I was going to do a Hunger Games AU, then I read FE fics involving human sacrifice and remembered how much I like Oni the crazy god. So yeah.
Also, no guest stars this time! I'm so proud of myself.
Disclaimed.
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29: Tribute
Fuck my entire fucking life.
Sure, Link was a hero. Sure, he put his life on the line for Hyrule. Thing is, there's a difference between heroics and human sacrifice, and that line is not supposed to be crossed.
And yet here he is, about to be fed to a god. Oh, goody. Really, is this his purpose in life? To just do… whatever the goddesses say, even if it's ridiculous?
He's distracted by the sudden click-clack of boot heels against stone and dear Farore, here it comes. Embodiment of Courage or no, he flinches, eyes slamming closed. He really, really doesn't want to watch himself get devoured body and soul.
"Look at me, boy," hisses a voice. Oh, good, he can talk, too.
One does not simply disobey a god, though. So Link glances up and meets the god's white-eyed gaze.
Well. That's interesting.
The god looks almost exactly like him, except with silvery hair and flat white eyes and war paint decorating his face, and oh-gods-oh-gods-oh-gods-I'm-going-to-die-
He averts his eyes again.
There's a soft, unnaturally high chuckle, and the god presses fingers under his chin and forces their eyes to meet. "I said look, boy," he hums. "Am I so terrifying you can't meet my gaze? Some embodiment of courage you are."
Oh, that's uncalled for. "Kill me if you like, but don't mock me!" Link snaps.
There's a soft intake of breath hanging in the air around him, as if unseen observers have been taken aback by his actions. Knowing the people he's 'protecting' by doing this, that's probably exactly what's happening. But Link fixes his gaze on the god before him and waits with bated breath to see what he'll do now.
There's a long silence that seems to stretch on forever. Then the god shrieks with laughter, dancing away a few paces. "There's that fire!" he cheers. "So you're not going to just stand there and let me belittle you? Good! It's so boring when they're cowards; they just stand there and whimper. A lot of them soil themselves too. It's disgusting, really. About time I got a decent sacrifice!"
"I live to serve," Link snarks irritably. "If you're going to eat me, would you hurry up and do it?"
"Eat you?" the other repeats. "I'm not going to eat you, boy! That'd be barbaric!" He chuckles. "Eat you. Honestly, what sort of stories have your goddesses fed you? No, I'll keep you around for a bit, maybe take a couple memories, then send you on your merry way. Simple!"
"…Memories?" Link asks cautiously.
"Oh, yes. I'm the God of Time, y'see. And it's so boring locked away down here, so I usually take a few memories from my sacrifices, just for something new to look at. Like buying a new book. Y'know?" The god shrugs. "I won't take anything vital, if that's what you're worried about. You'll still know who you are and how to breathe and talk and stuff. Just little things, like… walks in the woods, exploring ruins, that sort of thing."
It seems far too simple. "And yet no one ever mentions you doing this sort of thing."
The god sighs. "Well, if word got out, it would ruin my reputation, and we can't have that. So when you leave, I'll wipe your memory of this encounter as well." He coughs. "…And that's where the problem lies."
Link scowls. "What problem?"
The other scuffs his feet along the stone like a guilty child. "Well… none of the sacrifices have ever survived that part of the procedure. So you probably are going to die. Sorry."
"What?!" So he's going to die getting his memories sucked out his ears. Oh, joy. "Well, then, maybe I'll just stay here for the rest of my life."
The god chuckles. Then he pauses, frowning thoughtfully. "Assuming you're serious, that might actually work out. I could use the company, and there's certainly enough space down here…"
Today is crazy enough to be a dream. What's a little more weirdness, after being chosen as a tribute for a dark god who apparently steals memories for a living?
"So… Hang on. If I stay here, I'll live?"
The god shrugs again. "Well, yeah. But if you decide to leave, I have to wipe your memory, and you'll probably die. So."
It's not really much of a choice.
…
Life isn't that bad, really.
Oni is a very strange god; for the most part he acts like a hyperactive child, except when the latest sacrifice arrives. At this time, Link usually locks himself in his room. He doesn't leave until the screaming stops. Oni never explains what happens when the memory removal backfires; Link finds he's scared to ask.
But it's a decent enough life, especially considering that he wasn't expecting to survive past his seventeenth birthday.
When he turns eighteen, Oni shows him some of the memories he picked up from the latest sacrifice. It's… nice, in a weird way, to see the world outside their rooms; even if it is through a dead man's eyes. Maybe that's why Oni keeps doing this. Even though he can't be sure what's happened to the friends he's left behind.
Of course, he knows that one day he'll find his way back to them; but that's a story for another day.
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…Or another prompt. We shall see. (God, this was shit. I will attempt to do better next time.)
Next time: Eventless
…I swear my random word generator is out to get me. Help?
See ya~!
-Bird
