an urban legend, surely you've never heard of him.
DID YOU KNOW? THEY SAY THAT─
Edmud Dieudonne, you remain as one of my anchors. As a home I can come back to, as a smell I wrap myself in, and as a memory that I'm fond of visiting. My future is your future, as is my life.
Lakshminanda. Your love for the world which I will devour is going to be your demise. I never understood you as a person, but I understood why you do what you do.
TO BE ADDED.
WORLD EATER: Sakaguchi is able to eat anything and everything that exists in the world aside from abstract ideas such as beliefs. He could eat diseases, viruses, weathers, curses or blessings, and the likes although he isn't immune to the consequences. Eating storms or anything related to weather would invite hailstorms or even extreme rainfall to his whereabouts, eating diseases would cause him to suffer through an accelerated rate of said disease for three to four days. Eating curses would put him in an incapacitated state along with experiencing the effects of the curse firsthand, this also applies to blessings. Everything is digested, and nothing lasts for long━ it is an unbreakable cycle.
ACCELERATED HEALING: Being a World Eater, Sakaguchi's regeneration ability is quite impressive. In order to cycle through the effects of the things he devours, he would need a fast regenerative capability. He is able to mend physical wounds, although he cannot regenerate a limb back; a broken bone is only a nuisance at worst. This does not mean that the wounds couldn't get infected, the reason he has way too many scars is that he never treats them properly. Wounds that are infected heals longer, and leaves marks.
STRENGTH: Sakaguchi is able to devastate a small building (think of a small, one-story house) if he was given time, and could destroy walls with a properly aimed punch.
ARSENAL: A pair of gauntlets, and a modest collection of firearms. He never does seem to use the gauntlets, most of the time he fights barehanded and only use guns if he really cannot catch up with his target. His fellow comrades will tell you that he is a terrible shot, but a brutal fighter.
The World Eater is reincarnated time and time again to the world with the same purpose for centuries. He cycles through urban legends in various forms, some human, some animals.
Some not even vaguely living.
But one thing is the same with all of them: stitches on their maws. Stitches on their jaws. Some have stitches on their mouth, thread woven from the hair and golden greed of a deity long forgotten. Stitched by needles of pure silver, drenched in melted stardust.
All of them have the similar flaw, though: they are all mortal.
Every single human reincarnation. Even if they're blessed with longer life and fast regenerative ability, they are susceptible to heavy emotional pressure. As living things are.
This is why the deities prevent as many human reincarnations as possible, to terminate human World Eaters faster than their usual due time. Being human is the one biggest flaw a World Eater can have, the ability to empathize. The contradiction of a human being ties them down more than anything else, the capability to both love and kill and switching sides with the blink of an eye.
Humans love as much as they kill, to have that trait in a World Eater is a hindrance and extremely dangerous. The cases where a World Eater turns their maws to deities are not little. Uncommon, but way too common to their liking.
But nowadays, World Eater eats less and less.
Due to the ridiculous amount of pollution, a World Eater's appetite lessens. It clogs their throat, makes them sick like no mortal wounds nor illness would. Turns to black sludge in their stomach, courses through their veins sluggishly.
This era's World Eater especially, named Sakaguchi Kinichirō, is one of the more unfortunate World Eaters. Having to consume pollution daily, he is built to be the most resilient out of all.
But resilient is his physique, resilient is his hunger.
Struggling to balance his World Eater and human nature, Sakaguchi constantly tips to one side and never in perfect balance.
Time and time, he has to remember his nature as World Eater.
This would be so much easier if he wasn't human.
For a World Eater devours. And there is nothing, no storms, no wars, no curse, nor blessing nor prayers that could satiate the void that is his hunger.
The World Eater is reborn again in the form of a screaming baby, already there are scars on the sides of (this time) his jaws. His mother was appalled, his father was baffled, but a World Eater was bound to miss something even if he was grown and cared for in a loving household. They had enough, they lived a modest but fulfilling life. They are satisfied.
The World Eater turned 10, and ate both of his parents in a misguided concept of love. If you asked him what it felt, he would tell you that it's fulfilling. That it was enough to stave his hunger for years to come, and years to come: the world fell into ruins.
It was only after a villager came by that Sakaguchi Kinichirō was discovered sleeping on the pile of his mother's kimono while clutching his father's monsuke in his hands. When asked where did they go, young Kinichirō only smiled and pat his stomach.
They're here!
That was when the villager realized the red smear all over his face wasn't jam, the pungent scent of iron wasn't from the rusty pot over the firewood, the child's words aren't just figuratively meant.
The whole village dragged him out of the house kicking and screaming, burning an incantation on him to always feel like he would never belong anywhere; a curse to be forever a nomad, to wander aimlessly until the ends of Earth and back, to never come back to their village.
Sakaguchi Kinichirō was casted out of the village, raised by the wilderness and without guidance. Until a group of kids his age found him sleeping underneath their temple, coaxes him out with promises of food and warm bed and a bath, promises of a place to stay so long as you heed the head monk's words.
There, Sakaguchi Kinichirō learns.
He learns, not only about the world and the things in it, but also the things out of it. But also concepts like feelings and emotions and manners. He was taught so much.
One night, he prayed. He knelt in front of the altar and clasps his hands and hopes he'll see something like the others. Be it his future or past or prophecies of his own downfall, but instead... he hears something.
They were holding you back.
Sakaguchi Kinichirō swallowed.
We had to do something.
You are a World Eater, you have no time to play house.
Heed us and heed us well, World Eater, you are destined for something far greater than yourself. You must understand, you hold no small position in the mechanism of this world.
But you can't just...
Sakaguchi Kinichirō is by nature, a being that heeds to no one but himself. To expect utter loyalty from him is to expect fluent literacy from an animal, it is simply not possible for him. So, Sakaguchi Kinichirō gritted his teeth, and the World Eater started to harmonize together with the wavelength of his soul.
I have a bargain.
You intend to bargain with Gods?
I don't intend to repeat my sentence, don't you Gods find that behavior to be insolent?
You are a strange World Eater. Fine, what is it that you want so badly other than our commands?
Let me do as I please.
Sakaguchi Kinichirō wavered, the sound of thousands of voices both young and old grating in his mind as they laughed. But he is nothing if not stubborn.
Let me do as I please, I do not want to be beholden to you and your commands. I do not want to have a seat underneath the sole of your shoe, I do not want to live my whole life without living.
And what is in it, for us?
The World Eater clasped his hands tighter, Sakaguchi Kinichirō clasped his hands tighter, and glared at the Gods. His eyes seared in pain, burning, but this is nothing compared to what he would face later in his life. He refused, he's not fucking scared.
You have the right to grab me by the scruff of my neck if I fail my duty as a World Eater and retain some form of ownership over me. But you cannot meddle with my choices.
Let me live as humans do.
You think you're cunning.
Sakaguchi Kinichirō felt a guillotine materialize above him, the blade blunt but still sharp enough to embed itself in his neck. He knows he will not be granted something merciful.
Fine.
Their hearts skipped a beat.
In return, you are to merge with the World Eater, a being that you cannot control. Only words of a God could tame his tempest. You wish to live as humans do? Very well. You are no longer immortal, you will die and live and fall as mortals do.
This is our first time merging a World Eater with a human.
Sakaguchi Kinichirō felt sweat running down his face, to his chin and down to the wooden floors of the temple. The World Eater hisses, claws digging into a part of him that made him flinch in pain. The World Eater tries to unclasp his hands, to cut whatever connection he has with the Gods, to end this conversation.
He can't.
It's a shame.
The world has gotten so rotten.
Something snapped, and Sakaguchi Kinichirō's screams mingled with those desperate wailing of a World Eater.
Sakaguchi Kinichirō is violent, ruthless, and a liar. Always been quick to anger but never loses control of his secrets, he does however, easily lose control of his fists. But Sakaguchi isn't as he made himself appear to be, a tall mysterious man, slicked back hair and intimidating dead eyes paired with that type of facial hair, no. He could be kind, when he wants to, he just chooses not to. Before merging with The World Eater, he was a man eager to help the people around him, he still had the hardheaded quality to him but it made him all the more endearing.
After merging with The World Eater, Sakaguchi became needlessly violent and cruel, spinning lies when he didn't need to. Compulsively lying was a trait he was born with, unfortunately, and it became worse as he tried to delude himself that this was what he wanted; he got what he asked. He was powerful, he didn't need to lie about that, but was this what he truly wanted? To be a free man, a mortal to its' finest, at the price of having his humanity eaten away day by day?
But he has a soft heart inside, prone to attachments and the likes, the only thing keeping him from doing so is distance. Physical contact made him not only nervous, but he'd feel vulnerable. It was different if it bear ill-intent, or just for fighting in general but physical contact that held meaning, that held vulnerability... He distanced himself. Shaking hands and clapping shoulders he could tolerate, but anything more than that would make him reel.
Despite being a spy for a majority of his life, Sakaguchi is reckless and spares nary a thought on making decisions or acting on something. His only saving grace from it was that he is good at improvisations, at making things and plans up on the get-go. Despite looking like a competitive person, he's not actually interested in competing unless someone were to goad him into it. Reverse psychology works exceptionally well on him, if you find yourself in difficulty of telling him what to do. He is, however, a professional at his job and will do what his higher-up told him to do (despite his tendency to go looking for loopholes).
Being an opportunist at heart, Sakaguchi always does what is favorable to his own advantage. Living life alone for so long has developed him an almost exclusively self-interest only mindset, but he does spare some thoughts for a few selected people.
[Transcript of Get To Know Your Villains! broadcast on 01/10/2XXX, 15:00]
[15:00:09] FUW-W'WUA CHARAKO, INTERVIEWER: Good afternoon, viewers! Welcome back to Get To Know Your Villains! and today, we've got a guest that's been on our minds for a while now. Give an applause to The World Eater!
[15:00:45] THE WORLD EATER: Thank you, um, for the applause and for inviting me here.
[15:01:01] FUW-W'WUA CHARAKO, INTERVIEWER: Thank you for coming here! Now, World Eater-san, you work at Catastrophe as an Endymion. How does your workplace treat you?
[15:01:48] THE WORLD EATER: Oh, they're nice if you ignore that everyone is gathered here for a genocide and- hey, don't laugh! It's true and it's bad and we love it, um, anyways... Heheh, uh... They're a very interesting bunch, my commander is very accommodating and, yeah.
[15:02:55] FUW-W'WUA CHARAKO, INTERVIEWER: Your commander- um, Endymion's commander, she's the infamous Estella? The terrifying ice queen?
[15:03:20] THE WORLD EATER: Yeah, she's um... she's nice, very cut and clear, and stern. Made me plant some explosive in my eye, though, so that was kind of uncool but she's- she's, um, she's a good commander.
[15:04:02] FUW-W'WUA CHARAKO, INTERVIEWER: That's very nice to hear, and um, World Eater-san. You've been a while in the spying industry. I wanted to ask what type of fiasco you usually get into?
[15:04:20] THE WORLD EATER: Oh, a lot. I mean, in the spying industry it's just a lot of pretending, um... lying, y'know. Spying. Stop laughing, oh my God, it wasn't even funny- um, anyways. I usually just, um, to get- get like, quick cash? I usually just get get an UBERTINO and say it's a comedy bit and then I take their money- no, no, that was a joke! (Laughter) I, uh, get dirt on people. People have lots of grudges, man, some people you wouldn't even expect to have that type of grudges.
[15:05:03] FUW-W'WUA CHARAKO, INTERVIEWER: Like what?
[15:05:12] THE WORLD EATER: Once, uh, I had a job from this rich girl. You know, curly hair and bomb eyelashes and all that shit- oh fuck, can I curse on air?
[15:06:01] FUW-W'WUA CHARAKO, INTERVIEWER: (Laughter) Considering you just cursed twice, I think it's fine.
[15:06:23] THE WORLD EATER: Oh, okay, um so. Girl's young, I'm talking like preteen young, I know. Crazy, right? Anyways, so I asked her whose dirt am I digging up and she's all like okay, I need you to get dirt on the president's 10 years old son and I was like what? What? What the fuck, what? But! (Laughing) But, um, the money was good. I spied on a 10 years old kid, so what, you know? Anyway, so I told her that he still uses a pacifier- which, ew- and he still peed in his bed and the girl... (Laughing slowly) The girl, um... (Muffled laughter) She pulled this packed brown envelope full of money and handed it over to me like- like a, uh, a drug-dealer and she said- deadass, she said, "pleasure doing business with you, Sakaguchi, I'm looking forward for our furthered partnership," and I was like first of all, you're 13, second of all, this is only once, I am never spying on a 10 years-old again, do you know how boring that was? Anyway, um, yeah. So, that was the weirdest shit I've ever done.
[15:08:20] FUW-W'WUA CHARAKO, INTERVIEWER: So, moving on. What's your aspiration in life? What keeps you going?
[15:08:32] THE WORLD EATER: Oh, we talking about like... reason to live or someone who I look up to?
[15:08:40] FUW-W'WUA CHARAKO, INTERVIEWER: Can't see why it can't be both.
[15:08:42] THE WORLD EATER: I really admire, um, our Emperor. Martino Amouteru, devil bless his soul, y'all must know him, right? Anyway, uh, I'm not just, like, talking smack shit and being an ass-kisser on purpose. I really do admire the guy, he's efficient and dangerous as hell. Attractive, too, and I might get killed for this but, he's, like, ridiculously piping hot, right? I know! He's, like, okay. Here's a good thing about me first and foremost, I'm a Christian. (Laughing) When I saw him, I legit clasped my hand behind my back and said in my mind, Lord, if you and Jesus are on my side... Let me get laid by this man once in my lifetime. Just a pipe dream, though, if he sees this I'm toast.
TO BE CONTINUED.