Caleb PoV
I ran, I ran down the hall.
My breathing was heavy, I couldn’t breathe… I didn’t need to breathe.
I stopped, and Heket was in front of me, “Mortal… Lamb’s….
Scout…”
She dragged me to an altar, and a dark shape stabbed me.
Then, a half lamb, half worm thing spoke from above, “You betrayed me.
Why would you do this?!
I trusted you.”
The entity crawled at me, shouting and speeding up, and I ran.
I kept running, then Heket and Narinder grabbed me, pulling me into the depths where the thing I betrayed was, its mouth ever widening to devour me, so that I’d never return.
It’s face morphed into the Red Fox, which ripped off my legs and screamed in 1000 voices.
“WAKE UP!”
I shot awake with a yelp, making Amdusias next to me jump badly.
He held a damp yellow cloth with a golden patterned that held some of my sweat…
What in the world?
How could I tell that?
Amdusias stared at me, then touched near my eyes.
“Breathe and see less.”
I blinked, and took a deep breath… and he coached me through breathing.
The colors dimmed, and things slowly went back to normal.
“What… what happened to me?”
“You are an ascendant… I didn’t want to believe that… I’ve never seen an evolution that… violent.”
… Asce… ascendant… I..
I… was…
He slapped me, “Don’t go under, or else you won’t adjust.
You’ve undergone a total rewrite of your body’s mechanics.
You need to adjust, try standing.”
My legs felt… blank, and I felt weak, but Amdusias helped me up, and was… surprisingly hard to move.
It felt like I was anchored… he was an ascendant too… wasn’t he…
“I… what does this mean?”
“Well, first off, once you settle, you’ll be far stronger.
Secondly, you now have the potential of transcendence, becoming a god.”
“…
I don’t want to become a god…”
Is it because you’d rather serve Leshy?
“What?” my eyes shot down.
“What?” Amdusias looked at me, confused.
“Are you okay?”
“Did… you say something?”
“I said ‘could this have been done by Leshy?’ I mean, the timing is… bad to say the lea-”
“No, it wasn’t Leshy, it was the Red Fox.”
“The… Red Fox?”
“Oh… you don’t know of him?
Creepy large thing?
Only comes out at night?”
“…
You mean the Predator?”
Amdusias looked at me, a brow raised, “That… I’m honestly more surprised that you survived an encounter with that thing.
And… he gave you ascendance?
That…” that was the first time I’d seen the worm that unsettled, “that is heavily concerning… do you know why?”
“He wanted to watch me, I don’t know why…”
“Maybe your unique biology made him curious… still you encountering that thing is… odd… he’s been known for eating ascendants, people with cults… being found dead with half their bodies missing, if that much, usually he only leaves clothes.
In fact, some think that he may be a god on his own… did you see a crown?”
“No, no crown… anyways, why did you think it could’ve been Leshy?”
“I mean, the timing, Ceres was on crusade after Valefar, and then you come back, mid-ascension, begging for Ceres and screaming about colors.”
“Huh… would he give it out?”
“…
You’re right about that, but there weren’t many other possibilities I could think of.
Still, the Predator… I didn’t see that coming…”
We made it to the temple, where Ceres was giving a sermon, she was… a sight… her fleece was in shambles and she had multiple holes, dotting her body…
“Avatars.
As they reflect a deity directly, they remain near impossible to kill, as long as their deity stays alive.”
“How?”
Amdusias smiled at me, “I’ve gotten that question multiple times today.
I mean, in this era they are rare… there only being 5 deities on this land.”
“What about other lands?”
“I mean, it’s quite probable there are more, but definitely weaker than the Bishops.”
“Why do you say that?”
“If they were stronger, they would’ve taken this land.”
“Why?”
“Because in ancient history it was known as the Lands of the First Ones.
Some think their energy is more concentrated here.”
“Who are they?”
“No one actually knows, some think they were mortals who wore the first crowns, others think that they created the world.
All we really know is that the Three Great Birds are the closest thing we have to them, as their last children.”
“Clauneck, Kudaai, and Chemach?”
“Indeed.”
We watched the sermon, I couldn’t listen, honestly… I was distracted by the holes… nerves twitched and blood vessels re-linked, and the holes filled, with with grey skin forming then wool covering.
“Caleb.”
I leapt out of my own skin, Ceres was right in front of me.
She chuckled, “Are you okay?”
“Yes, I just did not see you coming.
Is there something you need?”
Stab me in the back?
“What?”
She blinked, then repeated “Could you shear my back?
I can’t reach”
“Oh, uh, sure…” Then her request hit me, “Shear you?”
“Yeah, my wool’s been getting long lately, so, could you help?”
“Yeah, I can try, my uncle had a farm, I sheared things there.”
I sit on a pew, and she sits on a stool as I begin clipping, being careful to leave some wool.
“Yeah, speaking of, what is that world like?”
“Well, I mean, everyone in my world is human…”
“Yeah, well, most people here are similar to animals from my world.”
She looks up, “Hm, that’s interesting.”
“Also, how long do you want the wool?”
“Eh, not long, my wool grows back fast, just a little above the skin.”
“Alright then… Hey, Amdusias mentioned Avatars, what’s the difference between you and regular ascendants.”
She kicked her legs and smiled, the sheering probably being nice, if she was like sheep from Earth, she probably was relieved by the weight being removed.
“Ah, yes.
There are 3 types of ascendants.
Avatars, which are direct reflections of deities.
Despite us being our own people, our powers are tied to the power of our deity, with that, we are a lot more… tolerant let’s say.
That’s how I can move despite having the kind of injuries that would normally be fatal.
It definitely gives me an advantage over other ascendants.”
“Wow… that is weird.”
She giggled, “Yeah, I guess, anyways, the second type of ascendant is the Derivative.
Those are ones like Amdusias and Valefar.
Their power is sourced from deities, similar to avatars, but unlike us, they are fully separate, meaning that they don’t benefit from their patron, other than the ascendance, of course.”
“Huh, is that what my type is?”
“I don’t know, your ascendance is weird.
I heard you talking with Amdusias.
The Predator, as we know him, is the third type, Self Defined.
They don’t actually follow consistent rules, some are like the Fisherman, gaining abilities that don’t match their species, or they can be like the Predator, something that seems to rely on night, who never shows his full body.”
“Have you met him?”
“Once, he wanted a fish.”
“Yeah… that makes sense.”
“Indeed, the key thing if you meet him again, do not show any fear, he can enhance it.”
I nodded, that was something good to know.
Then she sighed, “But, yes, I would say you’d likely class as a derivative, but him being an ascendant himself makes that harder… Though, one thing I would test is if you inherit any traits.”
“What?”
She looked at me, “Think for a moment, Amdusias’s power directly reflects Leshy, even if he doesn’t use it, he can manifest eggs and even summon temporary beasts that resemble him.
That is a power he gained from Leshy.
Valefar shares that power, as does Barbatos, with Barbatos even mastering that ability.”
“Wow… that is interesting.”
“Yep, so, maybe you’ll get something like moving like he does.
That would be interesting, I’d definitely try to do things to see.”
I finished shearing her, till there was only a thin sheet of wool.
I blinked, she was… actually… shaped… gonna be honest, I expected her to be a rectangle.
“You know I can hear your thoughts… right?”
“You’re reading?”
“Less reading and more you’re throwing it at me, you need to learn to get a quieter mind.
But what surprises you, I am a mammal, so pretty obviously I’d actually be shapely.” she did a dramatic sweep with her hands as though imitating feminine grace.
“It’s just the game from my world had most people from here just look like rectangles…”
“Eh, fair enough.”
She giggled and I couldn’t help but chuckle.
Then she put on her cloak again, and we walked out.
I began to help around the camp, and as it was a calm day, I spent time playing Knucklebones with some people.
Felen was surprisingly good at it.
Of course, then came a point where Valefar finally woke, he was still injured… hopefully crippled.
He hobbled, then he saw me and Gethel.
The white goat hid behind me as the red worm smiled, “Hello fellow cult members, it’s a pleasure to see you again.”