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Leif was once a man ruled by his lust for sex and violence but is now a man of God and travels back to the Americas with the Church's troops to bring an end to Priscilla's dark magic that puts people into a dream reality that she claims will bring peace to the world. By putting an end to her schemes, he'll be saving the woman he corrupted and redeeming his soul in the process.
Chapter
3 – Redeeming the Past
Continuing on my way, I find myself
outside the capital city that Priscilla is in. My allies are still camped
around this area as if they’re frozen in time. They’re alive but don’t react to
me talking to them and touching them.
“What makes you think you’ll beat
me this time? You think your false faith in God will make Him help you?” Priscilla
says as her voice echoes from the capital.
“I told you that I’ve changed and I’ll
prove it to you,” I say.
“No, you won’t.”
Before I know it, I’m wearing the
armor I used to wear in the past which is comprised of bone-like armor and large
heads as shoulder armor. My six wives of different races surround me in my bed
all naked and reaching out to me. I’m unable to control myself as I take off my
armor, enter their embrace, and fulfill the needs of my lust that are causing
my body to ache.
“See? You’ve proven to me yet again
that you haven’t changed in the slightest.”
Not knowing what else to do, I kill
the illusions of my wives with my bare hands by crushing their throats, beating
their heads into the ground, and breaking their skulls in two. These women are
already dead and figments of my imagination anyway.
“Manipulating me doesn’t prove you’re
right. It only shows me how desperate you are to prove me wrong.”
“Prove you wrong? In what? That you’re
somehow more righteous than I am? I’ve lived hundreds of years all of which were
dedicated to God while you live your entire life in opposition to Him.”
Flashes of Priscilla’s memories
enter my head at such a rapid pace that it feels as if my head is going to
explode because of them. At the same time, I begin to feel more pity toward her
the more I learn. Nevertheless, her memories only prove to me that I’m right
and she should know she’s in the wrong here.
“No, I’m not or should I remind you
of your past!”
Flashes of my memory start passing by
many of which I am ashamed of. All the innocent people I killed and women I’ve
raped for my own pleasure and glory and no other reason. I try my best not to let
them get to me and remind myself that I’ve repented and done penance for each
of these sins and that I am here to fix the last of my mistakes. The memories
start to slow down around the times when the Lord talked to me. Priscilla
listens to each time He has spoken to me, especially the times when He said to
stop her and that He loves me despite my sins.
“You’ve seen it for yourself,
Priscilla. You know it deep down in your heart that you’re wrong and must
repent,” I say. “Have you listened to what our son told you? Has he convinced
you yet?”
“He’s only told me the same things you
have. Because of that, I know for sure that he isn’t my son and just a trick of
yours. As I’m concerned, you heard the voice of the anti-Christ in the
monstrance.”
“Priscilla.”
“You are not Heaven sent and not a
servant of God. I am! I’ve suffered the most out of everyone I know and have been
alive long enough to know when I’m wrong and justified in what I’m doing. You’re
nothing but an infant child in comparison and are just a self-righteous fool!”
Everything around me catches on
fire, so I hold up the monstrance and pray to God to help me bear the pain and
offer it up as penance.
“Lord Jesus Christ, have mercy on
us,” I say aloud.
“Your call to Him is useless! He
won’t answer your prayers because you’re beyond saving! I’m beyond tired of
seeing you! Just die already!” Priscilla says.
Around me, I see my worst memories
on one side and Priscilla’s on the other. I also see the tortured hanging
bodies of my victims in the black void above me. They scream out in pain and
curse me for what I’ve done to them. Many of the people I’ve killed also appear
around me and charge at me with weapons raised.
“Continue forward bearing the pain
as a weapon. You will make it through it,” the Lord says.
Okay, Lord. I trust You. I advance through
the flames around me and am being stabbed and bludgeoned by those I’ve killed. The
pain feels unbearable for every second I experience it and fall every few steps,
and with every fall, I feel like giving up. Maybe this is how I redeem myself.
Maybe I should just give up and let the pain wash away the stain of my sins.
“Father, get up! Mother still needs
your help,” Harald says as he appears amid all this torture.
“I’m…I’m sorry that you had to see
me like that son,” I say as I get up.
“Do not worry about it. Allow me to
help you.”
Harald touches my shoulder and I feel
a little bit of my strength being restored to me. That’s right. I can’t let him
down and I can’t let the Lord down, most of all. Eventually after bearing the
pain and falling and getting up for so long, I find myself in a throne room
with Priscilla surprised to see me. She’s still dressed only in golden jewelry
that hardly hides her nudity and has the dark red mark around her crotch where
she cut out our son from herself before killing him. She yells out at me,
floats in the air, and seems to be gathering dark golden light around her for
an attack. While this is happening, it feels as if reality around me is falling
apart and my mind is being ripped into pieces.
I can’t let her get to me. The only
thing that matters is offering up my pain to the Lord and allowing Him to work
through me. Doing so makes a heavy weight fall off my shoulders and a bright
white and golden light shine around me that goes out from me to Priscilla. She
is forced to the ground and the spell she was casting is dispelled.
“How are you doing this?! Why can’t
I beat you?!” Priscilla asks me.
“Because the Lord is with me,” I answer.
Priscilla yells out and runs at me
with a sword that she’s kept near her throne, and because I’m too weak to do anything,
she cuts and stabs me with it.
“Die, die, die!” she says while
laughing and grinning like a maniac.
“Priscilla…please…” I manage to say
with the Lord’s voice in mine.
“Yes, beg for your life!”
“No…save yourself…it isn’t too late…”
She stops to catch her breath and appears
to be shocked by my words. Before she can resume her attack, a group of the
Church’s soldiers whom I came here with barrages into the throne room and start
to restrain her with chains and magic. Some of them are trying to tend to my wounds
and tell me something, but it’s too late for me. I already feel myself being
pulled to the Heavens, and before I know it, that is where I find myself. The Lord
is in front of me while the devil is to my left and an angel is to my right.
The devil unrolls a long sheet of paper that lists all my sins and seems to
stretch on forever, however, the angel takes a drop of blood from me and the
entire list burns to ash in an instant.
“He is justified and of my blood. He
can come home,” the Lord says.
Getting up and running to Him, I feel
my past form fall off me like flakes as my true self is finally freed. The Lord
is the first to embrace me and then my son, mother, and father hold me in their
arms as well.
“I’m finally home, Father,” I say with a smile on my face and tears of joy in my eyes. “But what of Priscilla? Did she repent?”
“Not yet, but she still has the chance to, and given enough time, I can break into her hard heart as I did to you. As for you, your time of suffering and trials are done. Now, rest forever in my love, my faithful son.”
The End
Chapter
2 – Curse of the Self-Righteous
While continuing to wander the
forest, I come across a small town. Its walls are marked with crosses and
markings on them and large crosses and images of the face of Christ hang high
from every building.
“This is a settlement of the few
remaining faithful who haven’t come under Priscilla’s influence. It is safe to
enter it,” the Lord says.
Going up to the gates, I attract
the attention of one of the guards who aims his bow at me.
“Who are you and why are you here?”
the guard asks.
“My name is Leif and I’m just
passing through,” I say.
The guard squints his eyes at me
and then lowers his bow.
“He’s good to let in.”
“How do you know for sure?” another
guard asks.
“His eyes aren’t glowing like the
rest of the people under the control of Priscilla’s dream.”
“Yeah, but how do you know without
a shadow without a doubt? Look at the guy. He looks pretty shady to me.”
“What did I tell you about being
paranoid? It weakens our mind to Priscilla, so knock it off.”
“I’m no friend of Priscilla,” I say
while holding up the monstrance. “I am here to bring an end to her dark magic
by the power of the Lord.”
The guards look at each other and
one of them says, “That for me is enough proof that he’s not under her control.
Let him in.”
After thanking the guards, I walk
into the town to see that all its inhabitants look concerned and on edge. I go
up to one of them who is dressed in rags, has rosaries around his arms, and
multiple cross necklaces around his neck after he finishes leading those around
him in prayer and ask him why everyone is so concerned and how they’re able to
keep their minds free from Priscilla’s spell.
“I’d say it’s through prayer and
faith, but it doesn’t always help us. God decides who is affected and who
isn’t, more or less. Are you new to the area?” the man asks.
“Not exactly. I left on a quest
from the Lord to get help from the Vatican and I’m back to break Priscilla’s
spell over the Americas.”
“Where’s the help from the Vatican?
Let me guess. Priscilla separated you from the rest before you even managed to
do anything.”
“That’s…unfortunately correct.”
“Don’t be ashamed about it. The
Church here did as much as we could to stop her influence, but nothing worked.
Now, all we can do is hope and pray that we don’t fall under her spell.”
“Most of the people here look as if
they’re in a constant state of worry.”
“I can’t blame them. Like I said,
God decides who is affected with prayer and faith only being able to do so
much. Because of that, many become paranoid, not wanting to do anything with
some choosing to run away or resort to violence or suicide because they don’t
think they can trust their senses. There were times when the people here were
under Priscilla’s spell and only managed to break free by some miracle. Other
times, our prayer leaders have disappeared or chosen to walk off into the wilderness
never to come back.”
“They won’t have to fear for much
longer. The Lord and I will defeat Priscilla and break her spell over these
lands.”
“I sure hope so. What’s your name?”
“Leif.”
“Leif?” the man says while looking
up and down at me. “I heard there was a chief of one of the largest beastmen
kingdoms named Leif who fell to Priscilla’s spell and who has the same name.”
“I am him.”
“You are?” the man says unsure
while looking at me all over again. “You don’t look the least bit as terrifying
as I heard he was and the man was a monster who hated the Church and God.”
“It’s true, but the Lord changed me
into his faithful servant.”
“Huh. If you say so. We can use all
the help we can get, and if you really are Leif and changed by God, then maybe
there is a chance we can be saved from Priscilla.”
A horn blares out and the guards
warn of an impending force of men approaching the town all of whom are under
the spell of Priscilla. Everyone gathers around the prayer leaders to beg the
Lord for help. The man I was talking to asks me to join in, but I chose to aid
the guards at the gates. I fly up into the air and lead the guards to meet the
enemy forces who stop their advance not too far from us. They eerily stand
still and stare at us with their glowing golden eyes as if trying to put us
under the spell they are under.
One of them finally says,
“Surrender yourselves to the blessed dream reality of Priscilla where you will
be happy for the rest of your lives.”
“We refuse!” I say as I speak for
the guards without thinking. “We’d rather die than live in your false
paradise.”
“We only want peace for the world
and don’t want this to end in violence.”
“Oh, but I do.”
Charging ahead, I start carving my
way through Priscilla’s troops. I bludgeon their heads in, spear them through
the chest, and stab them in their throats. Being in this battle feels real and
gives me a feeling of exhilaration that I always used to feel in them. My mind
is so focused on killing that I hardly hear what the enemy says to me until few
remain. That is when I hear them begging for their lives and saying that
they’re awake now and Priscilla was forcing them to fight, however, I
uncontrollably kill them anyway, their pleading being music to my ears and
adding to the excitement that I feel while killing.
When it’s all over, the guards look
at me in fear, and their shields and weapons raised in defense. Knowing what
they’re thinking, I apologize and run away out of shame. Despite all the time I
spent in prayer, attending daily masses, and being in adoration, I’m still the
bloodthirsty man I was before with a lust for bloodshed and carnage. I guess
it’s true that the more things change, the more they stay the same.
“Father,” Harald says as he appears
to me. “Do not despair over your sin. No man ever becomes truly perfect in this
life. Only those who pick themselves up after sinning are the ones who are
virtuous.”
I hear Priscilla’s laugh echo
throughout my head.
“I knew you haven’t changed in the
slightest. You’re still the same worthless scum as you were before,” Priscilla
says.
“That’s not true because I’m here
to make up for my mistakes,” I say. “Priscilla. I’m sorry for what I did to
you. Please, let me help you and make this right. Return to the Lord with me.
It’s not too late.”
A few seconds of silence pass
before Priscilla laughs at me again.
“Oh but is too late. Too late for
you to escape me again because this time I will do everything in my power to
trap you in a never-ending nightmare.”
“Mother, please, believe father,
and put an end to this spell you have everyone under,” Harald says.
“Why should I when it’s brought
peace and happiness to so many?”
“Because you force it upon people
and torture those who you deem unredeemable with it. Those people in the town
back there are in a constant state of fear and paranoia because of you.”
“Those people are the way they are
because they chose not to accept the peace that I offer, but I’ll make sure
they do. As we speak, I continue to grow in power and soon my power will reach
the other side of the world and more will know the peace and happiness of the
dream reality. If you are truly my son, let me see you. God mustn’t have enlightened you about how much good is being done through me, so please, let me
convince you of it. I’m truly sorry that I had to kill you in the way I did,
but it was all for the greater good.”
Harald turns to me and says, “I
will go to mother to convince her to see the truth.”
“But Harald…”
“Do not worry for my safety. She
can’t do anything to me and the Lord is with me just as much He’s with you.”
Harald disappears in the blink of
an eye leaving me all alone in my shame dripping with the blood of the past
battle. Immediately, I start kissing the monstrance and then kiss the ground
multiple times while begging the Lord for forgiveness. I then pick myself up
and continue to walk on while trying to ignore my despair and shame and remind
myself that I’m still alive and have the chance to redeem myself.
Chapter
1 – Returning and Saving Home
The finale of my redemption is at
hand. After two long weeks of waiting, the Church leaders finally decided to
move against Priscilla and gathered the forces needed to defeat her. I’m
surprised it took this long given how simple the situation is. My wife,
Priscilla, is currently ruling the Americas and has most if not everyone in it
under the control of her dark spell that plays with people’s perception of
reality and controls them. A conventional war against her is useless because of
this, so we’ve instead gathered many strong, faithful soldiers and warrior
priests and exorcists to break her spell. I will be leading these forces since
the Lord has allowed me to break through her spell while carrying around the
monstrance that contains Him in the form of a single piece of consecrated
bread.
I haven’t spent the last several
days in vain or participating in the petty squabbles and politics of the
Church. Instead, I’ve been deepening my prayer life to God and learning how to
fly with my new wings, which came along with my spiritual rebirth. Part of me
used to take pride in being able to talk directly to and hear from the Lord,
but He’s been silent in recent days. My son, Harald, visits me from Heaven to
spend time with me and tells me that the Lord still constantly speaks to me.
It’s just that He now speaks to me through my now clear conscience, the events
unfolding around me, and the people that I talk to, a comforting thought though
I do prefer to hear His voice.
It's funny that I think that now
since it wasn’t too long ago, I absolutely hated the Lord and just wanted to
subjugate Him to my will and add Him to the number of gods and goddesses I
conquered. In reality, I was the one who was conquered by my sin and I am glad
that the Lord broke down my pride and became the conqueror of my heart and
soul. Now, I live to serve Him in everything I do, say, and think, and when I
go to save Priscilla, the last part of my past will be redeemed. It’s my fault
that she’s corrupted in the way she is. It was me who had her raped and
tortured, and it was me who corrupted her mind to bring her to the state of
mind she’s in now. I also blame myself for Harald’s death since Priscilla
killed him when he was born as a sacrifice to gain the power she has now.
Looking down at the waters of the
Atlantic Ocean, I observe the scars left on me as a result of the things I’ve
been through. A lot of my skin is pinkish and grey while my eyes are white,
gold, and red as if there are miniature suns in them. I haven’t bothered to
shave off my black beard or cut off the four grey horns on my head since I
think they look fine on me, as far as I know. I’m wearing a brown shawl and
skirt with a grey and black fur belt to keep it up, all of which comprise a
penitential outfit that is itchy to wear, but not irritating. The edges of my
wings are black while the feathers are grey, and this along with my horns,
signifies me as a Nephilim type of beastman. I used to think I was a god
because of this, but I am nothing more than a variant of a human. Nothing more,
nothing less.
My reflection of my appearance is
halted when I hear my fishmen friends saying goodbye as their ship breaks off
from the fleet and heads towards their floating city ship on the ocean. I say
goodbye to them and that the Lord blesses them all the days of their life. They
were instrumental in my conversion, and now, I must be content with leaving
them, for the time being. My friends are sailing along with leaders from the
Church who will be negotiating trade deals with the fishmen of the Atlantic and
Pacific Oceans as ordered by the Lord. If anything, I guess it’s a good sign
that the Lord is ordering them to do something that seems unimportant in
comparison to the importance of stopping Priscilla. This must mean that victory
is more than assured for us, and how can it not be? The Lord is on our side and
wants us to stop her from putting the entire world under her spell.
Before I know it, I see land ahead
of me, the same harbor city I left the Americas from. I’m finally home and here
to fix what I started. Everything looks normal around here with people going
about business and greeting us. The Church’s soldiers seem to let their guard
down and even say hi to those who greet us.
“Keep your guard up and souls
secure. Priscilla can deceive all your senses without you knowing,” I remind
the troops.
As I expected, a dark golden fog
erases everything and everyone around me in seconds, and in it, I see
Priscilla’s black, red, and dull gold eyes, her black and red hair, and her
sharp teethed smile as if she’s one with the light.
“Leif. Where have you been all this
time? I’m surprised that you came here with troops from the Church,” Priscilla
says.
“I have been on a life-changing
journey and now embrace the Lord as my God. The Church and I are here to break
your spell and make you repent,” I say.
The look in Priscilla’s eyes is one
of shock as she takes a few seconds to respond to me.
“Ha! Hahaha! You? A servant of God?
That’s a joke. You were persecuting the Church not too long ago and raping
women and torturing the faithful in front of the monstrance to spite God.”
“I’ve changed. The Lord has erased
the man you once knew from existence, and now, I am the man who I was truly
meant to be.”
“Haha! We’ll see about that!”
A large force of soldiers and
scantily clad women approach me with weapons in their hands. As they approach
me, I hold up the monstrance and the Lord dispels the spell around me. With the
spell broken, I see that I’m still in the harbor city with the Church’s
soldiers around me who are also waking up from the spell. A semi-large force of
men with weapons in their hands and a golden glow in their eyes stand before us
ready to fight. They charge us and we do the same to them.
With my two-handed hammer spear, I
bludgeon and stab at them with one end of the weapon while impaling them with
the other. My fighting skills haven’t deteriorated the least bit since I last
fought as I’m able to carve through the enemy without getting a single scratch
on me. Seeing my allies in danger, I start to make use of my wings to fly over
to them and protect them by taking their attackers head-on. I will do whatever
is necessary to save the faithful even if I must suffer greatly for them.
Thankfully, there aren’t too many attackers, and no one from our side is
seriously injured.
Despite the spell being broken, I
can hear Priscilla’s voice even though she is nowhere in sight. She says, “Hmm.
Impressive. There’s something different about you, but there’s no way that it’s
God's choosing to help you over me. My dream reality has brought peace to these
lands that used to be in constant conflict. Now, everyone enjoys their dreams
where they live happily and worship God without a care.”
“The peace you offer is false. You
should know that. When you first came to me, you told me how the oldest man
alive and king of the elves, Evander, put the world under the same dream
reality and a faithful man of God broke it. You spoke of how the happiness it
gave was false and that it didn’t save any souls despite it forcing people to
love and worship God.”
“I was mistaken, a fool. I want the
happiness that the dream reality gave me and deserve and I want the world to be
at peace again. The torturing and violating you did to me changed my mind and
Evander’s dream reality will be restored to the world, but this time, those
that I know who are far beyond salvation, such as you, will not dream well. Instead,
they will live in a nightmare of torture for as long as I will it. I am not so
naïve as my old friend and will not have mercy on the merciless.”
“Mother, you must stop this and
repent,” Harald says as he manifests.
My infant son floats in the air, clothed
in grey, with his head in his hand, and light coming out of his chest and neck.
“Who are you? You can’t possibly be
my son.”
“Look at him, Priscilla. You know
it to be true.”
“Mother, please. Stop casting this
curse and all we be forgiven.”
“You lie! This is a sick trick you
are playing, Leif. My son in Heaven would understand what I’m doing is for the
greater good. I don’t know how you are managing to do it, but you will pay for
it!”
Everything around me catches fire
and it feels like I’m burning alive. I concentrate on offering up the pain as
penance for myself and Priscilla and hold up the monstrance as I pray to the
Lord for strength. Soon after, the fires subside and I see myself in the middle
of nowhere in a forest.
“It is you who are playing the sick
tricks, Priscilla. Listen to reason. You can still be saved.”
“I am not playing any tricks, at
least at this moment. I separated you from the Church’s soldiers the moment you
stepped on land. Your magic may have gotten stronger since you left, but you
won’t survive for long. Soon, you find yourself in a nightmare you won’t be
able to escape from!”
“Priscilla. Priscilla!”
She’s not speaking inside of my mind
anymore. Lord, please help her to repent.
“I’m sorry what Priscilla said to
you, Harald.”
“It’s okay, father. I know in her
heart that there’s a part of her that knew I was her son.”
“There is still a chance she can be
saved even as the light fades from her soul,” the Lord says from the
monstrance. “Do not lose hope.”
“I know, Lord. Thank you for
reminding me.”
As I look around the area, it feels
foreign, yet, familiar to me. Well, it’s no use standing around here, so I ask
the Lord to guide me in the right direction and start walking where I feel my
senses are guiding me.
Chapter
4 – From Death to Life
The water from the mouth of the
whale is filtered out in the many small holes within it while I manage to stay
in it. After throwing up the salty water, I look around the whale’s mouth and
look up at the eye within it that is staring me down.
“What do you want? Huh?!” I ask.
“You’ve been a thorn in my side for days, so what are you going to do now? Eat
me alive? Tear me apart with those tendrils on your eye? Has my use for your
God been used up?”
No answer comes from the whale as
it continues to look at me with a judging stare.
“Yeah, I figured you wouldn’t say
anything. I don’t know why you would. You’re just a tool for God like I was. I
feel like I have no idea where he wants me to go or what to do anymore because
what am I even supposed to do now? Let’s say I escape this mouth. What then? Do
I join a losing battle in the hopes of help coming in just in time or are the
fishmen meant to bring me to the Pope who I give my message of Priscilla’s
threat in my final breaths? I don’t know.”
I start pacing back and forth
trying to sort out my many thoughts and plans that have now changed.
“I don’t think I’ve ever felt more
stuck and helpless except for that time that Priscilla had me stuck in a dream
where I was raped by every kind of man, woman, and beast all at once for
revenge for what I did to her. She’s a threat to the world and my friends and
must be stopped. I thought I was supposed to play an important part in it and
I’m stuck here because of you. I no longer want revenge against her nor the
glory of beating her and only want to stop her, so why won’t you let me?”
“You must learn to allow me to have
complete control of your heart and not just a partial part of it,” God says.
“What’s the point? I do what you want me to, ask for your help,
and I end up like this. Do you abandon all your faithful or just men like me
who don’t have your favor? It’s no wonder why so many of your faithful fall to
sin regularly and don’t do what they’re told since you’re such a pain in the
ass and don’t give your aid when it's most needed!”
“Father,” a boy’s voice says as a
light shines out of nowhere.
From the light, an infant child
clothed in grey with his head in his left-hand floats to me. A golden light
shines from his chest and the neck where his head presumably was and his eyes
and mouth seem to glow with light as well.
“Father? Who are you to call me
father?” I ask.
“I am the son you had with
Priscilla, the same one she brutally sacrificed to gain incredible dark power.
I have been in Limbo for some time until I entered Heaven where I saw grandpop
and grandma and was taught the Divine Truths of God in no time at all. Now, I’m
here to convince you to serve God and help you along the way.
“You’re using my dead son to
convince me? I can’t believe this,” I say to the monstrance. “What of your
brothers and sisters? Did you see what happened to their souls?”
“They’re all in Hell along with
your wives and many of your friends and family where they’ll forever suffer for
the evil they’ve done.”
“What? Many of your siblings were
young. How are they in Hell?”
“They were past the age of reason
and they did the evil you commanded them to do. Even now, they curse your name
and cry for undeserved mercy.”
Falling to my knees and trying to
hold back tears, I remember the smiles of my children and loved ones and the
good times we had together.
“You say you’re here to convince me
to serve God, but you’re doing a bad job of it. Why should I help when he’s
damned many of those that I loved?”
“The damned have decided their own
fate, and though you must pay for your part in it, the fate of your soul is yet
to be set in stone in the present. You can still save yourself and mother, and
join me, grandpop, grandma, and God in Heaven.”
“You still call her your mother
even though she killed you as you were born?”
“Nothing will stop her from being
my mother nor do I have any feelings of hatred toward her for what she did. I
love her and as long as she lives, she can be saved despite the atrocities she
is committing.”
“I see…”
I consider what I should do, but
there’s only really one sensible choice.
“Father?”
“What now?”
“Can you name me?”
“Huh? God didn’t give you a name
yet?”
“No. He wanted to give that honor
to you.”
“Hmm. I did plan on calling you
Harald. How do you like that name?”
“I love it!”
Harald floats up to me with a smile
on his face and embraces me, my only child, that hasn’t been damned because of
me. What kind of father am I that leads his children and loved ones to
damnation and can still be saved? Do I truly deserve that mercy? I guess it’s
just as Harald says. As long as I live, there’s a chance for me despite what
I’ve done. Okay then, I’ll do it.
“God, you can have my heart. All of
it,” I say.
The whale suddenly ascends upward,
forcing me to hold onto its tongue so I don’t fall into its eye and tendrils.
When it opens its mouth, it reveals that we’re flying in the sky. It then uses
its long tongue to put me on top of it. From the top of the whale, I see the
four wings on the side of the whale and the battle happening below us.
“Don’t fly us away from them! They
need our help!” I say to the whale who immediately flies down. “Woah! Not so
fast!”
I hold on for dear life while the
whale crashes into the enemy and uses its tendrils to crush and eat the enemy’s
troops. The enemy tries to fight back against it, but none of their attacks can
pierce the whale’s body and tendrils, and any slight cut made is regenerated
almost instantaneously. This goes on for a period until our reinforcements come
in and help us force the enemy to retreat. Everyone stares up at me in
amazement including Gerardus who is the most relieved to see me.
“This victory is God’s!” I say as I
stand up on the whale and raise my hands in the air.
We all cheer out for our victory
and head back to the floating city. Some of the guards stay behind to collect
the dead bodies of our allies that haven’t sunk to the bottom of the sea that
not even the fishmen can reach. The rest of the city cheers for us and
celebrates our victory with confetti and music. Lucy runs up to give me a hug
and Fr. Titus does much the same.
“I’m ready,” I say.
“Ready? Ready for what,” he asks
with a smile that suggests he knows what I mean but is asking just to be sure.
“Ready to be baptized.”
My friends, Gerardus, Lucy, and Fr.
Titus, are overjoyed to hear this and arrange to have me baptized the next day.
After resting, I immediately wake up full of energy and head to the church. The
ceremony and being baptized feel like I’m starting to breathe for the first
time as if I’m truly alive. Once the ceremony is done, my friends mention how I
look different now ever since I came back from the battle. I look at my
reflection in the water and see that they’re right. I used to not have a proper
nose, but now I do. My wings are no longer sharp and heavy. Instead, they are
light, soft, and have white feathers on them. Additionally, my eyes aren’t red
and dark gold anymore but are now white, red, and bright gold as if there were
a miniature sun in them. God has truly changed me and made me into a new man.
I stay for an additional day in the
floating city to mourn the dead who bravely died in the battle before God tells
me I must leave to go to the Vatican with my friends behind me as witnesses to
my deeds and faith. The people of the city say thankful goodbyes to me as I leave
and give me parting gifts of food and water so I can be prepared for the
journey ahead, however, I don’t think I’ll need as much as they give me as the
whale from before emerges from the ocean. God tells Fr. Titus and I that he
will be our transportation to get there, a fact that is both comforting and uneasy
since we must ride in its mouth. Sure enough, we get to the Vatican in what feels
like less than a day and the whale drops us off directly onto the streets of
the Vatican in the eternal night kingdom of Noctua.
We’ve gathered a large crowd
because of our sudden appearance and the flying whale that brought us here that
flies away after dropping us off. The Pope who is a high elf steps out of the
Vatican with his guards, cardinals, and archbishops to join the crowd and asks
why we are here. I tell him everything I know about Priscilla while holding the
monstrance in my hands and my friends back up my claims to attest to my repentance
and virtue.
“I’ve heard reports of Priscilla
doing something of the sort in the Americas, but didn’t believe them. She’s been
a friend of my family for generations and has always been a virtuous woman,
however, your testament has convinced me otherwise,” Pope Jude the Third says. “I
will gather the forces of the Church and deploy them to stop Priscilla from
putting the world under another dream reality.”
“I will gladly join the fight, if
you’ll allow me,” I say with one knee on the ground. “She’s my wife and I
played a major part in corrupting her.”
“I’ll allow this for all you have
done for the faithful fishmen of the Atlantic and convincing me of Priscilla’s
threat.”
Fr. Titus adds, “May I suggest that
he receive all the sacraments while you gather our forces? He was only baptized
and receiving the sacraments will strengthen him against Priscilla’s cursed
magic.”
“I don’t see why not, that is, if
that’s what he wants as well.”
Everyone looks at me as I think for
a second and then agree. Why shouldn’t I receive the sacraments and even grow
closer to God, after all? Once I do, I feel even more empowered and ready to
face Priscilla. After all that God has put me through, I feel like a new, improved
man who has become who I was meant to be. Within me, I still feel my old urges
claw at me, but now I’m strong enough to resist them. Thank you, God, for breaking
me down to this.
“I am overjoyed to finally have the
greatest treasure of all, your love,” God says. “Welcome home, my son.”
The End
Chapter
3 – Lighting a Fire of Inspiration
For the next few days, I do nothing
but help around the floating city with Gerardus, Fr. Titus, and Lucy, which is
nothing but a bore with the only relief being sparing with Gerardus when I help
him make and clean weapons. The only reason why I do what I’m told is because
the damned whale keeps showing its shadow under the water whenever I look over
the side of the city into the ocean when I think about leaving. During this
time, I start to gain the trust of the fishmen who start to act friendly toward
me and even start wishing me a good morning on the third day. On the fourth
day, my nerves about dealing with this cycle start to calm down as I realize I
don’t mind helping Lucy fish for food in the ocean or learning about the
systems of the floating city. I find it particularly interesting how it has a
water purifier on it to make the salty ocean water drinkable and the sights of
the large inoperable canons on the sides of the ships and inside of them are a
marvel to look at.
While eating dinner with Gerardus,
Lucy, and Fr. Titus, I notice the gnawing vices that I usually deal with are
eerily silent. Being around these people almost feels like being with family
and friends, especially since I sometimes hear my father’s voice in Fr. Titus,
which is probably a result of God allowing him to do so. It’s also then that I
remember I have to avenge his death and that I’ve been doing God’s will
non-stop. I fell into the divine’s hands without realizing it and start to
wonder when it happened. My guess is when God allowed me to kill. That
particular moment when our interests aligned was when he turned my need to kill
into an instrument of his will and started to dig deeper into my heart and soul
and started to change me more, bit by bit without me knowing.
There was a time hardly even a week
ago that I would consider living like this Hell on Earth because I haven’t had
any sex in a while nor have I killed anyone for my glory and treasure, and now,
I feel as if I’m someone completely different. I don’t know why I don’t hate
the idea with every fiber of my being or why I allowed it to happen without
much resistance. My mind doesn’t stop thinking about past events and how God
could’ve taken over more of my being until Fr. Titus invites me to an hour of
adoration on the fifth day and I accept without really thinking about if I want
to or not. Gathering with him and a group of Catholics that involves Gerardus
and Lucy, I sit in the silence of a church in front of the monstrance that’s
been the cause of so much of my recent suffering and sudden changes. The God in
front of me has done the worst and most unimaginable thing to me, which was to
change me and fiddle with my heart’s desires to suit his needs.
Looking at the monstrance puts me
in a trance that feels like being in the loving arms of my father or mother and
the hour passes by as if it were a mere minute, after which Fr. Titus asks if I
want to be baptized. I hear not only the voice of God but also of my father
coming from Fr. Titus. Additionally, I see the face of Christ transparently
overlapping Titus’. I rub my face and shake my head as if waking myself up from
my tiredness.
“Leave me alone. I don’t even know
why I agreed to be here,” I say while walking away.
Getting up, taking the monstrance
with me, and walking out of the church, I sit by the edge of the floating city
and let my feet hang over the edge. Part of me hopes that the whale comes up
and kills me or whatever me is. I don’t know who I am or what I want anymore. I’ve
always thought of myself as completely loyal to my parents, never seriously
questioned them, or rebelled against their authority, but now, I’m not sure if
I should do as they want. Despite not having any solid proof, my inner senses
know that I’ve heard them speak to me. They want me to convert and do God’s
will so I can join them in Heaven.
Can I really do this? God has
remade me in small ways over time in what feels like no time at all. I don’t
have as strong a craving for sex and violence anymore so much so that I can
truly put my mind towards considering conversation, a thought that disgusted me
not too long ago. A part of me doesn’t want to let go of this peace that exists
within me and craves it more than the vices I couldn’t get enough of. I look at
the monstrance and can almost see the face of Christ in the white host that
feels as if it is sucking me in. What is it about God that has changed me so
much? Maybe I can trust him. Maybe…
The alarms suddenly ring out in the
city and Gerardus runs to me to bring me to where the defenders of the city are
gathering. He tells me that our nearby allies have come here to inform us of an
incoming attack from the allies of the bandits and pirates we killed almost a
week ago. Captains and leaders of the guards and soldiers emphasize defending
the city and keeping the attackers out by sticking close to it. Hearing the
cowardly tactics of the fishmen angers me and makes me push through the crowd
so everyone can hear me from the center.
“Why do you talk about defense and
cowering within the city when the innocent inhabit it and will be caught amid
the battle? On land, we have entire armies defending the walls of cities who
laid down their lives for the people behind them, so why don’t we do the same?
If our enemies want everyone here dead or forced into their service, then I say
they’ll have to fight tooth and nail to do so,” I say.
“Leif is right,” Gerardus says.
“He’s a savage, but savage tactics are what we need right now to protect the
civilians and those who can’t defend themselves. Like he said, they’ll have to
kill us if they want to get to the people we protect.”
Lucy adds, “He was a really weird
guy at first, but he’s been really helpful these past days and shows that he
cares for the people here. Let’s not forget that he didn’t complain about
fighting these same bandits and pirates for us the day that he got here.”
“It was also because of him that
we’re in this mess,” one of the captains says.
“He followed God’s commands and
it’s our fault that we have a mess to begin with,” Fr. Titus says as he joins
the crowd. “If we’d only been more proactive about keeping the Atlantic safe,
then we wouldn’t have to worry about criminals and traitors causing trouble in
it. God has a divine purpose for Leif that I doubted at first, but now I see it
clearly, thanks to how far Leif has come since we first met. I say that we
trust him and do as he says. He knows the ways of war and conflict better than
anyone here, after all.”
Because of the support I receive
from Lucy, Gerardus, and Fr. Titus, the leaders of the soldiers and guards hear
my plan. I tell them to have most of the forces outside of the city while some
of the elite and a sizable portion stay close to it. The floating city has no
walls to speak of so when the enemy gets to it there’s no stopping them from
entering it so we might as well have a majority of our forces defending it from
the outside. The leaders agree to this plan and the troops are sent out with me
being among those in the frontlines. To back us up, the fishmen have summoned
as many huge fish as possible to act as a backup army that’s honestly twice as
big as our army.
With a secondary force under the
water and messengers getting help, we have the odds in our favor. I eagerly
await the enemy and am excited to see them approaching. Once they get closer, I
see that the force on the surface of the water is about the same as ours. From
below, one of my allies emerges and reports of a larger force in the water, as
was to be expected. Since this is the only enemy force in range, I leave a
small detachment behind just in case there’s another one on the way while I focus
many of our forces on the threat that we see. It takes some getting used to,
but I’m able to get used to fighting on the back of a fish while Gerardus
guides it. In some sense, it’s like fighting on horseback if the horse keeps jumping
up and down.
We’ve won this first engagement,
and sure enough, the enemies’ backup arrives, but since they’re too late to aid
their allies, they’re not much trouble for us to deal with. I am then told that
we are going to be attacked from all sides soon and that our allies are on the
way. Well, I can’t say that I expected the battle to go smoothly and without
trouble. God, if you truly want me to see your Pope, then please get me through
this and save these fishmen who call themselves your faithful. Lend me your
power for our mutual goal. Before I can rearrange the troops to properly defend
each part of the floating city, I see the enemy in the distance.
Even as they get closer along with
the fish they have under their control, I see no end to their number. Our
allies better get here soon or we’ll need a miracle to survive this. The troops
around me who seemed so confident and brave not too long ago are now scared and
looking back home as if saying they want to go home.
“If you feared that you might die
in battle one day, then you shouldn’t have become a guard or a soldier in the
first place! If you retreat, I’ll cut you down myself. Where’s your courage,
faithful of Christ?” I say and hold up the monstrance. “Charge and fight with viciousness
and bravery for your God and all whom that you love!”
The guards and soldiers cheer
before we charge ahead and clash with the enemy's forces. What ensues is chaos
with the bodies of people and fish flying everywhere in and out of the water
and falling on allies and enemies alike. I try my best to kill as many in the
melee as possible until a monstrous shark knocks me off the fish I was on and
drags me into the depths of the ocean with my weapons in its mouth. In this frantic
situation, I let it have my weapons, plunging them down its throat, and then
splitting it in half from the inside. Now that I’m underwater, I see that the carnage
down here is greater than on the surface with dozens of bodies slowly floating
down into the dark depths of the ocean like snow falling in the winter. Above
me, I see Gerardus diving down with his arm stretched out to me, so I try to
meet him halfway, however, he gets caught in a fight with the enemy and I’m
dragged further down into the depths by the enemy’s controlled fish, both of
which I don’t waste any time killing as I rip their jaws open and shove one into
the mouth of the other.
It's then that I think I should’ve
conserved my strength since I’m so deep in the ocean that the light of a
surface is so distant that it seems like no matter how much I swim up, I get no
closer to it. The coldness of the water doesn’t help either as it saps my strength.
As I begin to run out of breath, I lose control of myself and stop swimming up,
slowly begin falling, and start losing consciousness. While staring into the seemingly
endless darkness of the ocean’s depths, I see the same annoying whale that’s
been bothering me swim up from it. It opens its mouth and swallows me whole.
Chapter
2 – Learning to be a Helping Hand
This floating city is certainly
strange. It looks like the futuristic cities from the past, however, these are
well preserved compared to those I’ve seen in the Americas that are in a lesser
condition or complete ruin. Despite seeming more advanced than anything I’ve
seen, these buildings are taken care of in a primitive way with people using
tools and paint to upkeep the ancient buildings all of which appear to be
churchlike in design. These people better have what I’m looking for to get the
Pope’s help and defeat Priscilla or else I’ll kill them all. I’ve also never
slept with a fish woman so that may be something worth experiencing on the way
out or maybe I should take one with me on the way out.
“Distract him from his thoughts,
Titus,” God says.
“What’s it like in the Americas,
Leif? The Lord generally told me about Priscilla’s powers to bend people’s
minds but didn’t go into much detail,” Fr. Titus says.
“She can distort your perception of
reality to the point where you think you’re in control while not having the
least bit. Her goal is to put the entire world under the same dream reality
that Evander had it under,” I say.
“Evander? You mean the king of the
elves and the oldest man alive?” Lucy asks.
I explain to the three what
Priscilla told me about Evander, how he put the entire world under a dream
reality to forcefully put it at peace and submit to God, how the dream was
broken by an unlikely sinner, how we met, what I did to her, and that she’s trying
to do the same.
Continuing, I say, “I thought I had
her under my control, but she turned on me and ended up killing many of my
friends, family, wives, and children, especially my newborn child that I had
with her that she sacrificed to gain the power she has now.”
“That’s horrible!” Lucy says.
“I admit that I feel a bit sorry
for you despite the torture you did to Priscilla. I don’t know why though,”
Gerardus says.
“You have the virtue of sympathy
for sinners. Well, if anything, be content in knowing that your infant child
went to Limbo and will go to Heaven like your father probably is,” Fr. Titus
says.
The thought of the fate of my
family’s and friend’s souls enters my mind. My father said that my mother
embraced God like he did and was sure she was in a better place. What about my
other children? Are they in Heaven or whatever Limbo is? I don’t know why the
thought is taking priority in my mind now of all times when I hardly cared
about the afterlife not too long ago.
“I’ve always assumed that a better
afterlife was taken or earned from the gods and goddesses. As far as I’m
concerned, that’s what my father and mother did,” I say.
“Your father and mother earned
Heaven insofar that they did what the Lord said and became justified through
Him. They didn’t earn it through work but through love, faith, and dedication,”
Fr. Titus says.
Now, thoughts of the afterlife and
getting into Heaven won’t stop bothering me. I knew that allowing God into my
mind was dangerous and would override what I knew to be true just as he did
with my father. Before I was able to keep it at bay, but the more I learn, the
more part of me wants to learn, to do what God says, and I don’t know why that
part of me is there.
“What sort of poison do you put in
your truth?” I say.
“Your heart was made by me, for me,
and will soon be mine. My truth is no poison but is the cure by being pure
truth that resonates with my creation,” God says.
“Sure, keep thinking that if it
makes you happy. It’s still a long shot.”
While I’m preoccupied with my
thoughts, I hardly realize that the three fishmen have taken me to a large
cathedral that has statues of saints, people, and their God on spires most of
which appear to be in good condition. Inside, Fr. Titus leads me to a place
where I take off my damaged armor and am given a black shawl and armored skirt
to wear. This place looks much like the more advanced churches I’ve raided in
the Americas, however, the crowd gathering around a priest gets my attention.
The priest who is at the center of the crowd is being given food, some kind of
pretty sea plant, and statues. One statue of their mother, Mary, is given to
the priest, slips from the priest’s hands, and shatters on the floor, silencing
the crowd.
Something about the priest’s
careless action and attitude about the statue being broken sets me off, for
some reason and I don’t know why. Getting closer to the crowd and looking at
the shattered statue, I see my mother's face replace the face of Mary and pick
it up. Why does this bother me? I’ve smashed and burned dozens of images and
statues that the Catholics consider holy, and it’s only now bothering me? It
must be God’s influence again.
“Don’t worry about that thing, sir.
It’s just a statue,” the priest says to me.
That’s strange. I don’t hear the
voice of the man’s God in his.
“It should bother you! It’s a
statue of the Blessed Mother and be cared for with the utmost love and
respect,” Fr. Titus says as he hastily gathers the pieces.
“You worry too much about these
things, brother. We have plenty of these statues and more being made every
day.”
“You don’t worry enough, brother.”
Looking at the fat pig of a man
disgusts me to no end. Is this truly one of your faithful, God?
“No, he isn’t. I don’t know this
shell of a man and he is dead to me and his last chance to redeem himself was
to pick up and repair the statue of my Blessed Mother. You may kill him to get
the attention of the people of this city,” God says.
“With pleasure,” I say.
Fr. Titus tells me to wait and then
prays to God to get me to stop, but his God doesn’t listen and neither do I. I
push my way through the crowds, grab the fat pig by the neck, chokeslam him to
the floor, and then beat his face in until nothing remains of his skull besides
bits and pieces. Everyone around me is scared with many in the crowd having run
away.
“Calm down, everyone!” Fr. Titus
says while shielding me from the guards of the Church such as Gerardus all of
whom want to take a stab at me. “God has made this man, Leif, his instrument of
justice. We can only pray for the soul of Fr. Facilis and we hope that he
repented of his sins as he was being executed.”
The crowd somewhat calms down and
the guards lower their weapons. That was a satisfying experience that felt
right in a strange way. I need to feel it again!
“You will soon, but don’t let the
feeling consume you and be the reason why you fight,” God says. “Titus. You
must lead Leif to the leader of this city and explain to him the problem you’ve
been having with pirates and the floating cities that have been taken over by
bandits.”
“Y-yes, my Lord.”
While leading me to the leader of
the city, the guards of the city stay next to me with their eyes never looking
away from me for too long. Lucy is also with us and walks next to Gerardus who
allows her to walk with us since she’s his friend. When I make it to a large
cathedral, we find the leader of the fishmen here who has green and blue eyes,
red hair, and is dressed in dark blue and black robes and is surrounded by
priests and others who are well-dressed like him and sitting around a round
table.
Butting into their meeting, Fr.
Titus says, “Lord Ventus, here is a man that God wants you to see. He can also
converse with the Lord like me and will play a part in saving us from a future
disaster.”
Ventus gets up from his chair and
looks up and down at me.
“Is there a reason why his hands
are bloody?” he asks.
“He killed Fr. Facilis on God’s
command,” Gerardus says.
“He was a lazy man who did more
eating and sitting around than being a priest, but I wouldn’t say that he’s a
man that needed to be killed. Is there some other proof that this man is sent
by God?”
This man hardly has the voice of
God in his. Are Lucy, Gerardus, and Titus your only true followers here?
“Tell Ventus I gave him the
opportunity to save the world from Evander’s dream reality and he rejected it,”
God says.
I repeat what God says to Ventus
and Fr. Titus confirms what I said is true and clarifies to those what
Evander’s dream was who don’t know it was him who put the world under his
spell. Everyone looks at Ventus suspiciously while he tries not to look at him.
“Okay, I trust you. So, what’s this
threat that this man was sent here to save us from?” Ventus asks.
Fr. Titus and I tell Ventus about
how my ex-wife, Priscilla, wants to do the same as Evander and is currently
taking control of the minds of people in the Americas and the threat of pirates
and bandits on the sea that needs to be taken care of.
“I understand why we must be
concerned about the pirates and bandits, but why should we concern ourselves
with matters on land? We’ve been at relative peace compared to the constant
wars and conflicts that happen on both sides of the planet and Priscilla
doesn’t have enough power to control the entire world by the sound of it,”
Ventus says.
“Because she will put the world
under her spell if given enough time,” I say. “Besides, I thought you Catholics
are supposed to care about your neighbors more than your comfort. It’s not like
you’re struggling with your own problems here and the only problems there are
we’re about to go solve.”
Ventus looks at the priests and men
dressed like him who look back at him expectantly.
“You have a point, Leif. I must
shamefully admit that. You can take a unit of troops and hunt down the
criminals that sail these seas.”
Taking out a map, Ventus points to
a general area where travelers and the fishmen have reported running into
trouble. God talks to us and gives us a smaller area to search that we mark on
our maps. I am trusted with a simple sword and shield by Fr. Titus, however, I
deny using a shield in favor of using an axe in place of it. Along with the
twenty soldiers Ventus sends with us, Gerardus and Fr. Titus tag along to lend
their aid. To get to our destinations, the fishmen call large sea monsters from
the depths who already have saddles on them and satchels to hold food, water,
extra weapons, and medical supplies.
I’m hesitant at first to hop on the
large fish, but since it’s my only choice, I get on and hold on for dear life
as the fish continuously leaps in and out of the water. Gerardus explains to me
while riding that they usually travel under the water since all fishmen can
breathe underwater, so this in and out of the water is a concession made for me
so I don’t drown. How thoughtful of them. By the time we reach the first
location, which is a smaller city of wrecked ships, I throw up in the water
because of the ride here, something that amuses Gerardus. I’ll have to beat him
after this for that and for what he put me through on the way here. I slap
myself a bit to get my mind focused.
Wanting to get on land and start
the battle as soon as possible, I tell everyone to charge and they follow my
command. I don’t have time to appreciate being on solid ground for long as I
start cutting apart the bandits. It’s been too long since I’ve been in a battle
like this and it feels like I’m satisfying a long-overdue itch. While cutting
my way through the bandits, I notice they have crosses similar to the
Catholics, which I only notice after impaling two of them through the head with
one and appreciating my handiwork. The battle doesn’t last too long, a
disappointment in my eyes.
While Gerardus and his fellow
soldiers free the slaves from their chains and the civilians peer from their
windows and doors, I ask Fr. Titus, “So, who are these people? Exiled family
and friends?”
“You could say that,” Fr. Titus
says. “The majority of fishmen want to stay out of conflicts, especially since
that’s what our ancestors wanted to do after crashlanding in the oceans as a
result of the battle that ended humanity’s futuristic age. That didn’t stop
people from breaking from the main kingdoms and establishing their own
civilizations such as this one. Not all of them are bad or hostile towards us,
but many are as a result of being corrupted by the politics and conflicts
happening on land.”
“I understand their perspective.”
“But it didn’t make you into a good
person. A man like you only proves what we think.”
“Maybe, but the world isn’t going
to be peaceful if you ignore the conflicts going on in it and seclude yourself,
and you’re never going to avoid all conflict and violence by keeping your head
down and yourselves indifferent to it all.”
“Eh, you do have a point. We do
exile revolutionaries who try to start civil wars, criminals, and the like who
disturb the peace. Still, we shouldn’t overextend ourselves by being involved
in the world’s conflicts when they don’t affect us.”
“And yet, they affect you now and
you may have been better off with a foot in it, so you were ready to face the
threat. You may have even been able to stop Evander from putting the world
under his dream reality if you had involved yourselves in the world’s issues.
Your God seems to think so since he has us taking care of these bandits.”
“It’s too late to wonder what could
have been and there’s no use for it. Let’s finish what we must do so we can
back home as soon as we can. I'm already tired of this violence.”
I’m far from tired of it. The
soldiers, Gerardus, Fr. Titus, and I ambush pirates who are either piloting
ships or riding on sea monsters and liberate other cities of floating ships
until nighttime when God says that we’ve done enough and it’s time to go back.
When we arrive back to where we came from, we see Lucy, Ventus, and a few
others waiting for us. They congratulate us on our victory, give us breakfast
since it’s morning, and not much else is said.
“What? No big celebration or
thanks?” I ask.
“Violence isn’t celebrated here,
even if it’s necessary,” Gerardus says.
“I’d hate to live with people like
you. I don’t know how you live such boring lives.”
“Because we’re able to enjoy the
simple things and don’t have a need to constantly fight like savages like you.”
“A savage like me can talk to and
hear the voice of your God while you can’t, and he has a special purpose for
me, unlike you.”
Gerardus looks mad at me but
continues eating and doesn’t talk to me for the rest of the day.
“Where to now?” I ask God.
“You don’t have to go anywhere.
Rest for now,” God says.
“Rest? I can’t be wasting my time
resting while Priscilla takes over the Americas.”
“I’m slowing her down as we speak,
so don’t worry. Take a break for the rest of the day.”
Tch. As if I’ll do that. I walk
around the city until I find the docks where several ships are docked for those
who are unable to control fish as the fishmen do. Before I can even set foot on
any of them, the entire city shifts and shakes until the whale monster with
tendrils coming out of its eyes and body emerges from the ocean and stares me
down with the eye in its mouth.
“Do you want to fight for real now?
I’ll gladly accept!” I say to it.
“Leif! I’ve been wondering where
you were. What did you do to make that beast emerge?” Fr. Titus asks.
“I didn’t do anything! It has some
kind of vendetta against me since it’s been bothering me for the past two days.
Your God is to blame for it showing up.”
“Then do whatever God says. Trust
me when I say that a beast like this is unkillable.”
I have a stare-down with the
whale’s mouth-eye for a few seconds before backing off and agreeing to not
leave the city. When I do, the whale goes back into the ocean and disappears
into its depths.
“What is that thing anyway?” I ask.
“A whale infected by what we call a
quasi-parasite from the deepest depths of the ocean. The ancient records of the
ship tell of these parasites that once consumed, take over the fish’s body, but
don’t kill it. In fact, the parasite makes it evolve, in a sense, making it
capable of regenerating fatal wounds and flying in the air, according to some
reports.”
“Interesting. I’m glad nothing like
it exists on land. Are humans capable of being infected by the parasite?”
“Not as far as we know since the
parasite is indestructible and there are no known cases of it infecting anyone.
We simply see the parasite as an allegory and reminder of what happens when we
consume our Lord in the Eucharist. When we do, we become more powerful and give
him more control over us.”
“That’s not an appealing thought
whatsoever.”
“Give it time once you’ve fully
committed yourself to him. You’ll find that it’s everything you’ve ever
wanted.”
“If you say so.”
I then ask Fr. Titus where I can
rest and I’m given a place in his convent, a small simple room with a bed,
closet, and scenic view of the city from my window. As I lay down, it doesn’t
take long for me to fall asleep since I’ve been through so much and it’s nice
to rest in a place that doesn’t constantly rock back and forth all the time.
