The Lord of Rot

Now, the boy wasn't especially fond of the mountains. He rather disliked the risk of climbing them. But due to his restricted upbringing, no one would assume he knew of the dangers. Truth be told, he disliked falling. He had memories of a child when he would climb up on one of the Church Lords' Altars, then he would stumble and fall, hurting himself quite badly. But by now, it seemed as though the boy had forgotten about the incident. All that remained was an irrational fear of falling, the boy hoped he would become a bird in the next life, if there was such a thing. 

Because the boy found himself before a mountain. He gazed upon it sharply with his green eyes, as unremarkable as the rest of the boy. Although he had dark brown hair, in all light but the moonlight it looked black. Having a rough time carrying himself, with acutely sharp features of his neck, followed with a thin and frail physique that was beginning to resemble something of an athlete. 

He hadn't eaten in almost a month, but somehow the boy continued to get less and less frail. One would barely recognise him as of now. Partly because the boy looked as wild as they come. His hair would be scuffed, his matt black clothes tattered by the harsh climate of the wasteland. His shirt tearing at each end of the arm. 

For the boy has relentlessly been trying to survive in the harsh, unforgiving terrain of the wasteland. Covered in a darkness only dreamt about, the creatures of the rot which trotted upon it. But luck be told, he did not make it this way without the help of a god... 

The Contract formed with the Elder Deity Aphaim would serve him in many ways. At least according to the Deity it would hinder the rot from killing him. But death in many ways is more pleasant than living, what did that mean? The reason for the Contract, was according to the Elder Aphaim to fight the Rot. 

Seeing the large mountain before him and whatever conflicts might lie ahead, he sighed in troubled relief and began his arduous climb. An overwhelming feeling perpetuated inside him: something big was waiting on the other side. Was it another life waiting, was it strength? He became giddy in his own promises. 

Konrad had long been frail. Not only in his appearance, but also in his behaviour. But now, as the climb began. There would be no short of breath. He would climb it with vigour. His mirth would be overflowing, though his body would still resemble that of a fallen one. 

'Elder Aphaim told me to climb didn't he? Then can the Old God see everything I do? Maybe what I think as well...? Does the Remembrance have consciousness?' 

Konrad would ask a few useless questions. Questions that he himself knew wouldn't be answered. But he thought back to it, and remembered a rule of the Doctrine, it was if he remembered the third one: Do Not Question the Doctrine. But in practice, when they would write it, it would have nothing to do with the Doctrine itself. Instead Konrad would repeat the phrase: Do Not Question. Over and over again. Until the very sentence was ingrained into his brain. 

Perhaps Konrad felt rebellious, and wanted to question a few things now that he was on his own. 

Though his persistent mind, the mountainous terrain would be difficult to circumvent. It would be steep, and sometimes he would have to pull himself from the ledges. Though it had been dry for a long time, so there was no slippage. But still... for some reason Konrad would not grow tired. He would even say it felt exciting, exhilarating! 

So when he saw a bird in the distance - as gruesome it looked - he would not be disgusted or even scared of it. Instead his climb would have more reason in it. 

He could only see parts of it in the distance -- large black wings, a pinkish neck that was crooked. It looked like a vulture. Though the uncanny similarity, this was no ordinary vulture. It was quite literally rotting from the outside in, the pieces of feather would stick out of the unholy mess that was its living corpse. 

Where there were Vultures, there must be corpses. Even if this was a Rotting Vulture, that would not be different, would it? 

The smell was horrid, he had only climbed a few hundred meters up the mountain and already felt like passing out. But his vigour would allow him to push through it, and eventually he reached a platform of rock. It was large enough for a grown man to lie down, but not much more. Ironically, the half eaten skeleton of a humanoid creature was there. 

Most of the bone was gone - like it had been eaten as well. The flesh seemed sunken, as if large bits of meat had been ripped out of it. But the corpse was not absorbed, it was not rotting in the same way he was. Whether it was a fellow human or not, Konrad could not comprehend. Even if it was, he would have pushed it out of his conscious. 

The corpse was rotting in the same way food was, so it couldn't have been anything special. Konrad assured himself this as be pinched his nose shut, and looked around for the Rotting Vulture wanting to fulfil his "God-Given" purpose... 

***

The Rotting Vulture was not unlike the other rotting creatures. It was massively ugly, looking terribly monstrous. As much as it was dead it was living. Konrad barely wanted to look at it as it soared through the skies looking for another corpse to eat off of. Like a true scavenger its nature wasn't changed by the rot, only its appearance. 

Konrad knew very well that he had to kill the bird. It was said so to him by the Elder Deity. But how on earth would he kill something that was flying? 

The voice again resounded when he looked at the Rotting Vulture finally setting down on the dilapidated mountainside not too far ahead. 

[ Do you wish for insight ? ] 

"Yes!", Konrad whispered. 

[ Name : Rotting Vulture

V.D : 0,500 

] 

He didn't understand how those things would help him. Nor had he figured out what "V.D" stood for. But he could see the bird plainly, and understood why the voice had called it a rotting vulture, for it quite literally was a rotting vulture. Now, that wasn't the only unique thing about the bird...

Its flight might have been heavy, and it seemed crazily fast for its size. 'How can its wings even support it!' 

Though Konrad was fascinated by the bird, he wanted something else from it far more. Now, he wasn't the kind of person to eat a scavenger, that hungry he wasn't. But after absorbing rotting creatures, he would feel fulfilled - in a sense at least. With the Contract just around the corner, Konrad knew what he had to do. 

Trying to control his breathing, hoping to focus all his energy within him. He stood as still as stone, waiting patiently for the bird to get closer. 'Come on birdie, pretend I'm a corpse!' 

To his luck, the bird would fall for it! Focusing all his focus towards his palm, he snapped against the air, creating a whistling noise. He grabbed the crooked neck of the Rotting Vulture. 'This bird is massive!', he could barely fathom its size. 

Just before he could smile, his shoulder tugged and he almost dropped the bird and himself. Before it happened he let go for a moment. Then once again when the big bird reached the ground he leapt at it. Its heavy frame could not handle a jump like the hare-creatures, and so his instinct could catch it without a problem. 

But the bird must have been heavy! So heavy that it felt like he was dragging half a ton! 

'Too bad you aren't meat...', thought Konrad in intense sadness. Then he let the Rotting Vulture squeal, before smashing its horrendous throat with his bare hand. Focusing all his strength to the grip, making it flash with flesh and living, breathing rot. 

His hunger soon faded into numbness as the massive bird slowly absorbed into his body. He would soon continue up the mountain, growing indifferent to his hunting. Only a third up the mountain, and already he had killed another. It whispered sweetly in his ear: 

[ You have cleansed a rotting soul... ] 

It had a pleasant ring to it. Now Konrad looked behind him, seeing the vastness of the landscape below him. Something that Konrad seemed to have forgotten made itself clear, but he could not understand it. 

'What if I activate the contract once more...?'