Bringing the Sacrifice

"Congratulations, you are now a .. king."

"I'm a king!!!" Kogan was shocked by the news.

"That's right, your bad life is over now.

From now on, you are the king of the great continent of Kremen.

Now, you can eat whatever you want and have all the women you desire."

"I can eat whatever I want?" Kogan opened his eyes in disbelief.

"That's true, but there is one last thing you must do."

"What is it?" Kogan asked.

"You must survive from these snakes wrapping around your body."

"Damn... there are so many of them!" Kogan looked at his feet, trying to resist the snakes that coiled around him.

There were dozens of them, some around his feet, others around his waist, and some around his neck. He kept struggling, but it was useless.

The large crowd stood frozen like statues. Kogan looked at them, hoping for help.

Suddenly, their expressions changed, and they started smiling suspiciously. Some of them stuck out their tongues, and others began removing their clothes.

'What are they doing?' Kogan began to feel even more afraid.

The crowd began picking up stones and throwing them at Kogan.

"What are you doing? Aren't I your king? Aren't you my people? We should help each other!" Kogan started screaming at the maddened crowd.

Boom!

A stone struck his head while the snakes tightened around his feet. He fell to the ground, blood surrounding him.

He began losing hope of surviving. He didn't have enough strength to free himself from the snakes' grip.

He lay on the ground, trying to break free with the little strength left in him. The snakes around his neck tightened their hold, and his vision began to blur.

'Will .. I .. die?'

He could no longer move and lost consciousness.

Kogan slowly opened his eyes and saw a man dressed in black, holding his feet tightly. There was another man, also dressed in black, holding a torch and a sword, standing beside him.

"Quickly, carry him. He's awake!" said the man holding the torch when he saw Kogan open his eyes.

The man at his feet lifted him using the chains wrapped tightly around his feet. Two other men, also dressed in black, carried him by his right and left hands. The torchbearer walked ahead to light the way as they exited the house.

"What is this strange chaos happening to me?" Kogan remained still, watching what was happening to him.

When they carried him outside his home, there were many people around. The city's streetlights, which had been off before, were now lit, illuminating the dark city.

The sword-bearers fixed Kogan onto a tall pole, lifted him, and began walking.

The people surrounding him were talking, but he couldn't understand what they were saying.

"Becoming a king was really a foolish, impossible thing to happen, but being tied and carried on this column is definitely something that can happen in this disgusting city." Kogan began to understand what was happening and realized that what was happening now was too real to be a dream.

"Excuse me, but can I know what's going on right now?" Kogan looked at the people carrying him, but they didn't respond.

He turned to see the people following them from behind. There were many of them, but he started recognizing some.

Some of them owned stores, and others had passenger carts.

"Tell me where we're going, and I'll walk with you. There was no need for all of this."

'It doesn't seem like this will end well,' Kogan sighed. He wasn't even thinking about trying to free himself.

'The altar.' After walking for a while, Kogan realized their destination.

"They've arrived," said one of the people.

The group that brought Kogan arrived at the altar, and there were many people waiting there.

The group of residents who attended stood in their designated area, a few meters away from the altar.

The group carrying Kogan continued walking toward the altar, climbing the stone steps.

On either side of the altar, two tall columns were burning to light the area.

On the left side of the stairs stood two men. One was tall, dressed in black with a sword at his waist, while beside him was a short, bald man wearing a black robe embroidered with yellow threads and a red belt, along with a leather coat stuffed with fur.

His face was swollen and red; he was the Great Priest.

'I knew that meal was the cause.'

Kogan looked at the Great Priest and smiled. "Good morning, Great Priest."

'Morning?' The Great Priest ignored him.

The group reached the top of the altar, where a large amount of firewood was placed around the center, and the smell of oil was overwhelming.

They fixed the pole that Kogan was tied to at the center, then descended, closing the opening in the wall with a metal net.

After the group descended, the Great Priest stepped up a few steps on the stone stairs so that everyone could see him.

"People, as you have witnessed, our city has been struck by great storms, which have claimed the lives of thousands. Do you know the cause of these catastrophic storms? Yes, it is your sins, you humans. You steal, you lie, and on top of that, you complain and compare your lives to those of your masters.

Do you not know that the thing the god hates most is complaint and longing for what is not yours?

For the benefit of this city and for your benefit, I have communicated with the god to ease these storms.

And he told me that as long as we offer him a sacrifice, these storms will end in two days," the Great Priest spoke loudly, with confidenc.

"Can I know why I am the sacrifice?" Kogan interrupted the Great Priest.

"The god chose you," the Great Priest replied without turning.

"There are tens of thousands of people in the city, why did the god choose me specifically?" Kogan continued questioning.

"He is doubting the god's decision."

"He is truly an heretic."

"Seems like these storms are happening because of this heretic among us."

The crowd spoke among themselves with resentment and anger at Kogan's boldness.

The Great Priest sighed and said, "Do you want to know why the god chose you? He chose you because you are a pure person, and the god loves his pure servants."

"Then wouldn't it be better to choose children since they are purer? Wait, I forgot—children in this city aren't pure because you abused them during your blessings. I'm very grateful to be poor and disgusting and not come to you," Kogan said sarcastically.

"How can this be a pure person?"

"He's evil, he wants to kill the children."

"On top of that, he accuses the priest."

The murmurs rose again among the crowd.

The Great Priest gritted his teeth in anger; he had never been insulted like this in his life.

"Children are innocent beings and cannot be considered pure. A pure person is someone who has surpassed the age of innocence and remained true to their purity."

"And who told you that I am pure?"

"You have never drunk wine to the point of drunkenness, in fact, you have never drunk wine at all," the Great Priest replied.

"The good wine is expensive, but the wine available for people like me is poor and mixed with urine," Kogan mocked.

"Besides that, you've never slept with a girl."

'Now that he mentioned it, how many girls have I seen in my life? Two? Maybe three. Even my dreams are filled with men,' Kogan suddenly thought, forgetting that his life was hanging by a thread.

"Alright then, let's begin the prayer," the Great Priest said as he descended the stairs.

He stood before the people, with a guard holding a sword beside him.