***
In the hospital, he was detached from the diagnosis.
In that weird building, he was detached from life milestones.
In the... game? He was detached from reality.
On the massive road, he was detached even from death.
...How would he face 'Them?,' a thought Achlys couldn't help but wonder.
***
'Ah... so this is death.'
Yes, it was.
And it wasn't painful.
At least not as much as he expected it to be.
To him, it was just a... blink.
A blink, where he suddenly found himself standing in a place that didn't make any sense.
'Fog' was everywhere, thick, endless 'Fog' that moved like it was alive, curling around his shoes, licking at his sleeves, twisting up into the sky—if there even was a sky.
And through it all, there were eyes, eight pairs of them.
Each one glared at him through this 'Fog.'
One pair was black as a starless night.
One pair was a swirling galaxy of purple.
One pair glowed a beautiful red.
One pair shone a blinding gold.
One pair was of sharp silver.
One pair was a green forest.
One pair was of fresh snow.
And lastly, one pair of icy blue.
Not one of them blinked, staring him down.
Xenos, meanwhile... stared right back.
He was sizing them up before finally, after a full minute, he spoke:
"Are you all Gods or something?"
The 'Fog' stirred, and seven pairs of eyes swiveled to look at the gold ones, like they were saying: "You handle this one."
Gold eyes gave a small chuckle.
"Gods, huh? Many like to call us that, sure. We don't really buy into it, though; it kind of kills the title if there's more than one, y'know?"
'He' spoke in quite a... modern way, 'His' voice casual and almost tired, like 'He'd' given that same speech a thousand times already and didn't care anymore.
"Anyway, you can call us whatever you want."
'He' added.
"Makes no difference to us."
Xenos gave a little nod, ticking off a box in his mind.
"I see. So why bring me here? What do you want from me? And, uh... heads-up—I'm just an engineer; I'm pretty sure I can't give you what you want."
Another laugh came from Gold, this one a little louder.
"You're already proving why we picked you. Don't worry, you're not here to play politics. It's your specialty we want, something only you could do... at least in this pocket."
Xenos tilted his head slightly, curious now.
"Hm. Is this about the game?"
There was a tiny pause, as if even 'He' wasn't expecting him to guess that fast.
"...Yeah. Bingo."
Gold's voice now sounded a little more interested as well.
"When you go down there, the system will help you get started; there's no need for a whole presentation right now."
Xenos scratched the back of his head, glancing around the misty void.
"A system, huh? Will it be like the game or like those novels my nieces are into? The ones with the weird gift boxes?"
'His' gold eyes practically rolled.
"Pffft, no. No triple-S stuff here, and no, you won't be getting any overpowered cheat that'll break the world; there are Laws and even we follow them... to an extent. So don't go expecting you can snap your fingers and blow up a city in the first week."
'He' paused before quickly correcting himself:
"Okay, you could eventually, but it won't be because of us. What we'll give will just be the game's old AI, edited a bit, and recreated as a Soul Glyph. It'll guide you; the rest will be on you."
Xenos nodded slowly.
"Huh... alright. It sounds manageable."
There was another beat of silence, then Gold spoke again, a little softer:
"No last words to your family? Anyone you want to say goodbye to?"
Xenos actually thought about it for a second, hand on his chin.
"Hmm... no. I guess just... send them my regards?"
The 'Fog' shivered a little, almost like it was laughing.
"You are hopeless, mortal."
Gold was half amused, half exasperated.
"Seriously boring with absolutely zero dramatic flair."
"..."
Xeros said nothing, and 'He' continued:
"Nothing, really? Are you sure? You've no regrets? How about you give us a tear-jerking speech? Maybe even the classic 'Tell my mother I love her?'"
In response, Xenos casually shrugged.
"What's the point? They'll be fine; all my money will go to them. I'd rather ask you some questions while I have the chance."
The other eyes in the 'Fog' shifted, a few muttering under what took the place of their breath in languages he couldn't understand, while Gold sighed dramatically.
"You're a real crazy dude, but y'know what? That's exactly why we chose you... You're an emo kid's wet dream... now go ahead, ask your questions."
Xenos nodded, practically ignoring 'His' words.
"What came first? The chicken or the egg?"
Gold almost had 'His' eyes reveal question marks.
"Huh?"
"Runethera... It's a real world, right?"
Only now understanding him, Gold had his eyes nod.
"…If we consider Runethera the chicken, then yes, the chicken came first."
Xenos held his chin, many thoughts swimming through his mind.
"Interesting, interesting, interesting... but does this mean that something else I've played, seen, or read was based on an actual world as well?"
"Perhaps."
Seeing how quick Gold was to answer, Xenos decided to be a bit more... brazen.
"Well, I've read Misunderstood Villain recently, a masterpiece, might I add. Is that based on a world, too?"
"..."
For the first time, 'He' said nothing, sent speechless by a damned mortal.
Accepting that he took it a tad bit too far, Xenos stepped back a little.
"Hm. Well, the game has Gods in it, so how? How can a God preside over another so highly? And eight of you at that? Doesn't that defeat the purpose of the word? I mean, you told me I can call you other than God. Is that why?"
The 'Fog' condensed a little, forming the shape of a raised palm before him.
"Was that you taking a 'step back?' Don't think about it too much; just understand that we're a step below the highest Chilicosm, where the Almighty resides, and they, the Gods you are about to join, are a step beneath us."
Xenos looked down and nodded a few times.
"…I see. So they weren't wrong in calling you Higher Gods, and They, Lower Gods."
Gold sighed, and the 'Fog' thickened around Xenos, wrapping tighter and tighter until he could barely see the eyes anymore, leaving him in a suffocating dark.
"Now enough questions..."
'His' voice came one last time, almost fondly:
"Good luck down there, Stranger. Break the world for us."
And then everything went pure black again.
Though not for a certain God.
She could still see 'Them.'
And 'They' could see Her.
'They' of back then could see the Her of now.
It was a gaze that made all manner of time collapses, singularities, dilemmas, and paradoxes. But none mattered before those who wrote the Law 'Themselves.'
Time was of no concept to Gods.
'They' stood outside it.
To 'Them,' the past, present, and future existed at the same time.
It was a static block where all three 'times' coexisted simultaneously.
Such a distinction was nothing but an illusion for those of mortal minds.
Yet Achlys seemed to have forgotten that, only now remembering Xenos's warning.
She couldn't regret this, not now when She finally witnessed 'Them.'
Beings that didn't want to be witnessed.
"Who's this?"
"Something of mist and death?"
"Yes, a little ant trying to get something on our boy."
"Hm, did he let Her in knowing this would happen?"
"Damn bastard used us."
"He's good."
"We weren't going to pick him if he wasn't capable of that."
Golden eyes dug into Her.
"FORGET THIS ALL."
Achlys did.