"Now, I have three powers that I am capable of bestowing upon you. Each is an ultimate skill, skills for which I have little need and have decided I am willing to part with. Each comes with proficiencies and evolutionary recommendations, alongside some of my own insights and ideas regarding their most optimal usage. Each should leave you as the true master of a higher element, elements that you would otherwise have possess an elemental manipulation skill at the deitylike level to utilize, and godly elemental manipulation skills to master.
"The first of these powers is control over space. With it, you would be essentially unlimited in where you can travel. So long as you can visualize your destination, you are able to travel there. Even if you have never actually been to the location, if you can visualize it adequately, you would be able to travel there.
"Now, don't think that this is a power useful for transportation! It is truly a mystery over space, with it you can teleport anything anywhere. You could be among the most powerful ranged attackers to ever grace the world with this power, teleporting objects into the flesh of your enemies. Of course, it wouldn't have velocity; but if a boulder is lodged in your throat, what does it matter how fast it is traveling? Oh, and you would have access to easy money, as well, through the sale of dimensional rings."
[Wait… could this allow me to return home… would I return even if I could? For as awful as this world is, how could I leave it unpunished? No, what is more interesting to me is the idea of compressing the space between the atoms in my opponent's body, utterly destroying them… and let's not forget, the ability to create black holes, I could truly punish this world as it deserves and leave right after!] After a moment, reality catches up with me. [Well, I doubt that it is actually that powerful, otherwise there is no way that he would give it up. I had better listen to his other offers.]
I need not wait long, for he is seemingly rather eager to play this role of generous benefactor; I must admit, it does seem as though it would be a pretty cool role to play.
"The next power is that of rulership over time. This power would make you the eminent wielder of the time element in all the world, as nobody really practices anymore. Immortality, altering of-"
"Stop right there, are you trying to get me killed at the hands of Arcaenas? I know what will happen if I try to use time for my own benefit, there is a reason why no wizard has pursued rulership of time since the reckoning of those human wizards some millennia ago. How foolish would I have to be to ignore the lessons to be gleaned by the shortcomings of my predecessors? Even the elves, who have the most to gain from the manipulation of time, have not been led astray by this foolish way."
"Heh heh, you really are quite clever when you want to be aren;t you? Fair enough, it wouldn't be very interesting if the most powerful god who accesses this universe were to intervene on Lector's behalf, a good choice on your part I suppose.
"Well, if you are certain, I shall move on to the last power, the third of the high elements; the power over life and death itself. Now, the powers involved with this one can vary wildly. Essentially, you will be able to stake a claim on the souls of mortals, something that generally only gods can do. Upon the death of someone, you could use their soul as you please; a very high form of necromancy that creates sentient followers, revival into a homunculus, or even consumption in order to obtain powers. Of course, you could also impact the lives of others as well; for instance, you could rip the souls straight from the bodies of those who oppose you and are significantly weaker than yourself."
Just as I feel hopes begin to well up within me, they are somewhat allayed by Rahvert's next statement. "Of course, such power comes under rather strenuous conditions. It is important to remember that you are a mortal contesting over the souls of others, activity generally confined to the realm of gods. This will prevent you from obtaining souls from immortal beings, as they have a higher level claim to their own souls than you do. Furthermore, should any other god desire to have the soul of the individual, you will certainly be outcontested, no matter how weak such a god may be. Perhaps most dangerously, other gods may not look kindly on a mortal interfering in their game, the risks would be immense. Of course, whether these risks are worthwhile is really up for you to decide; it is certain that the ability to consume the souls and powers of others would give you a rapid increase in strength."
"Wait, could you please describe that a bit further?" I ask.
"No. From the information I have given you, pick from one of the three, I will give no further hints."
And thus, I fall into a bit of a predicament. That this choice will play a significant role in shaping my life is something that I am all-too-aware of.
[Well, first of all, power over time can be ruled out. The existence of the multiversal menace Arcaenas essentially makes all higher applications of this mighty ability fatally foolish, and, as I am not a fool, I shall not choose the power that would necessitate such control over myself. Perhaps I could use it to assure my own immortality, but that is something that I almost certainly could accomplish with that power over life and death, thus time is fully out.
[So, then, the real debate must occur between powers over space and powers over the duality of life and death. The advantages of power over space are immediately obvious; instant transport, ranged attack methods, and vicious work that may be possible with my meager knowledge of the scientific field of physics. Yet, the power over life and death also seems greatly powerful; necromancy, primarily, though more in the way of creating golems with the souls of the living than animating the corpses of the dead or hijacking those new skeletal bodies which the neutral dead gain upon being dumped into Lincaernus. And, of course, the power to rake in copious sums of money through the revival of the dead; or, at least, the preservation of the soul in a corpse or any other material object. Though of most interest is that poorly explained ability to consume the power of those I glean access to the souls of by consuming the souls themself… while he was sure to explain that it couldn't be used on immortals, doesn't that mean that I would be able to use this power to directly take the power of those who die in my vicinity? Of course, he mentioned that it would only work on those weaker than me, but with the explosive increase in power that would come with this ability, would that really matter for long?
[And, perhaps most importantly, I would be able to forever allay the threat of natural death – perhaps I could even pull off some trickery to help protect myself from unnatural death as well!
[So, at first glance, the death manipulation abilities seem to have more advantages. But the power over space might very well allow me to consume this world in a black hole and return to Earth, to rule as the only being capable of magic! A reign over all of Earth, I would be able to accomplish what no despot before has, to unite the whole of the puny earthlings' understanding of reality under my iron fist!
[And beyond that, power over space would be greatly powerful in terms of battle, travel, and money earning. As mentioned, I could apply it various ways in battle, and not having to spend days and weeks traveling everywhere would certainly be nice… and, of course, Rahvert is right to say that I could make a lot of money selling items that give access to a mini pocket dimension I could create…
[Wait, a mini pocket dimension, surely the magical power over space would allow me to do such a thing! Ah, living in a world of my own, where nothing could kill me… Why, with that final bonus, how could I not choose this power?!
[But let's not be hasty. I may well someday die with the power over space, whereas I am sure that power over life and death will grant me some manner of eternal life, at least so long as I am not killed… and that ability to take power from those whose souls I capture is a mighty one indeed. My growth would be explosive, so long as I have access to the dying.
[Yet there are downsides to this power; if Rahvert saw fit to warn me of the wrath of the gods for competing with them in the arena of the ownership of human souls, it must be something worth considering. Furthermore, not being able to take the souls, and thus the powers of immortals would eventually seriously hamper my growth, a hard cap of source on how much power I may obtain. And finally, I do not know much about what taking the powers of others consists of, and Rahvert seems to have no desire to tell me, only saying that it will allow a way to grow quickly; whether this power consists of levels, skills, or proficiencies, I do not know; I would be buying into a certain degree of uncertainty.]
Hazarding a question that may once again see me declared a fool, I ask "Is there any way that I may attain that power which I don't choose?"
Thankfully, he doesn;t seem particularly irritated by this question, instead just shrugging before nonchalantly replying "maybe; who's to say?"
[You!] I scream mentally; but, like many other times during this interaction, I just keep it to myself and nod.
Suddenly, I am overcome with worry that Rahvert is merely messing with me, and that he will kill me as soon as I choose a power, relishing monstrously in my despair. [No, I mustn't think like that; there are always 'maybes' that one cannot avert, to revel fearfully in every one would be an act of foolishness.
[So, let's finish up, I need to decide on one before Rahvert grows impatient…]
In the end, I choose the power over life and death. The mysterious power to take power from the dead appeals to me, and the certain money from revival, alongside the ability to transfer souls between containers seem quite advantageous. Add in the ability to ensure immortality, and how could I not go with such a choice?
But let it not be thought that such a choice was easy! The benefit of instant teleportation alongside the power to create extradimensional spaces, not to mention the potential power over the space between atoms that may well make me a menace not only to individuals but to whole galaxies, appeals to me greatly! That I could potentially be free of this world in a mere hour hangs over me as well; yet, in the face of such a unique and mighty power as that of rulership over life and death, the ability to perhaps conquer that void which looms forever over me, I cannot choose it.
So, with some reluctance and some excitement, I tell Rahvert that I would like the power over life and death.