"NO!"
It was just too much. Everything was too much. At least it was too much for my legs not to give up.
How was I supposed to keep standing strong, when I just saw the head of the one who had come with me to this world fly through the air, seeing the bloodied sword of the king fulfill the downwards motion it had started?
The second we were part of seemed to stretch out, everything coming to a stop, as I thought I could still see the childish, innocent smile on his face. Almost like he was trying to tell me that everything would be alright.
'You fucking moron!'
Even during his last moment alive, he still acted like an idiot.
****
"Good day, Mr. Jackson. A pleasure to meet you again."
'What the fuck is happening...'
From getting beheaded to suddenly sitting on a chair in a completely white room, with Mr. Laufeyson sitting across the table in front of me, there was no helping my confusion.
As always, he was wearing the white mask that had served as the inspiration for when I slayed the demon at the academy.
Clasping his hands on his lap, he acted like I had not just died a second ago, "Take your time. After all, the sand I stole from Chronos is already spent, so might as well use it to the fullest."
After a couple of seconds, I had constructed a somewhat believable conclusion in my mind, having somewhat realized what kind of situation I was currently in.
"So, you are truly that Loki, huh? I thought it was just part of the Norse religious blabber from Earth. Then, assuming Chronos also lives up to the stories, you have somehow stopped time? If so, am I still alive, or is this just the moment before my soul passes on?"
Having already suspected that the man in question had been the god I knew from Earth, this moment had cemented it completely; The son of the King of the Frost Giants, Loki Laufeyson.
Nodding his head, he was pleased that I had at least managed to figure out who he was, although it wasn't all too impressive.
"Good, that makes things a bit easier. Now, let's move on to the more interesting topics at hand. First of all, why do you think I brought you to this place?"
It didn't take long for me to give him an answer, "There is something you want me to do, something that you cannot do yourself, for some reason. Maybe it's because of something like restrictions of a God?"
"Correct. There are, indeed, a lot of restrictions put on the gods of this world, as the balance of this universe would quickly spin out of control if we intervened too much."
Putting one of his legs over the other, he continued on. "Before we continue on this matter, I have a couple more questions that I need to ask you. To make sure you are the right mortal for what I have in mind."
Scratching my head, I suddenly felt a bit awkward as I realized what we were doing.
"So, it's like a job interview?"
"That's right. It's exactly like that. So, let's begin!"
Suddenly, a huge screen appeared behind him, showing me the people on the square frozen in time.
"First of all, what do you think of humans?"
Looking at the petrified cheers of the people, my mind was working hard to identify what kind of feelings I had towards them.
In the end, I didn't have a clear answer.
"I am not sure. Although I believe that all humans are ultimately victims of their own minds, I don't hate them. However, I do carry hatred for some specific individuals. For example, I sure as hell won't forgive the king for detaching my head from my body."
Although it was a pretty convoluted answer, it was the best I had. There were plenty of people I didn't hate, and there were plenty of people I did hate. It was just a matter of personal bias, created by the experiences I had with different individuals. So even though I knew deep inside that every single living creature was capable of horrible things, there were some that I would appreciate as long as they did not.
With that being said, trusting them completely would be impossible. If there was one thing I had learnt from getting executed, it was this.
"Good! If you had suddenly gone all insane and started to talk about getting revenge on the entirety of humankind, I would have had to let you die. Lucky you."
It felt pretty good to know that he accepted my answer. Even if I had accepted my death, I was not one to say no if I had the chance to live on.
"Moving on, what do you think a Trickster truly is?"
As the god of mischief, there was no surprise that he probably had some kind of connection to the Manual I chose. So it felt natural that he wanted to know how I viewed it.
"A Trickster is someone who orchestrates the battlefield through their personal whims, using tricks in order to manipulate their surroundings."
The sockets of his mask let out a subtle purple glow, showing that he got a bit riled up by my words.
"You are correct. However, there is a much greater meaning that you can derive from your own explanation. What does this all boil down to, in the end?"
'Ah... So that's what it was...'
Not even letting me give the answer he saw that I had found, his words continued to flow.
"Yes! It's about control! A Trickster is someone who controls others. Howver, not like a king who sits on his throne, nor like a commander who instructs his men on the battlefield. A Trickster controls everyone without them knowing!
So, now, what mistakes did you make during your time in this world?"
"I lacked control..."
*Clap!*
His hands produced an audible sound as he pushed his palms together, happy to see that I became aware of my faults.
"You sure did! You planted seeds without thinking about the consequences you would have to face in the future, all for short-term gains. You didn't control all the factors that were involved, and thus, you had to pay with your life. Or at least you would have if not for me."
So in the end, everything had boiled down to my conversations with my teacher, too impatient to make sure that I had covered all my bases. All because I was too scared of myself, too scared to relive the nightmare of my past life.
Now, however, there was no such emotion in me anymore. I had already ripped it out of me long ago.
"Now, for my last question, why aren't you afraid of death?"
I didn't have to think about this last question at all, as the answer was self-evident to me.
"Because there is no reason to live other than shallow personal enjoyment. Everything lives just to die, and, in the end, nothing that a living creature does will ever matter."
Scratching his head, he almost seemed a bit embarrassed by my frank answer.
"Well, you aren't exactly wrong, I guess... But man, you really need to loosen up a bit. Isn't it fine to want to live on because it is fun to stay alive? Was it really necessary to go all Nietzsche on me?"
His embarrassment quickly became my embarrassment, as I realized how cringey I must've sounded.
"I'm sorry... I didn't mean to do that to you..."
So we both took a minute to try our best and get over the awkwardness.
"Cough! So, anyway, I want to ask you to be my apostle. In return, all I want is for you to make sure that neither humans nor demons win the upcoming war."
Out of nowhere, he had suddenly dropped a bomb to move the conversation forward, a bomb I hadn't been ready for at all.
"Make it so no one wins? May I ask why?"
Leaning back into his chair, he calmly opened his mouth, "You may, but I will not answer that question yet. It's still too early for you to know. However, I can promise you that if you survive for long enough, I will tell you everything."
With a sigh, I quickly gave up on the idea of getting the answers I wanted.
"Haaa... Okay, fine. So, let's say I do become your apostle, how are you supposed to save my life? Isn't my head about to hit the floor any second now?"
He suddenly stood up, as if was getting ready to get to work.
"Did you know? While I still lived on Earth, I had someone who I very much thought of as my disciple. In a lot of ways, he was a greater Trickster than me."
Feeling my brows rising, his words instantly piqued my interest, "Hmm? How so?"
"He went around the planet and used tricks that made it look like he performed miracles. Everything from making water to wine, to walking on water, he made the whole planet his plaything. However, his greatest trick was something not even I had ever thought of."
Suddenly, the lower part of his mask disappeared, revealing the sights of a huge grin.
"He tricked everyone into believing that he came back from the dead."