As Jay tried to connive some sort of a plan that wouldn’t result in his instant death at the hands of the apparent god, the rumbling outside came to an end. The final shake ended with a wet creaking noise like rubber bands squeezing a watermelon to pieces. He really didn’t want to know what that had been, but when the Mushkhushshu returned to its seat in front of the door with its hands and weapon conspicuously dripping dark liquid, there weren’t a lot of things that he could infer that weren’t horrible.

  “It is almost here,” the Mushkhushshu rumbled. “Your spirit.”

  Jay didn’t answer. If this statue-thing wanted to kill him for ignoring it, so be it. It was probably going to kill him anyway.

  It rumbled again, wordlessly this time, and paid him no more mind.

  They sat there in silence for what felt like half an hour. Jay was still trying desperately to think of something he could do to kill the statue-god. The Mushkhushshu turned its head occasionally throughout, as if to take in the city as a whole.

  That inactivity ended when something scraped against the stone in the city, audible even from where they were. It had a similar sound to what Jay had heard of the Agen-Seps squirming through the caves and he felt a brief glint of hope.

  Is that you? he asked his familiar, sitting up.

  Is what me? it replied.

  That’s a no, then. There’s something in the city, scraping and moving. I was hoping it was you.

  No. My apologies. I will be there soon.

  Jay leaned back against the wall and watched as the Mushkhushshu did…something…to its staff that caused an obsidian blade to jut out of one end. It didn’t spare him a glance as it commanded him to stay in the room again. And then it was gone.

  This time, Jay didn’t stay put. He gave the statue a few minutes to get further away, even waited for the slamming to start again, before he poked his head out of the doorway. He crept out into the city, putting the dust cloud that rose from the Mushkhushshu’s fight with whichever snake monster had presumably shown up this time at his back.

  By the time he’d made it back to the rim of entrances to the city-cavern, the shaking had already stopped again. Clearly whatever serpentine thing it was this time hadn’t given a very good showing. Jay made himself move a little faster, since the statue would be finding him missing soon.

  He ducked into the first landmark-looking building he saw, which was oddly rectangular with large spires at all four corners, right as something in the city bellowed. He guessed it was the Mushkhushshu’s reaction to discovering that he had left. Jay took a quick look around the room for a place to hide. Most of the interior was destroyed; he didn’t have many options.

  He stepped over the remains of the rotten benches as quietly as he could, very carefully not thinking about the fact that there were some suspiciously white shards of material scattered among them. There didn’t look to be enough to make a full skeleton – or even a decent approximation of one – but there were a lot of the little slivers. The only intact piece of furniture was a single lectern at the head of the room, like a lecture hall or large meeting room.

  Jay made his way to it, discovering that it was hollow inside, and folded himself to fit in the gap. It was a tight squeeze for his shoulders, uncomfortably so, and he was pretty sure his knees would be poking out of the open side. But he’d have to risk it. The doorway didn’t look like it was big enough for the statue to fit inside, which would hopefully make up the difference.

  That was what the System had felt like it was missing so far. Skills. He hadn’t been able to put his finger on what had felt wrong about the summary sheet so far, but it had been itching at him anyway. He’d had the Abilities section, he’d even renamed it to Spells since it seemed to fit better. Now this rounded out the gap.

  What other surprises were there that hadn’t been unlocked from the beginning?

  At least the message confirmed that the Mushkhushshu hadn’t watched him leave through some magical sense. Hopefully if he remained tucked away here, it wouldn’t be able to track him down. His only concern was how long he might be stuck there.

  Jay sent a quick thought to the Agen-Seps. I’m hiding. Find the building with spires in the corners when you get here.

  He didn’t get anything back except a feeling of acknowledgement. That was odd; he’d been expecting some dire warning along the lines of “the Mushkhushshu will find you anyway” or “hiding won’t make a difference to a god.” Maybe the spirit didn’t want to re-cover that ground?

  Jay’s head thunked against the wood of the podium as he leaned it back. There were carvings on the underside; most were the kind of idle etching that any wooden desk in a school would collect but the biggest – and deepest – one was a crude arrow pointed directly at the wall behind the lectern. On either side of the line that took up most of the arrow’s total size were words that his Omnilinguist trait translated the moment he’d read them: Remember our tracts.

  He had no idea what that meant, so he looked toward the back wall, hoping there’d be something there that would clue him in. He hadn’t given it a good look when he came in. He’d had other problems on his mind. Now, looking at it without the worry of getting unceremoniously squashed, Jay could see that it was covered in words with each letter shaped from small white tiles. They were grimy and nearly indistinguishable from the walls around them.

  But there was just enough visible for him to read it.

  We of Olras Os pay our respects to the Mushkhushshu and its creator.

  Our path is set. We work as we wait to be anointed.

  We wait to attain our glory and be freed.

  In eternal service to Dhaeos.

  Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

  Courtesy of Omnilinguist, he knew the first three lines all rhymed in whatever language it was in. Whatever method it was using to translate things didn’t let that hold over in English. If he was even thinking in English anymore. Would he even notice if he wasn’t?

  The building Jay was in shook and for a second he thought the pulpit was going to collapse around him. It wobbled, creaking in a way that seemed ominous despite how small it was, and if he almost bailed out to go find another hiding spot. The only thing that stopped him was the uncertainty about being able to find another hiding spot.

  If he hadn’t been the next best thing to stuck, he probably would have risked it anyway.

  I am in the cavern, the Agen-Seps said. But on the wrong side. I can see the spires on your building. Soon.

  Jay returned the words by pushing his feelings of appreciation and relief across their bond. The spirit couldn’t get here soon enough for his taste. He wasn’t sure how long he’d been in the city for, but he was starting to get very tired of it. And tired in general, which didn’t bode well for how much time he was losing.

  The building shuddered again. It was stronger this time. Closer, maybe. Jay couldn’t tell for sure but given how things had gone so far, that seemed like something his luck would make happen.

  I am here. The Agen-Seps’s words were louder now that they were closer together again. Jay hadn’t noticed the thinness of the connection before. The god knows I am here. It is occupied, but not for long. Come out.

  Jay pulled himself free from the hollow pulpit with no small amount of splintering wood, though none of the shards made it through the jacket, and made his way out of the church. The soft glow of the spirit’s green scales was oddly comforting once he got closer. Really it was only odd for the fact that he was another sapient being and a new acquaintance, but maybe there was something about the familiar bond that was affecting his feelings.

  “So you said the Mushkhushshu knew you were here?” Jay asked.

  Yes. It saw me as I entered the city. It was my own fault. The feeling of history here overcame me, the Agen-Seps admitted. It is heady. Layered. There are centuries of emotions pressed into every stone.

  That was as good a segue as anything could be. “You said Dhaeos was a god of some sort, right?” It had been one of the things they had talked about in the cave, but there had been a lot of information all at once.

  Yes. The god of spirits, names, and oaths. Hollowharbor’s patron.

  “This place’s patron too, I think.”

  I had thought he had only the one. Where is this information from?

  “The building,” Jay said. “It seems like it was a church, ‘in eternal service to Dhaeos’ according to the mural writing.”

  Interesting. Perhaps that has something to do with the call that brought us – me – here. Though I had not heard it said that the Mushkhushshu had an association with Dhaeos.

  “Maybe it was only for this one case.”

  There is no way to know. Unless you care to ask.

  “Why did you say that like that?”

  “Because your familiar knows something you don’t.”

  Jay flinched away from the voice so violently he almost hit the church’s wall. The Crystalband shifted into a sword, quicker than any of the changes when he had been experimenting.

  “This time,” the Mushkhushshu said, “you will know why I have brought you here. Both of you.”

  I am here to listen, the Agen-Seps said, and Jay wanted to curse at him for just going along with it.

  But the example was set. He couldn’t just turn and run; leaving his familiar behind didn’t seem right. “You never called me. I followed him.”

  The Mushkhushshu shook its stony head. “Did I not? Why then did you ignore the dire warnings your spirit gave you about this plateau? Why then did you emerge from the network of pacing caverns sooner than your familiar did? Why then did you not simply leave what remains of Olras Os by the same method that you entered?”

  Those…were all good points. Had he felt some kind of call? He hadn’t registered it if so. Why hadn’t he just turned around and left? Or kept running past the edge of the city when he’d gotten away? “Shit.”

  “Yes. My reputation among those who remember me may have become exaggerated, but I am divine enough to Suggest.” The statue looked back to the spirit. “I had aimed to have the work done on your bondmate before your arrival. He proved surprisingly slippery. It shall be done soon and we will begin to address your gaps then.”

  The Agen-Seps felt confused through the bond, but nodded all the same. Jay took a slight bit of enjoyment in the fact that he wasn’t the only one confused. That feeling fled as a giant hand of rock rose and wrapped itself around the top of his head.

  It could crush his skull like a grape if it wanted to. A vivid visualization of that very scenario flashed through Jay’s mind and was gone, but the memory of the image was enough to cause him to struggle. He battered at the titanic fingers, trying to find grip to pry them off of him, but his hands kept slipping off.

  “Be still. This will do you good, child.” As if to ensure he was listening to its words, the fingers tightened briefly. “Be [Released].” The final word echoed with the influence of the System, as though it was invoking a skill, and Jay felt something sear into his mind.

  It wasn’t as unpleasant a feeling as he would have thought something like that would be. Less the feeling of something scouring him and more like the mental equivalent of the feeling of a long, hot shower sluicing away grime after a particularly sweaty day.

  Under the cleansing force, his memories clarified, returning the full experiences of his life on Earth to him. His thoughts congealed in a way he couldn’t quite put into words, but that felt like a permanent dose of the fuzziness that came with not sleeping for a long time. He hadn’t noticed it while it was in effect, but now that it was gone it seemed blatant.

  Questions began to arise that he hadn’t even thought about thinking about. Why had Kalras set a time limit on him investigating the new world binders? Why did it seem like everything had been in place for him to immediately begin investigating the Class Curse once he arrived on Halea? Why hadn’t any information on that been in Kalras’s binder?

  Something had been blocking him from thinking these thoughts. Jay could see it now. It had been like an invisible bridle on a horse, guiding his thoughts away from that territory whenever he began to stray near to it.

  Mind control.

  The afterlife and reincarnation had come with a hefty dose of mind control that lingered, that kept him from focusing properly and from asking questions they hadn’t wanted him to think about. They had given him mental blocks to keep him as their puppet. Kalras and whoever was Up Top that was sending him those damn black-and-gold boxes. They had robbed him of his own free will.

  The cascade of pure, searing fury that the realizations sparked in Jay were too much for his newly clean mind. It did the only thing it could to keep him from fracturing completely: it shut him down.

  Jay Carter, righteously indignant, passed out.

  *

  The Agen-Seps poked the still body of his contractor as the god laid him on the ground. The increased feeling in his hands and arms after the bond allowed him to feel just how limp the young man’s body had gone. It was disconcerting to see him that way, since the spirit wasn’t sure he had stopped moving for a single waking moment since they’d met. He was always leaning one way and then back the other or cracking his knuckles, tapping his fingers or waving his hands as if conducting silent music.

  “He lives, if that is your concern,” the Mushkhushshu rumbled, clearly having seen his concern. “But he will sleep for some time.”

  What did you do to him?

  “I cleansed him, releasing him from something he likely was not even aware had its fangs in him. He will be able to explain it to you when he awakes. In his own time. In his own way.

  In the interim, I will do something for you as well.”

  What further changes must I undergo? I have already been remade by concentrated divine energy. What more is there? The Agen-Seps hoped that the god couldn’t hear the tremble in his voice but was aware it was likely as audible as the words themselves.

  “Much. Including choices that you must make. They will affect the process.” The Mushkhushshu reached out with both hands this time, placing them on either side of the serpent’s covered eyes. “When the questions arise, follow the thoughts they create. Unlike your partner, you will have the privilege of experiencing the true purpose of Olras Os.”

  It began the work and the sensations were like nothing the spirit had ever felt before.

  Should I change the upload time? (Not days, just time)