The Dungeons of Fear and Hunger, the terror and hell that awaits anyone foolish enough to enter, all of that was behind D’arce as she had managed to slay threat after threat, even if she had failed her original goal. Her party had fought, and at the end of it all, in the Altar of Darkness. The only survivors were her, a little girl that she had saved from the monstrous guards, and a wolf they had named Moonless.
She expected to find a god at the altar, or remnants of them. Something, but no, it was just a black void, expanding infinitely into the distance. Her mind screamed that this was impossible, but enough was enough for her and she knew that the impossible was possible now. Moonless wasn’t growling, she was instead nervously pacing around the little girl, sniffing her and rubbing up against her affectionately as the girl stared.
And took a step forward. Giving both a smile that should have filled them both with warmth, but instead made their blood run cold.
“Girl…” D’arce said, softly as she calmly lowered her weapon to the ground. “Please, please live. I will find another way out of here!” it was false bravado, anyone who could see her would know it was a bluff. “Please, come back over here, I beg of you.”
It wasn’t an order; it was barely above a whisper. But that made the little girl disappear into the darkness all the crueler of a joke. Her body appeared again, just after a moment that filled D’arce with hope.
But that hope was nothing in the face of Fear and Hunger. The girls’ body had changed and was growing wildly out with extra limbs.
It was too much, whether D’arce had finally lost her mind or if she was seeing reality didn’t matter.
She hugged the girl. Hugged the god of Fear and Hunger as it was starting to grow.
“It’s okay…” she whispered, feeling the girl shift under her embrace. The gods’ eyes were on her, and without looking, knew it was in confusion. “I will still love you, as a friend.” There was no barking from Moonless, only the warm feeling of fur on the knights’ hands as the wolf joined the embrace.
“I won’t abandon you.” She whispered, feeling the girl start to cry as her body changed again, becoming so much taller than the knight who had guarded her. “Not here, not ever.” Moonless gave an affirmative whine, neither of them breaking the embrace from the newly ascended god’s transformation.
But then, it stopped. With gentle hands carefully returning the embrace to the pair. There was a moment when D’arce had to look, had to face the little girl and see what she was becoming.
It was a young woman, no longer the little girl. Her arms were too many to count in a reasonably short time, but the same adorable brown hair was still visible.
“Look at you…” the knight said, carefully cupping the girls face. “You’re so beautiful.” She saw the tears start to form from the girl, who had not said a word.
She croaked, a noise from a throat that had never done more than a soft squeak. Something, something akin to a thanks. Her first words, as whatever metamorphosis she was going through paused. Moonless let out a happy bark as one hand started to give her pats behind the ear.
“It’s all too much, isn’t it?” D’arce said, still comforting the ascending god. “Thank you, for being with me on this journey. For being so strong, so brave.” The tears were flowing as the new god fell to her knees and clutched the knight tightly.
‘It hurts,’ the words were reaching into the pair’s minds. ‘Pain never ends, fear never ends, hunger never ends.’ They all were crying now, with Moonless trying to lap up and dry the tears. There, at the beginning of the end, was nothing but a loving familial embrace. They stayed there, until the dungeons unnatural hunger robbed D’arce and Moonless of all their strength, leaving them on the ground limp.
“I… love you… little girl…” the knight coughed, her strength rapidly fading as Moonless gave the girl’s hands a brief lick.
And then they woke up.
The rain, the wind, everything was touching them as they were whisked away.
To the bottom of the dungeon of Fear and Hunger. The girl reached a form beyond comprehension, with flesh and mouths to feed and terrifying. D’arce and moonless were powerless, they could not move, let alone recognize her in this form.
But the small soft touch from the girl had brought them back. Their minds clear and stomachs full. The throne of this new god was vacant as she was just a little girl again.
She hugged them, crying the entire time and letting out a wail that would break the most closed off heart wide open. The temple shook, as the influence of this ascended god was spreading out into the world. Terror, starvation, and motivation was filling the world. Unlike her mothers wish, to become a beacon of light, the dungeon had almost robbed the light completely.
Almost.
The doll she was given, the doll her and D’arce had given little dresses with spare fabric. The doll D”arce had made sure was always with the girl. Her knife, the method of self defense that was hers alone in her other hand. The knife D’arce had carefully sharpened, carefully made a scabbard for, the knife that she had promised to teach the girl more about to defend herself when it was safe.
It was safe now.
It was safe in the hands of the God of Fear and Hunger.
This small knife was the weapon that would strike fear into the hearts of invaders, the thing that robbed them of their food to force their hunger to grow.
The knife that was carefully freeing D’arce and Moonless from the endless embrace of flesh. The knife that let them see sunlight again. The knife that allowed the trio to be free of the nightmares.
“What…?” D’arce mumbled, unable to tell how much time had passed as she stumbled into the daylight. With the little girl holding her hand and fastening a lead out of something for Moonless.
“M…” the girl tried to say, her voice still weak from years of being unused. Her stance was awkward, uncertain, but full of the power she now had. “Ma…”
“It’s okay,” D’arce whispered, stumbling and kneeling to be on eye level with the little girl. No words needed to be exchanged now. The girl nodded, the sound of nature reaching their ears as they started to travel.
It was impossible to kill a god of Fear and Hunger. The most the knight and her wolf could’ve done was slow the growth. But they refused. They could not bear more loss at this time, and the idea of hurting this little girl who had been helping them this entire time, putting herself in harms way on more than one occasion to protect them.
That love was the spark of hope to bring light to humanity. Even if it was not as Nilvan had intended. There was a motivation, a threat, the god of Fear and Hunger had left the dungeon, with her companions. An idea spread with her influence, to be scared and band together, to use the hunger to survive as a means forward, to allow kindness in rather than closing themselves off.
On return, D’arce allowed herself to fade into obscurity, a small house in the countryside, a farm, her wolf, and the little girl she had saved and in return, was saved by.
The God of Fear and Hunger’s influence grew in the night. The worlds wheels were in motion. The world would advance.
And that it did. The girl was able to grow, grow and see the world, learn to fight, learn to laugh, learn to love. D’arce held the small marriage for her adoptive daughter and her lover, another girl who they had met on their travels. Moonless had pups, each one strong and loyal to the girl to a fault.
D’arce passed away, quietly, happily around her family as the world continued to move.
The God of Fear and Hunger had its sacrifice after a long wait. The God had awoken and was loved by all who were close to her. With the passing of time, she fully ascended, being worshipped as a dark god that pushed the world forward through its aspects.
But in the darkest corners of churches, she had different names.
The God of Love and Feasts.
The God of Acceptance and Time.
The God of D’arce and Nilvan.
And the world moved onwards.
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