John was once again pulled into the mind of his mentor. Sunshine said, “Unofficial mentor. Let us not get too ahead of ourselves. Bronze? I wasn’t expecting you to reach that tier for some time. Congratulations. Now pay obeisance before all else.”
John was furious. He needed to kill the g’athu and Sunshine swooped in near the end and stole his victory. He needed it. He needed to get some of the hate and anger out of himself. It was eating him up. Instead of kowtowing, he stood there and seethed, trying to force the anguish away.
“Yes. Push all the hate and rage down deep inside. Bottle it up tight. That is clearly the best way of dealing with it. Along with sporadically lashing out at family, friends, and those that care most for you. All highly successful beings do so. It is very healthy.”
As John continued to seethe, Sunshine studied him. And waited. They both stood there for a long while. The dullness John felt inside a Mind’s Eye helped, but in Sunshine’s mind he felt more than he did in his own. He finally regained a semblance of control and kowtowed.
Sunshine said, “Good enough. Remember, if we were in public, I would have no choice but to humble you for showing such disrespect towards your betters. Now, let…”
John yelled out, “You stole my victory from me! I needed it. I needed to get this out of me.”
Sunshine was silent for a moment. “I will let that pass this time. I did not steal your victory. I do not like being noticed by such high powers, but someone from the core contacted me and told me to return to Terra and kill all the g’athu. The Sublime that was watching your world is in a colossal amount of trouble. The fool brought the Butcher outside of where he’s quarantined.
“Do you think the core would have contacted me, or known about me, if not for you? Or have known the Butcher was here if not for you? I was enjoying my new wealth and had no plans to travel back here for some time. Do you think I have nothing better to do than hang out around a resource-poor world filled with only low-Mortals? Do you know how much essence it costs to descend? Did you think I wanted to? If I missed even one polyp and the Butcher grows to breed more and spread, it will be my neck on the chopping block.”
John only interacted with the Sublime over Earth a little, but he seemed like a decent sort to him. Sunshine skittered around like he was looking for something. John thought that was strange since his mind was empty, or at least John could see absolutely nothing. Just empty space.
Sunshine stopped and furniture appeared everywhere. “Ha! You say my mind is the one that is empty? And I can fill this space however I want, but that often gives hints about a Mind Palace, so keeping this area blank is the best practice. I was not looking for something. I was showing off all my new jewelry. I figured you, of all people, would appreciate how I am now adorned, considering your upbringing.” The furniture that filled the area disappeared, and the space was again empty.
“I have you to thank for this jewelry and outfit. I am filthy rich. Or, I should say, I soon will be. I am moderately well-off as of now. To show my appreciation, I will split the crystals I just collected with you. I will give you and the Natural three…two…a dark-yellow crystal of a Silver. Each. So, you will each get one. Never say I am not generous.”
John wasn’t surprised by the stinginess of Sunshine. “Hey! You know I can hear your thoughts. I should now not give you the other presents I brought. I guess I still will since I am so kind. I have two, and they will both be at your feet when you exit my Mind’s Eye. Also, I will provide you with healing. All at no charge. You are welcome.”
John was about to ask what the presents were, but Sunshine beat him to it. “When we first met, I said I had in my possession an item that would help with your soul damage. I have not given it to you because it would help little on its own. It softens the soul for a short time. Take that first gift by ingesting the contents of the small vial. The second present is a pouch. It contains a substance you will absorb the essence of a day after you ingest the vial. Absorb the contents of the pouch the same way you absorb the energy within a core-crystal.
“The first item was very costly. The second item was absurdly expensive. It cost far, far more than all the wealth I took from you the last time we met. Factor in the cost of finding and traveling to a market that contained such an item in this yokel galaxy, courier costs, annoyance, tips, etcetera, and it would not be ridiculous to say you owe me more than you could ever pay back.
“And I do not even expect you to pay it all back. Just some…most of it. Your soul will not be completely healed, but it should heal a terrific amount. Again, you are welcome.”
John was very surprised Sunshine was actually helping him. He had studied contracts with Avatar. His [Skill] was only at 10 though. He thought about the contract he signed and was about to ask how Sunshine was making wealth since Earth had no valuable resources, but Sunshine beat him to it again. “The playz and serials of your world. What you call movies and shows. We are marketing them as ‘what if there were no Tree of Life?’ How would a society of primates, all low-Woods without cores to open, evolve and conduct war? What would their tech look like?
“I can only sell them in this galaxy with my current license, but most have been very successful. Check in your NCS under [NCS, Upgrades, and Pricing], then go to [Entertainment] and search for ‘what if new releases.’ There will be a few playz and serials of this world. You cannot buy them since I cannot sell them on Terra, but you can see how successful most are.
“We should soon have enough energy credit for a universal license. Sales keep going up and up as word-of-mouth spreads. There really is nothing like the playz and serials of your world. The war, comedy, and musical playz are wonderful. It helps that your race are primates. Everyone finds watching primates to be enjoyable. Only the fantasy playz of Terra have not done well. We have not released many playz as of yet, and fewer serials. We do not want to flood the market.
“And I owe it all to you and your inability to read and pay attention. Yes, I know you can read. I also know you do not. It is good you studied contracts. I guess I will no longer be able to con you so easily.”
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
Sunshine skittered closer and put all four of his big, meaty hands on John’s arms and said, “Thank you. I have a path forward now. I can send my family crystals again. That should shut my wife up. It will take a lot of time and effort, but Eternal is a possibility. I cannot believe I have a path forward again. Oh, I have news for you. I had it the last time I saw you but decided not to tell you then.
“My Eternal friend…friend is too lofty a word. My Eternal contact, she figured out what the place you call the cold-dark is. Where the other Eternal found your soul lingering. It is the great beyond. Outside the boundaries of the universe, where even Eternals cannot travel. There are millions and millions of souls from your world out there, if not billions. She and other Eternals looking to gain karma are retrieving them and placing them on worlds where the Vhilani Mahilaharu can collect them and return them to the Wheel.
“It makes sense now. Why your soul was so damaged. It was out in the great beyond for nearly four thousand standard years. What a terrible fate for a soul. Everyone that died on your planet before the shield blocking the Tree of Life was removed had their souls sent to the great beyond. She has no idea why you-know-who would do that. And let me be clear, I am not saying anything bad about you-know-who. Stop! Do not think his name, fool!”
Sunshine shook John’s arms. “You keep doing it! Okay, then we shall just move on.” Sunshine’s mouth stretched over John’s head. That certainly kept John from thoughts of the ancient old one named Betrayal.
Whatever the Sublime did to take John’s memories hurt less as it was done to him again, and soon the mouth was removed. Sunshine stood silently, and the four hands that still gripped John’s arms began to squeeze him painfully.
“Four Level Capsules? To achieve Bronze? I have never wanted to kill something more than I want to kill you now. Such wealth! Such unimaginable wealth! For Bronze! You fool! You utter fool. Everyone achieves Bronze. Everyone! Level Capsules! Oh, if only time could be reversed. Or you were not such a great fool. I would be an Eternal now.”
John felt that the malevolence emanating off of Sublime Sunshine increased tenfold, and he truly thought the Sublime was going to kill him.
“I just might. I am trying to contain myself and not. Four Level Capsules! For Bronze! Bronze! The third tier of the first Tree! I am taking the treasures I brought for you back. No healing. And no light-green crystal! For either of you. You fools!”
The double row of lion-tails lashed back and forth furiously. The Sublime squeezed John’s arms hard enough he had no choice but to scream in pain as bones began to be crushed.
“Stop whining. These are not true injuries, and you will not leave with them.”
The world blurred by and John was in a new place. The Sublime was still squeezing him to death, and he screamed more. He was finally let go of and fell to the ground, struggling to breathe through so many cracked and displaced ribs, unable to catch himself with his shattered arms.
“We are in my Mind Palace. If you tell anyone about anything you see here, I will kill you. You must be punished.”
The Sublime held up a very, very large book. “This is ‘A Collection of Firsthand Accounts of the Forsaken War and Before.’ It is not the oldest surviving book, but it is one of the great ancients. It is certainly the most famous and most circulated historical account. Four Level Capsules! For Bronze!”
Sunshine twisted the book to show how thick it was. “Remember when your wife said you were butthurt? You told her that words could never hurt your butt. I sincerely disagree and I am certain that soon you will too. One week. This will reside inside of your anal cavity for one week.”
John thought there was no way the book would ever fit in his butt. “You do not want to find out how many objects I could fit in there. Four Level Capsules! God Almighty, four Level Capsules! For Bronze. Everyone achieves Bronze, you terrible fool” angrily exclaimed Sunshine.
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John wasn’t allowed to leave the one room of Sunshine’s Mind Palace called the library. His arms, shoulders, and ribs remained broken, so he was forced to stand. And standing made it far more uncomfortable for him considering he had a very large book residing in his anal cavity, and his body’s natural want for him to bend over and lean so the book would hurt less.
Sunshine ordered John not to speak or think or meditate. He naturally slipped into meditating when he had nothing else to do, but Sunshine, comfortably reading from a long and strange sofa, would engage him in conversation as soon as John began to.
It was still day one of John’s five-day punishment. It bothered him that a standard day and standard week were shorter than what he considered real days and weeks, but a standard year was much longer than a real year.
How interested Sunshine was in Stretch and the world seed controlling Stretch amazed John. The alien found the subject both fascinating and exciting.
The energy Eternal was the only being to have communicated with the world seed, and according to the NCS, the world seed was a mixture of energy being and organic and was learning how to communicate in both ways. Sublime had communicated with Eternal energy beings before, including the Eternal watching over Terra.
Eternal was the only tier of energy beings that other forms of life could communicate with at all. Sunshine said they communicated with images that were sometimes clear, but, more often than not, too confusing to understand.
John couldn’t care less. Stretch was his friend and that was that. Sure, Stretch was annoying, but he was a fearless and doughty fighter. He was dependable and willing to risk his own life to protect and save others. John respected Stretch, regardless of whether he was man or puppet. Or a world seed.
John looked around the room once again. The ceiling was remarkably high and many small, shining balls were floating around below the ceiling, providing light. The room was shaped hexagonally, and all walls, besides the one with the large and closed door, were lined with bookshelves crammed with books reaching all the way to the ceiling. Other than the strange sofa, there was also a strange desk with a strange chair, and a larger and more comfortable looking strange chair, as well as a small table near the sofa and chair. A shining ball of light hovered a short distance over the desk and small table.
John shifted his weight uncomfortably back and forth to each foot. He knew Sunshine’s dilation was approaching one as well, so after his punishment was over, he’d leave the Sublime’s Mind’s Eye at nearly the same time as he entered it. The wounds he sustained within it would be gone also, and he’d just have all the injuries he acquired during his battle with the g’athu. He was sorely damaged and had received a great many wounds during that battle.
The rage and darkness simmering within John made the punishment all the worse, especially when Sunshine talked to him about Lilly. He didn’t want to talk about her. He didn’t want anyone else to ever know his great shame. It was his business and no one else should ever know about it. And he was sick of his impotence when dealing with beings like Sunshine.
Sunshine called John his friend but stole his victory, placed a book up his anus for taking rewards he had earned himself by his own deeds, and lacked even the honor of letting John have a choice in accepting such a ridiculous and dishonorable punishment.
And John could do absolutely nothing about it. If he became too lippy, Sunshine just smashed him into the ground over and over like he did during their first meeting. He was treated as a plaything and not a man. Like a toy, he had no say in how he’d be played with.