The Fusionist Book 5 -- Chapter 19

Chapter 19

The rest of the day was more of the same, which wasn’t a bad thing at all. They encountered another three Apertures on their journey and closed them all, stopping only twice for Larek to rest and recuperate after keeping his Pattern box together for a few hours. After finishing off the Bladesharks, Larek had accumulated enough Aetheric Force to raise the maximum Level of his Pattern Manipulation enough to bring it to 55, and over the rest of the day he was able to do something similar for his other maxed-out Skills. Pattern Manipulation actually gained another Level based on how he was using his Pattern Cohesion to travel, but that was about it for advancement. Since he wasn’t really using Mana Control, Fusion, or Pattern Formationat the moment, they didn’t increase in Level despite them all being able to go up to 64 now.

Setting up a Secure Hideaway Fusion that night on top of a windswept stone hill where they could see for quite a distance all around them, they enjoyed a nice meal of the food they were provided in Tarvada, before storing away again in his Void Pocket sack what they didn’t use. They’d eaten throughout the day when they got hungry, but it had mostly been while they traveled, so they hadn’t been able to cook anything until that night. Thankfully, Nedira had remembered to bring actual cookware that they could use over the fire, which was camouflaged by their Secure Hideaway Fusion, making their meal quite pleasant.

“Larek?”

The Fusionist was just finishing up the last of the bread from his meal, using it to sop up the juices from his deliciously cooked monster meat steak, when Nedira spoke up next to him. “Hmm?” he mumbled, his mouth still full.

“What if… uh, what are you going to do if your family isn’t there?”

He wasn’t surprised by the question, because he had been thinking the same thing. In fact, it was more likely than not that weren’t there any more based on what was happening in the Kingdom and around the world, but he refused to contemplate the possibility that they were dead.

Larek swallowed his mouthful before he answered. “Go and find them, I suppose.”

“But what if—”

He held up his hand for her to stop. “I will find them, wherever they are. If I can’t, then we’ll figure out what to do afterwards.” That was the limit of what he wanted to discuss about the situation, because anything more would simply upset him.

“I understand,” she said, before leaning her head on his lower shoulder, prompting him to snake his arm around her and pull her close. They sat there for a while, staring at the fire and watching it pop and spark, before Nedira spoke up again. “After we find your family, what are your plans after that?” she asked.

“It guess it depends on their situation,” he said after a few seconds of contemplation. “If they’re doing alright, then I guess I can look into helping the local area and making it safer, similar to what we just did in Tarvada. If they’re in need of help or relocating, then I’ll bring them somewhere safe and ensure they have what they need.”

“And after that?”

Now that was a good question. He’d already thought about learning more of his Martial side, such as figuring out how to better control his Battle Arts and utilize his Stama, which he knew was going to be important if he wanted to continue to improve and be a match for the monsters that the Apertures produced.

He also wanted to find his friends, including Nedira’s brother and his roommate Verne, which he knew the woman sitting next to him desired to do. As for Bartholomew, Vivienne, Kimble, and Penelope, he was interested to know if they were at least doing fine, even if he didn’t necessarily need to reconnect in the same way as before.

But after seeing what had become of the Kingdom, especially witnessing the problems the people were having firsthand in Tarvada, Larek had an urge to do something about it. He might tell himself that he had only helped out the people there because he was waiting for Nedira to recover, which was still accurate, but a small portion of mind couldn’t help but be proud of what he’d accomplished with his Fusions and he felt an innate satisfaction that was a result of his actions.

They might not all like him because of his height, they might even despise him due to his resemblance to the hated Gergasi, but that didn’t erase the fact that he felt good being able to help them not starve and provide for themselves. More than that, giving the Mages and Martials there the opportunity to do what they were trained to do by going out and closing nearby Apertures felt not just good, but right. Larek still hated the fact that he was ripped away from his old life by the SIC and made to attend Crystalview Academy against his will, but he had learned enough by this point that he couldn’t deny that it had been for a good reason.

The Mages and Martials of the SIC were important to the safety of everyone in the Kingdom of Androthe, as they were the ones that bravely put themselves in between the deadly monsters that appeared and the normal people, such as his family. Now, with the Kingdom fractured and everything falling apart, it seemed to him that they were more important than ever; as a result, his actions in Tarvada provided them with the tools and wherewithal to continue protecting the people, which would help to stave off the inevitable advance of the Apertures that were spread throughout the land.

What he did saved thousands of lives in the short term and thousands more in the long-term, but it had only really helped those who lived in the area. It was a start, but he was convinced that there was so much more he could do to help the rest of the Kingdom.

Am I some sort of hero, now? Am I putting the responsibility of everyone’s safety on my shoulders?

Whether it was just his paranoia rearing its ugly head, or simply the stress that had he’d borne over the last few months, but he couldn’t help but suspect that there was something more to these thoughts. It all stemmed from how he had acted back in Tarvada by taking charge and ordering people around, dictating how things needed to be done. It had been for their own good, of course, and he was fairly certain that they wouldn’t have done what was asked of them if he hadn’t done it that way, but that didn’t remove the fact that he had acted more like a Gergasi than ever before.

And that scared him.

Do I want to save everyone so that I can rule over them? Is this originally what the Gergasi felt when they enslaved all of the Kingdom’s people? Was it because they thought they knew better and that the enslavement was for their own good? Am I falling into the same trap?

From all that he’d heard about the Gergasi and seen first-hand, he didn’t think this was the case concerning the Gergasi and their enslavement of the Nobles, but he didn’t actually know their exact motivations. He’d also seen them react to threats to the Kingdom with thoughts to save as many people as possible, though whether that was purely because they didn’t want to lose their subjects or because they actually cared for their well-being, he couldn’t be sure. What he was sure about was that he never wanted to end up like them, and he was worried that following this potential path to help the people of the Kingdom fight against the Apertures might lead him right to that undesired outcome.

He might be a half-breed, but that didn’t mean he had to embrace that side of him. Even if it meant letting the world burn, he wouldn’t become one of them.

Still, he knew that helping the people of the Kingdom was the right thing to do. Not because of a desire for power or sovereignty, but because if he didn’t help however he could, then it was inevitable that the entire world would fall to the Corruption and its monsters. It might not happen in the next year, or even the next decade, but he had no doubt that it would happen – unless something not only slowed down the expansion of Apertures, but reversed what had already been done. The five “Calamities” that were threatening the Kingdom were proof enough that if they let things go on as they were, there would eventually be even more that threatened to take over the entire world.

Larek couldn’t let that happen, not only for his family, but for everyone else – common or Noble alike. He just had to ensure he didn’t lose himself in the process.

“I’m going to help the people in the Kingdom,” he finally answered. “Those Calamities need to be taken care of, at the least, but there’s so much more that I think I can do. I’m just worried that…” he trailed off, at a loss at how to express what he was worried about.

“You’re worried that you’re going to end up like your father and his people, aren’t you?” Nedira asked, quickly understanding what he meant.

With relief that she seemed to comprehend what he was worried about, he nodded.

“You don’t have to worry about that, Larek. I know you, and you will never be like them,” she continued forcefully. “And if you start to acting like them, you better believe that I’ll let you know.”

He smiled at that. “Oh? How are you planning to do that?”

She moved away from his chest and looked up at him with a grin. “That’s a secret. Just know that it’ll involve a lot of punching and slapping, and potentially a few roots in places that you’d rather not have them until you see sense.”

He shivered uncomfortably at the description.  “If that’s not enough of a deterrent, I’m not sure what would be,” he said with a nervous chuckle.

“You better believe it,” she replied with a smirk. Cuddling up against him again, she resumed the conversation in a softer voice. “But seriously, I don’t think you have anything to worry about. It’s very noble – and I’m not talking about being a Noble – of you to want to help, because I think you can do a lot of good. It’s what we all believed when we first found out about your abilities with Fusions, and that hasn’t changed.” She paused for a moment. “Actually, it has changed, but for the better. What you were able to do for those people back in Tarvada was incredible, and I can’t wait to see what you can do for the Kingdom as a whole.”

“Thanks,” he said after a moment, feeling slightly embarrassed from all the praise.

“There’s just one thing you forgot to mention,” she continued. “When you’re out saving the Kingdom and the world, help me find my brother?”

“Of course. Along with Verne and potentially the others, just to see how they are doing.”

She sighed before yawning, the day and her ongoing recovery obviously having exhausted her. “Good,” she got out with a bit of a slurred voice, before her breathing suddenly deepened. He looked down in amusement at her abruptly sleeping form, before laying down with her in the crook of his arm. It took him nearly an hour before he was able to fall asleep himself, thoughts and worries over the future warring with each other in his head.

* * *

The next morning saw more of the same as the day before, as they closed another two Apertures with weaker monsters on their way to the northeast. Larek had accumulated even more Aetheric Force, allowing him to advance the maximum Skill Levels of his strongest Skills again, but it wasn’t as much as he would’ve liked. While there were hundreds of monsters within the two Aperture territories, one was filled with a familiar foe in the form of Wilde Mushdooms, the same as the first Scission he’d seen in the Empire, while the other was populated by Hopping Chinchillas.

What looked like a cross between a mouse and a rabbit, the Hopping Chinchillas would’ve been quite adorable – if it hadn’t been for the fact that they were 4 feet in height and 7 feet in length, as well as being able to hop nearly 30 feet vertically and twice as far horizontally. They also had enormous, sharp front teeth that were nearly as long as his forearm and could cut through a normal person’s leg with a single monstrous bite.

Thankfully, they also weren’t very smart, and he and Nedira were able to use similar tactics as the Bladesharks to whittle down their numbers. He felt slightly bad as their fluffy bodies were torn apart by their Stone Shredder Domes and were impaled by icy spikes sent out by their staves – which seemed to work better than stones for these particular monsters – but he quickly got over it. He did end up collecting a few of the less-mangled bodies and shoving them inside his Void Pocket sack, as their fur was extremely soft and he thought he might be able to trade them for something in the future.

Now that he had a means to carry more than just necessary food supplies, he figured he could start thinking about the remains of the monsters he killed – and whether some of those things might be useful. The meat from the Chinchillas he stuffed into the sack might come in handy if they ever ran out of food, of course, but the fur was more of a luxury item, he supposed. But the more he thought about the monsters he’d killed in the past, the more he realized that more than a few of them had some sort of aspect of them that might be useful as a material for something. He wasn’t exactly familiar enough with that type of crafting to know what might be beneficial to keep, but he resolved to learn.

After the second Aperture, there was a strange absence of any obvious Apertures nearby.  At least, any open Apertures, as when Apertures were closed they were much harder to pinpoint unless you were already in their territory.

The reason for the lack of any open Apertures wasn’t immediately obvious, but as soon as he felt something at the edge of his awareness, all thoughts about them faded into the background. That was because the overwhelming feeling of an extremely large, powerful Aperture flooded into his senses to the north, northwest, and northeast until it was all he could think about. It was so strong that he nearly lost his concentration and let his Pattern box fall apart, but he managed to hold it together after stopping for a few minutes to regain control of his focus.

“What—?” he started to asked, before his voice broke. Clearing his throat, he asked again. “What is that?”

“That’s one of the Calamities, Larek. At least, I assume so, based on where I think we are.”

“That’s one of the Calamities? I… I had no idea.”

While he couldn’t see it yet, only sense it in the distance, he could already tell that it was more powerful than anything he’d ever felt before. As the minutes dragged on, he became more and more accustomed to its strength so that it wasn’t overwhelming his mind, but he still couldn’t fully comprehend how something like that could exist without destroying the entire world already. He had originally thought that the Aperture underneath the Lowenthal desert had been large and powerful, as it encompassed the entire underground complex, but compared to what he felt here it was like comparing a weak toddler to a fully grown adult Martial.

In other words, there really wasn’t any comparison.

“How—?” He couldn’t even finish his question.

“Stupidity and greed, remember?” Nedira answered with a shrug. “Regardless, it’s the least of our worries,” she continued, pointing ahead of them.

Finally focusing on what was around the area, Larek looked to where Nedira was pointing. Approximately a mile away in the distance, he could make out two large groups of people walking apart from each other, separated by approximately 1,000 feet.

And they were headed directly toward Larek and Nedira.

Oh, great. What now?