Chaos and Order - A Multiverse Fanfic

0151 Andrik the Twice-Drowned - Dimensional Leader!

Sitting on the captain's bed, her back hunched, Meg had the oddest expression on her face.

It had happened just after Andrik had mentioned the Drowned God and the Storm God, and Kai being the favored priest of the former.

There was a mixture of disbelief and terrified apprehension on her face as if some hidden memory was trying to burst out of her shocked eyes. But before Meg could turn the memory into words, some unknown and complex magic spun its gears in her mind, making her forget it in the very next moment.

Kai was too busy with the sudden opportunity that his extraordinary mind had birthed for him to notice those expressions. Neither did he try to consult with Meg and Petyr, nor did he let them know what he was about to do next.

He stood up, his facial curves mimicking the fanatical aura Meg always had for him.

He must be not only practical now but also prudent and calculative with his words, as he knew nothing about the Drowned God other than what his Item had told him. Ordinary words were not enough to convince a true devotee. He must rely on the supernatural show he had already shown to Andrik that night, he concluded.

"You are right," Kai said, looking out of the windows, towards the open sea. "You are wrong, too."

Bullshit...

Kai was building a foundation around this word; a practice common among many fraudulent cults and religions, he had learned. "I am HIS favored, yes," Kai continued, noticing the bewildered look on Meg's face for the first time, his eyes narrowing. "But I am not some mere priest, Andrik. For I have been to a place where no man could have been to, even in their dreams, and return alive to sing the songs of those unearthly vistas."

Kai turned around and approached the giant whose head was almost touching his chest despite kneeling. He whispered, his voice echoing in the unnatural silence of the cabin, "I have been to HIS watery halls."

Andrik shivered, tears running dry on his face. He gawked at Kai and didn't dare to question the absurd proclamation with his mortal mind and will.

Bullshit was working, Kai thought, laughing derisively in his mind. "You have seen how I thwarted the Storm God's fury," he said, his voice high and eerie. "That was not a happenstance, but a true power of the Drowned God, materializing through me. Now, Andrik, I will give you the same chance.

"A chance to let go of your past and serve the Drowned God's purpose through me. A chance to go beyond the ordinary scuffles between Houses and Kingdoms. Oh, Andrik, the Unsmiling, a chance to visit HIS watery halls and discard your mortal self for undying piety and immortality. Dare you bow your head and kneel in acceptance?"

Once more Kai's voice boomed, "Answer me!"

There was a mystery in Kais' words apparent to all listeners.

A watery shiver had run down both Meg's and Andrik's spines, unknown to Kai, and now both were looking at him with such intense fervor that made him think as if he had overdone it a bit. Nonetheless, the effect, though in the same direction as he had intended, had gone beyond his imagination and out of his hands.

"I do." The words came by themselves out of Andrik's mouth.

Steam was already rising off Kai's body, and Meg had stood up in shock. "Then close your eyes," he told Andrik, motioning Meg to stand down. "Let me baptize you in HIS waters afresh, washing your past sins away, and giving your life a new purpose and meaning."