Pain.
It throbs, pulsating like a flame on Caio's side, overwhelming. Even breathing is a slow punishment.
He alternates conscious moments, when he can sense the presence of Aruá and other women, with moments of feverish dreams.
After some time, he awakens again. The hut smells of herbs and incense, and he can see that it's day outside.
"You're awake."
He turns his face to the source of the sound and sees Aruá knelt beside him. She is holding a gourd in her hands. A faint smoke rises from it, telling that its contents are warm.
"Drink this."
He doesn't ask what it is. The dryness in his mouth is enough for him to know that he needs to drink something, at least.
He tries to sit up with a smile that quickly turns into a scowl. Someone holds him, helping him sit. The person's arms are a bit cold, bringing some relief to him. Maybe it's just his body that is too hot, and not the other person who is cold.
"Here you go. You haven't eaten or drunk anything since yesterday. You need energy."
It's Jara's voice, right behind him. So she's the one helping him. Aruá takes the gourd to his mouth, turning it slowly so he can drink without choking on the liquid. The liquid is thick, with an earthy flavor.
"It's infusion of medicinal herbs with some cooked mushrooms. It will help with the pain."
His mind is so dizzy that he doesn't even notice the pressure of Jara's big chest on his back.
"How is he?"
Saori had just entered the hut and addressed the question to Aruá. The girl shakes her head and answers.
"Injury's too big for me. I can't heal by myself."
"I… I'm good."
"You're not good, land-fish."
Jara snapped at his answer, prompting a chuckle from Aruá. Saori's unreadable expression doesn't change as she states her verdict.
"The river must decide his fate."
The air in the hut tenses, and everyone stays in silence for a couple seconds.
What am I missing here?
Aruá reaches a dry cloth to the side of his mouth to clean a bit of the drink that had spilled. Her fingers linger just a second longer on his cheek before she turns to Jara.
"Lay him down again. Kai-o, you rest. I'll be back."
She then turns and leaves the hut with Saori.
***
Inside the hall of the Circle of Reeds, voices rise and clash like the tide on coastal rocks.
"He is too fragile. He has no place within our tribe. He can't even find his own food!"
Maivira's voice is composed and commanding, silencing the council for a brief moment before one of the women in the lowest stools interjects.
"Good omens often bleed before they bless."
At that moment, Saori and Aruá enter the hall.
"We will hold the Watersong Vigil. The river will sing his fate."
Saori's proclamation carries the weight of a decision made, not a proposal. As the River-Speaker, she is second only to the Stream-Flower, Maivira, in the hierarchy, but rituals are her attribution.
The Stream-Flower is the woman who is able to have children through special rituals. She is esteemed and revered because the tribe depends on her for continued existence. But her position doesn't hold actual power.
Nobody argued against Saori's words. She had decided, so it would be done.
***
Hours later, on a platform fifty meters downstream from the village, Suma and Jara were laying Caio down on a new bed.
The pain had eased, and he was able to stay awake more time and even hold a conversation. It was an effect of Aruá's healing, but it was only palliative. He didn't dare to ask, but the women's reactions when Aruá took the bandages to clean the injury and pass more ointments were all he needed to know.
Situation wasn't looking good.
Aruá then took a gourd with a white paste, put two fingers inside it, then began to trace patterns on Caio's skin. Her fingers slid across his chest, painting sigils, as she murmured a slow chant under her breath, too low for him to pick up its meaning.
The paint cooled wherever her fingers traced him, but his skin warmed beneath her touch.
They were in the open, and other women were going around, preparing things he didn't understand. At some point, Jara was crouching at his side, with her back to him, when she leaned back, her buttocks brushing on his arm.
Caio closed his eyes and tried to ignore it. She probably didn't even notice what she was doing, as her focus was fully in untying some knots, so she didn't move from the position. Meanwhile, Aruá's touches became a bit more tense, a bit stronger.
In the shadows of the last hut of the village, Maivira watched the scene with a complicated look in her face.
***
From his position, Caio was able to see the night enveloping the day in the sky. All the women had left, except for Aruá. She was sitting at his side, watching over him, her thighs casually touching his own thighs.
"Aruá… What is this ritual about?"
The girl sighed, then she landed her hand on his chest.
"It's the Watersong Vigil. A trial. If tomorrow morning the river has accepted you, you will be a full member of the tribe."
"But… while I'm injured like this?"
"Yes."
She gently brushed his chest. He could see the tiredness and anguish on her face. Every moment he managed to be conscious since the attack, she had been at his side. Healing, praying, feeding, caring…
This is waifu material right here.
"Now I leave. Is night. May the river listen to you."
"Leave? I'm going to be alone?"
"I'm sorry. Yes. It's the rule."
Her touch lingered a bit more, as she looked into his eyes, then she took a deep breath and stood up and left him alone with the stars above and the fishes in the water below.
***
[FAITH RESONANCE RISING]
The notification appeared in his vision, the only visible thing besides the stars in the sky.
The pain, which had subsided during the day, came back once the wetness and coldness of the night arrived in full.
They could've at least given me a blanket. Though I didn't see any blankets in the village. Maybe it's actually as warm as the other night, and this cold is caused by a fever?
Caio tried to steady his breathing as he endured the pain. There wasn't anything else he could do. Aruá had left some food and water at his side, but he wasn't feeling hunger or thirst.
If I had at least a smartphone to pass the time playing or watching some videos…
Though he knew he wasn't completely alone. Several pairs of eyes watched over him, and he could feel them. One was probably Suma, the spearwoman. Other was most definitely Aruá. He could also sense a bit of bloodlust directed towards him from one of the huts.
Well, at least I'm safe from attacks. I guess.
***
Hours passed in the darkness. At some point, he had slept again, having dreams about the 4X game Goblin Fortress he had been playing before coming to this world. The dream was chaotic and switching between the 4X perspective and the first-person perspective.
He woke up when he was about to have sex with one of the units of the game, panting.
The pain was overwhelming again, but somehow his mind was clearer. The waxing moon was shining above, and around him bioluminescent spores drifted in the air, gathering around his wounds.
What the fuck???
He raises his head a bit, watching the movement of the spores, trying to identify if whatever those are, they are hostile or friendly.
Soon, the spores begin to drift into his wounds, causing a tingling sensation. It's almost pleasurable, like some kind of opioid anesthetic.
He exhales, leaning back. That tingling slowly becomes a feeling of numbness, erasing the pain. Soon, he is sleeping again.
***
"Kai-o. You awake?"
The words startled him, making him jolt up and sit.
He blinked, taking in the scene around him. He was still on the platform, but it was sunrise already, and Aruá was crouching at his side.
"Good morning, Aruá. Now I am… and…"
He checked his wounds, but there weren't any. His side was like nothing had even happened. No wounds, no scars, nothing.
Aruá touched the place where the worst wounds were the night before, pressing them gently.
"It hurts?"
"No."
Caio answered, shaking his head. He could see by the circles below Aruá's eyes that she hadn't slept at all that night. But the most striking thing right now was her smile.
"Kai-o!"
She hugs him, sobbing.
He gently hugs her back, muttering a 'thank you.'
Whispers sound around them, as the women of the tribe slowly arrive, one by one, and witness the miracle.
He could see Jara also smiling, Suma giving him a nod of appreciation and admiration, Saori acknowledging him with her eyes. He was also able to see the darkness in Maivira's face, the well-disguised bitterness under the mask.
Around the platform, the river glows faintly.
***
[SYSTEM LOG – PERSONAL PATTERN INTERFACE INITIALIZATION]
[IDENTIFYING BIOLOGICAL ENTITY…]
[SUBJECT: CAIO ESTEVES]
[STATUS: ALIVE]
[COGNITION STREAM: COHERENT]
[EMOTIONAL INTEGRITY: FRAGMENTED BUT FUNCTIONAL]
[PHYSICAL INTEGRITY: STABLE]
[ORIGIN PATTERN: OUTSIDER]
[SYSTEM LOG – CIVILIZATION CONTEXT VERIFICATION]
[LOCAL CLUSTER RECOGNITION ACHIEVED]
[SOCIAL ANCHOR POINTS DETECTED]
[TRIBAL ACCEPTANCE THRESHOLD MET]
—————
[Your struggle impressed them, Caio Esteves.]
[The river responded.]
[That counts as a vote for you.]
—————
[SYSTEM LOG – PERMISSION UPDATE]
[ACCESS LEVEL: PERSONAL LEDGER (TIER 0)]
[RESTRICTIONS LIFTED: 3]
[NEW MODULES AVAILABLE: 4]
[SYSTEM LOG – ATTRIBUTE SCAN]
[RUNNING BASELINE CLASSIFICATION…]
[BODY (CLAY-AXIS INPUT):
STRENGTH: LOW
ENDURANCE: LOW
VITAL CAPACITY: HIGH ANOMALY DETECTED
REPRODUCTIVE POTENTIAL: MYTHIC]
[MIND (LOGIC-AXIS INPUT):
ANALYSIS: HIGH
PATTERN RECOGNITION: HIGH
CRISIS ADAPTATION: ABOVE BASELINE]
[SOUL (BREATH-AXIS INPUT):
EMPATHY: ELEVATED
CONSENT-INTEGRITY: ELEVATED
MYTHIC RESONANCE: LATENT / EMERGING]
—————
[Consent appears to be one of your structural traits.]
[That is… unusual in a Seedbearer.]
[Useful, though.]
—————
[SYSTEM LOG – TRAIT SEEDS IDENTIFIED]
[TRAIT SEED: CLAYBORNE VITALITY
DESCRIPTION: BIOLOGICAL STABILITY EXCEEDS EXPECTED PARAMETERS.
STATUS: DORMANT.]
[TRAIT SEED: BREATHBOUND EMPATHY
DESCRIPTION: EMOTIONAL FEEDBACK INCREASES RELATIONAL COHERENCE.
STATUS: DORMANT.]
[TRAIT SEED: LOGICWEAVER
DESCRIPTION: COGNITIVE PATTERN OPTIMIZED FOR MULTI-STEP STRATEGIC PLANNING.
STATUS: ACTIVE.]
—————
[SYSTEM LOG – MODULES UNLOCKED]
[1. BASIC ATTRIBUTES PANEL
VIEWABLE.
PERSONAL TRAIT MENU
VIEWABLE.
BOND THREADS (SOCIAL RESONANCE MAP)
LOCKED — REQUIRES FIRST GENUINE EMOTIONAL TIE.
TREE OF LIVES (CIVILIZATION-LATTICE INTEGRATION)
DORMANT — REQUIRES FIRST AXIS SHIFT TRIGGERED BY INTIMACY.]
—————
[The world reacts to you now, Caio. And you to it.]
[Be mindful.]
[Harm your bonds, and the Lattice will answer.]
[Nurture them, and… other doors will open.]
—————
[SYSTEM LOG – HARMONY CHECK]
[LOCAL HRM IMPACT: +6
CORRUPTION RISK: NONE
ENTROPY DRIFT: STABLE]
—————
[YOU ARE RECOGNIZED.]
[YOU ARE CATALOGUED.]
[YOU ARE INTEGRATED.]
[AWAIT FURTHER STIMULI FOR PROGRESSION.]
—————
[Welcome to the Lattice, Caio Esteves.]
[Try not to break anything important.]
[Including yourself.]