A few nights ago, Catheris pleasantly found out that no, his door was in fact not locked for the night. It seemed like nobody bothered to tell him that was the case. People went to the bathroom in the night as they pleased.
'Should I go out?' He thought offhandedly while reading this week's suit magazine. Hungry…
Tonight was the operation. What was he gonna get from the kitchen? Whatever he was in the mood for. He ate the same stuff everyday: fruit, charcuterie boards, toast. To say he was getting bored would be an understatement. He usually avoided the fridge so he wouldn't have to interact with anyone. But this??? The whole game changed.
Mmm…
Catheris observed as one of the widows left the bathroom. As soon as she closed her bedroom door, he grabbed his water bottle as an excuse ("oh, sorry… I was thirsty… I didn't know—") and made his merry way to the kitchen.
Passing the Garden, he noticed a bunch of ladies sleeping on the couches. What happened to there being a curfew??? He didn't really think much of it; he was a man on a mission, after all.
He meekly entered the kitchen and quietly pried the fridge doors open. What was he feeling tonight? He thought very carefully while tapping the handle with his fingertips.
Hmhmmhmmm.
How about… cheese (・ω・)
Catheris stuffed a few small cheese wheels in his chest and began to fill up his water bottle. As he bent over a bit, one fell out and comically rolled away — just how much could a little cheese travel…
A lot apparently. Catheris was in no rush while slowly trailing it. He waited, waited, and waited for it to fall on its side.
Catheris: (￣ ￣|| )
Oh saintess, why won't this damn cheese stop.
As it approached the other end of the kitchen, he walked forward and kicked it onto its side. But as he bent down, his mouth suddenly watered—he swallowed his saliva. A peculiar hunger clung to his throat. He gripped his face and stopped breathing.
…That signature, enrapturing smell of sweet, sweet ink came from the other side of the door.
He froze, letting his heart rate settle down. Good, he was… good, now.
His pupils flickered, dilating to the brim before snapping to the same old Catheris. Something about his air shifted. Unconsciously, he calmly came forward and went out, silently shutting the door behind him. Catheris blended into the shadows of the dim hallway's sides as he trailed that saccharine scent, pacing across the mansion.
The addicting smell elicited something primal in him. His eyes slightly watered in want, and his sight grew hazy as he came closer. Oh saintesses — his head was pounding. Like thousands of glass shards were shaking in his head.
His surroundings blurred. He staggered forward, gripped at his waist, and clawed at his neck as an unbearable thirst clogged his throat. But he persisted until his addled brain almost snapped. The panic was set aside as the ink smell intensified. A slight flush tinted his cheeks as he wandered towards the source.
Stumbling down the hall, another one of those 'zombies' was loitering. Its back was hunched over, resembling some werewolf's stance.
He stalked it, nimbly following behind it. It shook its head around, looking for the 'spike' in the air.
Of course, it was clueless. It grew more agitated as Catheris' presence practically teased it.
Just how was this ugly thing still alive? How putrid.
Despite its physical condition, it instantly lunged into the pitch black shadow upon smelling Catheris.
—!
Gurgling noises filled the hallway, then rapidly turned into dry wheezing as the assault's intensity upped.
Catheris's blackened fingertips pressed deep into its throat — sharp, pointy nails clawing into its larynx. While triggering his ink, electricity surged through his veins and into his victim. His spasming forearms numbed and his fingertips convulsed, choking the zombie harder while it was frozen in the overwhelming surges.
He reveled in the hunt. The electricity left a pleasurable singe on his arms. His heart rate spiked as the smell reached its climax. It was practically oozing.
His gums itched for a taste. Catheris thought no further — clawing into the cranium and pressing into the skull like it was wafer. Once his hand plunged into the brain, he completely pulverized it. The zombie's form melted into ink. He licked the ink trickling down his forearm.
All that was left of its 'existence' was, of course, its insignia. While taking it as a trophy, he licked the ink off and stuffed it in his chest. He wasn't fond of ruining clothes.
Sitting himself down on the floor, he dazedly blinked. After thinking for a second, Catheris crawled towards the ink, and lapped at the puddle on the floor like a dog, eager not to waste anything. His teeth were stained, and his tongue shone black.
Very properly, he stood himself up and began to lick the underside of his claws.
With his senses at their peak, he found himself a little disappointed. There didn't seem to be anyone else he could snack on—it didn't feel like there was anyone at all. The whole place was quiet as a mouse. Really, how peculiar.
Catheris wandered about the halls boldly, unconcerned with the mess. His eyes were manic. He still basked in the reverie as he savored the ink in his skin.
With his vision finally focusing, it truly set in how idolized Naeda was in this mansion. The rounded roof had scales chiseled in it, there were dozens of paintings where she died beautifully, and the air freshener even smelled like the sea.
He paused at a painting, noticing the peculiar spring theme in this one. An apple tree with tons of lush red-haired girls born as its fruits. To the left were a few youthful-looking boys looking at the girls over a brick wall, sinking into their temptation.
A painting continued the story right next to it. It was a marriage in the flowery meadows. It was spring again. Behind the happy couple was their tangible souls. Her's healed him as he put the ring on her finger.
???
This next mural was weird. It was some kind of eldritch horror revival—ritualistic in its composition. As the horrors fed, their once wracked bodies restored to their prime. Like, wow, just pick an aesthetic and stick with it? You already committed enough to the women and mermaids??? Where's the aesthetic cohesion here–
Ohhh.
Of course, they were feeding on mermaids. Touche.
With the Lovecraftian horror on the insignia, how Mobius' followers couldn't die, all the marriage/beautiful women dying, and the cannibalism, it was rather easy to pinpoint why this started in the first place — a means for immortality.
But how?
Cheating death was never an uncommon premise for myths, so it didn't come as a surprise to him. One could correlate spring and women by their symbolic vitality: pure, radiant, bearer of new life, the most optimal life force source. And this spring ceremony was most likely D-Day. Quite worthless for a bunch of fools bumbling around like literal zombies.
Hold on. Zombies… and necromancy?
In a sense, the cultists were 'killing themselves' right now—but without Mobius' authority in the world, they didn't have his magic to revive themselves. So they were stuck literally sucking the life out of young girls — and making a show out of it with their wacky human foods.
Tanghulu eyeballs…
How bothersome. Those who try to cheat death eventually slipped up; even Orpheus looked back at Eurydice, and the opportunity was placed in the palm of his hand ever so gently by the god of death himself.
Catheris indulged in the night's silence as he walked back to the sleeping quarters. The faint moonlight cast a vignette glow on his skin. He enjoyed the sheer wealth of the place; it was truly beautiful.
Seriously though, why'd they wanna cannibalize him? He scratched the side of his head.
He made his way back to the garden wing, quietly entered the kitchen, tiptoed across the lounge, and finally arrived at the garden's den.
Catheris finally came back to his senses. Everyone was sound asleep. He'd wash the ink off and eat the cheese in his room, or something.
He began walking to the bathrooms, still stuffing the loose cheese into his chest — when in the corner of his eye, he spotted someone at the end of the hall.
"Ah… you're really so much more beautiful now, my Luna." The chocolatey smooth voice dripped with infatuation.