Pain.

That's all I can feel.

I. Me. Those thoughts didn't exist a moment ago.

Burning. Sharp.

My body knows this doesn't feel right, but it doesn't know what right feels like.

My body? I was something else before.

Overwhelming.

Mind shutting down.

No thoughts.

…

Pain.

Again.

How many times has this happened? How long have I been like this?

Look down.

Yes, a body. Red, rough. Barely holding together.

Overwhelming.

Mind shutting down.

No thoughts.

…

Pain.

Vision. Magic.

Power.

Darkness.

Pain.

Three figures a distance away, their hands connected to my form by black, unstable lines of energy. The source. The cause of my pain. I feel this because of them. I exist because of them.

Sound.

Screaming. The source. Mine. The sound fills the space. Space? Darkness. It goes on forever. I can almost feel something in the distance.

A voice. One of my creators'. I don't understand what she says.

Pain.

But different, now. Better. Or maybe worse. Good. The sensation is pleasant.

Another voice. More energy connecting with me. More pain.

Overwhelming.

Mind shutting down.

No thoughts.

…

Consciousness.

The pain is gone. I almost miss it. A voice.

"STAND UP!"

Yes, I'm in a different position than I was in last time. There's nothing underneath me, and yet I understand.

Get up.

The motion comes naturally. Roll onto my side, use my arms to push me up. Legs underneath, and now I'm in the same position as the dark forms above me. They speak, but not to me.

"This isn't what we wanted."

"Then how do we fix it?!"

"Follow me."

I'm lifted up, into other nothing. I see the energy come towards me slowly, somehow knowing it was almost instantaneous. Almost like my mind wants to protect me from something.

PAIN

Worse than before. Growing stronger and stronger, my body falling apart. No, changing. Into what? It won't work. It hurts.

Burning. Pressure. Danger.

Power.

In an instant, I've returned to where I was, no longer in the same position as my creators. They speak angrily, but quietly.

"What was that?!"

"Is he dangerous…?"

"Don't we want him to be?"

No, something else is different. My body doesn't feel the same. One of them is still doing something.

Weak. Tired.

Mind shutting down. This is different.

Unconscious.

…

Pain.

Different this time. No changes, no forcefulness. Just pain.

Laughing.

They're enjoying this.

I try to look at my creators.

I am not.

It doesn't end, the sound of my screaming filling the empty space around me. Becoming white noise. I can almost tune it out.

One of them yells something, and then sharper pain.

Unconscious.

…

Awake.

Eyes open, senses aware. Mind clear. No pain, little sensation.

Mental pathways opening for the first time. Thoughts.

There's something underneath me now.

I should get up.

I roll over onto my side again and push myself up, catching a glimpse of my arms. They're pale white, and they feel smaller than they were before. What did I look like before? I don't remember.

I should look up. I do, and all I see is darkness. My creators aren't there. I can sense them, in the distance somewhere. They were tired of waiting. I must have been unconscious for a while.

Who am I? No, that question can wait. What am I? Yes, that's more important.

I stand up and immediately notice something different. I'm shorter. I remember my other form, red and rough and barely holding together. Is this one more stable? It feels more stable.

Power. Right, I have power. Enough to scare my creators. Can I control it now? I try, holding my hand out. A ball of dark purple and gray energy appears. It's different from theirs. I don't know how I remember that.

The ball grows larger, until I lose control of it and energy flies out in front of me. It isn't hard to stop producing that energy. No, I can't control it.

But you can control your body. I take a few steps forward. It feels natural.

I feel something else.

My body solidifying, mind opening up. I am complete.

I have other energy, too. I try to lift myself up like my creators did. That comes more easily than walking.

They've noticed.

The thought appears in my head like a warning. Yes, they're coming closer again. Could they sense me like I can sense them? I return to the ground. They may lift me up again.

A few moments later, they're close enough so that I can see them.

"So he's awake now?" One asks.

"Yes, he is," another replies.

"Can he respond?" The third wonders.

The first one looks right at me.

"Show us your power."

I comply, making a ball of my essence appear in my hand again. I try to control it better this time, but I can't. Some of it hits the middle figure. She cries out in pain. I instinctively make it disappear. It doesn't feel right to hurt them the same way they hurt me.

"I think he still needs some correction," the middle one says angrily.

"No, that's good. He'll be able to cause pain to the others." The first one says, still staring at me.

"If he could scream, he must be able to speak." The third one looks at me and comes closer. "Say something."

I open my mouth and try to mimic their speaking. I don't know what to say. Who am I?! My mind shouts. If I can get the words out, I'll ask them that. The sound is hoarse. The screaming was clearer.

"Who… am I…?"

"You'll know that soon enough," the first one answers. "For now, stay here and practice using your energy." She leaves again, and the others follow. I do exactly as she says.

Slowly, I gain control over my magic. As I practice using it more, it feels more and more like mine. Gradually, the other memories and the voice fade away. It's just me now. I know who I am.

My sensing reaches out into the darkness. I feel my creators close, but suddenly, I feel something else, too. Something that feels distinctly different from them, almost completely opposite. It feels familiar somehow. Like I have some part of it in me, too.

…

Soon after I find that I can levitate seemingly forever, I sense them coming closer. All three of them are angry this time. They come close to me.

"Can you sense the other planet?!" The first one shouts. That's what the other thing was.

"Are there more like me there?" I ask.

The middle one forms energy in her hand and raises it. "No, they are nothing like you," she says through gritted teeth. "We want you to destroy them."
"Calm yourself," the third one says to the second. "If you weaken him, he won't be able to carry out his task."

"He can carry it out later." I feel myself lifted up again. The energy in the second one's hand connects with my body. Soon, the others join in. My screams feel the space again. I wonder if the others can hear it.

I don't want to be here in this state. This feels so wrong, so harmful. There has to be a way to end this. To stop them. A quiet thought rises from the depths of my mind. I could hurt them with my power. I can't control it, but that doesn't matter. If I can just produce some of it…

I struggle, but I can't succeed. My screaming is too loud. I can't move. My body feels weak. Those thoughts are fading away. Slowly, all I can focus on is the sound of my screaming. Then, even that begins to fade away.

Unconscious.

…

I wake up, laying the opposite way that I was before. I sense my creators above me.

"Get up!" One yells.

I use my arms to push myself up and stand. All three of them stare at me.

"He can't go there like that." The third one says.

"Why not? He shouldn't be like the others." The middle one responds.

"No, but he will stand out too much." The first one lifts her hand. I feel fear. No pain this time, but a different sensation. Something wrapping me, restricting my movement. I look down, and where there was only pale skin is now a different texture. I don't understand, but they said something about the others. Maybe I look similarly to them now.

"Go to the other planet. Find the leader, and kill her!" All three of them say in loud voices.

How do I go there? My fear prevents me from asking them. I must do what they say. I lift myself up and begin moving in the direction of the other planet. As I move farther away from my creators, I put more energy behind this action. It isn't long before I can see the other planet. It gets closer and closer until I can see the people on it. They all look at me, confused. I slow myself down and join them. It's bright and warm here. There are structures all around. There are so many of them.

None of them are only skin. I look back down at my body and then at theirs. Yes, we do look similarly. So many people gather around me, but none of them stand out. I must stand out. No, that's not important right now. I need to complete the task my creators gave me.

A voice calls out, and some of the people move to the sides, opening up a pathway to me. A person who looks differently from the others walks up to me.

"Who are you?" She asks.

"Are you the leader?" I respond.

She nods. "I am Arcadia. From where have you come?"

This is her. I form a ball of energy in my hands, trying to direct it this time. It hits her. The others scream and run away. The sound is familiar.

She tries to get back up but fails. I walk up to her and hit her with my energy again. It's becoming easier to control it. She doesn't try to get back up this time. I can sense that there's something different about her. She's missing something she had before.

With my task complete, I lift myself up again and return to my creators.

When I return, I expect them to be happy. I don't know how. They've certainly never expressed emotion like that, nor have I experienced it. I am not happy. I feel nothing.

Instead, they are angry.

"Continue practicing", the third one says.

"And do it quickly. Your purpose is to destroy the universe. You must be ready to fulfill it by the time we return."

The middle one leads them away from me, and I begin doing as they demanded. That phrase continues to appear in my mind as I practice. Destroy the universe. What does that mean?

It feels negative and harmful, almost like I felt while they were causing me pain. They must not feel the same way. If that's what they want, then I must do it.

…

Finally I can control my power. Without that to focus on, many thoughts become clearer. Does destroying the universe mean I'll never see those people again? I hadn't sensed the leader, Arcadia, after I went to their planet. I must have done something permanent. Have my creators demanded that I do that to all of them?

I don't want to do that to them.

I don't get a chance to ponder that. I sense my creators coming closer again.

…

"Show us what you can do." The first one demands.

I turn to a rocky structure in the distance and use the dark purple and gray energy to destroy it.

"Good. You will be able to carry out your task." The middle one says.

"Destroy the other planet!" All three of them yell together.

I lift myself up and move towards the planet as I did before. I hear one of them say something as I leave.

"Soon, only we will remain in the universe."

…

As the other planet comes into view, I realize I don't want that. I don't want to be stuck with only my creators. I want to get to know these other people, to be around others like me. It's bright and warm here. I want to be here.

But I can't disobey my creators.

I sense the source of this planet's magic, a crystal glowing bright white in the middle of a field. I move towards it, seeing no one nearby. The others must not understand what this is.

I land on the ground and reach my arms out towards it. Somehow, I know what to do. Slowly, I absorb the energy in it. It hurts. I don't know if I can contain it. If this destroys me instead of the universe, so be it. I would prefer that to destroying those people. I don't want to do this.

Gradually, the light from the crystal fades. It's inside me. Am I glowing?

The crystal, once floating, falls to the ground. The entire planet starts to shake. I can hear screaming in the distance.

I lift myself up once again and begin the journey back to the other planet. I can't move as quickly as I usually can. This energy conflicts with my own. It hurts. It's distracting.

…

I can feel myself weakening. I've used too much energy. I can't make it back to my creators. I stop moving forwards and feel the thoughts slipping away again. I close my eyes.

Unconscious.

…

Pain.

Screaming. Mine.

There's no energy connecting with me this time. Instead, it's coming out of me. Bright white. The energy from the planet I just destroyed.

"It's not working!" One of my creators yells. I can't tell which one. I can't see them beyond the brightness.

"It is!" Another replies.

"We can't get all of it." The third one states.

"If we could create a person, we can do this."

So that's what I am. A person. Different from the others, but the same.

I only ever heard them scream in fear. My screams are different.

Slowly, my sensing starts to return. I can feel my creators in front of me. I can feel the foreign energy inside of me. Two sources of pain. Too much.

"Try harder!" One of them yells.

The pain increases. My screaming grows louder. I lose my sensing again.

I lose my vision. I can't feel my body. I only feel pain.

Is this the end?

No, this isn't enough to destroy me. I'll continue to exist, like I did all those other times.

The pain is too much.

Mind shutting down.

Unconscious.