After he got ready, we left that place. I don't know where that is but we left it anyway. He tapped on a portion of the wall and it opened revealing a spiral portal.
"Off we go."
He said and jumped into it. I also did. Portals like this are basically connected to a random place. I don't know where I would end up at.
After coming out, I see a residential area, I think. Concrete road, houses on each sides and a pond. Seriously, a pond. This is the first time, I am seeing an open pond.
I find Constant sitting on a bench by the pond. The pond is kinda green. And it's dirty.
"See, this is the area I spent my childhood in." (Constant)
"Hoohhh…then you grew up here?"
"Yes. It holds a special meaning to me. Behind us is a library. It doesn't look like it though." (Constant)
He points at a pink building. It has something written on it but I can't read that. I sit by him. Despite being dirty, this pond is kinda calming.
"You see, to our left is my school." (Constant)
He pointed to our left and I only saw a wall. His school?
"The main building is inside. That's just the school ground being separated." (Constant)
I see. He gets up. Now, let's go. He starts walking. I follow him.
Only a steps later, he stops.
"This is the house where I spent most of my childhood." (Constant)
He points at a rather old house. It feels antiquated. And the construction style is different from the rest. This area has modern houses where this house sticks out in a bad way.
"I spent 7 years in this house before leaving. Basically grew up here. And this is where, everything began." (Constant)
He said and started walking again. I see another pond ahead. What is with this area? Two ponds and so close-by.
"That's the park. Let's go." (Constant)
He entered the park and so did I. It has some people in it.
"This world is a representation of my memories. I reconstructed it from my memories. Look over there." (Constant)
I look over to where he points. I see someone similar to me. Or him, we both have the same face.
"That's me when I was just 17. Talking to my friend about my days." (Constant)
So that's him when he was 17. But he doesn't look any different from now.
"This is from the year 2022. After a pandemic, we are returning to our normal lives. And the beginning of my downfall." (Constant)
He is sullen. He walks to a bench and sits on it.
"I was always told two things. My dad used to say, do whatever you like but just don't regret it later. My mom said, be successful and earn lots of money. I was torn between these two choices." (Constant)
"Sounds rough."
"It was. Your story is set in a different country. So it's different from my own country and situations. But in the end, I listened to my dad and lived however I liked." (Constant)
"Did you regret it?"
"I wonder." (Constant)
"What kind of an answer is that?"
"Well, my decisions were pretty normal. I decided not to marry. I chose or preferred to stay alone. I did manage to find a good job. Although I spent my free time gaming rather than socializing. And when I came to my senses, I was 60 all of a sudden. I had retired and had a good amount of savings. But not socializing became a mistake.
My relatives gad totally forgotten me. My friends had moved away. And I was bored myself." (Constant)
"Rather normal, isn't it? I mean, you just became a working shut-in who liked gaming."
"Yes. That's what I became. But it didn't end there. I always used to say that I don't plan on living more than 65 years. However, when I hit 80, I wondered. When will I die?" (Constant)
"You were planning on dying at 65 huh?"
"Yes. But it didn't come to pass. I lived all the way to 90 before death claimed me. I wasn't a religious person. I didn't believe in stuff like judgement and reincarnation. But my soul was being judged. I was branded as a heretic. And totally sent to hell.
I still remember what it was like. Hell, the word suggests a lot but in actuality it isn't. It was just a normal place where many human souls were living. Heaven and Hell were just two different places, that's all. But I wasn't normal. Every soul is supposed to forget their human lives and live there until they get another shot at life.
However, I remembered everything. And that human knowledge let me do something no one even imagined." (Constant)
"What did you do?"
"In the ninth circle, at the very bottom of hell, lies Satan. He was frozen there as punishment. I broke in and kinda talked to him." (Constant)
"You talked to Satan?"
"Yes. It was fun. He was a nice guy. He gave me knowledge from before everything was even created. After all, he was the first of the God's creations. He knows more about the God than anyone else.
So I used that knowledge and declared war. A war to realize something my dream." (Constant)
"You dream? I can probably guess."
"Yes. After all, you are me, the better half of me. And that war was costly. The living realm was destroyed. All the gods, were killed. After all, every human joined the war. They got their memories back and became quite enraged as the Gods have always messed with our lives.
But that victory was my downfall." (Constant)
He has a conflicted look on his face. His voice is heavy. I have been through those as well. The time when we are kind of torn between our choices.
"With the old gone, someone had to take control. We were humans. Our reason for being is to gather. We gather everything and yet we are not satisfied. The greed of humanity is endless. A new war broke out. This time, humans fought with each other. To claim the throne which the God had held. I withdrew myself from that war.
My dream was fulfilled. I wanted autonomy. I wanted to be in control of my own fate. With God gone, no one was controlling me. It was no strings attached. So, I had no reason to fight anymore." (Constant)
"So what happened to the war?"
"The forge of creation was seized by a number of factions. They came to an agreement. I became an observer as I initiated the first war and killed God directly. But because of that, I got cursed." (Constant)
"Cursed? How so?"
"Well, even a soul has its limit. I was a spiritual body but due to the curse, I was forbidden from dying. I literally cannot die. No matter how I try. I cannot be killed. And my true nature is that of a human. So you get it, right? A human who has been alive for 250 billion years. It's impossible to bear." (Constant)
I understand what he is saying. Because a human mind cannot bear loneliness for extended period of time. A human needs company. But an immortal being is unfit to be a human.
So every immortal develops a special mindset. Their minds work differently than humans. They don't require company and do not succumb to loneliness.
He didn't become an immortal at heart and mind. Even if he is cursed with immortality, his mind is undoubtedly that of a human. He has persisted for this long. That alone is a testament to his extraordinary willpower.
"I decided to bring you out to have someone to talk with. I really needed someone who can listen to me." (Constant)
"I see. But are we done visiting places?"
"No. Let's go to the human world. Although this one is under the supervision of a friend of mine, I haven't met him for at least 200 billion years. It's gonna be tough." (Constant)
"I can see that. But let's be on our way. I want to see how the human world of the real world is."
We get up and a portal similar to the one before appears. Then, next stop is the human world.