Presence

Those who view the Singer from afar will see what appears to be one being, but those who dare to take a closer look will find a seemingly never-ending swarm the makes up the body of the Singer. The swarm will wind its way to its destination, contracting and expanding as needed. These swarms tend to be made of sea creatures, but flocks of birds aren't uncommon forms for the Singer. The moment the terrain is unfavorable the Singer's swarm undergoes a metamorphosis. Schools of dolphins will toss themselves on to land, becoming a herd of deer on impact with the ground. The Singer is said to be the creator of migrations for it is he who is said to have migrated first.

Unusual colors dance across the landscape. Deers in bright pink, seemingly glowing in the darkest nights race across the landscape. The Singer is not a subtle being, with unnatural colors being a favorite of his. Attractive pinks, vivid neons, and even the occasional rainbow are his colors of choice. Those who view the Singer from afar, as the herds and swarms sing beautiful tunes might be so enamored by the majesty that they don't notice the gruesome sights that are barely hidden inside.

Impalements. Spears logged inside the creatures. Many either having open wounds or scars to show what they have survived. The swarms do not stop for the injured, and the injured refuse to stay in one area as well. With no sense of self-preservation, they will happily let their old wounds tear open, or fresh wounds rip even further. Should they be immobilized, they will attempt to rejoin no matter what, leading to these animals to struggle against the ground until its dying breath. The Singer rarely gives up on his migration.

The most common form of the Singer is that of a large pink dolphin made of all sorts of sea life. Countless spears impale its flesh from those who attempted to slay it once before. The book of the limbo has this to say about the Singer and his appearance.

The Singer's Anguish
"I watched the Singer from my boat. I followed it. I understand that to many I could be considered a fool, but the swarm and their song hypnotized me. Many times as I followed alongside it, I thought of jumping into the waters myself to join it knowing full well I would drown immediately. Its sweet song was just far too welcoming. Every day, at least once a day, the swarm would circle each other, over and over for 30 minutes at a time before one member of the crowd was somehow able to break free. Ready to realize that they cannot follow each other, else they would get nowhere. The others soon follow it, the circle broken.

It was odd to see this godly being before me. The most particular thing was that as the Singer's fin touched the air, what once was a group of fish would suddenly turn into one solid fin with no indication of the fish that once made it up. I say this because one day the Singer suddenly stopped in its tracks and spun around to look at me.

It lifted its head out of the water, just a giant dolphin with scars all over it. It is only then that I noticed that the Singer appeared to be hyperventilating. It is only then that I saw it was crying an endless stream of tears. It looked at me; it wanted to know if I could help it in its quest to find the friends that it had lost long ago.

I shook my head, even though it had never spoke to me. In that instant, without even sinking back into the water it broke apart into various fishes. Some helplessly flopping on top of one another until the ones below sank into the water.

It began to sing once more.

Only then had I realized it was singing for itself, not others."

Disposition

While a limbo god is never to be trusted and is always to be feared, the Singer is the least avoided of all limbo gods. To some, the Singer isn't a horrible monster like the others, but an innocent bystander to all the horrifying events that the rest of them summon. It can be easy to find pity in the Singer, as many of the artworks of him do not depict him destroying cities, torturing people, or even bringing ruin to landscapes. No, the images of the Singer are those of friendly companionship and joy. Lonely children are happily playing with their new friend, the old being comforted in their final weeks of life, and those grieving over the loss of their loved ones being brought gifts by animals to help them recover emotionally. It is easy to believe that the Singer is not evil in the slightest, but do not be fooled.

The Singer is weak, and the weak must prey on those even more vulnerable than it is.

It could be said that the only thing the Singer wants is companionship. Even though the limbo gods will tear each other on sight, the Singer follows any limbo god he can locate. Escape will be attempted when attacked, and when the god eventually lets him go, an utter oddity considering who the attacker is, the Singer will usually enter a sudden reserved sort of state. He doesn't sing, swirl around in circles, or even seems all that interested in anything. The once curious and playful god turns into an emotionless being.

Yet, the Singer will continue to follow the limbo god who attacked him if possible. If too damaged to pursue it's said the Singer will lay there in defeat. Sudden mass animal death in one location tends to be attributed to the Singer being tossed away by one of the other gods and deciding it would be best to waste away for being utterly useless.

When not self-punishing itself for being rejected by others, or following a limbo god, the Singer is said to do rather strange activities. He will spin in circles for days, swim back and forth between two locations seemingly endlessly, and even observe one object, then the other, then go back to the original object to loop this process over and over even though nothing has changed. Stories told of people viewing these events can sometimes have no moral or lesson to learn, just the disbelief of watching such an all-powerful being doing what most would call casual time wasting.





_{A recording from what is believed to be the Singer. Many people are skeptical because it “Sounds like a Midi by someone who has no idea what they're doing.” - Audio by Gimeurcookie}

These moments are also when the Singer does his trademark singing the most. He seems to swing in and out of crying for seemingly no reason as he does this, and yet it is unlikely that it is his own behavior causing him distress, rather stories of why the Singer cries instead points to him remembering past events. The strangest part of all of this is that the Singer will not stop doing all of these actions even if it is clear that the action will directly harm him, as seen in one part of the book of the limbo.

"The birds flew back and forth between two trees, each bird always landing in the same spot. We stood mesmerized by this event when one of us set the tree ablaze. Each bird flew and landed in their assigned spots, regardless of it being on fire. Death was a better option than ruining its cycle." - Abyss Horse

Stories that depict people speaking to the Singer describe a being who wishes not to talk about his problems, even as others point out his tears and wounds. Instead, he seems very interested in the issues of others, what makes them upset, and all of the people and objects closest to them. The Singer helps the people in the story however it can, allowing itself to be stepped on by mere mortals. He pampers those who allow him around, and though the Singer might go into a silent state when screamed at or hit, he will quickly recover and rejoin the person once again.

Yet again, while this all appears to be the sign of an innocent being, do not be fooled. A mortal could never gain control over a god. They may think they're in control, but the moment they attempt to leave the Singer, he will not let them go. He has always been in control.

No one leaves him unscathed.

Acts

There are countless tales of the horrors of the Singer. In fact, the Singer has one of the highest amounts of stories to his name, for when the Singer cannot locate another limbo god to follow, he will instead seek out those in need, those desperate enough to call out to the gods for help. The Singer is predicted to be behind 40% of all answered calls by a god. Seeking those who are the most helpless or torn apart emotionally the Singer will do everything in his power to help the victims.

Those who teach the book of the limbo first teach about the Neo, so that they may all know about the horrors of the limbo gods. They teach about the Singer second, so that they may all know to never ask for the assistance of the gods. No matter how good they appear to be, it will never go well.

One of the main reason the Singer is so deadly is that one of his most potent domains is that of cycles. A person who asks to for someone they hate to die shall have that person killed by the Singer. The person will go about their life as usual when they become slightly annoyed at a line cutter. Then the line cutter drops dead. They yell at a family member over financial issues, only for them to drop dead as well. The Singer does not stop, either because it wishes to punish the person, or because of its repetitive behavior.

People who look to the Singer do not just get what they need for one event, but will instead have their desire tended to even when they wish not for it. Many also call those who look to the Singer the biggest fool of all, for the Singer himself is a fool. The Singer will take many things to the most logical and literal degree. One story tells of a person who wished that all that he touched would turn to gold, and the Singer granted this wish. Soon everything he touched turned to gold, including himself when he rubbed his face in surprise.

The Singer just happily chitters while believing that it had committed a job well done even when the person dies due to their blessing handed to them by the Singer, for, clearly they must have thought this out and knew that such an event would happen; as such the outcome is the correct one, even when no person would ever want such an event to happen to them.

Those who are smart and logical should not count themselves safe from the Singer. Those who benefit from the Singer can go on years without any ill-will or danger afflicting them, until the very moment they decide to leave the Singer. To them, they might see themselves as giving the Singer back his freedom, but letting go of the blessing of the Singer will anger him. He refuses to let go of the person no matter what, but he also refuses to harm the person directly. Instead, he will cause people near the person to become ill, wounded, or feel that they cannot stay around the person any longer. Objects earned by the blessed will one way or the other break down or become lost.

They will lose everything until all they have left is the Singer.

There is no leaving the Singer once the Singer has dug his teeth into his victims. This is why the Singer looks for those who are completely destroyed emotionally or too impulsive to think about what they're getting into. This preying on weakest of the weak, those who need the most help of all, is why the Singer is a monster.

Cults

Obmilism: Obmilism is the anti-religion to Limboism and is one that maintains that the gods are generous and honorable creatures. Those who believe in Obmilism assume the gods are misunderstood because they are imperfect and their mishaps are taken as acts of evil. Those who wish to praise the Singer will carefully plan their days to have significant loops or repetition in it. They will also fear major changes in their lives. Some may even take vows of silence and live in the middle of nowhere to better understand the silent side of the Singer.

The Pod: The Pods are the extreme end of the cult of the Singer. They believe the Singer is the most important god and religiously set up their lives around the concept of looping. Many also take up hoarding of one item or animal which they declare is "them." Many carefully plan their lives so that when they die the people around them will turn their remains into, or even in some horrendous cases, feed them to "themselves" after death. Members of the Pod tend to be of upper-class origin and have lavished parties where they show the "rest of themselves" to other members.

Some Pod members have on occasion been so dedicated in their craft and "themselves" that they have figured out how to find or create more of said rare object or animal. Sometimes this has even saved whole species that were once on the brink of extinction. Like all other extreme god cults, it should be warned to avoid them if possible. Those who become a Pod member tend to find themselves suffering an early demise, and members of the Pod are all too charismatic.

Anti-Cults

Limboism: Limboism is the religion that originated from the notails and is currently the most popular religion in the universe. Those who practice Limboism see all Limbo gods as evil, and while the tears of the Singer sway some, most know better than to put their guards down. Most who wish to show their distast for the Singer may ironically go to music based outings. These outings and praise to the musician are meant to make the Singer jealous, for he believes his music is the best and thus should be praised more than all others.

The most common way to show hate for the Singer is to make sure one does not get caught in aggressive and harmful loops. As such many teachings against the Singer help people self-reflect on their lives and realize when a situation that has been "normal" to them for years is actually abnormal. Many therapist places have the symbol of the Singer apart of their logos to spite the god.

Whalers: The Whalers hate the Singer more than any other god in the pantheon. They believe the Singer is the gatekeeper to all other gods, and that he has the power to close the gates to keep the people from being lured in by the other deities. As such they are furious at the Singer for refusing to serve as the barrier between the gods and mortals. Whalers refuse to keep to any set pattern, seemingly always traveling the universe at random and looking to disrupt any and all order they find harmful, even if they will cause more problems by doing so.

Specific genres of music are over saturated with Whaler bands who roam the universe playing their music in spite of the Singer. Some whaler bands swear that sometimes when they practice in the middle of nowhere that herds of animals will come by to listen and judge their music. They believe this is the Singer jealously judging their music, but it cannot be confirmed that the event isn't just a hallucination caused by narcotics.

Creations

The Singer is not known to be much of a creator in stories containing him. Instead, it seems the Singer is more involved in assisting fellow gods and mortals who request help with their needs. Accounts where the Singer does create all by himself say that he typically creates with seemingly little goals in mind. As with everything else, his creations are associated with swarms and loops. Many people shout to the skies when wasps attempt to nest in their house for the 5th time in a month.

Those who are religious state that the Singer's creations can be reasonably subtle as it fears change itself and thus it may come about so slowly that it takes years to notice. They say that some of the Singer's creations take so long that they are accepted as part of the landscape and praised as amusing accidental arrangements made by nature. The anomalies of the Singer are not as harmless sadly.

Minor anomalies of the Singer are objects that cause a person to obsess specific details, creatures that follow the same routine or path every day regardless of what is in its way, and hallucinations of swarms following the blessed. Many find fauna anomaly made by the Singer to be highly useless, but others have found out that they can "program" these anomalies to do tasks they wish as long as it's in a loop. At least one corporation has cashed in on this by making a whole organic factory by just using anomalies.

No one is quite sure what the reasoning behind it is for as robots are cheaper, but it makes for fantastic branding.

Major anomalies of the Singer are far more terrifying. Whole tracts of land can be taken over by a rather powerful anomaly without raising suspicion. This area will loop through the same day over and over with only minor changes. Anyone who attempts to investigate without mentally fortifying themselves against repetition could end up "investigating" the issue for years, they too now caught in the loop. The gravest of these major anomalies can kill the unknowingly entrapped residents as people from the outside refuse to enter the blessed zone to deliver supplies, thus starving everyone inside.

There are a few famous major Singer anomalies that have become self-sustainable and trapped in the past due to being unable to progress. Tours go through them for a few hours and are carefully maintained to make sure that the touring group doesn't become apart of the attraction itself.

Lastly, some major anomalies are traps, such as giant mazes that close behind the unlucky victim and keep them contained until the victim gives up and lives inside the labyrinth. Even when these people are offered salvation some feel they have spent so long held within the maze that there is no reason to leave anymore. These anomalies are more straightforward to exit as the victim is aware they are trapped. This is why their intended victims are people who already had little willpower to deal with the troubles of the world outside. The Singer's trap offers them everything they need to live, and it's the fear of the world outside that's the real punishment to them, not the Singer's safety.

Demi Gods

Demigods of the Singer control domains over instruments and styles of music. While all demigods are weak compared to their godly parents, demigods of the Singer are considered especially useless and are considered one of the most abundant. Demigods who favor both sound and silence or just the sound side of the Singer shall always be a herd, flock, or another group of beings. Demigods who only favor the silence side of the Singer are far rarer and considered of extreme interest.

These demigods are singular members of an animal or species that herds. They appear seemingly outcasted from their friends and family and roam some of the most remote places in the universe. Time and time again reports have come in of a newly located planet having what appeared to be a demigod of the Singer roaming it. They are quick to shy away and disappear if the population of an area gets too high, thus are quite harmless.

Demigods that appear to be herds are continually singing the music they are associated with and can easily be confused for the Singer itself. After all, many of these groups will show the tale-tell injuries so commonly associated with the Singer. It's said the easiest way to tell the difference is to follow the group for a few hours. If they do not change the type of songs they sing, then they are a demigod as opposed to the Singer. Their injuries also tend to be lesser, lacking little to no implement.

_{An example of a silent demigod. This one roams the graveyards of past wars. The songs that fill the area sound like marching bands rallying the troops. - Art by NekoLychee}

The silent demigods are far simpler to differentiate, though at first may seem harder as all of them are impaled by some item and thus are visually harder to tell apart. However, these demigods, while not singing themselves, cause the surrounding area to fill with music. The Singer never passively sings; instead it always sings itself or causes animals around it to sing for it. Other than that there is not much to note about these demigods. They are an amazing visual and audio spectacle but not much more.

Special

Cycles: The Singer and its movements are incredibly predictable as it refuses to change them if possible. Many stories reflect this with the Singer being the easiest of the gods to capture. This is representative of migrating animals which always come back to the same place, even if many of their kin were killed there just months before as well as unhealthy emotional situations. These cycles also represent joyful and happy rainy seasons that quickly turn sour and into horrifying floods and storms. Learning to recognize patterns and prepare for them is said to be how one defeats this god.

The Crying King

I could not deal with how my life was going. I could see no future for myself, just repeats of days that had already happened. No more. I would do this no more. I broke from the crowd and grabbed everything I could.

I left.

I could not live in that cage, the town by the sea.

What surprised me the most when I started was just how big the world was. Until that point, all I knew was that town. People stood shocked by the way I acted. I did not have the mannerisms they expected of me.

Of anyone.

When I made a small mistake, I would offer to allow them to beat me as punishment. I would cry and toss all that I owned at their feet. I would do anything, anything at all to make up for my "crimes."

One person dragged me out of the crowd and into their house. I expected the worst. As that's what I was taught to expect.

But they showed me how to stop crying. How to not grovel at the feet of people, and how to have more faith. Until then I did not know what forgiveness was, and how the people of this world were willing to give it in reasonable amounts.

That not every mistake was punished.

I would be enlightened. I would leave with respect for myself, and for others around me. I stopped expecting everyone I met to be cruel monsters who only sought to harm or objects which were just in the form of the living.

I traveled far and wide, free now from my personal enslavement. For years I walked. For years I enjoyed life for the first time.

One day I would feel a sickening pull towards a land, one most blessed by the gods. I knew I should not have gone. I knew what kind of place it was.

But my heart betrayed me. My heart felt so much pity.

A crying king ruled this blessed land. He felt grief over his crimes against his people. He would cry as he would beat his subjects for amusement. He would cry as he ordered one to death over a minor incident. He would cry as he demanded money from someone who had none. The people felt pity for the crying king.

I did too.

Even as he wept over the body of a person, he himself had slain. The people cried with him. Had I not come to my senses that day I would have too. Every day I thank the person who taught me better.

I tried to teach them all better when the king had gone away. Some of them cried as I attempted and told me they understood. However, the moment the crying king came back they tossed themselves at his feet once again. They had learned nothing, but I refused to give up.

Months I spent trying to teach them better, but the King's tears were too strong. I feared there would be no end to the tears. They would flow into the water and day by day it rose. The king's throne room started to flood, and though I despised the king, I wished him no harm.

I told him that his castle would soon be flooded within days due to the tears. I begged him to stop, for his sake. The king acknowledged that I was right, but the next day I found him sitting on his throne once again.

I yelled at him. Had he not heard me before? Had he forgotten that I had told him he would die if he continued to sit upon his throne? He remembered. But he could not leave his throne. His throne gave him power, and resting upon it is what he had done for many years.

It is all he knew. He could not stop his cycle.

One day the tears had finally caused the waters to sweep away the king. All of the people had gathered around and watched as the crying king had drowned. I expected the people to be pleased with their freedom from the tyrant, but instead, they wept more.

The people knew not what to do without their king. He was all they knew. They tossed themselves into the water to join him as I pleaded with them not to. They were innocent people. Innocent people who had fallen in love with a monster.

Not a single person that day listened to me, and all of them had drowned. I shouted to the waters. I asked the king if he was happy with what he had done.

I did not expect to get a response.

The bodies were gone, in their place were dolphins swimming about. The biggest one looked at me with a wide grin. Tears in his eyes like the king. They all swam away soon after. Following their beloved sea king. He knew that I had the power to take his people away from him.

So he took them away from me first.

I could do nothing. I could do nothing but pack up what I had and leave.

Leave the town by the sea.

My home, once again.

Trivia

• In pop culture, the Singer is associated with zombies, typically in the form of an attractive musician that plays music to raise the dead. Zombies who died in fights or war tend to violently attack once again, while zombies who died perfectly mundane deaths continue about their lives in their cycle, as usual, sometimes unnoticed for weeks. The latter of which is typically used in media to highlight how easy it is to become trapped in an endless cycle and become unaware of one's surrounding, a zombie even before death.

• Reports note that the Singer's songs depend on where it is. Seemingly changing its tune to the style that fits the best for the area.

• Like all gods, whether or not the Singer exists is dubious at best, and no observations can be a hundred percent confirmed. Those who have been seduced by song and betrayed soon after will tell anyone that the Singer is real and its mercy, short.

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