There are exactly three acceptable reactions to someone telling you that you have a god living inside your soul.
1. Laugh.
2. Deny everything.
3. Panic so hard your brain blue-screens.
I went with option 3.
So when Lune said, "A god that should never have woken," I think I responded very intelligently.
"…huh?"
Yup. Genius-level comeback.
Lune's expression didn't change. She just looked… tired. The kind of tired that said she had seen some things and probably hadn't slept since last century.
Meanwhile, Tessa was just vibing in the background like:
> "Soooo we ignoring the explosion or…?"
---
We Sit Down and Have Trauma Tea
We ended up in the guild's back cafeteria because apparently existential crisis pairs well with stale bread and lukewarm chamomile.
Lune sat across from me, hands clasped like she was about to deliver a funeral sermon.
Tessa sat beside me with a notebook already full of diagrams labeled:
"Rei???"
"Soul Monster???"
"Do Not Poke (Yet)"
I appreciate her scientific restraint.
"So," I said, dunking bread in tea because my hands were shaking and my brain forgot how food works, "explain. Slowly. Like I'm stupid."
"You are stupid," Tessa whispered.
"Thank you, emotional support gremlin."
She saluted.
Lune finally spoke.
---
The Explanation (Kind of)
"A long time ago, before kingdoms, before mana academies, before guilds, the world was… different. It was ruled by Concepts. Ideas so vast they took form. Eternity. Hunger. Chaos. Time. They walked like gods."
She paused.
"One of them did not die when the world changed. He was locked away instead. Because his existence was… wrong."
Great. Love that. Fun news.
"And that's inside me?"
"Yes."
"…Can I return it?"
"No."
"Store credit?"
"No."
"Exchange for coupons?"
"No."
I sighed into my tea.
---
Then It Happened
Just as I was about to respond, something inside my skull shifted.
Like a door unlocking.
Like someone waking up in a room that shouldn't exist.
My vision dimmed.
Sound muffled.
The world flickered out—
---
Inner Space: The Big Weird Void
I found myself standing in what looked like space, but also not space.
Stars.
Blackness.
A floor made of… nothing? Floor-shaped nothing.
And there, sitting on a throne of floating clock pieces and broken halos, was—
Him.
Humanoid, sure. But wrong.
Faceless.
Silhouette made of shimmering starlight and static.
He didn't speak in words.
He vibrated meaning.
> "Ah. You're awake early."
I tried to respond but my voice came out like a squeaky duck toy.
"w… what…"
> "Names are irrelevant. But if you insist, mortals once called me—"
The space around us cracked like glass at the sound of the name.
Reality itself flinched.
> "—but let us not repeat that. It breaks things."
I swallowed air. Or void. Or whatever. It tasted like anxiety.
"So… why are you in me?"
He tilted his head, stars dripping from the motion.
> "Because you wished not to be powerless."
"…when???"
> "When your old life ended."
And then —
---
Flash.
Truck.
Rain.
A streetlight.
Me — reaching for something. Someone?
A feeling: I don't want to disappear. Not like this. Not unnoticed.
Then darkness again.
---
Back in my body
I snapped back into the cafeteria so fast I knocked my tea off the table.
It spilled on my pants.
So now I looked like a guy who just peed himself during deep lore exposition.
Perfect.
Lune watched me silently.
Tessa scribbled: "Rei pees when stressed?"
"I DIDN'T— IT'S— THE TEA— STOP WRITING THAT—"
But Lune didn't laugh.
She just nodded.
"You saw him."
"Yeah," I said quietly. "And he knows I'm here."
"And?"
I swallowed.
"He said I chose this. Before I died."
Lune leaned back.
Her eyes softened. Sad.
"Then the path ahead is already set."
Tessa raised her hand.
"Question," she said. "Does this mean Rei can nuke people just by thinking too hard?"
Lune nodded grimly. "Yes. If he loses control."
Tessa wrote:
"Note: Do Not Let Rei Think Too Hard."
Which — honestly — fair.
---