Chương 40: The Church of Reincarnation

I stared at the first notification for a moment, not really comprehending what I was seeing at first. As for the rest of the other notifications, I decided to wait on them until I dealt with the first one. CHURCH OF REINCARNATION CONSECRATED. Religion Established.

Primary Deity: The Great Trash Panda Secondary Deity: Bambi, Spirit of Second Chances Worshippers: 63 (Mixed Species - Animals) Offerings Received: Berries, Flowers, Fruits, Nuts, Seeds, Shiny Objects Divine Mana Received: 250 Divine Mana Expended: 250 MESSAGE FROM GAIA. Cringe Much? What? I asked myself. The notification didn't change. No, no, no, no, no, I thought frantically. Tala's going to kill me!

I wanted to say something about Gaia's remark, but I didn't have the balls to even think about it so I quickly thought about something different, such as rereading the notification. Finally I said, "Tala, what does 'church consecrated' mean?"

"It means it's official," she said, still munching on a walnut without looking at me.

"Blessed by a deity. Made holy ground." Then she paused and looked at me suspiciously, almost like I was about to get into trouble.

"Why, what did you do now?" I swallowed and said, "Bambi built a church." Crack. Tala cracked another walnut. The pieces of which fell from her paw.

"She what?!"

"Apparently, I am the primary deity in a church with animal worshippers." I then told her about the rest of the information. Tala stared at me, just stared at me, like it was all my fault. Then she started laughing. It started as a chitter. Then grew into full-blown, rolling-on-the-counter, can't-breathe laughter. Tala's reaction wasn't what I was expecting. I'd expected her to throw a cucumber at me, or yell at me. I hadn't expected laughter. Then I realized she was laughing at me, not with me.

"It's not funny!" I protested. I wanted to stamp my foot but I was afraid that would make me look even more foolish.

"It's hilarious!" Tala gasped between laughs.

"You created a goddess by accident! She created a religion! And now you're the center of that religion! Oh divine tree, what is going to happen next?!" I didn't even know how to respond so I just sat there sullenly and glared at her. However, I valiantly resisted the impulse to go get a cucumber to throw at her. Nope, first I need to find something she hates. I made a mental note to look up foods that squirrels hate.

"First Domino!" Tala wheezed.

"You felt sorry for a deer! One moment of pity! And now there's a church! With sixty-three furry worshippers! That you didn't know about!" I looked at the notification again, hoping it would change but it didn't. A little indignant, I testily said, "We don't know all of them are furry. There might be some non-mammals among them." Tala paused and then considered what I had said. After a moment of silence, she started laughing even louder. She even left a little puddle on the floor.

I eyed her, but wasn't about to bring it up. Instead, I asked, "How did this even happen? When did she have time to build a church?"

"You resurrected a week ago," Tala pointed out, finally getting her laughter under control.

"She's had plenty of time. And she's a goddess. They work fast when motivated."

"But why make me the primary deity?" I wanted to complain to someone, Why do things like this keep happening to me?

"Because you created her?" Tala hopped down from the counter and padded over to me.

"Think about it, Abe. She was dead. You brought her back. From her perspective, you're the ultimate giver of second chances. Of course she'd include you in her church."

"But I didn't ask her to!" I sighed dramatically, playing up the victim card. Anything to keep Tala from getting angry at me.

"Do you ever ask before causing divine chaos?" Tala asked pointedly. Since that definitely steered the conversation into more dangerous territory, I tried to think of a way to deflect an anger I knew had to be simmering just below the surface. Also, I really didn't have a good answer for her question. The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Instead, I groaned and pulled up details about the next notification since there wasn't much I could do about the first, at least not immediately.

Also, I needed something to distract myself. DIVINE DOMAIN CREATED. The Liminal Land Realm Level: 0 Entry Point: Liminal Locations Current Divine Mana: 0 MESSAGE FROM GAIA. It's a start. Wondering if I was going to regret it or not, I hesitantly asked, "And what is a divine domain?" Just in case, I watched Tala to see how she was going to react. I also wanted to be ready to dodge anything she might decide to throw at me. Tala actually didn't seem upset though.

However, that didn't stop her from picking up a walnut and tossing it from one paw to the other as if deciding how to answer me. Finally, she said, "Think about it this way. It's sort of like a dream made real, sort of like a powerful dream you can walk around in, but it's the spirit's dream. It's where the deity lives and is strongest, like a king in his castle." I nodded, sort of getting it, "So it's sort of like she bought us a house together. She put my name on the deed, so to speak."

For some reason, Tala went still. Then, crack. Another walnut disintegrated. I vaguely sensed the threads of wisdom whispering, CAUTION, but I didn't really notice since I was still making connections, "So it's like in D&D. It's a lot like a god's personal reality, which bends to the god's will and the collective faith of their followers." I was nodding now, starting to understand. I thought about when I met Azeban in the forest clearing with his tree throne. That must have been part of his divine realm.

Then I got distracted by a walnut that exploded at my feet, sticking to the kiddie recliner because of the crushed cucumber remnants.

"Hey, why did you do that?" I asked.

"Bambi made you two a house, which you two can enter and see each other whenever you want to meet," Tala said, her voice eerily calm.

"You do realize that I'm your companion, right?" Wow, I thought. Even I could hear the threat in that tone. Hurriedly, I held out my hands as if telling her not to throw anything else as I tried to appease her, "Come on, she's young and doesn't know that yet. I'll talk to her about that as soon as I see her."

"You better," Tala muttered, glaring at me. She absently picked up another walnut. Damn, if Tala doesn't kill me, Shelly will. Look at this mess, I thought as I huddled back into my chair. Although I didn't want to keep on asking about things that might piss off my angry little companion, I really wanted to satisfy my curiosity and need to know and asked, "So, if I am the primary deity in the church, why can't I sense my followers or hear their prayers?" Tala just stared at me for a moment, then sighed.

After another second of silence, she answered.

"She's probably taking care of that for you. However, if you concentrate, you can probably sense these things. You just haven't tried. Think of it like a phone. You have the phone, but it's 'on silent' until you decide to pay attention." That makes sense, I thought. Then I had another thought.

"What if they expect things from me?" I asked.

"What if they pray for help and I can't deliver?"

"Then you'll figure it out,' Tala said.

"Like you always do. Accidentally." Although it sounded like Tala was trying to reassure me, I got the distinct impression that she was mocking me instead. However, I magnanimously ignored the slight and replied, "That's not reassuring."

"Not trying to be," she said simply. Yep, she's still pissed, I decided. Still, I needed more information.

"So, what's divine mana?" Tala's expression became more serious.

"Power from belief. When creatures worship you, their faith generates mana. It's different from regular mana. It's more pure, but also more... binding."

"Binding how?" I was a little worried now since it sounded like I was being volun-told instead of being allowed to volunteer.

"The more they believe in you, the more you become what they believe you are," Tala explained.

"If they see you as a giver of second chances, that aspect of your divine nature gets stronger. Their faith literally shapes your power." Fuck! That sucks! I thought. I wondered if people thought of Raven as an ass and that was why he acted like an ass. It definitely didn't make me feel reassured. Not at all.

"So I'm stuck being the god of second chances now?" I asked Tala.

"Among other things." Tala gestured at the notification.

"Bambi's teaching them something about you. Holy acorns know what. That's going to become part of your identity whether you like it or not." I felt something shift inside me. A warmth in my chest that hadn't been there before. Like... connections. I could feel dozens and dozens of these threads linking me to creatures I'd never met.

"I can feel them," I said quietly. It felt weird. It reminded me of cocooning myself in an afghan my grandmother knitted for me when I was a kid. I'd feel restricted, but also protected and loved.

"The worshippers?" Tala seemed interested, as if she wasn't actively plotting out my murder and deciding where to bury my body.

"Yeah," I said.

"It's different from Pierre's totem connection. Softer. More... innocent?"

"Animal faith is pure," Tala said. They don't question or doubt. They just believe. That makes their spiritual mana more potent, but also less flexible. They'll follow Bambi's teachings about you exactly."

"Is that good or bad?" It definitely sounded like a mixed bag.

"It depends on what she's teaching them," Tala admitted. From her tone, I could tell that I needed to find out what exactly she had been teaching the animals. And soon. What if she'd told them I'm the god of... I don't know, eating garbage? Or washing food?

"I need to meet her," I finally said.

"I need to talk to her about this."

"That's not going to happen unless I'm there furball," Tala threatened.

"You're not about to meet her alone." I was thinking about arguing, but stopped after the next notification caught my attention. Ah, fudge me.