《A crack in the multiverse》 Giving up I woke up with a start again. I''ve already lost the number of times that this happened and I couldn''t help but curse my luck as I stare at the roof of my decrepit old apartment, well not mine since I''m renting it but potato potato. The same nightmare over and over again and of course with a cup of migraine to top it off... "fuuck me" I cursed again as I stood up and went to the bathroom to wash my face, no way I was going back to sleep now, at least not after this. I would know this since I''ve tried who knows how many times doing whatever you may think of! Counting sheep, exercising, drugs, jacking off, more drugs, meditation and maybe more drugs and nothing works! Goddammit it''s like my brain is on fire trying to process my nightmare. "Heh...hahahah" I laugh hollowly while I cry, it''s been months non stop since the nightmares started and I think I''m starting to lose it, my life was already hard before this and now... I contemplate whether a bullet would do it or maybe something more tame? I don''t want to traumatize my family. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. "Mmmhhhh" I crunch my jaws in concentration thinking about it. Maybe an accident? Yeah make it look like an accident so they don''t feel so bad about it, maybe a gas leak would do... It wouldn''t be a surprise with how shitty this apartment is, honestly if anything I''m more surprised at the fact that it hasn''t happened already. "Yeah that would do" With a course of action I wash my face and think about the plan; I don''t wanna screw this since there are a lot of ways that this could go wrong for my neighbors and they don''t need more problems and they don''t deserve it either...mmmmhh maybe that prick from the second floor deserves it. Thinking about that maybe I should do a bucket list before leaving, God knows that there are a lot of things that I need to do! Like eating that expensive super chocolate ice cream XL with strawberries or maybe a trio? They say it''s confusing and not really that amazing but if I''m gonna go then I definitely need to know...for scientific purposes of course, but that''s gonna be expensive for sure, the ladies that offer those sorts of services aren''t exactly cheap. "Probably worth it" I think aloud, but oh well since I''m leaving I might as well blow my money on stuff that I want. I wonder if I can have a trio and then eat my ice cream at the same time? Uhhhh maybe not; it doesn''t seem feasible but...who knows? thought for later. For now? Now I''m gonna finish the jack Daniels that I have for emergencies and try to forget the current reason for my pains. One bullet As I walk down the street, I couldn''t help but notice how different everything seems today, the birds are chirping, the sun is shining and I''m not getting in random fights! "Sup old man!" I greet one of my neighbors in the block, dude is always asking if I''m okay or if everything is going well. "Well Martin, what a pleasant surprise, you seem happier" He immediately frowns and asks "Is everything alright son? You can talk to me, you know that, right?" I grin at him "Everything is fantastic, Mr. Douglas! Terrific even I would say, because today is a different day!" He lifts an eyebrow at me. "Spit it out then brat, what''s going on" Mmmm should I tell him? It seems like a delicate topic and it isn''t the kind of thing that you should talk about casually. While I hesitate about it he seems to grow tense, ah damn what the hell, who cares, I lean over and look around conspiratorially. "I shouldn''t say this out loud, but I think that I have a solution for my problem." At that he widens his eyes and asks me with a trembling voice. "...And what would be the solution?" "Ice cream and hookers." I grin at him. "Pardon me?" He blinks at me and continues. "I think that age is catching up on me, yes, I seem to have misheard you hahaha, hookers? Silly me."Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. He rasps a laugh but my eyes widen and I look around in panic. "Shhhh you old man! What''s wrong with you, don''t talk so loudly about it!!" Damn old man, I trust him with my secrets and he just yells them! "No wonder you ain''t getting action with mrs Douglas if you act like this old man! No sense of delicacy at all! Hmpf! What a brute." At that he suddenly seems to grow red, ouch, seems like I struck a nerve there. "YOU! YOU! YOU!" oh man he is repeating himself thrice, he is definitely pissed now. "YOU GONNA LEARN TODAY! GET HERE BRAT!" Nope, I''m noping out of here. "You swing your cane like that in bed too? Hahahah, put more hip into it old man hahahah" I laugh maniacally while I turn tail and ran, the old man has a mean swing and I don''t wanna test my luck today. "Whew." After a couple of minutes the old man gave up and went back to his porch. Damn that old man he is so old yet he still runs like he''s twenty. Still, for him to be so perceptive too? How did he realize? Well, no matter I got things to do and ice creams to eat, I should go to the bank first. The prick from the second floor usually brags about his conquests and he often tells me that those ladies only accept cash. "Not like I will need money in the after life." Well, if I''m really going through with this then I might as well treat myself correctly. I have a few grand saved for future emergencies, not much but enough for this and maybe something more. ------ Well, the sun isn''t shining anymore and the birbs aren''t chirping, something weird is going on, my skin is crawling. I look around looking for answers but it seems like my inner Sherlock ran out of juice. "Mommy why is it dark all of sudden?" "Oh dear, it''s because there''s an eclipse today." "But what''s an eclipse? Can you eat that?" "Oh well, you see when the moon..." Maybe I overreacted a little...I tune out the mother and daughter pair and keep walking. That was embarrassing, shame on you inner Sherlock! But still, something doesn''t add up...for some reason I feel really uneasy, it''s probably nothing anyway, just my lizard brain acting up because it got dark during daytime. The bank at least is open, small mercies. The guard eyes me warily while I enter, what''s up with that? Not like I''m a criminal dude. "Uhh why is it so cold? I know it''s summer but damn..." I mutter discontentedly because of the cold. They probably don''t even have to worry about electric bills, fucking banks...oh well, seems like I''m not the only one suffering because of this, I can see the breath of the guard over there. Oh look, I can see my breath too! Uhhhh isn''t this too much? "Wha.. what''s going on?" With clattering teeth, the person in front of me asks aloud to no one in particular. "Maybe the AC is acting up?" Someone else says. "Geez, It''s as if winter has come early, ain''t that right Ben?" Uh, I''ve never seen Ben out of the apartment before... "Time is nigh mortal." Did Ben just speak? Before I can ask him what the hell is he talking about the bank erupts in a cacophony of screams of terror. "MONSTER!!!!!!!" "OH GOD, OH GOD ALMIGHTY PLEASE SAVE MY SOUL." "Please don''t kill me..." Oh wow, it seems like I''m not the only one that can see Ben now, neat. "The celestial bodies have aligned, it''s time for you to accomplish the mission that my master has for you." "You could speak this whole time! Damn you bastard!" Before I can continue there is a loud popping noise and I freeze on the spot. The guard from before is holding his gun pointing it at me while shaking like a leaf. "I...I was pointing at the monster." I feel something warm in my chest and I look down. "Fuck...what about my ice cream?" I stagger as I try to grab onto something to keep from falling, but everyone is standing far away from me, staring at me with wide eyes. "Prepare mortal, prepare thy soul and arm yourself with courage." I fall down while blood comes out of my mouth and I can''t help but panic. I know that I said that I was prepared to die, I know that I said that I was going to kill myself, I know...but now? It''s all too real and I realize that I don''t want to die. Oh god I''m going to die? I''m dying. Please, oh God, please I don''t want to die. Mom please help me, Mom? Please!? Anyone please help me... With tears in my eyes and blood pooling around my body, I die. A fat ball. I woke up with a start, again. "Fuck...that''s one horrible nightmare." I rubbed my head and tried to calm down the incoming headache. "I''m afraid that wasn''t a nightmare Martin." Woah what the hell. "Who said that!?" I jumped out of my bed and immediately grabbed my bat. "Reveal yourself before I bash your fucking head!" But the room is empty. "Language Martin." Woah, magic voice again! Okay deep breaths. Whoever is messing with me must be close, I grab my bat tightly and get out of the room to see the rest of the apartment. But it''s empty. "Okay, okay, okay maybe i''m having auditory hallucinations now?" "I''m afraid this is not a hallucination Martin." "What the duck!?!?" I jump around while scanning the apartment but it''s empty! Oh fuck, I''m really getting crazier? "You are not crazy Martin." It''s reading my thoughts now?! "Yes Martin, I can see your thoughts and feel your emotions, please calm down." "Fuck off magic voice!" "Language Martin." "Fuck you!" I go back to my room to grab my shoes and nope out of here, this freaking apartment is haunted. "Sigh..." And suddenly I''m not in my apartment anymore. My mouth is a perfect "O" as I suddenly find myself in a world of pure white, and everything I see is white, everywhere I see is more white. If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. "Ugh I''m feeling dizzy." "Look at me Martin." A voice sounds behind me, I turn around with fear only to find a black sphere in the ground. "Hello Martin." "Uhh hello magic voice?" "I''m so glad that we can finally meet Martin." "Oh okay magic voice, nice to meet you too, but where are we? I''m pretty sure that I was in my apartment just a few moments ago." "I can tell you but first I need you to calm down Martin, my time with you is limited and I need you to remember well what I''m about to say" "Uhh okay fat ball, don''t worry about it! I have nerves of steel!" "I''m not fat." "What?" "Sigh, just touch me and you will see." Mmmm should I touch the weird fat ball? Everything seems to be sketchy as fuck. "Call me fat again and you will suffer untold agony." "Chill out magic voice, and you shouldn''t read the thoughts of other people like that! It''s rude." "Why did it have to be you..." "You are giving me a horrible first impression you know? You''re being very rude." "You died." "What?" What is this fat ball sayi....uh AHHHHHH WHAT THE FUCK AHHHHHH MY HEAD, FUCK I WAS WRONG IM SORRY IM SORRY. "Listen Martin and listen very closely because I will only say this once, understand?" I try to say something, but only a whimper comes from my mouth. "Sigh." Suddenly the pain is gone and I feel reinvigorated, I feel mighty, I feel so strong!! Oh dear God ! I''m going to! "Nope, stop right there." And it''s gone. "Woah, what the hell magic ball! I was so close! What weird BDSM game are you playing here? First pain then...then that?" "Martin you are being very difficult right now and my time with you is very limited, so please calm down and touch me." "Ohhhhhhhhhhh I see. If you wanted me to play like that, you just had to say so magic ball. Okay my safe word is pineapple pizza." "Pardon me?" "Hmmm since you are a ball I guess we could do that? I mean I''m not really into that, if anything I''m more into tentacles lately you see." "What?" "Oh don''t look at me like that, you see all of this started with Ben..." "ENOUGH." and the whole world rumbled and quaked. "YOU HAVE DIED MARTIN, DO YOU CARE NOT FOR YOUR OWN DEATH!?" "Fuck I know that died, I know! I''m scared and even feel like crying!!" At that the world stopped shaking. "Then why Martin? Why act like this?" "I...I don''t know, I was normal before, kinda, but for some reason now my mind just leaps from one thing to another and I just can''t control myself..." "And you weren''t like this before?" "No?" The magic ball suddenly starts to levitate and vibrate. "Could it be the information of the void you received? It shouldn''t be like this...I prepared the information in packets to avoid errors, his mind should be stable..." Okay weird. The magic ball is now muttering things while it paces back and forth. "Um I don''t know what you are talking about, but I didn''t receive any information?" "What? What do you mean Martin? Wait, no, shut up. I don''t have the time, I will check this myself." The magic ball suddenly accelerated and appeared in front of me, before I could react, my limbs locked down and the magic ball touched my forehead. ---- It''s been a few hours yet I''m still in the same position. I should feel horrible, I should be having muscle cramps, but truth be told I don''t feel anything. No, more like I''m feeling at peace? Now that I''m calm, I think about what happened. I died. ... It''s really hard to process, but I died, I got shot and died in the bank. I can still feel that phantom pain, as if the bullet were still in my chest. It happened so fast, so quickly, I didn''t even realize that it happened. By the time that I was on the floor, I was already bleeding out and dying... I close my eyes and try to think of something else, if not, I feel like I will lose my mind. "I''m sorry Martin." "I''m sorry that it had to be like this." The magic ball vibrates and I can move again. "What...what did you do to me? I haven''t felt like this in months, I haven''t felt in control of my own thoughts for so long...." "Your soul was damaged Martin. something went wrong with the data transfer and from there everything spiraled out of control." "My soul was damaged? Not my mind?" "Everything is connected Martin. Your soul is connected to your mind, and your mind is connected to your body, and thus you came to be." "I''m sorry I don''t follow, but thanks for healing me magic ball." "Don''t be, it was my responsibility in the first place." "Still, thanks for that." "Hmm my time is running out and even I, with all my powers cannot keep you here any longer, it''s time to go Martin, my servant will explain the rest. Take care, Martin, and I''m sorry for the pain you had to suffer." Before I can reply the world starts to disintegrate, and the white is replaced with a black void. I can see stars in the distance and I realize that I''m floating in space. What?¡­This doesn''t make any sense. As I freak out, I see a red sun far off in the distance with little dots surrounding it. Are those? Are those planets?Even though I''m so far away the sun, it''s still gigantic, my mind fails to understand what''s happening. It''s...it''s too much, I can''t! My brain!! Ugh, How am I able to see this? I''m really floating in space? What''s going on!?!?! Before I can continue my train of thought, I see an outline of something behind the sun, as if something were holding the sun in its hands. That was the last thing I saw. Waking up in Manhattan I woke up with a start again. Ugh, what the hell, my head is killing me! I can feel my head throbbing. "Ughhhh he... help." Magic ball where are you? I feel like I''m going to die. Oh Fuck, am I going to die again? "Please... anyone." "It seems that you are in pain mortal, let me help you." Is that Ben? I try to answer but the pain is too much. "Hmmm, I understand. You shouldn''t have looked at it. His holy form is not for mortals like you to see." "Worry not mortal, my master has instructed me to help you. I will seal those memories." I pass out. ------ I wake up again, with a heaving chest and a mild headache. "Are you well mortal?" A voice asks me from behind, ugh, my head, It shouldn''t be healthy to constantly pass out and wake up like that.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. "Ben, is that you?" "My name is not Ben Mortal." "Well, how was I supposed to know? You never said anything, you jackass!" "My form wasn''t strong enough for me to communicate with you mortal, only during the alignment of the celestial forms was I able to pass through the veil of reality." "I didn''t understand a thing. What''s your name then?" . . "B????????????????????????????????e?????????????????????????n???????????????????n????????????????????????????????????????i?????????????????????????????????????????????f?????????e?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????r?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????" . . . "What?" "You asked for my name." I look at him/her? with suspicion. "That sounded like Bennifer." "No, no it doesn''t." Sigh, for now I will be the bigger guy and drop the subject, for now. "Well, thanks for the help anyway. I thought that I was going to die for a second there." "You were indeed dying mortal, consider yourself lucky that my master was generous enough to send me to help you in your mission." "Yeah, about that first, where are we? And second what mission?" Since my headache subsided and I can focus in other things I look around at where I am, and boy this doesn''t look pretty. "Currently we are in Hell''s kitchen Manhattan." "Manhattan? but how? I was in Portland, Ben please tell me you didn''t kidnaped me to the other side of America." I eye up Ben with suspicion. "I did not kidnap you mortal, my master brought your soul here, and I reconstructed your body." "Pardon me?" "You died, mortal." ... Yes, I died. ... I...I don''t know what to say, without thinking about it, I touch my chest with my hands but it''s as if nothing had happened. "How...how is this possible? I saw the bullet in my chest, I felt the bullet in my chest! I DIED!!" "Calm down mortal, you are well now." "Calm down? CALM DOWN!?! I FUCKING DROWNED IN MY BLOOD, I WAS SHOT! I SAW MY DEATH!" "Yes, but you are whole now, I don''t see the issue mortal." This fucking eldritch horror has the gall to even cock his head to the side as if to show confusion. I died, and now I''m alive again. I died. I grab my head with desperation while I try to walk away from Ben. "Ouch, what the hell." Didn''t manage to go very far before feeling a sharp pain in my foot. "Is this a freaking nail?" Wait hold up, that''s not important. "I''m naked? What the hell Ben!?" "Oh yes, you humans seem to attach importance to that, pardon me." With a flick of one of his tentacles a gust o wind appears and I''m forced to close my eyes, when I open them again I see that I''m wearing the same clothes from the day I died, and I know because I can see the freaking bullet hole in my jacket. "Really Ben?" Bennifer? "I told you that my name isn''t Ben Mortal." "Well, I don''t care. I''m pretty sure that the reason why I died was because of you asshole. No way the guard was shooting at me." I stare at him angrily, I fucking died. I mean, I was going to kill myself anyway, but... no matter, I need to resolve this first. "Why did you kill me?" At that, his form stills. It''s as much a question as a statement, it murdered me, and I need to know why. "My form does not disturb you?" "That wasn''t what I asked, and I''ve been seeing you for a couple of months anyway." It seems to be mulling over something when suddenly another gust of wind appears, and I''m thrown against the wall with force. "Fuck...what in the nine hells happened now?" As the wind disappears, a shape seems to shimmer and fade out of existence. "How uncomfortable..." A feminine voice complains, and the shape seems to solidify, a petite body no more than 5 feet with unnatural purple hair, golden eyes with a big chest, and also...also, what the hell? "Is that a dick?" I look in horror at what my eyes see, is that... Is that Ben? No way. No, no, no, no, no. Oh, fuck, I really did that in front of a lady? But why does he have a dick? Or she? Ugh, what the hell? "Is this form pleasing, mortal?" A melodious voice asks me. "Fuck no! and don''t change the subject!" I yell at him/her? I try to look away, but something unnatural draws my eyes to her. Oh dear lord, how are those things so perfect? Gahhhhh, wake up Martin!! "You murdered me!!" It sighs.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. "Yes, and no." "What do you mean, no!? You liar, I already told you! no way that the guard was shooting at me!" I shout at her in rage. "No, I did not pull the trigger on that gun, the security guard was the one that killed you. But...but I did confuse his senses so he would shoot at you." She admits sadly. "Why? Why did you do that?" "Because it was necessary, Mortal, your soul is something truly special. You could explore the cosmos for a soul like yours and only come home empty-handed." She admits while slowly coming closer to me, Oh no, oh no, look away Martin. "Please forgive me, Mortal, forgive me for what I''ve done. I don''t have any evil intentions towards you." She says as it presses her chest against my stomach and looks at me with her sad golden eyes, ughh even her eyelashes are golden? "Fu...fuck off." I managed to say it with difficulty before pushing him/her? away. "You killed me you freaking asshole, you killed me and now you want something from me? " Ha. What a joke. "Fuck off." I said while looking at the roof, I''m not getting honey trapped by some eldritch horror with a dick bigger than mine. "I''m afraid that is not possible, mortal. I have a mission to accomplish, and so do you. Didn''t my master tell you so?" The honey in her voice is gone, and now it asks me in a monotone voice. "Look, I don''t know what''s your deal with the magic ball, or why you killed me, but I''m getting out of here, and I''m going back home." I''m done with this, fucking eldritch horror tying to confuse me and my little Johnson, this is too much, I''m leaving! "Stop." At her command, suddenly my body stops in place. What the heck? Why I can''t move? "You can''t go back, mortal." I''m starting to get angry. "Yeah? And what are you going to do? Are you going to trap me in this dirty place? You gonna put some shackles on me so I don''t escape?" I almost screamed at the end, I''ve had a horrible day, and my patience is wearing thin. "I''m afraid that you don''t understand, mortal; you really can''t go back home." "Oh please, it''s not like I''m in africa, I just need to get on plane and I can fuck off you dumb horror." "You really don''t know?" She asks with curiosity, his dead tone gone. "Don''t know what?" I huff. "How troublesome. Did you ignore my master? No, impossible. Perhaps I sealed too many memories?" She starts mumbling with one hand on her hips while biting her nails with the other hand. "Look Ben, your master, the magic ball only talked with me for a bit and then he suddenly stayed still for a couple of hours and then I was here." I try to explain to her, to this thing? I''m starting to realize there must be some real miscommunication problems here. "he stayed still? Are you lying to me mortal? Don''t lie to me." She looks at me dubiously. "Yeah, he said something about my soul being damaged because of a data transfer, and then poof, I appeared here." Now that I think about it, that seemed pretty serious, maybe that''s why I was so unhinged before? "Your soul was damaged? That would explain a lot of things..." Yeah, I did a lot of crazy stuff in those months. "Uh, yeah, there was something wrong with my soul, so that wasn''t really me, you know? Uhhh could you please forget about the things I did in front of you? Now that I think about it, I''m getting really ashamed of myself, please forgive me." Oh fuck, I can''t believe I masturbated in front of her, ugh, what the hell Martin, why did I do that? "Well, mortal, what I mean by that you can''t go back to your home is that you really can''t, you are currently in a different universe, mortal." "What?" Is she pulling my leg? Are you kidding me? I know I''ve done a lot of stupid things, but I''m not that stupid. "Look, Ben, you just told me I''m in Manhattan, so stop bullshitting me, please. I''m not that stupid." "Yes, you are in Manhattan, but this is a different Manhattan, mortal. You have a mission to accomplish, and this place was the one set for you to accomplish that mission. You don''t exist in this universe, mortal; you died in your universe, remember?" I...died, yes, I died. "A different universe? Really? It''s almost like you''re asking me to believe in magic Ben!" "Magic? Not quite, but is it more fantastic to think that you are in a different universe than to come back from the dead, mortal?" She taps my forehead and suddenly I remember everything. I try to deny it, but my mind is in chaos. I died, yes, I died? I''m dead? I can still taste my blood, how can I taste my blood if I''m dead? Oh fuck, it''s all coming back to me. Oh my god, I''m dead, and now I''m in a different universe! I start hyperventilating and panicking; my eyes widen and suddenly I feel like I can''t breathe. Why am I on my knees? I...i need to breathe. In and out. In and out. Fuck that was horrifying, I felt my death. "Not cool, Ben." I say with gritted teeth. "My name isn''t Ben, mortal." I close my eyes and bit back my retort. In and out. This conversations is going in circles and I need to know what the heck happened. "Huff..." I sit down on the floor. "Sit down Ben, we need to talk." golden eyes just stare at me for a few moments. Ugh, those are eyes are disturbing. "Okay, let''s talk, mortal." A conversation with Ben. The floor is hard and full of dirt, but it will have to do for now. "Okay, first, please put on something Ben, although I appreciate the eye candy I can''t talk to you while you''re naked." Another gust of wind, and now Ben has an exact copy of my clothes, right down to the bullet hole in the jacket. "Is this okay, mortal?" No, it''s not. I really wanted to see more but I need to focus. "Yes, thank you. First, you said something about my soul and then a mission. The magic ball wasn''t able to brief me on any of those topics, so please, explain." She seems to mull over something for a couple of minutes, but I wait patiently. "I will explain first your mission, mortal." I stop her before she can continue. "Please stop calling me mortal, I have a name you know?" "Okay." Uh, she/he? is surprisingly agreeable. "Then continue please." "Understood. As I was saying, you have a mission, Martin. My master is an incredibly powerful being, his battle prowess is unmatched, yet he is not perfect, for there are things that even he will struggle with." "And I guess that''s where I come in, right?" She blinks. "Yes, like I said, your soul is something truly special. Don''t you wonder how you were able to see me while I was invisible to everyone else?" I thought that I was crazy, that I was losing my mind, that she was just the byproduct of my fears. "It''s because you can see beyond your own reality, Martin, you are a medium to what others can not see or feel." "Oh, so I can see ghosts? Neat." She glares at me with anger. "Don''t interrupt me, mortal." "Sorry, please continue." She huffs with exasperation while shaking her head. "It''s not just that, humans with those abilities, although rare, are a dime a dozen across the multiverse." "Then why me?" "Because of how similar the structure of your soul is to ours, mortal. My species lives beyond the veil of reality, we exist in chaos, we live in the thin gap between each universe." Oh shit. Am I really dealing with Cthulhu and his lackey? "We live in a higher dimension, yet we cannot get out of there, we are forever trapped, we can''t cross the veil of reality that separates us." Thank God for that.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. "And although most of us don''t mind, others seem suffer because of it, my master is a being of incredible powers, able to dominate many and govern a good part of my home." I don''t like where this is going. "But he wants more, he isn''t content with the situation at hand." She stops and looks at me. Oh fuck, really? "I''m not helping Cthulhu and you invade other realities if that''s what you want from me." She blinks and looks at me with incomprehension. "Who is this Cthulhu, and why would we invade other realities?" Now I look at her with incomprehension. "Because... because that''s your thing? You corrupt people into insanity and that sort of stuff?" Maybe I shouldn''t have said that?. "That''s very racist of you, mortal." She gets up and then disappears. Fuck, what just happened?. ---- She really disappeared, fuck, did I just insult an eldritch horror? Wasn''t my soul healed? I can''t believe that I still can''t control my own mouth. "I hope she doesn''t kills me...again." I shake my head, at least I''m aware of it now, unlike before, baby steps. "Ben? I''m sorry my dude! It wasn''t my intention to insult you, can you please come out?" But no one answers me. Now that I think about it, what''s up with this place? It''s like someone abandoned the place in a hurry, I can see some empty buckets with paintbrushes in the corner and the walls are halfway painted. "Ben! C''mon man, it wasn''t with malicious intent." Nothing happens...what do I do now? If Ben was telling the truth, then I''m on the other side of America with no ID and no cash on me, this doesn''t look good, I stand up and try to walk to the entrance. "Ouch." And my feet hurts, almost forgot about that. Fuck, I was vaccinated right? Wait, this is a new body, was tetanus lethal? "What a mess..." I limp out of the building. Man this place looks horrible, this doesn''t look like Manhattan at all. Hopefully no one will mug me... "Bennifer, where the fuck did you bring me?" I look around, I should probably go to the hospital first. "I told you, this is Manhattan." Ben suddenly appears at my side. "Jesus fuck! Ben! What the fuck! Please don''t do that." My heart almost leaped out of throat. Ben grins at me. "Do what? I don''t understand." Oh this petty bastard, she definitely understands. Deep breaths. In and out. In and out. "I''m sorry about what I said earlier, Ben." She squints her eyes at me. "I don''t believe you but apology accepted." "And my name isn''t Ben, mortal." I deadpan at her. "My name isn''t mortal, Ben." She sighs. "Do you have to be so insufferable?" Mmmmm, yes. But I''m not going to say that out loud. "I said I''m sorry okay? So could we pleaseee continue that conversation from earlier?" She tilts her head to the side and nods. "Okay then, could we go back inside please? I already died once today and right now I don''t feel very safe here." She tilts his head to the other side and nods. Is it''s trying to be cute? Ugh, focus Martin. "Say Ben, you wouldn''t happen to have some healing powers or something like that?" I ask her as we head back inside. "Are you ill mortal? I just created this body." My eyebrow twitched, deep breaths. Martin, deep breaths. "My name is Martin, thank you very much. And I got hurt just now by stepping on a nail." "I see." She stares at me as if waiting for something. "Please?" I''m forced to close my eyes as another gust of wind appears. "Done, anything else mortal?" huh, I feel fine now. how bout that? "No, thank you for that, now you were saying something about the magic ball not being happy with the situation?" "Yes, you see...my master has always been captivated by the universe, with the stars and the many planets in it, and even more when those planets have life, he''s completely fascinated by everything that happens in them, no matter how insignificant." Oh, this is different from what I thought. "Sooo he doesn''t want to intervene with them?" "No, he only wishes to observe." She could be lying for all I know though. mmmmm what do I do. "There are some plot holes in your story Ben. I mean you are here right now and he is your master, he should be more powerful, right? How come he can''t do the same?" "The only reason I''m able to exist without being ejected into my dimension is because I''m anchored to you, Martin." She pauses as if considering how to continue. "Think of this, my dimension and the rest of the universe are separated by a piece of paper, but this piece of paper is near indestructible and impossible to cut through. that is unless someone like my master is involved. do you follow me Martin?" "Yeah, kinda? But I''m having a hard time trying to imagine all of this, to be honest." She nods at me. "Understandable, your mind may be too weak to process the sheer scale of the matter." My eyebrow is twitching again. Deep breaths Martin, deep breaths. "But the problem is that even when my master is able to tear through reality, the size of the tear is too small for him to break through, and to make it even more difficult, the tear will eventually repair itself." So the big eldritch god cannot traverse dimensions, nice to know. She continues. "And the final problem is that even in the hypothetical case that he is able to make a tear big enough? He won''t be here for long, the very universe rejects our presence, we cannot survive for long before we disintegrate." "Hold up, you said you were anchored to me, right?" She nods. "Correct." "Is that related to you not being killed by the universe?" "Also correct, Martin. Normally this would not be possible, but your soul shares enough similarities with mine that I can hide my presence by anchoring my soul to yours. Even though you see this body in front of you, in truth our souls are together, united to each other until the death of this universe." At that my brain stops functioning for a moment. "I got married? I got fucking married?" Fuuuuuuck, I''m barely 21! How on earth did this happen? No, no, no! Fuck no! "You forced yourself into me!?" Oh Lord, that sounds so wrong! "Yes Martin, As I told you before, what you saw earlier was nothing more than a projection of the body I created to survive in the depths of space." Wait, what? "That wasn''t your real body before? and why would you be in space?" "Martin I just told you, we live in a higher dimension and we can''t exist in this universe ,our true bodies are abstract to your perception. As for why I was in space? It was because I needed to be in a specific location during the planetary alignment for the plan to work." Ohhh so she wasn''t an eldritch horror, nice to know. "Okay, I think I''m following so far, your master is kinda like a birdwatcher and he wants to see more birbs, but he can''t because the universe rejects him and he is to big to pass through?" "This...yes." Huh, what do you know? There are weird guys like him even in other dimensions. Opening a game cafe So the magic ball was a bird watcher...that''s kinda funny in some way. "Okay, but I still don''t understand how I can help him." I''m not the smartest cookie, so while I understand some of the things she said I still don''t understand how I can help him." That''s why I''m here Martin. With your soul anchoring mine in this dimension I am able to exert my influence to a certain extent to alter this reality, although I can''t use my full powers, it''s enough for me to open a link to my master." "Wait, do you want me to travel the universe with you while your master watches? Like some sort of travel show?" She shakes her head. "No, you are too weak to travel the universe in the first place, and although it would fulfill my master''s wishes to a certain extent, it is not enough for him. "Then I''m lost, what do you want me to do?" "Open a game cafe." My brain short-circuits. "A what?" "A game cafe, don''t you know what they are?" She tilts her head. Ugh stop acting cute. "Yes, I know what a game cafe is, I just don''t understand what opening a game cafe has to do with helping your master." "Ah yes pardon me, you see while I''m able to exist in this reality because of you, the same can''t be done for my master, his soul is just too much for you to handle." "Still not seeing the relation Ben." She glares at me with anger. "Do.not.interrupt me." Geez, she really loves her monologues. "Okay sorry, slip of tongue." She huffs and continues. "Since that option is out, my master decided to take another course of action. You will act as a bridge between dimensions and my powers will take those souls to other dimensions, and when that happens? a link will be created between that person and the world they passed through."Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. Ummm that seems way overly complicated. "Do you remember where I live, Martin?" She looks at me expectantly. "Umm between dimensions?" She claps animatedly. "Yes! With each soul that goes to a different new dimension, a link will be created between that soul and that dimension, of course that is just not enough, those links will eventually fade in time, that''s why they need to create big and strong karmic threads with those worlds so that the bond remains strong." "So basically you want to smuggle people through dimensions?" "Yes, with every soul going to a new different universe a tiny hole will appear in that piece of paper, a hole that my master can use to peek through and observe." That sounds terribly wrong, is the magic ball a voyeurist too? "Ouch!" Fuck that hurts! "Why did you hit me Ben?!" She looks at me accusingly. "You just thought of some rude didn''t you?" "No? No! I didn''t! " "Yes you did!" "No I didn''t!" She goes to try another strike but this time I''m ready and dodge it. "Yes you did! My master told me so!" Fuck, the magic ball is still reading my mind? "Okay fuck, stop it, it''s your fault!" She stops and looks mortified at me. "My fault?" She whispers so softly I can barely hear her. "Well, yes? The way that you worded things just now? made it sound like he was a pervert." And she is crying now, ah man what the fuck. "I''m a worthless servant, I besmirched my master name..." She is crying really loudly now, fuck, now I feel bad. "Okay calm down, calm down it wasn''t in purpose, you probably didn''t even realize it." And she cries even harder now, what did I do?!?! Think Martin, think! "Okay look, this wasn''t your fault, it''s mine for thinking about stupid things, my soul was damaged remember? So my mind is still loopy because of it." At that she finally stops. Thank God! She sniffs. "Yes, it''s your fault, I...I didn''t do it, it''s your pervert self that distorts things." "Fuck you, I''m not a pervert!" "Yes you are! And my master says that if you do that again in front of me he will punish you!" I freeze at that. "My soul was damaged! You bastard! I didn''t even think about the things I did!" "Well, then don''t do it again!" "Fuck you!" "Fuck you mortal!" "Your mother was as fat as shub-niggurath!" She gasps and points her finger at me. "You don''t mean it!" Well guess what, if yo momma insults get to you then I mean it! "Yo momma''s so fat she has her own gravitational pull!" And from there things got out of control, she was throwing hands and of course so did I. ----- I''m not proud to admit it, but she had me in the ropes for a moment there, she has a mean hook, I almost fainted there. But then I skillfully used my larger body to get on top of her and gain control. Unfortunately, things got a bit weird there, so we had to separate after a while, and now? Now I''m in the corner looking at the wall of this room while she''s is in the other corner looking at the other wall. "This never happened, Ben, okay? And we''re never going to talk about this." I said while looking at the wall. "What happened? I don''t know what you are talking about, mortal." I couldn''t help but sigh loudly, this has been a stressful day. "What about the game cafe Ben?" "What about it?" "Ben, I don''t know if you realize it, but this place looks like a dumpster, no one will come here." She finally looks at me. "Ah yes, I forgot about that, we have to get out and my master will transform this place." I stand up and dust my clothes. "Well, then let''s get to it." It''s been a few hours since I got here and I don''t want to spend the night sleeping here. As we walk outside, Ben continues talking. "This place is a nexus between realities, the nexus is a cross-dimensional gateway which provides a pathway to any and all possible realities, this includes realities between realities." I raise my eyebrow. "Seems like a really important place." "It is, but the mortals of this world don''t know about it, they are barely aware that the planet as a whole is a nexus but they don''t know the exact location of it." And we are using this place to open a gaming cafe. "Anyway how is your master going to do this? I thought he couldn''t exert his influence since his soul wasn''t here?" Suddenly she looks sheepish. "Ben?" She''s staring at the pavement, pretending I don''t exist. "Ben, what are you not telling me?" "Ahem, well...you see, through me he can still act, very limitedly, but he can still do some things.¡± "And what''s the problem with that? It sounds like good news." She hesitates but answers me eventually. "Remember the part where his soul was too strong?" Oh yes that...I don''t have a very good feeling about this. "Yes? What about it?" "please don''t get mad when you wake up?" Mad? Why would I be mad?Before I could ask her I crumble like a house of cards while my vision is going black. Damnit Ben! A new day, a new trauma I woke up feeling refreshed, matter of fact I don''t even want to open my eyes. "So nice..." I murmur as I bury my face into the softest pillows I''ve ever felt. "Are they really nice, mortal?" Is that Ben talking? If my memory doesn''t fail me she''s the reason why I passed out, but I''m feeling way too comfortable now and I don''t feel like fighting. Mmmmmm what to do? I don''t even feel like making a retort. "Mmmhhhh" What''s up with these pillows? Is this heaven? I''ll never let them go. "You are drooling, mortal." Mmmmm Ben sounds rather close, is she trying to wake me up? "No, I''m not." "Yes, you are." "Leave me alone Ben, I want to sleeeeep." "But you''re drooling on my chest, mortal." What nonsense, I''m drooling on my pillows not her chest, what is she... saying? Fuck!. I jump out of bed as I scan the room. A small room with white walls and a simple nightstand, in front of me a twin bed with Ben. "Ben, care to explain why I was in the bed with you?" "I was monitoring your health, but you grabbed me while you were sleeping and used me as a pillow, quite the daring move if I say so, but I approve." I put a hand on my head, already feeling the migraine. "Ben, why did I pass out?" I try to remember, but all I get is a splitting headache. "My master had to exert his powers through me to create the game cafe, but since our souls are bound his power also went through yours." "Ben, do you realize that it''s because of shit like this that I''m so antagonistic towards you?" "Yes, but I''ve learned that it is better to say sorry than to ask for permission, you would have said no if I had asked you. Besides, you already took your payment for what happened, right?"Stolen novel; please report. This little shit! She is definitely going to do the same in the future! "What payment Ben! You use my body and then you pretend that we are even?" She points at her breasts, ah fuck, I was really drooling? They felt so good...maybe I should pass out more frequently? "Ahem, Well I guess we can consider ourselves even." "Pervert." She looks at me with apathy. Ouch, that hurts. "Whatever, Ben mind telling me where we are now?" "In the cafe, this is the second floor and this will be your future room." She explains while going to the door, I follow her. "The red door you see on your left is my room, the door on the right is the bathroom and the door at the end of the corridor will be the guest''s room." She succinctly explains while she walks to the stairs, the design is fairly simple but quite homely. "This will be my home in the future then..." "Yes, our home, currently since there are no connections between dimensions the power that my master can exercise is limited, but in the future, as connections increase, I will be able to receive more of his power, when that happens we will be able to expand the space of our home if we wish so." "Neat." She sighs with exasperation. "Why do I bother... anyway, the first floor will have the cafe and the kitchen." Woaaaah the place changed completely. Is this the same dumpster? "This is amazing Ben." "Don''t gape mortal, this is only the beginning." She says that but I remember this place being something of a crack house, the kind of place you''ll see and turn around immediately. But now? Now the whole place is tidy and clean with white walls and a bow window at the front with french doors with blinds, at the back, separated by a big wooden door is a kitchen island that looks like it came straight out of a kitchen catalogue. Near the wooden door at the back there is an office desk with a small monitor on. Fuuuuck, this place looks amazing. "But what are those pods Ben?" Affixed to the floor were 6 oval shaped pods, those things were fairly big too, around 8 feet? "You can gape at this, mortal." She smiled smugly. "But seriously, what are those things? If you ask me, it''s a bit of an odd choice of decor." Oh wow, it''s the first time I''ve seen her eyebrow twitch. "Those, you stupid and ignorant mortal, are the gaming pods of this cafe!" Why does she have to insult me at every chance she gets?! I yell at her. "Why do you have to be so mean!" She seems to have been taken aback by that, huh, maybe I should play the victim card more often? "This...this." "I''m sorry Martin, that was unnecessarily mean of me." Oh wow, she apologized and everything, I''m definitely playing victim more often. "Apology accepted. But how do those things relate to the cafe? What is a gaming pod?" She smiles at my question and puts on her glasses, wait a minute, where did these glasses come from? Hold up, when did she change her clothes? Why is she wearing a white shirt with a black skirt? "Glad you asked dear student." She said with one hand on her glasses and another on her hips, oh boy, did the genre change while I wasn''t paying attention? "You see, these pods come with two modes! The first mode will be the easiest one and won''t serve our purposes, but it is also the one that will cull the unnecessary customers from the real ones that we will need." She bent down to touch a button on the capsule. Oh Lord, no, magic ball, thank you for this! I''ll build a shrine in my room for you! The pod opened to reveal a very cushy interior. "Our customers only need to lie down in the pod. After that, the capsule will close and they will remain in a suspended state while their minds will be transported to the lobby of our virtual reality." "Wait, Ben, what if something happens to them while they''re in the pod? Or if someone tries to harm them?" She puffs out her big chest with pride. "Needless worries mortal! The capsules are nigh indestructible and after a customer enters them, their bodies will be in a suspended state, so nothing will happen to them!" Oh wow, her chest is really big, those buttons are fighting for their lives there. "Ahem, so about the first mode Ben?" "Ah yes, pardon me, the first mode will be a mix of a game and real-life experience, they will experience true virtual reality, they will feel pain, pleasure and even hunger. Of course, pain levels can be adjusted for beginners, but other than that, it will be like a second life." My eyes leave her chest as I process what she just said, I don''t have a good feeling about that... "A second life? Ben, I''m not sure if I''m being paranoid, but that seems pretty concerning, no, it is actually something quite dangerous Ben." She tilts her head and asks me. "How so, mortal?" "Ben, what we have here is something revolutionary, people will kill for this technology, people will start wars over something like this. How are we going to defend ourselves when people come knocking at the door?" "Ah I see, a valid concern mortal, As I told you before, we are at the nexus between realities. Although it may seem like this building is outside along with the other buildings in this neighborhood, in truth? It is not. We are currently in the rift between multiverses, not quite close to my home but very close to that piece of paper that separates my home from yours." What? "So if what you fear ever comes to pass? Worry not, due to how close we are to my home my powers in the shop will be strengthened, so if someone causes trouble, I can just open a rift and send them to the abyss." What? "Not only that! If things ever get out of hand, we can always close the door to this universe and open the door to another." What? "What? I''m sorry Ben, I think I need a moment to process this." Too much bullshitery for my normal self to process at once. cthulhu is coming for holidays I walked over to the office desk in the corner and sat down in the chair. Okay, maybe am I overreacting? I''m already in a different universe, and now? Now I''m just on a houseboat, floating in some kind of strange subspace, probably along with some cosmic horrors too. "Oh God, please let this be a nightmare." Clutching my head in both hands, I despair as I try not to think about the implications of what she just said. A hand touches my shoulder and I see Ben looking at me with concern. "Everything alright, mortal?" "Ben, we''re safe here, right?" She tilts her head in confusion. "Why wouldn''t we be safe?" I inhale deeply, and exhale. In and out. "Ben, you just told me we''re in some kind of weird rift, and before that, that the multiverse was real." "Yes?" "Ben, If the multiverse is real, then that means everything Lovecraft wrote is also real, and right now? We are in the kind of space that yog-sothoth would go on his holidays, don''t you see any of concern here?" "Ah, I see now, well my distant cousins are indeed quite troublesome, but you don''t have to worry about that, when Azathot woke up a few millennia ago he attempted to invade my master territory, and for that, he gave him a good thrashing! Azathot has been unconscious ever since and my cousins don''t bother us unless they want to take a beating." What? "What?" Brain not braining. Please restart the computer. Suddenly, one of the buttons on her shirt popped off and I found myself thanking God for his grace, I should also thank the magic ball, don''t you worry my man! I''ll definitely build you a shrine! I etched this moment into my memory, unfortunately it didn''t last before a gust of wind forced me to close my eyes. Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. "It was a bad idea to wear that outfit..." She mumbled something else but my monkey brain has rebooted and I can now focus on the matter at hand. "Let me get this right, your master thrashed the ruler of the outer gods? The one who is said to be nigh omnipotent and omniscient?" She puffed her chest with pride, even with a hoodie those things are huge. "Yes!! Do you understand how amazing my master is now, mortal?" I looked at her chest, they were massive and perky at the same time. That shouldn''t be possible. "He is indeed, I''m building a shrine for him in my room." Without warning I found myself again between the softest pillows in the universe. Ah, is this paradise? It''s a little hard to breathe but who cares! I''ll build you the coolest shrine, magic ball! I think I can die happily now. "You really will mortal!!? YES! I can''t believe you''ll follow my master now too! I''ll show you my shrine so you can take inspiration!" I thought it was some anime nonsense but I really can''t breathe. Ah, my brain is not getting enough oxygen, I''m trying to push her away from me, but she is too strong and doesn''t seem to hear me, she''s still freaking out and rambling about her master, the magic ball, ah fuck my little Johnson don''t do that, I need that blood or I''m going to pass out. Why are these things so soft... fuuuuck. ----- I woke up in my room with a mild headache. "That was unexpectedly dangerous..." I also think that I''ve awakened a new kink, that''s bad. "Nope...yeah, no ,not going there." Asphyxiation by soft pillows, dreadful. I walk down the stairs to the first floor to grab something to eat, my stomach is rumbling and I can''t keep passing out. "Ah, hello mortal. I''m sorry about what happened earlier, I got a bit overexcited and I''m still not quite in control of this form." Ben greets me looking quite embarrassed. "Ahem, don''t worry, mistakes happen." An awkward silence ensues, I should say something but I don''t know what. This is so awkward... "Coffee?" She offers me. "Ah yes, thank you." Hmmmm this is delicious. Now that I look at her she looks different, OH NO! "You look different Ben." I say with a strained smile. "Glad you noticed, mortal, after you passed out I realized there was something wrong with my body, the original body you saw was something I picked out from your memories, but after looking at the female mortals outside I realized that my body was not anatomically correct, so I decided to make some adjustments." "Is that so..." she looks at me quizzically. "Are you okay, mortal?" No, I''m not okay, I want to cry and scream! My heart is filled with sorrow to the point of death, that anime girl is now dead, and so is my heart. "Ah yes, sorry, just remembered the thing about Azathot." She nods in understanding. "Don''t worry, mortal, even if he wakes up again my master will beat him." I can''t help but imagine the magic ball with veins full of anger, beating black and blue a cosmic horror. "Hahaha, yeah the magic ball is awesome like that isn''t?" She puffs her chest in pride, huh, still pretty big, nice. "Yes! My master is the mightiest!" She''s kinda cute when she acts like that. "Well, I guess I don''t have to worry about Cthulhu coming for holidays then." I chuckled at that, Cthulhu coming on vacation. "About that...he is actually coming on vacation." I spit out my coffee. "WHAT!?" "Ben! You just told me we''re safe here!" Oh no, Cthulhu is coming. "Don''t worry, mortal, He is nothing like his brothers. Well, he used to be but he is a different man now!" "What do you mean Ben?" "Well...to start with, the human concept of good and evil is something alien to most of us, most of the time we don''t care about that kind of thing. We may occasionally obliterate civilizations...but it''s not on purpose! Like I told you before it is pretty hard to cross the veil of reality, so whenever we manage to, we mainly focus on managing our avatars, sometimes it''s hard to notice the little life forms around you. Have you ever minded not stepping on an ant, Martin?" My face turned ashen as I gripped the coffee cup tightly, my heart is palpitating wildly against my ribcage, why is it so loud?!? Oh no, she can probably hear it. Fuck,fuck, fuck, fuck,fuck,fuck. I was so lost in my horny that I completely forgot what Ben was. "Please...don''t be afraid of me." She came awfully close to me. I can feel her breasts pressing against my chest, a few minutes ago I would probably be having a hell of a boner, but right now? I''m shitting bricks because I''m seeing her golden eyes and I''m acutely aware that she is not human Her true form I don''t know at what point I stopped looking into her eyes. I unconsciously avoided her eyes by focusing on other things, like her chest. But now it''s as if a spell has been broken, and I''m now aware of something I had forgotten, her eyes are not human, I am filled with fear and I dare not move a muscle. I close my eyes. I feel a hand on my face caressing me. "Please, mortal, open your eyes, I will not hurt you." I try to answer, but I can''t, because I can still feel the glare of those eyes. I''m so scared I can barely move my throat. "Why don''t you talk to me, mortal..." She is trying to calm me down, but I really can''t, it''s something primal within me, something that screams with all its might that I must not look into its eyes, that I must run, that I''m going to die. I try to breathe, but I can''t. I can hear her crying. Her head is now in my lap. Fuck! Move! Move!!! Do something! "E...ey...eyes..." She immediately answers. "Eyes? What''s the matter, mortal? Is there is something wrong with your eyes? No, that wouldn''t make sense....unless" I can feel her leaving, but I still can''t move. I''m going to die again? Before I can contemplate my second death, the pressure is gone and I can breathe again. "Huff...huff...I...I can breathe." "Look at me, Martin." Ben appears behind me, but I run to the second floor without hesitation and barricade myself in my room. "What in the flying fuck was that." I''m huffing and puffing. Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. "I couldn''t even breathe, Jesus Christ, what was that." I can hear Ben crying through the door asking me to open the door so we can talk, but I''m way too scared to even consider that an option, I should have run out into the street, this was a bad idea. "Okay, Martin, think, I need a plan B." Can I jump out the window? Was the front door the only one that connected to the real world? Mmmmm options, options. Ben stopped banging on the door, in fact, she is quiet now. Did she give up? I pressed my ear to the door to hear if she was still there, and all I hear is a quiet sobbing. ... ... What do I do? My instincts are screaming at me that I should run, that I should jump out the window and get the hell out of here. ... Why do I feel so bad? I mean, she literally told me that she wouldn''t notice even if she stepped on me. She also killed me. ... She did apologize for that. ... Ughhhh I can''t believe myself! "Ben?" "Mortal?" "Mortal! Yes! I''m here!" She responded immediately. "Look, Ben, I''m not sure what happened, but I''m going to keep the door closed for now, is that okay?" "Do you hate me?" Do I? No, not really. It''s probably the other way around, I''m not sure. "No, I don''t hate you, Ben." "Then why don''t you open the door??" .... Why indeed. "I''m not opening the door, Ben." I can hear her crying again, but I''m not opening this door, My heart aches every time I hear her cry, but I can''t... I really can''t. My legs are already shaking just by talking to her. Matter of fact, I wonder if there is something wrong with me, why I''m talking with her? I''m an idiot? I hear her crying again, and my reason is gone, yeah, probably an idiot. "I don''t hate you, Ben, it''s just that... I''m afraid, I''m horribly afraid of you right now, I''m so scared that I can hardly control myself, if I see you again, I''ll definitely run away." She cries even harder. "I''m sorry...I''m sorry, but your eyes! When I looked into your eyes...they were so golden...they were so.... inhuman, something broke within me and I can''t control myself, at least not right now, I''m so sorry Ben." "You could see my eyes?" She sounds pained and broken, but she also seems surprised. "Yes? Very golden and very disturbing." She falls quiet. "Ben?" I try again. "I...see, yes, I understand now, you saw my eyes." "I just said that Ben." "No, you don''t understand, you truly saw my eyes, eyes are the windows of the soul, mortal." Her voice is still cracked, goddammit!! Why do I feel this way? "Wasn''t that just a quote of Shakespeare?" "However, it is true, it seems you were a stronger medium than we originally thought..." I saw her soul? Or at least part of it? If she is telling the truth then it would explain things, she keeps saying mortal this and mortal that but I''ve never thought too much about it...she is a literal eldritch goddess and I was stupid enough to gaze at her directly. "Fuck!" Oh dear God, how I''m alive? Fuck! "Ben, quick question: how am I alive? Semele was fucking incinerated when she saw Zeus, so how am I alive?" "This...you never beheld my true form, mortal, what you saw was only the reflection of my eyes through the eyes of this avatar I created." What? Oh yeah, that makes sense, otherwise I''d be a puddle of red goo on the floor. Okay, okay, deep breaths Martin. "I''m sorry Ben, I''m sorry I ran away, but I''m scared." She''s crying, it''s soft but I can tell. "I...I will open the door, but I''m not going to look at your face, is that okay Ben?" "Yes! Yes! You don''t have to fear me, mortal! I will never hurt you!" You don''t have to, you don''t need to want to hurt me, but you will just by accidentally stepping on me... But I won''t tell her that, I''ve already hurt her enough. "I''m opening the door now Ben, just try to control your strength alright?" She shouts at me excitedly. "Yes! Yes! Now open the door so I can hug you mortal!" Oh boy, what am I doing? The moment I opened the door she tackled me and we fell onto the bed. She is hugging me tightly while burying her face in my chest, ah fuck, she is full of snot. "¡ªI will never harm you, mortal, and I will get something for my eyes! So you can look at me! And I will be careful! And I... And I will take care of you, mortal! Yes! I will take care of you!" She''s speaking so quickly I can barely understand her. So I just hug her, I''m not really sure what to do in this situation, I''m still shitting bricks but at the same time I don''t want to hurt her. So I hug her tight while staring at the ceiling. Second mode, hell mode After a while she calmed down, and I sort of got used to the constant feeling of dread and death. I''ve been treating this situation too lightly, without realizing that although she doesn''t want to hurt me, she doesn''t need to. I''m knee deep in shit. The magic ball was pretty chill and she seems harmless, but they are Gods. Down to earth and pretty fucking real gods, I almost died just by seeing the silhouette of the magic ball, and the reflection in Ben''s eyes plunged me into a catatonic state. Fuck. One little mistake is all it takes and I''m gone. "You seem tense, mortal, is something the matter?" And I''m cuddling with a God, this is not going to end well. "Ah yes, you said that Cthulhu was coming? I thought you didn''t get along." "Ah yes, the outer gods and our pantheon never got along, but after the fight that my master had with Azathoth, they disbanded, and they started to do their own thing. Cthulhu, like me, wasn''t really high in the hierarchy, so he was sealed only for a few thousand years. After that? He started to drift away from his family, he seems pretty indifferent most of the time, and he doesn''t seem interested in the chaos and corruption thing. Nowadays he likes to collect shiny rocks, and he hangs out with us." That...that was a lot to take in. She talks about thousands of years as if they weren''t much, and Cthulhu is a chill guy? Maybe a loner? Should I go to the beach and pick up some fancy rocks? Maybe he won''t even look at me. "Wait, you told me that you couldn''t pierce the veil of reality. How come a guy like Cthulhu and the other guys are roaming around the universe?" "Ah, yes, but I was referring to my pantheon. We don''t know how, but Azathot left our home a long time ago to explore the universe. Cthulhu and many others were born outside, They, like Azathoth, can come and go at will." Noted, the evil eldritch gods actually can pierce the veil of reality and invade other worlds. As if noticing my worry Ben said. "Don''t worry, mortal, the elder gods beat them up from time to time so they don''t cause trouble." Stolen novel; please report. Ah yeah, more gods who can probably smite me just with their gaze, yay. At least they are not evil. "Quick question, Ben, if the outer gods are real, then what about Satan?" "Mephistopheles? He is a moron." What? "Are we talking about the same Satan here? The fallen angel that rebelled against God and everything?" "Ahhh, that Satan, well...to be honest, I don''t know." "You don''t know?" Color me surprised. "No, all that I know is that my master told me to be careful around fallen angels. I told you mortal, I''m not very high in the hierarchy, and that was the very reason why I was chosen for this. I can create avatars and leave from time to time , like now, unlike my master who is still trapped, but lesser ones like me? We can still scurry through the tears he makes." I feel a pit in my stomach. I wasn''t that serious when I talked about making a shrine, but now? Now I know that Satan is very real, and so are the various evil variants of him, FUCK! Ignorance is really a bliss. "Is it too much, mortal?" She asks me softly. "Yes... last week I almost committed suicide, and now? And now I should thank you for killing me, it scares me to even think what would have happened to my soul otherwise." I hug her seeking comfort, but I find none. I''m severely aware of how insignificant I am now. "Don''t worry, mortal! Your soul and mine are inseparable now! So nothing will happen to you." Ben, that doesn''t reassure me, but I''m not telling her that, right now? I''m terribly afraid of her. I should probably cooperate with that mission, yes, my soul is at stake here. "Ben?" "Yes, mortal?" "Could you please continue your explanation of the gaming pods from earlier?" She shifts her body in the bed. "Can we do that later? I like doing this." She hugs me tighter. "We don''t have to get up, just tell me about it." "Well then, as I told you, the first mode will be virtual reality, it will be a kind of tutorial so we can know which mortals will be eligible for the second mode. They can die as many times as they want in that mode, they will not really die, so it''s all okay." I doubt it, I''ve already died once and I''m already quite traumatized. "They can adjust the level of pain, right?" "Yes, also the time dilation between the virtual world and our world will be 7 to 1, so they will have plenty of time to acclimatize and learn." "Time dilation? Really?" "Yes! To create karmic threads strong enough in the worlds, the players will have to create big waves and heavily influence the history of the worlds that they will arrive in. To ensure that, we set the time dilation between worlds to be big enough so that the players could grow quickly." I fall silent at that. We are playing God. We will send people to alien worlds just so they can do crazy shit on them and create karmic threads, and I am afraid they will not necessarily have to do good deeds to achieve this. "Ben?" I whispered her name, I''m afraid. I''m afraid of what''s going to happen. "Yes, mortal?" "Can I choose who I send to those worlds?" She is silent. "Please, Ben? You will make me very happy if you allow me that, we can hug whenever you want if I''m happy Ben." She perks up at that. "Really?" "Yes, Ben, I promise." She squeezes me tightly. "It''s a promise then, mortal." A sigh of relief escapes me, baby steps Martin, baby steps. "So, if I''m guessing correctly, the first mode will be a simulation of the world, and the second mode will be your actual arrival into the world?" "That''s right, not everyone is capable of changing the world, only the bravest and most skilled mortals are capable of doing so, and even then, they will still sometimes fail in their missions. In order to send them to other worlds constantly, we will need to create clones of their bodies in the new worlds, after that, we will need to send their souls to the clones and stabilize their bodies so that a rejection does not occur. It goes without explanation how difficult this is, mortal, so only those who have completed the first mode and done so in an exemplary manner will be able to use the second mode." ... I have a long road ahead of me. Rise and shine, Mr. Freeman. I woke up feeling unbelievably tired. I stopped asking questions after she told me about the second mode. I''m not a hero, I''m not someone special, I was just a regular dude with depression who was trying to get by, and now? Now I don''t know. It''s too much, it''s way too much, and I''m not sure if I can handle this. "Are you awake, mortal?" Oh yes, the clingy eldritch goddess. Why is she so attached to me anyway? Even though I am important given the rarity of my soul, she is way too attached to me. "Ben, can I ask you a question?" "You may, mortal." "Why are you so attached to me? I know you''ve been watching me for months, but I barely know you." "Isn''t it obvious, mortal? I told you before, our souls are bound, we are soulmates now, and we will continue to be until one of us dies permanently." ... Oh yes, that. I don''t know how to feel about that, so I''ll ignore it for now, I have more pressing issues right now. I try to get up, but I can''t. "Ben, can you please let me go?" "Are you going to run away from me again, mortal?" I sigh. "No, Ben, but contrary to you, I experience hunger and I require food in order to survive." "Mmmm I understand now. You can go and satisfy your mortal needs, I''ll stay here so that my scent permeates your bed." I don''t even know how to respond to that, so I just left. ---- Thank God, no, thanks magic ball. At least he was aware of my mortality and put food in the refrigerator. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. "This is really good..." What''s up with the food anyway? Even the coffee is amazing. Done with my breakfast, I wander around the cafe, although it looks nice, it''s rather empty. We should probably bring in a couple of tables so customers can relax. "Done with your meal, mortal?" "Done with your perversions, Ben?" She''s blushing, it''s good to know she knows shame. "I was just marking my territory, nothing more, mortal." Again, I don''t know how to answer to that, so I''ll ignore it. "How do I use the pods, Ben? I tried to use them, but nothing happened." "It''s because you must authorize their use, mortal. Come, I''ll teach you." She approached the office desk and sat down. "First, simply touch the monitor, and it will activate, watch." She touched the center of the monitor with her index finger, and the display activated, revealing a purple background with a series of icons. "The first icon with the shape of a capsule represents the six pods you see." She tapped the screen on the capsule, and a row of numbers appeared next to it. "As you probably noticed, each capsule has a number; simply tap the number on the screen to habilitate the capsules." Huh, touch screen, fancy. "If you want to set a timer for their use, simply double-tap the number on the capsule, and a timer will appear." "It''s quite simple." I commented offhandedly. "Yes, we are the only ones who can use the screen, so there is no need for fanfare." Pragmatic, I like that. "Now the second icon with the shopping cart will be for your and the customers use; after a player creates an account, they will also be able to see this icon in their lobby. The difference is that you can customize which items you want to be visible for them." "Neat, so we can buy in-game items there? Like skins and shit?" She glared at me. "Language, mortal, and no." "Sorry, but if it''s not for that, then what is it for?" "So they can buy items of other worlds, what else?The players will need an incentive to do this, my master is aware of how fragile mortals are, and the tasks they must accomplish are daunting to say the least, so this will be our carrot. Who doesn''t want to be more powerful after all?" My eyes widen at that, this is very fucking bad. Give ordinary folks incredible powers? I''ve read enough comics, and my faith in people is low enough to see how this could go wrong. You neighbor is annoying you? Smite him, that prick is looking you ugly? Throw a fireball at him, you don''t want to follow the law? Throw lightning from your hands to the cops. I''ll probably be bald by 30, this is too much stress. Oh yes! "I can customize the shopping list?" "Yes, Why?" "Nothing, nothing, I''m just asking, how do we buy these items?" "Well, my master was inspired by the achievement system of your world''s games, so this will be similar; players will earn achievement points in both modes based on their actions. With these points they can buy items in the in-game store.¡± Oh, okay, so it''s not going to be simple, nice to know. "The next icon with the star displays the available games. In the same vein as the other icons, you can also manage which games the players may play." She tapped the star, and two images appeared next to it, my eyes widened like saucers. The first image just said bioshock and the next was a lambda sign. "Currently, only the first game is available because my master is having difficulties accessing the dimensions of the second. The man in the suit is quite bothersome, and we can''t deal with him just yet." I think I''m about to have a heart attack. "You are having trouble with G-man?" She looks at me. "Is that his name? Yes, we are currently trying to reach an agreement with him so that we can use the worlds where his champion failed." I''m not going to play half-life, I love the game more than anything in the world, but Ravenholm was pure nightmare stuff, and that''s with graphics from a 2004 game, I''m not touching that game with a ten-foot pole. "Anyway, the final icon will be the most important one for you, mortal, if you ever feel in danger and I''m not around, press the red button and I''ll come save you." "You are going to leave me Ben?" That''s great! And also very bad, I can barely fight, how am I supposed to defend myself if something happens? "I don''t want to leave you mortal, but I have duties to attend to, I will still come by from time to time, so don''t worry!" I don''t want to be with her right now, I don''t hate her per se, but right now I''m terribly scared of her. I try to pretend that those shining golden eyes are not there by looking at her chest which is nice, but that''s not a solution. There is some sort of pressure emanating from them; even when I''m not looking at her, I can still feel them on the back of my head somehow. It''s hard to breathe around her, and the constant feel of death is wearing me down. But I don''t wanna hurt her and I''m scared of saying that. So I lied. "I''m going to miss you, Ben." She stood up and hugged me. "Fear not, my beloved, if anyone tries to harm you, I will tear them apart in thousands of pieces and I will tear their souls asunder." Yup. Eldritch goddess. I think I pee myself a little. Stress eating Currently I''m stress eating, also apparently there is a speedrun death achievement, I''m not proud of that. And I have acquired a new trauma, kinda like an achievement too, death by drowning. I thought I drowned in my own blood on my first death, but hey, what do you know? It was the bullet, and also it was a very quick death. The slow and agonizing death of having your lungs filled with water while you desperately attempt to survive... Nightmare stuff. Also an extremely painful death too, way too fucking painful and way too real, had to ask Ben about it. Was it really virtual reality? I already died once, and I know very well the feeling of passing away. For the game to also imitate that? Doubtful. So after lying absolutely still for five hours straight after my second death, I somehow managed to get my brain to reboot and walk away from the pod of death, I''m not going back there, ever. And the first thing I did? Was to ask Ben, what the hell was that, and what do you know? It really was virtual reality, with a few extra touches, the magic ball felt it was necessary to emulate everything, and by everything I mean every single thing you could possibly imagine, that includes death. How did he manage that? Her answer was ''my master is awesome like that''. Fuck. Apparently she likes the phrase, And that is how I am now stress eating in the kitchen, because the mother fucking gods thought it was necessary for us mortals to feel our own deaths down to the last detail in their little simulation game. Admittedly, it was dumb of me to go and play the game immediately like that, but c''mon , she said it was virtual reality, and my stupid ass thought it would be like the virtual reality we have, just slightly better... I hate this. I hate this situation. I hate being constantly afraid and I hate having to die twice already. I also hate that my second death was so fucking painful. If I die again, I hope it''s from a bullet to the chest or head, to make it quick. I hate having to worry about things like that. I hate that Ben is still here. I hate those golden eyes. I hate being so afraid of them. I hate not having the courage to admit it out loud. I hate a lot of things right now. But constantly stabbing an apple won''t work. Now that I think about it, I didn''t buy groceries, did Ben go grocery shopping while I was having my mental breakdown in the capsule after my second death? How thoughtful of her. I''m probably going to develop stockholm syndrome and fall in love with her later on, gonna need to check on that later, plus she''s been giving me some serious yandere vibes lately.... But do I want to speak to the eldritch goddess about it? Hmmmm. If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Nah. It''s probably nothing. It''s not that I''m afraid of her to the point of avoiding asking him things like that, yeah, just basic self preservation, nothing else. "sigh..." Altough stabbing the apple is fun, it won''t solve my problems and it''s not healthy to dwell on them for so long either. But what do I do? Now that I think about it, I need to fix some problems, first I need money, right now I''m dependent on Ben and if she leaves then I''m screwed, I also need some sort of entertainment if I''m going to stay here in the foreseeable future, I''ll need something to keep myself occupied. "you seem thoughtful, mortal." "Oh hi, Ben. Yes, matter of fact I wanted to speak with you, and thank you for the lunch, it was lovely of you." And she''s just staring at me, like she''s expecting something else? Ah, I''ve never been good at these things. "..." "you look beautiful today?" Ah, she''s smiling now. "Ahem, I wanted your help in a couple of things." "Do you need my help? Do not hesitate to ask, mortal, who do you wish to exterminate?" She said she was different from the outer gods, and I really want to trust her, but when she says shit like that so casually.... Forget about it. "Well, you said you were going to be gone for a while and the problem is that I don''t have money, and I need money to buy food like any other mortal. I was wondering if you could help me get some things back from my old place, like the money I saved and some things from my apartment, if possible?" " it''s possible. " And she''s quiet again, perhaps she wants something in return? " Do you want something in return, Ben? " She''s smiling again. " Indeed, I desire progeny. " Error 404, please reboot. " mortal? " " Sigh, mortal, are you catatonic again? You shouldn''t look me in the eyes." I may be catatonic, but not because of that, I don''t think I can do it, at least not yet, sure she is hot as hell but also golden eyes of death. Also, how? I''m pretty sure that she had something bigger than my Johnson there. "Ben, I am not sure if you understand how human anatomy works, but you cannot have a baby if you have a dick." "I have both." "what?" "I have both reproductive organs, don''t worry mortal, now let''s create babies." Nonononono, fuck no. "Wait! Wait! Ben we can''t!" She tilts her head to the side. "Why not, mortal?" "Because... Because we haven''t kissed yet, yes! Human relations have an order of things! Sure strangers can have sex and everything, but we''re not strangers, we''re more, aren''t we, Ben?" She stares at me with skepticism. "You are lying." "No! I swear to God that I''m not!" "Do you swear, mortal?" "Yes! Yes!" Think Martin, think! " And... And the Bible says that we must be married before that, yes, the Bible says so!" " What is a Bible, mortal?" " The bible? Uhhh the sacred scriptures of my religion. And it says that we must be married, yes, so we can''t do it!" Honestly, the Bible is mostly full of contradictions and also mostly full of shit on some chapters, but I''m not saying that now. " Is that so... I must educate myself on your religion then, mortal. Very well then, if anything happens while I''m gone, press the red button, press it once if the threat is small. I contracted hell servants for protection, they are cheap and efficient. If the hell servant fails, then press twice and my pet will appear, if my pet also fails, then press thrice and I will be notified." I simply bobbed my head up and down. "I will return soon mortal, defend our lair until then." She spun around and made a weird gesture with her hands, a portal appeared in the kitchen. "Take care, Ben." I blinked and she was gone. ... This is the last time I''m asking Ben for stuff. The perfect soldier After finishing my meal I went back to the front, it''s been 2 days and I think it''s time to do what they asked me to do, open the damn cafe. There was a simple sign at the door, with an open in one side and closed at the other. I just flipped the sign and went back to my desk. Truthfully? I don''t really expect anyone to enter, Although the house has been renovated and looks beautiful, it is located in the kind of place where you can get mugged even in broad daylight. The neighborhood as a whole is composed of abandoned buildings and dilapidated houses of people too poor to live anywhere else. I occasionally catch glimpses of people through the windows, but based on their attire and the barely concealed firearms in their jeans, they are primarily gang members and homeless people. I wonder what the hell happened here, it''s almost like someone tried to demolish this specific area. ---- After a couple of minutes I almost fell asleep but the little bell on the door rang and that means customers! Or so I hoped. 3 men entered to the cafe, all 3 with guns in their hands. All three with a look on their faces like someone owed them money, the one in front had his entire face tattooed and was clearly the leader, as the other two stood behind him. "boy, yo'' da owner?" "I don''t have any money" I probably shouldn''t have said that, he looks pissed now. He pointed his gun at me and asked me again. "I said, yo'' da owner?" "No, no sir, I am not, I just work here." He lowered his gun. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. " What the fuck be dis place, boy ?I peeped a sign out front sayin¡¯ Ben¡¯s cafe, but I ain''t seein'' no tables or nothin'', so spill it." He pointed his gun at me again. " What the fuck r'' yo'' selling? " Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. What do I do? Should I tell them? They''re exactly the type of people I don''t want using the pods. His finger is even on the trigger, freaking asshole! What about gun security?! " Boy, i''m goin'' ta count ta 3, so spill it. " I''m going to die again? If I lower my arm to press the red button he is going to shoot me, if I tell him then it''s the same as killing more people, he is already threating someone he never meet before with a gun, what would he do with something more? Is it worth it? Are the lives of people I don''t know worth more than mine? Maybe he won''t believe me? But what if he does? what happens when he enters the pod? I haven''t even restricted the items on the shop list, I haven''t even seen them! "3" He''s definitely going to survive longer than me, What do I do then?? He will know that there is something special here, What if he survives long enough in a single attempt and earns enough points? He is definitely going to notice the game shop. "2" Maybe he won''t notice it... Then again, with one glance, he realized there was something else here. The plasmids are nothing short of super powers, What would a man like him do with something like that? But is it really my problem? I already died once, I don''t want to die again. "1" And then I remember people like Mr. Douglas... I was just a useless piece of shit and yet, good men like him, who didn''t have to take care of me, did. This moron could probably ruin the lives of innocent people just because he can. "0" "time''s up boy" ... I''m going to die again, aren''t I? "I''m not telling you." I closed my eyes. Ben is going to skin you alive asshole. His voice turned cold. "wrong choice boy" The loud popping noise of the gun exploded in my ears, but the pain never came. Confused I opened my eyes. "That wasn''t the smartest move, son." A giant of a man suddenly was there in front of me, he was a head taller than everyone else in the room, probably 6''4? He was built like a Greek god with arms like pythons and a giant back filled with nothing but muscles straining against his shirt. His hand crushed the hand and the gun of the thug, the smoking barrel of the gun was pointing toward the ceiling. The thug screamed in pain and the other two finally seemed to realize that suddenly there was a man in front of them, but before they could do anything the giant with impossible speed kicked one of the thugs in the chest with such strength that he was sent flying against the wall, the third one widened his eyes in fear of what he saw, and I don''t blame him, a human shouldn''t be able to move so quick. He attempts to raise his gun, but it was futile, the giant in one fluid motion changed his stance and he delivered a crushing uppercut to the third thug HOLY SHIT! He actually sent the guy flying with that uppercut. " Are you okay, son?" I wanted to answer that YES! I was more than okay, that was fucking awesome! That''s the coolest thing I''ve ever seen in my whole life, besides Ben bullshitery of course, but I think that the shock was too much because I fell like a sack of potato''s, my ears were ringing and I could feel my heart beating in my chest, I couldn''t breathe. The giant was in front of me in a second arresting my fall. " Calm down son, look at me." He was a stupidly handsome blond man with blue eyes. " Focus on me, breath with me." I tried to focus on him and do what he told me. There was something compelling in his voice. " That''s right, inhale and then exhale, let''s do it again, inhale and exhale." In and out Martin, In and out. " Stay here son, I will deal with the rest." He stood up and the sun of the afternoon shone on him, he was perfect, if God created man in his own image, that image is most likely the one I see in front of me. I think I have a hero in my heart now... I want to be like him.