Gumball couldn't sleep that night.
As tired as he was, what felt like an earworm circled around his head, leaving him no peace in his mind.
He had a fun day, so why was he so... upset?
After all, Penny flew him across the town, right? Yeah, he did almost fall but-
Then he realized it.
He remembered the realization that made him slip out of his girlfriend's embracing arms.
He remembered how powerless he was, and how he paled in comparison to his family-or most of it, remembering his father- and his colleagues.
Furthermore, he remembered how the faery showed him a happy moment, only for his own mind to twist it into a cruel mocking of his averageness.
He wasn't willing to allow the intrusive thoughts to win, however, and immediately began focusing on the positive side of the date, when they both enjoyed the sensation of freedom that the flight had provided.
This proved to be effective at driving them away for the moment, allowing Gumball to get some rest, though it would not be his last act for the night.
An unknown music waved the world, composed of whispers of lullabies and dogs gnawing on bones, both to the tune of an unknown kind of piano.
The wind rushed into the room, in spite of the windows having been closed previously.
The presence of life was unheard of, except for the now waking Gumball, who was trying to muster up the will to get out of bed.
Eventually, the cat made his way into the window, but as he pulled the curtains away to close it, a vast world of patterned static revealed itself, prompting him to jump back, startled by this event.
-Darwin? Darwin, what the what is happening outside?
But as he turned around, he saw the fishbowl next to his bed to be empty, without even a single drop of water inside.
In desperation, Gumball checked his sister's bed, above his, but it too was empty. He then rushed out of the door, finding only even more of that Void he had witnessed, along with a path of debris that led him out into the world.
Strangely enough, however, he felt a strange compulsion to follow it, somehow reverting his survival instincts and ignoring his fears, persevering more and more each step he took.
-What is happening, why am I here? Back in the Void?
The last memory he had of the Void was when his classmate, Molly, had been considered a mistake by the world and plunged into a dimension of endless debris and static, needing a rescue that inadvertently brought the one who would become his nemesis.
Was it now his turn to be considered an error?
Had the universe finally had enough with playing with him and this was his final fate?
Why else, the cat wondered, would he be there?
"Gumball Tristopher Watterson, son of Richard and Nicole Watterson".
As he looked around while protecting himself from the cold, Gumball could only wonder that the universe wished to mock him one final time.
He had had enough.
-You might think I will just quietly stay here, rotting away like all the mistakes you banished to this place. But I will find a way back, no matter how insane this place becomes, and you will see it with your own eyes.
Ignoring his defiance, the voice continued:
"Throughout your time in your life, you were mocked and thrown around, forced to find new ways to survive. And yet, you remain, at your core, kind, which is a quality I consider rare in these trying times."
Collecting all his strength, Gumball once again shouted with all the air he had left in his lungs:
-Appear in front of me, darn it! Let me look at the deaf guy talking to me!
Unfortunately for the little feline, hundreds of debris came together to create a strange kind of altar, black and dark gray in color, and hundreds of even blacker shards of glass came together to form a human in flesh.
"In a world of diversified strangeness, your powerlessness is what impresses me the most, however."
Shaking uncontrollably, yet standing his ground, he took a better look at the figure, and noticed its clothing was for lower class men from the industrial revolution. In addition to the inherent eldritchness emanated by normal humans towards citizens of Elmore, its eyes were a partially reflective darkness, and the thing was floating at least twice Gumball's size off the ground.
This time, the feline continued to listen, not wanting to anger the entity.
"Your inherent weakness compensated for your other less interesting traits, namely your laziness, along with the potential that I see in your actions affecting this town."
Gumball's left hand began burning him, inside and outside, as his body began hurting as well while he tried to compose himself. A black tattoo began forming in the back of his paw, resembling a bizarre compass, that left a tingling feeling even as the pain subsided after a few minutes.
"You will get used to the feeling. I have given you my Mark, and with it, all its benefits."
The entity then left as it came, altering its altar to become a series of floating furniture and objects.
As he got a hold of his body, the cat began receiving a flow of new information into his confused mind.
He learned of something he could now do with his new tattoo.
He pointed his paw at the nearest target, a table, and closed his eyes as he let energy flow into his arm.
In a sudden moment, a dark gray thorn grew from his hand and stabbed the object, and quickly brought him into the table, strangely enough unharmed and right on top and in balance, before immediately retracting right back.
Surprised by the outcome, Gumball once again did it, this time into a small platform above him, pointing his paw at its surface, and once again, a thorn brought him into the desired location.
Now excited, the cat tried to do the same towards the surface below another platform, though this time it didn't bring him above it, instead hotting his big head and falling back into his initial position.
Quickly recovering, he tried to skip straight into the highest object, a closet, but instinctively knew it was out of his reach, leading him into experimenting to see how far he could go before trying again.
Though he was usually not someone who tried, the prospect of finally receiving a power of his own made him determined enough to quickly reach the top, now knowing at least two limitations of the ability.
Though he fell various times, he eventually reached the closet and witnessed more debris creating another path for him to use.
-He-he, let's do this.
Much more efficiently than before, Gumball went from platform to another, all while thinking on a name for this skill, ending up with Tether as he neared the end of the course.
Suddenly, in front of him, a new altar emerged, this time with a strangely well-made rune seemingly made of bone on it.
Even without looking directly at it, the feline could sense its many whispers in a way that he could pinpoint its exact location and how close he was to it.
Without thinking, Gumball grabbed it straight away, until he was stunned by its voices quieting down and the surrounding black energy flowing into his left hand.
His knowledge on his newly received powers appeared to have furthered, and he could now see how to use Thorn to also stick to surfaces it brought him to, even if gravity wouldn't allow it as long as he remained in the spot.
"Whatever you wish to use your gift for is of your own agency, if you decide to use it at all. More of these runes have been left in your world, including your town, if you prefer to further strengthen your new abilities."
Gumball couldn't believe it.
Just before, he had been complaining about how powerless he was and how much he wished the sense of freedom Penny had provided him that day. And now, someone had just given him carte blanche to use this power however he pleased. And it was abilities, plural, which multiplied his happiness by at least six.
"Of course, I will keep an eye on your progress, and from time to time I might even initiate a conversation. Farewell, Gumball."
His eyes were closing, his mind was beginning to rest, and he felt all his muscles relax, as he once again fell into his bed, no one else the wiser to the experience he just had.
The experience that would alter the course of his life.