Born a Monster-Chapter 511

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511 Ascension

It is said that one of the first things you become aware of when you awaken is whether youโ€™re in your own bed or not.

I was NOWHERE near my bed.

But the sunlight, from multiple angles, worked its way past my eyelids. ๐Ÿ๐“‡โ„ฏ๐’†we๐’ƒ๐˜ฏ๐’ฮฝe๐‘™.co๐š–

โ€œBwaa!โ€ I said, finding the sun (well, A sun) in my eyes. I turned away, only to find another sun right there. โ€œMerciful Gods!โ€

โ€œTruer than you know, kid.โ€ Manajuwejet said.

โ€œAwaah!โ€ I said, having discovered suns three through five. โ€œWhere am I?โ€

โ€œYeah, um... so, Iโ€™m going to answer that. But if your appendix hasnโ€™t burst yet, we need to get you back to the mortal world.โ€ He scuttled a few steps closer to one of the suns.

โ€œUgh.โ€ I said. โ€œWe have to walk into that?โ€

โ€œWell, running might be better. If you think you can do that?โ€

.....

I failed to rise. โ€œIt feels like thereโ€™s a lump of lead in my stomach.โ€

โ€œKid.โ€ he said. โ€œGet up anyway. That pain in your core?โ€

โ€œYeah?โ€

โ€œThatโ€™s you about to DIE. Iโ€™m just a dream guide; I canโ€™t carry you.โ€

With a wordless moan, I curled up on my left side.

โ€œHow did I even get here?โ€ I asked.

โ€œKid, if you canโ€™t walk, then damn it, crawl this way.โ€

I got a leg โ€œbeneathโ€ me in the light fog. I mean transparent fog. Enough that I could see three suns and countless stars beyond the not-floor.

โ€œDonโ€™t sight see NOW! Move, move, move. Mortality is back THIS way.โ€

I vomited, and it just passed through the mist, curling as the currents directed.

โ€œOh! Aaawaa!โ€ I tottered on my feet. โ€œAm I sinking into the ground?โ€

โ€œThis way! Solid ground is THIS way!โ€ Manajuwejet urged.

โ€œFine, fine.โ€ I said, trying to step forward. I slid to an angle not possible without falling in the waking world. โ€œCrap.โ€

โ€œNo, no. Keep coming. Itโ€™s not far. Fall this way if you have to.โ€

โ€œYou promised... buh... to tell me where I am.โ€

โ€œYouโ€™re kinda... between worlds. Yeah, thatโ€™s good. A dozen more like that, and youโ€™ll be alive again.โ€

โ€œWait. Iโ€™m dead?โ€

โ€œNO!!! No waiting, and no, youโ€™re not... exactly... dead. But yeah, youโ€™re not alive.โ€ He waved a beckoning claw at me. โ€œCโ€™mon, this way.โ€

โ€œWeโ€™re walking into the sun!โ€ I said.

โ€œNo, no. It just looks like one from the outside. Trust me. This one is the world you were born in.โ€

โ€œSo... each of these suns is actually a world?โ€

โ€œSome are more than one.โ€ he said. โ€œDonโ€™t stop, kid. Youโ€™re doing great. For example, your own world is MUCH bigger than the one planet.โ€

โ€œWhatโ€™s a planet?โ€ I asked.

He blinked at me. โ€œYou know what? Get back alive first, and THEN Iโ€™ll answer any three questions you want.โ€

โ€œOnly three?โ€ I asked.

โ€œWell, two now, dumbass! Keep those feet moving. Youโ€™re halfway.โ€

โ€œIt feels... hey, thereโ€™s no heat!โ€

โ€œBecause thatโ€™s NOT a sun. Keep it coming. Good, good.โ€

There was no heat, but I was sweating profusely. However little I moved, it felt like swimming through granite. Or maybe marble. What I remember is that my limbs didnโ€™t want to move, and it felt like I was moving a chunk of the world in my abdomen.

I screamed as my spine [Dislocated].

โ€œNo, no! Not that way! Over here! Follow the sound of my voice, kid.โ€

โ€œNgyah.โ€ I said. โ€œHow did I get here?โ€

โ€œBlame your dad for that, kid. When Sobek and the newborn came through here, you got caught up in the wake. Problem is, youโ€™ve been too focused on your momโ€™s side of your bloodlines; you canโ€™t survive here yet.โ€

I reached out, grabbed nothing, and pulled myself forward.

โ€œHOLY!โ€ he said. โ€œI mean good. Good. Keep getting closer. Any way you can. Closer. Two tugs and youโ€™re here.โ€

It felt like my arms were on fire. My legs too, for that matter.

[Titanic Swimming now active.]

I slid forward like a slug or snail would, trailing blood through the air.

โ€œGreat! Now reach out and touch it. Just.. Touch...โ€

[You have arrived.]

[Reconstructing Body: 0/120 complete.]

[Reconstructing Mind: 0/80 complete.]

[Reconstructing Spirit: 0/40 complete.]

[You will be unconscious until process completes.]

โ€œA six day timer?โ€ I asked. I wasnโ€™t awake long enough to hear Manajuwejetโ€™s response.

โ€œSix?โ€ I asked, sitting up quick enough to make my head spin.

My System must have found a way to speed the process up; it was mid-day when I recovered.

โ€œOh.โ€ I said, falling back down facing the river. I coughed up a lung and a half of what looked like clay silt mixed with blood, and didnโ€™t taste much different, either.

โ€œBwuh.โ€ I said, extending an arm towards the river.

After a few minutes of ungraceful dragging, I was there. A breath of water in, a fit of coughing until the edges of my vision were red and black, then repeat. The damages...

There were no damages. I had full health, full sanity, full serenity.

Nothing resembling a point of nutrition, but with my hydration meter rapidly filling, I began to feel capable of outrunning some foliage. I had drifted far enough downstream to realize the Kamajeen had moved on.

The problem was that I knew the rough direction in which the new camp had to be, and my System nudged my feet that way.

Stupid Truthspeaker oath! Let me EAT!

And it did, after a fashion. Where there was food, I could detour toward it, so long as I ate and digested while walking. It never required me to run, but I soon learned that doing so anyway allowed me time to forage.

For a path that some three hundred people had walked along, there was a LOT of forage.

Now wait, I hear you saying. Even with six stomachs, each digesting a few points of nutrition every fifteen minutes, it still takes two hours of just digesting to provide a dayโ€™s nutrition, right? This is true, and it took near an equal amount of time to find the food.

Still, I was making good time, finding fresh spoor before nightfall. (For you urban types, spoor is what falls out the backside of an animal when itโ€™s done with food.) Say what you want to about mass migrations, but fast is something thatโ€™s relative on that scale.

I got a small fire going, fried some nuts and seeds, and then realized I had absolutely zero mana to infuse them with. I mean, I used fatigue, but itโ€™s like using chalk instead of salt in your recipes. The drop in quality was noticeable.

And, having seen no trace of hostile critters, I decided to put in my new moon visit to Sobek early.

The dreaming was chaotic, blurred, like it was trying to move at four times speed while staying absolutely still. Those of you who visit know what Iโ€™m talking about. For the rest of you, Iโ€™m sorry that words donโ€™t quite fit what was going on.

Or NOT going on... but anyway, things were both more and less active than normal. It stood out.

With the dream itself blurred, it was much easier to pick out the spirits and my fellow lucid dreamers. Even racing along at speeds normally attained only by new babies, unburdened by... wait...

[You are zero years old.]

But a quick check revealed I had all my mental and emotional baggage. My brand new self, somehow still with my old System, which I couldnโ€™t quite perceive as an entity.

In record time, pun not intended (but noted), I was among the Sands of Ages. I set about to gather my mana... and yes, found none.

Absolutely none. f๐“‡๐˜ฆe๐‘ค๐˜ฆ๐š‹๐’เซฆัตโ„ฏ๐’.c๐จ๐’Ž

โ€œDelicious.โ€ came the voice from (yup) behind me. โ€œA visiting and unarmed...โ€

She rolled backward as I turned, the [Jaws of Wrath] ready and at hand.

โ€œHuh.โ€ she said. She was mostly shadow, with enough blood to not be purely black. She was part slender woman, part serpent, and part spider, She blinked the pair of human eyes at me, orange of iris. โ€œNot quite so helpless.โ€ she said in an approving tone.

She made a non-committal noise. โ€œGive me a piece of fruit, and Iโ€™ll forget I found you.โ€

A form hidden in her shadow cleared its throat.

.....

โ€œMy master and god.โ€ she said. โ€œI was going to render the proper offerings.โ€

The tiny speck of black exuded [Mirth]. โ€œYou always do, my child, and know that it brings you much favor in my eyes.โ€

โ€œFavor?โ€ she asked. โ€œI donโ€™t... I mean...โ€ Two pairs of silver orbs blinked. โ€œIt is a trick!โ€

โ€œA trick to make you happy, and yet aware of my presence.โ€ He said. โ€œDid it work?โ€

Two other sets of eyes blinked. โ€œNo, it... wait...โ€

โ€œI know it did.โ€ Anansi said. โ€œMost of my tricks work, without need for further embelishment.โ€

โ€œWhat do you want, lord and master?โ€ she asked.

โ€œThis one is going to be mine in a few decades.โ€ he said. โ€œMight I offer you an orange mixed with a strawberry in exchange for not eating him?โ€

โ€œDone!โ€ she said, snatching the fruit from him, and noisily sinking her fangs on either side.

โ€œI know it is not yet my time.โ€ he said, โ€œBut we must talk, you and I.โ€

Yes, the fruit was about eighty times his size, yet easily held in one hand, because dream logic.