Lake of Souls Chapter 19

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Filon and I both looked at Curant who was holding up two of the odd kelp balls that would help us breathe underwater. I looked at Filon, "You have to eat it so you can breathe down there. I don't know how it tastes since the last time I had it I was still a vessel so no real taste to speak of."

Filon took the kelp ball and looked at me before shoving the whole thing in his mouth in one bite. I could see his whole face twist up in disgust as he chewed through it as fast as he could before swallowing. I took my own kelp ball and closed my eyes, tossing it into my mouth. On my first bite I almost gagged wondering how I had so easily eaten this before. I swallowed it down and looked at Filon, "Alright let's go."

We both jumped into the water with Curant who immediately dived under and began swimming. We followed him as quickly as we could but he was rapidly pulling away from us. I also noticed we were staying close to the surface of the water unlike last time. I called out, "Curant, slow down and wait for us. Also why are we staying so close to the surface and what made that horrifying noise?"

Curant stopped to let us catch up to him. As soon as we did he started swimming again but slower this time. He looked over at me, "One of the beasts in the deep is what made that noise. The surface is about the only safe place for right now. Their tentacles can't reach up this far. Not yet at least but the more they awaken the more they will be able to climb from their homes in the depths."

I nodded, "Why didn't you try to send any word out? I would have tried to come sooner and help you. I've been traveling trying to help fix all the problems I've caused by my killing the Kings."

Curant grinned, "Trust me I've heard about you and your partner here and everything you two have been up to. Unfortunately trying to get anyone outside of the kingdom as of late has been close to impossible. Something has grown over all of our channels that lead to the other rivers on the outside. The water can get through but we can't. I think it has something to do with the beasts of the deep."

Filon now spoke, "What are these beasts of the deep and what had happened to make them so angry? Why are they trapping all of you here? Aren't you all part of the water kingdom together?"

Curant chuckled, "We are all part of the water kingdom, yes. However these creatures don't even really acknowledge that the rest of us exist. They are something far greater and older than us. Before King Xea killed him the Water King had been providing them with food by just letting things that died float to the bottom. When the Water King went mad this disrupted that balance some but not enough to truly wake them. Just make them restless more than anything. However now that he is dead and our whole ecosystem is in chaos they have not been fed in quite some time. At least not the way they are used to and they are upset about it. Also I think at least that something about the job of the Water King himself was to keep them sleeping. Without him they are now truly awake and as I know I've already said but I feel it needs repeating, they are angry."

Another blood curdling shriek pierced through the water. This one was much louder and shrill than the first one we had heard. All three of us covered our ears in pain waiting for it to pass. When it finally did Filon looked at me, "I assume you are on the same page but we need to take care of this immediately. I don't know how much of that I can take."

I nodded and looked at Curant, "Please tell me you know of a path that will get me close without being seen like last time. If not I'll just have to go down and see what I can do." I can feel the horrified look coming from Filon.

Suddenly I felt him embrace me from behind, "You're a damn fool you know that. It doesn't even occur to you to look out for your own safety. For every problem there is always a solution in your mind no matter what even if it means you might die. I can't help you with this Xea and it kills me to say that. The bigger these problems become it makes me feel more and more like a burden. What am I going to do when the big problems come? Just hide behind you and cheer from the side. Hope that I'm not used as a way to make you make stupid decisions. I don't know if I can keep going with you. I don't want to be the reason something happens to you. I wouldn't be able to live with myself."

I turned around and hugged him tight to me. Enough so that I can feel the air leave his body for a second before I loosen my grip. I now cup his face, still amazed at how massive my hands are in comparison to his face, "You are not a burden. Do not ever think that of yourself. Regardless of the odds the only reason that I would ever send you away from me is if I truly feared for your safety." I now kiss his forehead, "Believe it or not I think I might have a plan for this one though I'm going to need to do some meditation first."

Curant tapped me on the shoulder, "King Xea I know you're having a moment here but if you think you have a plan we need to hurry. I'm not sure how much longer we have. You arrived here literally right in time to maybe fix this."

I turned back around, "Alright. Is there anywhere I can go to sit down and meditate? I need to talk to some people before I do anything."

Curant closed his eyes thinking. Suddenly he snapped his fingers, opening his eyes, "Yes! Come with me quickly. Whatever you need to do, it needs to happen as quickly as possible." With that he started swimming away from us trying his hardest to not go too fast but it was obvious he was nervous being out in the open like this. Filon and I followed as fast as we could behind him, always trailing by about ten feet. I could hear Filon's breathing getting labored and even my own stamina was starting to get taxed after only a few moments.

I called out to Curant, "Please tell me we are close. Both of us are starting to run out of steam."

Curant looked back still not slowing down, "Only a little further and then we should be there."

I could see Filon starting to fall behind me little by little. I looked back at him and offered my hand, "Come on we are almost there. Take my hand and just keep pushing." I could see the pain in Filon's face from me having to help him but I could also see him replaying our conversation from a few moments ago. He reached out and grabbed my hand holding it tight. We fall a little further behind but we keep pushing forward.

Suddenly Curant dives down and then dips into a set of caves. We follow him in and soon we are in a small hole in the caves. He looked around and nodded at me, "Best I can do for you King Xea. So start meditating."

I immediately found a spot to sit myself and closed my eyes. I let my consciousness flow out into the water kingdom but pushed it downward more than anything else. It wasn't long before I could feel the great beasts below us. Their souls and minds were almost foreign to me compared to everything else my mind has touched. They were creatures whose sole intent was destruction and their minds were occupied by a never ending hunger. In my mind I recoiled in surprise as I became aware that I was with them. Soon almost all of them were aware of me and focused on me.

I could feel their souls probing at me trying to discover what I was. I decided to try something I hadn't done before and actually give my consciousness a form. I simply envisioned myself and pushed all of my conciseness into that mental image. Soon I had a fuzzy version of me that could at least speak, "What are you? You aren't natural to this world that much I can tell. Are you another set of guardians left by the gods to protect something?"

All of the creatures backed away from me as if they were surprised that I could speak. Still all of their eyes were on me and I was very aware of how small I must seem to them. I had never felt this way before. So small and insignificant in front of something far older and more dangerous than myself. Soon I realized why all the others had backed off. It hadn't been because of me but because of something that all of them were afraid of. A massive many eyed beast pushed its way in front of me. I could see all the other ones falling away from us in its wake. I tried to take in some other features about it besides all of the eyes but I couldn't. Something about the creature both confused and terrified my mind. All I wanted to do was run away from this thing and I realized that for the first time in my life I was truly afraid of something.

I took a deep breath trying to summon all the courage I had in me. I thought about everything I was trying to accomplish and of the world I was trying to create. Before I could pull myself together the beast spoke. Its voice reverberated across the full extent of my mind. All the way back in my own body I could feel myself shudder at it speaking. "You spoke of the gods? Do you know the gods?"

I forced myself to respond back to the beast, "I know of the gods. I remember them from the beginning if that is what you mean. However I do not know them personally."

The beast's many eyes now all focused on me, "The gods are corrupt vile things. They come and destroy our home. They forced us to feel pain and hunger. All to let lesser creatures live in our home. Bring us gods and we leave tiny creatures alone."

I took a deep breath and grinned, "I've got something to tell you then. The gods are coming back. I did something to upset them and now they're coming to kill me. I don't know when exactly they will come but I do know that it will be quite soon. That's why I've been trying to help prepare the world for their arrival. Because I know how cruel the gods can be. So when they come they are all yours. You may do whatever you want to them. So do we have an understanding?"

I could feel the beast somehow searching through my mind. Shuffling through it in the same way that one looks through papers to find a piece of information they've forgotten. I continue to take deep breaths trying to ignore the pain slowly building in my skull. I kept getting flashes of the beast's memories as well. A dark grey world filled with large lumbering creatures much like the one I was talking to. The stories that were told by the gods weren't as true as I thought they were. While it was true that this world had been devoid of life the way that we understood it today it had not been lifeless. These creatures weren't as simple as we had all been told. They had their own unique hierarchy amongst one another that dictated their actions.

I saw the arrival of the gods. Massive beings that filled the sky and rained down fire and ice on to a planet that had never known either. The creatures hadn't known what to do or how to handle these new elements in their world. They died in droves often not even leaving corpses behind. They scattered, running and trying to hide from the gods but no matter what they were always found. Systematically they were wiped from the face of the planet. Near the end some of them tried to beg the gods to stop only to be erased on the spot. The last thing I saw was all of the ones still alive hiding within the cracks and crevices of the earth waiting for the gods to leave. Once they had they found themselves in the bottom of the water kingdom where they stayed and waited for their chance at revenge.

The gods never once seemed as if any of this bothered them. More than anything they seemed to be bored in what they were doing. Like this was nothing more than cleaning for them. Something you had to do but not something you enjoyed or hated. It simply was.

The pain in my skull started to reach a point where I thought something was going to actually crack open. Suddenly the pressure began to back off and I realized I was crying from the pain. The beast spoke to me now, "You do not lie to us as so many before have. We accept your offering and when they return we will slaughter the gods. Take revenge for what they did to all of us. We will go back to where we were and wait. This kingdom will be safe for now." With that the beast slowly lowered itself back down into the depths. The others soon followed him and I began to flow back to my body.

I opened my eyes, taking in a deep breath and immediately clutching my head. The pain was radiating all across my head and it took all of my resolve to not scream in agony. I could faintly feel Filon next to me, his arms wrapped around me. Soon I could hear words coming from him, "Xea talk to me. Tell me you're going to be okay."

I weakly whispered, "I'm sure I'll be fine with a little time. I just need to rest for a little bit, that's all. Tell Curant I solved the problem at least for now." I passed out then from both the pain and exhaustion.

My dreams were filled with vivid scenes of war across the landscape. The water's boiling away and the very ground crumbling underneath me. I fell for what seemed like an eternity before landing into pure darkness. My body aches and cries out in pain but I force myself up and reach for my sword only to find it gone. I heard the voice of the god echoing through the darkness, "What's wrong King? Was something taken from you? That's a pity to hear it really is. I guess you won't be able to keep your end of the bargain anymore."

Suddenly Filon was in front of me. His eyes wide and fearful darting around as if he is looking for someone. I started yelling his name repeatedly but he couldn't hear me. I can see his fear growing desperation setting in his eyes now as well. Suddenly I can hear him, "Xea! I'm so sorry Xea. Don't come for me. I'm just a trap." With those words uttered I see a flash of silver and suddenly Filon is bleeding out of his mouth. He keeps trying to speak but now everything is garbled coming out. I started running towards him but no matter how fast I moved I never got any closer.

I hear the god again, "We had a deal Xea. Kill my brothers in exchange for your partner. You've broken your end so now it's time to break mine." I stared in horror as I saw that flash of silver again and now Filon is on his knees clutching at his throat. Crimson red flowed from him until his eyes turned glassy and then he collapsed into the puddle of his blood. I dropped to the ground screaming and then I woke up.

My eyes snapped open in the middle of a scream, "Filon no!" I looked around wildly while also clutching at my back feeling my sword still there. My eyes settle on Filon who is a little bit away from me. I can tell he is trying to wait for me to calm down. I open my arms, "Come here now." He swims up to me and I clutch him to me tight forcing myself to calm down slightly so I don't hurt him.

He looks up at me, "Are you okay? I'm assuming you had a nightmare but you seemed legitimately terrified when you woke up. What did you dream of?"

I looked him in the eyes and debated on whether or not to tell him my dream. I finally settled on a half telling, "I think it was a dream partially born of just how much pain I was in and having had something far older than I go rummaging through my head. Pain will make you dream crazy terrible things. You're safe and I'm feeling much better now so that's all that matters."

I see Filon raise his eyebrow at me about me saying he was safe but he lets it go. I now hear Curant, "So what exactly did you do? The beasts have gone back down to the deepest parts of the ocean and the passageways aren't blocked anymore. Once again our ecosystem is slowly trying to correct itself so thank you. However, I really need to know what happened down there. Because up here all we saw was you meditating and then looking like you were in pain. When you came back everything suddenly felt different for no known reason and then you passed out. Only to wake up screaming and talking about things older than you rummaging through your head."

I laughed, "Get me something to eat and drink and I'll tell you everything. I need those first if I'm going to tell you anything."

Curant grinned at me, "Well I guess it's a good thing I had someone bring us some rations as soon as everything started feeling safer. Eat all you two want and then we can go somewhere to get some more if you want." We proceeded to tear through the food and drink provided. Filon seemed to be starving almost as much as me. Curant piped in, "He's been watching you sleep non-stop. You were out for a day and a half. No food or drink for him either. He kept telling me that he couldn't until you woke up. He didn't even nod off once. His devotion was admittedly quite impressive."

Filon blushed as he continued shoveling food into his mouth. He muttered between bites, "You can shut up now Curant. He doesn't need to know all of that. He's just going to worry like he always does instead of thinking even a little bit about how he almost died."

I grinned and ran a hand through Filon's hair, "You're too cute." My voice drops slightly taking a sweeter but more serious tone, "Thank you though. Knowing even in my subconscious that you were here watching over me made me feel better I'm sure."

Filon only blushed more, pushing the rest of his food into his mouth so he couldn't respond. Once we were done I gave a quick version of my conversation with the beast. How it and it's kind are the last known survivors of the original inhabitants of the planet. How the gods genocided their entire race seemingly out of boredom. The deal that I struck to make them go back to the depths. By the end both Curant and Filon were staring at me in horror. Finally Filon spoke, "So you just told them they had free reign to try and kill the gods? Why would you do that Xea? The gods are the ones who gave us this home and made us."

I nodded, "You're right they did. However they took this world from something that lived here first and was actually far more intelligent than the stories we were all told. They had lives here just like we do now. Also if they couldn't stand against the gods the first time as a whole race what chance would they have now?"

Filon opened his mouth to argue but realized I had a valid point and decided to close his mouth. Curant did the same. I smiled at both of them, "It wasn't a great deal I'll admit. However it got us what we needed for now and it gives these creatures a chance to die with their honor intact. They'll at least have a chance to avenge their people. Personally I think they deserve it."

After we finished talking I asked Curant for more food and to please get us the fastest transport to the life kingdom. Within a couple of hours we had more food and a large creature called a whale to transport us. It took us into its mouth and began swimming. Filon curled up into my lap, his eyes already half closed, "Your turn to watch me sleep." With that he immediately went to sleep in my arms. I spent the rest of our journey to the life kingdom simply watching him as he slept.

So wow there was a lot of reveal for later plot points in this chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it. If you did then please heart, subscribe, and feel free to leave a tip. You can now also pledge 3 dollars a month to me and help support me as a creator. If you do, you get the added benefit of having my stories at the top of your subscription feed every time I post something new. Till next time. You can find a link for the next chapter as well as the original short story below.

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