Zoombieverse - Memory 2: The Knife

Part 2: The Key - Chapter 7

The young god was allowed to rest for a few days. His Uncle had kept the Key away from him so that he could fully recover. Relieved that he wouldn't have to contend with it in his weakened state, the young god spent his days mostly sleeping or trying to sleep, his mind far too exhausted from the sustained mental battles against the thing to think of anything else.

He sat alone staring at the dagger again in the basement room. His Uncle had deemed him capable of handling things on his own and had left him alone a few days prior, though the older god occasionally drops by to check on his progress.

Bored with the repetitiveness of his task now that he was doing it alone while confined to a single room, the young god had been idly stabbing the floor for the past few minutes. He had opened himself up more and gone deeper into the thing but it still refused to cooperate. The room is now covered with holes due to the numerous times his magic had backfired but the dagger hasn't changed at all.

"Why. Won't. You. Just. Work. With. Me," he said, punctuating each word with a stab to the floor. Each stab was more forceful than the last. The dagger is indestructible but it's still a small thing. It only managed to make tiny dents on the solid stone floor.

He sprawled on the floor to calm himself down and yawned. He was starting to reach his limit for the day and would have one last shot before he'd need to take the rest of the day off.

He rolled sluggishly to sit up again, looked at the dagger and listened to its call. He let it drag him in but stopped before he got too deep, having more control now over how much he lets it influence him.

"You know, it would really be easier if you'd just do what I want you to do," he said flippantly, talking to the thing to alleviate his boredom and frustration.

The thing didn't react and continued pulling him in.

"I'm not really asking for much," he sighed. "Just help me with my mission and then we can part ways and forget about each other."

The thing suddenly pulled him in forcefully.

Ah, shit! Looks like it didn't like that. He tried to stop it from dragging him deeper but it won't relent. "Okay! Okay! I take that back!" he blurted out in a panic.

The thing returned to its previous state, still pulling him in but not as aggressively as it just did.

He blinked at the dagger in surprise and confusion. Wait. Did it just react? "Uhh, can you understand me?"

The thing didn't react and continued with its steady pull.

Right. Well, it's not like it can answer me. It can only keep on pulling me. Hmm... Can I somehow use this to communicate with it? "Uhm, how about this? Give me one tug for 'yes' and two tugs for 'no'. Okay?"

The thing tugged once.

He squinted at the dagger. Did I just imagine that? "Uhh, that's a 'yes', right? You can understand me, right?"

The thing tugged once.

He stood up in excitement. It just talked to me! I'm talking to it! This is so weird. What else can I ask it? "Do you hate me?" Two tugs.

"Do you like me then?" One tug.

"Oh. I see. You want to stay with me?" One tug.

"Can you help me with my mission?" One slow and hesitant tug.

"You don't want to help me?" Frantic tugs.

"Okay, okay. Calm down. Are you afraid that you won't see me again after I finish my mission?" One tug.