Proteus nodded. "So you are the one I need to speak with then."
More undine came from the back of the domes. Apparently they had been preparing for him from all angles, but these were a few he recognized. The purple depthstrider, Fortis, had helped him start all this. He wondered if the male regretted that. And of course, the yellow male he had nearly killed.
Proteus grinned at the last one. "How are your gills?"
"Better."
But he winced as he said it, like taking that deep inhalation was a little more painful than he wanted to let on. The yellow one certainly didn't want to admit any weakness with all these oafs surrounding him.
Grunting, Proteus shook his head. "You know the green algae that grows in the warmer areas? Gets stuck on coral if you can find any skeletal remains of a reef."
"Yes." The yellow undine tilted his head to the side, obviously confused about where this conversation was heading.
"Put it in your gills. It will help."
There was a moment of stunned silence as everyone just... stared at him. Like he'd lost his mind. Or perhaps as though they had lost theirs. Surely they hadn't heard him correctly. Surely he wasn't giving advice on how to heal them.
The frown on Arges's face deepened. "We have never used that algae for healing."
"No, you haven't. It was considered a holy substance long ago, and even though it could heal, it was only used in dire circumstances. But it is abundant and very easy to find. You likely haven't heard of it because so many did not wish to useit because they were afraid the goddess of the sea would smite them." He snorted. "Even my parents, the ancients, went along with it. They thought it was funny."
More silence. More stares. Likely because they were all realizing how much of their life had been manipulated by creatures they revered. And he called them his parents.
The red undine snorted. "Arges, do you hear that?"
"I did, Daios."
"And all this time we'd been thinking it was poisonous." He scratched the back of his neck with a metal hand. "Perhaps there is some use to this man who calls himself a god."
Fix this, Ellie's voice whispered in his mind.You can choose right now to be something else.
Somebody else, he supposed. He had been created just like her, he realized. The searing thought burned through him. She was a clone. A doll, like she said. And here he had been, telling her that she was so much more than that.
Maybe he was more than the ancients’s tool. Maybe he was meant to have a life and a future and a family, just like she said.
He coughed through his gills, clearing them out of sediment that had built on them for far too long. And then he said, "Perhaps I have no interest in being a god any longer. I have lived a long life. Longer than most could ever dream of. This world no longer needs a god to rule it, but it does need a group of people who see the future and plan accordingly. I would like to be part of that."
Arges snorted. "By ruling over us? We have no interest in a king."
"By living among you. By learning what you know and teaching you what I know. By being part of this world, rather than only seeing it as a thing to be... manipulated."
He knew they wouldn't believe him. Not immediately. But he had to try.
For her.
For him.
For a future that neither of them had ever had much say in, but one that he hoped to see come to fruition.
He took a deep breath, the gills along his ribs hurting. "It is a start to tell you what I know. About the algae. The places where you can hunt that are still fruitful. The areas of this sea that are hidden from your sight, but that I can still feel. I will help you in whatever way you ask of me. I renounce my godhood, however, because I have no wish to be a god any longer."
Fortis swam closer to him, flicking his tail with annoyance as he headed toward Proteus. "You'll have to excuse me when I say I need to prove that."
Ah, so the priestly one wanted to peer inside his head. To prove once and for all that the god before them wasn't lying. He was truly blessed by the gods if he was capable of such gifts.
Proteus nodded. He even held his hands behind his back, so there was no threat when Fortis planted a hand on his chest.
The depthstrider glowed. Bright dots spiraled up and down his body, flickering with the power that ran through him. The lights were pretty, but Proteus liked to think his were prettier as his body reacted to the sensation of another person's mind scratching against his.
