Hi there! Haven't posted in a bit, I've been-
CW: Major character death, Nightmares
"You're the best thing that's come from my wretched existence." Narinder's voice wavered as Lamb kept their hands pressed to his side. No ichor dripped past their dark fingers, only red blood. Mortal blood. "I couldn't have ever hoped that you'd surpass me as the god of death, but I'm sure you will."
"Shut up. Narinder you don't get to say things like that when-" A hand brushed against Lamb's cheek and something inside of them shattered. "Please. Please you can't just die. You've managed to make it through everything else, why now? Why when everything is finally going right for us."
Lamb bowed their head, resting it against the black cat's chest. They took little comfort in the uneven rise and fall. It was weaker than it should've been, ever had been, a signal that Narinder's time was coming to a close. Now red eyes squeezed themselves shut. No. Narinder wouldn't die here. They'd find some way to bring him back, even if he'd sworn that the resurrection ritual wouldn't work, Lamb would try. They had to try.
"Death is not fair, Lamb, you know this well by now. It need not make sense. Much like mortal dreams, it's confusing, sometimes it's terrifying, and others it's a comfort, but it always comes to an end." Narinder let out a rattling laugh, hand tangling itself into the woolly head resting on him. "But gods don't dream, Lamb. They have visions of what is to come, the future that they're being led to. And just like sheep to the slaughter, they let these prophecies push them, force them right towards the outcome they want least to happen. Five becomes four, becomes three, becomes two, becomes one, becomes nothing."
The hand laying on the back of their head suddenly yanked Lamb up. Forced to stare as three fully golden eyes gazed down at them. The sheep was frozen.
"Yet sacrificial beast, take heed; for a Crown cannot sit upon two brows."
Narinder leaned forward, ignoring the giant gash in his side as if it wasn't there, and smiled oh so sweetly at Lamb. Something burned in the back of their throat as his face remained calm.
"Oh, you damned Lamb, ascended to Godhood in my place. I've been defeated yet my powers still remain. Between us they must choose their final resting place. Flowing from me into you is the natural course of things set in motion. You cannot undo what you've done. All that you can do is accept what fate has decided, and then, maybe a different outcome will be shown."
When Lamb had started to cry, they didn't know. One second they were holding Narinder's side, then the next, they were alone. The rushing sound of wind twisting around them was their only company as the image of Darkwood wavered, melting away to reveal the Gateway. Only this Gateway was different. Instead of the large black feline shackled, kneeling with his guardians standing nearby, there was a white one instead. The chains and crosses and piles of remains seemed like they hadn't changed, but the person stuck in this jail had. Narinder's blood still stained their fingers.
Lamb went to take a hesitant step off of the stone they were standing on. There shouldn't be anyone left in the Gateway, not after Lamb had freed Narinder and resurrected Aym and Baal. Yet there was a white cat, hunched over, cradling something in their palms. As soon as their hoof touched the cool sand, the deity's head snapped to look at them with a look Lamb couldn't figure out. Not when they were sent hurdling from the moment, everything fading to black, the words that the other yelled nothing more than a muffled shout in their ears.
"My Lamb! It's almost time for the morning sermon! Are you almost ready? You haven't eaten yet either so I brought you some berry porridge if you're hungry." A familiar voice echoed in the otherwise empty temple. Martin. The morning sermon. How long had they slept for?
How could all of that just be a dream?