"The Beast God came before the world. Driven by hunger, the Beast God created humanity and made humans its food."
"Humans were born lesser creatures, possessing neither great strength nor keen intelligence. But the Beast God was merciful. Once it had eaten its fill, it looked upon the food that remained and scattered glimmers of wisdom and power over it. Only then did humans gain the intelligence and strength they possessed today."
"But the Beast God loved its firstborn and all their descendants more. Humans were, in the end, merely food for the Beast God and its offspring."
Lady Rose sat on an ornate gray-bone chair trimmed with gold. Holding a red scripture, she read the words on its pages with a rhythmic rise and fall.
A group of men and women knelt on the floor, each holding a bowl filled with blood in both hands.
Their faces were devout as they awaited a miracle.
"We please the Beast God. We revere the Beast God. The Beast God is the source of chaos, the origin of all things, humanity's benefactor and the final resting place of life."
"Our blood is the wine the Beast God loves. Our flesh is the fat that sates its hunger. Our dry bones are its hair..."
Lady Rose's voice rose from calm to fervent.
Sweat drenched her, and her face flushed. At last, she let out an impassioned moan.
The kneeling worshippers grew ever more excited. Some even began to tremble. A drop of blood spilled from one shaking bowl and slowly ran down its side toward the bottom.
More blood gathered around the drop until a bead formed and fell toward the floor.
Drip!
The sound was faint, yet at that moment it rang out with perfect clarity.
The kneeling worshippers slowly turned toward