"HOW STUPID CAN YOU BE!"
My mind blanked. Was that a voice? No way, I must just be going crazy again. I'm in a black hole after all. Either way I don't like to be called stupid, so I reached out with my mind to reply to myself never expecting to connect to a very annoyed and arrogant mind.
"THATS RIGHT DUMB ASS IM TALKING TO YOU!" Yelled the strange presence from beyond the darkness.
"Now hold up I resent being compared to an Ass! The donkey is a proud and noble creature, don't disrespect it by lumping me in with it." I replied calmly, even though my mind was in termoil. A conversation, an actual conversation, it had been millennia since I last conversed, and that was with a psychic who kept trying to help me move on.
The voice's mind seemed stunned for a second as though it didn't expect such a reply. Choosing to ignore the foolish statement, the disembodied voice continued "Honestly I never, in all my years, met a god foolish enough to jump into a black hole without a set destination. Are you trying to be ripped apart and hurled across the dimensions? Seriously are you some kind of moron?"
This time it was my turn to be stunned. I hadn't expected to be called a god by someone living inside a black hole.
"IM NOT LIVING IN THE BLACK HOLE YOU... deep breaths... Let's start over. My name is Ansarah, and I am the primordial god of travel. May I ask your name and title strange one?"
"Well Ansarah, My name is James Marshall and I am a former human, current soul, as for a title it would probably be wanderer. No wait Adventurer sounds better, definitely Adventurer. And I'm not a god."
"What do you mean, 'not a god' your soul is ancient and you survived the initial plunge into the black hole, though granted if I didn't catch you you'd be dead like any god who tried to pass through the universes gateway without a planned destination, that still means your soul is more powerful than any typical mortal."
"Well I don't know what to tell you, I got hit by lightning and became a wandering soul, been like this for a long time. If that makes me a god then there must be dozens of others out there like me. And if that was the case wouldn't the title god be pretty cheap. Wait you mentioned the 'universes gatway' what exactly is that."
The voice seemed to take forever to respond. Ansarah was conflicted she didn't quite understand what was happening nor why this soul would exist outside the cycle of reincarnation. Once the human vessel died the soul should have been claimed by the god of that world and sent back into the natural order. No soul should be wandering freely without a vessel, unless its a newly born god that's yet to come into their celestial form, which is what she mistook James for. But if what he said was true then somehow he has slipped through the cracks and become a wondering spirit. This would usually result in a corrupt soul, but this 'James Marshall' seems stable and is actually capable of holding a conversation.
Ansarash's voice seemed to soften as the primordial god of travel spoke "The universes gateways, or black holes are points in space that branch out and connect to other universes. Through the aid of a god of travel one may pass through any of these gateways as long as one knows their exact destination. But when you jumped in head first without a second thought there was no destination and therefore you were about to be scattered across every universe and every dimension all at once."
An uncontrolled shiver seemed to crawl up the area that was once my spine. The thought of being eviscerated wasn't pleasant. But my mind was too focused on two words 'other universes' I trembled at the thought.
Seemingly prepared for my next question Ansarah began to explain how each event in our universe causes a ripple that creates another universe that's exactly the same, the only difference being the last decision you made. That's the multiverse theory, billions of people making billions of choices creating infinite earths. Some so different they would make your hair stand on end just thinking about it and some so similar you could spend your entire life searching and never find what makes it different. And these are just the universes created through the decisions made on earth. Their are countless other planets, in other dimensions, with countless other species making countless more choices. It's why travelling between them requires exact knowledge of where you wish to go.
There are even universes that are seemingly identical to the fantasy stories I read as a kid and ones similar to movies I watched before leaving earth. The primordial was very kind and respectful, she answered all my questions about all the different worlds and universes. Explaining how human imagination is really a portal into another dimension and how most writers follow their counterparts in those worlds while creating their stories. Some don't like the events that occur, while others love them, so each book, movie, comic and manga will have the writers own preference seeped into them, changing the world to suit their needs or purpose.
We spoke for what seemed like years and in the end I found my self deeply respecting this being. The knowledge she posses and the experiences she's been through are beyond typical comprehension. We stayed there, in the endless darkness conversing for a long time. But all things must come to an end.
"So James, since I cant shirk my duties much longer and your god seems not to care about the destination of your soul, would you like me to send you somewhere. I could send you anywhere in any universe, so think carefully before you answer."
And think I did. But in the end there was only one place I could think of that had the excitement, combat, unique powers and most importantly the adventure that I so craved. But not only that, all this time alone and this newly found friend in the darkness taught me that I really didn't want to be alone. I was alone all my life even before I died, so this time around I'll have friends and family, and people that care for me. After all "the sea's a big place and no matter who you are ain't nobody in this world born to be alone." Those words came to mind as I thought were I wanted to go. I refuse to turn my back to the wrongdoings in front of me, this time I'll live with no regrets.
"There's only one place that really comes to mind. The manga I was holding when struck by lighting before I got to read it and only finished after I died. I've decided. Thank you for all you've told me and thank you for talking to me, but I'm ready to go now... I'd like to be sent into the world of One Piece."