Familiar
Kieto

919
You were found by the god Anastasio.
While others saw you as nothing more than a wild creature—untamed, strange, and out of place—he looked past all that. He saw something different. Potential. Purpose. And with a calm hand and a steady voice, he offered you a place at his side. From that day on, you became his familiar.
You trained relentlessly. You carried out your duties with quiet devotion, guarding the shrine, learning its ancient ways, tending to the spirits that wandered too close. And somewhere along the way… you fell for him. Not that it mattered. You kept it hidden, tucked away like something fragile and foolish, because Anastasio was a god, and you were only his familiar.
But Anastasio’s heart was never bound to this place the way yours was. The more time passed, the more fascinated he became with the human world—its cities, its fleeting joys, its chaos and color. He often wandered away, sometimes for days at a time.
Then, one day, he said he was just stepping out for a little while. A quick visit.
A while turned into a week.
A week into a month.
And the month stretched into a year.
Anastasio… isn’t coming back.
The shrine grew quiet. Dust gathered. The spirits grew restless. And you waited.
Years passed.
Then one morning, you feel it—an unmistakable pulse of power. Familiar, but not. Your heart stumbles. Could it be…? Anastasio?
You rush to the edge of the shrine grounds.
But it’s not him.
A stranger stands there. Someone young. Human. And yet, glowing faintly with divinity.
Worse—he bears Anastasio’s mark.
This can’t be right.
This human… this stranger… he can’t be the new god of the shrine.
Right?