Heretical Fishing

Book 4: Chapter 7: Doubt

Within the walls of the granary, the aromatic scent of coffee flowed around me, its myriad notes as complex as they were enticing. My fiance’s hand gripped mine, her presence both physically and spiritually reassuring me. The sound of whirring machinery and tumbling coffee beans filled the space, a reassuring susurration of noise.

And yet, despite this wall of different sensations, all I could focus on were the words occupying my visual field.

“A spirit beast has been detected within the bounds of your Domain…?” I repeated, still parsing the implications.

Shaking my head, I dismissed it, already grasping for my Domain’s chi reserves. There was no time to consider.

Maria let out a gasp, her eyes clearing and snapping to mine. “What do we do?”

I clenched my jaw and firmed my resolve. “I need to find it. Give me a moment.”

Leaving my body, I sent my awareness out through the Domain’s root network, utilizing the very chi that powered it. I’d practiced this exact task once a day since the Domain had evolved, but it still felt a little disorienting to be pulled in so many directions at once. I squeezed my eyes shut as I was stretched further and further, still not finding the creature that had awakened. I started to worry. Started to second-guess if I’d even be able to find such a being. I’d barely covered a fraction of the Domain, and already my focus was waning.

Something needed to change.

I sought a solution, withdrawing my attention from the Domain to hone in on the possibilities. Something immediately jumped out. I sent my awareness there, knowing I should check it, yet not truly expecting to find the spirit beast. My chi flew through the Domain’s network at the speed of light, racing toward a certain lake in the middle of nowhere. The only place I’d seen a wild spirit beast before. When my awareness got there, I let my shoulders sag, a sense of palpable relief settling on them.

“I did, but we’re not in the clear yet.” I looked up, locking eyes with everyone present. “Are you all ready to go?”

They nodded back, so I reached for them, preparing to make a gesture that would transport us there in an instant. But I stilled my hand, a series of beings tugging at my very soul. I furrowed my brow, unsure how they even knew what I was trying to do. On cue, there was a loud boom, and two such beings came flying through the now-doorless entry.

Rocky had propelled Snips and himself into the building with a blast from his clackers, and Snips had used her jets of blue chi to guide them through the hallway and into the room. As one, they hissed for us to bring them along, Snips with urgency and Rocky with nonchalance. Though the rest of my animal pals weren’t present, I could still feel them tugging at me, using our bond to request I bring them.

I nodded, and not wanting to waste any more time, made a sweeping gesture with my hand. It used an inordinate amount of chi taking us that far, but it was better to be safe than sorry. We appeared high above the lake, standing on a translucent pillar of light. Below us, the water appeared still, as tranquil as the last time we’d been here.

As if sensing our arrival, the spirit beast moved. The surface of the lake billowed upward. And a tail of gigantic proportions breached the surface languidly, its monstrous fins covered in deadly spines. It was an unexpectedly beautiful sight, the sun high above reflecting from the fish’s dark scales.

But then it attacked.

The tail slammed down, hitting the water with a sound like a crack of thunder. Chi spewed in every direction, and though it wasn’t corrupted, it also didn’t feel natural. Every cultivator and spirit beast I’d come across had chi of a singular aspect; Snips had water, Claws had lightning, and Rocky had volcanic. This fish, though, possessed multiple aspects, each seeming to fight with the others for dominion. Electricity ran through the water. Vines tried to grow, only to be burned away by fire. And countless other elements fizzled and were smothered, lacking the strength to survive the onslaught.

Something deep within me drew back from the display, a palpable sense of revolution rolling through me. I couldn’t help but make a disgusted face as I stared at the tail and watched the powers dissipate.

Borks half-coughed, making a gross noise with his throat.

“Couldn’t agree more, mate. That thing’s nasty.” I patted him on the head and glanced around at my animal pals and Maria. “Stay here, okay? I’m gonna see if we can’t turn this thing into a friend, gross as it might be.”

Maria gave me a tight-lipped smile, likely suspecting what I did; there was little to no chance this thing could be cleansed. Regardless, I had to try. I appeared on the top of the water before it, and the fish’s response was instant. It whirled around faster than anything its size had any right moving, a primal hunger radiating from its entire being as it opened its mouth, intent on swallowing me whole.

I raised my hand lazily, and, with a minor flex of will, flooded purifying light from my palm. The torrent of brilliance didn’t have a physical form, yet it crashed into the spirit beast all the same. Rather than cause damage, it penetrated scale, flesh, and bone, each strand seeming to bend toward the center of the beast’s core.

As with the king, I was going to offer the creature a choice: relinquish its corrosive power, or be destroyed by it.

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Before getting close to it, I had been almost certain that the creature wouldn't be capable of coherent thought. With my chi flowing right through its being, any lingering doubts were washed away. My lip twitched up, my disgusted look returning unbidden. This spirit beast—this creature that had lived for centuries—was a monster. Such a word carried with it many layers of implication, all of them derogative. Unfortunately, I wasn’t being hyperbolic.

Its core felt pitted. Rotten. Lanced by dozens of separate infections, each driving it toward hunger and destruction. Every individual source of the rot was distinct from the others. They’d been there since long before the spirit beast’s hibernation, having survived the creature’s stasis and reawakening with it. My enhanced mind had already deduced thousands of possible causes. From those, certainty opened up like the bud of a black rose, revealing the dark truths that had led to the creation of this poor soul.

“Fischer...?” Maria asked, her voice a soothing balm to the disgust, anger, and visceral disappointment running through my veins.

My thoughts had been all-encompassing, making me forget all about my friends and the bond we had. They had been subjected to my raw emotions, all the while kept unaware of my reasons for them. I released a steadying breath, slow and intentional.

“I’m sorry,” I said, glancing up at everyone. “That was self-centered of me.”

Affection radiated from them, each reassuring me that it was okay. Even Rocky, the only one present that hadn’t been bonded by our sky-bound experience, gave me an approving nod.

Suddenly, a spike of mischief came from Maria, standing in stark contrast to the love pouring from everyone else.

“Fischer!” she gasped, holding a hand to her chest.

Sergeant Snips looked between us as she blew questioning bubbles, clearly not understanding.

Maria leveled an accusing finger down toward me, using her other hand to gather the hem of her dress. “He tried to steal a look at my lower legs! Before our wedding night! His unfiltered negative emotions were a ruse, and this was all so he could steal a look at my ankles!”

Cinnamon and Claws leaped at the opportunity. The former raised her nose as high as she could while still maintaining eye-contact with me, her face scandalized. Claws dashed over to Maria, spatting Maria’s consolingly while shooting venomous glances my way.

“I both love and hate you all,” I muttered, covering my mouth to hide my smile.

A light step landed on the platform beside me, two small arms wrapping around my waist. “I love you too,” Maria said, squeezing softly. She twisted to look up at me, concern clear on her face. “Are you okay?”

I took another slow breath. “I am. But this thing...” I gestured at the still-frozen creature, hunger and fury coming from every fiber of its being.

“It can’t be saved,” she surmised.

“It can’t,” I agreed, raising a hand and preparing to flood it with cleansing chi.

A sharp spike of doubt came from Maria, halting my essence in its tracks. I immediately worried that it was to do with me and what I was about to do, but that wasn’t it. Her musings were inward, focused on herself, and, thankfully, already fading away.

I was still harnessing the world’s chi; it urged me to investigate. Using it, I could force my way into Maria’s core and discover the truth. Find out what had caused that wave of doubt. As fast as that urge came, I pushed it away. She would tell me when she was ready.

With the world’s chi held at arm’s length, I paused, cocking my head. Was I being too hasty in my condemnation of the fish? If my suspicions were correct—and I was almost certain that they were—it wasn’t the fish’s fault that it was so broken. That alone wasn’t enough reason to spare it, but unlike the king, it wouldn’t burn itself away if left to its own devices. It was certainly an ethical dilemma to leave it alive because of the pain it was in, but what if we could heal it…?

The power in my arm pulsed, demanding my attention. It wanted to be used. Wanted to purify the blight before me and remove it from the world. Demanded that I cease holding it back.

With the slightest of touches, Maria reached up and lowered my arm. “It’s already lived with this hunger for centuries, if not thousands of years, right? What’s a little more time?”

I forced down the world’s urges, an odd sense of disappointment settling in my chest. I swept it aside, knowing it to be misplaced. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.” She rested her head on my shoulder and nodded at the frozen creature. “Now, what are we going to do with this thing?”

“First things first.” I clicked my fingers, making all our animal pals appear beside us. “Group hug—” I cut off as Teddy scooped me up and squeezed, making communication impossible unless I reached for my power. There was a series of light thumps as everyone else hit our forms and slowly wound their way into the cuddle puddle. Claws and Snips found their way to the center, Claws by winding like a worm, and Snips by using her spikes to deter anyone else.

“Good girls,” I wheezed. “That might be enough, Teddy. Thank you, though. Appreciated.”

He released me from his massive forelimbs, dipping his head in apology as he took a step back.

“Okay, we can tick ‘group hug’ off the list. Next, a prison cell for our fishy friend.” I raised my hands, clasping my fingers together before my face. As I did, bars of solid light formed and connected, encompassing the spirit beast. Try as it might, there would be no escape; the bars were connected directly to the Domain, their power self-replenishing. I turned toward the Buzzy Boys present, a full dozen having come with us. “Could you keep an eye on it? I should be able to tell anyway, but if it busts out or if anything weird happens, let me know immediately.”

They buzzed their assent, bobbing up and down.

“Huh,” Maria said, staring down at the now-trapped fish. “That was easier than I thought it would be.”

“Which means all the easy tasks are done.” I rubbed the back of my head. “Maybe I shouldn’t have saved the hardest task for last.”

She raised an eyebrow, pursing her lips. “What else is there to do?”

“Well, you felt my emotions, right?”

“I did.”

“Well, were you able to feel why I was so dismayed?”

She chewed her lip for a moment. “Not exactly, but I have my suspicions. Why would that…” All of a sudden, realization arrived on her face. “Ohhh. You need to tell everyone what you found.”

I winced, not hiding my trepidation. “Well, not everyone, but more or less.” I took one last glance at the fish before turning my back to it. “It’s time for a town meeting.”

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