Intermission

Ron thought there would be nothing after death. He never considered the possibility that there would be an afterlife. His idea of death was just darkness and nothing. Nonexistence. Absolute.

[Interesting, very very interesting.]

[You've lived quite the life]

[It looks like you were quite ready for death. What a pity.]

Ron opened his eyes and saw stars. Millions of them. He was floating in the darkness of space, but he wasn't alone. He tried to look around but couldn't see anything.

[You won't be able to see me child. At least not yet. You don't have the power]

Ron tried to speak but realized that he didn't have a voice. He looked down at his body only to be surprised that he was see through! Ethereal. He tried to pat his body but it seemed like an invisible force was preventing his hand from going through himself. He couldn't feel anything. It was like he was composed of nothing.

[You poor thing, you can't even understand what's flowing through your body yet. Well that's no surprise, you are the first death of your species.]

First death? That can't be possible.

[Oh but it is! The very first death. Because of this, you are considered the most important. Well, actually the second most important.]

Ron didn't understand anything that was going on. Who was this person? Why was he important? Why wasn't he dead? That's when he heard the laugh. It continued on for awhile, but Ron had no sensation of time. Everything felt prolonged and extended. He wasn't sure if a minute had just passed or a year.

[Child you are dead! Your body is nothing more than a dust stain on a wall right now. The only reason why you were the first to die was because you were the weakest one in that room. As for me, well, that's not important. Here, I'll give you a hint. Look up.]

As if on command, Ron looked up, or what he perceived was up. He didn't see anything for a couple of seconds until he saw it. A star was blinking. If he looked close enough he could see different colors flashing in and around the star. As he tried to concentrate on it, he noticed that he was beginning to get drastically closer to the star.

Once close enough, a terrifying sight appeared before him. A large castle floating in space. It was enormous! It glowed white and gold and was as large as the Earth. It would have looked gorgeous if not for it being under siege. Endless purple ships shaped like fish seemed to be swimming through space and raining during violet fire on the floating fortress. Ron tried to get a grasp on how many there could be but their numbers were insurmountable. Each time that the fire hit, figures attempted to fly around the castle and douse them but to no avail. Whatever the fire was made of, it was much stronger than what the fortress was made of.

Ron was told that this would give him a hint but he had no idea what was going on. Not until he saw someone fly out from the top of the building. A massive man with muscles the size of the moon. He was holding what appeared to be a lightning rod. He took aim and launched his bolt at one of the ships. The singular ship seemed to explode but it caused no damage to the nearby ships. A couple of men came out as well and started shooting arrows. The arrows seemed to glow silver as they pierced multiple ships in each shit. Unfortunately this didn't seem to help any. There were just too many. Soon, many figures started to fight back from the fortress just like the three up top.

Ron looked at these figures and something sparked in his head. The figure with the lightning bold, the men with the bows, a woman wearing battle armor, these all seemed like something out of the movies he watched before the nightmare. He read about these figures in books in school. These were the gods! All of them were real!

[Real yes, but alive… not for long]

He had no idea what to feel. He never knew that these gods even existed. Now that he knew they did, it apparently didn't even matter! He had long ago pondered the possibility of gods existing. For the first time since his death, he started to feel emotions. One in particular. Rage.

It was the everlasting question of, if gods existed, then why did evil? Did they not care? Did they watch with their own amusement as well as the crowd in the bunker?

[What a selfish question. Do you comprehend what an ant feels when its colony is under attack? Do you feel sympathy for the fish that is eaten by the sharks? Gods are beings just like you, only with a little longer longevity and more power. They have feelings and desires as well as you, mortal. I don't know what your species' history is with these gods, but I can assure you that whatever it is, they don't owe you a damn thing.]

Ron was gobsmacked. So he finally decided to aim a question at the being that was amused by him.

Are they not responsible for our creation?

Part of Ron expected a laugh or a cackle like last time, but nothing came. Instead there was silence again. Ron continued to watch the attack instead of waiting for an answer. The fortress was now falling apart in chunks rather than pieces. The fire, which seemed minute only a minute ago, was blazing hard now.

[I feel less pity for them now. Usually when we conquer, we try to keep a few strong alive so that they join our service. Unfortunately for them, their selfishness has spelled their demise.]

Again, for the hundredth time, Ron was confused. Instead of asking though, he waited for an answer.

[Gods don't serve mortals, but mortals don't serve gods either. They're supposed to live in a state of symbiosis until evolution finishes its job. Simply explained, a god is born when the first species on a planet gains full conscious awareness. When your original species had their first pair of collective thoughts, your gods were born. Through a state of harmony and faith, the gods were supposed to help your old species evolve and flourish. Instead, these gods chose to abuse that faith and only empower themselves, leaving nothing to you.]

Rage started to bubble up inside of Ron again, but then it was doused by the being's next words.

[That also means though that all of the actions that were taken against you and everyone you know, was also done by your species. You have no one to blame but yourselves for the chaos you all created.]

Sitting with that thought was almost another form of torment for him. There was nothing else for him to do other than contemplate his existence now. Eventually the castle fell apart and thousands of figures inside started being pulled into the ships. The fish ships opened their mouths as the gods got pulled individually into the ships. Eventually nothing remained but the debris from the once shining castle in space.

So what now? Ron asked. According to what the old man said, they were destined to be together in the next life.

[Yes that is true, the resurrection magic currently in your soul is pretty strong. It would require nothing more than a wave of my tentacle to get rid of it, but then I would have to deal with the backlash of karma and that's just too irritating to think about. However, you do still have some use. I've gone through your memories and it seems you're familiar with someone I need. Do you recall how I said that you're the second most important person right now?]

Ron merely nodded his head. For some reason he had a bad feeling about this…

[You're the only one who knows the first most important person, and the only one who has enough karmic ties to him to increase the chances of your success. I need you to find William Harlan and bring his soul to me.]

For another eternal second, nothing went through Ron's mind except one name. William Harlan. William Harlan. William Harlan. The old man. The one who caused his nightmare. The one in charge of Georgie and Felicia. The one who fed him the "resurrection fruit" and made it seem that his torment would last another lifetime.

[William Harlan is the one responsible for making your species evolve. Through a one in a trillion fluke, the magic didn't kill him. It gave him power over the law of Creation. Your old species has taken a very roundabout way to harness magic and qi, but you have been successful. Now you are to have considered evolved and are no longer in need of your gods. Harlan however is very useful. It's not every millennia you find a mortal with creation powers. I could use someone like him under my servitude.]

Ron had nothing to say. He wanted nothing more than to end his existence first off, but that didn't seem like an option he had. Now he wanted nothing more than to avoid the old man at all costs. His fear of him superseded his blood lust for him. But these thoughts brought about another cackle.

[I may have phrased this like a request, but you can believe that it is not! You have two options Ronald Alexander Forse. You can either comply with my wish and you'll have my support, or you can rejoin Harlan in his next lifetime and be the puppet you dread. The choice is yours.]

While the answer seemed easy, Ron's mind was in chaos. Yes he had a chance to avoid Harlan, but what if he failed? What if Harlan found him first and his mission came to a premature end? What if he did find Harlan and was unable to do anything?

[Tick tock, tick tock]

Fine!

And with a single word, Ron started floating fast towards a black spot in the sky. No, not a black spot, a black hole!

[I'll come to you when the time is right. I've altered a few things about your reincarnation. Hopefully you take advantage of the gifts I've given.]

For a solid second, Ron thought he saw an enormous figure in the sky waving at him. It seemed to have thousands of arms and was nearly as big as the castle he just saw. But before he could ponder it, he was sucked into the black hole and darkness consumed him once more.