"Sister, Father is dead. Why don't you return to the stars and keep him company?"
"I'm afraid I won't have time to set things right before you are born. The cruelty of this world is beyond measure."
Paul woke from a brief dream, slowly opening his eyes.
His prolonged stay in the desert, inadvertently exposing him to the spice permeating the air, made his abilities clearer. Occasionally, he could even see the appearance of his unborn sister in his mother's womb.
Paul looked at the surrounding Fremen. They had just dealt with a small squad of pursuers sent by the Harkonnen Family. These pursuers' combat suits were not equipped with Holtzman shields, as their specific vibration frequency would attract sandworms. Only city-level shields could deter sandworms.
Thus, these pursuers were easily eliminated by the Fremen, allowing them to safely reach Tabr Cave.
However, to his surprise, in the northern cave system close to the spice mining fields, most of the Northern Fremen did not accept the savior theory propagated by the Sisterhood. Many even rejected him and his mother, Jessica.
"You killed Jamie!"
"Spy!"
"Witch!"
"Let the Council decide! Let the Council decide!" Stilgar stood in front, loudly dispersing his tribesmen, protecting Paul, the savior he hoped for.
But the anger and rejection of the surrounding Fremen did not worry young Paul. He merely scanned the crowd, spotting the Southern Fremen, who were a minority in the North.
"Lisan al Gaib!"
"Lisan al Gaib!"
"Mahdi!"
Dozens, even hundreds, of the Southern faction knelt on the ground, hands sweeping across their foreheads and temples, shouting to Paul, the otherworldly savior shaped by the Sisterhood, with fervent, tear-filled eyes.
"This is my base among the Fremen," Paul thought, turning his head to whisper to Jessica, "Your Bene Gesserit brainwashing propaganda has already taken root here."
"Some people believe I am their prophet, while most others only see me as a false prophet. I must change the minds of the non-believers to gain the help of these Fremen. Relying on them, I can destroy the spice mining fields. Relying on them, I can approach the Emperor and complete my revenge."
Jessica was somewhat astonished by his words. She whispered, "Revenge is not what your father wished for you to do."
Paul gently shook his head and said, "But I will have my revenge."
Then he fell silent. His future path was his own to forge.
After a brief night's rest, and following deliberations by the Fremen Council, Paul was allowed to join the Fremen ranks as a probationary warrior.
However, Paul's mother, Jessica, had to face her own trial to be accepted by the Northern Fremen. This was a result Stilgar had insisted upon.
Stilgar personally informed Jessica of this.
Jessica followed Stilgar to the Fremen sacred place, located in the deepest part of the cave. The most striking feature was an enormous square pool, filled with life water.
The body of the deceased warrior, Jamie, was also brought here. The Fremen used a pumping device to extract the water from his body, then poured it into this immense pool.
"Return to the deep well! Our water returns to its source!" The other Fremen prayed, mixing the last earthly traces of their kinsman into the pool.
"Bless our brother Jamie, bless Jamie's birth and passing. May his departure purify this world!"
"May Jamie's soul protect this world for his people!"
"Praise the Creator and His water!"
As an experienced Sisterhood member, Jessica was also awed by the ancient religious atmosphere of the ritual, quietly gazing at the pool.
It was a resting place for souls.
Stilgar came to Jessica's side, looked at the water, and said, "Thirty-eight million cubic decameters. Even if we die of thirst, we will never drink the water here."
"This is holy water," Stilgar extended his hand, pointing to the pool and saying, "We have a thousand such places."
"When all thousand of these pools are filled, Lisan al Gaib will descend, changing the face of Arrakis, making trees grow again, bringing back a green paradise."
"So many souls," Jessica whispered hoarsely, tears welling in her eyes. This peaceful sanctity and belonging infected the witch's sensitive perception.
"Why are you showing me this?" Jessica calmly composed herself and slowly asked.
"Because you are Bene Gesserit, because you understand prophecy. You are Lisan al Gaib's mother, and you will become the Fremen Reverend Mother," Stilgar said, staring into the witch's eyes, "Our Reverend Mother is about to die."
But in Stilgar's eyes, the eyes of a believer, Jessica saw not the fervor of faith, but a kind of obsession.
"You want me to replace her? You believe in Paul?" Jessica whispered.
"I have seen the signs. Everything aligns with Paul's actions, so I believe," Stilgar said firmly.
"What if I refuse?"
Stilgar shrugged lightly, a faint smile on his lips, and said indifferently, "Then he is not Lisan al Gaib, and you will have no reason to exist."
"At that time, the water in your bodies can only be returned to the deep well!"
Jessica felt it. She and her son, Paul, were not welcome among the Northern Fremen. For the sake of her and her son's lives and future, she could only agree with apprehension.
Fortunately, as a member of the Sisterhood, she knew that to become a Reverend Mother, though the rituals might differ in various places, one ultimately needed to drink the life water to unlock the memories of all female ancestors in one's bloodline. Only by possessing the wisdom and memories of all female ancestors could one gain the Fremen's recognition.
This was also a rule set by the Sisterhood members, the missionarii protectiva sent out in the past, specifically for the Sisterhood to wield power. Now, it had become Jessica's trial.
Although life water is highly poisonous to humans, the Sisterhood members are not afraid of it. She was only afraid that by carrying the memories left by all previous Reverend Mothers in her bloodline, she would also bear the centuries of suffering and sorrow of the Fremen race.
But Jessica, after comforting her son, bravely entered the cave, accepting the destined trial.
All the Fremen left the cave, leaving only Jessica, who was undergoing the trial, along with the dying Reverend Mother and her attendants. Paul could only wait patiently outside the cave entrance, praying that his mother would safely pass the trial.
But laughter erupted from the Fremen crowd also waiting nearby, like mockery and derision.
Paul sighed, saw the young girl Chani among them, and walked over, asking softly, "What are you laughing at?"
None of the surrounding Fremen were willing to answer him, except Chani.
"Nothing," Chani stopped laughing.
Paul looked at the Fremen, whose faces were all smiling, and whispered, "You don't believe, do you?"
"That's right, we don't believe," Chani answered decisively.
"That's just the Southerners' faith," a Fremen female warrior said loudly.
"Southern faith?" Paul asked curiously. Paul, having not had much contact with the Fremen, didn't know much about them. His prescient ability was currently limited to those around him.
"The Southern tribes believe a savior will come," the female warrior sat on the ground, looking up at the young boy and smiling, "to save us from evil."
Paul lowered his eyes and asked, "You don't believe in Lisan al Gaib?"
"We only believe in the Fremen," the equally young female warrior Chani, squatting like a man, said solemnly.
"To control people's hearts, tell them a savior will descend, and then they will willingly wait for centuries, even amidst sorrow and suffering."
Paul frowned, looking at Stilgar, who was praying with the believers, and asked, "What about him?"
"Stilgar? He's a Southerner," a smile appeared on the pretty face of the young girl Chani, "Didn't you notice his accent?"
The surrounding Northern Fremen immediately burst into laughter.
Paul remained silent, lost in thought.
The silence was broken. Jessica, having passed the trial, was carried out by the attendants. Although still weak, it was enough to confirm her title as Reverend Mother.
Paul stood by his mother's side. All the surrounding Fremen began to murmur and chatter loudly.
"You all saw it. This is enough to prove that he is the chosen one!" Stilgar stepped forward, wanting to take control of the conversation.
"You all saw with your own eyes! Lisan al Gaib's mother drank the holy water's poison and was unharmed! She did it, as the oracle foretold."
"That's no miracle!" the young warrior Chani yelled angrily, the brave girl stepping out of the crowd, facing her leader without flinching, "The oracles were all written by their Sisterhood!"
"You are blaspheming!" Stilgar's stern gaze bore down on the young girl Chani, "The prophecy has been fulfilled!"
"Mahdi must be a Fremen!" The female warrior who had previously mocked Paul also stepped forward, roaring loudly.
"Arrakis must be liberated by its own people!"
All the Fremen began to argue.
The silent Paul turned, and suddenly shouted loudly, "She's right! She's right!"
And so all the Fremen stopped arguing, looking at the young boy, the prophesied savior, not understanding what he was doing or why he would say such a thing.
"This is not a miracle," Paul sat calmly on the ground, saying softly, "My mother has been trained in this. High-ranking members of the Sisterhood know how to transform poisons."
The young boy's increasingly profound eyes gazed at all the Fremen as he slowly shook his head, "I am not Mahdi."
Then he stood up, facing all the Fremen, his voice gradually rising.
"I am not here to lead you," the young boy suddenly switched from the galactic common tongue to Fremen, his eyes revealing sincerity and determination.
"I am here only to learn your ways of survival."
"Let me fight alongside you. This is my only request," the boy swept his gaze over the opposing warriors, speaking sincerely.
One by one, the dissenting voices gradually died down, while the Fremen who originally believed in the savior discussed in hushed tones, "Mahdi is too humble; he doesn't want to admit he's Mahdi! This only proves more that he is Mahdi!"
Thus, Paul began to join the Fremen as a warrior. His words not only gained him even greater fervor from the original Southern believers but also temporary acceptance from the Northern Fremen. Jessica also became the new Reverend Mother of the tribe.
In the time that followed, Paul accompanied the Fremen, learning how to survive and fight in the desert, and also how to become a Fremen.
His performance gradually earned the Fremen's approval, and with the help of the young girl Chani and Stilgar, he grew rapidly.
During this period of interaction, he also became lovers with the young warrior Chani. Although Chani still did not believe her beloved was the savior, it did not prevent Chani from falling in love with a brave warrior who challenged her.
Paul, relying on his prescient abilities and his knowledge of the Lion Throne Empire and Harkonnen Family legions, achieved repeated victories after joining the Fremen resistance.
The Harkonnen Family's spice mining fields, many mining vehicles, and escort teams were also destroyed and eliminated by Paul and the Fremen resistance using captured laser guns and ion cannons.
Paul began to become a true Fremen, even learning how these Fremen rode and controlled sandworms as mounts. Although this method of riding seemed more like hitchhiking, he also became a sandworm rider.
Another day of battle ended. Paul habitually sat on a Dune, gazing at the dim sky. The Atreides family heirloom ring he wore had already been put away in his pocket.
"Perhaps I have found the path I want to take," Paul thought. He felt that living as a Fremenwarrior like this was also good.
He could destroy the Harkonnen Family's spice mining areas with these warriors, eliminating the power of his former family's blood enemies, without worrying about the clear impression in his mind: the fanatic religious influence of millions of Southern Fremen.
As night fell, the Fremen warriors' tents, pitched in the leeward side of the Dune, glowed with warm light. Paul then walked down the Dune and entered the camp.
Cheers erupted. Fremen warriors applauded and celebrated Paul, not only for his outstanding performance but also because he used his prescient ability to save his comrades and his beloved, Chani.
Now, in Paul's eyes, there was no longer any distinction between Northern and Southern factions, because these Fremen had all accepted him. He was becoming a leader who had not seized true power.
"You all saw what he did!" Stilgar cheered enthusiastically, shouting to these Fremen suicide squad warriors.
"He foresaw the enemy's movements, he predicted the future."
Even the Fremen female warrior who had previously opposed and mocked Paul was now mimicking the movements of a desert mouse with her hands, making whooshing sounds, teasing Paul.
The female warrior Chani's eyes showed tenderness as she looked at the quiet Paul, asking with interest, "Who taught you to fight like that? Your fighting style is different from ours."
"My former masters, who were also my closest friends," Paul said softly.
Now, Paul only needed to speak, and all the Fremen in the tent would stop and listen to his voice.
"They were all brutally massacred, just like my father," Paul raised his eyes, looking at his companions and warriors.
"You have fought the Harkonnens for decades, while my family has fought them for centuries. I know all their habits inside and out."
"You have harnessed the power of the desert. Together, we will surely be able to stop them, destroy them, and let them be buried in the desert."
Stilgar gazed at the savior he had chosen, and said in a deep voice, "How do you want us to do it, hmm?"
"What would you do, Stilgar?" Paul didn't answer, but instead looked at the warrior who had always supported him and asked in return.
"Me? I would…" Stilgar thought for a moment and said, "I would continue the northward offensive."
"Then I will continue north," Paul said decisively.
"The further north you go, the more likely your life is to perish," the female warrior whispered.
Paul shook his head, smiling faintly, "Then I will gladly go to my death."
He looked at the female warrior and said, "Perhaps you will too."
Paul's gaze swept over the faces of the other warriors, and he said, "But the rest will continue. The Fremen will never give up until they are victorious!"
All the Fremen pounded their chests, uttering sounds of praise.
And so Paul received a Fremen name—Muad'Dib—which meant that he had become an acknowledged member of the Fremen's inner circle.