Only You [Jacob Seed - Far Cry 5]

Chapter 51

Warning: language, violence, etc.

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"If you succeed— if your soul is pure, you are the shepherd, you are the Gift sent by God... and I can return from my exile. Our miracle allowed us to survive, but its gifts are not unconditional. It nourishes what is in a person's soul. But if that soul is corrupt... the miracle extracts a terrible price." Joseph whispered as I woke up. "Listen to my guidance or you will not survive."

I stood up with a bow in my hands and nothing else; my vision was still sort of blurry as green fog was everywhere.

"Confront your beast." Joseph's voice echoed as an enormous bear appeared out of nowhere. "When the beast rises, strike true. You cannot fight your beast in darkness."

It roared as it began to charge at me. I loaded up an arrow and fired at the bear. My arrows didn't faze it as it continued to roar and run towards me. As quickly as I could, I ran for it, dashing to a zip-line, zip-lining away from the bear. The sky became dark as the bear disappeared, causing me to ignite the fire beacons.

This went on for a good twenty minutes.

"Aim for the weakness at the heart of your sins. The fire will cleanse the soul. Unleash the power coursing through you."

My vision turned yellow as I felt unfathomable strength consuming me as my bow vanished. The bear came back into sight as it roared at me. Quickly, I jumped high into the air and slammed my fist into the bear's nose rendering it immobile. I punched it one more time, killing it instantly as my vision went from yellow to white to a light pink and then back to black.

The Father's voice rung through my ears. "That is why I am here. There are those who must not be allowed to partake of this miracle... Even if I love them. Even if they are of my family. Sin is a beast we cannot feed."

My eyes opened to see Joseph hovering over me, the sun shining behind him, causing him to have a bright aura around his figure... Angelic...

"You will be the shepherd of my people. Come with me to New Eden." He offered me his hand as he helped me up, smiling at me.

—Hours Later—

Joseph and I snuck in New Eden as Ethan was giving a speech to the townsfolk. Jacob, Sam, John, and Faith were watching Ethan from afar, but didn't notice us as did none of Joseph's people.

Ethan was giving a speech, "... our futures depends on adherence to my strictures. We can no longer hope for Joseph to save us. He is not coming back. We must put him out of our minds and... and I—" He stopped as he spotted Joseph and I and his eyes grew as big as saucers. "Father?"

"Ethan." Joseph replied, almost disappointedly.

"Father?" Someone in the crowd excited asked.

"The Father..."

Ethan asked Joseph, "Where have you been? Our land is under siege. Our people threatened. You disappeared. You left when we needed you most. Why?"

The Father walked up to Ethan, cupping his cheeks. "To hear God's plan, my son. To hear God's plan." He released his cheeks and turned toward me and the crowd. "My children. I know that you have suffered. And I know that you are afraid. I have been gone from you for a very long time. But you were not abandoned. God spoke to me. And he has shown me a path out of this darkness. We will no longer hide behind these walls... We will not longer simply hope that this plague of locusts leaves us in peace. The time to fight is now. And God has sent us his sword. Here!" He pointed to me as he walked down the steps to me. "God has tested her soul and it is just and it is pure. And I stand here before you to bear witness that this woman is indeed our shepherd... and our Gift."

Ethan tried to interrupt Joseph. "Father..."

But the Father ignored him, "And together, we will battle against the hordes outside our gates... and together we will march towards the future that God has promised us."

"No." Ethan sternly butted in. "You abandoned me. You abandoned us. Without a word, without instructions. Leaving me to lead as best as I could. And now. Now. You return as if descended from the clouds and presume to lead."

"Yes!" Someone in the crowd shouted.

"I am the leader here. New Eden follows me." Ethan stated as he stalked towards Joseph and I.

"Joseph is our leader!" Another person yelled. "We stand behind the Father!"

Joseph intervened and placed a hand on Ethan's shoulder. "Son, I know you carried a heavy burden in my absence. I understand that. This is God's will." The Father pointed at me. "And sometimes we must sacrifice that which we want. In order to honor God's command."

"What have you ever sacrificed?" Ethan asked Joseph.

"Someday you will see the light. I promise." Joseph explained as Ethan furiously stomped off. "Come, let us all go together. We have much work to do." He ordered as he strolled off, the New Edeners following him as did I.

Jacob, Faith, John, and Sam all walked to Joseph too. John and Faith hugged Joseph at the same time while Jacob watched, his arms crossed.

"Welcome back little brother." Jacob gave the Father a small smile as he plodded over to me; he then placed his hands on my hips. "Pup... Thank you. You made this happen. And I am so goddamn proud of you."

I was speechless as I beamed up at him, staring into his ocean blue eyes. "I— I didn't go anything. It was all Joseph."

The Father walked over to us. "No, you are the reason I am here, my Gift... I need to tell you this, we are all sinners. Ethan's sin is Pride. There is something deep inside of him that no Word of mine can touch. I worry that now, as you, Gift, take his place, that beast will feed on resentment and grow stronger. I should remind him of his mother. She put aside her Pride, and it saved his life. He would have been too young to understand. He should understand now. And long ago, when you were the Deputy, we were bitter, bitter enemies. Day after day, month after month, it all came out. My convictions, my project, my visions, the Voice I heard. And you soon seen the truth, my Gift. Not longer after the bombs fell... I hardly slept, I scarcely ate. I changed you and you changed me. And already my Chosen fight the Highwaymen throughout the long nights. Now I will ask them to find the strength to fight in the day, as well. Your friends should make good use of the distraction, and act quickly. My family cannot fight forever. As for you, remember you are God's Gift to us, sister. What you have experienced so far is just a taste of God's power. Do not waste it. I will also give leave for my Judge to follow you— he speaks only one language— that of violence. In this he will serve you well." Joseph explained as the masked man named Judge walked up beside him. "Gift, before you can be our shepherd, you must be our sword. Go, and make the land safe for all who wish to live in peace."

I nodded my head at him with a grin, "Yes, Joseph."

"John, Faith, and as well as Sam have decided to stay here with me in New Eden, if that's alright. I'm not sure what Jacob wants, but what he wants is fine with me." The Father smiled brightly at the two of us.

"Of course." I responded to Joseph, and then turned to Jacob. "You want to stay here in New Eden or Prosperity?"

"It don't matter." Jacob curtly stated, his voice showing agitation.

"Just choose, Jacob." I replied, rolling my eyes.

"I guess here." He shrugged.

"Can the both of us stay here?" I asked the Father.

"Sure. I'll allow you two to live together in one of the huts available."

"Awesome. We appreciate it."

—

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-kittycatlukey :)