Chapter 2: Inside

My stomach, my true stomach, rumbled again and the universe shook. As it did, I relished the confusion and awe and fear from the surviving Grenu and the similar sentiments from the Magus.

“What? That is not possible. How could this go unnoticed?”, conveyed the Magus.

“I was hiding the sounds of my true body, among other things, from you is why. I let you hear the roar of my growling stomach, but how about some more veils pulled away?”

I did as I said. I let more sounds from my body breach the barriers of that universe. They heard the hungry grumbles, but also the ambient sounds of digestion and shifting as my stomach churned. They heard the steady beat of my heart above. A loud, omnipresent thoom to their ears and whatever audio sensors they had. Each beat with the force of many, many suns exploding all at once together.

“We were eaten this whole time? When?”

“Not too long ago, but time can be relative. Moments for me can be years to you at a will. I try to keep things reasonable there, but do not fuss so much about that. The point is, I already ate you all. You’re already mine, completely inside my true body, under my control, malleable to my superior will.”

“Do you mean that these avatars are yours are akin to white blood cells?”

My smaller body, the one standing on my toe, laughed.

“Such a comparison is an insult to my true immensity. Behold the barest glimpse.”

I did as I said. I removed the tapestry of stars of dark that surrounded the Grenu star system and the Ring which adorned my toe. Such starry features of their universe still existed of course, I simply made it all invisible to all but the denizens of said star systems. This way, more than the Grenu would take in the sight if they wished.

The Magus had sensors with which to ‘see’, vast distances, and even the Grenu peering out of the windows had a view of sorts.

Yes, they could see my stomach flesh. The iridescence of it, as my entire body glowed inside by my divine will. Massive walls of undulating flesh many many universes tall. Yet even the Magus could not see too far in the vast depths of my true stomach. They could see only the barest bit of it.

Still, they could see many other lights within. Far in the distance. Other universes. Bubbles of super-clustered galaxies and other starry delights. All in maelstrom that shifted and swirled both passively and with every churn. Among such meals, too, were the lights of countless souls.

The Magus was silent. Trying to think of what to say, I could tell.

I spoke before they had the chance.

“Do you see now? Your universe is just one meal among many. Hardly filling on its own. Your star system? It cannot even be compared to a crumb. I shouldn’t need to tell you how insignificant each individual Grenu mortal is.”

“Why are we not with the other devoured universes further in?”

My lower body smiled a tad wider.

“Astute to notice. I plucked you out from the masses to have some more fun with your universe. You’ll digest too, in time, rest assured. However, I do things like this to amuse myself. Even once digested I can simply recall that which I made my own in its original form, or others of my choosing. I can tweak the memories as well, to make them forget they were ever eaten at all should I wish to watch them under new conditions or, of course, toy with them.”

“Why? Why do this to us? Why send lesser bodies of yourself to eat us if we are already eaten? To destroy us if our destruction is merely a matter of time?”, conveyed the Magus.

“To enjoy the true nectar of the gods: novelty. Its a component to the greatest forms of pleasure. Mortals and divine begins alike revel in it. You are not exactly a normal mortal, but even as a construct you are not an AI either. I am sure you can understand this, even if you do not agree.”

The Magus did not need to answer. I knew they did. The Grenu certainly did.

The sounds of my body continued to echo. My hunger. The roar of the stomach we were in: my stomach. There were many sounds they couldn’t sense as well. Too far, and too weak the source. I heard it all though, and relished it. My true body was wonderful, inside and out.

“Someone will stop you, even if we cannot.”, conveyed the Magus.

"No, the time to stop my ascent passed long ago. I am unstoppable now. Never ending, always expanding. The limits of realities such as yours set when I stretch my legs. You are no resistance, only food."

It was nevertheless quite the unexpected statement from such a construct, and especially amusing since it was still housed in what was now a toe ring.

I could sense a sentiment akin to great upset from the Magus. The Grenu, too, were in a sense of despair. I continued talking to them all as I drank up said sentiments.

"Cheer up, there are worse bellies to be in. More torrid environments to dissolve in. Crueler mistresses to become a part of. In fact, many want to be a part of me. My servants, for instance. They enjoy it. Consider this a high honor, you know."

“High honor?”, began the Magus. “What fools would-”

At those words I clenched the toes of the body that wore the toe ring. Pressure built around the construct. I was sure to crack it, to make them feel a sense a hurt and panic, but I didn’t squeeze my toes so tight as to break The Ring.

“I will not tolerate you insulting my loyal servants and worshipers. Mind your non-existent tongue, amalgamation. You are in my body, under my power. Know that the torments I could subject you to could far exceed any potential calculations or imaginations you could conceive. Your very souls will be mine forever, after all..”

The Magus was humbled, I could tell. The Grenu felt the most fear yet.

“Souls? What do you mean”, asked the Magus.

“Yes, they exist, and they are packed with energy and power. Individual mortal souls not so much, at least to me as I am now, but I will take it all the same. The eternal forms of you all. With it, you will exist forever. You worried about absolute destruction before, but that will not happen within me. You will be kept forever, in one form or another.”

“You would steal our people’s very souls?”

“I would claim the souls of all your people, and all who had ever lived and died. Just because they may or may not have been alive when I first ate this universe doesn’t mean that energy isn’t there one way or another. Diffused among the stars. Yet, once I make a universe my meal I can glean its history easily and put together those pieces should I wish.”

My smaller body, standing on the ringed-one’s toe, smiled again.

“In a sense, you never have to fear a true end. In another, you can never escape me.”

The Magus paused some moments, thinking of things.

“What about the Magus then. The Magus are made up of consciousness clones.”, they said.

I already figured out of course that one of the Magus recent goals was gathering information about me and the processes I understood. No matter, the information was harmless to share to them.

“Yes you don’t have a soul in the common sense of most beings, but there is an energy to you unique from your amalgamation. That too is something. Something I can take, have partially, and will completely. Perhaps I will remake you all split up again, duplicate minds with respect to other souls in me. The original sources of your component consciousness. Perhaps I won’t. Maybe I’ll just diffuse your energy to a state of non-sentience and keep you that way. It will be up to me, as all is in the domain of my body.”

My stomach rumbled quite loudly. I could feel my hunger rising. I shut the eyes of both my avatars and savored the feeling.

Another sound rung out shortly after, and I turned my heads and opened the eyes of my avatars to admire it visually. It was a loud slirtching noise.

“Gulp”

It came from my true body, and accompanying it was the sounds of unfathomable mass of throat flesh shifting to guide food into my stomach.

A few bubbles of light drifted down to join the churning mass in the distance. Floating down rather fast. My stomach gurgled at the latest offering of what looked like 3 universes, bubble-shaped like they almost always were. Tiny dots of light in a vast cavern within my being.

My stomach churned again, the noises picking up at the introduction of more food to my true self. Yet, along with that came hungry grumbles once more. The stomach walls were shaking.

“What is happening?”, asked the Magus.

“My servants have been diligently feeding me as I rest.”, I said.

“Rest? What do you mean?”, asked the Magus.

“It is not quite sleep like how mortal Grenu might know. I can make avatars and toy with things in and out of my body. I can still rule with ease”

My hunger continued to rise. My gut continued to grumble. The Magus and the Grenu were not the only beings within me wondering what was going on.

“And you are fed when you rest?”, they communicated.

“Yes. Sometimes it’s not waking up that’s hard, but staying asleep. To better enjoy and prolong the state of rest, I’ve had my servants feed me as I slumber. Yet, they are only so powerful. They are only so big. My appetite is far bigger than they could hope to sate for more than mere eons. I’m going to wake up soon. My hunger is too great. I want to feed properly. Have meals of the caliber I deserve.”

I reached down with the avatar that had the toe-ring. The smaller avatar I simply unwilled. It was no matter. They were all controlled by me. Were me.

As I moved the ring off my toe and lifted it up towards the one avatar’s face, the Magus once more communicated.

“Wait, what are you doing? What does that mean?”

I turned to face the swirling celestial chyme within me. It was far away to be far from touching me, but the lights from it were still detectable, at least partially, to the Magus.

“Well, while resting, my ‘metabolism’ is a bit slower. While fully alert, my digestive processes can be far quicker.”

“What will happen to us.”

“You will be digested of course. Though I don’t need to eat to survive, I am hungry all the same.”

The swirling meals within me started dwindling. Universes dissolved as I collected all the energy they had and the souls within: absorbing it all. Making it mine to harness and recall as I saw fit.

“No. Do not do this.”

“I will do as I please. Its time for you to be fully absorbed. Don’t worry, you will be around forever, one way or another. As mine.”

Holding the ring up to my purple gaze a moment, I flicked it forward into the digesting maelstrom in the distance. The universe it was in traveled with it, though they could still see out of it and my stomach walls, and the dwindling starry lights around.

They joined the simmering, dissolving lights. They did not last long, nor did their universe either. My stomach was roaring. Wails went out as my current meals broke down with great haste. My stomach was picking up. Roaring.

I spoke with my avatar to the few souls still remaining before my body absorbed them. Before I reabsorbed the meager amount of power it took to make this avatar.

“It seems it’s time to wake up.”