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/ill finish this laterrrr

II:⠀⠀⠀the planet had no name worth remembering.
          	  perhaps it once had one. perhaps it had belonged to a civilization that dreamed of futures and monuments and stars. by the time azazel was born, none of that remained.
          	  
          	  only dust.
          	  
          	  dust upon the roads. dust upon the rooftops. dust gathering in the cracks of buildings that should have collapsed decades before.
          	  the orphanage stood at the edge of a settlement. its walls rattled whenever the seasonal storms crossed the plains. its heating failed more often than it worked. its caretakers counted every ration twice before serving it to the kids.
          	  
          	  azazel was one of these children.
          	  an outlier with a strange appearance compared to the other children; and an even stranger habit of collecting things.
          	  a rusted bolt discovered beneath a water tank. a bent coin discarded in an alley. a broken watch.
          	  anything abandoned became his.
          	  anything forgotten found its way into his pockets.
          	  anything valuable never stayed lost for long.
          	  the caretakers scolded him whenever they discovered another hidden stash beneath his bed.
          	  years passed.
          	  his collections grew.
          	  the other children traded trinkets away for sweets or favors. azazel never understood why.
          	  once something belonged to him, the thought of losing it made his stomach twist.
          	  at night he would arrange his possessions across the floorboards and count them one by one.
          	  seeing them all together brought a feeling he could never find elsewhere.
          	  a feeling that lasted only moments.
          	  never long enough.

I:⠀⠀⠀at first, hunger was simple.
          	  it stirred beneath fangs and claws. it lurked in the darkness between ribs. it was the pull of an empty stomach and the scent of prey carried on the wind.
          	  
          	  THEIR ancestors understood nothing else.
          	  THEY hunted the beasts that roamed the universe. then THEY hunted the creatures that hunted THEM. when prey became scarce, THEY hunted rivals. when rivals became scarce, THEY hunted kin.
          	  THEY consumed.
          	  and consumed.
          	  and consumed.
          	  yet the emptiness remained.
          	  
          	  when the great shadow that had birthed them vanished from the cosmos, THEIR hunger remained behind like a wound that refused to close.
          	  worlds died.
          	  eras passed.
          	  civilizations rose from dust and returned to dust once more.
          	  those born from the remnants learned new ways to survive.
          	  some sought power.
          	  some sought glory.
          	  some sought knowledge.
          	  some sought love.
          	  
          	  THEY gave the hunger new names.
          	  ambition.
          	  devotion.
          	  curiosity.
          	  desire.
          	  purpose.
          	  but names changed nothing.
          	  beneath every obsession lurked the same ancient ache.
          	  the same endless wanting.
          	  the same void left behind by the shadow that had made THEM.