Chương 76: Faith and Sight

I stared at the notification that let me know Pierre had made his decision. It wasn't the one I had expected. He'd actually chosen Noyasunai's Champion. While I was flattered at what he'd done, it also made me realize I was going to have to live up to his expectations.

"He actually chose it," I said aloud, still staring at the notification.

"Chose what?" Tala asked from the porch railing.

"He took the class change to become my champion," I said, still trying to wrap my head around the fact that there was a class that centered around being my champion. It just seemed crazy.

"That's Pierre. Loyal to a fault. He probably figured if you offered it, it was worth taking," Tala said.

"Actually, that was one of the automatically generated choices," I said, correcting her. Tala shrugged.

"Why are you worrying about this? He had options and he made his choice."

"I know. I just…" I trailed off, struggling to articulate why Pierre's choice had affected me so much.

"He didn't hesitate at all."

"And that bothers you," Tala said.

"Shouldn't it?" Then I said something that truly let me know how much I had started to depend on Tala. I told her what I was thinking, "I'm worried that I'll let him down."

"Then you fail while trying your best, which is more than most gods bother with." Tala hopped down and pressed against my side.

"Stop spiraling. Pierre made his choice." She's right, I thought, and then added, As usual. I focused on the connection between Pierre and me, feeling the new class settling into his soul like a key finding its lock. And as I watched, something else happened. Information appeared in my mind. Not like a system notification, exactly. More like... an awareness. I could even see through his eyes now, which opened up a lot of possibilities. I also realized that the Champion class was unique.

It adapted to the god it served, taking on aspects of their nature. For Pierre, that meant trickster abilities combined with his werewolf nature. The closest thing I could compare it to was a combination of a ranger and a paladin. A nature paladin? Is that a real thing, I wondered. He'd become a divine warrior who fought like I would fight, through cleverness and chaos rather than strength. He'd also gained one of my powers, the ability to turn invisible, at least for a limited time.

And I could see other evolutions waiting in his future. They were locked behind devotion and experience, but they were there. I could see the paths he could take as he grew.

"Holy shit," I breathed.

"This is so strange."

"What?" Tala asked. She looked ready to hit me if I didn't tell her.

"I can sense the different evolutionary paths he might take in the future," I said.

"I can't really see a character sheet or anything like that. I just sort of… know."

"That's amazing," Tala said. I looked around, suddenly aware of other connections. I could sense my other followers who'd given me their trust. However, when I tried to look at Tala, I sensed nothing. Still, at least I can at least look at the others, I decided. I started wandering around, looking at each person in turn. I didn't have a plan, I was just following the pulls I could feel now that I was paying attention. Each follower was a thread extending from me to them.

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Ignis was first, because he was closest and his thread practically glowed with enthusiastic devotion. It surprised me a lot since I hadn't really thought about him as a follower. He was just there. Apparently, though, he believed in me. I found him in the garage, organizing his new Temu jewelry hoard. When I looked at him, really looked, I could see past the baby dragon exterior into what he was becoming.

He could easily become a guardian, maybe a treasurer of the church. I also saw a semi-benevolent ruler who demanded tithes from his own followers. There was even a future that I shied away from examining too closely. In that possibility, he wasn't the cute little baby that had started to grow on me. That made me pause. Why can I see these? These aren't evolutions. I was confused since I could see his physical evolutions. One of them was much like Mort, who was connected to the Liminal Lands.

However, it was connected to his own personal dimensional space, maybe influenced by his passage through the portal. Eventually, Ignis noticed me. He looked like he was starting to get nervous.

"You're… uh… staring at me," Ignis observed, looking up from his penny sorting.

"Is something wrong?"

"No. Just... seeing you clearly for the first time," I said. I was still trying to figure out why I could sense future possibilities for him. It was like getting glimpses into the future, which wasn't part of Blessed Evolution, at least as far as I could determine.

"Do I look different?" He said as he looked down at his claws.

"You look perfect," I said, not wanting to explain that I was actually trying to determine how I was seeing into his future. I had to wonder, Does it have something to do with that unnamed class? Ignis seemed pleased at my response and went back to organizing his hoard with renewed enthusiasm. As for me, I moved on, following other threads. I was really curious about the futures I would see for each of my friends. I stood on my porch, looking at the threads connecting me to my followers.

Each one pulsed with potential, waiting for me to act. Pierre had already made his choice. Now it was time to take care of the others who'd earned their rewards through loyalty, sacrifice, and trust. I started with Luke. He'd crossed lines for me and killed when it went against every instinct he had as a healer. He stood by my side even when it terrified him and never once asked for anything in return except maybe some reassurance that what we'd done mattered.

Yeah, yeah, I know, I thought, reminding myself that I'd already given him a blessing. Still, if I want to give him another, why can't I? When I went to look at his future, I realized I couldn't really see it. Perhaps because he's not my champion? I thought before thinking about Ignis, whose future I could see, sort of. Maybe I could only see Pierre's future because he was tied to me directly? As for Ignis, maybe because he's a creature? Whatever the case, the man deserved recognition.

I reached out along his thread, letting divine energy flow through the connection. The power pooled around him, waiting to take shape. I couldn't control exactly what he'd get, the system would offer options based on his nature, his class, his needs, but I could suggest and nudge things in helpful directions. Luke needed healing without cost. And not just the medical kind. He needed to be able to fix the damage he'd helped cause, to balance the scales. I pushed that intention into the blessing and sent it.

A moment later, I felt Luke's surprise through the bond. CONFUSION. Then WONDER. Through the window, I could see him staring at something invisible to everyone else, probably his notification and choices. Next was Shelly. My feelings about blessing her were... complicated. She was Pierre's girlfriend and my friend and she was definitely still planning revenge for the pee pad incident. But she'd also stood by me.

She'd helped organize the supernatural community and acted as a bridge between my chaos and everyone else's sanity. Plus, she was a druid who actually cared about the natural world, not just the power that came with it. The problem was Tala. I already knew she'd be pissed about Shelly getting a blessing. I'd never known squirrels could be so territorial. Still, Shelly deserved it and I would just have to pay the price once Tala found out.

I reached out along Shelly's thread, feeling the tangle of exasperation and genuine affection that characterized our relationship. The blessing flowed through, carrying my intention, help her be the protector she wanted to be. This time, I didn't even try to give her choices like I had for Pierre. At least with them, I knew what they needed. As for Shelly, I had no clue, which didn't surprise me. Females are… different. I mean mysterious, I amended the thought hastily.

Heaven forbid Tala accidentally hear my thoughts about her being different. A few seconds later, I heard her gasp from inside the cabin. Then a string of creative cursing that suggested she'd figured out who was responsible. I suddenly had the urge to turn invisible.