The Fool's Freedom

Emerson stood still like a statue of an angry God and glared at the person kneeling in front of him.

“It is your ignorance that offends me so! The Goddess has bestowed upon me a sacred duty, and I have to fulfill it. You try to lure me away from it, you want me to spend my time in a futile struggle for dominance, instead of service. I do not demand others to follow my path, nor do I spread the faith I have found.

You came to my home and threatened me. As one of Her first followers in this world, an insult to me is an insult to Her. But do not worry, I will help you. To be reborn, to find the higher purpose, to be forgiven for your deeds, you need an untainted vessel, for how could a soul be purified if the vessel is unclean? Do you wish me to cleanse you?”

“Yes, anything, just don’t kill me, please,” the man begged.

Emerson walked closer to the kneeling man and helped him stand up. There was a red bandana tied around his left arm, similar to the one the corpse had.

Probably another gang.

“Kill? Why would I kill you? What I offer is a chance for a new beginning.”

“Thank you!” he gave a forced smile and kept glancing at the corpse of his companion.

“Do not think of it as death. What I offer is rebirth. May your new vessel be devoid of taint.”

“Wha-,”

Emerson’s punch was like lightning and sent the man’s head flying leaving only a headless corpse kept upright by his other hand.

Alan looked on in amazement as Emerson let the body fall backward, then knelt on both knees and started praying.

“What the fucking fuck, dude?” Alan asked.

Walter was pale and seemed to be reconsidering his wish to go out with them.

Ashlyn seemed unamused, “Some gangs want him to use his skill for them. It’s really useful and there is only one other person that has it in this form. I guess that’s what happens when they don’t accept no for an answer. I told you he went crazy.”

“Will he attack us?” Alan felt shivers go down his spine. This was not the Emerson he knew, the one who didn’t even want to go out and hunt for levels. This was a man who had found something to believe in.

Religious nuts were unpredictable and scary. And in a world where Gods were probably very real, even scarier.

“No, he is harmless,” Ashlyn said and walked forward.

Alan and Walter looked at each other and reluctantly followed. They waited until the prayer was done.

“Hey Em,” Ashlyn called, “I’ve brought guests.”

Emerson turned with a smile as if he hadn’t just executed two people, one of whom begged for his life. Not that Alan was one to judge.

The large man’s eyes quickly stopped on Alan and widened in recognition. Then the big man charged and Walter flashed back using his skill. Alan hesitated but stood his ground, dropping his spear to not accidentally stab someone or himself due to nerves.

Emerson enveloped him in a bear hug and lifted him off the ground.

“You are alive! Thank the Goddess!” he cried and held Alan for way too many awkward seconds before dropping him down.

“Nice to see you too, Em,” Alan said. Emerson stood smiling, then frowned as he looked Alan up and down.

“You… are dirty.”

Alan’s blood froze in his veins, and the image of Emerson sending the guy’s head off flying with a single punch flashed before his eyes.

There was a flash of light and a tingling sensation. Alan couldn’t react in time, but he suddenly felt better, cleaner… as if he had just stepped out of a great shower. He looked down, his leather armor, his clothes, and even his boots were in a much better condition than before. He reached with a hand and touched a strand of his hair – it was soft and freshly washed.

“Wow,” it was the only thing he could say.

“I know right,” Ashlyn said, “He has the best skill, hands down.”

Emerson smiled, and then his hand landed on Alan’s shoulder once again, “I thought you were dead, but by the Goddess’ grace, the world is one bit less tainted as you still walk among us. Come, let’s sit and chat.”

Emerson led them to the building he was occupying. There was not much there, but he had enough chairs, a simple table, and even a bed. Alan had seen similar furniture around the Sanctuary and wondered if there was a person with a class that made it. Even if there wasn’t, one was bound to appear. Not everyone wanted to have a combat role.

“I do not have much to offer, apart from some dried meat, fruit, and water,” Emerson said.

“It’s fine, Em. How have you been?” Alan asked.

“Time has been short but the road has been long. Fortunately, I have found my calling.”

“And what is that?”

Emerson smiled, “To serve the greater good, that is all.”

Alan didn’t want to dig deeper into that. The fanatic glint that flashed through Emerson’s eyes anytime he mentioned his goddess was terrifying. Alan had never been one to enjoy religion or the way people used it to validate their personal views and morals. There were certainly positives to believing in a higher power, as it could often bring comfort in dark times. But the negatives far outweighed that in Alan’s mind. Might have been the vocal minority back on Earth that had shaped his views though.

His mother had been a strong representative of that group. The times she had tried to use his lack of faith as the reason he was sick and his body was failing him… Alan cringed at the thought.

Emerson could choose his own path. That was the whole point of this new world, after all.

They spent some time chatting and catching up. Alan gave the much shorter version of what he had been through and let Emerson speak a bit about his change. The large man mostly focused on stories from Earth and how people needed purpose and all that. At least he had gone back to the chatty person Alan remembered. Thankfully, he didn’t try to convert anyone nor did he preach about the glory of his Goddess.

Alan expected at least some information on that font though. Had she contacted Emerson? Was it his class or something he had done? Was it even a real Goddess or just delusions because of everything that was happening?

Eventually, it was time to go if they wanted to have some daylight for hunting.

“Want to join us, Em?” Alan asked. They could use his ability to make everything clean. And the man was much stronger than Alan remembered. Who knew what other abilities he had now? What was his class? Alan didn’t believe in asking such things or talking about them except with his closest people. Information was power.

Maybe that’s why both the demon and the spirit had reacted weirdly when he had asked for their names. That was worth exploring when he had the chance.

Maybe I should think of a cool alias.

“I have work to do and bodies to bury. More will be coming,” Emerson’s gaze grew distant for a few seconds. That was creepy.

“Will you be fine?”

“Oh, yes. With the Goddess's help, no one can hurt me. I will be fine.”

“Alright… Nice seeing you again, Em. Do you mind if we pass by to get some of those magical showers from time to time?” Alan asked.

“You are welcome anytime, friends.”

With that Alan, Ashlyn, and Walter walked out. He threw a glance toward the two fresh corpses and Alan half expected them to be crawling with maggots by now, but there didn’t seem to be even a hint of them. Maybe it was the barrier.

“This side leads to a more dangerous part of the forest. That’s partly why it is so empty; there are a lot of wailers that come out at night, and most people cannot take it as the barrier does not stop sound. I guess Em is not like most people anymore,” Ashlyn explained.

“That whole Goddess thing is creepy,” Walter said.

“Yeah, never really liked the idea. I am not dying to meet a God anytime soon.”

Alan ran his clean hands through his clean hair and smiled, “Whatever. As long as he is happy. Though the way he fucked up those people was a bit much.”

“He sent the guy’s head flying. It was an execution,” Walter spat on the ground in disgust.

Walter’s words rang in Alan’s ears. Hadn’t he done something similar? He felt almost nothing about the fact that he had murdered people in cold blood. While Emerson’s actions were surprising, they were also not something that had shocked him too much, and he had been happy to sit and chat with the man like there were no two dead people just outside.

Ashlyn didn’t seem bothered, but then again when she wanted no one could tell what she was feeling. Had she had to kill someone? How would he even ask her that?

It didn’t feel like the System’s influence. Alan wondered if it had even influenced him in any way or if this was just who he was. There were a lot of things to unpack.

They soon left the last of the ruins behind and passed through the thin sheet of golden light. The forest seemed darker here.

“I haven’t been out in a while. Not looking forward to it,” Walter said.

Ashlyn stopped and turned towards them, “We will find some beasts for you, Walt. I’d recommend kobolds but I’ve cleaned most encampments I found around here. If you find some of the firefly cages-,”

“Moon beetles,” Alan interjected.

“That’s what they are called?”

Alan shrugged, “It’s what the monocle called them.”

“Okay, fine. I’ve hung some larger cages with moon beetles I found in the kobold camps on some of the trees around the Sanctuary, as a safety net of sorts. If you find any fruit just cut some up and give it to them, the longer they live the better.”

Alan nodded. Smart.

“They can burn the wailers, and they kept me alive back at the ruins when we got separated.”

“Yeah. I’ve found groups of them roaming about, but they are rare and concentrated mostly around places with fruit or mushrooms. Small caves, tunnels, and holes are where they hide during the day and they are easy to pick up while sleeping. It’s how the kobolds gather them.”

“Someone’s done their homework. Great job, Ash!” Alan was truly impressed. That was a lot of useful information. She hadn’t wasted her time.

“Shut up,” she grumbled and turned on her heel, leading them toward the tree line.

The sounds of the forest washed over them like a wave of sounds. They carried over as if they were in a tunnel, echoing and confusing the listeners about their direction. A wailer would be even worse here, and Alan was not looking forward to meeting one.

Alan looked up, and while it was still bright and rays of light made their way through the thick branches, he was reminded of something very, very important. “I forgot to ask… what the fuck happened to the moon? There were two.”

“It blew up,” Walter barked.

“To pieces,” Ashlyn added.

“Woah. When did this happen?”

“When the timer on the quest ran out. I looked up and it was silently falling apart, the pieces disappeared in a flash of light, and then there was only one moon.”

“I slept through it, but that’s what I heard happened too,” Walter added.

Ashlyn carefully slipped over a particularly bothersome felled tree, and Alan almost tripped doing the same. While his body was doing much better, he needed some time to get used to the change.

Ashlyn turned and smirked at Alan, before continuing, “It’s when the wailers appeared. There are other things, deeper in the forest, that give me a greater sense of danger. But I have yet to explore that far.”

“Have you met any of the things from the ruins?”

“I saw them a few times, but there were too many wailers around for me to try. Believe me, I want nothing more than to kill one of those things.”

“Yeah. Hope we run into one.”

“You are both crazy,” Walter shook his head. He was no longer panting like had before, apparently doing much better physically, though not as much as Alan.

“Crazy and successful go hand in hand. I think this is a world of taking opportunities and risks. Sure, you might die in the process, but if you sit around, you will surely die when someone more powerful comes. Unless you want to be a servant or a slave,” Alan responded.

“I see your point. But-,”

“Silence,” Ashlyn whispered.

They stopped talking and slowly followed the woman. It was a few minutes later when they saw what she had sensed – a strange monkey with tusks and claws. It was the first time Alan had seen one of those, but it was probably on par with the boars and wolves. A nice, good, starting monster.

“Can you hit it from here?” Alan asked. He wouldn’t get any levels from the monkey, but they were here to help Walter after all.

Before Walter could answer, Ashlyn took off her bow and shot an arrow, then another, with amazing speed. There was loud wailing as the arrows penetrated both knees of the monkey.

“Finish it off,” she said to Walter. The man could only obey and got closer, then sent an [Ember], then another, and another. The monkey screamed even louder as the fires engulfed it, and Alan turned away. This was simply cruel.

There was a grimace on the face of Walter too, but he saw it through to the end.

As soon as there was only a charred corpse remaining, Ashlyn shouldered her bow and ushered them to move.

This was not going to be as fun as Alan had thought.