Book 3: Chapter 48: The World Itself

Book 3: Chapter 48: The World Itself

“Okay, Snips,” I said. “When you’re ready.”

No response came, so I tore my eyes from the barbecue before me, casting a glance her way. “... Snips? You right?”

She shook her head, returning to the present and blowing apologetic bubbles.

“No need to apologize,” Maria said from my side. “No harm, no foul.”

I nodded my agreement as Snips scuttled toward me and leaped into my arms. I held her out between the herbs, spices and the fish, letting her season as she willed. I couldn’t help but raise an appreciative eyebrow at her selection; she had clearly been paying attention to me when I was cooking. The flavors selected would pair well with what was arguably the most important ingredient.

As if reading my mind, Claws leaped into Maria’s arm and gestured down at the honeycomb, unleashing a questioning chirp.

“Not yet,” I said.

She crossed her arms and pouted, making Maria laugh and rub her head reassuringly.

“Have some patience, Claws,” she said, stroking her softly. “If we rush the process, it might not work.”

Letting out an aggrieved sigh, Claws finally nodded, accepting our words.

Completely unbothered, Snips had continued seasoning the fish, going back to add extra sprinkles here and there. I watched without adding my advice, content for this to be a collaborative effort. With any luck, The System might consider it another requirement for the quest I was on.

My oldest foe took that slight acknowledgement as an opportunity to strike out at me.

Quest: Group Project.

Objective: [Error. Insufficient Power.]

Reward: [Error. Insufficient Power.]

“Uggghhh,” I complained.

Snips froze, shooting me a worried glance.

“Sorry.” I rubbed the top of her head. “Not you. I thought about that quest I’m on and the System hit me with some error bullshit.”

“I’m guessing it did so without you requesting it,” Maria said. “Which reminds me, we never did speak about why you were so adamant about not reading your advancements.”

“Oh, really? I’d completely forgotten,” I lied, grinning and shooting her a wink.

“Riiight,” she drawled. “The man with perfect recall somehow forgot that I wanted to talk about something he avoids.”

“Weird, right?”

When I didn’t continue yapping, she nudged me in the side. “Come on. Out with it.” She held up a finger as an afterthought. “Unless it’s going to give you some sort of awakening that leads to an explosion. In that case, I’d appreciate it if you let me go around the corner before you say it out loud.”

“It might sound weird, but that kind of feels like cheating? I’m sure he’d love it, and the smell of their chi-fulled honey might have been what originally lured him in. That can be our backup plan if what we make here doesn’t work.”

Maria raised an eyebrow and gave me a smirk. “You made Bumblebro ascend with literal water in sugar. I don’t think a backup plan will be necessary.”

Claws, who had been growing visibly impatient as we conversed, chirped at us.

“Yeah, yeah.” I rubbed her head. “We can start.”

It only took a handful of minutes for us to get a fire roaring beneath the barbecue plate, and before long, the tallow smoked atop the cooking surface.

“Let’s all do it at the same time,” I said, gesturing at the fish. “As we place it on the barbecue, imagine chi going into it. I’ll take the lead. Just do your best to follow along.”

With a hand from Maria and me, a paw from Claws, and a firm pincer from Snips, we set the shore fish down on the barbecue plate. It immediately hissed and bubbled, soft vapors wafting up and filling the air with a delicious scent. I closed my eyes, picturing what I wanted from this creation.

As cliché as it was, especially coming from me, this was all about friendship. Contrary to what everyone assumed, none of my animal pals were my servants. I was as loyal to them as they were to me, and that was exactly what I desired from a potential bear companion.

I considered it further; perhaps that wasn’t being specific enough...

Though I considered Rocky a pal, the homie was a colossal prick. Our ‘friendship’, if you could even call it that, was completely one-sided. He was entitled to his agency, but I didn’t want another friendship like that. I wanted more bonds like what I had with the rest of my animal pals. Something deeper, even. My core buzzed its assent, agreeing with the sentiment. When I pushed out with my will, pressing it toward the waiting ingredients.

As Maria, Claws, and Snips joined their wills to mine, I shifted my thinking toward how I would shape the fish’s chi. I could infuse my essence into the meal, filling it with power. I could catch another fish and channel its chi into this one, distilling the essence into something stronger. Neither of these options felt right, though. My instincts screamed that the shore fish’s natural state was correct. Leaning into this odd understanding, I was about to leave it at that when the world around us seemed to disagree.

Small wisps of chi floated up from the ground, coming forward of their own accord. I marveled at them as they curled through the air, condensing into thin lines of potential.

Startled as I was, it was nothing compared to how Maria, Snips, and Claws felt. I was aware of their attention from the moment I closed my eyes, and judging by the confusion radiating from them, they could sense the storm gathering around us. I sent soothing waves of reassurance out toward them, encouraging them to continue. Their shock slowly fell away, leaving only a profound curiosity about the anomalous event. When their wills rejoined with mine, one of them stood out among the others.

Likely because of Claws’s recent advancement, her efforts were much more subtle. Where Claws and Snips were a blunt object, she was a precision tool, cutting through any spots that needed adjusting. She was clearly aware of me studying her movements, because she sent me what was best described as a solid wall of gloating. I could practically see her eyebrows wiggling at me, demanding praise. A small smile crossed my face before I returned to my mental efforts and left behind the sensations of my body.

The fish was almost cooked through, so without opening my eyes, I flipped it. Fat bubbled and spat, but I paid it no mind. The chi held within the fish told me that the last of its opaque flesh was turning white under the barbecue’s heat. In response, the world’s chi winding around us seemed to dance. Its condensed lines flared and sputtered like small flames.

It felt... excited.

I wasn’t sure how to feel about the world itself being chuffed with our efforts, but I didn’t have the time to consider it. Following my instincts, I started leading the chi in toward us. Its lines still burgeoned like small flames, but they listened to my will, slowly winding in, getting closer. Maria, Snips, and Claws joined themselves to me, the former two like a hammer slamming nails into place, and Claws a guiding hand that helped me keep the strikes together.

The world grew even more content with our work, seeming to sing its approval.

Something atop the barbecue physically moved, distracting me for the barest of moments. It was part of the honeycomb. Engrossed as I was, I’d completely forgotten about the ingredient, but the condensing storm of chi hadn’t. I added ‘the world adding ingredients without my intervention’ to my mental list of things to consider later; I didn’t have any more attention to spare.

The moment the honey touched the fish, we were in the endgame. I gave all my focus to molding the chi that whirled around us, its power now so strong that it was almost blinding to my senses. Maria and Snips wanted to get away from it, to flee, so I sent more assurance their way, telling them it was okay if they wanted to do so. I half expected them to take me up on the offer, but they both surprised me. Gritting their teeth, they doubled down, rejoining Claws and me and letting us shape their efforts.

An uncomfortable pressure started to build in my core, as if our undertaking was too grand. Too ambitious. I didn’t understand. We were making food, something I’d done countless times. I’d experienced nothing like this before, and just as I was considering canceling the entire attempt, the strands of chi descended as one. Each passed through us and slammed into the fish.

It was like a flashbang going off inside my head, cutting off all of my senses. With everything going white, I felt myself falling.