Heretical Fishing

Book 3: Chapter 73: A Time of Great Change

Silence reigned as my vision cleared, everyone staring either into space or at each other. Given how well I knew my pals, I was acutely aware of who would give the best reaction. As was almost everyone else, apparently. As one, our heads swiveled toward Ellis.

“Seventh edition...” he said, his hand shaking as he slowly closed his notepad.

I opened my mouth to respond, to make some no-doubt hilarious and timely quip, but nothing came out. “Damn,” I said instead. “That’s a lot to take in.”

“Ah-huh,” Maria agreed, staring at the far distance.

Barry cleared his throat. “Well done, everyone. I—” he cut off as power bloomed behind us, its corrupted nature undeniable.

Rocky leaped into action, putting himself between us and the threat.

Perhaps the king thought he stood a chance now that the network’s power had been distributed. Perhaps he was too mad to gauge his position accurately, reduced to base instincts as the chi he embraced destroyed more and more of his body. Or perhaps he was aware of his doom and had decided to make one last desperate attempt.

Whatever the reason, the result remained the same; another wave of flame flew toward us, unleashed from the king’s extended hands.

I appeared beside Rocky in a flash of light and flicked my wrist. The inferno simply disappeared, there one second and gone the next. I took a step toward the king, then paused and turned to the side. “Rocky, mate, I’m glad you’re back and all, but where the frack did you find those?”

The moment I’d made the threat vanish, the deviant little crab had taken a deep drag of his fantasy cigarette, which now that I saw up close, was an artisanal version of the mass-produced ones we’d had on Earth. He exhaled slowly, making a vague motion toward the sea with a nonchalant air.

“You know what,” I said, “never mind. That’s a story for another time. Don’t give those to anyone else, okay? It’s a bad habit.”

Of course, he hissed, even his bubbled speech somehow sounding cooler.

Talk about a glow-up, I thought, returning my attention to the king.

He was gathering more power, still sucking up corrupted chi through his underground tunnel to Theogonia.

“Fischer...” he croaked, sounding like his lungs were burning away.

“Yeah, mate. That’s me.”

He let out a scream—at least that’s what I thought it was supposed to be. It was more akin to wind racing down an ablaze hallway. He released his gathering power, letting out his strongest attack yet. Before it traveled so much as a few centimeters, I poured incandescent light from my body, the network providing it in abundance. His corrupting chi was cleansed, the fire dying out in a puff of smoke.

My light shot through it and into the king. It shone through him, penetrating down to his core and cleaning all the remnant corruption out. I’d instinctively known that I could destroy the sickly essence, but I was unaware of just how powerful it would be. The chi shone from my entire body, finding and destroying every last imperfection. When it hit the king’s forces behind me, they were roused from unconsciousness, shooting upright. The cleansing chi shot into their cores, just as it had the king’s.

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They were offered a choice, and not all of them reacted the same way.

They could relinquish their corruption, let the purifying light lancing through them cleanse it away. All but one of the king’s allies immediately let go, and as the poison was burned off, their cores started healed. It was miraculous to watch. Tears welled in all of their eyes, having nothing to do with pain or despair.

I could feel their awareness of the process, their understanding that the corruption they had embraced was being washed away. The restoration of their bodies was so potent that even the king’s ruptured core could be fixed. One ally, the one that had caused Roger unending grief and subsequently been on the receiving end of a fish-related beat down, denied the light. The king, too, turned away, holding onto his corrupted power with everything he had.

I understood what would happen, then. If they didn’t let go of the chi within their cells, it wouldn’t just be the corruption that was burned away. I forced my will down on them, making them understand the consequences of their choice. They acknowledged it. They were completely aware. And yet they denied my extended hand, choosing instead the evil power stemming from Theogonia.

The two men combusted in a flash, burning away in a pyre of their own making. Not even a mote of ash remained.

If it had happened even a day ago, I might have blamed myself for the duo’s demise. I might have thought that my friends saw me as a monster for facilitating the event that led to their souls’ departure, then projected that view onto myself. The word I’d heard uncountable times in the last few hours echoed in my mind, a single syllable that held immeasurable weight.

Trust...

I was not to blame. Any person who embraced that power would eventually die. Each time they channeled it, they were further condemned. As the last of the corruption was forced from the king’s former allies, those that had readily relinquished the chi afflicting them, I breathed a slow sigh. My conscience was clear.

Now that there was nothing left to clean above ground, I focused my attention below. The network’s light raced along it, using each disgusting bit of essence as fuel. At the literal speed of light, it traced a path back to the heart of the corruption.

When it arrived in Theogonia, it exploded up from beneath the castle, ballooning into a radiant orb of light that covered kilometers of land. The only thing holding up some of the gnarled trees was the corruption lacing them, and as it was burned away, they collapsed in a pile of plant matter. It was a horrific level of destruction. Something about the swaths of forest just evaporating before my eyes made me angry, but a spark of hope also came to life.

Just as had happened to the scarred landscape created by long-departed cultivators, life would return to Theogonia. It was just a matter of time. Holding onto that eventuality, my awareness was dragged back through the tunnel.

As I returned to my body, I noticed how tired I was. It wasn’t the bone-deep weariness of physical labor. It was like the foggy-brained feeling after a day spent at a computer beneath fluorescent lighting, but cranked up by orders of magnitude. I teetered, Maria grabbing my arm and steadying me before my face could become acquainted with the ground. “Thanks,” I muttered, my mouth sluggish.

Though I’d closed my eyes, I could sense the approach of my animal pals, our bond having grown even deeper than it once was. Maria was there too, her core feeling like an extension of my own. If it were any other human, I’d have worried about the implications. With Maria, all I felt was a deep thankfulness for her presence. I chanced a glance her way. She could sense my affection for her, causing tears of joy to well in her eyes.

“Oh, no,” I mumbled. “Are you... breaking up with me?”

“What?” Her head jarred backward, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. “What are you talking about?”

I waved a hand in Barry’s general direction. “I know Barry has a rockin’ bod now, but I can work out. I can change.”

She rolled her eyes so hard that I thought she might get vertigo. “I’m over here worrying about you, but you’re clearly fine.” She lifted me in a princess-carry and plopped me on Teddy’s back, which was as emasculating as it was deserved. She leaped up behind me, hugging me around the waist and keeping me steady. “Would you carry us home, Teddy?” she asked. “Please.”

Despite being a vision of wrath and spitting fury like ten minutes ago, he nodded politely and lumbered off, heading for my home. As he took through the rows of sugarcane, I wondered about what the future would bring.

When the villagers returned, there would be no way to hide Tropica’s transformation. Heck, from their position at the northern headland, they for sure would have seen the king’s flames. They might have even felt the heat. A time of great change was about to come to Tropica, and I had just declared myself the leader of it.

With that thought lingering in my mind, Teddy’s swaying steps lulled me to sleep.

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