He didn’t know how to approach this. The Guardian, whatever it was, told him that he was here to kill him. Not only that, but it had changed shape, brought his soul into a space, and read his mind.

He didn’t even know why he was planning, the jerk could clearly hear him.

[Hey!]

“You know that’s rude right?” He said. Nobody would appreciate having their mind read. It was one of the most basic human rights. So basic in fact, that nobody even thought to write it down.

The being scratched its head and asked, [How? We’re in the middle of the space. We couldn’t talk otherwise.] Rhodney frowned.

“You most likely made this place, so couldn’t you just take us somewhere with air?” He asked.

The deity shook its head. Light dragging as it moved. [Not space, The Space. It’s like a little pocket dimension that us higher beings use like, like,] It snapped it’s fingers over and over again, trying to find the right word.

“Like an apartment?”

It snapped and pointed at me, [Exactly! Like an apartment!]

The being then waved its hand and Rhodney felt The Space’s background turn into TV static.

Then, shift to a scenic part of the wood. Exotic redwoods swayed and sat as big as sky scrappers. The wind tickling Rhodney’s little soul and made him laugh a little.

It felt nice.

The being had shrunken as well, keeping his otherworldly form, but shrinking down to the size of your average man. Letting the size of the forest dwarf him as well. [These spaces allow us to view anywhere at any time in the galaxy. They’re how we keep an eye on all of you.]

Rhodney took a breath of the sweet air and silently thanked the creature for bringing it somewhere comforting. It didn't have to do all of this.

It could have just killed him and been done. But he could tell by its actions that it was at least trying to make his last day a good one. Even taking Rhodney to a spot he’d only seen in postcards.

The least he could do was humor the creature. Not doing so would only shorten its time, not his.

“How much have you seen?”

The being went about explaining who he was. Born as a young energy being in another realm. Being born with powers that allowed it to rise far higher than its peers. And eventually cultivating enough energy to leave its home and explore the universe. Then it got to a part of the story when he’d met the gods. By this point Rhodney was so wrapped he had sat down crisscrossed. Or, shaped his soul to mimic it, as the god had explained.

“They grabbed you,” He laughed, “That’s awful!"

[I swear to all the lords above they pulled out a NET Rhodney, a NET!] It’s head was in its hands.

[I had never been so disrespected.]

“This was the fisher god?”

[Aye.]

“Jeez,” He imagined a giant. Toes as big as continents and a human body that stretched into the cosmos. Scales trailing up from its clavicle, streatching into a giant fish head. Raising up its mighty net and ensnaring the eldritch horror like it was collecting breakfast.

[That image would make him mad,] It giggled with a smooth laugh. It swayed its hand above Rhodneys head and He felt the information of the fish god's true body trickle into its mind. The information being imported felt like drops of water being poured into the inside of his brain.

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“Whoa…”

Awesome.

That ability and the image of the fish god.

Him standing proudly with his glowing purple net and his body littered with constellation tattoos.

“How many gods are there?” Rhodney asked, fully forgetting why he was so afraid.

[Almost a hundred at this point.]

Rhodney just sat in wonder. Staring up at the sky that was now turning slightly red. The evening chill softly hits his soul.

He was sad and happy.

Sad that he had to die but happy he had met the being.

It was obvious he was told by something stronger than him or had some kind of higher duty. He could tell from the growing dread of the creature. That’s obviously why it was nervous. The bubbling dread made Rhodney decide something.

“Hey… you can just get it over with.”

[...]

“I know you’re trying to make it better for me. It's alright,”

“Will I feel nothing if you erase me?” he said.

The Guardian's silence told him that he was correct. He was okay, he had accepted death two times today, why not a third? At least it was with someone he quickly decided was a friend. He stared at the being, feeling it stare back with its faceless gaze.

“C'mon man, just d–”

[...Yknow, I was told you were going to be dangerous.] The being cut him off. [I was told that you had some of the highest power that we’d seen, and that keeping you alive would be bad.]

[But you’re just a kid.]

[So I'm going to ask you a question, and depending on how you answer it, I may just let you live.]

“Live?” But he had... died.

[Our kind can't exactly die, child. That’s why I was sent here to get rid of you.]

…Can’t die? When Rhodney heard this info his world shook. Immortal? He looked down at his translucent body. He didn't feel immortal.

[I know you don't,] The being said, reading his mind, [But your soul has a few extra pieces that give you abilities that others don't have access to. One of those is persistence after death.]

The being looked down at its own fist and squeezed. Remembering the constant amount that it had died venturing in the stars. Remembering how sad, and lonely, and cold it had all been. Looking back at the young soul, it continued. [It was different for me. I am a full energy being that was trained from birth on soul energy, but you!] He pointed, [You’re a human!]

[Not just a human, but a human born into a world without mana,] It took a breath trying to calm itself, but couldn't keep its feet fully on the ground. [You… you never had any real way to release the energy that was building up inside you, no teachers, no cultivating, no powers, no nothing, just doctors, that told you that moving would worsen your condition.]

[But they were inadvertently killing you.]

“...No,” Rhodney choked out the words.

[Child, you had no chance, no kind of release on your earth would've helped you. so,] It reached down its hand to him. Rhodney reflexively grabbed it and was pulled up. The world transitioned and moved fast, he felt his feet leave the ground and began floating as the world turned full zero. No up or down. The two levitate together, without the size difference and the creature fully at his level. Back into the void.

[If I gave you another chance,] The creature started.

[Would you use it to the fullest?]

[Would you penetrate the world everyday?]

[Would you conquer, would you build!]

The creature shouted with a passion Rhodney had only seen from one other person in his life. It gave a similar speech to the one he'd seen from her. Telling him that he was going to live. To keep going. When he was younger he loved that speech. He’d embraced the person that had told him that. But in the end it was only a shallow promise. But, now. He looked up at The Guardian,

[Rhodney…If I gave you a second chance… Would you take this world by its horns?]

He screamed yes. His voice shaking the room with a violence. Green energy pouring out of him and causing the celestial to be slightly pushed back. The fish bowl shifted and shook, its body not used to taking this kind of power all at once. Space distorted around the two of them and suddenly,

Crack,

The loud crack stopped both of their passions right at that moment. Rhodney moved its head to the side and the creature looked back, seeing the giant line formed behind them. [Shit!] The creature zoomed over to the other side of his space and touched the perimeter feeling the break. Placing its hand on the wall and then just standing there in the space.

It shook with a silent rage that Rhodney immediately recognized.

Uh oh.