1 Ch. 1
In a plane where space and time operated chaotically without any semblance of order or pattern. Sometimes they bend so sporadically that it rips apart, forming dangerous voids that, fortunately, dissolve soon after creation. Three distinct colors representing unique celestials painted the plane. One side was colored red, the other gold, and the last one black.
A deep, impatient masculine voice bellowed from the red portion of the plane, "For what purpose have you called us here, Femes, the oralist who outtalked heaven, the symbol of shallow arrogance?"
The yellow color, now known to be the Femes, responded flamboyantly, "Don't tell me you've forgotten already Iwtarr, the heartless general, flame bearer of impatience. Today is our scheduled meet-up."
"And remind for what reason I am here."
"So that we can strengthen our allegiance."
"I highly doubt that coming from you. Cut to the chase. What did your avatar accomplish this time?" Iwtarr announced unwelcomely.
In a very delighted and showy tone, the symbol of shallow arrogance answered, "I'm glad you asked. My avatar has just splendidly completed a C-tire mission."
One could feel that Iwtarr was feeling very irritated after hearing Femes' statement. Iwtarr then questioned, "Anything else, or did you call us here just to show off?"
Ignoring Iwtarr's question, Femes continued, "How about your avatar? How is your avatar faring, my dear friend?"
"You already know the answer to that, you prick. If the only purpose of this meeting was for you to show-off, then I will take my leave."
The black color, who had not yet spoken, suddenly said, "I declare my secession from this allegiance."
The yellow and red color of the plane both flinched in response, surprised by the sudden declaration.
"You jest," Femes replied blankly after a moment of chilling silence.
"I do not jest. I see no benefit to continuing being part of this allegiance. As of this moment, I am no longer a member of this allegiance," The black color replied.
Both Femes and Iwtarr twitched in irritation as the black color had just indirectly called them incompetent and useless.
"Do you fully understand the repercussions of your actions Gina, the astute observer, the prophet of serenity?" Iwtarr asked insultingly.
"Do not insult my intelligence Iwtarr. I understand the consequences of my actions more than you do," Gina rebuked with great zeal.
"Do not regret your decision, Gina. You've now made two new enemies today," announced with a clear intention of threat.
"True, two new enemies I have made indeed. But it is but two new entries to a list of thousands of other, future entries," Gina replied scoffingly.
"So be it, Gina. As of today, you are ousted from this allegiance."
In response to Iwtarr's statement, the black color in the plane slowly faded away, leaving only red and yellow to dye the plane.
----
In another reality, the black color swirled together to form the shape of a woman. An astonishingly beautiful woman who would even put world-class beauties to shame stepped out from the black figure. The woman had a voluptuous body, wore the black and white attire of a maid, had glistening black hair which reached her shoulder and possessed otherworldly, piercing gray eyes.
"I'm now finally out of that crumbling, failing allegiance. Though, I am in a dangerous position right now. I must choose an avatar soon, or it might be too late for me," Gina muttered to herself.
Gina swiped her hands across the space in front of her, and several windows started to manifest around her. Looking closer, the floating windows showed profiles of different people, including their name, age, physical attributes, characteristics, personality, and other relevant information. New windows did not stop manifesting until thousands upon thousands of different windows surrounded Gina.
With a loud and crisp clap from her hands, all the windows swooshed together to form a thick, ancient-looking book. Seeing the sheer number of different profiles she must read through caused Gina to let out a quiet sigh. Eventually, Gina resolved herself, brought the book in front of her, and started flipping through its rich contents.
As Gina was flipping through the pages, she kept on repeating, "No, not this one either. This one is lacking…."
After a significant time, Gina stopped herself just when she was about to turn a page.
"Wait a minute…." Gina reread the profile of the person she was just about to move on from., then she continued, "This might work… He is average in every way except for his characteristic traits. But those characteristics are the foundations of a true powerhouse."
Gina started nibbling on her nails. She was in a very tight spot. She was a new celestial and only had enough energy to make one avatar. If her avatar were not to achieve results, it would mark the end of her existence. But if she skips this potential prospect and instead settles for a safer option, she'd have missed this potential opportunity for the rest of her existence.
"Damn it," Gina said as she gently bit her pink lips.
"I'm putting my life in your hands, Patton X. Washington."
----
"Beep! Beep! Beep!" An alarm clock blared violently.
I groaned, then asked aloud, "what time is it?"
I raised my weary head and turned to look at the alarm clock, which was still beeping next to me.
5:00 am
I sighed again. I proceeded to push myself away from the comfort the bed offered and gently tapped the button on top of the alarm clock to stop its mocking beeping.
I peered outside the window; it was pitch-black. Talk about a motivating factor to go outside. It was the middle of November, and the temperature outside was below freezing. My name is Patton X. Washington. I'm currently 18, having just graduated from high school. Before attending college, I am taking a year off to work a full-time job and secure some funds to cover at least part of the expensive college tuition.
As a fresh high school graduate, my choices of full-time jobs were severely limited. The best thing I found was working as a dock loader at a seaport relatively close to where I live. The job paid well and provided free breakfasts and lunch, but the shifts start very early, the core reason behind why I willingly wake up so early. Not that I minded it too much. I'm a morning bird anyways and have always gotten up earlier than my peers, and I see the benefits of waking up early.
I hastily donned my work attire and headed off to work on double time. Port work is hard work but honest work. The other workers were tough on me initially but warmed up to me after I proved what I was made of by working for two weeks without resigning. It wasn't anything personal, and I understood that from the very beginning. I knew that it was common in physical labor jobs for the tenured workers to purposely treat the new guy like shit until they proved themselves. During my time here, I've already witnessed a handful of other people around my age quit shortly after working here. They are snowflakes, a breed of people becoming ever more prevalent in my generation. I pity them. I do. But there isn't anything I could do besides wish them the best of luck.
I arrived at work just before five-thirty to start my shift. The hours ticked away, and before I knew it, it was three in the afternoon, which also marked the end of my shift. I guess that's one of the good things about early shifts. They end early as well.
Holding a bundle of cash in my pockets, the pay for my labor today, I took my time walking back to my modestly sized apartment. The weather had warmed up a lot, still frigid, but nothing compared to this morning, which is good, and since I was feeling pretty good, I decided to take a detour. Little did I know that such an insignificant decision in the grand scheme of things would also mark the end of the story known as my life.
One moment, I was singing to a tune, and the next moment I was lying on the pavement riddled with bullets. I was the victim of a drive-by shooting. I wasn't the target of the drive-by, but they still shot me several times. I was collateral damage. I laid on the pavement as I felt my blood form a small puddle around me, I felt my conciseness slowly fading and the police sirens in the background slowly getting fuzzier and softer. It was too late for me. I knew that. Was I feeling regret, anger, or anything of the like? No, not really. I've never been afraid of death. Unlike many people, I viewed it as a natural phenomenon that will eventually come for us all. It's a waste of energy to worry about it. That's how I would typically explain my indifference towards death to people who asked. Looking back at my short-lived life, I knew I gave it my all, and that was all that mattered to me. I guess this is my fate. Though, if I knew I was going to die so young, I would've been less stingy about my spending. Maybe, I would've even asked that girl at the café out. Who knows, she might've even said yes. Well, it's too late now. Best if I just forget about it.
As I slowly waited for the darkness to engulf me, it never came. Does it usually take this long to die? I opened my eyes and immediately noticed that the world had turned gray. Time seemed to have also stopped. I saw birds frozen in the sky, neither flying forward nor falling downward. I then looked around me saw people in a similar state, stuck in the middle of an action. I did not feel any pain and was surprised when I stood up with no difficulty. I only realized why after I turned around.
I turned around to see that my body, riddled with bullet holes, was still lying on the ground. Taking another look at myself, not the cold corpse on the floor, I noticed that I oozed a sort of ethereal feeling. Is this the afterlife? I personally never believed in an afterlife after death, but it seems I am mistaken. In front of me, a floating black dot appeared, and it slowly enlarged until it was the size of a door. It didn't take a rocket scientist to know what to do next as I walked through it.
----
"Welcome to my domain, Patton X. Washington," an extremely feminine voice said, one which immediately sets ablaze the blood of any man who hears it.
I looked forward and saw a super gorgeous woman wearing a maid's uniform whose glistening black hair reached her shoulders; she possessed a pair of otherworldly, piercing gray eyes and a voluptuous body that will make even supermodels ashamed of themselves, gesturing towards me to sit with her next to the table she was sitting at.
I made my way to where the woman was and sat down.
"Would you like some tea or coffee?" The beautiful woman asked me.
"Coffee, please."
"Sugar or no sugar?"
"No sugar."
The woman smiled and snapped her fingers, causing a cup of coffee to appear in front of me.
"Thank you, miss…."
"Miss Gina, please."
"Thank you, Miss Gina."
The two of us sat there silently for a few moments.
"You don't seem too anxious about your situation Mr. Washington," Gina said to me.
"I don't see how feeling anxious would change anything, so I see no point in being so."
Miss Gina lightly chuckled in return while covering her mouth with her hand. I was caught unprepared for how much more beautiful Miss Gina's minor action caused her to be. Her charm almost felt tangible. I came close to losing my demeanor. I've always considered myself resistant to the beauties of a woman, I still do, but Miss Gina's glamour is in a league of itself.
Fortunately, I was able to calm myself down hastily. Miss Gina smiled as she observed my not-so-discreet reactions.
"Is this the afterlife, Miss Gina?" I asked peacefully.
"Yes and no," she answered mysteriously.
"I don't quite understand."
"Patton, do you think Earth is the only planet that harbors intelligent life?"
"No."
"Good, but I'm afraid you do not understand to what extent intelligent foreign life exists."
Miss Gina's statement piqued my interest, "Try me," I said in a challenging but polite tone.
Miss Gina smiled and proceeded, "Your reality is one but many millions upon millions of different realities. If I were to explain it all, we would be here for a very, very long time. So, let me simplify it for you. You read comics, right?"
"I don't read them, but I know about them," I answered honestly.
"Most of the different realities portrayed in those comics are real."
"I'm sorry, what?" I stammered.
"It's a widespread phenomenon actually, people getting glimpses of other realities. I know that they are typically referred to as dreams. Continuing, in some cases, the people who get these glimpses are writers or drawers who then translate their visions into text or writing. That is the origin of most fictional worlds found in literature."
I slumped back into my chair; I was not prepared for information as significant as that. "You've got me."
"That's not the end of it just yet. You see, due to so many different realities, there are also many different beings you might refer to as gods or celestials as they are more properly referred to as. I'm one of them, as you've probably already assumed. But godhood is not what most people assume it is like. Being a god is tough, to say the least."
"Tell me about it."
"Gods are always looking to kill each other to absorb the other's power into their own. And, as gods, our ability to directly impact the material world is limited, so we must create avatars to act in our place."
I interrupted Miss Gina, "You want me to be your avatar."
"Yes."
"Why? I don't particularly see myself being a great prospect."
"I would beg to differ."
"Huh?" I uttered. Miss Gina's statement was unexpected.
"You may be average in every way. However, one thing you have better than everyone else is your character traits."
Oof. It felt as if a sword had pierced my heart. Being told that I was average in every way was by no means exciting. However, Miss Gina's last statement caught my attention; I followed to ask, "My character traits?"
"Your character traits are the foundation of a powerhouse, and I believe you will be to become someone great in the future."
"What are my character traits?" I asked with great desire.
"I'm afraid I can't tell you that."
"Why is that?" I questioned disappointedly.
"Because you shouldn't know. You are you, and you should conduct yourself because that is you and not because of a character trait."
"I understand."
"Thank you. Continuing on the topic of being a god, to increase my authority, I need to garner more faith and prestige. I can achieve more prestige when my avatar performs missions successfully and more faith when my avatar spreads my beliefs."
"So, I'll pretty much be a preacher for you then."
"In a sense, yes."
"…What's in it for me?" I asked Miss Gina.
"The opportunity to grasp your fate and steer it yourself. To live a life you would never have dreamed of. So, what do you say? Are you willing to be my avatar and serve me, Gina, the astute observer, the prophet of serenity?"
