A tension that David did not notice seemed to had been released with his words. Smiles grew on the other servant's faces only to freeze at the next sentence when a booming voice behind him exclaimed, “Wonderful, we'll start with me.”

Looking over his shoulder, David saw a familiar hand reaching for him. Before it made contact, the dwarf was there swearing up a storm. David took a step back, noticing that he could actually get away from the dwarf and the incoming wall of a hand. He could see the giant's eyes focus on the dwarf who seemed to excel at expletives as David continued to slowly back up. After a couple of steps, he looked over his should and repositioned so he didn't run into Kalish. Instead, he moved between her and a the goblin.

Trying to hold himself as if he belonged, David began to talk in a normal voice to the only help person he met yet.

“Soooo....” He drew out, “Are you gods or servants or just immensely powerful?”

The goblin scoffed at that while Kalish answered, looking at David. “All three, though only four of us have all of our traditional power.”

“Yer weaker than bloodsucker's jacket.” The goblin, whose tone was a sharp as the rest of their body, “where I are as strong as its punch.”

David took a moment to parse that statement before looking down at the god. “Vampire?”

“Bloodsuckers not neckbiters.” The goblin clarified before looking past him towards Kalish. “Yer she hes thought box works?”

“Its just your accent Alchie.” Kalish answered.

“His head wings needen a blow out den.” Alchie answered while looking David up and down. “I speak perfectly.”

Both David and Kalish nodded at Alchie's wisdom before she continued.

“Alchie is the god of Alchemists and Goblins. In addition to Bards, I serve the Kalistar. Fawd is the one currently complaining to Foet. Fawd is the god of Fighters and Dwarfs where Foet serves the Feoten and Barbarians. Of the four of us, only Fawd has his original strength.”

“And Foet couldn't eat a goat if'n your bugcatcher works” Alchie continued. “Hes lying down green with him bulls and heifers.”

David just looked to Kalish for an explanation.

“He was killed in the calamity with his people. It was thanks to his sacrifice that we understood how to solve the problem.”

Alchie scoffed at that before mumbling something about paper.

“We require you raise him from his resting place to restore him to his proper power and release his class from its seal.”

“Now en don cha show him the wrong post. He gets to choose.”

Kalish nodded at the inane wisdom. “You are right. You get to choose which of the eight of the lesser to release.”

It was only then that David seemed to notice that he was once more in the center of the group, only with Kalish and Alchie still standing next to him. The change caused him to jump, and despite it being a flat plane of nothingness, David landed poorly. Poorly enough that he collapsed on the goblin next to him.

A collective groan was released as Alchie began to cackle.

“I says to you fields he knew the line.” Alchie began as David felt something begin to happen to him. His body began to feel like was warping as a flash of pain occurred on his back. All the while Alchie split the time cackling and saying phrases David couldn't understand. He thought it was supposed to be what he was supposed to do, but the goblin really didn't explain itself well. He needed “the painting of the talking bug” and to “put the chest disc on the webbed box” located “en my favorite's favorite.”

Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

David wished he could have fallen forward instead of backwards as the endless plane gave way, allowing him to fall through the goblin and towards his destiny. Or at least, he assumed it was his destiny and not his “dusty knee” as Alchie exclaimed as he lost sight of the gods.

The fall itself was unremarkable. David remembered all the other times he had fallen and if it wasn't for the great height then there really wasn't anything to mention. There wasn't even any rushing wind to indicate that he was falling, just the initial drop and all the others leaving him in a vertical manner. Otherwise it was just as before those gods arrived. David frowned at that thought before testing something.

First thing he tried to do was roll over, which resulted in a success. Then he attempted to stand up, another success. Though it was weird. He sort of levered in place to get his feet underneath him instead of pushing against something. David supposed that meant he was still falling, or suspended in air.

The white infinite plane gave him no indicator of anything as he remained there, suspended trying to understand what the heck he was supposed to do. He began a prayer that all goblins did not speak like Alchie, only to pause at the thought that there are actual gods now. Who was he supposed to pray to?

“I don't even know most of their names.” David grumbled. “or their divine jobs. How can I pray to anyone beyond Alchie, Fawd, Foet, or Kalish without that knowledge?”

“Did my friends not tell you anything?” A response came. It wasn't a voice because a voice was finite. This felt infinite, as if the very plane was speaking to it. And it didn't say words but rather meaning, true meaning. Those gods were this voices friends, lovers, guests, family, and partners. The strength and depth of their relationship resided within that one word. It was awe inspiring, so David did what he thought anyone else would do when hit with that much meaning: He screamed in pain as blood poured from his eyes and ears.

As quickly as it came, the pain left. David blinked away the tears as he noticed he was elsewhere for the first time since he woke up. Instead of nothingness in a desperate need of an interior decorator, he resided at the edge of a gravel road. It was had ditches on both sides with trees on the opposite end. The sun broke through the little covering the leaves provided, and a soft wind caressed his face. As his eyes came into focus, he noticed that it was not, in fact, wind but a hand made of that infinite nothingness that he came from.

“I am sorry for that.” The white void began, this time in actual words. “I forget that my people require time to process.”

“Your people?” David responded.

The void nodded. “You are now my people. When they brought you to this plane to undo their seals, they made you mine. And when you chose Alchie, she granted you her class.”

“Chose? I didn't choose anyone. I stumbled after being startled.” David countered.

“And you touched her of your own volition, making a choice.” David wanted to get a head of steam, but the voice was too calming and conciliatory. To go against it was to go against fate itself. So David forced himself to get frustrated anyway.

“I didn't have the information to make an informed choice, which is what Kalish was trying to give me.”

“Kalish was trying to get you to choose her over the other 7. But Alchie was a good choice to start with. Her quest is relatively easy.”

“Easy? Then do you know what...” David paused trying to remember what probably happened only a few hours ago, “a chest disc is or what her favorite's favorite is?”

The void nodded.

“Then what are they?”

“I cannot say.”

David knew that it was something literal and defined. If the void cannot say then it could not say. Like he could not choose to ignore gravity on a whim, it was a law of this world. Still, it helped the anger he was building.

“If you cannot say then why are you here?” He demanded of the absence. “And what are you anyway?”

“I am the owner of this plane, you may call me Morty. I am here to facilitate your first choice. You are an alchemist with no means of obtaining your first marks. You are a human with a possible mark no other can mark. You have a legacy that none but the gods understand. I am here to grant you them and to activate your class.”

David paused at that, taking deep breaths to let his fury flow through him. He imagined calming waves beginning at the top of his head as his rage left his feet. After three breaths, a natural smile grew on his face.

“Hello, Morty. My name is David, but you can call me Dai. Can you please help me understand this world.

A smile grew from nothing in the nothing. It shown like the sun.