Verse 8:3 — The Adherent

What I Am —
Uttered by Xivu Arath —
God of Many Shapes —

I AM THE GOD OF SILENCE. I slit a hundred million wailing throats. I watch as their blood scatters like precious stones. Their screams turn to sighs; their sighs turn to silence. I stand among the dead and listen to the absence of sound.

I AM THE GOD OF LOGIC. I shiver in delight to speak the truth because speaking truth is good. I speak my brother's words, the words he cut from the worm god Akka's throat.

I AM THE GOD OF LIFE. I pare dead things from truth, and in this, I find life that cannot be extinguished. I hold that life, nurture it by testing it against myself, by removing the weaknesses that bring death. In this, I embrace life and all its strength.

I AM THE GOD OF LOVE. Any life that can withstand me will be with me at the final shape. There, we will stand together. That life will know me, and I will know it: pared to our true shapes, seeing each other for what we are.

I AM THE GOD OF ALL THAT EXISTS. I have endured while others have not. I am the last surviving sibling. I will stand at the final shape and be the end. I will maintain my existence when nothing else has. I will stand alone.