“You must have certainly thought yourself funny, reincarnating me into a worm.”
“I did not turn you into a worm Janus.”
“Of course,” I said blithely. “Hence why I currently trod through the hallways of a palace as the third noble son of a knighted Duke. Would you mind if I ordered the maids to fetch us a glass of wine while we chat?”
“Whatever creature you found yourself when you were reborn, it is solely as a result of your subconscious interpretation of your own value at the time of your death.”
My teeth gnashed against each other. Ground. Bony dust flittered out from the force. Bone-only fingers clenched tight enough for audible cracks to echo. “I applaud you. That tale is almost so well spun that I could almost believe it.”
“I have no reason to lie.”
“Just as you had no reason to twist my words and cast me into this world? Just as you had no reason to have listened to anything I did? Since when has reason become a feature you possessed? You, a supposed godlike being, who was baffled that a mortal would choose neither heaven nor hell, and in your infinite wisdom chose reincarnation as the middle-ground.”
“Janus –”
“What do you want?” My patience was thin. “You never appeared when I was on the brink of death, never appeared when I was a worm crawling on the earth, fleeing from death by ants. You did not appear when I was set on fire, begging for water like the rich man beseeching Lazarus’ mercy. The odds that you decided to appear before me now, out of the goodness of your heart are so small that I should be laughing at the absurdity of it.”
Oblivion remained silent for several seconds. “I am here to give you an important task.”
A scoff escaped me. “No.”
“You do not even know the details.”
“Nor am I interested in learning them.”
The vulture’s eyes dimmed. “Pettiness, Janus? The mortal man I remember was a soul who was worthy enough to be offered paradise or perdition. A man who felt sympathy for his killer, and an unyielding conviction in his beliefs. What happened to that man?”
“Spare me that drivel!” I roared. “I am no saint! I am not some paragon of humanity and righteousness and justice! Whatever ideals you mistakenly attributed to me are nothing more than the ideals you wished to see in me. I was just a man who wanted oblivion! But you – you gave me Tartarus.”
For the longest time, Oblivion said nothing. The vulture did not move. The thickness in the air was almost solid enough to tear a knife through it. My thoughts raged further, taking more effort than I was comfortable with to calm them.
“You are right,” Oblivion said, at last. “Alamir is not as I remember. Yet, that is not an issue. Should you wish to ever terminate the nightmare that is your existence, a suitably tall cliff or a comfortably large rock would suffice. Or perhaps, if you feel such methods to be too cowardly, a direct charge headlong into a foe beyond your measures would accomplish the deed quickly and painlessly.”
“I will not die while I’ve yet to accomplish anything in this second life. Suicide is not an option. Not until I have done something.”
“And what difference would it make if you die accomplishing nothing or die accomplishing everything?”
“The former would mean all I did was exist. The later would mean that all I did was live.” I announced. “And I want to live, Oblivion. I do not want to simply exist; I want to live.”
An ear-grating sound came from the vulture, a broken, pained sound, like the dying coughs of an elderly man.
“You amuse me, Janus.”
“I amuse you?”
“When I met you, you were a man who wanted nothing more than to die. It seems sending you to Alamir has given you a new lease on life and for that reason I am happy.”
My teeth were locked against each other. “And why would this make you happy?”
“I consider myself your friend, Janus. So, I am happy, that you no longer wish to die.”
“My friend?” I laughed. “Is that some sort of a joke?”
“You gave me a name. Never before had I met a human so brazen as to name the divine being offering to send him to paradise. Yet alone a human who names this divine being: Oblivion.”
“I was not aware that mockingly naming someone was the major prerequisite to form a lasting friendship.”
“Yet, of all the human souls I have met, you were the only one who conversed with me. For that reason alone, I will miss you, Janus.”
“Miss me? What are you talking about?”
“I will be going Janus. Going somewhere far.”
Initializing…
Administrator Key Found.
Administrator Detected.
Administrator Command Codes Accepted.
File [DTask.ns] Retrieved.
File [PSystem.ns] Retrieved.
Installing [DTask.ns]…
Installing [PSystem.ns]…
Files Successfully Installed.
Reboot Required.
A splitting headache tore through my skull, leaving me nauseated and disorientated. The vulture blurred in my vision, my head feeling lighter with each passing second. “What… what did you…?”
“I would prefer for these final few seconds to be spent in the company of the only person I can consider a friend.”
Nothing he was saying was making any sense. The urge to vomit overwhelmed me despite lacking a stomach. The world was spinning on its axis, and the vulture was slowly appearing smaller and smaller and…
“Though you may not believe me, and you may not understand, know this Janus… I… am truly sorry.”
A cold hand grasped around my chest and turned to a frigid, icy spear. Oblivion was… apologizing?
“I underestimated the severity of the world I thrust you in. There are beings in Alamir beyond my comprehension. I suppose, in a way, your naming was apt – I am oblivious.”
An earth-shattering roar deafened me. Pressure unlike anything I had ever felt in my life crushed me down into the
