Apotheosis (3)

Arthur's eyes widened with a mixture of surprise and curiosity. "Lil, are you seeing-"

"Big bro, are you seeing this too?" Lily asked, her voice laced with confusion.

Arthur's eyes blinked at Lily. "I guess you are." He turned to look at the blue box, trying to interact with it, only to see that his hand went past the blue box. "It's like something out of one of our RPG games, but this feels different. It's almost. ."

"Real?" Lily finished. "Wait, what's going on?"

"I don't. . ." Arthur trailed off, as he noticed that Lily was currently focusing hard on something in front of her, most likely the same notification blue box he had. And so, he did the same, and his mind raced to comprehend the implications of this unexpected development in his life, he noticed that he had been given a time limit, to spin a wheel or something?

"Is the government fucking with us or something?" Lily swore, but this time, Arthur was too pre-occupied to say anything. 

"Maybe it's some sort of virtual reality experiment, or prank, or one of those social media things?" Arthur asked, his brows furrowing in thought, before he blinked his eyes, and the notification screen was still there. "But it feels too elaborate to be a mere prank."

Arthur continued to toss around theories, ranging from extraterrestrial interventions, to secret societies and what not. 

"What if it's not a prank?" 

Lily spoke, but this time, with a seriousness that hadn't be heard in years.

"What do you mean?" Arthur asked. He looked at Lily, and it was like he was and wasn't looking at his sister at the same time. There was something in Lily's eyes that made her look as if she'd been possessed. 

After a long pause, Lily continued, "Maybe it's a test."

"A test?" Arthur said. "Okay, you're kinda creeping me out now, lil sis."

"Yeah, a test," Lily replied, eyes still focused on the invisible blue box in front of her. In Arthur's point of view, it was like she was staring straight at him, and well, to be fair, it must look the same for her too. 

"A test, or a chance," Lily said. ". . . .to be something better."

And, just like that, Lily returned back to normal, as she blinked open, only to notice that her brother was looking at her like she was an alien. "The hell you looking at me like that for?"

"You were just-nevermind," Arthur decided not to open that box of candy right now. "Anyway, whatever it is, it's telling me to spin the wheel, whatever that is."

"Yeah, it's telling me the same thing too," Lily said, her fingers gesturing a spin of the invisible blue box. "But, I don't see any wheel?"

"Me too-"

As if in response to their concern, the blue box suddenly dissolved, and instead, another seemingly-gamelike holographic wheel appeared, that seemed to be modelled after the wheel of samsara, divided into three main categories:

"Mortal, Demi-God," Arthur's voice trembled with disbelief. "And, God?" 

"It's the same for me too," Lily replied, her expression mirroring her brother's.

Arthur's heart quickened its pace as he shifted his gaze back to his own screen, confirming that it mirrored Lily's. The wheel now held their fate, promising a path that could lead to unimaginable heights or plunge them into the depths of uncertainty. In the realm of their beloved RPG games, such choices were common, but in their own reality, it was an unprecedented twist.

As a surge of adrenaline coursed through their veins, their minds raced to make sense of the situation. It was as if the world had transformed into a grand adventure, their very existence hanging in the balance. The weight of the decision

pressed upon them, urging them to consider the possibilities that lay within each category.

Arthur's thoughts raced, contemplating the implications of each rank. 

"Does this mean what I think it means?" Lily asked, slowly with doubt but one could hear the clear excitement in her voice. 

Arthur gulped. "I think so too."

"Okay, so we're thinking the same thing," Lily said. "We're going to become gods?"

"I don't think it's going to be that easy," Arthur replied. "I mean, if it were that easy, and supposing that we're not the only ones in the world to be presented with this choice, I'm not sure if a world full of 7 billion gods is going to work."

"Before going with your logic, are we even sure that what we're seeing is real, right now?" Lily asked, biting her lips. She took a sharp breath. "I. .This isn't a dream, right?"

Arthur could sense the nervousness in Lily's voice, and he couldn't blame her. Lily may be smart, perhaps even a genius in her own right, this was still a lot to take in for a senior in high-school. Even Arthur himself couldn't really believe in what was happening right now. 

"I. . .don't think it is," Arthur said, before looking at Lily dead-straight in the eyes. "Hey, Lil, let me do a Jonathan on you real quick."

Lily immediately flinched away. "I swear to god, bro, if you so much as get anywhere near my side-burns, I'll slap you nine-ways to Sunday." 

Arthur lowered his hands back down. "Well, your reaction's too harsh for this to be a dream, so I guess this is. . .real."

Arthur checked out the wheel again. He remembered the instructions which were pretty simple enough - all he had to do was spin this wheel and discover his destiny.

He connected the dots. "Well, if what the notification from before is telling the truth, I think whatever we get from this wheel, we become."

"Discover your destiny," Lily pondered. "That. . .would make sense. But, do we become these. . .things or do we simply summon them like p*kemon? And, going on that logic, say I summoned someone of the God rank, are they going to be from our mythology or something else? Maybe-"

"You're doing it again sis," Arthur stopped her, tapping her forehead. "You let your mind do your mouth's work again. But anyway, I don't think it's going to be the summoning kind."

"And, how do you know that?" Lily asked, a little irritated. She hated when he tapped her forehead. 

"I. . .don't know. Just a gut feeling I guess," Arthur replied. "But, I do know I'm being really tempted to do as the notification says, and spin the wheel right now."

Lily looked at the screen, then at her brother, and then at the screen again. Just like he said, she was beginning to feel the temptation to spin the wheel as well. It was like some god out there was playing with their minds. "So, you doing it?" 

"Again. . I don't know. Believe me, I've been racking my brain for any other option, but," Arthur's brow furrowed as he tried to find an alternative, a safer path that didn't involve such a leap of faith. "It seems like more of a risk to not do as this mysterious blue box tells us to do. I don't want us to get lasered to death simply for not doing something like spinning the wheel."

"Well, if you're going to make a decision, you still have. . ." Lily checked the clock. "around 50 minutes to make a decision. Me personally, I think if our theory is correct, I wouldn't want to miss out on a chance on becoming something as exalted as a god. Although, I wonder how that'd work."

"You seem to be adapting a little well for someone who was so shell-shocked a few moments ago," Arthur chuckled. 

Lily raised her hands up. "What can I say? We're basically stuck in a real-life RPG and it's easier for me to cope when I think about the fact that I'm going to become a sweet-ass god."