CHAPTER SIXTY TWO

  Present Day – [Shaper’s Legacy]

  “Oh? Shaper. But- what are you doing here?”

  The god with the disheveled looking appearance of a twelve year old boy glanced over his shoulder briefly, and grinned. He wasn’t overly large in stature. In fact he was actually rather small. With a caramel complexion, he sported a messy tangle of dark black hair, what looked like a plain pair of khaki shorts, and an oversized “Ultraman!” t-shirt which nearly fell to his knees.

  He was covered in all manner of cuts, scabs, and abrasions. Though it was immediately clear they were the kind any active kid around his apparent age would collect in an afternoon. Badges of honor, more than anything. Evidence of his wild child credentials.

  He had large brown irises with deep bags under his eyes. A feature that’d clearly been omitted from the myriad statues cluttering his trial grounds.

  Of course, that was when Richard’s brain caught up with his big fat mouth, and the possible ramifications of his perpetually loose tongue fully sank in. Immediately, all of the color drained from his face. He practically threw himself onto the ground in a groveling kowtow—forehead pressed into the dark and earthy soil.

  Nearly bashing his head against the black round sphere of shaper’s legacy.

  “T-that is to say-! It’s a pleasure to finally make you’re acquaintance, illustrious archetype! I-I’m so sorry to have made you wait! Lord Shaper, your preeminence, I swear on my mother’s grave, if I had only known-!”

  “Who?” the boy, that was clearly the spitting image of Shaper said, tilting his head to the side and idly scratching at his nose—leaving an even larger dirt smudge behind in the process.

  “I-? You lord? Shaper? The one from all the statues…? I visited your trial grounds,” he finished lamely, as if that last bit should finally jog his memory.

  Turning to face him fully, the boy frowned, crossed his arms, then raised his gaze skyward. For a while he remained that way, quietly humming to himself and rocking side to side. Then, his eyes lit up like a lightbulb had gone off. With a snap of his fingers, he fixed Richard with another brilliant white smile. Richard relaxed, realizing this had all been some big misunderstanding.

  “Ahah!” he announced, plopping a fist into his palm as if lowering a gavel. “Never heard of him.”

  Richard fell flat onto his face. Spitting out clumps of dirt and gasping for air, Richard was in no position to further argue his point. Was unsure whether he even should argue the point. Insist on the identity of the divine archetype, while the archetype in question seemed inherently opposed to the idea? Not the sort of decision you made if you were hoping to live a long and healthy life.

  “Oh, hey!” Shaper—the… random kid?—abruptly snatched something out of the air. “Are these what I think they are?”

  Shaper raised his right hand high, several familiar somethings winking in his palm.

  “Oh man, this brings me back~! Can’t believe they’re still making these things!”

  He shook his head wonderingly. Richard merely blinked. Squinted. Tried to convince himself he wasn’t seeing what he thought he was seeing. One glance at his fingers, now entirely bare of accoutrements, and the reality of the situation slammed home with grim finality

  Hey! That’s not-! You can’t just-!

  Inside, Richard seethed—he didn’t even ask, the little brat!

  While on the outside, well, safe to say he was understandably hesitant to raise his voice at a god.

  Even if he is so totally asking for it right now.

  Ignoring his indignant spluttering wholesale, Shaper quickly slipped all three of Richard’s spatial rings onto his middle finger. Richard gasped. Nearly choked.

  What was he-?! My goddess! The presumption! The audacity!

  To touch another man’s hoard without even asking first-?! This- this simply was not done! Entirely oblivious, or else uncaring of the massive social faux pas he was committing, the little cretin began casually riffling through his things, a jaunty tune on his lips. The longer he did so, however, the less jaunty his tune became, until the melody cut off entirely—a line furrowing his brow.

  “Hmm…” he squinted down at the rings like they’d just insulted his mother. “Trash,” he pronounced, plucking a pill bottle from the ring and tossing it over his shoulder, where it was then lost in the dense brush.

  “Trash,” an extremely potent prestige advancement elixir promptly disappeared into the bushes.

  “Trash,” an epic grade dagger sheathed in crackling green fire summarily discarded.

  “Trash,” an ancient grade Gambler’s Lucky Poker Chip lost well before its time

  Again and again, Shaper made his dire pronouncements. And again and again, more of his precious things were chucked into the flora. Richard frozen in a state of shocked silence. The sheer horror of the moment like a nightmare he just couldn’t seem to wake up from.

  “Oh?” the devil paused, plucking a pair of shimmering ivory vambraces from the center most ring. One of the legendary pulls he’d managed to score from his aerial ticket spending spree. For just a second, Richard dared to hope. Then the little monster’s face fell.

  “Trash.”

  “Now you just hold on one second!”

  Richard half rose to his feet. The tiny terror, in the process of tossing another of his priceless treasures aside, paused. Lifted his dark brown eyes to meet Richard’s gray. A mischievous glint flashing in those large pools. Barely suppressed amusement crinkling at the corners. It was an expression totally at odds with his youthful appearance. The kind you might’ve expected to see on a wily old grandfather. One steeped in untold history, and a comprehension of things barely glimpsed at by most.

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Without a word, he stuffed the vambraces back into the spatial ring. And not long after that, a series of roots and vines sprouted from behind his back. Snaking forth to plop all the items he’d so casually discarded into his lap, whereupon he promptly placed them all back into storage. A knot of tension inside Richard’s chest eased.

  Then that brief glimpse of maturity evaporated.

  “Actually! You know what we should do? We should play Kaiju and Battle alien’s!”

  Feeling a sense of whiplash at this entire interaction thus far, it took Richard a second to fully comprehend what was said.

  “Battle alien’s! I call it!” the boy shot him a triumphant look, clearly pleased at being faster on the draw. “Heh. You can be the kaiju. Pfft!” he said, somehow making him feel as if he’d already lost. And he didn’t even know what they were even meant to be playing yet.

  Richard blinked.

  Still trying to parse the meaning behind his words, when the ground before the kid shuddered and quaked. Abruptly, thousands of twig thin roots burst from the rich, dark soil. Growing upwards at a rapid pace to wind around one another deliberately. Somehow managing to construct a standing skeleton, about two and a half feet tall, within less than a dozen seconds. Then, like he were watching a timelapse video in real time, the grass around its bony feet began to shoot up expeditiously.

  Thousands of emerald feelers reaching out to wrap around the standing skeleton. Forming tendons and musculature to sit atop the body’s framework. Finally, as a finishing touch, several vines slithered over to wrap around its legs, it’s arms, it’s torso. Finalizing the design with a large green helmet. Round, expressive eyes, and striking head fin completing the iconic look.

  “Well?” Richards gaze was torn from the little battle alien, snapping up to an impatiently finger tapping pseudo twelve year old. “Are you going to play or not?”

  “I-?” Richard glanced towards the spatial rings still adorning the kid’s finger. “I’m afraid I don’t have the requisite ability. If you would just kindly return my property, I would be happy to-!”

  “Ability? What ability? What are you talking about? Did you hit your head or something?”

  Richard looked at the god askance.

  “The one you just used?” the kid stared back at him blankly. “Just now?” nothing. “To make that thing right there!” he pointed towards the verdant green construct, little daisies rapidly sprouting from its shoulders even as he spoke.

  Instead of clarifying matters, however, if anything, now the kid seemed more confused.

  “That was all life energy manipulation though…? Are you sure you’re okay? Looked like you hit your head pretty hard earlier…”

  Richard frowned.

  That… huh!? Is he trying to tell me-? No. Manipulating life energy outside of the body? It shouldn’t even be possible. I would know, we tried it. Many, many times. Some of our best and brightest, the greatest experts of energy manipulation humanity ever produced exploring the possibility for years. The end results were unanimous.

  The second the life energy exited the body, the illusion of control completely evaporated.

  We’d thought it an open and shut case that required no further study. And yet, if what Shaper implied was true…?

  If Richard could learn to manipulate life energy outside of his body… well, he honestly wasn’t sure what that would mean. This was completely unexplored territory. But suffice it to say, the secret of this alone might be more than enough to constitute a god’s priceless legacy. Suddenly, Richard wasn’t nearly so peeved with the idea of learning under this apparent kid.

  “Master-”

  Richard was about to debase himself once more, when he heard a disgusted snort. Snapping his head up, he caught the divine archetype rolling his eyes.

  “If you didn’t know how to play, just say so next time. Ugh! Alright well, if you’re not here to play, I’m just going to take a nap then. You can come back tomorrow if you want, but you’d better know the rules, else I’ll probly just kick you back down again.”

  “Wait-?! Kick-? I don’t under-”

  The kid plucked something from one of his spacial rings, and tossed it underhand towards a very confused Richard.

  “Here. You’re probly gonna need it. Just don’t take too many at a time or you’ll burn yourself out, kay?”

  Richard, snatching the item out of the air—the bottle of blood burning pills slapping into his palm—was well and truly lost by this point. A creeping vine lashed out, lightning quick. Scooping up shapers legacy and swiftly retracting, where it then plopped the perfect sphere into Shaper’s waiting hands.

  “See ya later alligator. Oh! And try not to make too much noise? The beasts down there tend not to like that very much.”

  And, before he could even begin to protest, a massive vine exploded from the soil and wrapped itself around his waist. Immediately he tried to resist. Digging his fingers into the wet plant fiber, he began to pull. Ever so slowly, the green plant stuff stretched and tore. He was actually making progress!

  Then suddenly, the weight of a mountain bore down on him. Not a physical weight, per se, but a spiritual one. One which, nevertheless, locked down his body with irresistible force.

  Aren’t I supposed to have titles to resist this sort of thing?!

  Richard couldn’t even lift his head to see the expression on Shaper’s face, though the feel of the god’s disapproving stare boring into him was unmistakable. Then, the spiritual pressure suddenly released, the vine tightened, and Richard was promptly flung several hundred meters into the air.

  The lurch of stomach flipping vertigo, turning to one of outright terror, when he realized he’d been at the peak of a mountain all that time. A grand vista spreading out before him as he soared through the air. An expanse of trees for as far as the eye could see. From horizon to horizon, nothing but hilly terrain blanketed in deep green foliage.

  He was given all of fifteen seconds to admire the beautiful landscape, before he reached the apex of his impromptu flight, and his body began to fall.

  “AAAAAHHHH!”

  +++

  To his great surprise, and unending gratitude, instead of colliding with the emerald green canopy at terminal velocity, he was gently lowered to the ground instead. Branches parting for a series of thick, spearing roots. Roots which shot upward to cradle him in a basket of sorts, before setting him down on the forest floor proper. After which they rapidly withered away, as if sapped of all vitality—leaving barely a single trace behind. The branches that’d made way for his airdrop delivery, sealing closed once more.

  Reforming the unbroken canopy of bright green leaves which let in the occasional dappled ray of sunlight. Heart still racing from the ordeal, Richard warily scrutinized his surroundings. It was damp, for one. Smelled earthy and alive in a way that almost felt prehistoric. More oxygen reaching his lungs than seemed normal. The atmosphere moist and cool, almost eerily so. Or perhaps that lingering sense of unease originated from the dead stillness instead.

  Besides the background chirp of insects, or the occasional creak of a branch, the forest was eerily quiet.

  No birdsong to liven up the atmosphere. No rustle of leaves, distant mating calls, or the snap of even a single twig to suggest that any fauna lived inside this forest at all. A cool breeze caused goosebumps to break out all across his arms. Despite the lack of anything worth noting, he just couldn’t seem to kick the sense of foreboding that’d settled over him.

  Taking a deep, steadying breath—his body thrumming from the inhale, suddenly feeling more awake than he’d already been—Richard quickly assessed his situation. He was without food, without water, without any of his resources-

  He glanced down at the pill bottle still tightly clutched in his hand.

  Without all but a few of his resources. In an unknown forest that gave him a raging case of the heebie jeebz for no apparent reason he could name. Oh! And did he mention he’d lost all of his stuff?!

  No. Not lost… stolen!

  Unceremoniously taken from him.

  The image of that smarmy little twerp fat-fingering his hoard nearly enough to make him snarl. He stopped himself, however. No matter his personal feelings on the matter, it would’ve been utter foolishness not to heed the god’s warning. Add yet another thing to the tally of his misfortunes. He couldn’t see them, he couldn’t hear them, but if what Shaper said was to be believed, there were beasts in these woods. Of a power level he could not verify.

  Silently grinding his gums, Richard stared up towards the peak of where that mountain of his lay.

  He’d made sure to memorize the direction while he hurtled through the air. So that was one good thing at least. He had a direction to strive for, a trio of rings to take back, and, god or no, a measure of revenge to exact on the perpetrator. As if he’d let several kilometers worth of unexplored terrain and a few hypothetical beasts stand in his way. With a square set to his jaw, and a firm grip on his pills, Richard briskly set out into the unknown.