Chapter Text
Narinder was sitting near the campfire with Laziel nowhere in sight. He knew it was a dream, because he could see. Across the campfire sat Shamura quietly sharpening their spear, their skull still intact.
“Brother.” He tensed when they spoke up, their voice a loud whisper and full of authority, enough to make anyone fear them. Tonight, it was just them but that didn’t change the fact that there was tension in the air between them. “You are aware that gods do not dream.” It wasn’t a question, it was a statement.
Narinder knew where that conversation would lead to and he was already dreading what was about to come his way. “I am.” He said as he looked down at the crackling fire before him, not wanting to look up at his sibling.
“That sheep you mentioned.” They stopped and looked up at him. “What is their name?” Narinder bit down on his lip, unsure if he should tell them or not. It was not a memory, it was a dream and it was lucid. “Laziel.” He said after a while and Shamura hummed then continued to sharpen their spear.
“I do not know what you are planning but I swear if you hurt them and their kind-“ He stopped when his ears flicked back to the sound of fire crackling, but it wasn’t coming from the campfire, it was coming from behind him. He looked behind to see Paradise burning down. The cult grounds that Laziel oh so built from scratch and reached to a point they could call it a village.
Narinder’s ears pinned back as he watched the temple crumble down from the large flames while creatures could be heard screaming in agony as they were set ablaze, it smelled like cooked meat. Narinder gagged and put his hands up to his mouth to stop the bile, but the warm wetness on his hands made him hesitate. He shakily pulled away and looked down at his hands to see fresh blood covering them.
“It is done.” He whipped his head back to see Shamura standing, spear in hand and covered in blood. His eyes flicked to the bandages that were covering their head. “What do you mean…?” He whispered while Shamura didn’t take off their eyes at the sight behind him. “Shamura, I don’t understand! They- sheep kind had done nothing wrong! Why did you and the others kill them?!” It was useless, seeking answers in his dreams.
He looked back to see another burning village, not Paradise but a village he did not recognize. The smell of burning flesh was still in the air, burned bodies of sheep and lambs were scattered in front of him. His breath hitched as he scanned the bodies, some heads were missing, some bodies were cut open, viscera spilling out from them, a lot of them were burned alive.
“Nari…” He flinched at the familiar voice before he quickly got up and ran towards the bodies. “Laziel!” He screamed and looked through the corpses. He pushed the body that he thought belonged to his beloved, but it was an unknown sheep. There was a quiet whisper of his name, barely audible from his right. He ran towards it and looked around, scanning the faces to find the one he was familiar with, but every time he thought he got to the source of the sound they weren’t there. The voices he heard only grew further and further away from him.
He got up from another corpse and turned to see infinite bodies of lambs and sheep, something he remembered when he was in the Gateway. There was a sudden wave of them walking and getting lost. Aym and Baal were busy shepherding them to the afterlife, he didn’t remember how long it took for them to sort them out.
“LAZIEL!” He screamed and looked around in hopes of finding any kind of movement in the piles as he ran and stumbled. His voice echoed and he was met with silence. The nightmare had already swallowed Shamura back into the darkness, leaving Narinder, the bodies and the burning village behind.
He was panicking now, he knew it was a dream, but it felt too real, the blood in his hands felt too real, the bodies lying by his feet felt too real. He closed his eyes and tried to wake up, he could hear Laziel mumbling something, could feel a hand on his face but he couldn’t move, couldn’t talk and he was pulled back into his nightmare.
It was terrifying, not knowing the difference between a dream and reality when you cannot see in the real world. It was especially terrifying if it was a night terror or sleep paralysis. Tough sleep paralysis was new to him and he was scared.
He could feel his subconsciousness pulling him back into his nightmare every time he could feel himself wake up and he whimpered, actually feeling fear of not being able to wake up from his nightmare that he was so aware of.
Suddenly, he was in the middle of an ocean. It was dark and he couldn’t see anything but feel the water around him. He swam around in hopes of finding something to hold onto, but there was nothing but the endless dark ocean. He didn’t know if he preferred that or his siblings torturing him. He’d rather dream of nothing to be honest.
He choked when a wave crashed into him and sputtered out what he thought was water but the taste in his mouth was off. It tasted like iron. “Narinder!” He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Laziel calling for him and looked around. “Laziel!” He yelled but he was met with nothing again. Another wave crashed into him. He gasped and swam to where he thought he heard the voice. “Laziel!” he called out again, but there was only silence.
Narinder was getting tired of swimming, and he could feel his body getting dragged down into the ocean of blood. He panicked and tried to keep his head up, but the waves were too strong, and he was now sinking deeper. He held his breath in hopes that his nightmare would change, but his mind decided to torture him and keep him there. When he couldn’t hold his breath anymore, he swam up, but it felt endless and his body grew more tired the more he swam. The last air left his lungs, and he started choking as he tried to swim back up. It was torture. He couldn’t die in his dream so now he was drowning in the blood without any precious relief of death. His lungs burned, his eyes burned. The taste of iron forever lingering in his mouth.
“Narinder wake up.” He gasped and sat up coughing. He could feel a hand rubbing his back as he hacked and coughed. “I’m sorry I had to, I couldn’t wake you up.” He heard Laziel say as he tried to calm his heart that was beating too fast. “Give me the damn moon necklace.” He rasped and held his hand out as he tried to even out his breath.
Laziel frowned at that, but they took their crown anyway and summoned the necklace and gave it to him. They watched as he put it on and hid it under his robes. There was silence between them as he tried to calm down. When they knew he was ready, Laziel spoke up. “Here let me clean you up, you are covered in sweat.” They summoned a wet cloth and carefully took his arm and started wiping him down gently.
Narinder let them and rubbed his head with his other hand to ease his headache before speaking up. “I dreamt of Shamura and the slaughter of your kind.” He could feel the cloth pause for a second then continue. “I can imagine it wasn’t that pretty.” They hummed and switched to his other arm, careful to avoid his scars on his wrists. “The pile of corpses was infinite, and you were there among them. I tried looking for you.” He mumbled then moved to lift up his robe so they could access his back that was slick with sweat.
“You were calling for me, so I tried waking you up.” Laziel said and wiped him down before getting a dry towel from the crown and patted it on his back. “I had to use force when I noticed that you were choking.” Narinder furrowed his brows slightly. “I did?” Laziel hummed.
There was silence for a moment before he continued. “I was drowning in an ocean full of blood. I-“ He shivered at the thought of it, and they pet his back in a reassuring manner.
“What time is it?” He asked after a few minutes of silence. “The sun has yet to rise, you only slept two hours.” Laziel sighed and pulled his robe down once they were done and threw the towels back into the crown’s storage. “Alright, we have to continue before that tiger wakes up and leaves Darkwood.” Narinder started but was stopped when he got pulled into a side hug. His body tensed for a moment then relaxed into it and rested his head on their shoulder.
“You are shaking.” They whispered as they tightened their hold onto him. It wasn’t from the cold, they knew that they had observed his tremors while they were cleaning him up.
Narinder didn’t say anything and only held onto them, his tail tucked between his legs and ears pinned down to his head. He stayed in their hold for a while to calm his racing thoughts and heart. It was pathetic. Being reduced to a cowering, blind, immortal who was once the God of Death. It was stupid, embarrassing even.
“Hey, stop. How many times do I have to tell you this Narinder? Laziel scolded and kissed the side of his head and scratched behind his ear in a way to distract him. He groaned and buried his face into their neck, mindful of his eyes touching their collar.
“So far the crown hasn’t whispered anything about Paradise burning down or Leshy killing anybody, which is good.” They started, wanting to distract him from his thoughts and nightmare that he so vividly remembered. “Manon should be the one taking care of him since he already has some experience guiding blind creatures, thanks to you.” Laziel let out a laugh while Narinder huffed in their neck and flicked his tail that emerged from its hiding spot.
Laziel paused for a moment, hesitant to mention that they are currently fighting Heket, but decided against it. “You know him. He took care of you when we were both mad at each other from the whole betrayal ordeal. You gave him hell, but he didn’t give up! I bet he can manage Leshy pretty well.” They smiled down at him and stroked his cheek under his veil. They changed his bandages while he was asleep, though after his nightmare it needed to be changed again.
They stayed like that for a while and when Narinder was ready, they went back to tracking down the tiger. The path they took was empty. There were no enemies in sight, to which they are grateful for because they were not in the right condition to fight right now. Narinder couldn’t see it, but Laziel had gained bruises on their body from their clone fighting Heket. It wasn’t bad, just annoying. Any other injuries caused by mere mortals wouldn’t harm them except if they were a god. The bishops might have been defeated, but their godly powers still remained in purgatory.
“We are entering Anura now.” They informed him as they looked up to see the colors of the trees change to a bright orange and red. Narinder hummed and stayed close to them, the smell of mushrooms instantly hitting him in the face. He hadn’t been to Anura for a long time. Well, he hadn’t been to any of his sibling’s domains for a long time except for Leshy’s since the cult is located in the middle of Darkwood.
If it wasn’t for the fact that he could locate his relic, Laziel would never let him go with them because of obvious reasons. They can resurrect him of course, but the thought of him experiencing a slow and gruesome death was already too much for them. Narinder of course, did not care. Compared to the shackles that chained him in the Afterlife and his body rotting for thousands of years, death could not faze him.
A groan snapped him out of his thoughts and his right ear flicked. “Are you okay?” He asked and reached out for Laziel, who stopped for a second to regain themselves. “Yeah, just got something stuck in my hoof.” They lied and let out a laugh to make it believable. The Lamb got closer to him and let him wrap his arm around theirs while they clutched their side with their other hand. Heket had given them a nasty blow to their clone, and it affected them, but that alone won’t stop them from anything.
“Do you think your eyes are a fragile relic?” They asked, changing the topic while they gently guided Narinder to the side and passed Heket’s statue. Narinder thought for a moment then shook his head. “If it were, then I wouldn’t be able to feel its presence anymore. They have already used it once if my suspicion is correct, thus its presence weakened slightly. Let’s hope they don’t need to use it anymore or else I wouldn’t be able to feel it. It might take time to recharge.” He explained. Narinder wasn’t sure what powers were left in his ‘relic’. If he remembered correctly, Laziel had discovered an eyeless archer. Maybe it was rot, but if it was then the heretic’s body would have rotted to dust, not just their eyes. It could be his remaining fire magic, but they had yet to find a burned corpse. Or maybe each three of his eyes had different abilities, that could be a possibility. Now that they were on the topic of relics-
“Say, did you put any magic on my ring?” He asked as he fidgeted with the said ring with his thumb. The ring he gave Laziel was made out of his claw that he had lost during his fight with his siblings. The power in it was still intact, but both of them didn’t know if it would break or not, so Laziel avoided utilizing it. The one Laziel gave him was made out of the tip of their horn. An important part of them that made Narinder feel bad for a period of time. He didn’t know if it was imbued with something, nor did he ask until now.
“Hm? Oh! I just put a little protection on it.” They said with a hint of tease in their voice and smiled. “It’s something I have never done before, so I am not sure if it even works. I hope it does or else I would be upset.” Their voice grew a little distant when they let go and moved to pick up a few mushrooms.
“Are you going to say what it is or are you going to keep it as one of your little secrets?” He frowned and followed the voice until his spear hit a soft bump, making them bleat in surprise. “First of all, I never kept any secrets from you except this one.” Laziel pouted and rubbed their bottom when they got up. Narinder’s frown only deepened at that making them laugh nervously. “Okay, okay! That one time was a surprise for you! You knew I was working on the whole omnipresence thing and I wanted to know how long it would take for you to realize it was a clone.”
The time they managed to make a clone, they decided to test Narinder by keeping a clone by his side while they went on a weeklong crusade. They never said a thing, and it took him only a night for him to find out the one beside him was fake. No one would have noticed since the only indicator was their touch. The clone’s body was cold, and their heartbeat was missing to which Narinder panicked and shook them awake when they went to bed. It wasn’t fun when he got mad and avoided them until the real Laziel returned and apologized.
“If it weren’t for the fact that you were avoiding our bed like it was pest, then I would have noticed that a lot sooner.” He grumbled and hit their leg gently with the butt of his spear. “Those three days still count!” They laughed and dodged another hit by taking a few steps back.
Narinder huffed and continued his way, ignoring their whines when they shuffled to get the rest of the mushrooms then ran to his side. “Your ring will activate when you are in danger. A shadow of me will appear and protect you and I’ll know when it’s active. Though, it is not clear if it will actually work or not.” They pouted.
“Want me to test it out-“, “No, don’t.” Laziel cut him off and groaned. “Well, that won’t happen as long as I have you to protect me if someone is stupid enough to attack The Lamb’s spouse.” He mumbled and that made them pause and look at him with their mouth agape.
A long time ago he would have said something like ‘I am The One Who Waits, The God of Death. I can protect myself and will kill you if you lay a hand on me’. He still does, but not as often as he did back then. Still, his actions spoke louder than his words and they got used to that and for him to declare his love towards them aloud was rare and still made them blush like an ewe with a crush.
“What? I can practically feel you stare at me, stop it.” He groaned and pawed at their face with a few failed attempts, but he got there and they decided not to comment on that and instead held onto his hand. “Say that part again?” They grinned and pressed up against him, making him comically crane his neck back to a double chin. “What part??” His tail swished in annoyance as he tried to walk again but was stopped by them getting in front of him. “You know what I mean!” They laughed and batted their eyes just for fun. “Laziel, for fucks sake we have been married for seven years!” He groaned and waited for a long second then sighed in defeat. Though, instead of saying anything, he leaned down and gave them a quick peck just to stun them so he could walk around them and continue.
Laziel panted and spat out the ichor forming in their mouth and wiped it away. Heket's body rotted down to the bone, revealing a smaller (well still taller than them ) version of her.
They let out a small laugh and let their crown transform back into it's shape. The crown was also a duplication, a fake just like themselves. Even if someone tried to steal it, it would only dissipate and go back onto their head.
The crown blinked down and stared at Heket who glared at The Lamb then suddenly spat at their feet. Laziel didn't flinch and only gave them a passive look. The wounds they collected throughout their fight slowly healing. "Just so you know, this is not mercy. I will make you work under my cult no matter if you like it or not. If you cause any mischief or run away, be aware that I will find you and will not hesitate to feed you to my followers alive." Their eyes glinted a dangerous red, but Heket only looked at them, bored.
Right, nothing can scare off a bishop who has lived for thousands of years. Laziel clicked their tongue in annoyance and was about to send her back to their cult until she suddenly spoke. ".....hungry...."
“My flock will provide you food as long as you behave.” They finalized and teleported her back to Paradise. Their disciples were smart enough to know what to do and their cult are full of rescues from the bishop’s antics. They might question them as to why they spared them, but that’s a headache they can deal with later.
They collected a few bones before they went to the door and just as they expected, there stood Kallamar’s statue but with a company they did not notice until they stepped out.
Laziel stepped back with caution and summoned their sword when the hooded figure stepped from behind the statue and bowed. “It is an honor to finally meet Death in person.” She spoke but had yet to remove her hood to show her identity.
“This is the purgatory. How did you get in here?” They asked. After meditating at Heket’s statue, they concluded that they might have entered the realm of purgatory hence why they immediately entered Heket’s temple right after Leshy’s. But that was just a theory, something they still had to ask the Mystic Seller.
“I heard a lot of you oh Lamb. I hereby ask you if you could hand me the crown.” She ignored their question, making their ears flick in annoyance. “I don’t know what made you think I would hand it to you that easily.” They watched as she silently reached into her cloak to reveal a bloody pouch. They raised a brow at that. “I heard you were looking for these.” She smirked and took a step back when Laziel got closer in disbelief. “You are the tiger we were looking for…” They eyed the pouch and her smile only widened.
“I will return you The One Who Wait’s eyes, only if you hand me the crown” She threw the bag into the air a few times and at the third throw, it vanished into thin air. “Meet me in Woolhaven and until then, you can decide your husband’s fate.” The tiger moved back behind the statue. “Wait-!” Laziel ran to where she was, but she was gone.
There were no traces of her as if she was never there to begin with.
Since their clone’s encounter with the tiger, Laziel had been quiet. Narinder didn’t question their silence, knowing that they would eventually talk about it once they were ready. It was only then when his stomach rumbled, did they snap out of their thoughts and fish out some food they packed from the crown’s storage and hand it to him.
“I met the tiger.” They said once he took a bite out of his fish sticks. “Your clone?” He asked after he swallowed and took another bite and they hummed. “She asked me to give her my crown in exchange for your eyes.” They frowned and kicked a stone from their path. “She then proceeded to say to meet her in Woolhaven.”
“That’s easy then. Just steal it from her.” He shrugged and threw the last pieces of food up and into his mouth. “That’s the thing Nari. She is not mortal. Something about her is off and I couldn’t read her mind to know what she is and what her intentions are. She doesn’t seem dead either.” They sighed in frustration and kicked the same stone forward.
“Then we will see what awaits us at Woolhaven. For now, think of a plan, go through the list of things what she could be.” Narinder said, making them frown. “And you have no idea what she is?” They asked and he shook his head to their disappointment. “From what I remember, gods were slain during the war until it was only nine left, The Old Faith and The Gods of Gold. Shamura had tried to confront the deities, but in the end, they had told us to leave them be and that it would be suicide if we did face them. Other than that, there are spirits. They are mostly protectors of something and do not require divinity, still they receive offerings.” He paused to think. “Though spirits are mostly bound to an area, if they leave their place then something must have gone amiss.” Laziel turned back to look at Narinder who was deep thought until his ears turned in their direction. “Find out what her goal is and do not give her your crown.”
“I wasn’t planning on doing it Nari. If I won’t even give it to you, the original owner, then obviously I’m not going to hand it to her that easily.” Laziel put their hands on their hips and tilted their head. “Did you really think I would do that?” Narinder was silent to which they groaned in annoyance.
“You have done plenty of foolish things Laz, who knows what that little head of yours will say after that tiger’s explanation.” He huffed and tapped their head with the blunt of his spear. Laziel pouted and grumbled something under their breath then continued to walk but slowed when they realized they needed Narinder to guide them and let out a sigh of defeat. Narinder only hummed in amusement and walked past them.
When they reached Woolhaven, it was cold, beyond freezing. Laziel luckily brought Narinder’s winter clothes, but they weren’t thick enough for this weather. It had never snowed in Paradise, nor in any of the other domains. The winters were cold but not that type of cold where they could freeze to death. Laziel of course, wasn’t bothered, but Narinder was regretting every decision he had made before joining them in this crusade.
Reaching the top of the stairs, they see a statue of a sheep in the middle of an abandoned village. It was basically a ruin at this point. Laziel’s eyes lingered at the statue of the sheep meanwhile Narinder stayed by their side and waited.
The tiger was here, he could sense it, but he could also sense another pair of eyes on him. But it felt far and did not seem to be hostile.
“You have arrived.” Both heads snap to the tiger standing in front of the statue. She removed her hood to reveal her white fur and the signature black stripes of a tiger, but what threw them off were her eyes. They were a bright yellow with a little bit of red surrounding her pupil. Her grin was wide, showing two fangs sticking out from the bottom.
She stuck out her hand in a silent gesture and kept her eyes trained on The Lamb. “First, what are you going to do with the crown?” They asked with a frown. “Lamb-“ Narinder warned but was silenced with a click of their tongue.
“I am certain you will not hand it to me once you know my reasons oh Shepherd.” She said, her grin not wavering once. “Certainly not after what you just said, but I still want to hear your part of the story.”
The tiger was silent, her eyes remaining unblinking as she stared, thought about what to say next. “My mountain, my people were destroyed by greedy beasts.” She started and her eyes flicked to Narinder for a second. “I have heard of a Lamb defeating the last gods of the Old Faith. In order to defeat those monsters, I need the crown.” She explained.
Laziel was silent, quietly scanning her body language and thinking of a plan until they were interrupted. “She is lying.” Narinder spoke and held his spear firm. “Who are you and who are you serving?” The tiger’s bright eyes turn to Narinder “I do not know what you speak of.”
“If you needed my help.” Laziel started and her attention was back on them. “Then you would have asked for it and not demanded my crown. The crown gives you divinity, something that you cannot just lend to anybody. So, speak.” They demanded their iris now glowing a red color.
The tiger kept their grin and in her still outstretched hand, the pouch appeared in the air and landed on it. “My name is Nolbu. I come from a small land called Eiia. I presume that you have never heard of it?” Laziel glanced at Narinder who remained still, before they looked back and shook their head. “Not many know of it, the creatures there are blinded by greed. The mountain is filled with riches, specifically gold ores and they have been taking it, destroying the mountain in the process.”
She wasn’t lying this time, they didn’t know but that sounded like she was telling the truth. “Take me there and I will talk to them or eliminate them if I have to.” They suggested and she tensed up at that. “I cannot do that.”
“Liar.” They huffed and turned their crown into a sword. Narinder stepped back from the battle that was about to occur but stayed alert just in case she decides to suddenly shift focus on him.
“Very well.” She bowed and removed her cloak to reveal what seemed to be traditional black and white clothing from the east. She unsheathed her sword from her belt and put the pouch back into her pocket domain as she pointed the sword at them. It was thin and curved, something they had never seen before.
Laziel did not hesitate to strike an attack on her neck first, something they do often. She dodged by crouching then kicking their leg, making them lose their footing for a second but was fast enough to dodge her attack.
“Nice sword, where did you get it from?” They asked as they avoided another swing. “I forged it myself. It’s a traditional sword in Eiia, unlike any other swords, its thin but still sharp and durable.” She explained while they were still going at each other. Both of them got a few scratches here and there, but that did not hinder them from fighting.
It’s when they got bored of sword fighting, did they finally use a curse.
Touch of Turua.
The tentacles emerged from the ground, trapping Nolbu by grabbing her by the arms and legs. A grin showed on Laziel’s face as they charged forward without hesitation, a fireball forming in their left hand and sword holding on their right.
“Since you decided to cheat.” She began and a sudden scream erupted from behind. Laziel froze and looked back to see Narinder hunched over and clutching his face. “Narinder!” They dropped their sword, turning it back into a crown while they ran to him.
Narinder’s arms and ears were rapidly rotting, they did not want to know what his face looked like under his veil. “You!” They turned back to Nolbu who was released from Turua’s grip from The Lamb’s lack of concentration.
Nolbu grinned and held the pouch up and tilted her head. “I might have not gotten the crown but the Gods of Gold would surely love this offering.”
“I hope your husband’s death is quick.” She giggled and took a few steps back. “Oh no you won’t fucking disappear like that!” Laziel yelled and charged forward with their sword forming in their hand. They were so close to beheading her, but instead of slicing through flesh and bones, they sliced through her cloak and she was gone.
They panted and screamed in anger, throwing the sword into the ground, making it get wedged between the cracks of the stone path. They felt like they were being watched but it had been like that since they entered Woolhaven but they did not care if they angered the dead god of this place. They had more important things to focus on.
Laziel quickly ran to Narinder who was kneeling and panting, there was a puddle of ichor and blood, most likely from when he threw up.
“Okay, you will be okay I just need to teleport back-“ They mumbled to themselves and fumbled around, not knowing what to do first until they got interrupted by a hand gripping their wrist. “Kill me!” Narinder rasped out and groaned.
“I can’t- I can’t just kill you!” Laziel held his hands that were nothing but bones now, the flesh on his arms were rotting and pieces of muscles and skin dropped to the ground. They could have sworn they saw a piece of his cheek falling.
Laziel’s breath was short in a panic before they put a hand on his cheek and the other on his head, their hands quickly stained red. “I’m so sorry…” They whispered and the only response Narinder could give them was a soft squeeze on their arm.
Snap
Murmurs and whispers echoed in the temple. His ears twitched and turned to every sound he heard, next he could feel the cold stone temple floor he was kneeling on, could smell and taste the ichor lingering in his mouth.
A bell echoed behind him, catching his attention.
“Thank you, that is all.” The Lamb concluded and the crowd in the temple dispersed. Laziel walked down from the pew and helped Narinder up who was still sluggish from being resurrected.
“What of the tiger?” He rasped and cleared his throat. “She got away… I’m sorry.” They bowed their head in shame and squeezed his arm. “Are you okay? Does anything hurt?” They asked and scanned him around for any injuries they had failed to heal.
“I’m fine. Just tired from getting pulled back into the living world.” He sighed and rubbed his temple from an incoming headache. “Then let’s get you back home.” They hummed and lead him out of the temple.
During their walk home, they explained to him what happened while he was basically dying. Told him about their thoughts that Nolbu could be a follower of the Gods of Gold. It didn’t even happen that long ago. After they snapped his neck, they immediately teleported back with him in their arms and ran to the temple. They did not have the time to check what Leshy and Heket were doing, but their village still looked intact, so they weren’t worried.
Speak of the devil himself.
“Leshy!” They heard Manon yell before a green bush worm blocked their path. His bandages were clean now and he was wearing their signature red shirt. “You were gone this whole time?!” He yelled, making the cat flinch beside them, though he didn’t say anything. “I was on a crusade yes…” Laziel raised a brow at the worm that was fuzzing in front of them. “I was told that you were watching our every move!”
“Well, my disciples are my eyes, yes. What about Heket? Did she not laugh at you for being a fool for believing them?” They asked and crossed their arms. “Heket is here?!” Leshy’s leaves were shaking in disbelief and that’s when Manon stepped in. “The others and I separated them and made sure they did not cross each other’s paths. We knew that they were going to scheme something if they were together while you were gone, so we hid them and made sure that they won’t do anything rash.” He explained and pulled Leshy back by his shirt when he tried to escape the conversation.
Laziel let out a sigh of relief and smiled. “Thank you, I’ll make sure to reward you all for your hard work. It must have been tedious.” Manon only shook his head and smiled. “Anything for our Leader.”
Leshy sniffed the air which caught Laziel’s attention before they cleared their throat and put a finger on their lips, signaling Manon to stay quiet. “I will be at my chambers if you need me.” They said and bowed to which he bowed back and watched the couple leave quietly.
Leshy was about to figure out that Narinder was there as well. They knew that he did not want to be found by their siblings just yet, especially after being resurrected from the dead. That was already tiresome and they can imagine that he did not need another headache joining the other.
As soon as they reached their home, Narinder followed his routine by taking off his hood and veil, then all his winter garments like boots and pants, his robe and the sweater he wore under. It was freezing in Woolhaven okay?
He put on a new shirt and plopped down into bed with a content sigh.
Laziel giggled at that and removed their own garments, leaving them on the chair before joining him. They did not need sleep, but it was still good to do it once in a while, it was relaxing.
Narinder got on top of them and laid his head on their chest, letting another sigh escape him. “You are warm.” He mumbled and kneaded the wool under his paw. “Am I not always warm?” They laughed and pet his head gently.
“Your clone’s body is cold, even their wool is cold. Though it was still you, so I did not complain.” A rumble escaped him and it turned to a full purr. He snuggled into them more and put the blankets over himself for extra warmth and let out another sigh of relief. “Sorry, I’ll work on it.” They smiled and scratched behind his ear.
Nolbu escaped, but now they know what her true intentions are. She wanted the crown in order to assist the Gods of Gold in some way. Either by wearing it herself or giving it to Midas. Mere mortals cannot wear the crown by themselves or their mind will explode, literally. They still didn’t know if Nolbu was a mortal or not, but from the looks of it, she wasn’t. And Midas…would be too stupid to wear the crown chosen vessel or not. Now the next question is, why would the deities that they thought they had a truce with suddenly go against them?
Greed of course. They want all the divinity and offerings. The God of Death and Gold are the only deities left, they have the chance to strike now that all the other gods are dead.