“It did not go so well.” I hear. Around me is a vast expanse of darkness. I can feel, but I feel nothing. I can smell, I can hear, I can see, but everything is nothing. The only thing is the voice.
“You trusted Avelihn, and she failed you.” A few seconds of silence. “Poor child. Worry not, Mother has you.”
I am pulled in two directions. Two voices collide in the void.
“You cannot have him, Mother. I have chosen him for myself. He is my Incarnate.”
“He is a child of beasts, a son of another world who did not choose. He will come to the sanctuary, and he will be safe.”
“I will show him. Show him how he has been failed, how I have helped him.”
I am back in the gun store. I am laid on the ground, about to die. The fox-skeleton walks over me, and pulls my soul from my chest. I am pulled along with it. “I did not save your life. I did save your soul.”
I am back in the forest, the place where I first came into this world, then the cave, and I see myself carrying Avelihn. I see the barrier crack, and suddenly I’m next to myself. I see the bullet that stopped the world touch my head.
My mouth moves on its own. “I died?” I ask. The fox shakes his head, then pinches the bullet out of the air. He places it under his thick, black cloak, then shakes it off. Two dozen bullets fall to the ground, clattering on the stone underneath. “You did not. Avelihn failed you, but I didn’t. This time, I saved your life, not just your soul.”
“You did. But I was to aid him too.” Says the other voice, motherly, sounding like a thousand oak trees groaning together In the wind to speak. Another figure appears, shining green and with butterfly-esque wings flowing outwards to infinity. “You should come to me, Ryan. If you wish a good life, safe from danger, safe from life, then come to me. I am the shield of all those who wish peace, all those that wish the world to flourish.”
The fox scoffs. “You know what is coming, Mother. There must be strong people in the world, or else we shall all perish. Heed my words, Ryan. If you wish to have all your could ever want and more, come to me. My path is not easy, but you will have life.”
Two figures stand on opposite sides of me. “Who are you?” I ask both of them.
“You may consider us gods. It would be the most appropriate title of our abilities.” Says the fox. The Mother does not disagree.
“The earth was not fair to you. It was not fair to many. If you join us, you will join a world where we shall all live in harmony.” Says the Mother.
“That will not be a long existence. The Slavers will return, Mother, and no matter the world you have built, no matter how fair and just and beautiful it is, they will burn it to the ground. You knew this when we ventured into the Voidsea. You even knew this when we created the Incarnates. Why do you turn against the goal now?”
The fox looks at me. “You can shape this world, if you want to. You can make it something you desire. I am a dying god, and I need someone who has ambition. Who wants to have their own things, and more importantly, who wants to protect what they own. If that is you,” he says, opening his cloak. Half of the world turns to black, and the Mother responds, turning half into green. “Then come to me.”
My feet don’t hesitate, even though I do. I scorn the Mother with my back. The fox has not lied to me, he has saved my twice. Who else has done more for me? I prefer the devil I know than the one I don’t.
His skeletal hands land on my shoulders. “Thank you. I spent a lot of what I have to keep you safe. I am glad you did not scorn it.”
“What do you want from me?” I ask, but he’s already fading. I hear the sounds of worried people, and I feel the press of hands grasping my skin. “All I want is for you to continue on the path you saw when you held Avelihn in your arms. I offer you everything, so take what is yours.”
My lungs are starved, and I gasp gallons of air into my lungs, but it doesn’t go anywhere. I feel my flesh knit back together, ever so slowly, and I feel the pain. Not a single nerve is silent, all screaming at me to make it stop. A hand is rubbing my chest, and I realize my heart isn’t beating. I feel at the edge of unconsciousness, but I relax. The fox would not have saved me if I were to die straight after.
A thump lands on my chest, and my heart beats into action. Pins and needles circulate my body, adding uncomfort to the pain. I lurch upwards, placing a hand on a nearby shoulder, accidentally cutting the neck it belongs to. Nysali looks at me with fear in her eyes, but it’s not fear of my claw - she barely notices. Avelihn is leaning against her staff, exhausted, but unharmed.
I turn and vomit onto the ground. Pieces of Mother Pakarri stream out of my mouth. “God, he’s alright. Fuckin’ hell mate.”
Nysali blinks twice, then backs away. I want to stop her, but I’m beyond exhausted. I feel someone’s lips around mine, and I can’t see out of my left eye, but I know who it is. Fenni.
ALERT: POTION EFFECT INGESTED. REGENERATION INCREASED.
I feel my eye knit back together, and I can see from it. The pain gradually stops, the pain cooling from my chest, then radiating out, and I push myself up against a wall as my legs pull themselves back together. Did the overcharge do this? Or did the fall?
Either way, I feel surprisingly good, considering the circumstances.
