A Flesh Golem's Ascension

by John Domus Cruo

  "They knew! They still sent me anyway!" she collapsed back into me, mumbling, "...and my sister, they knew then, as well. My mother wouldn't stop crying."

  I rested my cheek on the top of her head as I let her cry.

  "If you send me back, they will just send me out again,” she said as she took deep, shuddering breaths.

  "Then I won't send you back. But someday we will need to go to your village. We have to stop this from happening anymore." I replied while I laid her down and covered her back up. She reached her hand out and held mine.

  I breathed some more of the sleeping fog onto her. Sleep would bring her the comfort that I couldn’t.

  I could feel her still gripping my hand in her sleep as if taking solace in the fact that I was still here.

  Chapter 26: Devotion and Recompense — John

  I closed my eyes again. Now that I knew what had called me here, I knew what I was likely to find when I clicked on soul of a devoted follower.

  It was another young limbless girl. She had hair like the girl who was holding my hand — long, wavy, and brown.

  She was different; she wasn't crying. She had a pure look of defiant hatred in her eye.

  I opened my eyes to show her the sleeping girl holding my hand, then I got up to show her the cowering, sobbing torsos as they writhed and squirmed under my gaze.

  I then sat back down and took the young girl's hand once more before closing my eyes again.

  Her eye now shone with a tender expression as ethereal tears cut long streaks down her face. She gave me a broken-toothed smile.

  "Try to remember what you used to look like." I told her.

  She closed her eye as another tear ran down her face.

  Slowly, she regained her arms, followed by her legs. She opened both her eyes as she looked warmly at me.

  "Thank you! You finally came for me," she said as she approached me in spectral form. I could almost feel her as she embraced me.

  I felt an overwhelming sense of gratitude coming from her soul as it burned brighter.

  "You even saved my sister."

  She lifted her head to look at me. She was beaming from ear to ear. It was the second-most beautiful smile I had ever seen.

  "As agreed, I am yours. Please take every bit of me. Being a part of you is my only wish." She again pulled herself into me.

  My elder-god side surged with a warm feeling as if welcoming her. I could see something in her eyes, a true depth. I could feel our souls merging as we embraced. She was speaking the truth. She was mine now, for better or worse.

  I had to speak before this went on too long. "I'm not done yet with my side of things. I'm still missing one."

  "You've saved my sister. Even if that was all you did, it's enough. You may eat me, consume me, or send me to the abyss, but I will still be yours."

  I couldn't let her do this. "I still need to get Thads. I won't accept your offer until then."

  Her face contorted in rage. "Thads,” she hissed through clenched teeth as she moved away from me.

  "In the meantime, I can make you a new body, and you can take care of your sister."

  "No! Not after what he did to me and all those others. He needs to pay!" she yelled as her lithe body shook in a tempest of rage. "I still remember it, all of it. He threw me in that pit while I was still alive! He reduced me to a sick plaything for him and his men. He killed me over and over! If you put me back in a body, don't make it the body of a weak girl, make it something that can cause him pain! I don't care how grotesque or monstrous I become! I just want him to see me and know fear before he dies in agony." She was hyperventilating now as she spoke.

  I saw her soul flare up as if consuming itself. I needed to calm her down before she burned away.

  "Mors! Can I show her a memory?"

  "Yes, Master. You can't directly implant it, but you can show her."

  "Show her my encounter with Thads." I ordered.

  The black background began playing what had happened from the introduction to his escape.

  As it played, her flames died down.

  She turned back around and smiled her broad smile once more.

  "I promise, you can help me kill him. Afterwards he'll burn away to nothing in screaming, inescapable agony. I will make this happen, for you and for the rest." I said as I mentally moved forward to embrace her. She opened her arms and accepted it. When I went to exit, she stood on her tiptoes and kissed me as she faded away, leaving only the soft touch of her lips.

  For some reason, that made me feel better.

  I released the small girl's hand and went about my gruesome tasks as I interviewed the remaining two souls.

  I first interviewed the coachman. He had mentioned his part in this scheme, and I agreed to convert him to mana instead of burning him.

  Mana 10,118/10,118

  The Garanthi General was a strong, honest man. He talked about the plot he had initiated and informed me about his death by betrayal. He also told me that he never touched the girls except when he tried to put them out of their misery.

  I told him about the fate that awaited him. He thanked me for a chance to clear his honor and nodded, accepting the fate of burning away. I guessed his culture worshiped honor instead of deities.

  It looks like I've got another soldier.

  I had Bob running around gathering tent poles and sturdy branches to drive into the ground as I walked the line of bodies, severing heads.

  When I got to Lenny's body, it was still cramped up and frozen in an eternal state of terror.

  I opened Lenny's soul so he could watch me decapitate his body. I had nothing to say to him, and he wasn't speaking much anyway; it was all just sobbing and begging for forgiveness. I closed out of it after I had mounted his head on the center pole.

  After all the heads were mounted, I walked the line with my eyes open, matching souls to heads and making sure they saw both their own heads and the flaming line of heads behind them as I bound them.

  It was now around sunrise; Bob and I had worked through the night.

  I stood in the middle and activated Soul Steal while looking at the sky, careful not to undo my own work. I heard their wailing cries and lamentations. A few even cried my name, begging frantically to make it stop.

  I canceled Soul Steal and yelled, "There is no stopping this anymore! You're all just heads now. Did you stop when they asked you? When they begged and pleaded through broken teeth and partial tongues? Enjoy your eternity. Lose yourself in it and burn away to nothing!"

  Bob was staring at me with a complicated expression.

  "They aren't you, Bob. These guys deserve this." I said to him softly.

  Bob nodded but said nothing.

  The young girl came out of the tent yawning.

  She looked around, her jaws agape for a moment before running up to me. She grabbed my hand in both of hers.

  "Can they feel that fire?" she asked.

  Bob answered. "Yeah, trust me. It's worse in that form than in your body. At least when you're alive you can pass out when the pain gets too great. Here, there's no escape. Boss even made them keep their awareness. Even Dipshit wasn't that cruel..." Bob trailed off at the end.

  She looked up in wonder at Bob, as if astonished that he could speak.

  "Can I talk to them?" she asked while staring up at me.

  "Yes. They can't talk back, but they can hear you." I answered.

  "I'm going to go look!" she said as she pulled me along.

  To think just yesterday they were watching her suffer — now she gets to see each one of them in an even worse state as she frolics around with a radiant smile, her body whole and healthy.

  I opened the soul window and brought forth the tortured goblins, the tortured villagers and the devoted follower. I think they all should see this.

  I opened my eyes as she led me from head to head, identifying who did what and gloating at them.

  Of the souls I opened, all watched the scene in front of them. The villa
ge girls were crying as they smiled their broken smiles. The goblins simply held each other as their eyes misted over. My devoted follower was sitting down with her hands covering her face as tears fell.

  The young girl lingered for a minute by Lenny. The souls gasped. Some swore in anger; the rest just screamed.

  I played them my memory from earlier, both of how he died and what I did when setting up his head.

  I heard cheering from the goblins and my follower.

  The girl finished her tour of the heads.

  I closed out of the soul screen.

  I dug around the bodies a little and pulled out a large cloth shirt. When she put it on, it went down to her knees. I pulled out a belt and handed it to her. She fastened it.

  She now looked like she was wearing an ugly brown dress. Well, beggars can't be choosers.

  "I have to get to work on these bodies now. I need to bring the good ones back."

  "Can I play with your dog?" she asked.

  "Uh." I shot Bob a glance, and he shrugged. "Sure, maybe he'll play fetch or something. Just scream if he does anything weird."

  She ran off laughing. It's hard to believe she can be so happy. I smiled as I watched Bob lie down so she could pet him.

  I started Fleshcrafting.

  I opened the tortured villager souls one by one. I had them visualize their bodies before all this. They gradually regained their normal appearances.

  "Mors, we have templates here; help me recreate their bodies."

  I felt myself lose control of my own body once more. Mors moved with her normal uncanny speed. No, now it's faster — this must be the increased perception of time ability from the Sha'Dwarg.

  She perfectly completed each body, and as she did I Blended them and gave them all of my abilities except fog and Life Sense.

  If they go back to their village breathing fog with glowing eyes when they're mad, they might be ostracized or even burned as witches. Do they even hunt witches here or is that just a normal vocation? Well, either way, they will have mana regen, mana gathering, night sight, increased strength, exceptional hearing and smell, and a ghoul/wendigo stomach.

  Now that I think about it... “Mors, one revision. Give them a lower set of teeth, like Leeras, and restore their maidenheads.”

  They won't be able to heal from it like Leera, but I'm sure it beats the alternative.

  The first girl was fairly tall but very skinny, maybe late teens. She had shoulder-length blond hair and chestnut eyes.

  The next two looked like another set of sisters. One was taller than the other by maybe a foot. They both appeared to be in their mid-teens. They had thick, short, black hair.

  The next one was short, early teens at most. She had natural red hair with blue eyes and cute freckles.

  The last one was also blond, and her hair looked as though it had never been cut. She was slightly shorter than the first one but seemed older, as she had a curvier body. She may even be in her early twenties. She had brownish-green eyes.

  Mors and I worked well together now. She seemed to automatically know when I wanted control of my body back. She then resumed when I was done with my part.

  I gathered shirts and belts, pants for the ones tall enough. I laid the clothes that best matched their sizes next to their bodies.

  "Mors, teach them English."

  I dragged their souls over the bodies that matched.

  I turned my back as they opened their eyes.

  "There are clothes for each of you; I'm not sure how well they'll, fit but tell me if you need anything." I spoke as kindly as I could with my deep voice. I didn't want to scare them or have them think I wanted anything sexual.

  I felt several warm arms wrapping around me from behind as they all hugged me. Some had tears in their eyes, while others just seemed happy that it was over. I took my time to hug each one individually and rub the small ones’ heads, mussing their hair around.

  I told them all about their new abilities. To my surprise, the skinny one knew some ice magic. Nothing impressive, but she could chant to create a small icicle and shoot it about a foot. This was the first time I had seen any elemental magic. The wendigo's magic didn't count in my opinion, as it was just fog.

  I looked around for Bob and the younger girl. They flew past me in a blur of black fur and giggles.

  "Okay, girls, go play with Bob and... uh..." I didn’t know her name. Why do I never ask someone's name? This must be a habit from my past life when I was an antisocial loner.

  "Bob." I called.

  Bob and the girl stopped in front of me. The girl flew off Bob's back, but he dove and caught her. She was still laughing hysterically.

  I walked up to her. "My name is John. What's yours?" I asked.

  The girl’s laughter slowly stopped, and she shot me an ear to ear smile just like her sister.

  "John's a funny name." She laughed and made a face before continuing. "My name is Roscia." As she finished speaking, Bob once again placed her on his back.

  "All right, girls, go play with Bob and Roscia." I said as some of the girls ran up to Bob, petting him and trying to climb him, while the older ones just watched.

  The skinny one seemed to lose interest and walked back over to me.

  "Is it okay if I watch you work?" she asked while tucking her hair behind her ears.

  Now that I took the time to look at them, they seemed to have a slight, almost unnoticeable point. Oh god, is she an elf? Did I just meet an elf? For some reason I didn't expect to see one here.

  I could feel my face start to smile. It had taken long enough. So far the only fantasy creatures I'd seen had been trying to kill me or someone I cared about.

  She let out a girlish laugh before speaking. "That's the first time anyone has ever smiled after seeing these." She gestured to her ears then continued. "Elves haven't exactly been popular since they disappeared a few centuries ago. Our national religion even changed because of it. Now whenever something happens they just blame it on elves."

  I wasn't overly fond of elves myself; I always thought they were too cliche. But now seeing one in front of me I couldn’t help but want to touch her ears.

  "Can, uh, can I touch them?" I awkwardly asked.

  She came closer and bowed her head slightly. I reached out and stroked them to the points, pushing down a little and feeling them spring back. Mors really does move fast — how had I not noticed these when I was making her body?

  The tops of her ears started to flush red. Oops, I guess I had better stop.

  "I'm not a full elf. It's just some distant ancestor of mine. The only real benefits I get are that I'm a lot older than I look, and I can do a tiny bit of magic,” she said as she looked at me. I could see her sweating. Was she nervous?

  "That's okay! I'm part elder god, part human from a different world, part ghoul, rock troll, wendigo, Sha'Dwarg, normal guy, and a double serving of satyr." I said as I counted them on my fingers.

  She gasped at that last part and looked down to my crotch. Like always, the twins liked the attention. She knitted her brows and brought her hand up to her mouth, shaking her head. Her expression seemed to say that she felt sorry for me.

  "That's terrible, especially that last part." She still had pity in her eyes as she spoke.

  Really, that's the part you're choosing to focus on? Just going to blow off the elder god thing, huh?

  Well I guess after what she's been through, it would seem terrible.

  "Don't worry about it, I'm all flesh golem, regardless of the parts I use." I reassured her.

  "Now then, I have to get back to work." I told her as I walked over to the nearest body.

  She followed behind me.

  "Mors, let's do the same with the goblins."

  I opened all the goblins souls one by one.

  I started up Fleshcrafting.

  Mors began crafting the goblins’ bodies expertly. I stopped her. I remembered back to what the lusty goblin that became Leera said when she saw her body. I also r
emembered how Lina loved her body.

  "Mors, let's make handsome and attractive super-goblins." I heard her snort to suppress a laugh.

  I know that wasn't the best line ever, but that was my intention.

  "Of course, Master," she replied while snickering.

  She changed what she was doing to create well-proportioned goblins. The old goblin now looked like a mature gentleman with a nice, stylish, grey head of hair. The other adult goblin now looked like a short, curvaceous green woman with long, silky, yellow-green hair. The two kids now looked decidedly male and female. All of them were at least half a foot taller.

  I added bone spikes on one arm and all other abilities. I wasn’t entirely sure what a goblin was going to do with mana and fog, but something may manifest some day.

  I showed each goblin the body I had made for it, and they all seemed to be overjoyed. I guess goblins have self-esteem issues. Maybe from years spent at being the lowest sentient on the totem pole.

  I had one last thought.

  "Mors, teach them English."

  I dragged their souls onto their bodies.

  They looked at themselves, then at one another. The old man embraced his children once more as they cried and jumped up and down. The female walked over to me provocatively and gestured for me to bend down.

  I got to one knee and she pulled me into an embrace as I felt her tears on my shoulder.

  Just like I thought; they aren't any different than anyone else. If anything they're just more honest with their feelings.

  I went to stand up but the female wouldn't let me go. I stayed there for a moment.

  "Thank you!" I heard another sob before she continued. "Thank you so much." She finally pulled her head back as she looked into my eyes. Her eyes were the color of gold and honey. I hadn't changed them, so that was probably a combination of goblin red and wendigo yellow. They were beautiful. I wiped the tears from her smooth, angelic face and pulled her in for another hug.

  The old goblin walked over to me. The kids were behind him playing with their bone spikes. "So, you like my daughter that much, huh?" he said as he slapped my shoulder two quick times.

  I snapped out of my stupor. I now knew why the elf girl looked at me with pity. It's only been a day and my little heads are leading my big one around like a show-dog.