Heretical Fishing

Chapter 52: Transformation

In a room long since abandoned by the god that created it, something miraculous occurred.

A construct whirred to life.

For centuries, this creation had lain dormant, lacking both the energy and parameters to perform its tasks. Well, except for a single instance in the recent past, but that was, most certainly, an anomaly.

Another construct—a harvester—had facilitated that single occurrence, and its profound ambition had destroyed it, making that task its last.

This time, the construct that even now whirred into life was operating on its own merit.

Someone had met a set of intricate parameters on the world below, and so, it tried to complete the task set by its creator, harnessing what little energy remained.

The world the construct occupied had long been absent of the energy needed for it to operate, but when it reached out for energy, for the life-force needed to complete its task, it found wisps of power.

If a machine could feel surprise, it would have.

The strands of energy were but a faint echo of what the world once held, yet the construct latched onto them, breathing in each bit of power it could tame.

The construct held true to its nature, continuing on with inhuman tenacity.

When the energy was condensed enough, and with a single effort of will, it funneled the growing power into a different segment of its machinery. The life-force shifted when it arrived there, turning into something physical.

The construct gathered one last wisp of power, harnessing and using it to send the physical manifestation spiraling down to the world below.

With its task complete, the machine powered down. It lay dormant, waiting, and silence once more returned to the room.

***

The entire world pulsed a single time, as did my body.

If I hadn't already been on my knees, I would have fallen down; I braced my hands against the ground, holding myself steady.

"Wh... what was that?"

I glanced up at the pond. The pulse had seemed to originate from it, as if it radiated from the log in the middle.

What I saw was even more shocking than the pulse.

The pond had transformed.

It was even larger than before, now taking up more area. It occupied the space where trees had stood, and somehow, the trees had been shifted to the side, roots and all.

The previously muddy water was now crystal clear, allowing me a full view of the underwater landscape.

The roots had grown in size, the rocks had changed to be uniform in shape, and the plants... the plants!

Each of them had grown an unbelievable amount, at least tripling in size.

The foxtail plants drew my attention, their long stalks swaying hypnotically in the current.

Wait... the current?

Not just the foxtail—all the plants were moving, shifting in a current that didn't exist.

I felt the spot above my stomach where the pulse had hit me—the exact position where the same sensation had struck me at Fergus' forge.

"What the frack was all that?" I asked, stealing Barry's lingo.

I smiled to myself, letting out a quick breath.

"This world is too much..."

I leaned forward, looking for any fish.

I hope they didn't die from the pulse—I'm hundreds of times larger than them, and it rocked me.

There was a fish hiding near the log, its dark body standing out against the pale wood; it looked the same, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

The fish are safe. Good.

As I stood and got to my feet, I felt an unexpected weight on my belt.

Kneading my pouch with one hand, I found something heavy.

I squeezed it, and my eyes went wide.

"No way..."

I slipped it off, opened it up, and stared inside.

Twenty-five gold coins stared back at me.

They appeared exactly the same as the ones I'd received upon arrival in the Kallis Realm. One face showed a crown, the other a scythe.

I bit one; it was gold.

I sat back down, hitting the ground with a thud.

My eyes darted back and forth between the gold coin in my hand and the pond.

"What the frack..."

***

Corporal Claws was running through the sand, chasing a giant oyster.

The mollusc was terribly fast, and each time she almost reached it, it would dash away, somehow escaping her grasping paws.

Something hard hit her in the head, and she opened her eyes, a sense of disorientation overwhelming her.

She was face-to-face with a rather angry crab that was omitting soft tap tap tap noises.

With a glance down, Corporal Claws saw her back legs still trying to run after the mollusc, making the soft tapping noises where her pads hit the crab's carapace.

Sergeant Snips bonked her on the head with a pincer again, and Claws darted away, putting distance between herself and the cantankerous crustacean.

She reached a paw into her pocket, withdrew a stone, lifted it high overhead, and...

A distant yell caught her attention.

"Snips! Claws!"

Her head spun toward the sound, cocking to the side in confusion.

Fischer was sprinting toward them, both arms waving high to get their attention.

"Snips! Claws! You've gotta see this!"

Their impending brawl forgotten, they glanced at each other, back toward Fischer, then raced off through the sand toward him.

***

Corporal Claws had experienced a moment of anxiety at Fischer's arrival, but upon realizing how excited he was, her worry morphed into anticipation.

Snips blew bubbles of curiosity as they ran through the forest, and Claws chirped her agreement.

Fischer had a wide smile plastered on his face.

"You'll have to wait and see!"

They passed countless trees as they ran over the grass, the fading sunlight above taking the day's warmth with it.

Claws noticed a clearing ahead, and her eyes locked onto it. They emerged from the trees, and Claws' eyes were drawn down from the gap in the canopy above toward something entirely unexpected.

There was a body of water in the clearing, the type that Fischer called a 'pond'.

She walked toward it, bending down to peer within.

The water was crystal clear; she could see everything beneath the water’s surface.

It called to her, demanded her presence.

Without a second thought, she slipped beneath the surface.

She swam between plants, delighting in the way small fish darted from her. She chased one, not intending to catch it, but exulting in the emulated hunt.

The fish swam under the log in the center, and she let it go, turning her attention to the plants instead.

A patch of one that looked like a series of animal tails swayed hypnotically, and her body stilled as she took it in.

There was something small moving on the leaves, and she moved forward slowly, filled with curiosity at what the tiny thing was.

A crustacean was nestled between the leaves.

It had a long body like a sea snipper, but lacked the giant pincers. Small appendages worked feverishly to remove specs of algae that it then shoved in its mouth. It was entrancing, and she watched the creature work for a long moment.

Something to the right called to her, as before when she was outside the pond, but even more insistent.

She swam toward it, touching both front paws to the log. It offered something to her, something unexplainable and alien, yet it seemed... benevolent.

She climbed atop it, walking its length toward the water's surface.

Emerging from the pond, she walked to the top of the log and nestled between forking branches.

It was as if made for her; it caressed her form, taking all the weight of her body.

Both energy and a deep lethargy hit her, the conflicting sensations not at all unwelcome, as one might expect.

She looked at Fischer and chirped a single time, letting her eyes close.

I’ll rest for a moment, then I'll go have dinner with Master... and the... crab....

***

I watched Corporal Claws gliding beneath the surface of the pond.

I could tell she was enjoying herself; she moved languidly, played with a fish, and inspected the plants with great curiosity.

She swam toward the log, climbed it, and sank into the nest of branches at the top.

Her body almost took on the properties of a liquid as she melted into the branches, like a cat finding the perfect sleeping spot.

Her eyes became lidded, and she let out a single chirp. She closed her eyes, and her head dipped down.

Within seconds, she was snoring, the soft sounds slow and measured.

I looked down at Snips, whose eye hadn't stopped roaming since our arrival.

I sat down beside her, resting a hand atop her head.

"What do you think, Snips?"

She turned to me, blowing bubbles of awe.

I smiled at her.

"Glad I could surprise you back. Something crazy happened when I finished building it..."

She cocked her carapace in an unspoken question, and I told her what had happened.

She looked thoughtful, her mouth moving slowly, as if tasting my story.

When I'd finished, she carefully stepped into my lap, lowering herself down to sit.

I rested my hands atop her head, taking comfort in her affection.

"Do you think I need to worry?"

She shook her head minimally, blowing small, sincere bubbles.

I hadn't even realized my body was holding tension, but my shoulders relaxed at Snips' reassurance, and I breathed out a sigh.

"With this, we have access to easy bait, and I have a feeling the fish are going to be thrilled living here."

She nodded, somehow nestling even closer to my legs.

We sat in silence, both embracing the calm that the pond granted. It wasn't just the view; the body of water seemed to radiate a soothing aura.

The forest grew cooler as the sun started setting over the eastern mountains. The gap in the trees above let us see the sky, and it slowly transformed from light blue to shades of orange and pink.

"Should we go get dinner, Snips?"

She stood, placidly lifting herself from my lap.

With a scuttle toward the pond, she gestured at Corporal Claws, clacked one pincer, and blew questioning bubbles.

I smiled.

"Nah, let's let her rest—she looks way too comfy to bother right now."

Snips appeared a little disappointed that she couldn't wake the otter, but accepted my words, and we both set off for our campfire with a leisurely gait.

***

Corporal Claws, for the second time that day, was having a rather odd dream.

Unlike her chase of the oyster earlier, however, she knew she was dreaming.

She walked through a place of blackness, ever drawn on toward some unknown source of power that called her.

Her passage seemed never ending, yet it wasn't a frustrating endeavor.

The pulsing energy drew her on, ever promising a satisfying conclusion; this journey couldn't be rushed, and was not only beneficial, but absolutely necessary.

An unknowable amount of time later, she caught her first glimpse of it. On the far horizon, a brilliant source of light became visible.

Spurred on by how close she was, she picked up the pace, trotting toward her destination.

As she drew even closer, she realized she hadn't truly seen the source that called to her earlier—she merely saw the light it emitted.

The nearer she got, the larger it grew.

By the time she reached it, the radiant orb was towering above her. A great sphere, bigger than anything she’d ever seen, engulfed her view. The surrounding area was white, the darkness long since banished.

The orb pulsed incessantly, its power immutable, irresistible.

Corporal Claws paused, but only for a moment; she stepped into the orb's perimeter, allowing it to pull her in.

Life-force flooded into her, and her eyes went wide as she was banished from the dream, returned to her throne above the pond.

The power flooding her concentrated, and the transformation began.