The story of 56We5Lit5paw

Hey, have you heard this story? They say it's a made up legend to explain the current problems we struggle with. The government tries to imply that these creatures were created as a result of a secret bioweapon attack that was conducted either by the United States or Soviet Russia back when Japan refused to surrender during world war two. Suggesting that it was them who plagued the world with maneaters would probably cause yet another war, don't you think? Atomic weapons are terrifying, hopefully this doesn't happen anytime soon. That's why everyone just wants to quickly get rid of this new species and forget this catastrophe ever happened. Oh, sorry, I'm getting sidetracked again. Here's what I found on various forum boards.

It's pretty graphic. Themes of murder, religious cults and cannibalism. But if you're fine with that, let's proceed.

Japan, 1945-1946.
The phenomenon of a rapid increase in new religions (shinkou shukyou) spreads all across the country. Despair ensues as people run away from the harsh reality of defeat and destruction to symbols of hope - all-knowing, mighty gods.

One man understood how to help his people really well. He was chosen as the mayor of a small village. Thanks to his responsibility, intelligence and resourcefulness everyone was slowly lifted up from their anguish. The citizens began seeing him as a religious leader of sorts and most of their rituals praising the man were a mix of Buddhist and Catholic traditions. For instance, they would picture him as a man of many arms which he used to quickly help citizens. Not much is known about their specific beliefs apart from very few items that were acquired from the ruins of the village. Those would indicate that the way they pictured the man was similar to both Buddhist gods like Ten (天) and the God as described by the Bible.

His name was 56We5Lit5paw. Or something like that.

I suppose we would call that a cult today? None of these poor people were probably aware what they got themselves into. After all, the enthusiasm towards him was pretty much unanimous. What else could they believe in?

One day, things changed. The man's good friend returned to the village. He had known the man for as long as he could remember, but the war separated the two friends. On their reunion, the man's friend expressed that being the most important figure in this place was most likely tiring and a massive responsibility. He offered help with anything he could do. The man did not like that idea at all, but refusing his best friend would tarnish his reputation. After all, the citizens treated every person related to him as somewhat holy too. The man agreed reluctantly.

Some time had passed and one night the two met up on the outskirts of the village, near a big forest. Their meeting resulted in an argument, as the man was sick of not being treated as the sole figure of authority and the god of the citizens anymore. He took out a knife and stabbed his friend in the throat. He rapidly realized what he had done and panicked immensely. He knew that once anyone found out about his vicious crime, everything would be over. In an adrenaline-filled act of desperation, he further tampered with the body to make it seem as if a wild animal attacked his friend. The man ripped his friend's stomach apart and went as far as devouring some of his flesh. Hoping that any carnivore who lived in the forest would smell the blood and finish the job for him, the man quickly returned home.

He got away with murder.

Everything seemed fine for a while. The man fought the feeling of guilt, but he assured himself that all of this was for the better, for the sake of all citizens. Days turned into weeks and weeks turned into months. The man suddenly fell ill. He suffered from a high fever, hallucinations and his speech was so incoherent that nobody could understand him, not even his own wife. Many doctors tried to help him, but no treatment seemed to work. The fever was not going down and it really seemed like he had lost his mind. He started writing a book, it could probably be regarded as his last will. Multiple pages were dedicated to a ritual which would bring him back to life after his inevitable death. Various chants were written down as well, though they made very little sense and sounded more like chaotic rambling of an insane person than anything else. The man finally succumbed to his fever one day. Every citizen lamented. Nobody knew what to do next and all hope seemed to be lost - except for his testament. His family and other authorized people carefully read each word. According to the ritual, every person should donate a droplet of their blood to fill a golden chalice. One night, a prayer must be uttered among all donors that would confirm the act of sacrificing their soul to the man. Then, the contents of the chalice shall be poured into his mouth, so it was crucial for his corpse to be preserved in a cold room.

They performed the ritual.

The rest of the story is a bit of a mess. Obviously, something really bad happened. Most forum users speculate that he did indeed rise from the dead, but he was no longer himself, nor was he human. He allegedly turned into a man-eating monster with otherworldly powers that would include hyperplasia that allowed him to instantly heal his wounds, regenerate any part of his body and produce extra limbs. I believe his multiple arms with sharp claws were the most powerful, which is why current maneaters grow extra arms to hunt their prey. I saw some people suggest that he might have possessed the power to control nature, for instance cause earthquakes or heavy storms. Well, long story short the village was completely destroyed and all the inhabitants went missing. Seems a little far fetched, don't you think? But surprisingly, if the legend was true lots of things would make more sense. If those people sacrificed their souls to him, they would turn into maneaters. Then, the new species of an evolved, mutated human would procreate, spread all around the world and blend into society.

But any average member of society would very much not like that this story implies that humans were the ones who created these monsters that are currently ruining their lives.