Is Dullip the Next Sickle Deity?

In a dark corridor, calmly walking through the lonesome path was Dullip, his eyes closed, sensing the Garobu Faith streaming into him, "The evidence is clear now."

"Our Faith is waning." He soon arrived at the end of the corridor and opened the room, staring at his siblings inside. They were buried in a bunch of books, learning all there was about the Garobu Faith.

This group was stationed here as a reserve to replace any dead Spirits on duty. Currently mixed with them was also the group—among his siblings—that were meant to become Spirits for the sole purpose of having their Deity Organs harvested for the creation of Priests.

Staring at them, Dullip asked, "How's the preparation coming along?"

"We're currently recuperating," One of his siblings said, slightly tired as he displayed the stitch on his stomach, "It should be possible to move after a week."

"A week…" Dullip frowned, "I'm afraid it'll be dangerous by then. It's the harvest season in two weeks. Our enemies would destroy our city by then."

"Is there…no possible way to defeat them?" One of the siblings asked in sadness, "Our families, for generations, have sacrificed themselves for the betterment of Garobu City. To abandon it is…"

"We don't have a choice," Dullip sighed, "Keyn betrayed the Faith. He has trapped father in the Pest Devil's ploy. When I scouted the place, I observed that father is already being consumed by the enemy."

"If he hadn't fallen victim to the trap, we would still have a chance at resisting the Pest Devil. But, it's not possible anymore." Dullip clenched his hand into a fist, expressing anger, "Hence, we'll escape the city with all our accumulations."

"I have already converted all our reserve Robu to Faiah. The account's in my name." Dullip said as he stared at the vast row of books before him, "And these…no matter what, we have to bring them with us."

"We can't cause the accumulations of our ancestors to go to waste. Hence," He bowed, "It was why I asked everyone to become Priests."

"We pretty much emptied the treasury," The sibling at the very front said, "At present, we have 41 Merit Priests, 7 Laurel Priests, and even 2 Accolade Priests. It's a sizeable force."

"Can't we kill our enemies with such a formidable fighting strength?"

"That's…not possible." Dullip shook his head, "I have been spying through the city. Two Merit Shamans of the Pest Devil are active. Judging their Fear, I can say with assurance that even a Spirit of the Pest Devil is on par with the Sickle Deity in terms of strength."

"If we use all our strength, we might be able to kill the two Merit Shamans. But I have no guarantee that there aren't others hiding in the city. Moreover, if nothing changes, Keyn would become a Spirit." He sighed, "Also, our land is doomed."

"When harvest season approaches, all our plants would wither away. Garobu Faith would collapse right then and there. So, we've already lost the fight. Our only option is to flee and establish another city in the future."

"But without a Deity, we can't survive for long." One of the siblings stared at Dullip, "Can you guarantee that you'll gain the powers of the Sickle Deity?"

"I can only try," Saying so, Dullip left the room, "Pack everything and be ready. We'll leave through the secret exit beyond the city."

Dullip walked through the empty corridor, brushing past bloody rooms where his siblings had died recently while trying to become Priests, 'To maintain one's Faith, swimming through the blood of siblings seems inevitable.'

He arrived at a discrete room and climbed the flight of stairs, coming face to face with a wall. He condensed a tiny sickle and scratched the wall in the shape of a flower, opening it stealthily.

Dullip closed the wall shut and looked around, walking through the empty room of the palace. He closed his eyes, sensing the Garobu Faith condense in his brain, causing the organ to whir into life as his eyes shone, allowing him to see the lines of Garobu Faith trailing through the skies.

They converged into the Sickle Deity. And from him, 38 dense streams travelled to all corners of the city. They depicted the power that the Spirits borrowed from the Sickle Deity. One of the streams fell on him.

Surging in him was the Garobu Faith, fully at his beck and call. The recent turbulence allowed Dullip to increase his attunement to the Garobu Faith. Now, as a Spirit, he was able to fully wield all the powers at his disposal, attaining one percent of the Sickle Deity's strength.

Moreover, as he observed, his brain too synchronised with the Garobu Faith, slowly reaching a state of zero resistance, 'It seems right before the harvest season, my brain will become a Deity Organ.'

In his body, the brain was the only organ left that hadn't become a Deity Organ yet. Once he attains that, his power would be on a whole other level as compared to the other Spirits. Right as he thought of that, one of the 38 streams vanished, followed by a second.

Within a day, three streams vanished. Meaning, three Spirits had already been killed. Dullip then focused on the stream that was ten times the others in thickness. It landed somewhere within the palace, indicating Keyn Garobu's position.

It was through this sight that Dullip was aware of Keyn's position and could evade the latter's pursuit. At present, other than the Sickle Deity, only Dullip was capable of this.

After all, except his brain, all his organs were Deity Organs. His brain too had almost become a Deity Organ. Even though in terms of strength, he was only a Spirit, but in terms of being able to employ the Garobu Faith, he was no different from the Sickle Deity.

And when his brain becomes a Deity Organ, he would become a weaker version of the Sickle Deity himself. At that time, he would be able to seize control of the Faith and become the Sickle Deity. "But before that, I should save as many people as I can."

With that thought in mind, Dullip sneaked out of the castle and bought ships using the money he stole from their treasury. One after another, thousands of people began to leave Garobu City, disguised as merchants as they transported their reserve food.

'Let them seek asylum in other cities until I reclaim their home.' Sighing at the headache, Dullip continued to roam through the city, contacting trusted people as he made countless preparations behind the scenes.