The moment he finished carving, a green glow appeared.
Zach felt a powerful presence wash over him.
He instinctively took a knee and bowed his head.
He looked up and saw a woman next to the statue.
His eyes widened, and his breath was caught in his lungs.
‘No words can describe her.’ The woman paid him no attention, but rather the statue he meticulously carved of her.
She traced the statue’s face.
She finally turned to him and softly smiled.
Her voice was ethereal and soft.
“You may stand and breathe, my child.
Do not fear me, I am the All of Nature, and you are my ambassador.” Zach swallowed and stood up.
He forced his body to calm down.
His voice was steady when he began speaking.
“It’s my honor to meet you.
I’m Zach, although you probably know everything about me already.” The woman shook his hand.
“On the contrary, I don’t, at least not, what you’ve been through since you came here.
How about you give me a tour and tell me.”
Zach nodded and led her beyond the arch.
The area around and leading towards the door was covered in flowers on the sides.
Silas waved and bowed towards them.
Zach waved back.
“I am sorry if the inside isn’t up to standards.
I had literally sped run the construction before you came here.”
He stopped at the door and turned to her.
“Did you come because of the statue?” Her smile brightened, but she was confused.
“Did X not give you the ambassador’s manual?” Zach shook his head.
She smiled.
“I will have to teach that mischievous fox a lesson.
Forgive him on behalf, it’s part of his nature to pull little tricks like these.” She waved her hand, and a thick book appeared.
Zach grabbed it and almost fell under its weight.
He reacted in time and created a stone pillar to support it.
The pillar started to crack, so he quickly stored it away.
Nature chuckled at his plight.
“The manual tells you all of the rules, privileges, and responsibilities you have.
It also serves as a direct link to me.”
Zach nodded his head.
‘I am going to have to read it later.’ Nature gestured around them and continued to speak.
“This beautiful space you have created counts as a temple for me, and when you carved the statue and wrote Nature’s Sanctuary, I felt it and came to bless it.”
Zach felt like an ephiany had gone off in his head.
“That makes sense.
I will be honest, it wasn’t my intention to create a temple.
I was just trying to create a base so that when I explained to my friends about who and what I am, it would be easier and more believable.”
Nature didn’t take any offense.
“I understand, but since I am here, I will bless this place and answer any questions you have.” Zach smiled and opened the door for her.
‘I am really lucky that the first job I actually got has such a cool boss.’
Across town, Fred was helping a girl sneak out of her house.
“Blair, trust me!
Let go of the rope, I will catch you.
It’s almost time for us to meet with Zach.” Fred whispered/yelled up at Blair.
Blair had never snuck out of the house, let alone fallen from a two-story window.
She looked down and saw Fred’s arms stretched out.
Fred caught her and grunted a little.
He set her down.
“See, I told you I could catch you.
Now, let’s go.” Blair grabbed his shoulder.
“Hey, genius, I have a bum ankle, remember.
Help me get to the car.” Fred slapped his forehead.
“Just get on my back, damsel in distress.” Blair smacked him and climbed on his back.
He put Blair in the car and drove towards the park.
They were silent until Blair spoke.
“This is crazy, right?
I mean, first our school gets attacked, and now we are going to meet Zach, who sank into the ground and disappeared.”
Fred’s grip tightened.
“No shit, I am worried about him, though.
He has something called perfect recall.
He can recall ALL of his experiences in high definition, so since he saw the guy…you know.” Blair said it for him.
“Since he saw the guy’s head become a bottle cap and spray blood everywhere.”
They got quiet again before she spoke again.
“This may sound crazy, but I think Zach was the one who did it.” Fred hit the brakes and moved the car to the side of the road.
“What do you mean by that!?”
Blair raised her hands.
Her voice shook as she looked away, staring at her hands.
“All I know is one second he was clenching his hands and squeezing them so tight that blood started to seep out.
Next, he pulled me into his arms, telling me not to look and that he didn’t want me to see what happened next.”
She looked at Fred with tears in her eyes.
“What else am I supposed to think, Fred!?” Fred was shocked and thought about what she had told him before he took a breath and started driving again.
“I don’t know, but we owe it to him to hear his side of things.
From what you told me, he wrestled with the idea before taking action.
That’s IF he really did kill the guy.”
Fred continued speaking.
“Besides, even if he really did kill the guy, that doesn’t make him a psychopath or some villain.
Cops shoot and kill people, too, but we see them as heroes, so why not view Zach that way, too?” Blair brought her knees to her chest.
‘He does have a point.’
The rest of the drive was quiet.
Zach had just finished giving Nature the tour when Fred texted him saying they were almost there and were making their way to him.
He turned to Nature and bowed.
“Thank you for visiting and blessing this place.
You also answered and cleared up many doubts I had.”
Nature accepted his bow and snapped her fingers.
Zach’s clothes changed.
A green robe with golden accents draped over him; a white undershirt replaced his sweat- and dirt-covered brown one; his pants were brown, and his shoes were green.
He gave off a down-to-earth vibe.
“This is your ambassador uniform.
You can change it if you want.
It’s connected to you, so just think about what changes you want.”
She snapped her fingers one last time, and a green pulse of energy swept over everything.
Zach felt the change instantly and bowed again.
Nature smiled and disappeared.
Zach stood up and went back up to the surface.
On the way there, he toured the base, or rather the temple.
The crude designs were polished, the furniture turned real, and the armory was filled with weapons.
The cafeteria was stocked with food for at least 20 years, the air holes were sealed because the formation could now supply fresh oxygen underground, and the library was filled with books. This story is hosted at g.com.
‘I will need to look through them to see if there’s anything worthwhile in them.’ He made it to the first floor and gasped.
The circular desk was transformed, and there were doors marked with different types of elements.
Behind the desk, the wall was still there, but the water was different.
It smelled pleasant and was the cleanest water he had ever seen.
He looked down the hole and saw it was falling into a pond below.
Inside the pond was a statue of the ALL of Nature standing in the middle.
He slapped his cheeks to focus.
He went to his bag, which he had thrown aside hours ago, and grabbed his water bottle.
He dumped the old water out and filled it with the water that flowed down the wall.
He squeezed the water and moaned.
‘Oh my goodness!
This water is so good!
It is indeed the truth that the living water is the only way to really feel alive.’ Zach felt all the energy he had wasted had been refilled.
Zach finished the whole bottle and then refilled it.
‘I should probably check the notifications now before meeting Fred and Blair.’
[Host has created a temple for the ALL of Nature and created an organization by doing so, received 150,000 Omni Coins]
[Host has done his duty as an ambassador of the ALL of Nature.
Reward is the mark of Nature.
Receive?]
[Host is the leader and head priest of the All of Nature temple/organization.
Reward: Create your custom mark.
Begin creation?]
[Host current balance of Omni Coins is: 185,000]
Zach jumped and yelled.
“Hell yeah!
Papa is rich again!” He punched the air and danced a little.
‘I accept the mark of nature.’ [Pick a location.
*Note: once chosen, it cannot be changed.] Zach thought about it and chose his right shoulder.
Zach felt a burning sensation on his shoulder and gritted his teeth.
He fell on his knees and gripped his arm.
‘Fuck!
It hurts.’ The sensation went away, and Zach stood up.
He took out his phone and snapped a picture of it.
It was a giant tree on a mountain, with animals howling towards it.
The sun and the moon were on the left and right, respectively.
‘Well, might as well do the other one, no sense in putting it off.’
Zach began creating his own mark.
He decided to keep it simple.
He went with the elements circling the sun with a tree in the middle of them all.
[Pick a location.
*Note: once chosen, it cannot be moved.] Zach took a deep breath and chose his left shoulder.
The burning sensation appeared again, but didn’t last as long.
Zach reached for his bottle and drank some water.
“Much better.” He stood up and willed his uniform to change.
The robe transformed into a forest-green leather trench coat with a hood and gold accents.
It didn’t have sleeves.
The white undershirt became a white tunic with a silver belt to keep it in place, and his pants turned into black pants with silver accents.
‘This is way better.
Let’s go meet the first members of the sanctuary.’