Canticle: Code Caligula

Chapter 36: Wishes of an Ant, Part 3

Mura had left with the container of hot takoyaki in hand moments earlier, returning to his bench where he found Lilith standing.

"Just couldn't wait, huh?" the demon remarked with a light-hearted smile. He sat on the bench as she plopped next to him, opening the white box of grilled goodness. Snapping a pair of chopsticks that were included, he expertly plucked a single ball of the succulent meal between both of his sticks. Lilith on the other hand simply used her fingers to snatch up the sizzling orbs.

Both of their eyes lit up in delight as they tried the first bite. Mura took his time to chew, savoring the flavor while Lilith filled her cheeks with four more of the takoyaki in a gluttonous rush to fill her aching stomach.

"Where has this been all my life?!" Mura exclaimed, in love with the newfound delight.

"I forgot how good this tasted!" Lilith cried out, her words barely distinguishable from the food in her mouth.

"Hey, you pig! Don't eat them all at once!" he snapped, smacking her sauce-stained hand away. "We each get ten, got it? Don't eat any more than that, or else I'll kick your ass."

"Yeah yeah, hurry up. I'm starving to death over here!"

Lilith greedily licked her lips, taking the box from her friend and eating the rest of her portion. Meanwhile, Mura looked off down the street to where the parade was moving away from them.

Memories from the dark chamber he encountered Mara within washed over his mind like a murky wave. The words he spoke muddled together into a mash of phrases and sentences as Mura struggled to brush them away. Were humans a cancer, their ways and actions a dismissal to those lesser than themselves?

From what he had seen, it was simple ignorance. They were unaware of their role in the larger scheme of the universe. Unaware they were not alone, yet clung to tales and myths of gods and the great unknown. It wasn't their fault. Yet despite these truths, Mura felt something unpleasant in his heart. A dark presence in his mind that felt foreign, but also familiar.

—Humanity. What a petulant breed... so absorbed in their self-righteousness. How dare they make a mockery of our people... of us.

Mura shook his head in shock at what ran through his head. What was this presence? Shutting his eyes tight, he fought to push the thoughts from his brain.

—Go away! Get out of my head!!

"Never..." Mura uttered to himself.

"You say something?" Lilith turned, munching away at her food.

Mura blinked rapidly, sweating slightly. What he had just said didn't feel like it came from his mouth.

"N-Nothing, sorry bud. You done?"

"Yep! Here's your share, Mura!"

The demon took the box back from Lilith. As he went to grab it, he felt his fingers and palm peel away from the steel armrest affixed to the bench. In his disillusionment, he had inadvertently melted the metal within his grip. The armrest was now molded into a crushed yet smooth shape, as if he had squeezed a lump of putty in his hand.

"T-Thanks!" he said, trying to hide the evidence by leaning against it. As he ate once more with his chopsticks, Lilith looked at him with a scrutinizing glare.

"You feeling okay, dude?"

"Yeah, sorry. Just a lot on my plate lately..."

Fortunately, the thoughts from earlier had left his mind. Instead of dwelling on what it could have been, he resigned himself to eating the now lukewarm morsels.