The human God led the meeting, working to nail down the details with Jack. Jack agreed to give up his status as a God in exchange for 'services rendered.' those services basically amounted to the Gods investigating the problems with the reincarnation system of Drowl and fixing it. Once that work was complete, Jack would pay up. That agreement had been easy enough, but there was a small detail that they were hung up on. What to do with Jack?

  The human God wanted to have Jack stay on Earth and enter society as a bore-bot, an alien from another world. Jack hadn't been expecting that, but he felt some resistance to the idea. Becoming the center of attention on Drowl had been complicated enough, but he was more familiar with Earth's circumstances. The people of his home world scared him more than the people he had met on Drowl for the most part.

  The beast God wanted to keep Jack in its personal domain, like a never-ending chew toy that couldn't break. Jack and the human God both argued against this, but the beast God didn't really seem that committed to the idea.

  The nature God and the dead God didn't give any input. Jack wasn't sure what to make of the weird tree, but it occasionally seemed to generate some small amount of emotion in response to the conversation. It was clear that the tree could feel things, and even have desires, but Jack couldn't begin to guess what triggered them.

  Jack argued for his return to Drowl. He still wanted to make sure the system was implemented worldwide, but more importantly, he wanted to make sure all of his friends and companions were okay. None of the Gods seemed willing to let him leave though.

  "What is your reason for wanting to leave this world so badly?" the human God asked. "You have hardly seen any of it, you could spend some time here at the very least."

  Jack was tempted, very tempted. He had friends and family who likely still lived here, people who thought he was dead. But he couldn't exactly show up in a robot body, claiming to be the same old Jack. The best thing to do was let them keep thinking he was dead and gone, that would be best for everyone. "I left my world in a hurry, leaving behind a dangerous situation. I could not enjoy this world while worrying about those I left behind."

  The beast God nodded at this, surprising Jack. "The machine cares for its flock."

  The human God also nodded, "A very human trait as well." The God leaned in, examining Jack closely. "You are incredibly human in your actions and speech. Yet no part of you is organic in nature. How is this possible?"

  Jack grew a bit nervous. He wasn't sure what he should share, so he decided to deflect. "Does it matter? I want to go back to my world, end of story."

  The human God tapped their chin thoughtfully for a moment. "Give us some time to discuss this amongst ourselves." The four of them vanished, leaving Jack alone in the sky.

  Jack used the absence to look around. They had been hovering over a desert, maybe the Sahara? He didn't see any signs of people nearby, but the possibility that some military groups or governments had noticed him was high. He wasn't sure what he would do if scout planes or something similar did a fly-by, but hopefully, he wouldn't have to find out.

  A few minutes later, the Gods appeared before him again. The human God took charge once more. "We agree to your terms. You will be sent back to the planet you came from after we fix the problems you are having. But we require you to return your godly power to us first, that is our primary condition."

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  Jack considered the words, his mind blaring warnings that this was some twisted trap. Every single story he had ever read depicted deals like this to be cruel mistakes, but he couldn't tell where the trap was. Did they think his Godly status was what protected him from them? If so, he would end up with the last laugh. Just to be safe, he decided to ask why they needed his power first.

  "Once we recover the power, we can make a small connection to your world. That will allow us to remain here while fixing your problems from afar."

  That made sense to Jack but did raise another question. "What if I didn't give you the power first? How would you have solved the problem?"

  "We would have you become a supplicant. Once you swore fealty to us, we could use you as a bridge to your world. Once you were back where you came from, we would take the power from you and release you from your service."

  Jack didn't like the idea of worshiping these strange beings, so in a way, this was more convenient for him. "Do I have your word that this deal will not bring about harm to me or any of the people of my world?"

  The human God raised an eyebrow. "You should know that we are capable of lying, especially me. As the God of humans, deception comes very naturally. I offer this information in good faith, but I will defer to my companion for your answer."

  The beast God growled softly. "I am a poor liar, beasts have little need to trick, especially with words. We do not intend to cause any harm. We make this deal for our own interests, to retrieve the power our companion has lost." The beast gestured its massive head over at the floating blob, and Jack could feel the sorrow there. He could believe that this was their main motivation, a way to get back something they had thought was gone forever.

  "Okay, I agree. I'll give you the power in exchange for your help."

  The human God smiled, then gestured toward the dead floating God. Jack slowly moved toward it, then reached out a hand hesitantly. At a nod from the human God, he reached out and touched it.

  His hand sunk into the floating mass, it felt like mashed potatoes. There was a disgusting squelching noise as his hand continued into the mass. His arm sunk in up to his elbow before he stopped. He felt a pull somewhere deep inside him, and his cloak began to pull away from him. If flowed down his arm and into the strange floating mass before him, disappearing quickly. Jack didn't feel any different, but his arm was suddenly spat out with a loud pop. He nearly lost his balance, but quickly recovered and looked at the floating blob.

  The feeling of fear he had experienced every time he looked at the God was gone now. It was as if giving it the power had satiated it in some primal way he didn't understand. A small amount of color was visible in the God, soft blue and black floating in its undulating form. It wasn't much of a difference, but the God somehow felt more aware to Jack.

  The other three Gods quickly examined the floating blob, each of them exuding happiness. The blob itself seemed to notice them in turn, and it wiggled slightly at their attention.

  "Okay, now it's your turn," Jack said aloud. He knew that interrupting this moment was a bit rude, but he wanted to make sure he finished his task as quickly as possible. "Fix my world and send me back."

  The human God turned to look at him. "A moment, we will require our der companions help to accomplish this task." Turning back to the blob, the human God spoke again. "I know that you have just awoken, but there is a matter of great importance for you to help us with. Search for your lost power, find it."

  The blob wriggled slightly, and Jack suddenly felt a wave of mana slide over him. The God could use magic? How was that possible? Hadn't Deis...then it hit him. Deis had stolen his power from this God, and Deis had created magic. Could this God somehow be a God of magic, or something similar?

  The pulse suddenly returned, as if echoing back from a great distance away. The human God looked eager as they spoke again. "Good, we will lend you our strength in this matter. Pull at the power, bring it back."

  All four Gods began to glow in a rainbow of colors. Jack stared, transfixed at the scene before him. "What's happening? What are you doing?"

  The human God barely even glanced back at him. "We are fulfilling our bargain. We will fix your world and place you back on it. But we will bring it here first, and we will make sure to take back the power that is rightfully ours." Then, with a mighty motion, all the Gods extended their bodies to the sky. Then they pulled.