Dinner that night was even quieter than it usually was after Caleb and Harry returned from the village center. Lucille had stayed home with Alice, she’d heard the commotion of the village gathering and guessed what was happening.

“I don’t want Alice to see that part of the world yet.” She’d explained. Harry agreed.

Caleb had checked out, mentally, after he had seen the boys’ punishment and a tumultuous swirl of mixed emotions raged within him. Shock, anger, satisfaction, and fear clouded his thoughts as he fell further into himself.

So to say, the mood was grim, and it stayed as such for the rest of the night.

I wasn’t unaffected by the day’s display either, I have been suffering an endless series of culture shocks since my arrival. None of it impacted me directly – incorporeal beings represent – but seeing such barbaric punishments, in broad daylight, in front of everyone, and then just treating it like it was normal? The boys deserved what they got and more, but it still left me a little shaken.

I decided the healthiest course of action to deal with these feelings was to bury myself in my work until a supernatural therapist presented themselves.

(AN: If you have gone through a traumatic event or period in your life, please understand that you don’t have to go through it alone and there are always people who can help you to manage your feelings and heal. You are not crazy for talking to a doctor, you are not weak when you ask for help, your wellness is important, and you are loved.)

I began by reviewing the information given to me by Gaia in the beginning of this mess. I’ve only really skimmed most of the possibilities that were described therein because I simply couldn’t – and still can’t – carry them out. For example, it describes a way of splitting myself between multiple people and gathering energy from countless hosts instead of just one.

There are, of course, cons to balance out the pros. Namely that the more hosts I have, the less energy I get from each person and the harder it becomes to keep track of everyone’s state. It would also require that I, first, invest an insane amount of energy into increasing my “size” so that there’s something to split. To the point at which I couldn’t fit inside just one soul, meaning I would be effectively locking myself out of a lot of other options.

I didn’t see myself going down this route, the idea of spreading my mind so thin was. . .unsettling.

Instead, I looked for something simpler to work with, something less energy intensive that would help Caleb – and any future host for that matter – in the long term. I’d been toying with ideas on my own for almost nonstop this past week trying not to rely solely on the information, but I’ve been coming up short.

I sorted through the hundreds of ‘files’ in my mind until I found the one I felt would help me the most. It described ways of distilling knowledge and information, like how Gaia pumped the information into my head in the first place. I studied the packet intently and chuckled to myself.

“Caleb, you’re going to be one skilled individual.”

&&&&&&&&&&

I worked through the night, as usual, and had expected today to be much like the rest of the week leading up to today. Following Caleb’s transmigration, the days had been mostly the same: rise with the sun, tend to the fields and animals, and spend the afternoons learning from Elder Huga. I had no reason to believe today would be any different.

But, apparently, I was wrong.

I knew this because Caleb and his family - and the entire village, from what I could see - was up and walking through the town. People called out over the marching crowd and greeted their friends “on this blessed morning”, as they were saying.

The people marched through the dirt streets that ran through the village to a large building on the north side of the village. The building was, by far, the largest I’d seen in the village, with a metal, seven-pointed star hanging over its double wide doors. But, even with its great size, it wouldn’t be large enough to fit the hundreds of people walking up to it.

Tall open windows lined the sides of the building, and I saw several families setting up primitive lawn chairs outside to get a good view of the proceedings. In fact, a lot of the families moved to set up outside instead of trying to muscle into the building proper.

Caleb’s family was not one of them. Luckily, they were near the front of the crowd and looked to have an all but guaranteed spot inside.

This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

It hadn’t taken me long to realize this building was some kind of church or temple. I could even see that Sister Willah, from the other day, was standing at a podium at the far end of the building. Several paintings and tapestries hung behind her, depictions of beautiful and powerful heroes pushing back dark and hideous creatures.

After a moment of thought, I turned my focus away from the throngs of faithful villagers and back toward my projects. While I was a little interested in the religion and beliefs of the locals, it wouldn’t have too much bearing on my work. Navigating social pitfalls was Caleb’s job, mine was to make sure he survived if he failed.

“Now,” I thought, “if I link these together it should-”

Pressure

I felt a great pressure pin my mind and thoughts, like a physical thing, it weighed on me. I struggled to process what was happening around me as my thoughts became sluggish.

The pressure had started the moment Caleb had stepped into the temple, my host seemingly unaffected by my current state. I searched high and low with every sense I could think of for the source of the pressure, but everything I sensed told me that it came from all around me.

“The temple!” I thought, “The building itself is doing this to me!”

How or why it was happening was a mystery that I lacked the tools to solve. Thankfully, the pressure, as debilitating as it was, seemed to be the end of it and would hopefully end once Caleb left the building.

By this point, the rest of the building had filled in with villagers, long pews were packed and those who couldn’t fit in the building stood looking through the windows. Sister Willah looked over the assembled villagers with a soft smile, very different from the look of cold fury she’d had the previous day.

She raised her hand and the quiet murmuring of the crowd quickly died out as their attention narrowed to her. When all that could be heard was the chirping of birds and buzzing of insects outside, she began to speak.

“I’m sure many of you are still shaken by the troubling events of yesterday. Our young, turning on each other like savage barbarians, when they are to one day take our place as stewards of the land.”

There were many solemn nods from the crowd as well as flicking looks to particular areas of the assembled village. Probably where the bullies or their families were sitting if they were here.

“Because of this, I’d like to take today’s sermon to remind us of the gods and their teachings, and their importance.”

She opened a large book that was resting on the podium in front of her, the same one she’d been carrying yesterday. She flipped to one of the early pages of the book and began to read aloud.

“When the world was young, men cowered in the shadows from the great beasts and monsters that ruled the land. Wild spirits twisted the minds of the flesh-bound mortals, drowning them in power at the cost of their soul and sanity. Humanity wallowed in the fear and weakness that the world had cursed them with as children screamed out for the barest glimmer of hope. Instead, the world shuddered as the gods gave them a glaring beacon of salvation.”

Well, whoever wrote that book certainly wanted to play into the “everything is bad except for us” scenario. I was willing to believe there was some truth to it, weak humans barely getting by in a world of magical monsters who only saw them as food. Then come along the “Heroes” that saved the day, right?

“The gods blessed the worthy with great strength and power, their champions, who would push back the tides of darkness!”

Called it.

“The champions reclaimed the lands and seas for mankind, pushing the foul monsters and their traitorous followers to the fringes of the world! And thus began the Age of Rising, where the gods further blessed us with the knowledge of the world.”

“Grount showed us the ways of agriculture and taming the earth. Harbur taught us how to navigate the waves and to weather storms. Sura blesses the world with his light and fills us with strength. Imora guides us through the stars and inspires the magic within us. Latesh showers us with love so we might spread that to others. Rontor commands us in the ways of war and the ideals of honor and nobility. And when the world has finally broken us down to the dust, Elendel holds our soul close, to heal and rest, so that we might, once more, return to the world.”

“The gods show us the way through a treacherous and unreasonable world. Do not forsake their teachings, for that way leads to nought but suffering and damnation. All have the potential for righteousness in them, as do they have the potential for malevolence. It is up to us to not only find our own way through life, but to help keep others on the path the gods have paved for us.”

The villagers were absolutely enraptured by Sister Willah’s speech, you could tell her faith was real by the fervor with which she spoke of the gods. Her words had also fueled a sneaking suspicion in my mind.

Are the gods real?

I had never been a person of faith before I died, and then I met Gaia who broke everything down into realistic and scientific terms. But the more I thought about it, causal energy, the systems, magic. Monsters, other universes. The idea that there were actual gods and not just religious propaganda didn’t sound so far-fetched.

Sister Willah finished her speech, once more imploring for the community to stick together and to keep the young on the right path.

“Now,” she said, “let us pray, so that the gods might know of our faith and of our conviction.”

She laced her fingers together and held her hands to her chest, lowering her head in prayer. The rest of the village mimicked her, including Caleb and his family.

I felt only boredom and resignation in Caleb’s soul as he looked to all the world as a faithful and diligent young boy. I once more looked at the many religious tapestries and icons around the room and felt the pressure that still weighed on me. If there were gods here and could do this to me when they weren’t even here, I really didn’t want to be on their bad side.

========================================================================

Suggestion: Pray

========================================================================

I didn’t want to force a conversion of faith or anything, but if it kept me on the good or even just neutral side of any super powerful beings, I’ll at least make a suggestion.

Caleb opened his eyes to look at the notification - even though it was being sent directly into his brain - and was surprised by the message. He, too, looked around the temple and up at the seven-pointed star, contemplating. Finally, he closed his eyes again. I could still feel boredom and resignation in his soul, but they were now joined by curiosity.

To my great surprise, after a few seconds, the pressure on me began to lighten! It was still there, an ever-present reminder of where we were, but no longer crushing.

It was all circumstantial, it could have been a coincidence that the pressure lifted when it did. . . but it was better to play it safe.