Heretical Fishing-Chapter 47Book 4: : Scars

As Maria strolled through town, she was struck once more by how sharp—how crisp—the world felt. It was only her third time walking through Tropica following her breakthrough. Whenever she returned, she seemed to find a new obsession. Today, it was the way the sun reflected off... everything.

Even as a base cultivator, the celestial body above was no longer a source of blinding incandescence. If she wanted to, she could stare directly at it, not needing to fear permanent damage to her vision.

Now that her breakthrough had been solidified and Slimes had bonded with her, the way the sun’s reflection shone in metal and glass was... sublime. Fischer had often recounted how the world looked to his enhanced eyes, and though happy for him, she’d always felt a little pang of jealousy that she couldn’t witness it for herself.

Was this what he’d been talking about...?

She could see rays of light, as if an invisible smoke wafted through the streets. But there was no smoke. Nothing for the prismatic beams to highlight. All of this beauty—this otherworldly brilliance—was because of her advancement. Fischer had never described what she saw. She’d have to ask him about it when he got back.

It’s meeee, Slimes whispered from within, his voice sounding far away. Well, it’s us, but there is no us without me… nor without you! Slimes vibrated. It’s you and me and us!

Maria blew air from her nose. If someone had told her even two days ago that she’d have another awareness inside of her, and that she’d enjoy it, she might have thought them insane.

No offense, Slimes, she thought. I can’t imagine life without you now.

I know, her familiar replied, jiggling in her core.

If that same someone had told Maria another being jiggling inside her abdomen would be a pleasant experience, she’d have definitely thought them insane. She laughed to herself, closing her eyes to banish the beautiful rays of light still tugging at her awareness. She had things to consider, after all. While Maria had spent the night saying goodbye to Fischer, Slimes had spent the night deep in contemplation beneath the tidal-pond’s waters.

And that meditation had born fruit.

In the hours before dawn, an understanding had flowed from Slimes to Maria, its significance driving the air from her lungs. She’d moved to sit on the floor as she internalised the knowledge, and rather than distract, Fischer’s soft snores had helped her remain centered. It was both incredibly fast and excruciatingly slow; the realization seemed like a puddle at first, but flowed outward the longer she considered it, becoming an ocean.

So vast were the implications that she hadn’t told Fischer, lest he delay his trip.

Even now, already on the way to their task, both Maria and Slimes couldn’t help but replay the thoughts. They mused endlessly as Maria’s body moved them closer to their destination. The concept of time faded as they went over and over and over the knowledge they’d gleaned, both seeking any flaw in their reasoning. But there wasn’t any. Each cycle only brought more certainty. More confidence. More—

“Uhhh, Maria?” came a curious voice, shattering their meditation.

She blinked, the world’s light and beauty overwhelming as it flooded into her eyes.

“Are you well?” Keith asked. Genuine concern radiated from his core.

“Sorry to worry you—we’re totally fine.”

“... We?”

Smooooth, Maria. Doing a wonderful job of convincing him you’re—

“Hiiii!” Slimes jiggled from her shoulder. “My master was referring to us!”

She gave Keith a rueful smile. “We were just going over our plan for today. I hope you didn’t have to try too hard to get my attention...”

“Oh, no.”

She breathed a sigh of relief, but then he continued.

“I found you standing there with a smirk on your face, staring off into the distance. If I’m being completely honest, all the old stories about cultivators came to mind, and I started questioning if this entire village was a terrible idea. Then I wondered if I was the insane one, and if this whole thing has been a fever dream constructed by my own madness.”

“Damn, Keith...”

“Yeahhh, I spiral pretty hard. Seems to be a family trait. My bad on that one.”

Maria couldn’t help but laugh. He looked confused, likely unsure if she was laughing at or with him. “You reminded me of Fischer, Keith. Our benevolent, powerful, and definitely humble leader. He spirals like no other. Even your terminology sounded similar.”

He gave her a wry smile. “Maybe I’ve been spending too much time around this heretical village.”

“Perhaps. Speaking of the village, though, I have an idea to reduce the number of heretics.”

“Oh? What’s that?”

She nodded toward the building they stood outside. The not-a-prison, as Fischer had repeatedly called it. “Rehabilitation, of course.”

“Wouldn’t that increase the number of heretics?”

“I guess that depends on your point of view.”

Keith’s smile waned, and he glanced toward the ornate door as doubt leaked from his abdomen. “You’re truly ready to heal people...?”

She didn’t miss the hope in the former royal’s voice. He’d forsaken his title in favor of coming to Tropica with the rest of Gormona’s fishing club—with the intention of starting a church of their own, a plan that still brought Maria to giggles if she thought about it too much.

There had been no love lost between Keith and his relatives, but learning that their personalities were the result of impure-chi and alchemical-tampering changed that. The idea of healing them had entirely consumed him and Trent, and the two cousins had doggedly pursued that prospect to the exclusion of everything else.

Maria, considering all this in an instant, patted him on the arm. “All I can say is that I’m as ready as I ever will be. Just to be clear, though... I can’t promise the outcome that you want.”

The lines of his face hardened, yet a spark of hope remained in his eyes as he nodded.

Content, she took a deep breath. Ready, Slimes?

An affirmative jiggle came in response, the sensation still as weird as it was comforting.

“Let’s go.”

Maira strode forward, pressing her hand against the ornate wrought iron decorating the door. As it swung open with a creak that could only be intentional, she gazed around, eyeing the conformity of the halls.

Her step faltered; a kaleidoscopic brilliance demanded her attention.

“What...” was all she could get out as colors shifted.

The magical flames set within the walls... each of them glowed like little suns. Unlike the actual sun, these sources of light flickered, causing miniature beams to dance around.

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“Everything okay...?” Keith asked, moving to grab her arm for support but pulling his hand back as she steadied herself.

“Yeah... it’s just... wow.” Before she could give the impression of insanity again, she shook her head, refocusing. “The flames are stunning after my breakthrough.”

Would the lanterns outside be the same...? She’d only visited the village proper during the daylight hours.

Come to think of it, shouldn’t the village’s reflective objects have been so brilliant yesterday?

An affirmative jiggle from Slimes confirmed her suspicion. That’s why I said it’s us doing it, silly! Our understanding of each other grew last night!

The visuals were… a lot. Like her first bite of Fischer’s chi-enhanced fish, her new reality was so filled with wonder that it became hard to see—or feel—anything else.

You’ll get used to it! Slimes reassured. And he meant it, too. No, we’ll get used to it! He vibrated in confusion. Errrr, it might get worse if we grow closer? Dunno, hehe.

Maria snorted, then turned to explain to Keith that she was talking to her very-real and definitely not-imaginary friend, but the former royal beat her to the punch.

“What’s it like?”

“Having a familiar...?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s... like having more of myself. A part of me, for so long, felt as if I was missing something.” She waved a hand. “Don’t get me wrong—I was still happy, especially after meeting Fischer, it’s just... man, it’s hard to explain...”

“I think I know what you mean.” He gave her a wistful smile. “Maybe I’ll come ask you another time when you’re not about to single-handedly attempt healing a prison full of corrupted cultivators.”

“That sounds like a good idea. But also, what you just said is wrong on two fronts.”

“How so...?”

“First, our God-king Fischer insists that we call it a not-a-prison, remember? He gets a bit... smitey if his trusty followers defy his orders. I’d hate to see you slapped from existence.”

Keith barked a laugh, the sound echoing off the walls. “Okay, I’ll grant you that. What’s the other thing I was wrong about?”

“The second is that I’m not doing it single-handedly—right, Slimes?”

“Rrrrright!” her familiar called, popping out of her shoulder, then growing a half-meter in length to headbutt-high-five Maria’s upheld hand with a wet slap.

“Slimes...” Keith said, pouting.

“Ya-huhhh?”

“Please never do that again.”

“Deniiiied!” he sang, disappearing back into Maria’s core.

The former royal shook his head with a wry smile. “I guess you’re correct on the second point, too.”

“I am, aren’t I?” Maria looked up at the flames, their cascading colors no longer so distracting now that she’d grown used to them. “Come on. Let’s go find our targets.”

Though slow, their steps were sure as they made their way deeper into the building. Each corner they rounded brought another stretch of brilliant lights, and before she knew it, Maria had arrived at the cell. She turned and faced it, smiling at its occupants. “Good morning, everyone.”

Without needing to look at him, Maria could feel the uncertainty flowing from Keith’s core. “I don’t mean to be rude, Maria, but…”

“You can ask. I won’t be offended.”

“Sorry to voice it again, but are you certain you’re ready?”

Maria furrowed her brow. “Uhhh, yeah. I’m sure.”

“Then... why are we here?”

“Because they need healing? I’m a little confused, Keith. I thought this is what you wanted?”

“Well, yes. It is. But...” he gestured at those within the two cells, all of whom were completely invested in the conversation. His uncertainty swelled, but resolve grew swiftly, eclipsing his doubt. “Let me be clear. If you intend to use these people as practice, I must insist that you stay your hand. As much as I want my family healed, I can’t condone human trials.”

“For what it’s worth,” one of the birdlike cultivators said from the bench he was perching on, “I’d also prefer not to be a human trial.”

“Agreed,” “Agreed,” “No human trial!” came the voices of the others.

Maria covered her mouth as her laugh broke free. Slimes’s happy jiggle in her core only increased the volume of her amusement made manifest. “Okay, I get it now. They’re neither trials nor less-important than your family, Keith. I want to heal them first because their particular... er, issue, is related to a realization Slimes had last night.”

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The noble’s unease melted away, replaced by an intense curiosity. “What was the realization...?”

“Best I keep it to myself for now. But let me ask you all: do you want to be healed?”

There was no doubt that the cultivators kept within the walls of the corrupted city of Theogonia had emerged a little... different. Even after Fischer’s chi had cleansed them, their atypical personalities remained, as was evident by the way most of them were perched like birds. Many would call them mad—and they wouldn’t necessarily be wrong.

Despite this perceived sickness of the mind, Maria’s question hit them like the lightning-filled boulders Corporal Claws had launched at the king. All of them stilled, the one that had spoken earlier standing upright as he came forward—still hopping like a bird, mind you. His face, however, was entirely human.

“Can you truly do it? Can you heal this...” He gestured toward his abdomen. “Wrongness?”

The man’s eyes welled, a tiny snowball of emotion building to become an avalanche in his core. He was hoping—dreaming—of the possibility. Not only for himself, either. It was just as much for his fellow captives, all of which had endured decades of sickly chi, trapped in a lightless prison far below ground.

When Maria met his eyes, a tear rolled down her cheek, but not because she’d been buried beneath the man’s feelings. “What is your name again, friend?”

“Tiberius.”

A woman hopped forward to grab his hand, one of her arms going over his shoulder like a protective wing.

“And this,” Tiberius continued, his voice strengthened by her touch, “is my wife, Livia.”

“A pleasure to meet you both. I’m Maria.” She stood tall, her shoulders bearing the weight of their dreams. “If anyone can heal you, it’s me. And Slimes, of course.”

“I thought your name was Keith...?” Livia asked.

“She doesn’t mean me. Slimes is—”

“Hiiii!” Slimes wobbled about enthusiastically for a good two seconds.

Tiberius blinked, cocked his head, and screeched with laughter. “And I thought we were weird.”

“Weird,” “Weird,” “Weird!” the others agreed.

Maria chuckled too. “I guess we’ll get started, then.” Not wasting any time, she sat down, crossing her legs.

“Oh, uhhh, Maria?”

When she glanced up at Keith, he almost looked ashamed. “Yes?”

“Is... is it okay if I stay and watch? I don’t want to be a bother, but—”

“Keith, you absolute goose. Of course you can stay. I know Fischer hasn’t mentioned it, but he knows exactly how much you and Trent have been helping out here. You’re both important people in the church, and—oh, don’t give me that look. It’s true whether you like it or not. There are people assigned to watch our captives, and there was no need for the two of you to give them so much care.

“The former queen and princess—now, caring for them alone would have been understandable. But you did more than that, didn’t you?”

The imprisoned cultivators, who’d remained mostly still since learning she’d come to heal them, all shifted about suddenly. “Pastries!” one called. “Sweet drinks!” declared another. “Kindness!” “Kindness!” “Kindness!” they decided as a group, their cores screaming it as much as their mouths.

Maria had seen Keith’s cheeks flush on countless occasions since he’d arrived in Tropica all those months ago. Of the five fishermen that came, he was the easiest to rile up—a fact the others knew well and exploited often.

They’d teased him for myriad reasons, and the mix of emotions coming from his core now wasn’t so different from all those times. But the cause of his embarrassment sure was. Maria was reminded of the old tanner and his son—the father quick to hit and slow to praise, a trait that was part of the reason he left Tropica. The south-side villagers didn’t turn a blind eye to such behavior.

A child raised in such an environment... they would react to praise with a sense of guilt and shame. In the pit of their stomach, they felt unworthy of it. Her core, now filled with healing chi, unravelled more information. Just like a child reared without love would feel undeserving later in life, so too would one brought up without praise. Unfortunately for these children, they were often made to experience both, along with a swath of other injustices.

Given the environment that Keith grew up in, it was no wonder Maria’s words caused discomfort. A slight heat rose to her face. He hadn’t offered this information up. Facilitated by her chi, she’d absorbed his emotions and deduced the rest. But before her cheeks turned pink, she swept her own guilt aside. Keith wasn’t to be pitied for things outside of his control.

These thoughts came and went in the space between heartbeats, and with her eyes still locked on the former royal, she gave him a genuine smile. “Your efforts didn’t go unnoticed, Keith. Thank you.” She rolled her shoulders, facing forward once more. “That is to say, of course you’re welcome to remain. There’s nobody more deserving.”

Though the birdlike cultivators used different words, they echoed her sentiments. Before she caused him too much embarrassment, she closed her eyes and sent her awareness inward.

She pictured a book sliding into an imaginary shelf in her mind. Ascension healed all manner of physical and mental inadequacies, but for whatever reason, the scars of trauma weren’t so easily repaired. It was something for her to consider later. Right now, she had different scars to attend.

Maria’s awareness flowed down, urged onward to their healing ability by Slimes’s open embrace. They joined seamlessly. Together, the kindred spirits reached out for the corrupted cultivators from Theogonia, preparing to cleanse their very souls.