The next day at noon, I walked to the place we had selected. As I approached, I saw him already there, draped in his usual black robes.

  "So, what’s the process? What am I supposed to expect?" I asked.

  "You will try to reach your form," he replied. "The rules are simple: get there and survive the way through the ocean of hell and darkness. That is a place where there is no protection, and demons can actually hurt your very being. Good luck."

  As soon as he said it, I felt my consciousness slipping. It was like being extremely drunk and about to pass out, but without the alcohol—the effect was much stronger.

  As I started to slip back into consciousness, I found myself in a place similar to where I used to be in my dreams. The same ocean. The deeper you go into it, the darker and more evil the demons you encounter. Some of them are too terrible to even recall compared to stronger ones, but I was there. I had fought them before, destroyed them, and eaten their beings. Even though I had been drowning in this ocean for years, it was now easier for me than for a shark in the sea. My mind was so strong that this thick mass of darkness was as easy to move through as butter.

  After a few seconds, I realized I also had the body I had built over the years in my mind—the one I had been strengthening so much that I had become the alpha predator here. I also felt where I was supposed to go. I could theoretically stay there forever, but I would get my payback first.

  I moved toward my goal. For a few minutes it felt like time was not static; it moved fast or slow. I felt a few beings approaching me... good, I can have some fun.

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  As they got closer, it was obvious they were demons. One was trying to be scary, looking like some of those drawings made by serial murderers. The second of the pack was big, horned, and fat with wings; his face looked like a cruel combination of orc and ogre. The third was just a smaller demon, probably forced to serve the big one at some point—just a simple thing with horns and wings.

  As they approached, I heard a voice: "Well, well, we’ve got ourselves a new slave." The big one laughed. "Get down and beg for mercy."

  "I don't think you understand the situation you’ve gotten yourselves into," I said with a wild smile.

  I started transforming into my true self, my body of darkness. My teeth became a combination of werewolf and vampire; my horns grew big and sharp like a massive crown. Tentacles came off the back of my head and from random places on my body whenever I wanted them to appear. Each was powerful and could consume beings with ease. I got bigger and more massive by the second. When I reached my full form, the laughing stopped. In its place, I smelled fear.

  The medium one tried to run, but my tentacles shot toward him, grabbing him and tearing out his very essence, hurting him more than many can comprehend. As it happened, I lunged toward the big one. As he tried to punch me, I just shifted my body slightly. This was a playground for me. The bigger demon tried punching me a few more times, and I moved away from each blow, laughing in my head.

  Pathetic. As I got bored, I plunged my claws through his chest. As I got closer, I bit into him and started eating his soul. I destroyed their beings and connected their formless plasma to my own. I felt the smaller demon trying to get away, just as he probably did every time he had chance to. I thickened the darkness around him so much that he couldn't move, and I forced it even more until the ocean of darkness literally absorbed his being.

  As I reached the vessel of my body, I plunged my fist through the being, shattering the barrier. I thought for a second: Do I want to go back? The answer was no. I just have unfinished business. There is still time I can spend here before I need to enter my body again so it won't die.

  It’s time to hunt for a while.