsters. Most could look in the mirror and not see a single trace of wickedness, but that was just because they were already too familiar with what the monster looked like.

Still, the darkness was effective with keeping most of the folks indoors, sleeping and having nightmares or being wide awake, haunted by their sins. Hollirix didn't encounter many people as he strolled through the neatly paved streets, and those few whom he saw were lurkers just like him, moving with shadows and avoiding the light as if it could burst them into flames. Honoring a wordless agreement, they didn't bother each other and just went on their own ways. It had been so long since the last time Hollirix had eaten that it was hard for him to let people go, his everlasting hunger was gnawing at his mind more than usual. His disease-ridden brain was getting overwhelmed with this instinct and even though he had tried to get familiar with the town first before hunting, he had to succumb to his urges because the scent of dread was strong in the air. He unfortunately couldn't die from starvation, though maybe he thought it was a good thing. He could just go on and on without eating, but it would just drive him more mad and deprive him of the control of his own body. He wasn't at that point, yet, but the hunger was getting unbearable. He couldn't focus on exploring the town anymore, and he wondered why this craving had got so strong so suddenly. Maybe it was the strange atmosphere, maybe it wanted him to become just a ravenous beast. Well, he could always get familiar with the town later, he had all the time in the world, after all.

But little did Hollirix know, he wasn't the only hunter in the town that night.

He was creeping around the darkest corners of the streets as he moved forward in search of a suitable victim. Usually he would go after the most wicked people there were since they, naturally, satisfied his hunger more. That night, however, he felt like that almost anybody would do. Generally all the people held some amount of malice in their souls, so Hollirix could target pretty much anyone he wanted. Even if his next victim wasn't that malevolent, it would still make him feel better. He regretted a little bit that he had let go those few individuals he had met earlier, but in the end, it didn't matter that much; in a place like this, which was filled with wicked energy, he would surely find someone to devour.

Hollirix was making his way through the town with a quick pace, he was just a shade or a black stripe that moved so fast he would be gone from the sight of people in a blink of an eye. However, he came to a sudden stop, his form completely revealed by a pallid street lamp and he stood still as if he had been nailed to his place. He had sensed something, something he hadn't encountered ever before, but which still was hauntingly familiar to him. His red eyes were fixed at the darkness in front of him and he could hear the sound of faint footsteps coming closer.

A figure appeared from the shadows. A very handsome man, dressed in mostly blue lavish attire was walking along the street like he owned the place; he looked like a noble man and it wasn't the wisest thing for such a man to walk alone at nighttime. But looks can be deceiving. Hollirix could tell he wasn't an ordinary mortal. The elegant man in front of him was almost bursting with wicked energy, it was exciting for the fox, and almost maddening. There was a lot of evil in this man's soul, so much that Hollirix hadn't encountered anything like it during his second life as a fox. His senses were telling him to attack and yet, something was restraining him. He was stuck in a conflict between two desires, unsure what to do, which side to listen to.

The mysterious man took a couple of more steps, but then stopped, measuring the black fox with his silvery eyes. Hollirix just stared back at him, trying to understand what was the deal with this man.

“What a peculiar little creature you are”, the man spoke suddenly in a surprisingly soft tone.

“Oh, my good sir, I am more peculiar than you think”, Hollirix responded, smirking a little bit. “And you are not just a man with a pretty face, either, I can tell.”

The man chuckled slightly. “You are correct with that one.”

Hollirix continued to look at the man's eyes with a piercing gaze, as if trying to see past the walls of his mind. His energy, it was something he had come across in the past, but he knew that he hadn't met this man before. For a moment Hollirix was trying to put together the pieces of this puzzle in his head, until finally, it dawned on him: the man carried the same evil power as the ancient vile monster known as Rak'kram. But Rak'kram was dead, Hollirix knew that because he had seen the monster's soul guarding the gates of hell; it had been so wicked that it had obtained such a position after its death. Somehow, this man now held the powers of Rak'kram and because of this, Hollirix saw him in a completely new light.

Utterly intrigued, Hollirix said: “The power of Rak'kram is coursing in your dark veins, I can see that. But I am curious, how did you gain such a blessing?”

“So you know about Rak'kram, huh…” The man looked at the fox suspiciously, even contemptuously. There was a look of disgust in his eyes. “Why would I spill knowledge of myself to a filthy animal like you?”

“Ah, such harsh words”, Hollirix answered, shaking his head a little, but looked amused by what the man had just said. “I am simply… fascinated by you. You have a wicked heart. And I am a devourer of wicked entities. It is only natural that I am interested in you.”

The man sneered. “Are you telling me that you are going to devour me?”

“It is always a possibility, my good sir”, Hollirix replied, smirking. “But it would truly be a shame to extinguish such a brightly burning flame of malice… Beings like you leave a trail of misery behind them. And then there are individuals like me, who harvest that misery.”

“In other words, you are just a vulture”, the man said, still looking at the fox like he was a filthy pest. “I shall not spare more of my time for you. Now, excuse me, but I have to go.”

Hollirix didn't respond anything, he simply held his gaze at the man as he walked past him. He continued to watch at his receding figure until the darkness consumed him completely. Even after he was gone, the fox continued to stare at the spot where the man had disappeared. But he could still sense him. His scent, it was still lingering in the air and it was strong. It didn't really fade away at all, even though minutes were rapidly passing by and Hollirix still remained on his spot. Maybe it was the power of Rak'kram that was calling him, mocking him, enslaving him. It was like his brain had got adjusted to chase this scent, this evil energy. It was consuming Hollirix's mind, it became his obsession.

He was grinning widely.

No matter where the man would go, he could track him. He would watch him; he would follow the trail of blood he would leave behind. This man was destined for something grand, Hollirix was sure of it. And when that day would come, Hollirix would be the first witness.

The fox moved finally. He went after the man, loyally like a shadow, trotting along the dark streets. He had a hunch that wherever the man was going that night, he could find something to satisfy his hunger simply by following his footsteps.

Perhaps the man had been right; he truly was a vulture, a filthy animal.

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