1 The Void
God dammit. Two years. I spent two whole years setting that project up. I spent months running the calculations, fixing the data, and building up the frame, only for a random pot to drop from the sky just as I activated it. The last thing I saw was a bright flash, and then boom. I ended up here, in this inky black space that seems to traverse on forever. "Hello? Is anyone out there?" I cupped my hands to my mouth and screamed into the void, hoping for a response. There was none. Sighing, I let my hands fall back to my side, and just decided to float for a while.
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I don't know how long it has been now, but it must have been years. Considering I've been laying here and just thinking long enough to figure out the Goldbach Conjecture, it's been at least a decade. Something I managed to find out however, is that no matter the length of time that passes, no memories or thoughts made here get forgotten. However, it is starting to get lonely, I fear I may not have long left before I start to go insane.
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How long has it been? Centuries, millennia, hundreds of thousands of years? I have no clue. I've been steadily working through every computational problem that I can, just trying to keep myself sane, but now I've run out. I've resorted to simulating scenarios, trying to boost my imagination to such that I can have full conversations with a mental image. It might stop my need for contact, and keep me sane just a bit longer.
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"Oh shit." Suddenly I hear a voice emanating from deep within the void. 'Is this it,' I thought, 'have I finally gone insane?' Suddenly, out of the void, a figure emerges. He is unimaginably tall, with his eyeball alone being the size of me. He lumbers towards me, slowly stopping when all I can see of him is his face. "Damn. A soul this old is hard to come by." He slowly reaches up, and gently clasps me in his hand. "Over seventy billion years of thinking, and it just now finished thinking about everything." My eyes widen. Seventy billion years?! I've been floating here for that long? "Well, little soul, can you tell me how you got here?" I open my mouth, unsure if my voice will work after apparently billions of years of atrophy. However, I am surprised when my voice comes out as clear as the day I died. "I was... working on a project that would allow humans to view alternate timelines, when a pot fell out of nowhere and interfered, causing the machine to explode." The giant chuckled. " A pot huh... now where did tha-" The giant froze. "I'm sorry, can you describe the pot for me?" I nod, and think back, trying to remember the details. "It was a ornate bronze pot, and it had small floral carvings along it's side.
The giant's smile dropped. "Agh, fucking hell. ROB! Get in here!" I heard a small shuffling before another figure emerged. Though just as tall, this one looked much older, with a snow white beard extending to his torso, and long white hair cascading down his back. He seemed to almost float across the ground as he moved closer. "Yes, Luci? What is it?" The giant, now identified as Luci, turned around with me in his hand. "Ok, so do you remember that pot you lost seventy billion years or so ago?" The older man nodded. "Yes, I do. I wish I still had it. That was my favorite pot." The man seemed almost dejected, his head drooping a little. Luci spoke back up, "Well, it turns out that the pot ended up in dimension 322-01, and smashed the project this guy was working on, killing him." The older man's eyes widened. Suddenly, everything started to spin.
After the spinning stopped, I was standing next to the two, both of which were now my size. The older man turned to me and bowed. "I am so sorry for causing the incident of your demise. Allow me to make it up to you," he said. I was confused. "Make it up to me? How? I'm already dead." The old man chuckled, a small twinkle in his eye. "Though that may be true, I am a R.O.B, therefore I can freely mess with the veil of life and death. Though, just bringing you back to life wouldn't be enough compensation to ease my guilt, so I also want to grant you four wishes." My eyes widened, and the man continued. "However, there are some rules. Namely, you may not wish for the three O's, you can't wish to become a god, and no wishing for more wishes. Systems are out too. They make lives boring, and people end up just grinding away for years. They're never fun to watch." I nod and think for a while. 'Alright, four wishes. Thinking back on my life, isn't this just like the WebNovel's I read? Same basic ruleset too.' Suddenly, the wishes came to me. "Alright, I wish for..."
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"Alright, I can do that. Your wishes have been granted, your world has been chosen, now go have a good time." I nod, and watch as my body, which I've now identified as my soul, begins to fade. I look back at the two beings and give them a small farewell wave as the last of me dispersed into the void.
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"Are you sure this was a good idea?" Luci spoke up, staring at ROB. "He's been thinking here for decades, his own mind evolved to the point of an eidetic memory." Rob nods. "I know, but I still have to do this, or it would be on my conscience." Rob stares at the place where the young soul stood. "However, what's life without a little entertainment, hmm?" He added with a smile. Lucifer threw his hands into the air and scoffed. "Alright then, whatever you say." The black clad man stormed out of the void, leaving behind only ROB. 'Hmm. Well, the next time we meet, it will hopefully be on better terms.' The wizened man smiled to himself, and slowly faded out of the void.
