I was standing on a promenade of pale stone lined with tall palm trees as they gently hissed in the wind. Crowds of people of various skin colors, ages, and attires lined my path, two or three people deep. They watched me eagerly, holding flowers and prayer books. The tall grasslands off to my distant left made a pleasant swishing sound against the expectant pause of the waiting crowd. My white silk formal robe fluttered in the breeze, as the sun was shone brightly above us. What a perfect morning, I observed. The weather was pleasantly warm against my bare limbs, and the pyramid ahead of me was tall, white and picturesque against the cobalt blue of the Nubuan sky. It was a perfect morning, so why was I upset? I began to walk, observing many small children of noble families as they waved at me. Their faces smiled but their eyes didn't as they watched me walking down the wide pathway toward the Museum of Prophecy inside the great white pyramid. Everywhere I went in the galaxy, the eyes of the children were the most honest, and around me, eyes that concealed true feelings always watched me. It made me uncomfortable.

I realized that I was in a man's body now, feeling what he felt as he walked reluctantly before this adoring crowd.

A nervous movement out of the corner of my eyes as a child threw flowers at my feet. I never used to be so jumpy back home, and I had never gotten used to being here. It had been nearly seven years since I had arrived in this strange futuristic universe. I still didn't know why or how I was here. After sharing a drink with a mysterious woman, I had woken up in a body that wasn't mine that had been blessed with formidable psychic abilities. I discovered that I was a powerful magician, able to bend people to my will as easily as clay. For these years, I had been on a quest to find out how to get home with a few others who also claimed to be displaced from their home realities. My small crew and I traveled onboard the majestic Divine Intervention, a living ship that took the shape of a giant eagle of gold. We fought wars and righted wrongs where we went as we searched for leads on how to find our ways home. My substantial supernatural abilities coupled with the powerful uniqueness of the Divine Intervention had begun to give my crew and I quite the reputation as we traveled, both for good and for ill.

Rumors had begun to surface that I was a prophet, an angel, or a god. I tried to dispel those false assumptions when I could, but sometimes, planets like Nubua would find a way to petition us for help saying that our coming had been foretold in their ancient texts and arts. Their seers had contacted us, saying that it was destined in their prophecies that we would end their wars. They also claimed to possess an artifact that might be of great interest to our quest home, which they somehow knew about. Because of their uncanny knowledge, we decided to visit this remote area of space, both to see if we could help, and to study the artifact they held. The Wizard of Molech had requested that we find some kind of symbolic passkey in order to pass through his interdimensional Gate to the Deep Warp, and that we would know it when we saw it. That vague description hardly helped, but we chased down every lead we could find. I let my intuition be my guide, and it felt as if I should be here.

Despite all the power I now held, I actually yearned most for the comfort of home again. While most people would be thrilled to be in my sci-fi hero position, the shine had worn off the novelty of my situation long ago. I felt like an imposter playing the role of some kind of space prophet when I was just some guy from Bristol who missed his family and his simple life. I was tired of running from literal daemons and fighting aliens who wanted to kill me. I just wanted to have Sunday dinner with my family and hug my mum again.

The children's smiling parents cheered with adoration was I walked. Much of the adult positivity was sincere this time. I could feel the emotion beaming from them as easily as the sun on my new body's face. More children were goaded into throwing flowers and ribbons at my feet. There were enough people that genuinely wanted me to be here that there was no trouble, I thought with relief. I never wanted trouble, but trouble always wanted me. The daemons in this universe wanted to hurt me. It just kept happening. Why did it keep happening?

There was something wrong with this, I thought as I walked toward the pyramid. Something was always wrong. Today, my precognitive dread stalked me like a vengeful tiger, but I could not place it in the tall grass. Something was dreadfully wrong.

My perspective shifted as I became Erika again.

The cheering faces and the perfect morning disintegrated into dust, collapsing into the desert around me like sand castles meeting the tide. The landscape had changed, and I was myself again. I was on the same pathway, but this time it was nearly worn down to nothing, burned away into the fine sands that swirled like snow around me on the tortured winds. It was dark now, maybe the twilight of either early morning or early evening. The horizon was ringed in all directions with an orange light that resembled fire, and the air bore the faint smell of charred ashes. The tall grasses and palm trees were also gone; only sterile desert remained. It made this place look like Hell. The pyramid remained, perfectly white and strangely untouched in this wasteland; one figure remained standing ahead of me.

His back was turned to me, and he faced the pyramid. His silk robes did not move in the wind, and he seemed oddly transparent, like water containing bits of shining gold dust. His body gave off a faint metallic light. Despite not seeing his face, I could tell that he was very sad. The emotion bled from him like an open wound.

"Hello?" I dared to ask, walking forward.

The stranger turned his head to look at me. He was a young man with shaggy dark hair that was pulled back in a ponytail. He wore an expression of deep sorrow. As I approached where he stood, he did not move to walk to me, nor did he walk away. His somber eyes remained watching me as I walked, waiting for me.

When I was closer, I realized something. I had seen this person before. Maybe in a dream, or a vision, or... yes, I had a vision of this person. I had met him. He was the English man I had seen when I had first flown through the Warp on the Divine Retribution. This was the guy who had offered me bourbon in his bachelor pad, and the one who had accused me of being an intruder before other people tried to break into his home. His name was...

"Sebastian..." I remembered the name aloud, and it was swallowed in the desert tempest. He didn't speak, but he did nod.

I was then standing next to him as he stretched an arm out to point toward the white pyramid. An impression washed through me, and whispered, Look...

The cheering crowd had returned, and I was now entering the pyramid that housed the Museum of Prophecy. Above, I heard military planes pass over me, and the faintest scream of an alarm somewhere. Statesmen wearing pinned smiles and expensive robes beckoned me forward, through a small gallery of strange paintings, and toward an archway made of pure white stone at least four meters in height. I walked through the archway, and found myself standing inside a wide domed room with a short wall of smooth white stone about ten meters in diameter. Above, I could vaguely make out that the ceiling was painted with angelic figures, singing and capering among the clouds. Ahead of me, a perfectly round and limpidly clear crystal ball measuring about the length of my arm in size rolled and spun as it floated at chest height. It looked too perfectly crafted to be made by human hands, and hung like a delicate soap bubble in midair. The amount of life energy I sensed radiating from this strange artifact stunned me, and I felt drawn to it. Was this what the Wizard wanted us to bring to him? Two priestesses wearing placid gold masks with three eyes led me further into this strange room. Their hands welcomed me here, to the nerve center of their civilization. I was guided further into the room, toward the floating crystal sphere. Ahead of me, I saw Sebastian as he held his hands cautiously over the sphere, reluctant to touch it.

Sebastian looked at me, and I became him once again.

Look upon the Heart of Worlds, I heard a whisper from somewhere, and I realized that the people in the gold masks wanted me to bless the floating crystal orb. They wanted me to fix everything through this action, somehow. Their prophecies had said I would come. I was from beyond their universe, and I had been sent down from heaven to save them. Around me, a feeling of distant danger burned like a slow fire in a damp forest. I tried to turn back around, but the weight of their expectation kept me here like an iron gate. They wanted me to bless the Heart. They said it would help them.

I took a deep breath, and I placed my cautious hands on the crystal globe. With a gasp, I felt my awareness immediately filter outward, expanding inexorably. First, I became the masked priestesses, and watched through their eyes as I saw myself in communion with the artifact. I had never gotten used to seeing myself in this new form. This strange body that I had woken up in years ago was tall, strong, and had healthily tanned skin. Here, my physique was athletic and robust instead of the pasty wargaming geek who skulked in game shops like a skaven. Even my hair was long and perfect when I had decided to grow it out. I was now an idealized man in body, if not soul. I definitely felt like an imposter.

Pulling me from my self-depreciating navel-gazing, my vision forcefully expanded further, and I became the group of priests praying outside the pyramid for their salvation. Further still, my sight embraced the anarchist commune living in the sewers, the workers of Byrblan in their busy lives, the fishermen in the sacred river, and the old mother dying in her bed surrounded by her family on the other side of the continent. The Heart was dramatically expanding my consciousness, linking me not only to every human, but to every living thing on this world which included the cattle, the tall grass, the birds in the sky, and the worms in the mud. I became every smiling child, every proud parent, every brave soldier, philosopher, and worker. In a minuscule breath of time, I became all of them. I had become the breath of their civilization.

Was this what it was like to be God, I wondered as I felt the sensation of riotous life move through my consciousness. There were no words to describe the full wonder of what I was experiencing.

This was the Heart of Worlds, and it sang a sweet song beneath my fingers. Yes, I understood now. This sacred artifact linked everything and everyone in this entire planetary cluster. These remote planets in this dangerous area of the galaxy had survived many tribulations because of the Heart's unifying strength. In times of great need, it had always been written that an angel riding an eagle would come from heaven and unify them once again, saving them from war. The Heart could only be used by someone of my kind. Our souls were alien to this universe, and anathema to its terrible corruption. It was because we came from a realm of creators, music makers, the dreamers of the dreams, and to the people in this reality, that made us divine. We were the revelators of their fates.

As beautiful as this experience was, I still felt as if there was something wrong. I knew something terrible was about to happen, but my foresight was clouded. I reached further with my intuition.

My deific awareness swept outward as nations embraced my breath. As gentle as a sweet kiss, I passed over planets as I became bigger, enveloping entire worlds in a single heartbeat. I became millions, and then billions of people, feeling their joys and sorrows, their victories and defeats. It was so beautiful that I began to cry. I was aware that the two masked priestesses in the room with me had fallen to their knees, and their hands were raised in an expression of praise. Through them, I felt thankful wonder. This was life in all its majesty! It was so beautiful! And I knew then, deep down in my heart, that these worlds wanted peace. All things wanted to continue singing the endless song of existence, to shine each facet of the mind of God in perfect harmony!

But...

I was still missing something. Something was beyond my sight. It was an imperfection, a darkness. A warning... Something was happening... Some hearts had been shut by those foul creatures in the Warp that I shunned. They were jealous. They circled like sharks around me, ravenously hungry for an appetite they could never sate.

Still further my awareness reached out, distributed by the incredible power of the Heart of Worlds. I sensed the inhabitants of every planet in this remote region of space. The great empire of Nubua, fractured and desperately trying to become whole once again. I felt the ache for peace, the cries for understanding, and the desire to become strong and united once again. I definitely knew now that the Heart was a sort of metaphysical link between all nations and planets here. All the souls living within the Independent Empires were linked with it, but it could not be manipulated by natives of this universe. Only one such as I could touch it and live. The dreams of prophecy emanated from it like a slumbering god, singing to those with special sensitivities. It had been gifted by a forgotten race of benevolent aliens to help these remotely settled humans achieve peace and understanding. At the core of all 55 planets that made up this region of space, similar orbs lay deep within the cores, connecting each planet and all the life it bore to one another. My hands now touched the unifying orb, calming and uniting these fractious worlds.

My awareness slipped playfully from planet to planet, from lifeform to lifeform. I saw an ocean world, where proud dark-skinned fishermen dove for perfect pearls in a shallow sea. I saw merchants trading these pearls with the Topaz Empire, a world made up of silent mystics of great wisdom. I saw the wizards and the prophets communing with the souls of their ancestors across time through the dreams of the Heart, and I saw the jealous ones grow even more envious at the beautiful symphony of life that danced here. I saw the 55 planets as they fought, loved, and always returned over many cycles of time, as it would be forever. The Heart within Nubua promised this!

Something caught my eye, and I looked somewhere else. Somewhere even more beautiful, but also bittersweet. I turned away from the souls of the Independent Empires for a moment...

I saw... I saw a path home! There was a Gate somewhere, and I had passed through it. There was still hope to go home! I saw my mum, my brothers, my old flatmate Aaron, my publisher, and all my mates as we cheered watching football during a perfect summer evening! Home! I was really home! I'm at the old game shop, telling everyone about the wondrous dream I had where I was a space man hero like Flash Gordon! And I'm with my beautiful girlfriend now! I feel myself making love to her on our wedding night, our love binding us forever! Forever alone no more! Oh, how I missed the normality so! Like the Wizard of Oz said, there's no place like...

Wait...

I gazed into my wife's hypnotic prismatic eyes as I lay with her on our wedding night, our bodies woven together. She smiled enigmatically, and I put my hand through her white-blonde hair. She was so beautiful, and her knowledge was depthless. Her skin was as cool as the ocean at night, and through her eyes and song I knew the secrets of the multiverse. We floated through a crystal labyrinth of thought, entwined and in love forever! She held me and whispered promises no mortal should know. Here, I was potent and strong, like a living god! I wasn't a pasty nerd or a virgin anymore in this new wonderful body! Her teeth were like a shark's as she began kissing me with renewed passion. Blood began to pour down the side of my mouth, warmly coating my neck and shoulders with a mixture of both her and I. It tasted like ink.

The airy water flowed through my long hair as I felt myself begin to give in to her in utter bliss. We were watched by uncountable others as they swam jealously around us. Envy colored their lurid skins. But I was a god, why was I concerned with such silly emotions? Her bare cold skin bled secrets into me as I yearned to understand more.

"You will rule, you will conquer..." she whispered to me in millions of hissing voices inside my mind. "I am ambition... I am the fire of change... Surrender to me... Give yourself to me..."

Dimly, I became aware of something. Something I had failed to recognize as the deific knowledge of eternity began to filter through my mind.

I didn't have a wife... I... never even had a girlfriend. This wasn't real...

There was something wrong. The vision of home, it was wrong; it felt false! It was false! No, no... this wasn't right! I pulled away from the woman that wasn't my wife as we floated in the magic labyrinth. She smiled like a Cheshire cat and dissolved into nine hundred ninety nine million multicolored birds.

What... what was that? Momentarily unbalanced, I brought myself back to my body as it held the Heart of Worlds. I tried to take my hands off the globe, but found that I could not. I felt the many souls of the Independent Empires beckoning me back again, coaxing me to heal them, to fix their war and suffering. Of course! Their eyes were smiling, and I smiled back with genuine love. I'm sorry I looked away. A moment of weakness, forgive me! I will love you all forever and watch over you! I'm a living god in this universe, and I can heal all things and soothe all wars! I will not be distracted again! Please forgive me, I'm only human! You were all right! I am a god! There would be no war because war was pointless! I could see it now! The Imperium would heal and rule f-

Bright light... A flash that burned corneas and scorched flesh...

I was pulled out of my reverie by the sensation of thousands of minds reeling in terror. There was great fear, great light, great pain, and then, annihilation. Fire had come from the sky, the judgement of God was upon them, many of them thought, but they were wrong. "Why have you forsaken us, God?", a strong youth screamed as he expired, his skin melting off his bones. No! I didn't do this! I-I couldn't have!

I searched. How had this happened? I discovered that a nation had attacked! The jealous ones with a hateful Warp spirits had snuck a weapon past my sight into this world. And not just one, but many...

I had somehow become distracted from my omnipotence by the false vision of home, which I had still painfully longed for. My selfish distraction had allowed people infested with Warp spirits to sneak in to Nubua with weapons, and break the cease fire!

Another million people cried out in fear and terror before being silenced forever, their voices scattered to the winds of the Warp which caused it to scream like a wounded whale. I cried out in pain! The agony I was feeling through the Heart was too much! I again tried to disengage from the artifact, but found myself unable to pull away.

I heard the three laugh at me. The Changer's laughter was the loudest of all, followed by the cheers of the Murderer, which was then joined by the vile joy of the Blighter. Distantly, along the path of the future, a dim fourth voice added itself to the chorus. From a distance, the Sybarite tittered musically. They all laughed as the people of Nubua died. I felt each of their deaths. Every single one of them...

I'm sorry! Oh God, I'm sorry! I-

More died, from the animals in the forests, to the farmers in their fields, even the microscopic bacteria. The Heart made sure that I felt them all expire in the bombs. The ground rumbled below me. I saw a vision of a spaceship scream above me, and missiles striking the ground. No! No! I just got here! Please let me fix this, oh God! I have to fix this, I could...!

Stop it!

Very close, I felt the city of Byrblan die in a bright flash of energy. The hearts and minds of those so close who had been erased struck me like a tsunami of poisoned needles, and I experienced all their screaming fear and burning pain.

And now, I become death, destroyer of worlds, I felt as I became all of them in their dying moments.

No! Stop it! STOP IT!

I desperately tried to pull my hands from the Heart again, which had now started to churn with a sickening red light, as bright and as foul as burning blood. My palms began to cook and melt. No! No, stop it! I'm sorry! Stop it!

Millions more died, and I felt it all. How could this be happening? I never wanted this to happen! Stop showing me this! Stop it! Stop these visions! Stop killing yourselves! They couldn't be real! These are illusions! They can't be right! Nothing like this could actually happen! Fake! False!

I deny these visions! I curse them!

As I felt multitudes of people expire in the firestorm of Armageddon, my willpower reflexively formed a shield around me, and I frantically felt my Corona burst into life, surrounding me in a blinding golden halo. Flames began to lick across my shoulders as the Key around my neck blazed in living hunger, reaching for the newly freed souls! NO! Don't do that! Don't eat these innocent people! This had to be false somehow! This apocalypse was not what I had foreseen, and since I was a god, I had perfect foresight! I was being deceived again! In my rage, I cursed the act that had caused this, forcing the pain burning me back through the Heart. No more! I send it all back! My own desperate fury was added to the holy symphony of wrath, and my anger over this pointless false genocide reflected outward and through the Heart in a malediction of incredible power. Under my burning fingers, I felt a crack break the perfect orb.

Stop it! I curse this act! I curse-

I was Erika again as I nearly toppled over with a cry. I was now standing in the center of a round dark room. How did I get here? The translucent gold ghost stood before me, his eyes looking at something at his feet. I followed where he looked.

The Heart lay in two pieces over a pile of sand. It was broken, black, and dead.

I knew then that no more life sang from the sacred Heart of Worlds. No more civilizations sang their songs within the shattered crystal artifact. Byrblan was dead. The planet was dead. This nation was dead, and all the planets connected to the Heart had been scoured of life. Every living thing that had existed in the Independent Empires outside of the pyramid that I stood within had died. From every blade of grass to every great king, to every pauper, to every animal that walked, swam, or flew. All things that once lived had transfigured into sand and dust, blowing away in sterilized winds that screamed across the nothing landscape to form a deadly desert.

In my own disbelieving anger, I turned to the one responsible. In his shame, he looked away.

Sebastian had done this. His lapse of judgement had obliterated all life on this entire cluster of planets! It had been a horrible mistake, and he had never forgotten his shame.

"You killed them all," I said to the golden ghost of Sebastian. His body was shaking as if silently weeping before me. The palms of his hands appeared to be badly burned, and were bleeding up to the forearm. I didn't quite understand how I was here, or how I was seeing this, but I knew that I had witnessed an unimaginable tragedy.

I walked to the ghost. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to feel sorry for him, or if I wanted to kill him right then and there for this unspeakable lapse in judgement.

Sebastian ceased his weeping, and looked at me, his eyes displaying his guilt. He abruptly reached forward and clutched my left shoulder with a burned and bloody hand, and transmitted a warning.

The words I felt immolated me as surely as Sebastian's error had seared away the life from these unfortunate nations, carrying through every part of my being like those who had died in the nuclear exchange on Nubua, but the gold shade of the lost man from England didn't even open his mouth to speak.

"Don't be like me!"