Time…
What is time?...
Does time still exist when it has lost all meaning?...
How long have I been here?...
I'm barely cognizant of what I'm doing anymore…
It's all the same…
Over and over again…
I'm…
Bored…
Awaken
…
Awaken
…What?
AWAKEN
I blinked.
That was… new.
So is the purple portal in front of me.
How long has it been since I've heard from the "Gods"?...
ENTER THE PORTAL
…
I shrugged.
Eh. Why not? It's something new at least.
I entered the portal.
There was the typical colored flash that matched the color of the portal as I went through, matching when my eyes went through the event horizon. After that usually comes some disorientation from being in a totally new place, but honestly I've been through so many portals by this point that the disorientation is pretty much gone.
What I don't expect is to be standing in the sky, viewing the world as if by a cross section. It's almost like a map of the most pertinent areas of the world, which I'd already discovered were directly on a line from each other. The rest is just… a good view. I've explored the surrounding mountains and oceans, but other than a good view and some useless ruins, it's all… empty. And viewed like this as a cross section, it looks like a simple background. Strange.
SO… YOU'RE FINALLY AWAKE
I blinked and turned around. And looked up… And up… and up.
I beheld a being. An outline of energy, purple and vast, making me feel like an ant in size compared to the being before me.
WE HAVE BEEN ATTEMPTING TO WAKE YOU FOR A VERY LONG TIME
Wake… was I asleep?
YOU MAY AS WELL HAVE BEEN. IT TOOK HUNDREDS OF CALLS BEFORE YOU FINALLY HEEDED OUR WORDS. NOW YOU ARE HERE.
…And my mind is being read. Wonderful. Why am I here?
TO PUT IT SIMPLY… WE ARE BORED.
…What.
AND SO ARE YOU. OR YOU WOULD NOT HAVE FALLEN INTO THE STATE YOU WERE IN FOR SO LONG. AGES PASSED AND YOU DID NOTHING BUT FOLLOW THE SAME PATH, GATHERING OUR FAVORS FOR YOUR USE, DESTROYING ALL IN YOUR PATH, AND COMPLETING THE WORK ONE WORLD AT A TIME. OVER… AND OVER… AND OVER AGAIN.
…Well, it's not like there's anything else to do.
THAT IS WHERE YOU ARE WRONG. AT LEAST AT THIS TIME. YOU HAVE GAINED OUR FAVOR BEYOND ALL REASON AND WE WOULD SEE YOU LEAVE THIS PLACE.
You're… banishing me?
DO YOU HONESTLY WISH TO STAY?
…
…no.
GOOD. HAD YOU DESIRED OTHERWISE… WELL IT DOESN'T MATTER. TO SOOTH OUR PARTING, AND TO PREPARE YOUR WAY IN THE WORLDS TO COME, WE HAVE SEEN FIT TO LEAVE YOU YOUR POWERS AND ALL YOU HAVE GAINED, BUT FOR A FEW TWEAKS AS YOU WILL NOT FIND THE RESOURCES HERE THAT YOU WILL NEED ELSEWHERE.
What kind of tweaks?
I WILL LIST THEM FOR YOU, THAT YOU MAY UNDERSTAND.
FIRST. ALL OF YOUR BOONS WILL FALL UNDER YOUR FULL CONTROL. YOU CAN USE THEM AS YOU SEE FIT. EVEN TURN THEM OFF, WHICH IS WHY YOU WILL ALSO HAVE ACCESS TO ALL OF THE BOONS. EVEN THE ONES YOU SAW AS DETRIMENTAL OR IN NO NEED OF.
SECOND. ALL OF YOUR OUTLIER POWERS WILL BE UNDER YOUR FULL CONTROL. YOUR PERSISTANCE AND YOUR OVERSIGHT WILL REMAIN YOURS IN PERPETUITY.
THIRD. YOUR REWARDS ARE SOUL BOUND TO YOU AND WILL REMAIN YOURS IN PERPETUITY. WE UNDERSTAND YOU HAVE DENIED YOUR CROWN. IN LIGHT OF THIS YOU WILL RETAIN YOUR HALO IN ITS PLACE. IS THIS ACCEPTABLE?
Yes.
GOOD. YOU ARE FREE. WE RELEASE YOU INTO THE COSMOS TO DO AS YOU WILL. ENJOY YOUR NEW LIFE NOITA.
A new white portal appeared. I've never seen a white portal before. Interesting. I can actually feel how it was made. With this I should be able to travel to wherever as I like.
With a nod to the great being before me, I stepped through the portal.
This should be… interesting.