THE BURIED GOD
Chapter 21: The Vision
Damon knelt beside Vespera.
The black water rippled. The room grew colder. The shadows pressed closer. He looked into the well — not at the water, but at her reflection. Her face was pale, her silver eyes wide, her lips parted as if she were about to speak.
But no words came.
Only the memory.
Only the hunger.
Only the god.
“What do you see?” he asked.
She did not answer.
Her eyes were fixed on something far away. Something beyond the well. Something beyond the room. Something beyond the world.
“The mountain,” she whispered. “Not as it is. As it was. Before the burial. Before the sacrifice. Before the hunger.”
“What was it like?”
She was silent for a long moment.
“Beautiful. The stone was silver, not black. The light was warm, not cold. The air was sweet, not sour. The people were happy, not afraid.”
“What happened?”
“The god happened. He grew hungry. He grew tired. He grew afraid. He began to feed.”
Damon looked at the water.
The black water was still now. No ripples. No reflections.
Just darkness.
“The elder said the god is waiting for me.”
Vespera nodded.
“He is.”
“Why?”
She turned to face him.
Her silver eyes were bright.
“Because you are the gravedigger. You have been feeding him for years. You have been burying his sacrifices. You have been preparing his feast.”
“I didn’t know.”
“No one knows. The god chooses his servants in secret. He whispers to them in their dreams. He calls to them in their sleep. He hungers for them in their waking hours.”
“And I’m his servant?”
She shook her head.
“You’re his vessel.”
Damon stood.
His legs were shaking.
“I don’t want to be his vessel.”
“No one wants to be his vessel. That’s what makes it a burden.”
“Then how do I stop it?”
Vespera stood.
She took his hands.
Her fingers were cold.
“You go back. You find the heart. You cut it out.”
“I already cut out the seed.”
“The seed was part of the heart. The heart is the mountain. The mountain is the god. The god is the hunger.”
“And if I cut out the heart?”
She was silent for a long moment.
“The mountain dies. The god dies. The hunger dies.”
“And me?”
She looked at him.
Her silver eyes were wet.
“You die too.”