Carnivorous was the soul of the fiend, long before he became the predator. Enamored by despair, a man and woman copulated; the woman was impregnated by the seeds of misfortune, and the man was left with a doll that reciprocated his embrace with the fetters of decay. They hated one another, unequivocally so; and that hatred transposed to nutrients, feeding the unborn. They desired the other's death, for their culture forbade the termination of a partnership once a child was created. Thus, a horrifying machination crept into the minds of the wicked.
Upon the night of a new moon, the fornicators met before an abandoned cathedral. Invoking the name of Nyx, mother and father cursed their child. First the father begged, "Never let this child see the light of this world. He is abomination!"
Then the mother screamed, "Take this child Nyx, for it is not mine. Had I known it would have brought such devastation to my name, I would have rendered my womb infertile! Never have I seen such a decadent beast, even amongst children born from the rape of their mothers!"
So impassioned by her rage, she barely noticed the slight trickle of blood falling from between her legs. Only when black arms, neither physical nor imagined, seeped from the earth, reaching towards the woman's womb, did either person realize the success of their ritual. Both spoke nothing, their eyes wide from anticipation. As if layer after layer of flesh did not separate the two, the arms dragged forth from mother's womb a fetus, blood drenched yet silent.
Before a proper realization could be made, the child was swallowed by the night. Euphoria swept the parents; and euphoria was swept by destruction. The two embraced, dreaming of, perhaps, peace from each other. Yet, the illusion of happiness was ephemeral. For the next day brought consequences apt for the act committed.
The mother was found before the cathedral, with a hole in her stomach. The fetus was nowhere to be found, and in the dirt nearby were many graves; the worst was expected. The night of the murders, the father was seen, initially laughing, talking to himself. Gradually, jovial tone became slurred roars, biting and vituperative in any way--addressed to the woman murdered. He was swiftly apprehended, tried, found guilty, and executed.
The man swore the woman was alive, pointing at thin air, saying it was her fault, begging someone to see her as well. None knew of the ritual performed; and none knew of the curse that the ritual had cast. The child torn from her, the mother died of blood loss. Still, she was kept alive: her spirit was destined to never leave her husband and to never realize her own death. Thus, the man and woman could never leave each other, a stipulation of their child's abduction. Ultimately, both faded away.
