Heretical Fishing

Book 3: Chapter 65: Doubt

From the rear of the procession, Solomon watched as the king knelt down and gathered power. Augustus Reginalrd Gormona had said he had a warning for Fischer and the rest of the traitors. When the king unleashed an uppercut faster than even Solomon’s enhanced eyes could track, he cringed back from the flames, singed by even that small exposure. In an instant, the fireball was rocketing upward, the oppressive heat becoming a tolerable warmth the further it got away. On and on it flew, heading toward the clouds.

“Psst.”

Solomon jumped, the sound having come from right beside him. Francis was there, standing between Solomon and the king. “I’m not mad,” Francis said, watching the fireball.

“Okay...”

“No, really. I’m not mad, and I have no intention of following this false god.” His eyes flicked to Solomon’s. They were sharp and attentive, no longer appearing hazy. “Tell me. Did you truly awaken by creating a potion, Solomon? Are you the Alchemist?”

Solomon licked his lips, peering past Francis to look at the king. “They can hear your treachery...”

“No, they can’t.” Francis lifted the thurible he was holding—a small cage on the end of a chain. Incense burned within, causing wisps of smoke to fill the air. It had an oddly familiar smell. “A creation of my own making. It mutes sound.”

Solomon had noticed the odd cage before, and he wasn’t the only one. When the King had asked about it, Francis said, “I am burning it in anticipatory celebration of your swift victory,” which had made the king roll his eyes and drop the line of questioning. Now that Solomon had been told, he realized that Francis was telling the truth. Anything beyond the wisps of smoke sounded as if it was far away, even to his enhanced hearing.

“... How?” he asked, dumbfounded.

“Wrong question,” Francis said, his back to the king. “What matters is what we’re going to do about this situation. Keep your eyes peeled for a chance to escape. If you’re truly the Alchemist, Solomon, we need you to gather more power and—” The fireball high above exploded, consuming the sky and casting an orange light over everything. Even from the ground, it was like standing next to a roaring bonfire, the flames singing all they touched.

A hot wind washed over them, expelling the incense and returning sound to the world. Francis whirled, one shoulder dipping as he let out a loud, “Ooooh! How pretty!” He slipped toward his ‘birds’, singing, “Are you okay, my dears? Did any of your feathers get burned?”

“No?” “No!” “Feathers?” they called, cackling together as a warm breeze swept over them. Two of the former nobles had used their bodies to shield the merchant Marcus, the only non-cultivator present, from the blast. They hopped toward their fellows now, abandoning Marcus in favor of laughing with the others.

Despite the heat, a shiver ran through Solomon, goosebumps sprouting on his skin. How long had Francis been feigning madness? For a moment, Francis’s deference crept into him, making a sense of self-importance propagate. But then the memory of Fischer’s chi came slicing through, cutting all of Solomon’s delusions off at the stem. Even with centuries to gather chi, would he ever hold a candle to Fischer’s incandescence? If Solomon were to truly become the Alchemist that his cult—his church—spoke of, would he need to eclipse that blinding light?

The king, who had his hands held wide and his face bent skyward, abruptly roared. The sound was unnatural in both frequency and volume. It made every cell in Solomon’s body wish to flee, but was nothing compared to the wave of sickly chi that hit him. He immediately crumpled, his arms only barely holding him up as he retched.

Instinctively, his eyes flicked toward the roaring figure, wanting to keep an eye on the threat that was the King’s existence. Everyone but the cultivators that had channeled the corrupted chi were also on the ground, all being sick.

The King made a disgusted noise as he stared down at his wife and his daughter, both women holding themselves upright just as Solomon did. “Pathetic.” His voice sounded like it came from a different direction, the corrupted chi warping Solomon’s senses. The King continued, “This is your punishment for refusing to channel this wondrous essence. Keel over and repent.”

Seeing such contempt for his own daughter made another layer of terror form atop Solomon’s core. He’d been stationed in the capital, and was one of the few cultivators trusted to deliver the royal family their medicine. Despite the man’s reputation of grandeur and ruthlessness, Princess Tryphena had always softened his fist. Now, as King Augustus Reginald Gormona stared down at that same girl, the daughter whose presence always brought a smile to his face, his visage held disappointment and scorn. With the King’s gaze still locked on his own flesh and blood, he pulled his fist back, gathering power.

Solomon knew in that moment that Augustus Reginald Gormona was beyond redemption.

Small flames sprouted from the king’s fist, licking out with unnatural haste as they grew. The nausea returned, overwhelming Solomon, yet he didn’t look away, expecting the blow to come at any second.

The King spat to the side, causing a patch of now-dead grass to catch flame. “I grow tired of waiting. I need to hit something.” He clenched his fist, making a loud crack as if he’d somehow shattered something within it. His flames rushed out in thin lines, winding through the air and surrounding everyone. In a matter of seconds, the lines formed a bubble around them.

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The king snapped with the fingers of his other hand, and they lurched into motion. Solomon retched again, fragments of dirt and trees flying by in a blur as the King took them forward, obliterating everything outside of the protective bubble he’d created.

***

When the fireball exploded above the sky to the west, it was as though it went off within my skull. White circles swam through my vision, and I was only just barely able to hold on to the cart. A faint pain appeared behind my eyes. I squeezed them shut, willing it to disappear.

“Veer toward the explosion!” Maria yelled. Teddy roared in response, subtly changing trajectory through the trees. More of the sickly chi oozed out from up ahead. Despite my headache, the nausea, and the vast swaths of my power being drained from my core, I could tell that the enemy was racing away from us. All of a sudden, the incessant sounds of trunks cracking and wood splintering disappeared. I forced my eyes open, and in an instant, took in everything around me. There was a path of utter destruction before us, even worse than the one Teddy and the boys had created. Where we had only been crashing through trees, whoever had arrived had been tearing through everything.

Even the grass and a good half-meter of the ground had been burned away, the remaining edges blackened. The path was completely straight, heading east and disappearing over the closest mountain.

Heading directly for Tropica…

Knowing what was at stake, we never stopped moving—up until the very moment I was struck by an invisible wall of force. I flew backwards, tumbling off the fish-filled cart and skidding along the ground. I recognized the chi that had assaulted me, and as I sat up on the decimated ground, I blinked into space, unbelieving.

“Fischer!” Maria called, at my side in a moment. “What was—”

“I need to stay here,” I said, cutting her off.

“What? Why? We can carry you, it’s—”

“No.” I rubbed my temples, fighting off the pounding headache. “I was just hit by a wall of my own chi.”

“You… What?” she demanded, her brow furrowing in confusion.

I was sure of it. The network of interconnected ropes below us—the thing created by the bonds between my friends, Maria, and I—had slammed me with a wall of my own essence. The unseen network had been siphoning my chi from me, only to expend a large portion of it to whack me in the face. It was an absolute waste, yet the mesh and whatever awareness it possessed had decided the act necessary.

Just as I trusted it to draw from my core, I trusted it now. At any point, I could cut off the power flowing from me. Now that I knew it might create a physical wall to block me, I could smash through it if I wanted to. It might have caught me off guard, but it was my chi. I was in control of it if I put my mind to it. Soothing waves washed over me, an echo of my animal pals and Maria reassuring me that everything was going to be okay.

“We don’t have the time,” I said. “The mesh we created, the thing with all that latent potential... It wants me to stay here. I need to stay here. You guys need to leave me. It only needs me to stay. I’ll join you as soon as I can.”

“I am not leaving you!” Maria declared.

I didn’t need to search her eyes to know that she wasn’t lying. Knowing any objection to be a futile endeavor, I nodded. “Okay. Everyone else—please go back and help them. Go defend Tropica, just in case.”

There was the faintest moment of hesitation, in which Deklan, Dom, Teddy, and Borks all stared at me. Reaching the same conclusion simultaneously, they nodded, and then they were off. I opened my mouth to call toward Borks, to tell him that he should go on ahead. His power was a stage above everyone else, and if he traveled alone, he’d get there faster. It wasn’t necessary, however. Borks slipped through a portal, sparing me a glance and a slight wag of his tail before the crack in space closed behind him.

Maria knelt down beside me, and we watched as Teddy, Deklan, and Dom dashed away, the two brothers still dragging the cart. Despite the situation, I couldn’t help but smile at their departure as they disappeared over the mountain, trailing the path of destruction. “They could have left the cart here...”

“And leave their precious catch behind?” Maria replied, amusement in her voice. “You’d sooner convince me to leave you behind.” When she turned to me, her expression was severe. “Are you really okay?”

I nodded, not having to think about it. “This is where I need to be.” I closed my eyes and focused on the chi pouring from me. As soon as I did, I understood. Here, with my core close to the ground and my body centered, my chi flowed out with ease. Buckets of it entered the underground network. The echoes of my friends’ wills were in the periphery, urging me to continue feeding it. If not for their encouragement, I’d have cut my essence off long ago. From beside me, I felt Maria settle into the same cross-legged posture, and with her permission, the mesh drew from her core as well. It was a smaller stream, but still a significant amount for her less-advanced core.

I reached out, and sensing my presence, her fingers interlaced with mine. Hand in hand, we channeled our chi, slowly filling the network of interconnected lines below.

***

Barry clenched his jaw as the disgusting chi raced their way, traveling faster than anything he’d sensed before. A quiet settled over the defensive forces, more than a few struggling to stay upright against the onslaught of nausea that came with each pulse of power.

The sky to the west grew orange, the light having nothing to do with the setting sun. Tones of red joined in, bleeding from just over the closest mountain range and spreading out toward the horizon. It was like the very heavens were aflame.

Doubt spoke up from within Barry, rearing its ugly head as the skies turned maroon. He looked toward Roger, seeking reassurance. The sword-aspect cultivator was conversing with Anna, but when he noticed Barry’s inner thoughts, he glanced over. He gave Barry a thumbs up, which was about as sappy as Roger could get. Barry nodded. He clenched his jaw, his self-doubt dying down.

In its wake, excitement took hold. It had been there all along, an ember waiting to catch flame. Seeing Roger’s confidence had cleared away Barry’s worry, allowing oxygen to fuel the fire. His limbs tingled as his anticipation rose to a fever pitch.

Crimson waves of light came over the closest mountain, drawing all of Barry’s attention. Judging by the strength of the corrupted chi, the enemy wasn’t far off. In mere minutes they would arrive, and the Church of Fischer would finally have a chance to test the efficacy of its—

The top half of the closest mountain exploded. A giant orb of flames tore through it, shattering the rock there as if it were made of glass. The sphere shot down the slope toward them, barreling directly for the front line of defenders.