Core Beliefs

“You’re sure that things will be fine out there?”

“Eh, today was a Springfield day, I think they can handle it on their own,” John replied calmly, holding Lerianna close to him with one hand while he texted with the other. “And since Tricia set up a phone line, I can finally take care of basic stuff without heading back anyway.”

And what a relief that was. While Lerianna was busy chasing the Nekos around, John had checked his phone and realized he had a multitude of messages from both Kim and Moira that had all come in early in the morning during breakfast, or a bit later while he was busy giving Lerianna what she so badly wanted. They’d finally awoken for the day, and the mention of a nonstop week of training had Moira concerned. Not quite so much with the Slayer-in-Training.

“I would be more than happy to show you what a Slayer can do when she’s pushed to her limits. But you need to move it forward. We need the training sooner, rather than later. And even if you don’t need it, the rest of us will need more than a day to recover if you’re serious about how hard you want to go at this.”

“You should be telling him this is stupid, not trying to tell him to do it sooner,” had come the text from Moira, just a few minutes after Kim’s response. “I don’t care if you do have unlimited stamina, don’t get tired, don’t need to eat or sleep or whatever else anymore. John, even in a life-or-**** fight, you can only go so long before your mind starts to adjust to it. You’ll get complacent, even bored. And that’s how mistakes get made. In Barriers, those mistakes are incredibly dangerous. And in war, they’re most likely fatal.”

“Right, so the Warden is out. I’ll take her share of the dungeons,” Kim had replied without hesitation.

The two of them had continued on like that for quite a while, several messages going back and forth. They were so unbothered by John’s lack of messages that it almost seemed like they had forgotten he was a part of the group chat at all, until Moira’s last message.

“By the Lady’s divine grace, I’d tell you both to sod off if I didn’t think you were actually stupid enough to go through with this without me there,” Moira’s message read, and John vividly imagine the grit of her teeth and the furrow of her brow as she’d typed it out, just a few minutes before he’d checked. “I will gather some of our Knights and Squires who can keep up with you to some degree, or who can use their magic to heal your wounds between dungeons. You may not grow weary, but your allies do, and you will run them ragged long before the week ends if you only bring the two of us along with them.”

John had to admit she had a point. Even if he tagged in Orria and decided to let Vallya train with them again as a test of her progress, he still only had seven members of his little family that actively wanted to follow him into battle and could pull their weight. Even after all that she’d eaten, Aclysia was notably behind the others, and John didn’t know if she was even interested in fighting. Farrah was very explicitly not, and John had never asked Yvara, but she never showed the slightest desire to accompany them, and she’d had plenty of opportunities. The kittens would’ve been more than happy to help, but the phrase “playing with your food” came to mind, and they were hardly any stronger than John had been when he first got his powers.

“They that entertaining?” Lerianna asked, turning her head to glance at him from her side of the bed. John only rolled his eyes, the grin on Lerianna’s face saying she already had an idea of how the conversation was going.

“We can do it in four- or eight-hour shifts, depending on dungeon difficulty and how much damage we’re all taking,” John finally added to the conversation. “I can take the group size up to five without turning it into a Raid and nullifying our gains. Maera, Mithra, Sophia, Lerianna, Vallya, Shishun, and Orria will all join me at some point. With you two, that’s nine in total. Three more would give us three full rotations to cycle through. Everyone would have plenty of time to eat, sleep, and rest up before going back into rotation, or before someone else took their place.”

“I can do double-shifts.”

The message came in as John was debating elaborating further, or at least asking what either of them wanted in return. Kim’s eagerness reminded him how unnecessary doing either was, at least for her. He vaguely wondered if she had been keeping the phone within reach since she’d first seen the message, just waiting for his response this whole time.

“No, Moira is right about me being the only one who doesn’t get tired. And about getting too complacent after fighting for too long. I’m the only one running longer than eight, and if I need to, I’ll take a rotation off to refresh myself.”

“Even when you show some sense, it’s just a slightly lesser madness,” Moira bemoaned over a quick reply. “If we’re going to be reckless enough to try this, let’s do it a week from today. That will give you two days to recover from your idiocy.”

“It’s a date.”

“This is not a date!”

“Ignore her, my darling. Just focus on us.”

John nearly ruptured with laughter as Kim’s last message came in, immediately followed by a very intimidating “Moira is typing...” notification.

“Okay, you know what? They are that entertaining. I didn’t even know Kim had a sense of humor like that. I guess when it comes to riling up Moira, nothing is off limits…” John chuckled, tilting the phone over so Lerianna could see what was going on.

“Showing a girl your flirty texts right after sleeping with her? That’s a bold move,” Lerianna said dryly, though her lips curved up a bit as she read over the exchange.

“Not what I meant, I just thought-”

“Relax,” Lerianna cut him off with a quick wave of her hand as she spoke, “I knew what I was getting into. I wasn’t the first in your bed, I certainly won’t be the last. I don’t even know what we are now, or what we want to be.”

“You don’t think you’ll want to do this again? You seemed to enjoy it quite a bit in the moment,” John teased, already bracing himself before the elbow slammed into the side of his rib cage.

“Of course I want to do it again. I meant deeper than sex, you numbskull. You’re annoying, but you’re not that awful to put up with.”

“You put it a lot more affectionately the first time, you know.” This time, even braced, John felt the air whooshing out of him as her elbow dug in a little more firmly.

“Try to make me say it again and I’ll do to you what I was gonna do to those mangy cats before you talked me down,” Lerianna growled, her ears twitching in annoyance. “Speaking of which, are you sure you can spare all this time just… hanging out with me? I got half a day or so before. I don’t mind if you need to dip out and see what the others are up to.”

“You asked for another day, you’re getting one,” John insisted. “If I went back to Springfield, everyone would be dealing with their own stuff anyway. They can always come find me if they need me anyway. Besides, I’m pretty sure everyone is over at the temple, if Maera and Mithra were serious about sending the kittens over there. They wouldn’t just let them go on their own – and what’s the weirdest thing that could happen over there?”

"... and in the end, all of the creatures of the forest lived together in their new home happily. They built a sanctuary in the Great Tree, protected and cared for under the watchful eyes of the newly arrived King of the Forest. They had learned to value their differences, and had all seen how wonderful the forest could become under their King's guidance. The forest entered an age of peace and prosperity, and the divisions that had once split the groves in body and mind were left behind forever. Little Franny Fluffentail finally had a home to call her own, one even more magnificent than the one in her dreams, and more importantly, plenty of friends to share it with. The end!"

"Nyan, why wasn't there a princess in that one?" Mika and Miya said in unison.

"And what about all the animals that used to eat the other animals? What do they eat now?"

"Well, what do you eat?" Aclysia asked, staring blankly at Magnus. "Perhaps they eat fruits like the ones Creator John grows for us, or bring in meat from other worlds the way that he does."

"They leave the forest to go eat animals in other places?!" Magnus' mind seemed to fill in details that did not exist, creating a new version of the ending that existed only in his head, and the expression on his face became one of near-reverence. "Awesome!"

"Will you read us another one, Miss Aclysia?!" Midoriya pleaded, his eyes filled with stars.

"Yvara, may we have another book? I believe that something with princesses would be appreciated." Aclysia smiled as she closed the book and turned her head toward where the dragoness was frantically sifting through the few books she had on her shelves.

"I apologize, but that was the last of the children's books that I have been able to recreate," Yvara said regretfully, pulling a few tomes from the shelves, much thicker ones than the short stories that Aclysia had been reading. “The ritual I used to recreate these books is a rather complex one, moreso in time than resources. It’s convenient in that it allows the user to effectively inscribe an entire book into their own mana reserves without the need to memorize each word, but it requires a good deal of dedicated preparation and execution. Most of my efforts were dedicated toward the temple’s most important speeches and sermons… the only children’s books I took the time to include were those that I found myself enamored with as a child. I will admit, a few of these I didn’t use the ritual for at all – I did manage to memorize them.”

Yvara turned her head away to conceal the crimson glow spreading across her cheeks as she descended the ladder, doing her best to level herself out by the time her shoes touched the temple’s smooth floor. By the time she reached Aclysia and gently lowered the small stack of books into Aclysia’s arms, her face was even and only slightly apologetic.

“These are not mere parables, but actually delve into the temple’s teachings proper. Still, they are meant as an introductory lesson for the children, an education on the temples themselves and why we pay our respects to Lord John. Somewhat similar to the books that I provided for you earlier, actually.”

“Ooh, stories about Papa?” Moira leaned forward as she stared at the books, her eyes going slightly screwy as she tried to read the titles. “Prophecies?”

“Profi-sees?” Magnus repeated off-rhythm, tilting his head awkwardly. “What’s that mean?”

“Visions of the future. Though none of them ever resembled the reality I find myself in here, with all of you,” Yvara admitted. There was a trace of confusion on her features, but her smile never wavered as she reached out to run her fingers along the leather binding of the books in Aclysia’s hands. “There never was much agreement in how literal these were meant to be taken, though. Judge for yourselves, or simply enjoy the stories of what our priestesses thought the world would one day become. They may not contain all the whimsy of the books Aclysia was reading earlier, but I enjoyed them just as much. And they were a great comfort to me, on the dark nights when I needed it.”

“Yeah, tell us about what Papa’s gonna do!”

“We wanna hear about how great Papa is!”

“Alright, alright. I will do my best,” Aclysia replied, a pleasant expression settling on her face as she flipped through the book, skimming the various passages in the hopes of finding one that would satisfy the young Nekos. It didn’t take more than a few pages before she found something she hoped would at least entertain them.

“Yata Katze, Seventh of Ilnumber, in the year 46,933 of – what a strange title for a story,” Aclysia murmured, her lips stumbling over the unfamiliar patterns within the bolded words at the top of the page.

“Not so much a story. A prophecy, remember – a vision of the future, of the Lord’s arrival or some grand event afterward,” Yvara explained, sitting herself beside Aclysia. “What you are reading there is the name and the day of its first documented occurrence. To be considered a true prophecy of the Lord, at least five people must bear witness to a vision sharing the same details. There are more complexities to the way they are read and interpreted, and whether they are identical in entirety or only in parts, but… well, never mind that for now. Just ignore the title and read away.”

“Very well.” Aclysia’s eyes dropped down the page to where the regular lettering returned, and resumed her reading.

“Alvira, the Mata-Alna of the Neko tribe stands in the fields of her people, her eyes cast out over the long grasses and reeds. The sun is rising, and its golden rays cast long fingers of shade from the figures approaching in the east. Figures even darker than their own shadows, figures with scales of dark red, skin of charcoal black, and eyes glistening gold. Beside her stand Kuchil of the Inu tribe, Inamala of the Naga, Tal’ora of the Drakes, and Wisseria of the Vixens. Behind her stands the might of the full Fial army, all tribes united as one.

“Their golden jewelry ripples and sways in the early morning breeze. The glistening steel of their clawed gauntlets clatters and jingles as their bodies flex, preparing themselves for the onslaught ahead. From behind them, another figure approaches. His steps are confident and assured, and though his face is obscured beyond recognition, I catch a wayward glimpse of a steely, resolved grimace as he strides to stand beside Alvira. His skin is fair, and covered in flowing, almost whimsical lines that dance as he…”

Yvara had been right. This book was nothing like the simplistic and easily digestible children’s stories. The level of detail was rather impressive, especially for something claimed to be a vision recounted as truthfully as possible, and the vocabulary clearly left the kittens confused as much as excited as she continued on, even as the fight began in earnest.

“The Lord calls out for an end to the battle when half the creatures are slain, tries to reason with them that more suffering might be avoided. But the leader of these dark creatures, their foul commander, only laughs. She says that the suffering is not a consequence of their battle, but the goal. That strength can only be found in adversity, that power is only made real when it is wielded. The creatures fight on, with no regard for their own lives, and **** the gathered armies to fight to the end, until the last of these demonic beings is purged from their lands. It is only when his blade is embedded in the heart of that same leader that the Lord understands what the woman truly said – that without ****, without pain, there would be no-”

“Aclysia, I think they’re done with the story,” Yvara said politely.

“But I am not- oh.”

Aclysia glanced up from the book at last, having become so enamored in the stories that she hadn’t noticed the absence of the kittens. Mika and Miya were snoozing underneath a blazing sconce on the wall not far away, while the other four had all darted toward the temple’s entrance. Aclysia hadn’t even heard the doors swinging wide, but Maera and Mithra were dashing into the Temple, looking unusually nervous for some reason. Their arrival had drawn the attention of the four kittens not currently dozing, as well as the others, all slowly making their way toward the door.

“I am sorry. I did not realize they had grown bored. I seem to have become too caught up in it myself,” Aclysia muttered, her eyes fighting the magnetic pull of the page, still yearning for the last few lines of it.

“I’m glad that you enjoyed it. You always do seem to devour the books I provide to you quite hungrily. You remind me a lot of myself when I was younger, in that way,” Yvara said with a wide smile. She was a bit redder than usual, but her shyness seemed to fade as she saw the passion on Aclysia’s face, noticed the twitch of her pupils toward the unfinished prophecy. “You can keep those, if you’d like. They’re a bit different from the other tomes I’ve given you, but they’re still not so dry as the lectures and sermons that a temple would give to the adults that visit. Just bring them back when you’re finished, same as the others.”

“Yes, I believe I would like that,” Aclysia said quietly, her fingers tracing over the pleasant texture of the pages. “It’s strange. I’ve heard Creator John speak of his past battles and stories quite often, and heard the others speak of them as well, but these feel different for a reason I cannot quite pin down.”

“Well, there are many battles which may seem pointless to most. Our own history was filled with them as well. But to be so important that we are blessed with a vision of some great or terrible future event, most priestesses agree that it must hold some relevant lesson or piece of knowledge that can be applied. What part of it is important is sometimes up for debate, and it can always be interpreted in different ways, but they’re at least worth contemplating. Perhaps you will agree – or perhaps you will find them enjoyable, but pointless. I believe you will at least consider them all.”

“Yes, I will,” Aclysia vowed, gently shutting the book and returning it to the pile.

“Now, I think the Nekos are signaling that it is alright to return home. I do not know what drove them to encourage you all to visit today, but I am glad you came by, Aclysia. You are always welcome here. You are a quick study, and you have a passion for these teachings that I have not seen in the others.”

Aclysia blinked, then again, caught off-guard and momentarily fumbling at the praise. “I am only studying that which I find interesting and relevant to my Creator. You do not need to flatter me for doing so, though I appreciate your kindness.”

“Even in my world, it was rare to find someone who would read as fervently as I did. Most ended up as workers in the temples in some fashion, eventually, and…” Yvara swallowed nervously, the bright red of her scales seeping into her dark cheeks as she averted her eyes, “...while I am aware I did not intend it to become a proper garment, I must admit, that High Priestess robe suits you well, Aclysia. In more ways than one.”

Aclysia could’ve well turned fully back into the statue she once was, for all the difference it would have made. Her silence and blank stare caused Yvara to finally reach her breaking point, small tufts of smoke escaping from under her collar as a section of her undergarments seemed to abruptly combust.

“Oh, curses! I worried I rushed the enchantments on these. I wanted to save materials for the alchemy lab, but I should’ve known better than…”

Yvara’s voice trailed off as she hurried away, swatting at her chest and using the sudden blaze as a reasonable excuse to make great strides in the other direction from her visitors. Aclysia stared after her for several moments, her fingers tracing the spine of each book in turn. A warmth was settling into her abdomen, one that had her fidgeting in her seat.

“High Priestess? A priestess of my creator, at that. Worshiping Creator John. Why does that sound so...”