There is one mistake every powerful person makes in their life at least once. After they reach their peak and see all the people they know below them, their darkest hour is surely close. They might truly feel like the strongest, most powerful, or most important person in the world. But that is far from the truth. Reality is like an endless ocean, and if you keep swimming deeper and deeper, you'll find out soon enough that there is always a bigger fish.

Despite the overwhelming loneliness, which Jack felt in the presence of this "Resident", he refused to simply bend a knee and give up. Sure, they were powerful, but just like every other living creature, they had to have some sort of weakness.

The spikes that were holding Jack upright snapped and crumbled as his force magic tore them to bits. His feet, previously pierced by the dark sharp tendrils were too injured to carry his weight, but that did not stop him. He'd walk only on his knees if he had to. To protect the world he cared about, he must've shown resolve and the will to not give up. However, before he could even hit the ground, another wave of black spikes shot out of the ground, grabbing him again and twisting around his limbs like vines.

"Come on Smartie, be reasonable. You've got holes in your body, you shouldn't move. That way you'll only release more of that red liquid you need."

Jack frowned at the creature. Everything about it was somehow strange and upsetting. "I will protect this world from you! As long as I have Divine Creativity, I will not give up!"

"Oh? Is that the case? Well, why didn't you just say so earlier?"

Before Jack could free himself from the Resident's grasp once more, he felt the creature's hand reach into his chest. How did he approach him so fast? He was standing a few meters away not too long ago. His speed was even higher than Ifrit's.

The creature reached deep into Jack's very soul. It wasn't painful, but the situation filled him with dread. Up close, they looked even scarier, and the fact that their hand went right into Jack's body without damaging it was sending shivers down his whole body.

"Where is it... Where is it... Ah! Got it!" The monster exclaimed and quickly pulled their arm back out, revealing a bright yellow orb in their palm.

"What? N-No... No, you can't..." Jack could not believe his own eyes. He felt the overwhelming and godly power leave his body. The Divine Creativity was gone and was now lying dormant in the Resident's hand.

"So that's what you've all been trying to obtain? Heh, cute," they said while inspecting the little marble more closely before crushing it like a fragile shard of glass. Jack's eyes could not stop looking at the countless bright grains of dust that were slowly falling to the ground like tiny little fireflies - the only thing that remained of this divine power.

"Oh, and while I'm at it, I should probably take these too. Just to make sure we can play without any disturbances," the creature said and waved at Ifrit. The books that were floating behind his back suddenly left their owner and without any signs of resistance flew over to their new master.

"No... No, they are mine... Give them back! Give them back!!" Ifrit shouted at the creature, unable to break free from the thorny bindings.

"Ah, you mortals," the Resident sighed. "You are always so... useless. You get fixated on your powers and ability to harness energies, but in reality, you have nothing. The power you have is never yours. No matter what world you are from. Whether you control the natural elements with the help of magic or science, you always use what is not yours. Your power always comes out of something, but it's never you. Mortal life is not meant to own anything. You are just another useless creation. Like those buildings here. If I gave the rubble a brain and one of the books, it would call itself a wizard. Yet nothing would be their own. Neither their life nor their powers. All of that would be granted to them by those who built them and provided the magic for them. Don't you two get it? You are nothing. Your lives will run out and that will be it. And your precious powers will sooner or later return to the void. That is all there is, you know? You might have your worlds, but the void is the true thing that never dies. Everything else is limited, not real, useless. What use is there for something that eventually withers and dies? But the void is eternal. And so am I. My powers use the energy of the Void and give it back to the Void. They never run out. Everything about you is temporary and fleeting. I am eternal. Do you now understand how insignificant your fixation on your little marbles and books truly is? You are mortals. You will never achieve eternity. No matter how much you'll try."

"I don't believe you," Jack interrupted the Resident's lengthy monologue.

"Oh? How so?"

"Nothing can be eternal. Everything dies, even in the Void. I've seen how it breaks things down until they disappear."

"Ah, yes, you've walked the Void before, huh? But let me share a little secret with you. Well, it's not really a secret because it is really obvious, but your head is so empty I just need to fill it up somehow. The Void you've seen? It's just the edge. The true Void is vast and barren, but never empty. What you've seen disappear in the Void were things from your mortal realm. But things that come from the Void? Those last forever."

"Liar."

"Oh, you are so stubborn for being such a Smartie, but I will overlook that for now and show you something. How about that?" The creature seemed to wink before more of the spikes erupted from the ground and started carrying everyone high up into the sky. It took a few minutes before they eventually stopped. Jack was finally released and able to have a look around. They were standing on a small island made of tiny spikes, floating so high above the ground one could see the entire city of Everstar below them.

"Beautiful. You know, even though this is all so fragile, you mortals still have the most wonderful of worlds. Tell me, Smartie, do you know how big this place is?" the creature asked, still sounding as cheerful as ever.

"It-It's about a thousand square kilometres," Jack mumbled.

"Oh... right, of course, a mirshenof of mufmufuu. I have no idea how much that is, but you know it's a lot, right?"

"Well... yes, it's the biggest city I know."

"Perfect. And now you see it..." The resident waved their arms in the sky. "And now you don't." Where there were once the remnants of buildings, now there was nothing. Every single building in the entire city started to fall and crumble to dust. In their place, many different massive spikes grew across the entire area, transforming the entire city landscape into something that resembled a medieval painting of hell.

"See? And that was so easy. So, now do you get what I meant when I said I have infinite power?" the creature asked.

Jack couldn't collect his thoughts. The sight of such destruction of the place he was born and grew up in brought tears to his eyes. "My home..." he whispered.

"Oh shucks. That was your home? I am so sorry. Allow me to fix it." With another command from the Resident, the spikes that replaced buildings began to twist and curl with new ones forming every second. They weaved around like roots until they formed the empty shells of every single building that was previously destroyed. The city was wiped off the face of the world and reconstructed within not even five minutes.

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"So? Is that alright now? Will you stop crying?"

Jack didn't know what to feel. It was as if he was but a child trying to stand up to a giant. Like an ant determined to topple a skyscraper. The Resident's power was so overwhelming the Divine Creativity looked like nothing but a small toy. Yet, despite all that, something inside him moved. Perhaps it was due to fear or the strange feeling that this is not the god he was willing to serve. Either way, he found in himself the strength to stand up again and end this visitor's existence right there and then.

Jack bit into his lower lip as the pain from his feet shot throughout his body, yet he withstood it and did not fall back to the ground. It was perhaps this feat of willpower that caught the Resident off guard so much. In the next moment, Jack punched the invader right where his heart would be. He had no clue about their anatomy, but he still had to at least try. In the next moment, a blast of his force magic shot through the Resident's body, leaving behind a massive gaping hole, which, should they be a human, would rob them of their heart, lungs, and stomach.

Only now did Jack fall down. He felt his power leaving him, the last remnants of Divine Creativity that somehow stayed within his body were now all used up for this single devastating attack. He was quite pleased with that though. Such a blast would deal massive damage to anyone, no matter where they came from. However, before Jack hit the ground again, he felt the Resident grab his left arm and pull him closer.

"Ah, Smartie, you disappoint me so much, yet in a strangely surprising manner. I had no idea you still had some power left. I suppose I should've been more thorough when I took it from you. My bad. I deserve this."

Jack could not say a word. He only stared at the Resident as the massive hole in his body began to seal. There was nothing inside him. No blood, no organs, nothing. Just darkness with no sign of light.

"You regenerate...? Are you 'immortal' too?" Jack asked, avoiding eye contact.

"Yes. I quite literally am. My body is made of pure energy and regenerates at will. What you did to me just now? That was nothing."

"You're lying. Nobody is immortal. There has to be a weakness," he desperately tried to muster any more strength, but he felt like he'd just been beaten half to death. All that pain from his wounds was making him feel numb, and there was no more of the Divine Creativity that would help him.

"Hmm... Nope, there really is not. I am immortal."

"Lies..."

"No! Look, just think about it. All magical power either returns to its nature when used or goes into the Void. And since I came from the Void, it is also my source of power. Trillions of worlds shoving the leftovers of their magic into endless nothingness. And I just used those leftovers to heal. Sure, you could argue that if all that magic in the Void gets used up then I won't regenerate anymore, but guess what, that is not possible. Every world will always dump its energies into the Void. It's literally an endless source, Smartie."

Jack did not know what else to say. "But... regeneration always has a price. There is always a way against it."

The Resident rolled their eyes and knelt down in front of Jack, like a parent who's about to explain something important to their child and wants to be on their eye level. "Let me give you an example. You hurt me, and my body just restores itself. Right? Do you understand that? Now, if you get hurt, your body will also do the same. Watch." The Resident's grip on Jack's hand suddenly tightened, but it was not natural like someone who just wants to hold their captive with more strength. It was more like a person crushing a cracker in their hand. Even the cracking noise was the same. "See? There. That's part of your body broken now." Jack started screaming as the pain finally kicked in, but that still did not make the resident stop with neither their grasp nor their explanation. "Now, your body is regenerating too. It's just super super slow. Got it? Mine is just faster at it and has fewer necessary... squishy bits than you, so there's more I can heal from than you." The Resident leaned even closer. Their presence made Jack feel like even death no longer exists in the world and that there is truly nothing left. Which, considering the demise of all the reapers, was technically true.

"Do not attack me. Not ever again. Because if you intend to hurt me, you automatically give me permission to hurt you. And as you can see, these two actions can have quite different consequences for both of us. Understood?" the Resident whispered. Jack quieted down for a moment and gave the creature a slight nod, after which they finally let go of his arm and their optimism returned. "Splendid. Now, I will definitely want to play with you some more in the future. We can be great friends. So go and... regrow your bones now, or whatever you humans do with them. I want you to be in tip-top shape, alright?"

"Umm... excuse me?" Ifrit's voice wiggled its way into the Resident's ears.

"Oh! Right, you're here too. Hmm... Dummy! I'm gonna call you Dummy. Because, you know, Smartie is smart, and you are dumb, so you are Dummy."

"I... Okay. I have some questions."

"Ooh? Fun! Ask away! Just don't ask about my real size, that would be rude."

Ifrit had no idea what the creature was talking about, but he continued anyway. "Well... about our deal..."

"Oh... Dummy, you really don't have your brain very full, do you?"

"I beg your pardon? You promised me power!"

"Yeah... This is awkward. I really thought you'd have it figured out by now. Man, now I have to explain this too? What a simpleton you are."

"What are you talking about. I upheld my end of the bargain!"

"Oh, there was no bargain. You see, to enter this world, I need gifts from mortals and chaos and destruction on a massive scale. You have given me the gift and I have given you the books. Then I let Smartie here steal the Divine Creativity you gave me. I knew that sooner or later, you two would fight, and all that power I'd theoretically given to both of you would cause all the destruction I needed to finally push those doors open. So... the deal we had was never real in the first place."

"So we were just used. Both of us..." Jack muttered, not even surprised by this discovery anymore.

"Yes! Though don't feel bad Smartie, that's just what we Residents do. Some worlds have been tricked in worse ways. You just did what you thought was right."

"You played me. Like a pawn..." Ifrit said and stared the creature right into its glowing eyes.

"Yes! But again, no need to feel bad. You were an important pawn. Like... a king in chess. That's what you play, right? Do you know chess? I've seen some people play chess in this world. Well, you've been my most important pawn. The number one. Top class. And for that, I am grateful."

"You bastard..."

"Oh, Dummy, come on, that is..."

"BASTARD!" Ifrit shouted and immediately sprung up into a full sprint towards the Resident. All his rage accumulated in his hand as he delivered a powerful right hook right into the creature's face."

"Umm... Dummy? What are you doing?"

Seeing the being completely unscathed, Ifrit's anger prompted him to attack again. One punch quickly switched places with another, yet none of them were causing any reaction.

"Dummy... Please... This is embarrassing..." The Resident tried to reason, yet Ifrit's rage could not be quenched at the moment. "Ah, well, I suppose I have to show some mercy from time to time." The creature grabbed his fist before it could connect again and pushed Ifrit to the ground with little effort.

"Dummy, you were a great pawn, but you are so boring, I just..."

"Shut up!!! You used me!! You..."

"Yes yes, hush now, I am talking," they interrupted him and covered his mouth with their other hand. "You are boring now. All you do is act hurt because your plan did not work out. So what? That happens. I would have to listen to all that ranting about you not being able to forgive me and you would just be suffering under all that rage. So sometimes you just have to throw away even the favourite pawn if you know it's best for them." There was a brief flash of blue light as if somebody snapped a photo of their current situation. Ifrit's struggling stopped almost instantly as he blankly stared at the Resident. "See? There you go. Didn't even hurt. Off you go now. I don't need you here anymore."

Jack watched in horror as Ifrit's body dissolved into nothing but small blue embers, flying off as the wind carried them away.

"You killed him..."

"Well... technically, I erased him. It's a bit different."

"...Will you erase me too?"

"Oh, no no, of course not! You are my favourite! It might be obvious, by since I am so new here, I need someone to show me around the place. You know, someone who'd tell me where's what, but also someone who'd play with me."

"You're sick!"

"Sick? No, I am perfectly healthy. The black colour is my natural one. You look a bit pale though. Oh! Oh dear, I am so sorry. I didn't realize, you need your red life juice to function. And you've been leaking it all over here. Okay, let's fix this." The Resident came closer and scooped Jack off the ground, carrying him in their arms and slowly hovering back to the ground.

"Don't worry, Smartie, I will take good care of you. We're gonna be great friends!"