Chapter Text
The prophecy has been foretold of a small and harmless little lamb, to eventually, become a god. Specifically, the God of Death. But, obviously, it comes with a price, and the price was to grow a cult.
It has to be in someone's name.
And so they did.
They grew a cult, regardless if they had a choice. It grew slowly, but surely. As the years, or even centuries, passed by, the cult grew more and more. At the point of it becoming a medium sized village. It has children, elders, and much more in it. It was pretty stable and normal. Well... used to be.
As the God of War mentioned, five becomes four, four becomes three, three becomes two, two becomes one.
one, becomes...
As the days passed by, Lamb's moment was approaching. One day, they'll have to give up their life, and return the crown to the original sender.
Months passed. Weeks passed. Days passed. Minutes passed. Seconds passed.
It is time.
As they approached The One Who Waits realm, they looked up, with a blank yet weary expression on their face, with their hands clasped together.
As expected, The One Who Waits spoke.
"You did a good job, vessel. The cult is growing and is flourishing in my name. But, it is time for you to give your life back to me. You'll be forever my favourite vessel, for sure." he chuckled deeply, after mocking.
They were silent for a moment, grabbing their crown and staring at it, blankly.
They blink at it. It blinks back.
Then, the crown floats back to the top of their head, staying silent. The silence stretched longer than it needed to be. Still staring down at the white sand on the floor.
"No. Sorry..." is all they said, before the crown turned into an axe.
And so it begins.
They died. A lot.
Whenever they revived and came back to the cult, they would not go back to the flock, instead, going immediately back to the battle without wasting any more time. The followers would witness that, and get worried and confused.
They died once,
Twice,
Thrice even.
They couldn't give up just yet. So they kept fighting.
---
It took a whole month and a half to defeat him. Such time that could be used to help the followers around the flock. It's going to be worth it in the end.
The One Who Waits is blacked out on a cold and stoned floor. He can hear footsteps around him with gasps, while the former vessel is slightly shouting in the background.
"Everyone, please, back away! It's just a new follower! Don't scare hi-" they get cut out as they witness his state.
His face was open, with 4 tentacle shaped layers spread out, dripping a bit of blood (or was it ichor..?) on the stoned floor. He looked awful yet disgusting.. For some of the followers.
Before they could even get any closer, he was already waking up. Slowly, the darkened view started to brighten up, being able to at least see who was standing by his face.
Lamb.
He quickly stood up and lunged at them, with claws and teeth threatening to shred Lamb apart, furious and blinded by the anger
"You damned, wretched, little pathetic, lamb! YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS! I'LL CUT OFF YOUR HEAD AND PUT IT ON A STAKE FOR EVERYONE TO SEE! YOU'LL REGRET YOU WERE BORN!!" he shouted and snapped at them as they held his arms in place, struggling below him as he pins them on the floor, while the rest of the followers gasps and screams in shock
"D-dude! Hold on, please calm down and listen to me!!" they screamed as he kept trying to behead the Lamb (again?)
Before they could even ask for help, 2 followers managed to grab and pull his arms away from them, pulling him away as he kept scratching the air.
"IT WAS MY ROLE TO RULE THIS CULT! YOU STOLE IT FROM ME! YOU TRAITOR! I WILL TEAR YOU APART!!" he kept shouting as he got dragged away to the imprisonment, slowly fading away as he got dragged further from them.
They were still on the floor, sitting as they watched him. They sighed, and stood up, patting their arms, back, thighs and legs to get dust off of their body and clothes. Then, they looked around.
There were still some followers awaiting for a clear answer of what is going on. They cleared their throat, and started speaking, "I'm sorry you all had to witness this. I can reassure he will not harm anyone else here. Please, go back to the normal routine. I'll explain more later."
Like they asked, the crowd dissipates. With a few glances and whispers, obviously. But they knew it would become a gossip around the village. Something that they will need to stop it from spreading any faster than it already did.
---
It was evening. Some followers were doing their last chores before heading to their homes and sleeping, like usual.
Unlike them, Lamb does not need sleep. At most, rest, to ease their mind. But sleep? No. They don't feel exactly tired.
They sometimes miss being able to actually sleep.
Why? They're not sure. Maybe they should think about why later.
They decided to visit The One Who Waits at the prison (yes, prison. It got so reinforced it's now actually called prison).
As soon as they open the door of the prison, they can see a black cat tail sticking out of the cell. They tilt their head as they notice it, curious.
When getting near (with audible footsteps, as their hooves are tapping on the floor each step), they slowly extend their hand to touch it. When close enough, The One Who Waits immediately turns around and tries to grab their wrist.
Fortunately (for Lamb), they're much more smarter and before he even turned around, they were already pulling away, avoiding his catch. With a small smug tugging on their face as they take a few steps back, something that pissed him off even more.
"Y'know, that was pretty creative, yet, also obvious-"
"SHUT YOUR VILE MOUTH, you little... Wretched, stupid lamb..." he cuts them off immediately from the mockery, grabbing and holding onto the cell bars as they clanged when doing so, glaring at them. "You think you're so smart... You'll regret what you've done later." he sneers.
They stare for a few seconds, crossing their arms afterwards, "Oh, really? How exactly do you plan on doing anything if you're in there?" they said with a sassy tone, tilting their head a bit. It made The One Who Waits hiss.
then, they added, "Perhaps, I've dealt with worse people. Your aggressiveness isn't new for me." they said firmly, shaking their head a bit
He chuckles a bit, "Hah, you're as stupid as i thought you were. Pathetic. You're a false idol, a false god even. You are a traitor. Do you think MY followers would like to know that?"
They sigh, uncrossing their arms now, back to the blank expression again, "You did try to behead me in front of everyone. They'll think you're lying, and that you're just another dissenter."
He was thoughtful now, looking a bit at the floor for a moment. Right... He tried to kill them in front of everyone, including children (when did he start caring about them too? How futile), No way nobody would trust his words now...
Gods, everything is going wrong.
As he stayed silent, they broke it with a sigh, pulling his attention back to them.
"Well, uh, you'll have to stay here for a while until i sort things out. I'll have to explain what happened earlier. I don't want gossip roaming around my cult." they huff after talking, adjusting their collar with the bell they always wore.
"I care not about your stupid little cult, Lamb. Do as you wish." he hissed. Turning back and sitting on the floor, facing the wall now and refusing to look at them.
They were silent for a while as they burned holes behind his head. Sighing again. Then, they spoke, "..just stay here. Not like you can leave. But.. Y'know what, you get it. I'll check back on you later."
They were waiting for any response from him. He didn't respond. But he was listening anyways.
"Alright. Bye and goodnight... Uhh, what was your name? Narin-"
Before they could even finish saying the name, he cut them off, "DO NOT call me by that. I don't want my name rolling out of a traitor's tongue."
They looked confused. But accepted anyways with a little nod. "Okay then... I'll see you later." they said, already walking away with fading hooves taps, slowly the prison would fall in complete silence, save for the crickets outside.
It'll be a long day tomorrow, he thought.