Solivagency - Empires SMP

XXXVIII

The first thing they thought, upon waking up, was that this sucked.

A lot.

Xornoth felt like their lungs were bathing in fire, their leg was being burnt to irreparable shreds, their skull pounded and every single cell in their body felt like it was being ripped apart and stitched back together.

They rolled over and gasped for air, trying to suck it into a throat that felt raw, raw raw. Then they noticed the ground underneath them, only because they were staring it in the face. Black sand, almost like concrete powder, that slid underneath their touch.

"You have a lot to own up too, Champion of Exor."

They pushed themself up onto their elbows despite how their body screeched, and stared straight up into the eyes of Aeor.

They didn't entirely remember what he looked like last time, but they thought that his fur was thinner, and his eyes and antlers dimmer. His eyes were dark brown that shone with cold intelligence, observing every inch of them.

They didn't say anything. Just let him judge them.

"Are you going to say anything?" The god continued to watch them, not blinking or relenting his gaze.

"I… I was waiting for you to speak first." Xornoth swallowed. Their throat felt like the roughest sandpaper in existence, and they had a nasty coughing fit.

Aeor's look hardened. "You didn't follow the cycle through."

They didn't understand what he meant, nor did they have the energy too. They stared at him for longer than what was socially acceptable, and managed to pull themself together and speak. "What?"

"You weren't supposed to kill Exor. He isn't dead, but you've caused an extreme imbalance." An accusative tone entered his voice. "You broke the cycle."

"Wait-" They pulled themself up further, fingers scrambling for a hold onto the sand. "How is he not dead if I killed him? How did I break the cycle if he's alive? What was I supposed to do?"

"God's don't die. And regardless of what happens in the next cycle, you broke this one. You were supposed to be killed by Scott." He began walking around them, and they became unsettled, feeling like a display item. "It was supposed to be your fate, to allow things to continue the way they have been. And now you encourage future champions to disobey us."

Xornoth tried to ignore the pain in their leg as they pushed themself fully upright. It was literally screaming at them. "I didn't know I would kill Exor." They protested weakly. "I wasn't trying to kill him. I was trying to protect Scott."

"Scott is not yours to protect, Champion." Aeor circled back into their view. "Regardless of whether he rejected me or not, he is mine to protect, not yours."

"He rejected you?" They blinked rapidly, suddenly surprised.

He leveled a glare at them. "Yes. Because of you deciding you don't need Exor, he decided that he didn't need me."

"That's… that's his choice."

"It is choice or th universe falling into chaos. Which is why I brought you here." The deer walked right up to them until he practically towered over them. "You must convince him to kill you-"

"No." Xornoth interrupted.

"No?"

"I'm not going to 'convince' him to do anything."