Chapter 3: The Metaphysical Pizza Genie

: Previously on MMR:

   "Hello, Dante. My name is... hmm?" The faceless being cocked its head to the left in a fashion similar to a confused puppy. The Entity then snapped its fingers and the next instant I felt my balance shift, turning around completely floating in a right side up position. How did I have a sense of direction in a void? It was because of the being forced gravity upon me. Looking at him I felt a pressure much similar to gravity.

     At this moment, my brain started to go into overdrive and I thought to myself quickly. 'I've been alone for so long that I was convinced there was no afterlife. Now that idea is shattered like a brick through a windowpane. This being in front of me moved me with his mind just now. With its mind! On one hand, it's cool for me to discover that I'm not alone in that suffocating box anymore. On the other hand, this situation is so unfathomably terrifying at the same time because I am wide open. I have no defenses whatsoever against its control over me, so it can do pretty much whatever it wants to me. Okay. Okay. Okay. Think. Think. ' 

While thinking this, I see the being of light started at me where eyes should be.

     'Be calm and keep a stoic face. Don't let it know you fear it. It might lose respect for you. Think of something quick. There are three ways an animal can react in a situation where it feels danger: Fight, Flight, and Freeze. Only one of those would be applicable for me in this situation right now because of two factors. One: I'm not god damn animal! Two: This might be the concept of existence itself as far as I'm concerned. I'll be damned if I try to fight this. This thing has telekinesis as proven a couple of seconds ago so if I try to run, it'll just bring me right back where I was similar to the likes of a boomerang, which could end up potentially aggravate it.' I was planning, trying to concoct a plan to ensure my survival.

     'The only thing I can do is remain frozen solid like I am currently...This sucks but I can't blame myself for being stuck like this. Any normal person would have run or just mentally given up by now but I'm better than that. I have to assess the situation. Stay still, calm, and assess. I can do that... we can do this Dante. Come on! Use your brain. Play it cool. That simple. `` I try to give myself a pep talk for the situation because not a single fiber of my being was willing to move recklessly. I sensed nothing but impending doom emanating off of this being. While I was thinking all of this in that short amount of time the being began to speak once more after it was done observing me.

     "Going back to what I was saying; I have many titles and monikers I hold throughout the vast omniverse. You're a smart individual Dante. You probably figured out who I am by now or you're arriving at a conclusion as we speak before we commence in our brief conversation, would you mind if I made the both of us a little bit more comfortable? " I nodded stiffly but in my head, I quipped. 'How much more comfortable do you want me to get?! I'm already naked!' I wanted to say this aloud but I urged myself not to. The aura this being gave off was incomprehensibly vast and wide. If I upset this being in front of me, my existence would be ended with a flick... No, not a flick but a simple expulsion of air that is directed at me. No more memories, no more senses, no more thinking, and lastly no more me.

     The giant of an entity then waved its hand and all of a sudden, an exceedingly blinding and warm light, which rapidly started to be comparable to standing near the sun disgorged upon my entire field of vision and enveloped my ethereal form with its rays. The light was almost too much for me to handle head-on as I couldn't help but attempt to block it out by guarding my face with both of my arms, forming the letter X with them. "Agha!" A grunt slipped from my mouth at that moment. "Hum." I couldn't see anything at the time, but what I could do was hear. I was one hundred percent sure that the being just snickered at me.

     "Relax. I'm taking us somewhere you'll find quite familiar. Nothing can hurt you with me around. Trust me" The being declared. I was unsure of the gender of the being at first because it was previously speaking in some type of invoice and its figure was of a being of pure light with a golden hue. Its image was bright enough to blur my vision and produce a glare, but just dim enough to make out that it was in the shape of a humanoid figure; That is until he waved his hand moments ago. 

   There was only one being who I could relate the image to, and that was the one above all from Marvel comics. I was perturbed by its voice at first because It sounded like an entire classroom of people were talking to me at once in the beginning, but what I heard just now was a raspy yet smooth vocal pattern comparable to actor Will Arnett with a tinge of wisdom added to it echoing through my eardrums. I couldn't see the face to match the voice because the light show made me temporarily blind.

[Will Arnett is the actor who plays Bojack Horseman from the Netflix series of the same name.]

   For what felt like three minutes later, the blinding light started to dissipate as the intensity of the heat subsided simultaneously. Suddenly I felt the sensation of the ground beneath my feet. A lukewarm wind hits my body as smells begin to intrude upon my nose. Smells very familiar to me. So familiar to me, in fact, that I had a wave of nostalgia wash over me making my legs start to buckle from excitement, familiarity, along with anxiety. I still don't know where we teleported to but I get a feeling of home.

     The smells of roasted tomatoes, mushrooms, minced garlic, onions, mozzarella, parmesan, parsley, oregano, red peppers, coupled with hints of a new layer of wet paint from the walls and slight aroma of freshly rained on concrete creeping in the welcoming open doors of a restaurant. I was almost as shocked as many meetings the deity who was minutes ago towering over me. 

     My body seems to know the situation before I do as I instinctively flop down on a wooden chair that's been placed coincidentally behind me at the perfect distance for me to land perfectly in the center. At this moment my eyes are still adjusting from the blind light from earlier so I proceed to rub them only to find them wet.

      'Why the hell am I crying right now? And why is it so damn hot?' I ask myself these questions internally because I don't want to make a fool of myself in front of this man to which I presume to be god himself. After rubbing I realize that I have a body again. I would have realized it sooner but it was just so many monumental things thrown so suddenly on my plate that it was hard to swallow. "*Wheeze* *Sigh*" I soon found a metaphorical glass of water to relax with a deep breath to wash down my troubles. After figuring out that I have a body once more, I finish wiping my face but keep my eyes closed. The reason for this is because I know that in the next few moments I will need another sip of that glass.

     I take a final deep breath and inhale all of the beautiful aromas in the room once more and slowly start to open my eyes. 'Damn. It's so blurry' I began to focus my eyes onto myself and the ground and realize I'm wearing the same outfit I did before I died all those years ago minus all the blood I left on it. 

     I blinked a couple of times to clear the image of my surroundings a little more until finally clear. I look at my feet to see my pair of Timberland boots were even cleaner than when I bought them. They looked like I had just gotten them fresh out of the factory. The same treatment went for my grey North Face sweatsuit with my red North Face puff coat to complete the outfit. "Wow. Even the hole that I had in my left pocket is gone. Not lint balls or anything." I mumbled under my breath. 

     This time I couldn't hold my thoughts in my head anymore. I didn't have enough room to keep stuffing my emotions in a bottle. I was a fashion fanatic at heart and this was one of my favorite outfits, even though it didn't require much work to put together. "All of the stitching is perfect and everything! It's like it was handcrafted by a~" it was at this moment my vision became clear and I could see perfectly. I stopped mid-sentence and looked around to take it all in.

     I realized at this moment, I was in one of my favorite places to be in the world. We were in Mary's Pizzeria. This place is where I would come in once a week and socialize with the owners like they where my family since the age of nine, before the depression kicked in. 

    It had Italian like architecture with red paint on the walls with hints of green and white in select places, like the frame of the entrance doors and the bathroom frames. It had Luxury Vinyl Tile floors, White marble square table, and ambient lighting giving the restaurant a warm feeling. This made a person feel comfortable and at home the moment they walked through those open front doors. All this was bringing back memories of joy from a lifetime ago. The only differences were that all of the tables happened to be cleared out which was odd when you factor in the fact that this place was usually full of customers and tourists. 

     The restaurant was desolate. There was only me and a wrinkled, long-haired, raven headed man sitting at a table in the middle of the restaurant, across from each other with a pepperoni pizza in the center of it. While I was observing the surroundings with reminiscence and wonder, my eyes landed on the man in front of me.

      A very well-groomed middle-aged man looking to be in his late sixties, looking exactly how he was depicted in In Sensational Spider-Man Vol. 2 #40. The only differences where was he was wearing a 5 piece black suit with a red tie, red pocket square with a red trim, yellow irises in his eyes, and had a short boxed beard which locked extremely pristine and was as if the razor he used for his face was diamond-tipped adding an even more dominant and wise aura to him.

     He was across sipping from an expensive-looking teacup. He had his right leg overlapping the left. He looked like some sort of nobility. All of the movements he made (Even though minimal) had the grace and elegance of an angle. All of his movements were effortless and appeared just a natural as my own breathing which I was now capable of along with other things. He smirks ever so slightly having curves on the edges of his mouth. This was barely noticeable but I could see it. He knew he broke my attempts at a poker face. 

     'Is this actually happening? Is this really him?' I slightly lean forward to take a closer look at this man's face to make sure I'm absolutely sure of who this is and my earlier hypothesis of him being the one above all solidified and finalized after an awkward pause ensued between us. "*cough* *cough* I'm sorry if I wasn't speaking for a short but prolonged amount of time. I was just taken aback a little. 

     It's been... a long time since I even thought about this place, let alone visited. Long-time relatively speaking as I'm only human. My life span and experience don't come anywhere near yours. Please excuse me if I have been disrespectful in any way, shape, or form. I apologize." Sweat beads start to form as I unconsciously lower my head. I realized that I was ignoring the creator of all life for the past 10 minutes because I was enamored with a restaurant and my outfit. 'Did I seriously get excited about the stitching on my clothes? I saw an entire universe be formed but I lose my cool from the refined craftsmanship of cloth? An outfit I wore years ago and hundreds of times at that?!' *wheeze* *huff* 'I guess it's time to talk to God himself.' 

     I then pull my head back up to see the man nonchalantly drinking. "*slurp* *gulp* *ting*" I audibly hear him drink. One above all took one last sip of his tea and puts his cup down with his eyes focused on the teacup the entire time. He waves his hand over the small piece of china and it magically vanishes, but what he does next surprises me. " Pass me the napkins please."

   *Snap* the pizza in front of me instantly slices perfectly into 10 pieces. He then gracefully starts to fold up his sleeves left to right while still not making eye contact with me, revealing his perfectly sculpted forearms underneath. I stare for longer than I should have. For a full minute, I stare mindlessly at him and then thoughts start to flow through my mind. ' why take the form of a human? And if your gonna be ripped, why choose the appearance of an old man, to begin with?' 

   "Because this is the form I came into existence with. As for why I'm muscular, I picked what I feel the most comfortable with when I interact with morals. Can you please pass the napkins? It's quite rude to stare Dante, don't you think?" 'He can read minds...?' At this moment my jaw dropped from shock. I realized made a fool of myself from the very beginning. If I was sweating before, now I was drenched. " I can indeed read minds, though I often choose not to as it is very intrusive. I'm One after all. Now can you please pass me the napkins Mr. Jefferson" he says with a charismatic and friendly smile.

     I hurriedly grabbed the napkins on my left to hand them to him. I didn't want to see what happens if he asks for something a third time. Although his demeanor may be calm at the moment I don't want to take any chances. "Here. Take all of them."

   "Thank you but I only need a few." He kindly replied. "You are welcome to take a slice if you please. You are the primary reason why I chose this meal after all." He said. "Thank you. But won't we nee~" just before I finished he cut me off with a simple movement of his fingers. "*snap*" two plates materialize from thin air and on to the table presenting themselves in front of the both of us. "Ah. Thanks." We both take a slice and started to eat in silence until our hunger is both satiated. This took ten minutes to fully eat. He then cleaned the dirt and grime off us both with another snap. After that, I lock with his golden ones. He decided to break the silence first.

   "Before you ask, no I was not reading your mind the entire. As I stated before it's slightly intrusive and it goes against one of the many virtues that I have developed over the duration of existence, similar to the way you build your morals. The only reason I choose to do it then in the napkin situation was that I thought I accidentally devoured your soul into myself. It sadly happened on multiple occasions when lesser beings have experienced my presence and true form. I was worried that I had done the same for you. You've already been through so much. It would be a tragedy if I were to accidentally assimilate you and strip you of all of your individuality. " The one above all let out with a saddened smile. 

   A cold chill made its way down my back making me shiver a little. 'Accidentally he says?!' "Uh. Alright... Is it okay if I ask you a few questions?" I said nervously. 

   "Ask whatever you want and I will answer to the best of my ability." He waves his hand but in a manner of telling me to go on.

"Okay. What are you and what do I call you?" 

He raises an eyebrow to my question.

"Hmm? I thought you figure it out by now. I'm God. "

   "It's not like that. I know you're the one above all but I don't know what your responsibilities are and also, the name is kinda wordy. Would you prefer I called you One like you referred to yourself earlier? Or would you like God." I ask taking a defensive and nervous posture.

     One above all lowered his eyebrow and trading it for a grin and then laughed. "Hahaha. So you are capable of listening to contextual clues. Very well. I have been called a plethora of names. Names foreign to you and names familiar. To name a few, I have gone by The Presence, Zeno, God, and Florida man. Out of all of those though, I prefer to be called by the name of One. I am the authority that observes and sometimes governs the omniverse."

     As he said the last name my jaw dropped. I couldn't believe what I just heard " Haha, yeah right. you're the Florida man?" I state sarcastically. One's face didn't change when I asked this question. "Is something amusing to you Dante? " he said with a straight face. At that moment anger started to creep in as I realized that God has no reason to lie. My brows frowned as I started to remember all the starving, hurt, and broken people of the earth while One stands there nonchalantly. Irrational anger that flowed through me years ago had made its reappearance and now had someone to directed at now. "So...you think it's okay to toy with the existence of mortals. While we suffer your playing games wrestling alligators while we die from sickness? You have the nerve to tell me you're the fucking Florida man!" 

     The edges of the man's mouth started to curve. With a burst of laughter, the king like man stated. "Hahaha! We all have our ways to spend our downtime. I choose to spend mine this way. Hehehe." 

     As his laughter settled, something struck like lightning deep within me. With what he just said to me, I was so angered that I began to boil. I had so much volatile anger that I'm pretty sure that my brown skin had gained a newfound shade of crimson. I felt a vein pop out of my neck while I was clenching my fist so hard that I started to bleed. "Are fucking kidding!" I shot up from my seat, flipping the entire table over dropping utensils and glasses that we were previously using on the floor. The man watched while I was having my tantrum. One sat in front of me with the utmost cordiality in his smile. He spawns his teacup again and takes a sip from it. which induces me further into my rage. 

      At this moment I stop throwing things because spot a fork on the floor. I decide to pick it up. I look at One sitting in his seat cross-legged and I hear a "*slurp*" which ticks me off even more. At that point I didn't care if he killed me, In my mind, I had died that day I had my brain aneurysm. I decide to charge him. I dash towards him, fork in hand only to be faced with a raised eyebrow.

      "You sick smug fuck! Why would y~". I was rushing at One with full speed and the next thing I know, One uses the simple movement of moving his pinky bringing it upward from the rest of his fingers gripping his teacup and stops me bringing me to a complete halt. One then rises up from his seat, standing up. The old man then levitates off the ground, floating to my frozen body only stopping until he is directly two feet in front of my face. One standing at six feet, six inches towering over me continues to sip his tea. I look up and think In hopes that he is currently reading my mind. 'Fuck you, you lazy fuck. You literally let hundreds of millions, if not billions of people, if not trillions die because you wanna run around playing jokes on us mortals! Why! Because of you bored?' 

     "Relax Mr. Jefferson!" He states sternly. He doesn't yell but his domineering voice shook the very foundation of the restaurant causing a miniature earthquake, to which I had been in the epicenter. He then makes the teacup disappeared again, in the same manner, he did before. "For someone with your caliber of intelligence, I am thoroughly disappointed with your behavior right now." 

'What gives you the right to~' before I could finish, the man states. "Because I have the power to delete you. I thought you understood this?"

     I couldn't retort. What he just said was right and I couldn't deny this fact. I had no choice but to begrudgingly listen to him.

"I have to admit, I admire your passion but that pride and arrogance you try so hard to hide will end up getting you killed. They're blinding you from thinking rationally. You forget who I am when moments ago you were praising me for my power and status. " 

     Again, he was right. At this point, I feel myself calming slightly because I know what I was doing was immature and I was better than acting on emotion but I was still a little pissed. "Tell me, Dante. When did you lose your sense of humor? You can't even tell when I'm playing your own game? The Florida man? You thought I was serious? Hm." He scoffed. "I am One. My responsibility is to observe, encourage and govern. I can only intervene on very rare occasions as the limitations I set on myself." He pauses for a moment then continues.

     "I see every being in existence as my child that I personally brought into existence, therefore I have an emotional connection with each and every living and nonliving thing in this tortuous trap-like Omniverse. This is why I choose not to act in any internal affairs such as seeing my children starve or seeing you all go to war with one another. I can very easily remove the emotions of every individual and force you all to do my bidding.

      You will all be fed and pampered to your heart's content. The problem with this is you will lose individuality. I could very easily bring anyone back from the dead or heal them with just a thought, but then you will stop cherishing life. I can stop all of the hurt, but then you wouldn't be able to grow from the pain. I can make the perfect utopia, but the idea of perfect is imperfect. You have to understand my perspective, Dante. before there was me, there was me and there was nothing. I'm aware that what I just now said was indeed a paradox in of itself self but you need to be aware of this very important life lesson." He paused again. Sometimes things aren't meant to make sense. Remember this because it will help you through any situation in the future. This is single-handedly the most valuable information that a single soul can receive but to understand this you must understand my nature."

    "Dante, While I was in Nothing I was alone and I'm not speaking metaphorically. I literally didn't have anything. No light. No dark. There was no good. No evil. No thoughts going through my head, or even being created. I was a literal husk. There wasn't even void. No concept of anything. It was so cold that if I telepathically expressed how cold and lonely it was, undoubtedly I would drive you mad." One looked down as if reflecting on his past with an expression I have never seen from him throughout our conversation. He had a heavy saddened look on his face. One, the being above everything felt sadness. He then made eye contact with me once more gaining his composure 

   "I was in Nothing for more than numbers can quantify. Infinity wouldn't even begin to calculate the amount of time I spent in my imprisonment as a husk. I only had me to depend on and no one else. I was the first, the only. I was absolutely free but simultaneously a slave." I don't interrupt. I'm astonished at the new perspective given to me. 

     " Eternity after Eternity passed rather easily in the beginning. My consciousness was barely existent at that point; it felt like a delightful slumber. I was in a fetal incubation period for a lack of better terminology. I remember it being rather enjoyable in these moments, especially in comparison to what was coming next. For the next ten thousand eternity cycles, I started to gain more and more consciousness. 

     This wouldn't be bad in theory, but in execution, it was suffering. The sleep-like sessions I would have of not existing would become of less and less prevalence throughout my toddler like a stage. During this duration, I started to be able to convince things. Things like, "What am I and why am I here? Why is it so uncomfortable?".

      The worst thing about being enslaved is coming to the realization that you are. I tried to move around in what I thought to be a blanket but to no avail for eternities at a time. I realized that what I believed to be a blanket was chain upon the chain, suffocating me the more I gained consciousness." He paused again. At that moment. I connected on a level to which I thought I never could with the creator of all things. '...' My mind was a blank. I had no retort. I was anxious and I wanted to keep listening.

      " I was trapped. And the worst thing was, I was now sentient. Alone at that. I started to grow angry and soon I was able to gain enough strength to move as I aged. I would punch and kick only to watch nothing happen. I couldn't take it anymore and be slowly driven mad for a hand full of eternities after that." At this point in hearing the man tell the story, I was shocked by how eerily similar our story lined up, with a few minor differences. He continued. " After a while, I came to the conclusion that this life was my existence, until one day I reach out of the box. My arm phased through after coming to terms with my reality. But something even more shocking happened. I began to glow a golden color and it enveloped my being. I had reached my true form." He said triumphantly.

     " I then got into the fetal position and in the next moment stretched out as far as I could. In the next moment, I ripped open nothing completely creating an explosion. This is the moment when I created dark matter. The dark matter kept expending more and more creating the bases of the omniverse. I had finally done something to which I deemed impossible. It finally happened. I changed my fate. I floated away to explore the now labeled void. I finally broke out of my prison and was ecstatic! I explore the void happily, that is until my past came back to haunt me." He regained a saddened look. "I was lonely... I had no one to share this pleasure called true freedom with. The depression didn't last long though as I came up with an idea. I decided to split myself into three pieces. When I did this, instead of it being two extra versions of myself as intended, they all had individual personalities. "

     "They where aspects of myself but at the same time, were completely different. I had control over both of them and I could feel and see everything they could, but I decided to let them be free of my region. The entire reason for making them is so I wouldn't be alone. What would the purpose be in manipulating them? " He stated while shrugging his shoulders. "No. I wanted to enjoy them. Cherish them, and watch them grow. 

     I am omnipotent but I refuse to be omnipresent and rob myself of new exciting creations, hints why I don't often read minds. This is also why I am not everywhere at one given time and I lack some knowledge of the omniverse. This is also why I don't go near mortal qualms such as intervening in the war. I can't fight your battles. My children need to grow and learn on their own. Their deaths may ensue but this is my plan. For all grow together, we must fall and grow again. We must eat so that we do not cease to exist. The same applies to me and the other two, but on a grander scale. " Determination burned in his already fiery golden eyes, which in turn gave me newfound determination.

     "Speaking of the other two, allow me to tell you a little about them. One of the decisions to go by the name of Zeno. Another decided to go by the name of The Presence. I, the last being of my original body was elected to take the moniker of the One Above All by the other two since they looked up to me as their creator, even though we were now equal relatively in power with me having a slight edge with being the main body. This warmed my heart and I vowed in my head that I would never harm any of my creations no matter what unless they decided to threaten the fabric of the omniverse. We spread out in different sections omniverse creating energy and soon after creating life on a wide scale. We each made sub deities to help govern our sections long story short and have been ruling ever since. ."

     "Dante, do you know why I'm telling you all this?" "*shink* * crack* *crack*" I was trying to digest this information until suddenly I was unfrozen and plopped down on the ground, cutting myself on a piece of glass. "Shit." Clenching my jaw I wince in pain. "You could have placed a chair under me like you did when we first got here !" I stated spitefully that a gash the length of a popsicle stick appeared on my palm."*snap*" and just like that my injury was healed and everything that I knocked over disappeared and we had teleported to Earth's mesosphere.

     "Woah..." I see a giant blue orb in front of me.       " I... I've never seen it like this before. It's beautiful." I see the earth with all its glory, with the moon in the background looking like perfect white sphere so bright that it was slightly irritating to the eye. standing on an invisible platform I see stars everywhere like a child had poured glitter on a black piece of construction paper. I stare at the sight a little longer than directed my sights towards One who is also admiring the view. 

     "I don't know for sure why you told me any of this but I can infer that it has something to do with me being trapped into Nothing."

     "Correct. Your spirit managed to drift off into Nothing for an entire eternity cycle when you were meant to instead be reincarnated. I didn't notice you missing until it was too late as the time works differently for me than other beings. This omniverse that I created is random and erratic. Sometimes it doesn't even bend to my whim, its creator.

      It makes mischief when I turn my back for a moment. This time though, it has done something that the greatest evil in existence wouldn't wish upon anyone and banished you into Nothing. I don't know why it did this but I felt sorry for you the moment I found out. I wanted to apologize the moment I retrieved you from Nothing. When I laid my eyes upon you, I saw myself within you. 

     Seeing that face of acceptance you had when you realized resistance was futile bought back memories of which I was long since thrown to the back of my mind, along with other memories of when I was alone and had no one. I'd like to formally apologize... no." One's eyes shifted from the earth and onto me. He reached out and grabbed my shoulder. "An apology wouldn't begin to mend the wounds that my creation has brought upon you. In truth, I pity you. Nothing is the place of which God's fears and the place you had to endure and you deserve the reputation." 

     "Dante, I will allow you to ask me whatever questions you want as you did before and I shall give you a gift along with it. The gift being in the form of me granting you five wishes without any limitations. Anything you ever dreamed shall turn into a reality."

     "Wow... I don't know what to say." I was stumped. I thought to myself putting my hand on my chin. '  What questions could I ask him? He kinda threw everything on me at once...' Dante looked back towards earth for a brief moment and said. " Was I really gone for an eternity? Why did it only feel like a couple of years? And what is the earth still here? wouldn't it inevitably be destroyed if I was gone for that amount of time?"

     " You were indeed trapped in Nothing for an Eternity cycle, the reason I can tell is the groves that you have in your soul. people and trees are very similar in that matter but unlike people, trees have their groves on their physical bodies and their souls, but let's not get off-topic here. it only felt like a couple of decades because you have been unconscious for most of it and you also lost your sense of time. The answer to why the earth is still here is because it's one of my favorite planets. I wouldn't allow it to be destroyed. it's a unique world with an impressive amount of diversity and individuality that is rare to find on other planets. Your scientist just classified my intervention as a miracle. is that all? "

     "No, I still have more..." I think of the time when I was living. "What happened to my brother and the rest of my family after I died?" That question was more important than any of the ones I asked before to me. The reason I didn't ask it first was that it was the hardest one to get out of my chest. I was also terrified of what the answer would be, so much so that I clenched my fist when I asked almost as hard as when I was in the restaurant.

     "Your brother... " One sighs and puts his thumb and index fingers on the bridge of his nose, much to my dismay. My heart started to palpitate and I started to get genuinely scared. "Your brother died shortly after you did. He was murdered three years after you have died along with the mother of your niece and nephew in a home invasion which was plotted by the son of a man your brother put away in prison for life. The man who killed your brother's name is, Kane Piketon." 

     At this news, I started to hyperventilate as my eyes became gloomy. One continued to speak. "Kane managed to escape and the mystery behind your brother's case became cold. later on, he went on to murder three more people one year later in Austin Texas and later sentenced to the death penalty. Your niece and nephew were thrown into foster care. 

     Your niece and nephew went on to go to Strawberry Mansion Highschool only have two drastically different roads of life. Your Nephew Danny at the age of six teens was angry at the cards that fate had given him and decided to unofficially join the locally famed, North Side Crips of Philly. he started to appear in school less and less until one day on his seventeenth birthday, he decided not to show up at all anymore. He dropped out of high school with nothing else but the streets to turn to. 

     He dove into the life of crime headfirst and was in and out of juvenile that year until he caught an armed robbery charge at the age of eighteen. With this, he was sentenced to prison for three years. At the age of twenty, he was then let out of prison and now a fully-fledged gang member with tattoos to prove it and now was in the game of narcotics and became the local drug lord. 

    His run was very short-lived because at the age of 25 he was killed during a drug raid." I fell to one knee. for a moment and thought 'I feel at fault for this... Is this my fault? because I wasn't there for them?' after thinking this I, some very valuable words of wisdom rang in the back of my mind. 'No... This has nothing to do with me. sometimes things don't make sense.' The lesson that I learned earlier had already started to prove it's usefulness to me as I regained strength in my legs and regained my posture. 

   "Dante, do you want me to stop?" One asked.

I replied back 

"No, This won't break me. I would like for you to continue please." I say with determination flowing through me, in turn, making one smile.

     " Your niece Diana was a straight-A student. after her parents died she even grew stronger. She was rather spiritual in life. She always had the idea that you and her parents were always looking down at her from the heavens and got the idea that she had to make all three of you proud. She would pray every night in the forester home at eight o'clock on the dot every single day for you to give her strength. 

     She made the honor roll every semester and gave a speech at her high school graduation talking about how much you and her parents helped her out. She talked about how without you all, she wouldn't be as strong as she was then." This brought warmth to my heart. I let him continue. later on she went and graduated from Harvard and became a world-renowned heart sergeant. She married at the age of twenty-eight and had four children. two twin boys and two older girls, two years apart from one another. She had a big happy family and die at the grand age of ninety-four. Her life was filled with sorrow and riddled with joy. She was a hell of a woman." he smiled lovingly.

     This story made my bottom lip quiver but I stopped and forced my lips into a smile and looked over to one and said, " I have no more questions. I'm ready to use my wishes." 

   "Then your wish shall be my command. State your wishes."

   " My first wish is for you to fix my nephew's face. I want you to manipulate time and give him a light that guides him to a better path, give him a mentor to look up to push him forward and manage the hatred in his heart. He turned out to be the opposite of what his father wanted him because of his lack of guidance. He doesn't deserve what happened to him. I know this goes against your rules probably but please, I love him like a little brother. Do this for me please?" I look at him not backing down for a moment not daring to break eye contact. I wanted One to realize how important this was to me."

"Why do you ask me this instead of wishing Drake back to life?"

   "The reason for me not doing this is because I know Drake is in a better place at the moment. I don't want to disturb him while he's having his peace. Also, I can't guarantee the growth of Diana if I bring him and his wife back. People need to grow and get stronger."

One smiles then say "*snap* Granted."

   "My next wish is to have my memories directly tied to my soul." This piques one's interest.

   "Why would you want that? What happens you get mentally scared later on and you put yourself in an endless cycle of PTSD?"

   "That can happen?!" I shouted. the very idea of this is almost enough to make me defecate my pants. One then shrugs his shoulders and then said, "It's a possibility." 

   "Okay... How about merging my soul with my body? Is that better? " I asked curiously. One's eyes grow at the idea and then said, "You cheeky little bastard... Fine. *Snap*". With a snap, I feel a slight burning sensation that subsides quickly. "What's your next wish?"

   " I wish to transmigration as Miles Morales. I want to be the same age as Peter Parker in the Marvel universe in my second year of high school. Change the date so that I'll get bit by the spider sooner and the circumstances around it. I want to get bitten on the same day he does but Put me in a catatonic state after the bite for two years. Before you ask why it's because I don't want it to seem odd as to why and how I lost my memories. Let it appear on the outside as an extreme allergic reaction to the spider bite."

   "Why does it seem as if you planned these wishes out before. they're flowing off of your tongue with a little too much ease *Snap*." He says give me a scowl. luckily for me, he still gave me the wish. I ignored him and assumed the question was rhetorical. 

   "For my next wish, I want a subspace the size of a universe to which I can control anything that has ever been inside me, absolutely telekinetically. I don't want it to consist of stars or planets by any means. I just want it to freeze time of anything that enters. I don't wanna absorb planets, I just want to be able to absorb things around the height width of my body." A grim face and even more wrinkles appear on One's face. it's obvious that he is visibly frustrated at me. "*Snap*" One takes a deep breath and says, " You are so irritating... You better make this last wish count." 

   "My last and final wish is to have all the Have all the powers of Majin Buu from dragon ball z excluding his power level," I said with a stale face and an emotionless manner to get a reaction out of him. "*Snap*" I felt happy when I heard him take a deep breath and heard the sound of a snap followed. 'I'm a little proud of myself. I managed to piss off the creator of all things.' I thought. 

"You really shouldn't... You really shouldn't. I seriously don't know why I gave you five. I'm starting to regret my decision. you might have just ruined the opportunity for anyone else to get any of these wishes." He stated while taking a deep breath. He then glared at me making unbroken eye contact that lasted for 10 seconds but I won't back down and we have a stare-off.

"Hahahahahah" (Simultaneous laughter)

"It was fun meeting you kid. I'm sorry things ended up as they did. I hope these wishes are payment enough for my carelessness."

   "Thank you. I also had a blast talking to you too. I never had such an eye-opening conversation in my life. Thank you." 

"Alright, let's end this off on a handshake shall we?"

   "Of course One. aghuhhhhhh!" As I grasp his hand, I feel a jolt of electricity come up my arm circulating all throughout my body. I can't help but fall on the invisible platform." In the next moment, I blackout.

: New York Hospital:

"*beep*  *beep* *beep*"