Chapter Text
“Hail Mary, full of grace . . . ”
The Blood Eel is not a God. It is not used to being worshipped, loved, spoken to, known. All it’s ever known is the ocean of blood, the reaching for something it can’t quite name, can’t quite grasp. It is a god in the way that something powerful becomes when there is nothing to keep it in line. It is the ruler of this ecosystem, unchecked, unbalanced, all knowing. It knows every nook and cranny, every shift of the oceanic floor, every fluctuation in the atmosphere. It has been here a long time, a long, long time.
There was another of this ones kind, many, many years ago now. That one succumbed. That one tried, The Blood Eel heard it try, heard it puzzle out how to leave a message for the next one. That one talked to themselves a lot. Staccato melodies with intent. The Blood Eel learned from them, the way they spoke, mimicking it back to them. Something in its make up honed in on the shapes the words made in the air, it felt like shrugging on an old, heavy coat. The Blood Eel wanted to know more, more, more, more, more more more more more more more more more moremoremoremoremoremoremoremoremoremo-
That one couldn’t withstand its insatiable hunger.
This one, however.
Convict.
Butcher.
Simon.
His mind is fragile, but resilient. When he is consumed, The Blood Eel burrows through his network of neurons, eager to learn more more more. A phrase emerges: the Indomitable Human Spirit. A new name then, for this one.
Indomitable.
He’s lost a part of himself, an arm, The Blood Eel learns. Ripped it off himself in a desperate attempt to keep surviving when he realized it was molded to the Iron Lung. Breaking bone, ripping sinew, severing vessels. It learns the anatomy of Indomitable just to understand what he has given up to live just a few more minutes, the pain he wrought upon himself for hope. It is utterly fascinating.
Next are his memories, thirty years of a life spent hard and rough: starvation, abuse, fear. It learns of Eden, the C.O.I, the murders and sacrifices and blood shed. A hazy figure haunts his periphery- maternal, the only care or love he’d received, gone too soon to matter. Now she represents something that could never be attained. Happiness.
The Blood Eel feels something stir inside itself. Happiness. What is this? It tears desperately through Indomitables memories, feelings, thoughts. There isn’t enough to form a clear understanding. That is a frustration, an obstacle. It should obliterate Indomitable now, there is nothing more he could give it.
“Hail Mary, full of grace . . .”
It is weak, barely there, ragged and quiet and desperate. What is that? What is he saying? What does he want?
The Blood Eel reaches out, digging through another neuron. Indomitable wants to be saved. The Blood Eel knows not what it was, but it knows it is not Mary. So it withdraws from Indomitable and casts its eyes to the universe, searching.
Hail Mary, full of grace.
Hail Mary.
Full of Grace.
Understanding blooms through it, another stir within it. It thinks for a moment, the idea of Happiness swirling around it. Yes, that will do.
Resout, The Blood Eel knits Indomitable back together, taking care to put everything back the way it was. The missing arm is lost, already carted away by another life form. No matter, The Blood Eel is certain he will continue to live even without it.
Once the job is done, and Indomitable is whole again, The Blood Eel gives him one gift. He will be its proxy, its prophet of sorts. The Blood Eel has no desire to cultivate new worlds, it has everything it needs here. It does, however, want to learn more more more. Buried deep in his brain, The Blood Eel places a link between them, a part of its home. That way it will be linked to him, can speak with him without anyone knowing, look through his eyes. Can even become him, if it wants.
The Blood Eel looks at Indomitable one last time, another new sensation rising up in it. Indomitable doesn’t have a name for it, and neither did it, but it is excited to learn.
Then, with its eyes cast to the stars, The Blood Eel delivers him to Grace.