Heretical Fishing: A Cozy Guide to Annoying the Cults, Outsmarting the Fish, and Alienating Oneself

As he strode beneath a forest canopy, Deklan held his hand out, feeling the stray drops of rain that bounced off leaves above and fell toward the forest floor. Every few seconds, a tiny droplet splashed against his upturned palm. It made his smile spread even wider, and he lifted his face, enjoying each fragment of rain that hit him.

Rather than fishing, he and his brother had gone for a walk. Well, it had started out as a walk, anyway. As brothers are wont to do, it quickly devolved into a footrace. Given that they were now cultivators, the sand had sped past, as did trees, grass, and eventually mountains, both men sprinting until they were kilometers inland. After a short break to catch their breath, they’d started walking in silence, both soaking in their surroundings.

Deklan peered toward Dom, shaking his head in amusement as he realized his brother was also walking through the rain with an upturned face, smiling at the sensations of his body.

Somehow able to sense his attention, Dom cracked an eye and raised a brow at him. “Something wrong?”

“Not at all. Can’t a man enjoy his younger brother’s joy?”

Dom’s contentment immediately died on his face. “I am not your little brother.”

“How could you say such a thing? I was born before you.”

“Five minutes before me. That makes me your twin, Deklan, not your little brother. Wait, have you been telling everyone in New Tropica that I’m your younger sibling?”

“You haven’t been?” Deklan raised a hand to his chest. “You wound me, little brother.”

Dom held his composure for another few seconds before breaking into laughter. “You are so annoying.”

“That’s what big brothers are for.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Dom rolled his eyes, the corners of his lips tugging up.

They slipped back into silence as they strode on. Despite the grounding presence of the surrounding forest and falling rain, Deklan’s thoughts strayed toward the day’s events.

There was some sort of mission going on back in New Tropica.

Given how little the leadership had informed him of, he assumed it was important. All Barry had told them was that they were welcome to take part. Deklan had mentioned they’d planned to go for a walk, fully expecting Barry to tell him he couldn’t. Instead, Barry had just smiled and told them to have a good time.

“You know,” Dom said, his tone musing, “I know they keep telling us we can do what we want, but I’m repeatedly surprised when they actually let us...”

Deklan laughed. “I was just thinking the same thing. What is it that Barry keeps calling it? Aunotomy?”

Dom snorted in response. “Autonomy, you goose. An older brother would have known that...”

“Or maybe this older brother was only pretending not to know. That way, his baby, much-younger brother could correct him and gain a sense of self confidence.”

“Whatever helps you sleep at night.”

They shared a smile and Deklan shook his head. “Jokes aside, I’m constantly surprised by it too. Don’t get me wrong—I knew Fischer was a good person despite his power, but I still expected some of it to be a lie, you know? Like they were selling us on taking part, then we’d have to spend half the time getting ordered around.”

“They truly gave us freedom, didn’t they?”

Deklan took a deep breath and let it out slowly, grinning at the world. “It would seem so.”

They stopped walking as they strode into a clearing, both holding their arms wide. The raindrops hitting him made a pleasant shiver run down Deklan’s spine, but before he could completely fall into the moment, something slammed into him.

Both their eyes flew open as a wave of chi shot over the landscape, its resonance strong enough to make Deklan’s vision pulse.

He stumbled to the side, barely staying upright. “What was—”

Another pulse came, this time from much closer. The tsunami of essence poured over the land, knocking them both to the forest floor. As the power washed over Deklan, it felt vaguely malignant, making his skin crawl. The brothers got to their feet and stared toward where the pulse had come from. They exchanged a wide-eyed glance and nodded.

They had to investigate.

It would take too long to return to New Tropica and inform someone, and if this was a threat, it was on them to stop it. Not needing to speak the words, they shot off, once more sprinting as they trailed invisible aftershocks of chi radiating from the west. They followed a creek that ran between two peaks, and as they neared the source, Deklan clenched his jaw, preparing for a fight if necessary.

But then he caught sight of the man. Only his upper body protruded from the creek, his lower half limp in the running water.

“Nathan!” Dom yelled, dashing forward.

“You know him?”

“You don’t?” Dom shook his head. “He’s one of the cultivators from New Tropica. Eris’s golden apple—what the frack is he doing here?”

“Dom... I don’t think we should get too close.”

“What? Why? He clearly needs our help.”

“Did you not feel his chi? It didn’t feel right.”

“I felt it, but he might have just had a breakthrough or something. Fischer feels much the same to me, and you think he’s a good guy, don’t you?”

“I guess...”

His brother had a point, but Deklan couldn’t shake the feeling of wrongness. He approached warily, tasting the chi, for lack of a better word. Dom had pulled Nathan from the stream, and with each soft slap his brother gave to the unconscious man, a small wave of essence flowed out from him. It was... dark, reminding Deklan of an alleyway on a moonless night.

The longer he tasted the chi, the more sure he became. “Dom. Get away from him.”

The tone of Deklan’s voice arrested his brother’s attention. “Seriously? What’s gotten into—”

An oppressive bubble flew from Nathan as the man inhaled a ragged breath, his ability engulfing them. It pressed down on Deklan, driving him to his knees. It was as though the hazy orb surrounding them entered his very abdomen, smothering his core. The more Deklan reached for his power, the stronger Nathan’s will became and the harder it was to pour chi into his limbs.

“Nathan...” Dom wheezed, bracing his hands on the ground to stay upright. “We’re friendly...”

Their attacker’s eyes held only hatred and fear, darting around as he oriented himself. He blinked, realization seeming to come to his face. The next moment, he was laughing, shaking his head and rubbing the bridge of his nose, but despite his apparent mirth, the pressure never receded.

“Nathan. Please...” Dom tried again.

Nathan grinned. “Wrong place, wrong time, traitors.” He went to take a step forward, but slipped, his legs giving out. Letting out a grunt, he raised his eyes, nostrils flaring as he glared at Deklan and Dom.

Somehow, his ability grew stronger, forcing them down with even more pressure. Deklan’s fledgling capabilities stood no chance against whatever Nathan had become. Despite this, he never ceased reaching, attempting to open the floodgates to his chi. The more he did, the harder it forced him to the ground. It slammed down on his back, pushing his chest to the grass. He forced his head to the right, looking for his brother. When he found him, Deklan rallied his resolve.

Though Dom was also prone, his eyes were defiant. He hadn’t yet given up.

Deklan wouldn’t either.

Some would call Deklan a fool. Many fellow guards had done so back in Gormona. Despite appearances, Deklan was always listening. He’d heard all about the breakthroughs people had been having. Gods above, he’d felt the one that Roger experienced a week ago. They appeared to be reliant on finding one’s purpose and admitting it to themselves.

Rather than look for power, Deklan searched for truth.

Thankfully, it was only his physical power that was suppressed, so his mind remained sharp. It whirled through myriad possibilities, and it only took him a moment to find what he believed to be his purpose. He stared into his brother’s eyes, conveying his feelings.

To finally find a place he and his brother belonged, then to have it taken away so abruptly... it was unacceptable.

As he and Dom looked into each other, their truth resonated. He could sense his brother’s thoughts—they were exactly the same as his. Both men wanted to protect each other and the life they’d found. Chi rushed in to them, but this time, it wasn’t Nathan’s.

It was the world’s.

Invisible ropes of it penetrated the hazy bubble surrounding them, forcing their way through the muck and into the brothers’ bodies. Their cores remained sealed, yet power coursed through them all the same. They got to their knees, then to their feet, hunching against the oppressive darkness that sought their destruction.

As they stood, bracing their shoulders against the assault, Nathan’s eyes grew furious. The pressure coming from the man redoubled, the air growing so dark that it obscured the outside world. The creek’s water receded, getting forced from Nathan’s sphere of influence and leaving the bed dry.

Unwilling to be subdued, both brothers remained standing, calling forth the world’s chi as their breakthrough approached. Deklan’s body felt full to bursting, yet the chi continued to swell and build, collecting around his core. He felt the same thing happening within Dom, and they radiated reassurance, letting the other know they weren’t alone.

The chi condensed, grew to a fever pitch, and then broke.

All at once, it flowed away, flung from them and returned to the outside world. Deklan and Dom collapsed, both letting out pained cries as their bodies slammed into the ground.

Nathan sighed through his teeth, stumbling and almost falling once more. Some of his power subsided, but what remained was enough to keep them held firmly against the ground. He let out a soft laugh, more relieved than victorious.

“Unfortunately for you heretics, I won’t repeat Barry’s mistake.” He shuffled forward, making his way toward Dom, who was only a meter away. “There will be no monologue.”

Deklan tried to rally his power, attempting to beckon the world’s essence back to him, but it was fruitless. His core, and everything around it, felt raw. Even if Nathan’s ability wasn’t pressing down on him, he wasn’t sure he could stand, let alone gather the strength to fight back.

Nathan, still wobbling, stood over Dom. He raised his elbow high, gathering power there and preparing to drop it down into Dom’s body. If the blow were to land, his brother would be no more; with their chi locked away, their bodies were those of regular humans.

Despite this, Deklan never gave up hope.

He reached out, making his core feel like it caught flame. His abdomen burned, yet he still grasped outward with metaphorical fingers, attempting to find something—anything—that would give him the strength to save his brother.

Uncaring of his wishes, Nathan’s elbow gathered the last whisper of power necessary. The muscles surrounding his shoulder bunched, and the elbow raced downward, aimed for Dom’s back. Deklan tried to cry out, and a sound like a blade shearing through metal tore through the air. The elbow continued its deadly trajectory, so fast it would go unnoticed by anyone but a cultivator. Deklan had the barest of moments to be confused by the noise seeming to come from his own throat before something catapulted into view.

A blur of brown, orange, and blue rocketed forward, the metal-on-metal sound so loud that it hurt his eardrums.

Corporal Claws, streaming lightning and grinning maliciously, gave Deklan a thumbs up in passing. Sergeant Snips was right behind her, blowing greeting bubbles as rivulets of ocean-blue chi propelled her forward.

The next moment, they both slammed into Nathan’s chest. The tangle of man and creature flew through a tree, obliterating its trunk before they tumbled into the forest and out of sight. Borks was there a moment later, giving the brothers a drive-by lick on the cheek before leaping over the shattered stump to join Claws and Snips in their assault on the poor fellow.

“Frack me,” Deklan said, rolling onto his back. “That was close.”

“Uh-huh,” Dom agreed, taking heaving breaths.