Heretical Fishing-Chapter 66Book 4: : Push and Pull

Though curiosity and disdain had replaced most of the kraken’s fury as it came to meet us, its murderous intent returned as myriad crustacean-borne attacks descended. Time seemed to freeze for me as I took in the aquatic army that’d launched the salvo.

The strongest attack had come from Sergeant Snips. Her carapace was spiked. Her eyepatch hung loosely over her head. Her body had… shrunk. When Rocky saw her, foam and steam erupted from his mouth, his volcanic core beset by rivers of exultant magma.

Regardless of her size, it was undeniably Snips, and love for her flooded through me—especially when Maria sent flashes of how troubled my guard crab had been in my absence. I reached out toward her, but an anomaly stood in the way, a partially closed gate somewhere along our connection. I set its consideration aside for now, instead gazing up at a tower of beings possessing a perfect and long-sought-after form.

Joel had succeeded, as had the other members of the Church of Carcinization. Their cores were mostly crabby, somewhat human, and… stacked vertically? For whatever reason, they’d formed a pillar, their spiny feet latching onto their downstairs compatriot.

A layman would mistake them for regular rock crabs, but I could see slight differences. Like their lighter color, their longer limbs, and the fact they were as large as gods-damned boulders. The many attacks launched from their massive clackers rivaled the strength of Snips’s blasts before evolution—which made sense, considering her essence flowed through them.

Peeling my eyes off the gleeful monstrosities, I gazed at the recon squad—the crabs who followed Snips and had been surveilling the ocean for us. There were way more of them than I remembered. Though they’d been regular animals when I first met them, they also weren’t entirely normal, their bodies containing whispers of chi that hinted at ascension even back then.

Now, their awakening had well-and-truly arrived, and each of them was bonded to Snips. Unlike the Church members, these sneaky souls no longer resembled rock crabs at all. Their shells had flattened and changed shape, reminding me of stealth bombers—but, like… a crab instead of a plane.

Each of their carapaces seemed to be a different color, blending in with the surrounding scene, be it blue ocean, pink sky, or black tentacle. What wasn’t camouflaged, however, were the arcs of chi they’d launched at the kraken, each of the thirty-plus attacks half as strong as those of the carcinized churchgoers.

That should have been the end of it. The fact Snips had bonded with and facilitated the ascension of a squad of crabs and a congregation of humans was miraculous. But there was more, and the realization pushed at the bounds of my already flexible sensibilities.

Numbering in the hundreds, their bodies so slight that I’d initially conflated them with airborne water droplets, a cadre of animals had hitch-hiked their way aboard Snips’s breakthrough.

They were legion. They were suffused with the will of Snips. They were.… shrimp, a species of tiny crustaceans I’d never seen before.

Though their forms were small, the crab-sized claws weren’t. The limbs had unfurled with cartoon physics, absent one second and collecting oceanic essence in their hinges the next. The blasts they unleashed were roughly a quarter the strength of Snips’s former glory, but there were hundreds of them. I didn’t envy the cephalopod each blade rocketed towards.

Maria’s joy and sheer bewilderment flowed through our connection as time resumed.

The kraken turned. Its body shuddered with violent intent. Every few fractions of a second, it froze in place, giving its movement a halting, horror-movie-esque vibe. With half its limbs braced against the sand, the other four abyssal tentacles met at a single point, blocking Snips’s attack.

I couldn’t sense what it had intended; he kraken continued to absorb any tendrils sent its way. I could, however, see the result. Two of its appendages were sliced clean through, and as the voidlike essence was exposed to the air, it sucked everything.

Liters of water, its own severed limbs, and tonnes of sand flowed in, absorbed into its core. Their disappearance should’ve been stunning—especially the speed with which they vanished—but the inert objects were nothing when weighed against the souls at risk of being devoured.

All the shrimp were drawn in. Half of the stealth-bomber scouts, those closest, flew toward the dread portal. And the top two crustaceans of the crab tower—who I assumed to be Joel and Jess—tumbled forward, even their enhanced bodies and grabby legs not enough to resist the pull.

I reached for the earthen power coursing through my veins, willing to accept whatever backlash came, but just before I grasped it fully, Snips’s core flew into action. It, too, became a vacuum. Rather than draw everything in, however, she only drew in those connected to her.

They flowed toward her as streams of light, each radiating thankfulness, praise, and the requisite amount of reverence one would give their chosen deity. There were hundreds of them. Some were larger than boulders. And all were drawn into the soul of a crab the size of my hand.

Shit made absolutely zero sense, but what are ya gonna do?

Sergeant Snips patted her stomach with a small yet mighty claw, radiating an appreciation similar to the sentiment received from her bonded… animals? Familiars? Followers? Honestly, it didn’t really matter. I’d rather focus on the cool shit she was up to.

Snips floated above the ocean atop tiny jets of water-aspected chi that streamed from her spiked legs. She stared the kraken down, and beneath her implacable gaze, the creature sealed the abyssal openings in its tentacles. The limbs regrew in the blink of a cultivator’s eye, and despite the horror of the deep seeming to draw away all our senses, I noticed something odd about his body.

I set the discovery aside for later, grinned, and leaned to the side. “Barry,” I whispered.

“What?”

“Check this shit out.”

Braving the earthen essence running through me, I sent a message to the southeast, flashing a series of still-images and sensations that communicated all that had just occurred. The pain in my abdomen was worse than last time, but I had no regrets.

An inhuman screech like a thousand nails on a chalkboard blasted over us all, so loud that waves of force ruffled hair and clothing. Then, the source of it arrived, streaming indignation and lightning in equal measure.

Even to my ridiculously enhanced ears, the speed and passion with which Claws hurled her string of accusations made me miss most of them. I was pretty sure I heard repeated mentions of ponds, theft, and a four-letter word that started with C, wasn’t ‘crab’, and didn’t bear repeating.

Regardless, Claws was outraged that Snips had bonded with literally hundreds of familiars or whatever they were. She was so belligerent that she’d set her dispute with the raccoon asi… Never mind. She launched the spherical mammal so hard and fast that he broke the sound barrier.

Despite everything else going on—such as a cosmic horror whose entire body absorbed light—I couldn’t help but watch in awe as the Mach-1 ball of fur and thievery approached Snips.

What would she do?

Because of the kraken nullifying my senses, the muddied the connection between her and I, or some unholy combination of both, I had not yet discovered the ideal that’d triggered my favorite crab’s breakthrough.

I didn’t know much other than she wasn’t an elemental. Would the raccoon’s essence tear through her chi? If he did, what exactly could she do to defend herself…?

Despite the closed gate between our bond, Snips locked eyes with me and blew a single defensive bubble. It lingered in the air, a strange power making it bobble, then zip sideways into the path of the raccoon. The wide-eyed and sharp-toothed idiot tried to pop it with a slap.

Fwoosh!

An Olympic-swimming-pool’s worth of water rushed out in an instant. The roaring torrent sent Snips’s mammalian assailant rocketing up toward the stratosphere. Before he could disappear from orbit, Claws pulled him back into her core, her jaw unhinged and fuzzy little eyebrows high.

What have you become? she asked with a chirp, curiosity replacing her indignation from moments ago.

The kraken’s limbs undulated with power, the pattern in his eyes flashing between nebulous stars and waves of mercury. He dipped his bulbous head towards Snips, and an unfathomable weight fell away from the aura of his pitch-black soul.

Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

“I see now,” he said. “The anomalies begin to make sense. Chi returning to the world. So many spirit beasts, cultivators, and elementals working together. The creation of natural artifacts…”

Snips blew inquisitive bubbles. They circled her carapace in search of answers.

“You are something rarely seen on Kallis, young one. Something mostly spoken of in legend even before the gods departed…”

More bubbles from Snips, a hint of confusion making them wobble back and forth.

“You have come from far away—summoned from a place none other in this realm have seen...”

I saw where this was going. I bit the skin between my thumb and index finger to stop myself from reacting.

“You,” the kraken continued, voice grandiose. “Great being of strong carapace and mighty claw… are a Traveler!”

Silence followed the rumbling proclamation. When it stretched on, his eyes darted around. He’d clearly expected a reaction. He didn’t have to wait much longer—one of my best mates cackled.

“Truth!” Theo chortled. “He… He thinks that’s the truth!”

He

Before anyone could join in with his laughter, the kraken spoke again. “Truthseeker…” It was both a title and an accusation. Lines of gray swept across his eyes. “How have you come to be here?”

“Oh, you know.” The former auditor waved a hand. “I was taught by a king, defected to fish and start a church, then helped overthrow my former monarch. Pretty standard stuff, really.”

Either satisfied by the answer or flummoxed enough to ignore Theo going forward, the mini Cthulu looked at Snips. “Do not deny it. You have done well to hide its influence, but I can sense the echo of transmigration on your soul.”

Her leather eyepatch had drooped so far to the side that it was currently acting as a sash, so when she swiveled my way to gauge my reaction, it was with both of her eyestalks. The eldritch horror’s swirling orbs followed, gazing at me for a moment before returning his attention to Snips. “I regret to inform you that your human follower with the red-banded hat—”

“Hey! Captain’s hat!” I corrected. “We respect title and rank around here, champ!”

To my left, Maria bit her lip to stop herself from laughing. To my right, Barry squeezed the bridge of his nose.

The kraken’s eye twitched. “... Your human follower with the red-banded captain’s hat, then—he will soon perish.” Surprisingly, there was neither joy nor schadenfreude in that proclamation.

Interesting.

He turned back to Snips. “I advise you to absorb the earthen essence of my former ally after your follower’s soul departs. Given your aspect, the strands may take some time to integrate, but its corruption will present someone of your magnitude no harm—and could prove pivotal against the gods should they return. Additionally, I apologize for my fury earlier. When your condemned captain revealed he planned to let the amalgamation of earth elementals live, I lost control. I was unaware of your existence, so I assumed the worst.”

I raised my brows; so few sentences, yet so much to unravel. Former companion? Corruption? Useful against the gods, should they return? Ellis was gonna shit himself when he got back.

Snips tried reached out to me through our connection, but whatever stopped me from understanding her ideal was still present. Thankfully, her expressive eyes conveyed all she had to say, which I roughly interpreted as: how in Rocky’s red-hot bod do you want me to respond?

Laughter and quiet mutterings were coming from the crowd behind me. Before they could swell, I stepped forward and cleared my throat. “Mate, there seems to have been a bit of a misunderstanding.”

He raised an eyebrow—which I really enjoyed. Who knew octopuses had them? “It is impressive that you still live, human, but in your position, I would not waste my words on a stranger. Speak your peace to those you love. I imagine the pretty young woman at your side will not be happy when you are no longer… hmm?”

It trailed off, the specks of white in its eyes quivering as it stared into Maria’s soul. “A water spirit lives? How did it survive for so long without chi?”

“Water spirit?” I asked.

“Where did you find them?” the kraken asked, ignoring me entirely.

“I’m a boyyyy!” Slimes declared, wibble-wobbling from Maria’s shoulder like a jack-in-the-box. “Not a they!”

The cephalopod’s other eyebrow rose to join the other—man, today was a feast for the senses. “A second true bond…?” Though his body didn’t move, his sclera became whirlpools, swirling ceaselessly. “That has mastered human speech? Remarkable. What aspect is it that you wield, little one?” His ocular vortices sped up as he leaned closer. “I cannot—”

“Mate,” I interrupted, stepping forward to rest a hand on one tentacle. “You’ve been dropping knowledge bombs left, right, and center. I reckon it’s our turn to…”

The prehensile bastard ignored me, instead turning to look at Snips with a glance that demanded she control her subjects—which resulted in perhaps the most-satisfying chastisement I had or would ever see.

Sergeant Snips, my now-tiny yet still-reliable guard crab, back-handed a terror of the deep like he was an insolent young master. There was no power in it, but the message was clear.

Listen to my master when he speaks, she ordered, her strange chi radiating out from not only her core, but all the crustaceans she’d bonded.

Claws made an ‘oh, shit’ face, her eyes wide, jaw open and head darting around to check the other animal pals’ reactions. Cinnamon punched one paw into the other. Borks wagged his tail. Teddy and Pistachio nodded. Queen Bee, Bumblebro, and their progeny buzzed. Bill, Pelly, and the flock of pelicans honked. Lemon shook her canopy. And though Rocky wasn’t technically bonded to me, he had the most violent reaction of all, slipping back to his old self as he unleashed a staccato of volcanic explosions into the air, before calming himself down by lighting a cigarette on his shell and taking a deep drag.

The kraken, in the face of all their testimony, chuckled softly and glanced at Snips again. “You have already defeated me, young Traveler. I do not see purpose in this trickery.”

“My guy…” I couldn’t stop the wry smile crossing my face. “She’s trying to tell you I’m the Traveler.”

He finally looked at me. “You expect me to believe that you have managed to bond all these beings?”

“Uhhhh, yeah?”

A hissing, bubbling sound came from him. Within seconds, it had transformed into a guttural laugh, his tentacles all writhing around on the shore. “Oh… oh my,” he eventually said. “You made me forget myself. Thank you for that.” He cleared his throat, composing itself. “Impossible. You would have gone mad by the second one, if not the first. Not to mention the poison currently occupying your soul. It is commendable that you have not succumbed to it yet, but that is only by the grace of your matriarch. If you were a Traveler, you would have cleansed it yourself by now.”

“That’s not true, mate! I was just waiting for the right moment.”

“For what it’s worth,” Theo said. “Our benevolent and humble Traveler speaks the truth.”

This had an unexpected and astounding effect on the kraken—he went rigid, his sclera flashing white to reveal slitted pupils. “Who was that last sentence about, Truthsayer?”

“Uhhh… Fischer. Leader of the Church of Fischer.” Theo pointed at me. “Him.”

Again, the response was unexpected. “Falsesayer!” the ancient creature bellowed. “Truthsayer’s bane! Betrayer of life!” He shrank back a meter, the black aura exploding from his body once more.

His eyes were undeniably alien, but they’d never looked as inhuman as they did in that moment, darting around, dilated, pure gray. He kept stealing glances at the sky, only to look back at us as if expecting an attack. “What manner of duplicity is this? Which god do you serve?”

It was really hard not to ask any questions, but I managed to hold the urge at bay. “My man, if you just wait like… five seconds, you’ll see what I’m talking abou—”

“I am not your man, deceiver! Reveal yourself! Your true self!”

I’d have cackled at that, but the poor bloke seemed genuinely terrified, and with each passing second, his only anxiety grew.

I gave him my most disarming smile. “I wasn’t lying earlier when I said I was waiting for the right moment. Here. I’ll show you.”

The entire time, power had been draining away from the earth elemental made of many souls. It had finally reached the last one—the being I instinctively knew to be the original.

Still smiling at the kraken, I opened the floodgate to my core. Pure, unaspected chi shone into the world, coming from me, each grain of sand on the beach, and all those standing by my side. The land and I were an extension of the network, and my friends were an extension of me.

Countless things happened at once—a few were of note.

First, the object of power draining the elemental’s life-force away was nullified by the blast, its triad of essences replaced by my own. It clattered to the ground, a regular pebble like any other on the shore.

The stolen chi, its earthen aspect incompatible with my soul, shifted. Changed. Its toxins were purified the moment my ocean of white light touched it. The pain in my abdomen vanished. My connection to everyone was restored, as were my senses.

The third notable occurrence was between me and the kraken. The radiance illuminated my true nature, and as he felt the source of what he’d called ‘the echo of transmigration’, his midnight gaze locked onto me, casting twin beams of black that drilled through the luminosity.

There was a bonus happening, too—my favorite of all. Claws withdrew the raccoon from her soul and held him up to the light. Take them! she trilled, chest proud and arms rigid. Cleanse his crimes away! It didn’t work, of course. Every hair on his body was aligned with his core’s desire for larceny. There was nothing to fix. I thoroughly enjoyed it regardless.

All at once, the light vanished. I kept my eyes closed for a moment, bathing in the connections to Maria and my animals pals, as well as the feeling of rightness suffusing the world.

Suddenly, I was tugged in one, then two directions. The universe seemed to urge me to action, all but wailing that I would regret not heeding its advice. I rolled my eyes as my form slid toward the waves.

Do you even know me, universe? I wondered. You don’t need to push me—there’s no way I’d miss an opportunity like this.

Before my awareness was dragged away kicking-and-screaming, I released my grip on the world and dove in headfirst, right into the souls of two ancient, incomprehensible, and cosmically connected beings.