"Though this Mortal Form has the name 'Jamaarl Birgwell', my true name is Yoru Rothington, The New God. And surely you recognize the Goddess before you?"
"Yugaria Dasshudily Kandance. My creator, but she seems to no longer be my Goddess. What have you done?"
It's hard to tell his facial expressions under the cloak, but the way his muscly lower face moves is off putting.
"I called him here for reincarnation, and instead of a Cheat, he asked for my role, and I gave it to him without realizing it. Let's not dwell on that!"
Kandance spoke that out really fast, and steam soon started flowing from her head in anger. Or embarrassment. One of the two. And Deutralohs simply sighed.
"None could mimic your emotiveness, so this has to be the true you. And as for the other one… congratulations. You skipped past becoming a Hero of Fanta Regauss and became its God."
The wet, fleshy clapping noise I expected from him clapping was instead more… mystic sounding. Guess that's the magic surrounding him doing that.
"Right… anyway. The ex-Goddess wants to speak to the tenth Hero. Is she in there somewhere?"
"Hmm? Did my creator not inform you of how the afterlife works?"
"No, she's a petty bitch who refuses to explain stuff and delights in hinting about the existence of things to make me suffer."
Kandance crossed her arms and smirked like she's proud of it. Maybe I should just take the request back…
"Then I shall show you. One moment…"
With one finger, Deutralohs tears open the space before him and reaches inside, then pulls out a soul.
"Upon perishing, a soul goes through two processes to determine what happens to it. If they are of the seven races, they go to Judgement. If they are monster or demon, they are simply 'respawned' back into the world as a creature of similar strength."
"And if neither?"
"Only happened once, with the death of the first Dreimaaz. If it's not recognized, I step in and handle it myself. For the Dreimaaz, I just added them to the races that went to Judgement."
Yeah that makes sense.
"Alright, and at Judgement?"
"Their deeds are quantified via the infinite potential… of math. It factors all values into every action they took, quantifies it into a number, and what happens next depends on that number and another. That other is soul density, dependent on their experiences and growth in life."
So like EXP or something, got it.
"If the value does not meet the threshold, their being is dispersed, used to create new life in Fanta Regauss. If they are above the threshold, a phantom soul is made before dispersion. That phantom soul can be turned into minions or power for myself."
I see, I see. I think this can work in my favor.
"So you have a phantom soul of the tenth Hero, right?"
"... the souls of Heroes are different."
Are you freaking kidding me?! What was the point of wasting my time?! I mean, I guess it's not a waste since I now know how Makruuz works, but come on!
"A Hero's soul, one that has lived two lifetimes. It is too dense to be dispersed, so I keep them in my collection. Just in case they are needed…"
Phew, that's lucky. I thought they might be gone forever, but no.
"Okay, cool. So you can just bring the tenth Hero's soul here and let her talk to us for a bit, right?"
"... And why should I?"
Oh don't you dare start this, you muscly motherfucker…
"Because… I am your God? And I am the boss of the one who created you? So you should do as I say or be punished?"
"Punished? While in your Mortal Form? Hilarious."
… Shit, right.
"Well, you'll get punished a year from now once I'm out of it!"
"You're right about that. Or… we could make a wager, if you'd rather not wait?"
Why did I not expect this? A deal with the devil, or well, I guess technically not the devil, but in this context it still applies.
"I want to hear all the details first before I agree on anything. Every. Last. Detail."
Can't let anything slip through with these kinds of things. Gotta pay attention to it all.
"I have recently become an avid player of Fanta Regauss' biggest MPC user pastime: playing the MMORPG 'Magys Regal'."
"You have an MPC and ManaNet connection in Maakruz?"
"Why would I not? Rosincrye DeNac met the threshold, and her phantom soul was more than capable of setting one up for me."
Huh, well that's convenient. For him.
"The hardest challenge the game has to offer are the Optimaximum Raids. Four players versus the ultimate challenge the developers can come up with. A successful run takes around twenty minutes if everyone does everything perfectly. Deciphering how mechanics work, using your abilities at peak efficiency, coordinating with everyone, and solving a secret mechanic required to reach the final stretch. All within the strict timing before the boss wipes your party."
It's kinda similar to something from a game I played a lot when I was alive, now that I think about it. But… I never did those. I never believed I was good enough. That's what he wants me to do?
"Oh, and by the way, we will be racing to see who can complete it first."
WHAT.
"A new one is coming in next week's update. No one, not even I, knows its mechanics and secrets. We may both pick whomever we can find to form our raiding parties. Only one rule: do not figure out the mechanics with info from the world first racers showing it off. It would ruin the spirit of competition. I would know, I am one…"
Fuck. I assumed the Deity of Death was probably a pro at this game, but a world first racer too?!
"If you win, I will do as you say and let the tenth Hero speak with you."
"And if I lose, then what?"
"We swap roles, of course. You become the new Deity of Death, and I the new God of Fanta Regauss."
Yeah, that sounds about right…
"Why do you want that?"
"Because it is an option. Besides, anything else I might want, you could simply choose to barter for in exchange for your request. This is something you never would. Of course, you can wait it out until you can leave your Mortal Form and force me to do as you say that way. But from the looks of it, I don't know if my creator could handle that…"
I look down at Kandance, who is still being held up by my finger. She's clutching her head, crying.
"I… I just want to remember. I cannot stop thinking about it…"
There's plenty of ways I could help Kandance get her memories back without Deutralohs. Maybe I can find some potion or relic or spell or something that can restore lost memories. I could compile every historical retelling of the era and compare them to see which events are most likely to have happened. Maybe it's possible to glimpse into the past or time travel or something that would let Kandance and I witness the past ourselves. And I could easily verify if they were or weren't possible if I broke my self-imposed restriction and looked it up on the ManaNet.
"... I accept."
So then WHY did I say that?! I've never played this game, and I'm challenging one of the best players to see who can complete the hardest content the fastest! Well… because I was getting frustrated. Deutralohs' blatant denial to help, his uncaring attitude towards his own creator, the gall to make up this wager knowing that I could eventually punish him and had options other than him. It made me mad.
And when I get overemotional, I do things not out of logical thinking, but emotional. I say things I may not mean to, I do things that I should not, all because I'm letting out everything. This… has never helped me. I've lost so many friends, made so many terrible mistakes, all because of this. Which is why… it feels weird. That for the first time, me doing this… might have been the right thing.
"... Yoru…"
Kandance looks at me, shocked. Even the Deity of Death is surprised, he jerks back and his hood falls back to reveal his whole head.
"Oh… I actually did not expect that. Yoru Rothington, The New God. Even if you are to lose both this wager and your role, I will never forget this moment. You have one week to prepare. Please give me a challenge, it would make for an amazing moment…"
Yeah… guess I'll have to. Though… he's still on the call.
"... So what exactly is this thing? And how do I get it to stop?"
"Oh, uhh, it's a God Panel thing. Umm, I think I'm the one that has to hang up…?"
And so I closed the application. Welp. I'm boned.