The terms of our agreement were simple:
1. The Consolidate known as Solgilan Nacintiel would deliver one Kozani “Hellbent” Arcinteth, heritage uncertain, from his chains in hell to an area of average prosperity in the upper world and into a body that is functional to at least the minimum degree necessary for life.
2. This delivery will be considered the full repayment of the favor owed to the latter by the former, with no further installments to be made.
3. Solgilan Nacintiel will not be responsible for the safety of the delivered party after completion of the delivery.
I really didn’t know why they required it to be written out and signed on actual paper, but Consolidates could be weird sometimes. Not worth making a fuss about any more than the oddities of a country’s dining habits were.
Solgilan stored the paper away with a flick of their wrist, the sheet twisting and wrapping in on itself in a way that would have given a lesser being a spearing headache. It even caused me a twinge, and I took careful note of the fact that they didn’t look at it directly as it did so. Maybe it would have caused them the same twinge.
They twitched a finger and the manacles around my wrists shattered, leaving chains dangling and my hands blessedly free to move without the threat of searing them on the metal. I hadn’t realized how much I’d miss the feeling of being able to just flex my wrists, but for about thirty seconds, that was all I did. Just long enough for them to feel back to normal plus an extra for good measure.
“Thanks for that.”
“You needed them free for what will come next,” Solgilan replied. “We cannot move our rift.”
“Right. Summoning rules.”
Once the rift was in place, it couldn’t be moved without repeating the entire ritual. It wasn’t generally a concern for summoners of any sort, but with the contract already signed, I couldn’t use the Name again. An oversight on my part, and potentially theirs as well if I was being gracious enough to assume that this wasn’t something they’d decided to pull just in case I’d forgotten the rules.
I’d like to think we were past that stage, but you never knew. None of the collectives were ever keen on sharing just how much an individual addition changed their overall thought processes.
Solgilan stepped out of view of the rift, allowing me room to do whatever I needed to get through.
“Can you snap my ankle cuffs too?” I called out, the end of the sentence turning into a hiss as I grabbed the set of chains that had once connected my arms to the slab. The second set of manacles shattered. I was dangling over what may very well have been an infinite drop, depending on which section of hell I was actually in.
I didn’t give myself time to think about it too hard. There is no enemy quite like the one that hangs around inside a person’s own skull, after all, and that little voice was not one I could afford to listen to now.
My weight shifted slightly as I tucked a foot into one of the links and I began to move, swinging slightly. I shifted again, more consciously this time, and the motion grew wider. One more time and the end of the chain was almost touching the rift.
Perfect. Now all I had to do was time it right, jump, and I should be able to sail straight through. Hopefully. I gave it three test swings, tensing myself at the peak of the motion each time, and felt like I had the timing correct.
The chain swung backwards. Then forwards. I took a deep breath. Backwards.
At the height of the last forward swing, I flung myself off and through the rift, only remembering after I’d already let go that Solgilan had opened it upside down.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
I was in for a rough landing.
*
In hindsight, “rough” was probably not the word I should have used. Amazing that my brain had the time and desire to contemplate its own choice of wording while it was busy lighting up panic signals from having the wind knocked out of me, but what else is there to do when your diaphragm is spasming anyway?
Eventually my body – an actual corporeal body, not just a projection from my soul in a plane too low-energy to sustain physical living beings – got over itself and let me breathe again. It was a great sensation, full of life and not at all like the pale imitation I’d tried to fortify myself with before the leap. I could feel the sweet potency of the power flooding in with every inhale.
No wonder things native to this plane were so highly regarded if this was the treatment they got at all times. No wonder this was considered a peak goal to achieve for people from the main world I was used to.
Right. The main world. Nisichi. Where was –?
Solgilan was standing right behind me, chuckling. “The look on your face as you took that first breath was fantastic, Hellbent.”
“Yeah, yeah. I didn’t even ever find a way up here last time I was alive, so this is a new experience.”
“We suppose that does make sense. The role you chose to occupy is not one that any individual generally occupies for long enough to truly need the extra energy that comes with reaching an upper plane.”
“Hm. Maybe I’ll have to try that this time.”
“That would involve abandoning the path you took when you lived last. Are you prepared for the consequences of doing so?”
“Don’t condescend to me, Solgilan. I had reasons for every choice I made. You can call it a role all you want, but the world needed me to do what I did. I don’t anticipate the wider scope of Nisichi will need that kind of motivation anymore, and even if it does, I’ve given up my first life to that cause already.
“This is my retirement. If the world still needs a threat to push them higher, I’ll leave it to someone else this time.” Maybe I should have given them the full lecture about just how much thought I’d put into it, even told them about the specific conversation that cemented that path as the correct one for my life to take, literal hell or high water.
It really wasn’t important, though. I didn’t drag anyone down with me. Why did they need to know? They didn’t and I would stand by that. I planned on taking the full details of it with me to the grave. Again.
“Weren’t you supposed to be putting me somewhere in the world? I’d like to get that rest and relaxation started sooner than later.”
Solgilan rolled their eyes. “Yes, yes, if you insist. We thought you might wish to catch up with a group of old friends.”
“Don’t get me wrong. It’s been great to see you again in all your mental multitudes. But every second I spend here is one I could be using to get to whichever beach is the best.”
“Understandable. You always were fond of taking your reward when you felt it was due. We have picked a satisfying location and subject for you to take the place of. We believe you will appreciate the circumstances.”
“Great. Perfect. Rift me up. Down? Whichever. I’ll come back and visit if at all possible, just to show you that your effort wasn’t wasted.”
“That is all we ask.” Solgilan held their hand out, palm down, and slashed it to one side. A rift opened along the line they traced, gleaming white from the edges. Behind it was a darkened alley, nondescript in the starlight, and Solgilan gestured me through. “Once you leave this realm, your temporary body will cease. There is a body for you to inhabit on the other side whose soul has already departed. As we have said, you should find it quite suitable.”
“Thank you, Solgilan. In all seriousness, thank you. Maybe once I’ve enjoyed this life enough, I’ll tell you the real reason for everything that happened in the last one.”
“We would appreciate that. But go quickly. The adaptation will already take a great deal of time. Live this life well, Kozani Arcinteth.”
I hurled myself through the rift and felt myself discorporate, the soulless vacuum of the body pulling me towards it. I wasn’t sure whether Solgilan had arranged this body for me somehow or was just taking advantage of some poor corpse left behind that hadn’t been disposed of yet, but I wasn’t going to ask. Their secrets were their own.
The body and I made contact and my spirit fused with it instantly. Pain wracked me as the nerves let me know in no uncertain terms that they did not appreciate bonding with a new soul, but I didn’t let myself pass out until the messages I’d been waiting for unfolded in my mind’s eye:
[Welcome, Resurrector.]
[Your acclimatization will begin shortly. It is recommended you cease any and all strenuous activity during this time.]
Perfect. I let myself slip away, content with allowing it to happen on autopilot.