The Primal Hunter

They had just made it above the clouds as Jake felt a ping by Villy. “Hey, Jake, can I borrow you for a second?”

“Sure, what’s up?” he asked.

“No, I mean in a more literal sense. Can I borrow your body to do something?”

“I guess?” Jake kind of agreed.

“Great!”

Jake felt the Viper descend. It was like Jake’s aura got mixed with something else, and he then felt a third presence enter, confusing him even more. At that moment, was very happy that he had a strong soul before he felt the sheer level of pressure upon it as he channeled but a fraction of the Viper’s aura. Sandy also noticed as the worm stopped in mid-air before asking him in a confused tone.

“Uhm, I just got some weird pop-up, and I think it might be a scam?”

“What is it?” Jake asked curiously, soldiering through. Had Villy decided to bless Sandy? That would actually be awesome, and he was mentally slapping himself for not having thought of giving the worm one earlier.

“You see, I got this Blessing thing offered like you have, right?” Sandy asked with doubt.

“Yeah?” Jake asked. So it was Villy giving a ble-

“And… well, I just feel like if you have to include that something is True in the description, isn’t that kind of red flag that it isn’t? Like, if it is real, why do you need to put so much emphasis on it you know?”

Wait, what? Jake asked himself, utterly perplexed at what Sandy was asking. Include True? Did it maybe say something about it coming from someone with a True Blessing?

“Can you explain what it says in detail?” Jake asked Sandy.

“Okay, it asks if I want to talk to this god or something about receiving a True Blessing? It is very weird,” Sandy answered.

Jake, even more confused, asked: “What is the name of this god?”

“The Boundless Hydra.”

Who the fuck is that? Jake asked himself for a moment before a lightbulb went off. Sandy: likes eating stuff. Snappy: likes eating stuff. It all suddenly made sense; they were a match made in heaven.

“Hey, Villy, is Snappy really offering Sandy his True Blessing?” Jake asked the Viper.

“Yes, but an emphasis on offer. It will be up to them to reach an agreement if your wormy friend agrees to a conversation on the topic,” Villy explained. “You will have to function as a conduit during this process, and it will be a bit straining, but you should be fine.”

Jake nodded, totally fine with that, before talking to Sandy: “Yep, I know who the Boundless Hydra is. The offering is a True Blessing, the same as what I have but from a different god. I would recommend for you to have this talk with the guy, okay?”

“Oh, okay,” Sandy agreed. “As long as it isn’t a scam.”

Villy’s presence intensified as Jake felt the god channel power through him. He allowed it all to go through as he got a slight headache. Jake closed his eyes as Sandy had also completely frozen in the real world as the Hydra and Cosmic Genesis Worm spoke.

done the usual way. The two souls had to meet as the transference was more intimate and intense than any other Blessing. Doing it in the divine realm of a god was the easiest

as he wondered what kind of monster

Worm and Hydra met.

mass of heads too difficult for a mortal mind to

before the worm opened its mouth

“This place tastes weird.”

are consuming is my energy. I am known as the

is such a long name! I am just Sandy, pleased to meet you,

of the atmosphere and looked around, clearly unsure how to act or what to do. The Hydra, on

Sandy. Why do you travel with the Chosen of the Malefic Viper?” the Hydra asked the worm

question,” Sandy

not your small planet but the multiverse as a whole. Are you willing to follow him that far? Are you willing to do what is necessary to remain someone useful

do what is necessary? I am just doing what I do. I eat stuff, grow and get stronger and better at eating stuff. I am not doing that to be useful to him; that would be super silly,

Malefic’s Chosen if you find it convenient?” the ancient god asked

don’t owe each other anything. They help because they want to, not because they have to. Also! I remember him once saying never say never, so I am never going to say never. Wait, I did just say never a lot of times… anyway! Jake is my friend, so that is that. Stop talking about silly stuff like abandoning others. If anything, he was the one about to abandon me just now!” Sandy said with much gusto, not a shred of fear within

to contemplate the answer. “Would you give your

would kill me, and I

given the choice of betraying and backstabbing the Malefic’s Chosen for a tremendously

dumb thing to do and also super impractical. How do I even stab him when all my teeth are gone?” Sandy perfectly answered. “Also! I am pretty sure I wouldn’t be able

with devouring treasures? Is it truly a Path you want to follow for eternity? A never-ending cycle of consumption?”

will definitely need to head out for a snack. Why would someone not want to keep eating stuff? Eating stuff is the best. Oh! And I can even find different ways of eating things, like making food-making stomachs and stuff by eating living

Why are you the only one asking me questions? So, why are you called the Boundless Hydra? Did you use to be bound or something?” Sandy

Hydras tend to be more powerful the more heads we have, and my goal was to reach the apex. Turns out the apex is

fine with only one

yours. So, finally… would you, Sandy, the Cosmic Genesis Worm, have the honor of becoming

Yeah, we can totally be friends if you want to! You

as that,” the Lord Protector chose not to argue. “With it will come responsibility and power. It will allow you to go further, but should you fall, it will, in turn, harm me. It is both a responsibility and a privilege.

mention that only idiots don’t properly take their time to understand an agreement before accepting it. That is how you get scammed, and I am not here to get scammed. So! Details, please?” Sandy did ask, showing a bit of doubt for the

Hydra answered in

damn weird; no two ways about it. He felt his body flooded with the two presences as Sandy’s body had gone entirely limp. He instinctively

anything, he just had to ask Villy how things were

having a nice chat?” Jake

allow me to, but I won’t,” Villy answered. “But I will share a bit. You are probably wondering why Snappy is suddenly here talking about giving away a True Blessing. Snappy has not given out his True Blessing for many Eras by now; he has barely given any Blessings out, in fact. Firstly it is not really part of

to give out a True Blessing, especially not why Sandy would be a good candidate. Like, I see it kind of, but have you not talked repeatedly

lower-level Blessing. What I did suggest to him was that maybe the worm was worth gambling on. So

“I guess,” Jake semi-agreed.

Sandy was not exactly the kind of being Jake thought of when someone mentioned a Chosen. Not that he

huge boon,” Villy said. “Okay, finally, I will admit that I want to see what exactly a Cosmic Genesis Worm can turn into as it grows in power. It is an interesting beast and one I think can be useful to you for a long time if it can keep up with you. A True Blessing from someone like

Sandy also wants it,”

you are the only one I know that cannot renounce a Blessing, and also the only one I know who would not instantly jump at the opportunity of a True Blessing. Anyway, the worm can just choose to throw it away if it turns out to be something they don’t want,” Villy reminded him. “The bond between a Chosen and their god is not one of equals but is closer to that than any