"If I didn't like you I wouldn't speak to you."

"Your banshee shriek is piercing enough to cut the veil of my self pity party, yes. Not that you need to make a case for yourself. I was never you to deny your company."

Fell asleep...

New followers?

Hm.

"...I was doing that wasn't I. The vaguely poetic thing. Fucking hells. You really do become what you hate. Ugh."

Eyeroll.

Finger snap.

A nearby tree shatters and falls to pieces as though struck by lightning.

"Destruction is the tool you prefer because it's all you think you are capable of, and you've forced yourself to make it a home."

"Ask a less stupid question. Of course I can break things. I'm a god."

"I'm not defeated I'm *annoyed*."

"You're not from here, so I'm not surprised you know nothing of the Pantheon and how it works."

"You don't know what followers of Cyric are like."

"Oh I can't wait to hear this."

He whistles.

She flies out from the shadows and lands on his shoulder.

"She's a bird. They enjoy flying around. Don't assume because she's not perched on my arm she's no longer with me."

Of course you haven't. You're not a god.

Though you certainly think highly of yourself.

Have you ever been in a position where your only source of nourishment was wretched little ants that bite you.

If I fade from existence, it's not impossible that the god I killed to get here would be brought back.

That would be... Not ideal.

"Considering how easy it is to kill them, it's highly recommended."

I definitely am.

Just not wrong enough to be struck down by Ao.

Every other god in the Pantheon hated Cyric, you see. And they have no reason to think his successor will be any different.

So, none have offered any guidance. And I only fell into this role by accident.

No self help books.

"To be a god is to be lonely. And miserable."

"If only it were so easy... Those that gladly worship Cyric are the sort of people I loathe."

"No. I know I need to feed myself. But I spent nearly my entire mortal life hating gods. The idea of soliciting worship is... nauseating."

You again.

[His mood seems to lift slightly]

How are things faring?

[He's not in his mortal disguise this time, though it is still an avatar - his real divine self is safely away in his realm]

[He's taller, cloaked in shadows, and his eyes are just sockets of purple fire]

"I rely on worship. My continued existence is dependent on people pledging themselves to me and feeding me with their faith."

His voice is dry.

"As of the moment I'm feeding off scraps of my predecessor. People praying to the God of Lies that they think still lives."

"'This time'." He scoffs. Yes, he is always having some sort of problem isn't he.

"Tell me. What keeps you alive."

"I suppose."

Opens his eyes, gaze fixing on her.

"Hm. Hello little rabbit."

Sigh.

[puts the gold back in his pocket]

Quiet humming from the shadows.

Dark corners of halls seem livelier than they should be.

The most convincing lies are the ones that are entirely true.

A lie can be completely factual. It is all in the delivery.

Take notes.

Watching.

His gaze is like the point of daggers pressed gently against the back.

>> portal, but just as he sets her through there's some sort of...glitch.

He sees the form of Tulip shift between several dozen iterations. Sometimes he sees HIMSELF lying next to her.

Different timelines...and now every single one has been randomly given a daughter.

"... Oops."