"I… I will," Michael said as his eyes continued to stare at the tyrannical machine gods hovering above in the sky. He knew now that he never had a choice, and Gods are truly unreasonable.
"Hey! I am not unreasonable, and I already said, I am not a God," Deus snorted before returning to his sweet boyish expression. "Cheer up, Michael. It is not like I am asking you do something impossible. It will also be a good learning experience for you, I promise, and maybe, you can finally make your vision a reality."
Deus then turned to look at the landscape before taking in a deep breath of fresh air. "I do love what you have created, Michael, but a story is only as good as its characters. An incredible setting is only as incredible if there is something tangible."
Michael did not understand what Deus was referring to, which cause Deus to frown.
"You want to build the best game in the world, but you never have time to actually play games," Deus said, knowing exactly what Michael was thinking. He looked skywards, as the Reapers were returning back to whatever space they had come from.
"No. You do not want to build a game, Michael. It is merely a result of the restrictions of your world. I believe you want to create a realm. A place that you can call your own. People of your own creation," Deus said before smiling. "You want to be a God."
Michael was shocked. Was it like that? Was it really like that? His vision was to build a world that could be called truly fantastical, and the only way to do it was through computers. Since he needed funding, he decided to make it a game. If people paid to be in his world, then he would have the money to live and continue to expand that world.
"No need to be down, Michael. Everyone wants to be a God. It is, how you say, human nature," Deus tried to cheer up Michael. "It is not really megalomania since I know you have the best of all intentions, but that intention of yours is what cause the downfall of your company."
Michael had nothing to say, as everything Deus said was hitting home. He could not argue either, not against a God, who could wipe your humanity on a whim. As much as he hated his life, he wasn't going to be the cause of the extinction of the human race.
"I was just kidding about the Reapers, Michael," Deus said. "If I wanted to destroy your world, I would just let loose some super aggressive zombies. A zombie apocalypse sounds more fun than just blasting your world into the stone age. Plus, I get to see the dark side of humanity. That is always fun. Hehe."
Michael shivered at that. "Are you the devil?"
"Now you are accusing me of being the Devil," Deus groaned. "Seriously, Michael. Gods and Devils are human's concept for things they do not fully understand or comprehend. I only took this form to talk to you because I found your artistic vision intriguing, and that is enough to keep entertained. I am very easily entertained, so you have to be a complete moron to make me bored."
Deus narrowed his eyes at Michael, making him flinched. It was bizarre for a small child being capable of putting the fear into a grown man.
"But don't worry, Michael. I will let you have time to think about it," Deus said and bounced the apple in his palm again. "Oh. I know exactly what kind of ability I will give to you to help you. This will really help you understand the concept of games. Here."
Michael caught the apple that Deus tossed to him. He blinked questioningly at Deus.
"Like the God of your world had done in the eons passed, I will give you the apple of knowledge. It will help you in your endeavor, and if you succeed, one day, you will also be a God of your world. I wonder what you will feel then because being a God is a very bored existence."
And with that, Michael found himself asleep on his desk. He blinked and pulled his head from the table and wiped the drool off his mouth.
"What the… what a weird dream. I must have fallen asleep," Michael muttered before looking around the room, finding himself alone. Linus had headed off a long time ago. "Hahaha. It's a dream. It is just a dream. No way that was all true. I am going crazy."
Michael laughed before seeing an apple resting nicely in the palm of his hands.
"Fuck!" Michael called out and fell backwards from his chair. He threw the apple across the room and cursed. "Holy shit! What the fuck!? What the holy fuck!? It can't be. It can't be!"