King George groaned in pain, unable to push away the thoughts of his past. As the pain worsened, he began to regret his decision to accept the punishment over two decades ago.
The seer had warned him from the beginning that his death would be slow and agonizing. But he had never expected it to be this unbearable.
For years, whenever the time came to go to the temple of the Old Gods and make his sacrifice, he would fall ill. Yet, after offering his tribute, his health would return, and he would live like a normal man once more.
But this time, he had fallen sick and sent for the seer. He knew his time had finally come, but he did not want to die.
The seer told him that his fate was sealed, but he had defied fate once before. He could not understand why he would be unable to do it a second time. He had managed to prolong his life for a few weeks, but now he was constantly in pain.
The medicine the seer had given him once dulled his suffering, but now, nothing worked.
