Cult of The Light: Chapter 1. Lazarus Star.

Author’s Note: Wow. I did not expect a little fan project that I spent 20 or so minutes to get so much traction. Well, the people (u/Dolkman87 in particular) have spoken. However, I don’t want this to feel like I’m just regurgitating Crowned Niko’s work with a coat of paint, so I’m going to try and stick this more to the main CoTL story, so I won’t be renaming the Bishops or the Old Faith, unless someone else wants to propose names for them. (I will be renaming Yngya and Marchosias once I get to Woolhaven though. Believe it or not, I actually came up with the idea of a wolf Bishop (or at least a wolf leader, since Marchosias is an atheist) before Woolhaven was announced, a female bishop called Anarchea, the Bishop of Deceit. So, I’ll be recycling her for this story.) I’m also using female pronouns for Niko, because Crowned Niko does. Niko will also be pretty morose in these earlier chapters, but as time goes on, she will open up more.

I decided to proceed in writing form rather than keep making text boxes so I could tell the story better. Also, please keep in mind that I am not a writer. I am just an autistic guy with a hyperfixation on both games, who only took English in Year 11 because it was a mandatory elective. Don’t expect this to be a story worthy of the George Writing meme. I’ll post the chapters here, with links to the prior ones, unless someone proposes another website to post them on. I will still post the chapters here, but just have a link to the main list on that website. Current leading candidate is DeviantArt’s Literature feature. Okay, sorry for the yapfest, enjoy whatever the hell it is that I just made.

The team dumped the bodies into the mass grave they dug out at the start of this campaign, and began to shovel dirt over it. Ling closed his eyes. He trusted the Bishops, and knew that these cat-people had to be eliminated for the sake of the world, but at the same time, it felt… awful, watching them be executed one after another. A friend of his pulled him aside. “Hey, Ling, check out what I looted from one of the corpses.” Chris held out a white kerchief. Ling remembered seeing one of the last cats to be killed wearing that, hugging the last survivor tightly. “For the kitchen.”

“Chris, I can’t begin to describe how messed up that is. Ignoring the risk of contamination, you stole something off a corpse to give to your friend?” “What? It's a memento of our success! We've fixed everything! The light will come back, the world is saved, and we were a part of it! Don't you want to remember that?

"Honestly? No. I just want to forget this chapter, and move on." "Heh, wimp." "I don't know why I still hang out with you... Come on, let's finish up here, so we never have to come back." Chris was about to say something in retort, but it didn't come out. A pillar of light emerged from the burial site, and they both shielded their eyes. "Agh, what the hell?!"

As the flash cleared, Ling froze in fear. Despite seeing her beheaded only an hour ago, the last cat stood there, with fury in her eyes. At her feet, the bodies of the other cultists, who had buried her mere moments before, lied limp. "No... that's impossible. You're dead... I saw you..." The cat clutched a sword tightly. "Ling, snap out of it! We killed her before, we can kill her again!

Ling was snapped back to reality. He and Chris drew their daggers, and ran towards the cat. She ducked out of the way, and stabbed her sword into Ling’s leg. He doubled over in pain. Pushing himself up, the cat knocked Chris to the ground. The kerchief fell out of his robe, and the cat froze, staring at it. The rage in her eyes became even clearer now.

Chris scrambled backwards, but he was backed up against a wall. He held out a hand. “No, no, please, have mercy!” The cat screamed at him. “YOU KILLED MY MOTHER, MY ENTIRE RACE, AND NOW YOU BEG FOR MERCY?!” She grabbed him by the neck, and slammed him against the wall, over and over, until he stopped resisting. She threw his body aside, picked up the kerchief, and placed it in her pocket. Then, she turned to face Ling.

“Please, no, I’ll do anything!” She raised her sword… and hesitated. It looked as if the world was frozen in time for minutes before she slowly lowered the sword. “You’re coming with me.” She raised her free hand, and a bright light engulfed Ling. It was even brighter than the pillar that erupted from the burial site, and yet, it didn’t hurt his eyes. He even felt somewhat… safe, enveloped by it.

Niko stood in the ruins of the burial site. The sword shifted back into a crown, and floated to her head. A shattered hand mirror flickered, and her benefactor, The World Machine, emerged. They were an exact reflection of her, just like in The Engine. “You’re a good fighter.” “Mama trained all of us to protect ourselves from the Cultists.” The World Machine walked past her, to the burial grounds. “I’m sorry, Niko. I wish there was someone else to carry this burden.” “But there isn’t, is there?”

The World Machine sighed. “No. Here.” A bed with a symbol of the sun appeared in a flash of purple and black squares. “These beds are bound to your crown. Sleep in them, and when you wake up, you will be wherever you want to be. It’ll make navigating the world a lot easier. I’ve found a safe area which should be large enough to set up the Cult. I will meet you there.” The World Machine faded into the distance. Niko was skeptical. How could a bed teleport her somewhere? But, her benefactor had kept their word so far. So, she climbed into the bed, closed her eyes, and visualised a safe area.

Link to Chapter 0: https://www.reddit.com/r/oneshot/comments/1rrjcbx/cult_of_the_sun_tribute/