Nile leaned forward and grabbed my crotch. “Ram. Who gives a shit? These miserable pissant pipsqueak people don’t matter at all when you’re one of us. You have a lot to remember.” My cock felt huge and tight in my jeans. “We’re landing now. No one’s going to punish you. If Jim is one of us, he’s alive out there somewhere, and if he’s not, he’s not worth anything. Those girls? Whatever. You’re just another prick to them. Everyone on earth could die in the next few months. It won’t matter.”

“But I mean, like, what’s the point? Why do anything? If it doesn’t matter if anyone lives or dies, if there’s no one out there to punish me for what I did, is this even leading to anything? I’m just supposed to fuck and die and live again and fuck and die?”

“Did you do all that shit because you wanted Santa Claus to be real? To prove yourself wrong?” I sat back. Did I? She squeezed my crotch again and sat back. “Your brother was an asshole. You were in an impossible situation. You’re a fucking warrior. Everyone wants you to be a slave.”

The wheels of the helicopter touched down in a field with a thump. “I didn’t want to hurt him. I loved him. He should have been my friend. We should have worked together. Instead, he wanted to hurt me. He wanted me to disappear, to never have been born. Without him, I don’t know who I am and what I’m about. Other people look at me, and they see Jim.”

“Your dick is still rock hard,” she said, pointing at my obvious erection through my jeans and giving it a pat. I squirmed in my seat. “That means you’re not dead yet. Think about all the girls you’ve never fucked. You can’t tell me you don’t want to live anymore.” She released her safety harness and climbed out of the cabin. I followed suit, and we climbed out into an empty field in the mountains. She saluted Frank, the pilot, and we walked to the edge of the field. The rotors started, and he ascended into the cloudy sky.

She turned to me. “If you want to save people’s lives before the coming purification by fire and water, we can. It’s up to you. Like I said, it’s all happened before. I’m going to take you to the Kingdom of Arcadia and we’ll see if we can get your memories back.”

The air smelled so clean and pure; I felt better than I had for a long time. She led me to a hedge where there was a huge stone gate, its door hanging open. I tried to ask her more questions, but she wasn’t listening.

Inside the gateway the sky had cleared. The light was pink in the sunset, and peace came over me. Rabbits skittered around the grass, and birdsong filled the air. It was like the death and horror of the cities had no impact on them on the animals whatsoever.

We approached a low stone building. A staircase wound round the interior, descending into darkness. Nile turned to me, breaking the silence. “You have a light, Ram?” She reached up to the wall of the staircase and pulled a lantern from a dark recess. I dug into my pockets and found a lighter. Torchlight blazed, and she smiled at me in the new light. “It’ll be nice to have you back on the team.” I nodded, and we made our way down the staircase. “So when can I start calling you Xarque again?” A chill ran down my spine. 

“You know about … my name?” We made our way down the stone steps. 

“I’ve always known you as Xarque Ozyeus in your previous lives. What’s wrong with your name this time?” 

“That was my birth name. It got changed officially to Robert Beezle by Witness Protection, but everyone had been calling me Bobby or Ram before that. I just wouldn’t answer to it. It pissed my Dad off.”

“You know what it means?” 

“Not really.” I shook my head. I probably could have looked it up, but I had never bothered. 

“It means ‘the dry bones become flesh.'” We came into a dark room at the bottom of the stairs, and pink sunlight lit the chamber at the rear. 

“So it means I’m fated to turn into some sea monster death god?” 

Nile laughed and led me to a water basin in the sunlight. She fitted her torch into a holder on the wall. “It means you make dead things come to life. You have the power to destroy and the power to create. If you choose to kill everyone … that’s what will happen. Now get your clothes off.” 

She started unbuttoning her blouse. My dick was way too confused to react. I pulled my shirt over my head. “We’re entering Arcadia. We have to purify ourselves of this world before we can pass these waters.” She dropped her slacks and stepped out of them. I goggled at her slim, golden body, now only clad in black lingerie. I kicked my shoes off and pulled down my jeans. My dick was stirring. 

She undid and discarded her bra, revealing thin breasts with dark nipples.  Her G-string vanished. My erection was now so huge that I could barely get my briefs off of it. I stood naked in the stone room. Nile slowly leaned over the basin and filled a chalice nearby. 

Previous chapter: https://hermanshermitage.com/2020/12/11/the-drowned-god-chapter-4/