20 minutes earlier.

‘Fight. Even if I don’t know how.’ Huh? …How could I have forgotten? Clay questioned himself. Despite buzzing and occasional death screams that made the tile store sound like a rave held in the lowest, coldest level of hell, Clay could only sit still at the end of an aisle of marble slabs.

Suddenly, the sound throughout the Tile Store completely vanished from Clay’s ears and the color began to fade from his eyes as his field of vision became filled with dark purples and deep black shadows. Despite the lack of sound and color, everything around him seemed to move like it was beforehand, as if Clay was removed from his current reality yet could see what was happening, like an out-of-body experience. Sadly for him, Clay realizes that he was very much still in his body as he heard a familiar voice:

“If one does not know how, why fight at all? Seems like waste really. Though isn’t everything when you get down to it?”

As Clay struggled to find the words to say to his invisible ‘benefactor’, The Lord of The Void chimed in, saying “Relax. I felt you and I needed some alone time.” Which explained why nobody, including the monsters that were pouring into the store, seemed to notice Clay slumped on the ground.

“Anyhow, why are you so distressed?” The Lord asked in an overly curious, clueless tone.

“…. Jezz, how can you tell….” Clay sarcastically replied, which shook him in how he interacted with an invisible, eldritch being as casually as he would with Shane during their DM’s.

“Now now, do not answer a question with yet another question! It’s a very bad habit you know.” The Lord chastised Clay.

“I mean, how am I supposed to feel when I see giant flies and vermin trashing everything? Happy?” Clay asked his ‘benefactor’, with half as much sarcasm as genuine curiosity.

“Everything ends. Everything decays. Why lament? Why fight against it?” The Lord asked.

“…. True. But what makes you the one that decides that?” Clay replied, a bit of anger slipping into his dull, defeated tone of voice.

“That’s what I find both fascinating and infuriating about you mortals, no matter the realm. You seem to be the only presence throughout the multiverse that questions their role in it.” The Lord of the Void commented.

“So what? Are you saying you don’t?”

“Exactly! I am the end incarnate.”

“….. Cool….” Clay listlessly commented, at a loss of words.

“So don’t despair. Soon yours will come just like it comes to all.” The Lord told Clay in a twisted form of reassurance.

“….. But what if I don’t want it all to end? Especially right now. “Clay suggested.

“Regardless of the improbable, selfish reality, what do you have any more? Those that I reward with my gift become blank slates. A rebirth if you will.” Clay’s ‘benefactor’ pondered while answering another of Clay’s questions, about why his family was acting so strange the entire day.

“Even without my hand however, you would still have nothing. You are an existence without a purpose.” The Lord explained a truth that ate at Clay ever since he graduated college.

“ ….. And you think I should thank you?” Clay asked the invisible entity, the bitter anger finally overtaking the emotionless hopelessness in his voice.

“Of course! I think I mentioned it at least once.” The Lord of the Void answered.

Clay did not respond to his ‘patron’s’ words and sat in silence once again. As he sat, a smile slowly formed on his face.

It’s funny. The one thing that I feared the most is the very thing I wish I still had.

“And what might that be?” The Lord of the Void interjected. The prospect of his ‘Boss’ being able to hear his thoughts surprisingly does not phase Clay at the moment.

“I used to hate feeling so…. Lost. But I’d rather that than be your tool.” Clay explained.

“Well, aren’t you a strange one….” The Lord proclaimed in astonishment before cryptically concluding “Too bad for you though, the only thing you can do right now is follow the voice of fate.”

As The Lord of The Void finishes saying his words, Clay sees Ophelia and Shane run frantically past him while the monstrous flies give chase.

“…. You think so? Because I might have found…. another route.”

“Hmmm…. I suppose you have.” The Lord conceded, which gave Clay a small bit of pause, but he felt he was on a roll here and did not want to weaver right now.

“And I know that you are not the only Lord here. And I am not the only one picked to be a tool for …. whatever the hell you guys are doing.”

“Information your predecessors were not allowed to be afforded ordinarily.” Clay’s ‘patron’ chimed in.

“Whatever. Either way, I’m going to use that information against you and your friends.” Clay declared as he slid his back up the rough sides of the marble slap behind him.

“Wow, for a mortal, you present me with many questions. Impressive.” The Lord of the Void declared with a strangely jovial tone.

Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

“But I guess the simplest yet most complicated question to ask here is why? I doubt revenge is a motivation that will drive you.”

“I mean, there is so much to experience. So much to see, to read, to watch. I can’t let this world end when I have so much anime to still watch. I mean call me stupid, but I want to finish Hunter x Hunter 2011 before the world ends.” Clay explained to the Lord, both slightly embarrassed yet willing to be honest with himself even if it makes him look ridiculous.

“You would defy the beginning, the end, and even the elements of life itself for things so…. Material?” Clay’s ‘benefactor’ asked in disbelief, its tone far more lighthearted than Clay had expected, as if the Lord was making fun of him. Which both scared and pissed him off.

“Call me empty and without purpose. You might even be right, but that will never stop me from trying to fill that emptiness and find my purpose, no matter how out of reach both of those things are.”

“…. And all you needed to do was follow the voice of fate…” The Lord lamented.

“Well, if you are the one that follows the voice of fate, I’m the one that tries to grab destiny by the throat.” Clay proclaimed, all hesitation and shame dissolved within him as he stood up and stared at the ceiling. Though he was glad that he was in a state where Ophelia could not hear him.

Though the Lord of the Void laughed uproariously in place of Ophelia, Clay was not sure if that was a better or worse replacement.

“You amuse me very much. Never have I chosen someone so…. Brazen. “The Lord commented.

Suddenly, Clay feels throbbing pain in his tongue. Clay opened his mouth and stuck his tongue out. He finds that the hole on his tongue changed from black to a dark purple.

“Well, it looks like our conversation is over. Get out there and swim against the waterfall of destiny.” Clay’s ‘benefactor’ concluded as the purple and black shadows slowly faded from Clay’s eyes.

As Clay waited for the color to return to its previous settings, the words ‘Swim against the waterfall of destiny’ began to weigh heavily on his mind. But right now, Clay felt like he had to shake off those creeping doubts. He could no longer be held back by his fear, he had to step forward, here and now.

As soon as the color had returned to normal, the piercing sound of flies buzzing flooded Clay’s ears. At first this cacophony of buzzing unnerved him, but Clay remembered earlier that he was able to command the flies to go away.

Without a second to lose, Clay runs to the middle of the store, away from the aisles of marble, and commands without an ounce of panic in his voice:

“STOP!”

And just like that, all the flies in the tile store become motionless. Soon after the still buzzing flies stopped moving, Clay saw Ophelia and Shane walk out of the aisle they ran toward. After Shane laughed and mentioned something to Ophelia, he started walking toward Clay.

“Shane, …., we need to leave now,” Ophelia ordered, still on edge.

“Relax Phil. We are in the clear. It seems Clay has finally learned to tap into the powers of the void.” Shane proclaimed.

“I have?” Clay asked, the expression on his face shifting from determined stoicism to dumbfounded confusion.

“Well…. You’re on your way anyway.” Shane relented, shrugging his shoulders.

“Guys! Come on!” Ophelia yells as she backtracks through the aisle where she almost died.

“Strength and durability are not the only things the Lord’s give to their Chosen. You have some of its power within you.” Shane explained as he and Clay walked to catch up with Ophelia. His voice raised due to the massive amount of buzzing still in the building.

“So…. I’m basically the Silver Surfer?” Clay asked.

“Yeah…. Whoever that is.” Shane confirmed in a confused and listless tone.

“Right, I forgot. Not much of a comic guy.” Clay commented.

“But I think I remember seeing the movies,” Shane mentioned.

“Oh god!” Clay groaned in disgust before bursting out in laughter.

Soon Clay and Shane made their way toward the back entrance of the store and met with Ophelia who taped her toes like she’s Sonic the Hedgehog during his ideal animation.

“Wow, great hustle guys.” Ophelia aggressively quipped as she leaned on the right of the back door, blood once again trickling from her injured leg.

Before Clay and Shane can respond to Ophelia, a couple of giant rats crashed into the metal backdoor, causing it to fly into the air, with enough force that allows it to slice through the slabs of marble in its way, before landing in an area that Clay and the rest couldn’t see.

“Stop!” Clay commanded the hulking rats. It seems to work for a second before the Rats let out loud, hellish squeaks, the neon green saliva dripping from their mouths splashing around them.

“What?! Why the hell isn’t it working?!” Clay panicked as the pain in his tongue grew sharper.

“Well, do something! We’re surrounded here!” Ophelia commanded in as much panic as Clay.

“Thanks Ophelia, we can see that. Just because I have sunglasses on doesn’t mean I’ve lost my eyes.” Shane snarked at Ophelia.

“Come on Clay! You can’t let this end here. Not when I just told off a god because I want to watch more anime.”

“Clay, these rats may not listen, but the flies will. Just say your orders.” Shane strongly suggested.

“….. Ok.” Clay hesitantly accepted. He was unsure how Shane thought about that or had any confidence that it would work, but right now, Clay had to do anything he could.

As the monstrous rats finally rushed toward him and his group, Clay took a deep breath and shouted: “Attack!”

As Ophelia, Shane, and Clay dived out the back door, the flies within the store started trashing it. Indiscriminately crashing into marble slabs and checkout counters as well as the rats that entered the store.

“Nice. Though I think you should have been a bit more specific there.” Shane critiqued.

“Thanks …. I’ll remember the next time I command giant flies to fight giant monsters,” Clay said with dry sarcasm. Clay’s mood was broken by a sudden, piercing squeak.

A hulking rat leaped at Clay and Co. Clay, Ophelia, and Shane sidestep the monstrous abomination, avoiding its strike. Upon landing, the rat gave the group a vicious, piercing glare as it pulled its large claws out of the concrete it pierced.

Strangely, the pain in Clay's tongue spiked like crazy. So bad is the pain that Clay’s knees begin to buckle but Clay musters all his strength to make sure that he does not fall down again.

“Clay, looks like you need to spit,” Shane suggested to Clay, whose right hand is on his mouth.

Clay lowers his hand and spits at the rat, which rather than a typical loogie, a small bit of black energy comes out of his mouth. When the black bit hit the rat’s face, the small energy quickly enveloped the monstrous creature, causing its physical form to collapse in on itself.

“Jesus!” Ophelia shouted, horrified.

“How. The. Hell. Did. You. Know-?”

“Who knows.” Shane interrupts Clay. Though the spit Clay unleashed on the mutated rat alleviated the pain in his tongue, it surprisingly took a lot out of Clay, whose legs wobbled even more than a minute ago.

Before Clay could collapse, more monsters stepped forward. Giant cockroaches, rats, flies, moths, all the vermin in Las Vegas seemingly coming down on Clay and his co-conspirators.

“Son of a bitch, there’s no end to these things,” Ophelia admits before limping forward to meet the disgusting horde.

As Clay saw Ophelia hobble toward her inevitable, wasteful, doom, he only shouted one word: “STOOOOP!!!”

And with that one, desperate cry, the creatures turned back to normal and dispersed immediately as if they forgot why they were attacking.

Ophelia and Clay fell to their knees as the destruction of the night, somewhat anticlimactically, came to an end.

“You did it Clay, now begins the hard part.” Shane proclaims as Clay’s consciousness fades.