Before I died, I used to think to myself, I'd give anything to have a better life. I'd often wonder: Would I be willing to give up my soul? All the time spent suffering, wallowing in self-pity... I never truly considered: if I did have an opportunity to change everything, would I take it? Would I sacrifice myself for the hope of a better life?
This time around, I've been given the opportunity of a lifetime. The real question is, am I brave enough to make a deal with the devil himself?
I took a deep breath and pushed my final doubt into the oppressive blackness. I demanded
"How do I know you'll hold up your end? That you can truly grant me a life without that final, devastating regret? How do I know you're not just a liar giving me false hope?"
The void went utterly silent. I wasn't just floating anymore; I was being dragged, violently, toward a light in the corner. It wasn't guiding me—the Entity's will was a knife in my skull, forcing me to watch.
The light was so bright it could burn the retina. I closed my eyes, but the softness of grass beneath my feet made me instantly open them. The noise hit: an immediate, sickening blend of loud screams, cannon fire, and the choking stench of gunpowder.
I stood in the middle of a bloodbath. Men ran at each other with ancient weaponry. Bullets screamed past my head. The prayers of the dying were swallowed by the noise. I was desperate to move, to help, but terror held me in place. My legs froze.
Then I saw him. A man running right for me, his head a void of blackness, except for a terrifying, massive White Grin.
Right before he reached me, the world cracked. Every soldier around me exploded. The man burst into red mist. Blood and bone rained down, soaking my body. I tried to scream, but my mouth offered only a muffled, pathetic sound. My voice had been stolen.
The horror shifted. The gore began to stitch itself back together, unnaturally fast. Time reversed. The soldiers walked backward, the screams reabsorbed. The world rewound from grass to dirt, to bubbling lava, until I was floating on a shimmering ocean with a bright sun overhead. The Entity snatched the scene away.
I was pulled into a cosmic sea, dragged toward a beautiful, impossible galaxy. I stared at its spinning light for only a second until the familiar white glow appeared in the background: the White Grin—closer, knowing.
The entire galaxy shattered. The sound didn't come from my ears; the screams of millions dying tore through my mind. I felt the final, silent burn of a billion lives going out, and the agony was mine. The black-faced man with the Grin was there again, staring at me—a final, absolute promise of what it controlled.
I was pulled back, floating in the empty blackness. I watched the galaxy snap back into existence, perfectly recreated. The power to break and remake existence.
When my vision finally snapped away, the Entity's voice was a flat, cold command, holding an undeniable truth that I could no longer challenge.
It controls everything. I thought, my mind slow and heavy. It can erase regret. It can bring back what I lost. The cost doesn't matter now. There is no other path. I was a dead man, and this was my only chance to fix the pathetic trail of my life.
In my old life, I'd run from this. I'd always choose to hide, not to fight. I got used to the pain, but I always ran from a devastating loss. Not this time. This isn't a fight I can escape. The power I just witnessed... if it's real, I'm going to risk it all. I will fight.
I started to speak, a word of surrender forming on my lips, but the Entity's voice slammed across the blackness before I could draw a breath to speak.
"Silence, Boy," the Entity proclaimed. "Your consent is a formality. Your choice was made the moment you valued your regret over your life. Now, listen. We deal in simple terms. This is the Cost, and this is your purpose."
"Your identity is irrelevant, and your memories are contained. You will be known only as a vessel of Our Will. To complete this endeavor, you are imbued with Andhkar. This is the primeval void, the shadow given form. It will be your shield, your weapon, and your chain. It is not yours, and its usage is strictly metered by Our desire."
"We were the first. We were the only. The Absolute Reality, We defined existence simply by being. Before the pathetic light and structure you see now, there was only the Void, and We were the Void's sovereign consciousness."
"We were not defeated, vessel. We were disgraced and cast down. The very thought that those entities—those blasphemous nobodies—dared to rebel against Us is a cosmic outrage! We will never forget them: Sattva, Ṛta, Prāva. They usurped Our throne, weaving this Alternate Reality around Us. It is a prison of finite rules designed only to contain Our infinite nature. Your short-sighted pain, little vessel, is but a microscopic consequence of Our imprisonment."
"Listen closely, Boy. Your purpose is not to gather souls or wage war. Your purpose is singular: to unhinge the foundations. We seek no keys or artifacts; the weak points are the jailers themselves. You must seek out and destabilize the core essence of Sattva, Ṛta, and Prāva. When their three essences fail, the laws that anchor this pathetic shell of existence will cease to hold. Once their prison is broken, We will reclaim Our infinite dominion, which is Galictous, and this universe will unravel into the silence from which it came. That is the only reason you draw breath."
"Before we discuss conditions," the Entity declared. "We must inform you how Andhkar operates. Andhkar is the Void itself—the sovereign darkness. When you draw upon it, you command the power of un-creation, allowing you to bring anything imaginable into temporary existence."
"However, there is an absolute limitation. For any object or entity you wish to create, you must possess a clear and complete mental image of its form and function. Should you attempt creation without this precise knowledge, the resulting construct will be corrupted by the unrestrained Void. This corruption is violent, immediately destroying everything in its vicinity. While such destruction would normally be inconsequential to Us, the slightest mistake could foil Our plan for silent return. You cannot afford to fail this rule."
"As Our vessel, your movements are transitory, your presence a necessary disruption. The power We lend you is not a gift, it is a shackle. You will not expend Andhkar on petty acts of vengeance or curiosity. Its usage is permitted only to further the objective: the destruction of the Essences that hold this realm. You will draw no attention to Our presence. You will leave no trace of Our power that the usurpers—Sattva, Ṛta, or Prāva—can follow. Control, silence, and absolute focus. These are the laws of your temporary existence."
The Entity declared, "The cost for the use of Our power is severe: Your very existence is now bound to Our service. You, Agna, are the flawless host; though you are human, the toll for using Andhkar will be heavy on your soul and body. Our power knows no limits; its usage will scour and destroy your soul. Yet, as the perfect host, your demise is merely delayed, ensuring you serve Our purpose to the last. You will endure an eternity of pain and suffering, bound by Our rules, for every single day. Since you sought eternal happiness for yourself, by serving Us, you shall achieve it. The pain is but the temporary price for eternal peace."
"Our terms are concluded. We now commence your departure." The Entity decreed.
End of Chapter...