TJ spoke aloud to try to get Acalan's attention. The Ahuizotl's head emerged from the water, though the liquid coursed over its head for far longer than it should have, as if it had a waterfall that came through its head. The strange, somewhat doglike face looked at TJ's. He raised a hand as he stepped forward between the monster and his people as he spoke. "Hello, my friend. I have returned with some of my allies.
The tied together dog leashes sailed forward out of the water and into his hands, though Acalan hadn't thrown it.. As TJ held the end of the leash, he heard the monster's voice fill his head.
these are not your people.
"Yes, of course they are! They have devoted themselves to me, so they're my people, my devotees. They'll help me on my path to godhood as they follow my commands and path.
mmm that is not all true. some of those here have not. i… may i eat those who have not? those unable to devote themselves?
"No, you may not. Even if they are not yet mine in a formal sense, they will be. They've expressed their willingness to join under my banner. And, beyond that, you should know that you do not devour that which does not belong to you.
yes, yes yes. i know that. but i am hungry. we are friends, give me food. we will become better friends that way, yes?
"No, I'm not going to sacrifice my people to you. And besides, there should be plenty of prey for you to eat in the lake, isn't there? Wouldn't you much rather get your food to eat to scare off any potential challenge to your rule over the lake?
i do not rule.
"But as strong as you are, couldn't you? After all, rule belongs to those who have the strength to claim it, doesn't it? So claim the lake as your own, grow your Divinity and Divine Authority!"
yes, the might of the arm grants the authority to command. that is why i do not rule. after all, i am too weak to claim any throne. the others came first, the others were there before i was created. they came and claimed and grew and prospered while i remained trapped… perhaps, if you gave me some people, if you gave sacrifice, i would become strong, so strong i could claim this lake as mine and mine alone. yes, i would grant you partial dominion over my lake if you gave me this. if you give me some, i will eat and become strong. yes. not your devoted, the weak. yes, please? i will help you. you will be part of the lake's owners.
Even though it spoke through the strange mental connection, TJ could hear the wheedling tone of its voice.
"But you don't really believe that, do you friend Acalan?" TJ stressed the name, hoping that would force the creature to stop thinking quite so much about eating humans, especially "TJ's" people.
mmm.
"Tell me the truth, that's what friends do. Truly, you do not believe that would make you strong enough to take over the lake entirely.
no.
"If that's the case, you just want to take from me! Didn't you know that what you're saying is that you want to to take what is mine. That would only harm our friendship, and didn't you want to be friends?"
i don't want to be friends. we already are friends. we will remain friends even if i eat your people.
"No, eating people means that we're not friends." TJ, almost despite himself, put on his "dad" voice, firm, patient, and understanding.
even enemies? i can not eat enemies? even if they try to kill me?
"Well, if it's enemies, you can eat them. If someone tries to kill you, then they aren't your friend."
or if you give them to me.
"What?"
unless you gave it! if you give me your people, is not stealing, is not bad! is gift from friend, and i would need to eat to show my appreciation! yes, no?
"TJ, this is pretty freaky." Sarah jumped in." I don't know what this thing is saying to you, but it seems like it wants to eat at least some of us. So… Why are you talking to it?"
"It's a monster. Let's not be surprised that it wants to be monstrous." TJ said, then realized what he'd just said. Even so, he pressed on. "However, it can also be an ally. We can use it to hunt things in this lake, or even to teach us things that it might know. As far as I can tell, it existed before the Integration, and so it definitely knows things that we never could have learned. That's two immediate benefits it can give us."
"Yeah… and it's still dangerous and, in case you've forgotten in the past three seconds, it wants to eat people. Even if it manages to hold that back, it's a threat at best."
"Yes," TJ sighed, "it is a dangerous creature. In that same vein, I am a dangerous creature, so are you, and everybody who reaches Copper tier. Once someone becomes Silver and Gold tiers, they're going to be dangerous to us as well. Instead of focusing on that, think of the possibilities of having some sort of a community that can, instead of only fighting, also work with the monsters that the System is throwing at us. Instead of having only enemies on every side, we'll be able to build relationships with anything, potentially. Beyond that, I mean, I can think of a few people's Bloodlines that definitely belong to what would have been a monster. That just proves that there is a possibility for us to work together with the monsters and reach greater heights by working with them, or at least, some of them."
"Well, whatever you say. I did say that I would be your Valkyrie and I stand by that statement. I don't think I could even change my mind if I wanted to." Sarah's face still was disapproving and TJ couldn't say that he didn't understand her point as he continued speaking.
"You can leave my worship at any point, but I promise I will do everything I can to ensure that you never feel that you have made a bad choice to follow and worship the Nascent Storm Serpent. Nascent is a mere placeholder before I step into a wider stage. I will become a lot more than that."
The brief conversation complete, TJ turned his attention back to the Ahuizotl, which was looking between him and Sarah with a strange and unintelligible book on its face.
i wish to speak with your person.
TJ wanted to force the creature to refocus on the conversation that he wanted to have, but instead, he sighed and called Sarah to stand directly next to him. She did so, and he held the dog leash handle out to her. As she hesitantly took what was essentially one end of the "two cups with a string" telephone, he explained.
"Acalan wants to talk with you. I don't want to hear it. Just listen. Honestly, at his core, I think he's like a child. A smart, clever child, but as simple and direct as children tend to be. As you're talking with him, I'm sure you'll realize that he's almost innocent."
Sarah's face twisted in displeasure, but she didn't argue. Instead, she took the leash handle in her hand and listened to the Ahuizotl as it spoke to her. For the first time, TJ was on the outside, looking in on the conversation. He could hear a faint thrum in the air, but despite that, he couldn't understand any words that might have been produced as a result. Instead, he merely listened as Sarah replied on her side of the conversation.
"Yes, I am the Nascent Storm Serpent's first devotee and Valkyrie."
"No, I am not of his Bloodline."
"Frankly, I've never felt that my Bloodline was important. It merely gave me a possibility to follow when first I entered the Tutorial. Since I then decided there was no reason to follow the path of one who barely reached godhood, my Bloodline has largely been useless to me. It was a good opportunity to follow someone whose strength I know."
"Yes, I am devoted to the cause of the Nascent Storm Serpent. If I wasn't, I wouldn't have sworn myself to his worship."
"I keep calling him that because I've come to realize that it's his official title. It's what he's been declared as by right, and I'll give him that respect when those who do not know him are near."
Sarah's tone was mostly patient, but also obviously confused by what mattered to the monster. After a couple more confirmations of her priorities, Sarah bid farewell to the monster and passed the handle of the leash over to TJ once again. TJ couldn't help but smile at the obvious care she gave to him and his continued place as her object of worship. Somehow, he didn't feel at all uncomfortable with the thought, and he, again, nodded his thanks to her.
"That is a strange creature." Sarah's lip curled. "I'm not sure what about it is so offputting to me, but there definitely is something. Anyways, enjoy your talk with the monster. I'll be over here, doing literally anything else I can distract myself with."
TJ nodded and looked to Acalan once again.
your person is strange. all you humans are strange, but you have the straightest path to godhood, so perhaps it is a problem with me.
"We what?" TJ demanded.
the paths of those who have the blood of a god in their veins have the simplest paths to tread to their ascensions.
Deciding to ask more about that later, TJ asked, "Can you take us all across the lake to the other side, while keeping every one of my people safe?"
friends do not ask favors always. can make payment. that is the way of friends, yes no?
"I know what you're going to ask for in payment, and no. And, that's beside the point! I helped you with the minotaurs, didn't I?"
mmm.
"So, I'm not going to force you to do anything, but I do think that it isn't a bad thing for me to ask you to do me a favor. Especially since I already did you a favor."
i spared your life.
That… was tricky. And true.
"If you don't want to help a friend, then you don't have to. We'll just go around. It's just slower that way."
but i want to eat!
"Then hunt something that isn't a human! There's monsters in the lake and on the shore!"
The Ahuizotl communicated a grumble somehow and the leash suddenly yanked hard in TJ's hand. It slipped out of his hands more than he let it go, and he grunted in surprise as it skittered into the water. Farid stepped closer, his face curious and cautious.
"What's going on?" Shiva's descendant asked.
"I'm not sure. He was being… kinda petulant? And then just disappeared."
"Then let's get everyone back from the water, at least for now."
"Agreed." Before anyone could react and get further back from the water, though, the surface of the lake exploded, water flying in every direction, though TJ could see that it was somehow hardened and almost solidified while still not being ice. Then, while he drew wind in around him and prepared to cut the attack from the air, it shot back down into the water as Tempe Town Lake became a roiling sea, something unlike anything TJ had ever seen in person.
And, somehow, the water was rising higher.
Thanks for reading! If you're dying to read more, join the Patreon, where you can read up to 30 chapters ahead!
Join the swarm!https://discord.gg/RqzsKj8hkD