The following day was another normal day at school. Though I think the fact that I didn’t get bullied, just like yesterday, is actually abnormal in the long run. Well, it’s a good abnormality.

  I returned home. Mom was gone, thank the Gods, though I already knew she would be. She hadn’t spoken to me for the rest of the day after my little nap, and she was still asleep in the morning, so I mercifully didn’t have to bear any of her bullshit. I know she’ll be coming back in another three days, but I’ll appreciate the peace in the meantime.

  Still, I felt like I needed to find a better place to converse with Helix in. Soon enough, I got an idea. There was a room in the basement that hadn’t been in use for years, likely belonging to my father, whatever had happened to him. I knew where the key to it was being kept, so I took it out of Mom’s drawer, opened the door and carried in Helix. The place was like I remembered it being from that one time I’d convinced Mom to let me go there - she hadn’t come with, as it had seemed to be too painful for her - and explore. Tiled floor, wooden desk and chair, bookcases, woodworking equipment. There were some spiderwebs, but I vacuumed them up. Unfortunately, Helix did see my aversion to them, and now he knows about my embarrassing phobia. He didn’t say anything mean about it, though, for which I was thankful.

  In order to have a place to lie for the latter part of the vision, I brought in a blanket and pillow and placed them on the floor. I also brought in my backpack and school books so that I could do my homework in the presence of Helix without having to lug him around all the time.

  Now that I've finished my homework for the day, I'm prepared to jump right back into the vision, but Helix actually says he wants to ask me something first.

  ”What do you think of Kohath so far?” he inquires.

  I’m about to answer when I recall something again, and the memory flashbangs me the same way it did this morning. See, I had a dream last night. About Kohath. It was… well. It’s heating up my face now. Connect the dots.

  ”You need not be ashamed of your sexuality.”

  “I’m not, I just…” I cross my arms, looking away. “It feels disrespectful, that’s all.”

  ”I knew Kohath well,” he says. ”I assure you, Red, he would only take it as a compliment.”

  “Yeah, well… just don’t tell him, alright? It’s private.” And I don’t know what he thinks about homosexuality. I hope he doesn’t have a problem with it, but he probably does, given the age he lived in…

  “I shall honor your request.”

  I take a deep breath and let it out. “Okay.” I pause. “So… to answer your initial question…”

  ”Yes?”

  Regardless of the likely homophobia… “He’s really cool.”

  ”Cool?”

  “Do you, uh, know what that means?”

  ”I believe I have a sufficient understanding of the term in this context based on what I learned from the thoughts of people visiting the cave, yes.”

  “Right. Good. I’m not sure how I would have explained it otherwise.”

  “Does ‘cool’ fully describe your impressions of Kohath?”

  “Uh… well, I can also say that he definitely seems like someone with authority. Someone strong and confident. And it’s pretty badass that he killed his masters and got away with it.” I sigh. “I’m sure my mom would think I was a psycho for saying that.”

  “It does seem like your society frowns upon murder. That, of course, was not an uncommon opinion during Kohath’s time, either.”

  “I get why,” I say. “If people were free to just kill each other, society couldn’t function. It’d just become a free-for-all.”

  “Correct.”

  I stare at my feet. “I wish you could kill some people, though. Like pedophiles. That shit’s disgusting.”

  “Yes. Forcing a child to undergo sexual intercourse permanently damages that child’s psyche. It spoils an important resource without removing its upkeep. It is wasteful.”

  I raise a brow. “That’s… kind of a fucked up way to put it.”

  “This is the thought process of a god. Surely I can not be expected to think exactly like a mortal?”

  Yeah, fair. And, honestly? Refreshing. Saying things are bad because they violate human rights is so cliché.

  “Got it,” I say. “Can we continue the vision now?”

  “Of course. Please, go lie down.”

  I do as asked. Like before, my surroundings darken and I'm tilted up to stand in the void, but it's a section of the floor rather than my bed pushing me up this time. Soon after, the darkness recedes, and I'm back in the throne room.

  “Ah. Welcome back, young one,” Kohath says. He's still really hot.

  “Thank you, sir,” I reply. It doesn't feel like I'm blushing. Helix is looking out for me again. Speaking of Helix, the ammonite is also still sitting on his stand. I nod at him, and he waves a tentacle, in a weirdly regal way.

  “Alright. Where was I?” Kohath says. “Oh, yes. Some weeks after my conversation with Helix about his true motives, he and I were approached by two men…”

  The crystal ball illustrates Kohath’s story again as he goes on. He describes how these two men, who looked poor and hungry, explained that they were slaves who had escaped from their masters in hopes of joining the rumored beastman and living in the wild as he did. Kohath wanted to turn them away, but Helix disagreed. Helix told the men that they could stay if they swore their allegiance to him. They were hesitant, but once Helix showed them a vision of his might, they saw that he was a being worthy of respect.

  ‘Swear allegiance’, huh? Is he building some kind of clan?

  Kohath continues his story. Helix apparently fostered the growth of these two men, and they ended up strong like Kohath. They also received yellow eyes and enlarged canines. And then more people came, more escaped slaves. And Helix did the same with them. Yeah. He’s definitely gathering people up. I'm assuming these will be his future subjects.

  “Those days were certainly grand,” Kohath says, a nostalgic look in his eyes. “But I will not deny that there were also problems. Once we had reached a band of about fifteen, we struggled to support ourselves by way of hunting and gathering alone. We required farmland, livestock. Something a nearby village had.”

  Oh, are they going to take it over?

  “We… negotiated. The village would share their resources in exchange for protection. At first, they did not appreciate our offer, but a display of power changed their minds.”

  The crystal ball shows Helix, carried by one of his men, raising a tentacle and the leader of the villagers combusting into flames. After a few seconds of the man flailing, the flames go out and the man collapses to his hands and knees. He says something, which I can’t hear since the crystal ball has no audio, but I imagine he’s giving up the village. Helix waves his tentacle again, and the burns are healed… but the memory of the pain remains.

  Hell yeah.

  Kohath closes his eyes and raises a palm. “Make no mistake, however. We were not some kind of ruffians. We worked for our food just like everyone else. Helix made sure of that.”

  “Idling leads to poor health,” Helix adds, “both mental and physical.”

  Yeah, I guess that’s true. A man needs to work for a living. To earn his keep.

  “Helix also repaid them in another way,” Kohath continues. “He imparted the knowledge he had of the world to the villagers, which increased the efficiency and quality of their operations. The harvest that year was far more plentiful, and fewer people went hungry even if there were more men to feed. Fewer people fell ill as well, thanks to Helix's healing power and the rules he had put in place regarding cleanliness. Given all this, by the end of the year, the village that used to fear us had grown to see us as comrades - and Helix as a god of prosperity.”

  A god. Yeah. He’s a god. I suppose it only makes sense for him to be worshipped.

  “The men of the village, then, also received their yellow eyes and fangs, bringing the total number of Helixians - which Helix had begun calling us - to one hundred.”

  One hundred. How many more are coming, I wonder?

  “Then,” Kohath says, “one night, Helix asked me if I was happy. I told him that I was. That I was thankful for everything he had given me, and I would do anything to repay him.”

  He pauses as the crystal ball shows the two of them by a nighttime fire.

  “He told me that he wanted more resources.”

  Resources…?

  “I asked him what he meant by that, and he clarified that he meant materials, tools, men. That he required them for experiments, experiments through which he could learn even more about the world.”

  Like… scientific experiments?

  ”Precisely,” Helix says telepathically. Gods, I'd forgotten again that he could read my mind during visions.

  “I asked him how many of these things he would need,” Kohath continues. “He told me that he did not know yet, but that what he had at that point was not enough. That it would take more villages to provide them.” Kohath smiles. “Of course, I told him that I would be honored to spread the prosperity of the village to other settlements.”

  I realize that ‘spreading prosperity’ was one thing that the Boreans colonizing Notia said they were doing. I'm sure a lot of other colonizers said it, too. And now everyone's saying, at least in Hojo, that they made things a lot worse instead.

  The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

  Then again, the Usonians did bring Hojo a lot of neat stuff. As much as it's cool to hate on them now, say that the Ruthenians had actual points and weren't just spreading propaganda… I think Hojo would be worse off if they'd never come.

  Well, whatever. In any case, I’m not gonna cry for some unnamed settlements possibly losing their specific way of life four thousand years ago.

  ”We, then, occupied another village and, after some time, another,” Kohath says. “More men joined the Helixians, and more men were given Helix’s mark. He began his experiments. He discovered many things, and he found ways to put this knowledge to good use, improving the lives of the men under his rule even further.”

  Kind of unspecific. Even the crystal ball isn't showing anything. “Like what?”

  “Saddles, for one.”

  “You guys didn't have saddles back then?”

  “No, we rode bareback.”

  Bareback. I suppress a snort. Though I suppose everyone rode bareback in that age.

  “But saddles made for much more comfortable rides, for both the horse and the rider. Have you ever ridden, Red?”

  “No. Would seem like a cool thing to know how to do, though.” Riding on the back of a living being, feeling its warmth, commanding it… much cooler than just riding a bike.

  “Do you not travel much?”

  “The future has, uh, automated wagons. People go places using those.”

  Kohath holds a brief stare, then turns to Helix.

  “It is true,” the ammonite says. “Riding in their time is only done for leisure.”

  “This makes me feel… conflicted,” Kohath says to me. “You have achieved great convenience, but you have also lost certain joys.”

  “I guess,” I say. “Wouldn't know what I'm missing, though.”

  After a brief silence, Helix speaks up again. “Kohath, will you finish your story? You were almost at the end.”

  “Yes, of course.” Kohath clears his throat. “As Helix learned more, he also realized he still needed more resources. We Helixians, then, obliged. We spread ourselves as far as we could, though never forgetting to treat those we conquered with respect. How could we hope to grow in numbers were we to mistreat them? Why, by the end, word of us moved faster than we did, and some villages welcomed us with open arms.”

  Hm. I guess that's the smart thing to do, but if I had that kind of power, I'd like to fuck with people at least a little.

  “Of course, there was resistance. The king did not appreciate our clan taking over his territory. Many times, he sent men after us, but every time, we prevailed. There were losses, of course - good men lost - but they fought valiantly and for a good cause,” he says, very proudly.

  I nod solemnly. They were braver than me, honestly. I wouldn’t have the balls to give my life for a cause, though it’s not like I’ve ever really believed in any.

  “Eventually, we reached the king’s palace itself, for there would be no peace without an end to his reign. Another bloody battle, but a victorious one. I remember the moment the news reached me that the palace had been won. That the king had been detained. I remember arriving at the throne room with Helix - this very throne room - and having the crown brought to me. It was a beautiful thing, though nothing compared to this one.” He gestures to the crown on his head. “Either way, I offered the crown to Helix, but he told me that I had to be the one that wore it. That I should be the king, while he would be the god.”

  I’m unsure what that means for the actual amounts of power they held. Did Kohath make the decisions, or did Helix? Did Helix advise Kohath? How did monarchies of that time work compared to those of other ages? I know modern ones tend to have the royals just sit pretty while the democratically elected officials make the actual decisions, but even with medieval ones I’m not really sure how those operated. I’ve mostly just seen fantasy shows with a lot of clichés.

  Oh, I don’t care. It’s probably really boring, anyway. Unimportant to a commoner like me.

  Kohath leans in with a smirk. “Now, what do you think we did with the king?”

  I tilt my head. “Thrown in the dungeon?” That’s what they do in those fantasy shows whenever someone gets dethroned.

  “Ha! No, what a waste that would be, needing to keep him alive. No, we executed him. Publicly, so everyone could see.”

  I smirk back. “Awesome. How’d you do it?”

  “Decapitation by sword. I knew the executioner, actually. Ze’ev. He always took pleasure in killing, perhaps too much. The role of executioner was a natural choice for him.”

  Took pleasure in killing…

  I mean, I don’t know if I’d be friends with a guy like that. He sounds like bad news.

  “Oh, do not worry,” Kohath says. “He was always reined back by Tzvi, his partner.”

  Partner…?

  Kohath furrows his brow. “You do not frown upon relations between men, do you?”

  “Oh -- no, no,” I say and shake my head. “It’s just that I wasn’t expecting it. I thought people back in your time just didn’t… accept that sort of stuff.”

  “Oh, there were those that complained about it,” Kohath says, leaning back, “but Helix made it clear that it was nothing to shun. It is a natural occurrence, and a harmless one.”

  Huh. That’s nice to hear. People like me were accepted by the Helixians.

  “So…” I begin cautiously. “Are you…?”

  “A lover of men? Certainly. But a lover of women as well. I did get a wife later on, my Ndidi. I can tell you the tale of how we met later, but Helix is telling me that I have already spoken enough for today.”

  I glance at Helix. “Yeah, sure.”

  “Thank you for listening,” Helix says. “I shall now return you to your time.”

  Reality, he means, but Kohath is present. Though I suppose this Kohath is just an illusion anyway. I don’t know, I don’t care. It’s more immersive this way.

  “Until we meet again, young one,” Kohath says.

  I give a nod in response. I brace myself for whiplash again, but Helix executes the transition more gently this time. The room darkens, I’m pressed against something flat behind me, tilted back and left lying horizontally until my surroundings light up again to reveal the basement room. In effect, the reverse of how I’ve been brought into these visions.

  I stretch my limbs and sit up.

  ”I trust you enjoyed the vision?” Helix asks.

  I nod with a smile. “Yeah. It was really cool, hearing the story of how your kingdom came to be.” I pause. “But… given that it doesn't exist anymore, and my book doesn't mention anything about it… what happened?”

  Helix sighs. “As I suggested before, I have a reasonable guess. You see, the relationships we had with our neighboring kingdoms had grown quite tense in the 500 years that the Helixian Kingdom stood. They formed an unlikely alliance and attacked us from all sides at once. We were overwhelmed - but before I made my escape, they were sure to send me a message.”

  “What'd it say?”

  “‘All that you have created shall be destroyed, and none shall know the name of Helix one hundred years from now.’”

  “Oh. Fuck.”

  “Yes. Everything Helixian - our culture, our history, our language, our written script, our technology, our people - they promised to destroy, and it seems like they succeeded.”

  “Oh.” I don't know what to say. ‘I'm sorry’ doesn't cut it. I'm not sure anything would.

  ”Well, perhaps they did not succeed entirely. After all, your book is only one of many. It could simply not include whatever is still known about my kingdom today.”

  “I can swing by the library tomorrow after school and get some books on the Bronze Age,” I say. “See if any of those mention anything.”

  ”I would appreciate that. Thank you.”

  I nod. After a brief silence, I speak up again. “So… you mentioned back at the cave that I was your best candidate for carrying on your legacy. And Kohath said I would be the heir to your kingdom. What does that actually mean? I mean, you can’t just bring the kingdom back like that, right? There’s a bunch of other countries in the Aava region now. I can’t exactly go there and ask them to hand over the keys.”

  “Do not worry. My plan does not involve politics.”

  “What’s it like, then?”

  “My copious research on souls suggests that there is a way for me to ascend to a higher form. Rival the Third Being, perhaps surpass him. Were I to succeed in that, I could simply will the Helixian Kingdom back into existence.”

  That’s pretty powerful… omnipotent, even?

  ”The best part for you, however, is the fact that ascension requires a human companion, the one called the Bringer. He will ascend with me, gaining the same amount of power. You, Red, can become a god.”

  A god? Me?

  Starting to remember that one old adage now. ‘If something sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t.’

  I sigh. I really thought I’d met an actual ally. “You’re just trying to scam me somehow, aren’t you.”

  “I understand that it can seem that way,” he says. ”What I suggest, however, is true - or at least very likely, based on my research.”

  “Mm. You’d say that.”

  “All I ask for is a chance, Red. Know also that I shall not force you into anything you are uncomfortable with. You are free to terminate our relationship at any time and return me to the cave.”

  Well… I guess that makes it alright, if I can say no at any time. I can just dip my toes in, see what else this weird rock wants to tell me and take them out if the water’s too cold. I’m smart enough to realize when things are getting stupid, anyway.

  Or -- wait. I don’t have to agree yet, do I? I can still ask to hear and see more before I make any decisions.

  “Can I take some time to think about it?” I ask. “And ask you more about it later?”

  ”Naturally. I have waited 3,500 years. ‘Some time’, coming from a mortal, is no time at all to me.”

  “Right. Cool.”

  Silence returns. I think I can just leave now.

  “Well, thanks for the story,” I say, getting up. “Like I said, I’ll bring those history books here tomorrow.”

  ”Splendid.”

  I nod. I gather my books into my backpack in silence and give a quick ‘bye’ as I exit the room. I leave the backpack by the front door upstairs for tomorrow and move into the living room couch. I turn on the TV. It's only around 5 PM, so all the good stuff isn't on yet, but I luckily manage to find a nature documentary on a public channel. It's about the savannah, and it's showing Notian wild dogs right now. As I watch them run after an antelope, I think about Kohath and his gang and how they must have hunted their quarry. They probably used spears like early humans.

  I wonder what it’s like to hunt. What it’s like to chase something down and kill it. It sounds pretty exhilarating. But…

  I look down at my body. Skinny arms, skinny legs. A shirt’s covering my chest and abdomen, but I know that if I were to look under it, I wouldn't see any definition.

  I’m not a hunter, I’m a baby bird in the nest waiting for my mom to come home and regurgitate the food she ate into my mouth.

  Could Helix change that? If he studied humans for 500 years, surely he would know the best ways to get strong, right? Kohath was ripped even after he’d been a king for some time, which must have been a mostly sedentary lifestyle. He had to have worked out in some way.

  If I looked like Kohath, no one would fuck with me anymore. My punches would actually hurt, and no one would risk being on the other end of them.

  I wanna be strong. I wanna look strong. I just haven’t known how I’d get there before now, or I’ve been too defeatist to try.

  Then there’s also the promise of becoming a god. If I was a god, I wouldn’t even need muscles. Of course I could give myself muscles if I wanted to, but divine power would be so much more potent than anything generated by a fleshy body.

  But that’s stupid. There’s no way Helix can actually make me a god.

  Or…

  I don’t know. It’s not like I’m a god myself. I wouldn’t know about these things. Maybe it actually is possible to become a god. The Third Being basically made Arukei into one, right? If that really happened, that is. Yeah. I still don’t have much reason to actually believe Helix’s crazy story.

  And yet I find it all so convincing.

  Ah, whatever, it’s not really important whether or not it’s true. As long as maintaining a relationship of some kind with Helix is beneficial for me, his true origins don’t matter.

  So… do I want to say yes to him? Become his Bringer? He did say that he wouldn’t force me into anything I didn’t want to do. If that’s the case, what’s the harm in saying yes?

  Mm. Eh. I don’t want to make the decision right now. I think I’ll just sleep on it. I’m sure it’ll all feel clearer in the morning.

  Yeah. That’s good enough for me.

  I lie down, adopting a more comfortable position as I watch those Notian canines tear apart the antelope they just caught.

  Wouldn’t wanna be that guy.