Chapter 21: Birth

Chapter 21:
Birth

 

ETERNA’S WATER MAGIC enveloped a baby, holding it in place. Half of its body was crushed; a mélange of blood and smaller babies drained from its wounds. The immense pressure kept them at bay for the moment.

They were currently in a park, where the battle had begun. The bodies of innumerable babies littered the area. The stench of blood was so strong that just standing there was enough to make it permeate your flesh.

The disturbing scene only added to Eterna’s desire to get this battle over with as soon as possible so she could finally get out of there. And finally, it seemed like she was about to get her wish.

“This is the end of the road for you.”

The water entered through the creature’s mouth and into its body, smashing through its esophagus and burrowing downward until it took hold of the core. The baby twitched once before going still. At the same time, the tiny creatures stopped pouring out of its wounds.

“Well, that was a lot harder than I’d anticipated.”

The more damage she laid on the thing, the tougher it got, to say nothing of the increased pace at which it milled out its tiny clones. Every time she thought she’d beaten the thing back, she found herself with her back against the wall again. Her shoulder and thigh had both suffered deep wounds, while various cuts and scrapes peppered the rest of her. Eterna used some of her water magic to wash out her wounds, but that did little to alleviate the pain that racked her body.

“The rest of the city’s gone quiet. I guess I was the last to finish?” She looked slightly annoyed as she turned west. Smoke rose here and there along the skyline.

She never once considered that any of them would lose. Feeling assured of their hard-won victories, Eterna set off for the Central District, where Gadhio was supposed to be waiting.

 

***

 

“Take that!”

Linus’s arrow shot clean through the huge baby’s chest, ripping open the flesh and piercing through its core in the process. It and its minions stopped in their tracks.

He wasn’t very good at dealing any sort of damage over a wide area, so the swarm was particularly challenging. He’d decided to redouble his efforts and instead focus exclusively on the main body. Whether that was the right strategy or not, he couldn’t yet say, but considering he made it through mostly unscathed, he had no complaints.

“Hmph. I gotta say, just assessing the damage isn’t doing my mental health any favors.”

He might not be hurt, but he’d nearly spent himself. Two days in a row of pitched fights was pretty rough.

“Well, I don’t hear anything. I guess everyone else is done, too.”

A little while back, he noted a monstrous clamor rolling out from the guild. Considering that whatever it was hadn’t made its way here to back up the giant baby, he figured Flum must have won.

“I’ll go meet up with Flum, and then we’ll look for Mother together. Man, what a day…” Linus ran a hand through his hair and started off toward the guild.

 

***

 

His battle now complete, Gadhio returned to his search and stepped into a warehouse. He was exhausted beyond belief, but he also knew that this would all be for naught if they let Mother get away.

The darkened warehouse was full of abandoned crates stacked high, up to the distant ceiling. The place was vast and offered innumerable places to hide.

Gadhio marched confidently straight toward the center of the building, closed his eyes, and focused his senses. If Mother had any special abilities that might help him hide, then he was probably out of luck. But thankfully, he was betting Mother was nothing like the Children. Just a normal human researcher. Mother had no choice but to go into hiding now that he no longer enjoyed the Children’s protection.

Gadhio traced Mother’s presence, his sword in hand, ready to decapitate his opponent on sight. However, just as he was about to arrive in front of the crate that Mother had hidden away in, he heard a loud squelch beneath his foot.

“Gaa…hnngh…guuaaaah!

A moment later, he heard a bestial cry.

“Oooh…ogo… go…puah…igyaaaa!”

Gadhio was met with the sight of a large man dressed in women’s clothes…and a self-inflicted gut wound. Mother looked up at Gadhio and smiled, his teeth stained red with the blood that dripped from the corners of his mouth.

“Just what in the hell are you doing, Mich Smithee?”

This looked like more than a suicide attempt. Mother’s maniacal cackling echoed throughout the warehouse.

It was hard to believe someone who had just cut their stomach open could sound so energetic. Clearly, he neither regretted nor feared his death. In fact, he seemed overcome with joy, pursuing it with fervor.

“Hey! I asked what’s going on here!” Gadhio rammed his sword into the stone floor next to Mother’s head, though the threat had little effect.

Mother responded between cackling fits of laughter. “Cae…sa…rean.”

There was something about the excitement in his voice that made Gadhio sick to his stomach.

“A caesarean section?”

“Th-that’s…right. To…give b-birth…to that…g-g-g-g-iant…thing. It’s a…a strong ’un. A…a…a…little early…b-b-but…it’ll…hang in…there.” He looked incredibly pleased with himself.

Perhaps the pain was its own reward, the agony that racked his body transmuted into a sense of elation. However, his heavy gasping betrayed his anguish.

Every time he moved, blood gushed forth like water wrung from a towel.

“I loved…the Children…as if…they were…my own. I…was the…i-i-ideal…mother…to them…to lead…them to…new…heights.” Mother’s face clouded over, his voice grew weak, and his skin took on a pallid complexion as he faded away. He’d said his piece and was happy to die there.

“Don’t go dying on me like that! Hey, hang on!!” Gadhio looked up from Mother’s corpse and turned his attention to a point farther off in the warehouse.

There was a trail of blood leading away from their location.

“A caesarean section, huh? So did he give birth to something? The final form of the Children, maybe?”

Whatever it was, Gadhio ran after the trail. If the giant babies were the third generation, whatever Mother gave birth to was the fourth. But if it had to be raised and nurtured in his stomach, it clearly wasn’t suitable for mass production. In other words, the plan was probably never even up for the church’s consideration.

“Huh. I don’t sense anything. The blood trail just ends at the wall. Where are you hiding?”

If this truly was Mother’s trump card, then that could only mean that it was more powerful than the other Children, even with their twin cores. It sounded like it might have been born prematurely; Gadhio needed to find and destroy it while it was still incomplete.

He waded through the crates nearby, his sword swinging, but nothing came crawling out. He struck the point where the blood trail stopped, shattering the wall in the process. Looking through the hole, he saw the trail stretching outside.

“So it can phase through obstacles, but blood still sticks to it. Huh.”

He couldn’t begin to imagine what kind of creature this fourth-generation child would be, but he was more confident than ever that it existed as he continued to follow the trail, sword in hand.

 

***

 

Fwiss was set upon with a battery of magical healing spells before the facility staff hurried him to the operating room. Just as he did before, Satuhkie went in to talk to Fwiss and got him to agree to undergo the operation, though he took a little more time than Mute did to win over.

Nekt waited outside the operating room, holding a silent vigil as she watched the door and waited for it to finish. That was where Chatani finally appeared before her.

“There’s something plain wrong about watching you walk around,” she said.

“Well, you complained last time when I did it my usual way. I’m not sure what you want.”

“Hmph. Do you need something from me?”

“Satuhkie has granted permission for Mute to receive visitors. You can come and go as you…”

Nekt used her Connection ability to teleport then and there, not bothering to wait for Chatani to finish speaking.

“It wouldn’t hurt to at least let me finish…haah.” Chatani put his hand to his head and sighed. “No matter what century you find yourself in, those in power never change.”

“And who, may I ask, are you referring to?” Satuhkie stepped up to Chatani’s side.

“I’m pretty sure showing up out of nowhere is my move, Mr. Sato.”

Satuhkie smiled teasingly at his fussy companion. “I guess we’re all in good spirits lately. Maybe that’s why I feel like indulging my childish side.”

“A side effect of your kind deeds for the Children?” Chatani’s voice dripped with sarcasm.

“Kind deeds? Hardly. There was absolutely no need to save them. Worse yet, each time we complete a surgery, the church loses another weapon. They’re nothing more than wasted space now.”

“Then why pretend?”

“I was just following your lead. Doctor Chatani, Flum…the two of you have given me something to dream for.” Satuhkie spread out his arms and shrugged. Though his words felt hollow, sincerity carried through in his tone.

“Well, that’s certainly not my intention,” said Chatani. “I’ve always fought against Origin, and I will continue to do so.”

“And that in and of itself doesn’t give rise to grand dreams? Had I not excavated that location near Flum’s hometown, perhaps I would have used some other means to restore this country. In that case, I would have… Hmm… I suppose I would have joined forces with Echidna. She’s easy to please. As long as you give her a place to work and all the money she needs for her research, she’d play along. Then I figure we would have seized the demons’ lands before suppressing Origin.”

But that would have put him up against Flum. If they could find an artificial way to suppress Origin, they wouldn’t need her Reversal.

“I have to say that’s a worse fate by far than what I’m doing here,” said Satuhkie.

“I’m not sure how valuable it is to compare where we are to futures that never happened. After all, I can only see the world I’m in now.”

“Hmm. Ottilie had similar criticisms. But am I really so bad? I’m just doing what I think is right.”

“As I said, I can’t comment on hypotheticals.”

Satuhkie looked visibly saddened by this non-answer.

“What counts as salvation depends on the observer, I suppose. Making one person’s dream come true means denying another’s. I believe those children are there to help balance the scales.”

“Hence the decision process?”

“Oh, but they’re the ones who make the decision. I’m simply providing them with a comparatively better option.”

 

***

 

A smile graced Mute’s lips the moment she saw Nekt appear in her room.

Nekt slowly stroked Mute’s cheek. “Wow, Mute! I’m so glad to hear you’ll… Huh? When did Ink get here?”

Ink held Mute’s hand, tilting her head slightly at the sound of her name.

“Huh? Why the long face? We saved Mute, ya know. You should be happier.”

Mute’s body still bore the marks of when she’d made the decision to throw away her life, but otherwise, she had made a full recovery.

“You should be thankful that Flum got involved. Mute couldn’t have been saved without her.”

They had used a reversion core to nullify the power that had transformed her body into that of a monster. The Origin core in her body was also removed, replaced with that of a prisoner. Satuhkie had made all the arrangements.

Mute was now a normal human, just like Ink.

“I heard Luke’s operation’s finished too, so I’m sure he’ll be over shortly,” said Nekt. “And then Fwiss. Once we’re all together, as normal kids, we’ll be happy. Just like Ink. Right?”

Ink stayed quiet.

“What’s with you, Ink? Aren’t you happy for Mute?”

“No, it’s not that…”

“Listen, I understand. Life’s full of challenges. But hey, with the four…no, the five of us together, we can overcome anything, I know it.”

“Well…”

“Gah, you are such an awful older sister.” Nekt was growing exasperated by the sight of Ink’s sullen expression.

“Nekt…” Mute spoke up, her voice weak and hollow.

“What is it, Mute? I guess you can’t move much yet, but just let me know if you need anything, yeah?”

“Nekt.”

“I’m gonna be annoyed if you tell me you just want to keep saying my name. But…hey, I’ll let it go just this once.”

Nekt was just happy to have the chance to talk to her sister again. Mute could keep repeating her name as long as she wanted; she didn’t care.

She had persisted for just this moment.

“Hey, Nekt…”

“Listen, I can’t help you if that’s all you’ll say. Just tell me what you want.”

Mute let out a slow, trembling breath before speaking up again. Her voice was barely audible. “S-sorry.”

A tear appeared in the corner of her eye and ran down her cheek before she slowly closed her eyes.

“Mute?” Nekt gave Mute a firm shake, but there was no response.

Ink choked back a sob, and her shoulders trembled as she pressed Mute’s hand against her forehead.

“H-hey, Mute. Didja fall asleep? That’s pretty bad timing, ya know… I wanted to ask about what you wanted to do next.”

Deep inside she already knew the truth, but she didn’t want to accept it.

“Oh, Muuuuute…”

Without eyes, Ink was unable to shed any tears of her own, but the sadness she felt welling up in her chest was immense.

“Mute… Mute!! Say something! What’s going on here, anyway? They said the operation was a success! We were going to become humans again and then live on like normal siblings, weren’t we?!”

Nekt could feel the heat slowly leaving her sister’s body through her palms.

“Nekt, Mute’s…she’s…”

“Shut uuuuuup! Why?! How?! I need answers! Someone needs to tell me how this happened, and now! Satuhkie! Chataniiiiiiiiiiiii!”

Nekt looked for someone to take her grief out on as it caught fire. The door slowly opened, but it was neither Satuhkie nor Chatani who answered Nekt’s calls. Much to her surprise, Luke entered the room.

“Huh, this is the first time I’ve ever seen you so worked up, Nekt. Looks like you were a lot more attached to us than I thought.”

His operation only finished recently, and his face was still deathly pale as his new human heart began to adjust. He walked unsteadily to Mute’s bed and sat on the mattress before running a hand through her white hair.

“What’s going on here, Luke? It all went so well, and now this?!”

Luke shook his head.

Nekt looked as if her heart was breaking. “It’s…not? It failed? You mean…you mean Satuhkie lied?”

Luke chuckled at the sight of Nekt’s trembling lips.

“What the hell’re you laughing at, Luke? Can’t you tell? You don’t have long either!”

“Eh, probably so. But think about it, Nekt. We were already supposed to be dead as it is. I mean, our names will go down in history as genocidal monsters. We gave living like humans a shot, but a shoddy plan like that was never going to go over well. In the end, we can’t change the fact that we’re murderers. Not like I really mind.”

“So…you did it even knowing you’d die anyway?”

“Nah, not exactly.”

“Then why?!”

Even as Nekt raised her voice, Luke just offered her a gentle smile and began to explain.

“They said that for your operation to succeed, there needed to be a sacrifice.”

“What?”

Nekt stared at Luke in shocked silence, but he simply shot a toothy grin back in return.

“Hey, it’s not a bad way to die. Giving up my life to save something of value is a way better ending than just dying, like I originally planned.”

“Shut up!!”

Nekt grabbed Luke. Even knowing that being angry at him would do no good now, she still couldn’t help herself.

“Nekt…”

“This is insanity! This is all to help me? You mean that I brought everyone here just to get you killed?! I knew it was possible we couldn’t save you, but ultimately, I just sacrificed all my family for my own sake?!”

“If they told you, you’d never agree to it.”

“Of course not! I…I don’t want to be alone. If we can’t all be together, then none of this matters. That’s why…that’s why I…uwaaaagh!!” The strength drained from Nekt’s body. She dropped to her knees, tears rolling down her cheeks in despair.

Luke slowly turned his vacant gaze up to the ceiling.

“Mute was the same, you know. That whole operation thing meant to extend her life? Well, all through the surgery, she apparently helped them collect data even while she was in excruciating pain. Not a bad way to die, I’d say. You better burn her name into your heart.”

“Mute…she was a good kid.”

“That she was. Look, she’s even waiting for us. She doesn’t want to go on until we join her.”

“Luke, what are you…”

One look at his eyes told Nekt that Luke, too, was moments away from leaving this world.

Peacefully, quietly, and without any pain…Luke was about to make his journey to join Mute.

“I wonder if it’s happy there? Are we going…to…hell? I…see. We’ll…have a second…chance with a…normal family. Sounds lovely. Great…even…” He reached out toward something no one else could see.

Nekt grabbed his hand tightly and called out to him. “No, don’t go! You can’t just say your piece and then leave! I can’t be here all alone, Luke!”

“Heh…not bad, not bad at all…this ‘normal’ thing… I…really…this life…””

Luke’s body went limp. He collapsed against Nekt’s chest, no longer breathing.

“Luke! No, Luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuke!!! Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaugh!!” Nekt wrapped her arms around his head and held him close. She screamed so loud that her voice threatened to give out. “How…how could you die and look so happy about it? I just don’t get it.”

Ink had intuited Luke’s emotional state through his tone of voice. It was the first time she’d ever heard him speak so softly. Most of the time he was pretty gruff, if not outright aggressive.

Nekt sniffled.

“They’re just selfish, the both of them! F-fine, whatever. I guess I’ve no right to tell people how to live anyway! But…but still! What about me? What am I going to do left all on my own??”

The sound of her emotionally drained cries echoed throughout the facility.

The other Children might have gone willingly to their own deaths, but that did little to relieve the weight now placed on the shoulders of this young girl who was the only survivor of the second generation.

 

***

 

It’d been about ten hours since Gadhio found Mother and, joined by Flum and the others, carried out a massive search for the fourth-generation child. They pushed themselves to their physical limits, even mobilizing the available adventurers and reporters from Welcy’s newspaper, but came up empty-handed. The blood trail came to an abrupt end.

The search party reconvened at the guild to exchange the information they gathered.

Flum let out an exhausted sigh from where she sat at the counter. “It looks like it’s out in the wild now, incomplete or not.”

“Assuming the letter can be believed,” said Eterna, “we still have a few hours before anything happens.”

“Put another way, it’ll finish its transformation if we don’t find it within the next few hours. Maybe.”

Alas, there was still so much that they didn’t know at this point that Gadhio couldn’t speak in absolutes.

“Hmm…but if that thing was growing in Mother’s stomach,” said Linus, “it can’t be all that big, yeah?”

“The Children put their lives on the line just to protect that thing,” said Flum.

It was hard to imagine they could have refused to help Mother fulfill his most fervent wish. But Flum was confident that this was far from over.

“It sounds like this Mother guy had some screws loose, but not in a stupid way. There must have been some reason for him to cut open his own stomach and just let it go, right?” Y’lla spoke to no one in particular as she changed Gadhio’s bandages.

No one here could use healing magic, leaving them with only the most basic treatment for their injuries.

“The thing wasn’t fully formed—maybe it just up and died?” Slowe’s words represented what everyone else in the room desperately hoped. Despite their best efforts, their search had ended with them coming home empty-handed. Maybe, just maybe, that was because the creature was already gone.

“Even if that was the case, I won’t be able to let my guard down until I see the body myself.”

“Same. We’ll focus our search on the West District next.”

Though still not properly rested, Flum promptly left the guild.

“She’s really toughened up, hasn’t she? She may even be tougher than me.” Linus stood up and followed after Flum, with Eterna and Gadhio joining them shortly thereafter once his wounds were fully dressed.

It was time to resume the search.

Y’lla and Slowe watched in admiration as the famed party left the guild.

“They’re definitely heroes, all right,” said Slowe.

“Maybe the rest of them, but Flum would never admit it.”

“The way she battles all those creatures to fulfill her calling? I don’t see how anyone could call her anything but a hero.”

“She hates people looking at her like some superhuman Chosen One.”

“Isn’t that what she is?”

“Of course not. I can only speak from what I know about Flum, but she’s not that outstanding of an individual, ya know.”

“I guess I just see her from the point of view of someone she’s saved. But now that you mention it, she does seem to act pretty much like you’d expect most girls her age to act.”

She could grow depressed, feel greedy, experience the whole spectrum of human emotions. It was both her strength and her weakness…and the reason why Y’lla could never really bring herself to hate her.

 

***

 

Flum and the others ran all around the capital in their search for the “thing” Mother gave birth to. The clock ticked mercilessly on, and they had nothing to show for it.

Linus stood watch atop his perch and gazed out over the city. Nothing. He was sure he’d assessed things correctly, strange as it seemed. Either it was no longer in the capital or it already died and melted away. He became more and more confident of the latter with time.

The sun crested over the horizon and tore away the dark curtain of night. The four heroes met at the guild once again to share their scant observations. The city seemed the same as before; no one even observed any guards making rounds.

The hands of the clock continued their unending march forward.

If they had only known what to look for, then maybe they’d have stood a chance of stopping it. But the only person with access to that information was Echidna, Mother’s fellow researcher at the church.

Their final day ended with a sense of uncertainty and foreboding.

“Happy Birthday to You.”

The sky itself smiled upon the earth below.

 

***

 

The heroes gathered at the guild for the third time. With the coming of midnight, they were now on day 0. The so-called birthday.

mulF, suniL, anretE, oihdaG.

Slowe contorted his right hand until it resembled a bird and began whacking the floor. “Hey, look, Mom! I made a bird! Gahaha!!”

He repeated the act over and over until his wrist finally broke under the pressure, and he practically begged to die to escape the pain. Alas, it was to no avail.

“Just what…is…when did…the fourth-generation…child grow up…so…!”

Eterna tried to marshal her thoughts, but all that came out was noise. Noise, noise, noise. She clenched her hands tightly around her throat, a look of both agony and pleasure coming to her face.

“Haaannnguaah…” She began to bang her head on the corner of the desk. “Agauu…uugh…gyafu!”

Blood poured freely from the rapidly worsening wound.

There’s still some time before the birthday festivities. Curl up in your cocoon and get some rest.

The blood vessels in Eterna’s head opened up and turned into threads before slowly, gently wrapping around her.

I used to love sleeping like that as a kid. Mama would reach down and squeeze her hands tightly around my neck.

“Be a good little kid and wait for Mama.”

She would always leave a letter for me when I came home. Mama had never been a good kid herself, but for some reason, she expected good behavior of her own. When I saw her charred remains in the wake of the fire, I couldn’t think about how self-indulgent she was. She got what was coming to her.

At the same time, I felt a tremendous loss. As much as I hated her, deep down a part of me also loved that woman. At the end of the day, humans cannot escape the blood connection we share with others.

It was then that I realized just what a stupid, pathetic, enslaved species we truly are.

I, too, fell victim to the curse of blood ties. I found myself crawling around like a bug, clasping my mother tight and bawling over her charred body like the maggots that swarmed over corpses. I was no longer human. I was doomed to spend my days squirming like a worm, never to sprout wings.

I can still remember the taste of my mother’s ashes. It was awful. And delicious. It was an experience of pure bliss. My love and hatred clashed and gave way to a perverse pleasure.

“Uuunnnggg… Slowe…” Y’lla slowly recovered from the blow to the head that put her out of commission.

She acts like a child, so I might as well make her into one.

“Nngaaa…! Aaaaaaugh! Aaaaaaaaa! Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!”

Y’lla twitched and spasmed before losing control over her bowels and letting a stream of liquid run down her leg, dampening the floor. She swung her head around and around, drool trailing from her mouth. Ah, my child.

She’s like me, in a way. Hahaha…I love it. I was holding back, but it’s done now.

“Aa…aaaaaa…aaaa…” She let out small groans at regular intervals as her body shook. I could almost feel the beat. What a wonderful rhythm.

I had considered becoming a music composer when I grew up, but I think it’s clear that murder suits me much better.

Next up, Flum Apricot. Let’s drive those fingers into her soft, unresisting neck and play her cervical spine like the beautiful ivory keys they are.

“Wa…it… Y…a…”

The back of her skull hit the ground with a loud thud.

“Agya… Hagyu! Egau…aa…agauh… A…gapaa…”

Tweet, tweet, tweet. I love it.

Time to play my next instrument: strangulation.

“Stop.” “Kill me.” “You’re wrong.”

“You have to.” “You’re not suited for this.” “Stay away.” “Disappear.”

How annoying. Origin’s wailing voice echoing through my ears…or synapses, even.

Frankly, I had little interest in hearing the alluring voice of God.

However, unlike the [M Subjects for Erasure], my isolation was incomplete, and my body automatically rejected its power.

So…cocoon, I guess? Mere strangulation didn’t seem right, so with the cocoon we went. Round, red, blood…it was adorable. And there was no fear of Origin interfering. The Children were created in there. And Flum Apricot would soon become my child as well, if she were to only enter.

I am Mother. The one and only entity that will serve as the universal force to bring together and complete the Children.

“Gaah… Hngaa…!”

If I just stabbed deep into the veins across Flum’s body and pumped what I had to offer into her, well…she was a [child] after all.

Next up, fingers clenched tightly into Gadhio’s neck.

My, how I hated him. It hurt so much, having to cut myself open like that just to give birth to my beloved child. How sad that I was forced to such painful means. Tragic, really. My mind went over and over the agony and pain I endured as I redoubled my efforts grinding Y’lla’s fingers deeper and deeper into Gadhio’s thick neck.

The thin fingers turned purple and began to snap one by one, but I knew she’d melt away and become my child soon enough, so it wasn’t worth worrying over. The pain would be a celebration of the new birth.

“Ga…agauh…! That…ugly…you… Mother…!

It was strange. Right when people were on the verge of death, they seemed to regain consciousness right in their last moments.

If only children would act as children should. They were going to fade anyway, so we might as well accelerate their ugly, rapidly withering lives toward their ends.

How boring. This was turning into little more than foreplay. How long would it take until this was complete? Hmm, yes, several more minutes. That was fine. In that case, there was no need to use my “toy” for mere child’s play like this.

I released that Y’lla woman from my warm embrace and watched as she tumbled to the floor, where she vomited with a groan, her eyes blank and distant.

With that, I faded away, following my network of arteries that carried me through the capital. I began to use the fibers of those arteries to weave a cocoon over the capital. This would be my bassinet.

I am you…and you are me. I was born unto my mother as you, and your children, and their children as well shall be born unto me as their mother. This is the fourth generation. The completed form. The embodiment of perfection. The realization of a dream.

Congratulations. Thank you. This is my celebration…from me, for me.