Heretical Fishing

Book 5: Chapter 31: - Chains

Book 5: Chapter 31: - Chains

Heretical Fishing

Surrounded by peaks, wrapped in swirls of his own essence, and cast in a red light befitting this victorious moment, Paul experienced ecstasy on par with the divine. Never had he felt so sure. So right. So in control.

He latched onto Teddy’s projected power, bending its offensive boost to his will.

His real, ‘adult’ self was free, his adolescent tendencies shoved to the back of his mind. He assessed his abdomen and beamed when he found no knots there. He was in complete alignment with himself.

Now that the System’s iron grip was absent, he finally comprehended how stifling it had been. Its existence made objective sense, of course. It was to the benefit of society and the world at large if the young and inexperienced were prevented from wielding too much power. Even a simpleton could foresee the resulting disasters.

Fischer had warned him of the outcomes. Despite the traveler’s strength, he couldn’t see into the heart of others, nor could he predict the future. Thus, he’d presented Paul with the carrot and the stick—be a positive influence for other children and be rewarded, or step out of line and be imprisoned. Most would chafe at that, seeing such obvious manipulation as an insult.

Paul, however, saw it for what it was.

He wasn’t a mere member of the masses. He wasn’t one to be offended by Fischer’s good leadership. And he wasn’t in need of safeguarding by some faceless protocol. Paul could be trusted with his agency. He would only do what was best for Fischer, Tropica, and the world at large. Which was exactly why he was assimilating his two followers.

The moronic and emotional civilians would never understand. What did they know of genuine sacrifice? The vast majority would hesitate before giving their life to save their beloved, their body seizing up in that critical moment, the voice in the back of their mind urging self-preservation. His followers, though? Toby and Theresa understood. They, after all, were complicit. Both could stop the subjugation of their potential with the faintest thought. Yet neither did.

And he thanked them for it—praised them for the wherewithal to make the choices others would shy away from. Almost all of their individuality had been scouted now. He circled them, assimilating as he went. Perhaps a fifth of their souls were conquered already. He could feel their influence, their thoughts, just as they felt his. Never again would he be alone in this world, nor the heavens beyond.

Fischer would understand. He might be upset at first—the man was emotional for a leader—but he would come around. He prized agency above all else, after all, and this was what all three of them wanted. The god-king was here now. His weakened tendrils of essence encircled the clearing, stopping others from interfering. This made Paul smile.

A good leader, was Fischer. He wouldn’t stand in the way of progress.

“The frack I wouldn’t, mate.”

The voice was conversational. Amused. Paul buckled as if struck by a wedge of mounted spearmen. What was Fischer’s purpose with those words? A clear threat, but presented with humor...? Was the point humiliation? A lesson? Setting the precedent that to go against his wishes was to invoke his wra—

“Nahhh,” Fischer drawled back in his thick accent. “It’s not that deep. I find this whole situation funny. Sorry if it came off as condescending.”

Paul’s lip and eye twitched. This was his moment of victory. A good leader would heap praise upon their general, not cheapen it with misdirection and inane chatter. Toby and Theresa’s reaction was just as visceral. They raged at Fischer’s hypocrisy, incensed by the disrespect he was showing their sacrifice.

“Okay, okay. My bad.” An image of Fischer appeared in Paul’s mind. “In my defense, I only meant for Maria to hear that first message. I’m not as deft as I used to be. It’s those damned tunnels sapping my power and making me weak. Sorry about that.”

Paul had to fight down his fury. That his god-king had intended on speaking it behind his back was hardly any better. Such whisperings could easily lead to the downfall of a general, no matter their prowess or—

Maria cut his thoughts off with a muffled laugh. “There are no secrets between a man and his wife, Paul. I’m kind of surprised this ‘adult’ version of you didn’t know that. Don’t be offended.”

“You mock me in my moment of victory.” Paul hated how petulant his voice sounded. Damn his adolescent body. “Yet you claim no offense should be taken?”

“Mate. You’ve got it all wrong! She wasn’t laughing at you. She was laughing with you.”

“What is so funny, then? What do you find so humorous that you would undermine me so publicly?”

“That you reckon you’re gonna subjugate Toby and Theresa.”

And there it was. Fischer’s hypocrisy laid bare. Paul had been a fool for believing in this man. “You speak of agency, god-king!” he spat. “Yet you would step in here? And how would you stop us? Imprisonment? Collaring? Will you cleanse us for having the audacity to find our purpose and follow through?”

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

A terse silence followed the questions. Paul’s words had held up a mirror, and they were clearly flummoxed by what they saw in the reflection. He allowed himself a satisfied smile, knowing he had successfully talked his way through.

Fischer cackled. Actually cackled!

Maria joined in, both leaning on each other in shared amusement. Paul’s fury boiled over. Rational thought left him. Such a grave insult could only be answered with steel and blood. He reached for the souls of his friends, and though their assimilation was still in progress, they agreed with him—Fischer was no leader worth following. Destroying him would be a service to all his faithful.

With that thought in mind, Paul grasped at the last vestiges of chi tying Toby and Theresa to their mortal forms.

“Not laughing at you, mate. Neither am I stopping you.”

Paul heard, but he didn’t listen. Words were wind.

“Wanna know why?” Fischer continued. “Because you’re gonna stop you. I don’t have to do a thing.”

Paul snarled. So did Toby and Theresa, lips curling, teeth clenched. They gathered up their autonomy and made the last decision they would ever make, choosing to cede their free will to Paul. Ribbons of essence flowing out to seal the pact.

But when something slammed into Paul, it wasn’t the pact. It was the suppressed part of himself, the child that he’d forced to the back of his mind.

Subjugate his friends? Absorb their will into his own? Yeah fracking right.

“No!” Paul declared, not longer embarrassed by the tone of his adolescent voice.

“No!” Toby and Theresa agreed. The System obeyed. It had been lurking nearby, and with their denial, it collected their chi and wove it back into their cores. Their hearts beat in tandem, the rhythmic thumps reminiscent of the drums of war, each pulse urging action.

The limitations of earlier, the muting of his power by the System, returned. Paul watched as they laced his body, rested on his skin, and sank down toward the invisible channels running through him. Before they locked in place, the thumping tempo of his two friends’ hearts became deafening. His joined in, matching their pace.

Someone spoke, but it was drowned out by the sound of scraping metal, creaking wood, and the thousands of armored-feet marching, the tumult coming from within the three children..

***

“See?” I asked Teddy as light shone from the children he saw as cubs. “Told you! Paul was never going to—Poseidon’s pickled titties on a platter what the fuck is that?”

Great chains of chi wound out from Paul, thicker than my arm, stopping just short of the other two. Toby and Theresa’s now-awakened cores responded in kind, their own metallic links scraping out, each length wrapping around the others. From scraping to grating to a booming roar, the chains kept coming, and the three friends were encased in seconds by a metal sphere. It contracted, squeezed, condensed, then vanished in a flash of ephemeral silver.

The trio stood atop the cleared ground like nothing had happened. Their appearances were unchanged, but the same couldn’t be said of their cores. Paul’s breakthrough wasn’t complete, but it had progressed. Rather than exploding out, the additional essence had been absorbed by his friends, Toby and Theresa drinking it in.

When I felt their conjoined ideal, I lowered my head into my hands. The groan started down in my chest, slowly growing louder as it crawled its way up my throat and out into the world. I hadn’t been imagining it when Paul completed the first stage of his breakthrough back when making Bob the Boat. His ideal hadn’t been related to design at all; it was about strategy. Their souls had literally broadcast the sounds of a marching column.

“Your fathers are going to kill me...”

“Yep!” “Definitely!” “Ya-huh!” Paul and Toby and Theresa agreed, the children-turned-tacticians deeming it likely.

Maria rubbed a reassuring circle on my back. “Look on the bright side—the System limited their power.”

“Greaaat. I’m sure that’ll make Barry and Dodge forgive me for letting their kids awaken as child soldiers.” I held up a hand to forestall their objection. “I know you’re more like commanders. I’m only matching the hyperbole your fathers are gonna hit me with.”

I felt and heard a muted boom. Another groan escaped me. “Speak of the devils...”

Barry sailed into view a moment later with Dodge clinging to his back. The former’s powerful legs had sent them flying a little too high, but they’d arrive soon enough.

“Guess it’s better we get it over with...” I said.

“Woah!” Paul yelled, his comrades letting out sharp gasps when they saw what Paul had. “I knew it! They’re perfect!”

They were pointing at the new grove of fruit trees, which was apparently the reason Paul had brought the others out here. Borks and Lemon—who had both been standing to the side looking extremely guilty for their role in triggering the breakthrough—perked up slightly.

“It’s not your fault, you two. Who’d have known that jumpscaring them would lead to all that? I’m surprised you joined in though, Borks.”

Reverting to the demonic form of a Chihuahua, he flopped onto his back in submission. I scratched his tummy. “I’m not angry, buddy. Just surprised. You’ve clearly been spending too much time around Lemon.”

The bush she currently occupied nodded in agreement.

I gazed over at the three tacticians. They had run into the grove and were staring up at... “What the frack? How are the coconuts fully grown already?”

Lemon and Borks wiggled in delight. I took a step forward, wanting to crack one open and have a taste, but then a stern voice slammed into me.

“Fischer!” Barry had sailed into hearing range. His jaw was as annoyingly handsome as usual. “What have you done?”

I cupped my hands to my mouth. “Would you believe me if I said it wasn’t my fault?”

Suddenly, the entire sky to the northwest flashed blue and yellow, not an inch of the horizon spared from the countless barbs of jagged lightning consuming it. I blinked in confusion, then grabbed Maria by the elbow, started gathering my essence, and gave Barry a shit-eating grin.

“Don’t you dare!” he roared. “You need to answer—”

“Sorry, mate!” I yelled. “Gotta go! Bring some coconuts back for me though, yeah? I really wanna give them a try!”

We left in a flash of light. We technically arrived in one too. It was far less noticeable on the other side, though, given the mammal that clutched onto me and hit my core with at least a dozen bolts of lightning.