The click-clicking of the keyboards through the office of Minterna gives an almost rhythmic vibe to the day. Everyone all tediously working on their daily duties, it almost seems like everyone is part of an orchestra. That might be how some people see it, but for some reason I can’t bring myself to enjoy the work I do. It’s not so much the work I am doing now, but any work. It all feels so boring, no end in sight besides retirement. Even getting retirement seems like a lofty goal in today’s economy.

  “Big plans for the weekend?” “Have a nice day!” “See you guys tomorrow!” … the unending daily ritualistic pleasantries ring out every, single, day. Honestly, I don’t think I am ever going to get used to it enough to even moderately enjoy it. But… if I want money I guess I will have to just tolerate it. At least for now. Nothing beats being able to afford my favorite hobbies.

  “Ken, what are you planning for the weekend?” Timothy, a co-worker of mine, asked while leaning over the cubicle wall. His shadow is almost imposing. He’s a big guy, a little over six-foot. Not too bad looking either, I am not too sure why he isn’t married yet. We are getting up there in age, I just turned 34 myself. Dirty thirties… hooray for me. I can’t say much about that either, I don’t have much of a love-life myself. “Honestly Tim, I think I am going to go out for a drink.” Tim’s face lit up, “That’s what I wanted to hear!” He slammed his fist to his chest, pointing his thumb at himself, “Where are we going?” I guess he just invites himself wherever he wants. It doesn’t really matter, it’s not like I planned on meeting up with anyone else. It beats being completely alone.

  After what felt like an eternity, the buzzer rang the finish line for the day and we were finally permitted to leave. I rode with Tim to the bar down the street from our work. The dingy atmosphere is almost uplifting. I am so tired of the corporate white and grays. “Something about this place always puts me in a better mood. Barkeep!” Tim said raising his hand to the lady working the front counter. “2 of your best beers, and by best I mean cheap!” He said laughing. The woman laughed and turned to fill our order.

  “Hey man, when are you planning on getting married or something?” I said, looking down at my beer. “Where did this come from?” Tim asked, looking almost concerned. “I don’t know man, we are just getting up there in age. I figure we only have so much longer before family life is a fantasy for us.” I said without lifting my head. “Oh hell, I thought you were going to drop something serious on me! HA HA!” Tim said hunched over laughing. I guess he’s already drunk. “I’m being serious man.” I said, giving him the most serious look I could muster after a few beers. “Yeah, yeah. Look, I don’t have any issue meeting people. I just haven’t found someone I’d trust. Like if you were a chick that would be awesome. Too bad tho, right?” He said smirking at me. “That’s cute. I guess I have the same issue. With all of the stories going around of how people are divorcing and losing everything really puts a bad taste in my mouth.” I said tilting and stirring the beer around in my glass. “Tell me about it. Barkeep!” Tim yelled again.

  After the drinks, we headed outside. Tim, like always, lit up a cigarette and breathed in deep. “Give me a minute bud, would ya?” “Sure, smoke up.” As I turned to lean against the wall outside the entrance to the bar, I heard a commotion a little down the street. I can’t tell what it is, but something is going on. It’s a little late to be partying outside.

  “RUN!”

  Someone screamed out running as they passed. Gunfire rang out from down the street, before I could understand what was happening Tim grabbed me and started saying something. I’m not sure what it is he’s saying, maybe “Are you alright?” or something similar from his lips moving. My ears were ringing, but my body won’t move. I look down, the warmth I started feeling was what looked like a bullet wound to my chest. “Oh.” I said, as my legs collapsed. Tim was still talking but I couldn’t understand him.

  Why can’t I feel anything? Am I seriously going to die here… no family, no kids, nothing. Wait… Oh no… “Tim, I don’t know if I am going to make it… I need you to do something for me… please.” Tim grabbed my hand, tearing up. “Don’t worry Ken… you’re phone, your computer. I’ll destroy it all. There will be nothing with a browser history left.” He smiled. Wow, what a guy. I guess I can at least not worry about how people are going to view me after I’m gone. “Thank you.” I spit that out as I drew my last breath.

  Too bad it has to end like this.

  Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

  “Well that depends on how you look at the word ‘end’…”

  Wait… what? I open my eyes to what looks like outer space. Stars passing by beneath my feet, like the entire universe is converging on this exact point. “Wait!” I jumped up feeling around, the wounds I had just moments ago were gone. What is this? “What happened?” I said, to what appeared to be no one.

  “You died.” A voice echoed. Suddenly, a figure started materializing right in front of me. A swarm of dark… particles? Whatever it was swirled into the figure until it took a complete shape. Only when the last particle joined the others did it take the complete form of an old man. “You died, and you ended up here. The truth is, we gods have worlds for all souls. You move around to different domains, but essentially you remain yourself.” The man said calmly as he pulled an old fashioned pipe out of his cloak and lit it with a flame coming from his fingertip. Okay… was that him flexing his power by lighting a pipe? Maybe he just enjoys it, I don’t know anything anymore.

  “I died? Wait, did Tim--” “Yes, don’t worry he kept his promise.” He said taking another puff of his pipe. “Oh thank God.” That’s a relief, after all the crap I gave him he is a real friend… now I feel kind of bad about all the times I tried my best to avoid him. “Alright, so what now?” I stood in front of the old man, trying to take all of this in.

  “Well like I was saying, we recycle souls. There are only so many in the universe, it’s not something that we can just make whenever we want to. Yours just so happened to land in mine. So, anything you would like to ask?” He said, floating in a sitting position. “Well, to be honest I don’t really know what to ask. How about how can a god just sit here smoking a pipe and talk with a single soul?” The god smirked. “Let me think about the correct way to answer that request.”

  The god sat there floating, looking like he was lost in thought. Since he’s think about that, I might as well take a better look at where I am. The stars shifted, shooting below, above, and to the sides of us. The dark emptiness contrasted with the beautiful different colors and hues of the stars and gasses mixed throughout. A breathtaking mix of purple, red, and blue hues. The god lowered himself to the ground and walked a little closer.

  “Okay, so I don’t have the power I used to. Basically, this is my enjoyment now. I can send you to my world, but I can’t do much more than that.” He said blankly. “How can a god lose power?” The idea that an all-powerful being could diminish is more than my puny human brain can fathom. “The souls feed us power through prayer and thoughts. That is how we all get power. The issue is, the souls that have left my world knew my name and gave thanks for the benefits I gave them. The ones there now have all but forgotten me. They pray to a false idol, one named Murak. They call him the divine giver, however he doesn’t exist. He might in the future, but not as a god. If you put enough willpower into an idea you can force its existence. That’s beside the point, the basic fact is I am almost powerless now. I can’t even visit my believers in their dreams anymore.” He looked down at his pipe, it looks like he reminiscing over his memories of a world long gone.

  I didn’t notice it before, but his demeanor isn’t that of an all-powerful being. It’s more of a friend, maybe that’s why he had followers before, but why would someone come up with a fake god just to worship when they had one that was actually a part of the world? That is something I didn’t know in my past life. His white hair fell to his roughly featured face, and he brushed it to the side. “So, anything else?” He seemed to be back to his blank state. I sat down, “How about this… is there something I can do to help you? I mean you are giving me another shot. I want to do it right.” The god’s face lit up.

  “Really? You would try to help me?” The god asked scratching his chin. “The last thousand years have been full of self-fulfilling souls. No one cared about me honestly, just what I could give them. The last ones were a bit jaded about the fact that I didn’t have power anymore.” “Yeah, I think I could help you out somehow. Maybe spreading the word about you again.” I said grinning. “The only issue is the Church of Light. They follow the teachings of this Murak and are violently opposed to other religions. The only place that would be safe for a believe of mine would be the Forest of Turantia. My last bastion was there, well I say mine but it was a paladin named Hulin who fought in my name. He was regaled as a hero until the church burned all the books containing him and myself.” “Perfect, send me to this forest to start out with. That should let me get ready for the rest of the world.” I mean, I got to help right? If I can get on his good side maybe he can help me live a peaceful life. That is, in itself, a selfish desire. But hey, I’m still human.

  “The issue is that the Forest of Turantia is a very dangerous place. If you survive you would undoubtedly grow stronger, but that is IF you could survive that.” The god scratched his head, looking out into the void behind him. “Okay, how about this. I might not be able to give you all the power you can use, but I can send you to the Holy Bastion where Hulin lived before he passed. There are a lot of books on magic, runes, weapons, and more there that you could use to get a good understanding. If you are extremely careful you should be alright.” The god said smiling. I’m not going to lie, it seems like he has no idea if I could actually survive there… Ah what the hell. I already died once. “Let’s do it.”

  “Alright!” The god said joyfully, “Let’s your adventure started!” “Hold on, did you say something about magic earlier? That exists here?” I said as he was already in the middle of doing something with his hands. “Yes, that’s right. It’s very similar to the one I am using now.” As he finished speaking his fingertips lit with a bright white light. Drawing a circle into the air. The circle drifted under my feet, then it started to pull like gravity had been turned to the max.

  “Before you go, my name is Ysmiro. I am the true god of this world. Spread my name, disciple and paladin of Ysmiro!” He waved at me as I was pulled into the circle with what felt like the force of the universe itself pulled me into the magic circle below me.