Chapter 6
The Embrace
"You look troubled, Fischer."
"...I’m just tired," I said, taking a sip of my coffee. It tasted bitter, more so than usual.
Dad nodded, a small smile on his lips. "It's been quite a week, hasn't it?"
"Yeah… it has."
"Your sister should be up soon. Did you sleep well? Any strange dreams? No... sensations?"
"What do you mean?"
Before he could answer, Rell walked into the kitchen. She looked better than yesterday. She'd woven fresh flowers into her braid.
"Morning."
"Good morning, Rell. Tea's ready, I made your favorite."
She nodded, sliding into the chair beside me. Under the table, I felt something small press into my palm, another mini-Rell. This one moved up my sleeve while the original remained hidden against my neck.
"How are you feeling?" Dad asked, pouring her tea.
"Better, stronger. It's like... everything's clearer now." She accepted the cup with a small smile. "Thank you."
"Your Origin is stabilizing beautifully. I've been thinking about what you showed us last night. The potential applications are fascinating."
"I'm still learning. It's all so new."
"Of course. But you've adapted so quickly."
"I think… It's time we had an honest conversation. About why I left the SDC. And what I've been working on all these years."
"I'm listening."
"I've always loved you both…. that's important for you both to understand before anything else. Everything I've done has been out of love."
"What have you done, Father?"
"I've groomed you. Both of you, from the moment you were born."
My stomach twisted, and I felt sick. "What does that even mean?"
"It means I've controlled your growth and actively shaped your development. Prepared you for your true purpose."
"Which is what?"
"Evolution… my evolution, to be precise."
"The Sacred system is elegant but inefficient. Trials, grades, evolutions… ugh. It is all so boring. But there are shortcuts, if you know where to look. And the SDC found one, centuries ago. They buried the research, of course. Can't have Sacred bypassing the established order of the worlds."
"What kind of shortcut?" I asked.
Dad's eyes gleamed. "Direct integration of another Sacred's Origin into one's own. It's how the system was designed originally."
Rell's face had gone pale. "You're talking about killing other Sacred and stealing their power."
"Not stealing. Honoring. Elevating. When a weaker beast consumes a stronger one, it doesn't steal from it. No, no, no… it transforms it, incorporating the consumed power into something greater."
"We're not beasts."
"Of course we are, Fischer. Sacred are just beasts who simply walk and talk.. We're closer to the creatures in the Reaches than to the humans we once were."
He reached across the table, placing his hand over Rell's.
"My Origin is called The Shepherd, and it allows me to groom others, to nurture their growth toward the most optimal traits. I can control its development. It's how I knew Rell would manifest Masquerade. It's how I've been preparing you both since infancy."
"Preparing us for what exactly?"
"For a magnificent Feast."
"You're going to kill us."
"No, Rell. I'm going to consume you. Your consciousness, your memories, your power… they'll live on within me. You'll become part of something greater."
"...You're fucking insane."
"I expected you to understand, Fischer. You've always been the more pragmatic one. Why should three separate Sacred exist when we could become one perfect being?"
"Because we want to live our own lives… because we're people, not ingredients."
"You've always seen the world through such a limited lens. But it doesn't matter if you understand. The bonds were implanted years ago. They've been maturing your entire lives."
I felt a strange pressure in my skull. Judging by Rell's sudden sharp breath, she felt it too.
"There, do you feel that? The connection we've always shared?"
I tried to stand, to run, to do anything… but my body wouldn't respond. The pressure in my skull intensified, locking my muscles in place.
"Don't fight it, son. It only makes the process more uncomfortable."
Rell's eyes were wide with fear. I saw her fingers twitch, and suddenly the kitchen was filled with dozens of miniature Rells, materializing from thin air. They launched themselves at Dad, tiny hands clawing at his face, his eyes, and his mouth.
Dad laughed, batting them away with his hand.
"What impressive control you have, especially under my pressure. But these little puppets are not strong enough yet."
The mini-Rells vanished in puffs of mist.
Dad stood, moving around the table with the grace of a predator. The pressure in my skull built until my vision blurred with tears.
"I'll start with you, Rell, your Origin has already manifested and is at its peak potency right now, fresh from the Trial."
"...Don't… Dad, please." I gasped, struggling against the invisible that held me in place.
"I'm not doing this out of cruelty, Fischer." Dad pulled Rell to her feet, wrapping her in what looked like a loving embrace. She fought against him, but she was weakened by the bond.
"This is everything I've worked for. Everything I've prepared you both for."
"We're your children," Rell cried, her tears streaming down her face.
Dad nodded, stroking her hair. "Yes. Which makes you the perfect vessels. The perfect components. Who better to contribute to my ascension than the children I love most in this world?"
"My Origin has been waiting for this moment for twenty years," he said, still holding Rell close. "Ever since I identified your potential in the womb."
His jaw began to shift, the bones beneath his skin cracking. Rell's eyes widened in horror as she watched Mikkel’s face transform from the loving parent she'd known her entire life into an ancient and predatory beast.
"...Dad, please!"
His mouth stretched, revealing row upon row of teeth. Each tooth long and serrated like shark teeth… They rotated like the blades of some terrible machine.
"I love you, Rell, this is the greatest honor I can give you." He said, his voice distorted by his transformed mouth.
I screamed, fighting against the paralysis with everything I had. The mini-Rell against my neck was frantically biting at my skin, trying to break me free of the bond. The second mini-Rell was clawing at my palm.
Dad pulled Rell closer to his distended mouth.
The teeth spun faster, creating a high-pitched sound like a saw blade. Rell fought, kicking and scratching.
"Fischer! Help me!" She screamed, reaching toward me.
I strained against the force holding me, veins bulging in my neck, muscles trembling with effort. The mini-Rell at my neck bit down hard, and I felt the connection breaking.
I rushed forward, grabbing the nearest weapon I could find. Which was a kitchen knife from the counter. Dad saw me, his distorted eyes widening in surprise. He twisted, holding Rell between us like a shield.
"Do not make this harder than it needs to be."
"Let her go!"
"You can't stop this, Fischer. It's what you were born for. What you were created for."
"I wasn't created for your sick plans, and neither was she."
"I had hoped you would understand. That you would accept your purpose with dignity. But children rarely appreciate their parents' sacrifices."
He tightened his grip on Rell, pulling her toward his monstrous mouth.
"Dad, please, we love you. We've always loved you."
"And I love you, that's why this is necessary. That's why this is beautiful."
I charged forward, knife raised, knowing I couldn't reach them in time but unable to just stand there watching. Dad flicked his wrist dismissively, and the pressure slammed back into my skull, sending me crashing to the floor, knife skittering away across the tile.
"Watch, Fischer, learn what it means to become part of something greater."
He pulled Rell's head toward his mouth, her red hair cascading over his arm. His rotating teeth spun faster; their sound was a scream straight out of a horror film.
"I'm sorry, Fish," Rell sobbed, looking at me one last time. "I love you."
Dad's teeth bit into her scalp, sending blood spraying across the kitchen. Rell's scream cut through the air, drowning out the shriek of Dad’s saw blade teeth. I fought against the invisible bonds, screaming in rage as Dad’s teeth chewed deeper, shredding through her body.
Her blood pooled on the kitchen floor, spreading toward me. Rell's body shook as Dad's teeth shredded their way downward, consuming her from the top down. Her screams became wet, gurgling sounds, before they stopped altogether.
Dad's throat bulged like a snake, his eyes rolling back in pleasure.
A strange aura began to surge from within him, shining through his skin. Rell's body went limp in his arms, what remained of her head now unrecognizable pulp.
"Yes… this… is… perfect… Her… Origin… is... exquisite." Dad gasped between bites.
I couldn't look away. The bond kept me pinned in place, forcing me to witness every moment as he consumed my sister. Piece by piece. Bite by bite.
The mini-Rell against my neck was trembling violently. The one in my palm had gone completely still. As Dad continued feeding, they both began to glow with the same strange light emanating from within him.
"Don't worry, Fischer… you'll join us soon. Not today though, your Origin hasn't manifested yet. But soon.”
When it was over, Dad's jaw reset itself with a series of clicks. His teeth pulled back, and his mouth returned to normal.
He knelt beside me, stroking my hair with a blood-soaked hand.
"I know this is difficult to understand right now. But someday, you'll see that this is the greatest gift I could give you both…"
The mini-Rells were fading now, their tiny bodies dissolving into mist. The last one, the original that had warned me, pressed its diminutive hand against my cheek in what felt like a final goodbye.
"She's still here, Fischer, part of me now. Her consciousness, her power, all preserved within my Sacred Soul."
He moved to the sink and washed his hands.
"I think I'll make pancakes."
I lay there, still paralyzed, as Dad hummed a familiar lullaby and began gathering ingredients. Blood pooled on the kitchen floor.
My sister was gone. Consumed by the man who'd raised us.