Guillotine
Legacy Name: Guillotine

perhaps the first thing you would notice about this strange dog is the fact that he doesn't seem to have a good head on his shoulders - pun intended. the creatures neck is wrapped with thick medical bandages, as if barely being held on by more than elmer's glue and a wish. it doesn't help that blood seems to seep through the layered material, with no intention of every stopping. how is he alive?

that would be your first mistake; in fact, he isn't alive at all! or rather, in the sense that you would assume. do not be mistaken - he is quite real, but he is not mortal. guillotine - who insists you call him guill, though no one has ever dared to attempt it themselves - is a demonic entity called an inugami. inugami (literally 'dog god') are created through the cruel torture of a beloved pet. his story is no different.

---

guill was once a young, loyal dog who was completely devoted to his family - a mother, father, and young boy. he protected them with his life, and though he found himself getting into bouts of trouble (disrupting meditation, chasing livestock, knocking things in the shrine about, or playing too rough with the child), the bond shared between the four was indisputable. but as relations between the father and a distant family grew hostile, he had begun to turn on his family, as well as guill.

one night without warning, and overcome with rage, the man grabbed the young canine by his scruff and dragged him out of his resting spot beneath the porch a ways from the home - far enough that the young boy (who was not allowed to venture further than a few feet alone) would be unable to come across the poor thing. tying guill to a tree with rope he had brought along, the man began digging - cursing and speaking to himself the entire time. the young mutt watched in silence as the man went about his work.

guill did his best to hide, uncertain of the man's intentions but feeling the tension and anger radiating from the man's being, as well as the dangerous tone with which he spoke. the dog was unfamiliar with it, as it was a far cry from even the angriest the father had been at guill's most destructive shenanigans. all was silent for a moment, before he felt the presence of the man standing over him. again, he was lifted from the ground by his scruff, and the rope was removed. was it time to go home?

the man threw him with such force into the hole he had made in the ground that guill was momentarily stunned, his body contorted in a strange and uncomfortable manner to fit inside the hole. he had begun to kick his legs in confusion and anger when he felt the man slowly piling dirt on his body. it was getting heavier and heavier. what was going on? he was confused, but he didn't want the question the man, nor did he dare bite him. after all, he was loyal. this was his master. his master would never hurt him.

---

a day had passed since he had watched his master walk away - the poor dog had been buried up to his neck in the dirt. he whined in protest as the man stood to leave, but not before putting food and water just out of reach. at first, guill didn't care much about what he left behind - just that he was not taking him with him. would he and the boy be back tomorrow? perhaps guill had done something he didn't remember, and was being punished. surely, he must have deserved this.

several more days passed, and he began to understand the cruel irony of what the man had left with him - his stomach ached and churned, begging for food which he could smell just inches away. his mouth, which had been panting almost non-stop for what felt like years, was dried and bleeding. everything felt awful. why did he do this to him? what had he done that could have been so bad? surely, he must have deserved this.

his body had grown weak - the food he could live without, but the lack of hydration was causing him to go into fits of delirium. his master must have forgot about him. he missed the man, the woman, and the boy. maybe he was just a bad dog. he rested his head on the dirt and closed his eyes. things were fading, and he wanted the last thoughts in his mind to be of his family. guill found himself on the edge of sleep (or was it death?) when he heard the sound of footfalls - familiar ones! it was the man! he was saved!

guill let out the loudest bark he could - a broken, crackling, rasping sound. he tried again to the same result. though time had passed, the man's face held the same it had the night guill was dragged from his kennel. his ears fell back against his head and he closed his eyes again. he was not saved. it was for the best that his eyes were closed in this moment. he missed the man pulling a blade from it's sheath. all he heard was the whoosh of air, and everything went black. for good.

---

memories of distant rumbles and loud noises flooded his mind, though it felt as if it had all been a dream. the last thing he remembered was being in that damned hole. that, and the look of sheer hatred and malice on the face of a man who had only ever shown him compassion. the cloudiness began to fade from his mind, and he blinked his eyes - once, twice, three times before the shadows in the corners began to ebb away and he could see clearly.

he turned his head in every direction - he was somewhere familiar, though it took a few moments for it to dawn on him; the shrine! but it looked so weird... it was familiar, but it was as if he was seeing it from a new angle. he kicked his legs, and felt nothing beneath them. after a momentary panic, the focused his gaze downward. he was... floating. but what shocked him the most was the sight of his own body. a bony, matted mess, dried blood from the stump where his head had been staining his already dark coat. beside his body set his head.

the initial shock was almost too much for him, and he felt himself begin to shake and fill with a sort of anger he had never felt in his life. what had this man done? what had he done? why? his body was radiating with a burning intensity that he could not control, and when the man entered the shrine, he felt all the strength in his body surge. he wanted to attack. he wanted to kill. unfortunately, the man knew just enough to keep this from happening. he had evoked the inugami, just as he had wanted. now he would have his revenge on anyone who had wronged him! he had created a god!

however, the man did not know enough. he was able to control guill for a time, as he was newly evoked and his anger could only grow with time. he was forced to do loathsome things - killing other animals, attacking children, and defiling the shrines of others. with each act, guillotine grew more and more spiteful. but it was not until he was forced to instigate the death of a young boy, the same age as the one he had grown alongside, that the rage inside him grew uncontrollable. he turned on the man, and finally, he was finally granted the wish he had made the day he saw his own mutilated body laying on the altar. the man's death was not quick.

---

many years had passed since the incident; though he had severed the connection between his evoker and himself, he could not return to the family he once knew. it seemed he was cursed to live on this plane of existence. so he gave into wanderlust and began his journey. at first, he caused destruction along the way, his hatred still unsatisfied by the spilled blood of his former master. but over time, it seemed to dull. he had revenge. what else was there for him?