My mind is clear. But I have no body. I feel as if I feel….nothing. There is no physicality, there is no… no. There’s some emotion. But it’s dulled.

I very clearly died. I, again, very clearly remember what happened. I got shot five times, and I died. I remember being angry when it happened, I remember the pain, and yet now… I merely am.

Oh, don’t get me wrong. I’m disappointed. I failed. Just like I have been the past eight months, and half my life. I failed tonight. I am just a failure. It is what it is, I guess.

So… I guess this isn’t a dream. A dream would require me to be, well, alive. I know I’m not.

Heaven? Hell? Something or other? Hm. I wonder if I can speak.

…Nope, doesn’t seem like it. Can I turn?

I think I’m turning. But it’s all white. There’s nothing here. Makes it hard to tell. I feel like my perspective is shifting, but there’s no change anywhere, so I can’t be certain. I very clearly have no body, so there’s no inner-ear imbalance making me feel dizzy from spinning either. I spin faster, trying to see if I can make my…self?...feel any sort of vertigo at the motion, when I feel something deep in my….not-mind?

“Are you enjoying yourself?”

What the fuck? Where? Who? Me? What? God! Satan! Kratos! Loki! Arceus! I can’t see you! Who’s talking to me?

I pick up a feeling of a chuckle after my non-verbal outburst.

“Funny, for a human. You got it too. I don’t see many humans, and I don’t think any ever get it right.”

I got what right? God?

I pick up the chuckle feeling again.

“Yes, but no.”

It was then I actually do feel a bit of vertigo, as I’ve found that whatever perspective I have managed to notice some sort of black and gold sparkle in the distance. Maybe a little green? I try my best to stop spinning, and it’s immediate. I can’t…focus, exactly, on the sparkle in the distance, but I can tell I’m facing it. Whatever is “speaking” to me lights up each color just a bit with each word I “hear” in my not-mind.

“It’s to my understanding that you died, and have some unfinished business,” the voice tells me. “If I told you that I could help you finish that business, what would you give me in return?”

…return? Everything, I try to push out, as this..God… seems to be responding to what I’m thinking.

“If I sent you on a task, would you do it?”

To the absolute best of my ability. You know where Taylor is?”

“I know not what a Taylor is, but I can sense where it is what you seek. I can send you there to seek it out yourself.”

Really???

“Yes. So. Everything, you say? Would you kill?”

…Yes.

“Truly? Your aura does not strike me as that of a killer. Pragmatic, serious, and just, yes. But a killer? No.”

I’d do anything for Taylor.

The lights shine in the distance, this time without words. Instead, I’m getting what seem to be some sort of emotions that…are not mine. Curiosity, and a sort of.. Probing?

“Yes, probing.”

Holy shit.

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“I am sensing the truth in your aura. You can still intentionally lie in this state, so before we strike a deal, I must make certain you will actually do what I require. It is hard to tell though, as your words conflict with what I am sensing, though I sense no lie.”

What can I do to make you understand?

“That is a fine request. I believe… a trial period.”

A what? Well, yes, a trial, I know what a trial is. But can you elaborate?

“Your aura is very confused, though I suppose that makes sense in light of what you have been through and what you are experiencing. Will you allow me to see exactly what it is you are searching for?”

Yes, God. How? What do I do?

“Your consent is enough.”

The greens I thought I saw earlier shine brighter than the blacks and golds to the point it’s nearly blinding. Having full awareness of not having a body, yet feeling blinded all the same feels absurd to consider, yet it makes perfect sense in this setting. At least, it does to me. Could I explain it in words though? No.

“I see. You are Taylor’s sire, and she is a human that disappeared. I can confirm that what you seek is alive and well, and..”

SHE IS OH MY GOD I’M SO… I MEAN, OH YOU, THANK YOU.

The golds flash at me and dull in what I can sense is annoyance.

“Do not interrupt.”

I don’t even attempt to push the sorry I’m feeling across, instead trying to get my now overwhelming emotions in control.

“You are quite good at this. Calling you pragmatic was not doing your nature justice. Your presence is accepting this situation quite eerily compared to the few times I’ve done this in the past.”

I wait for God to continue.

“I am not God, exactly, but I suppose as far as this exchange is concerned, I may as well be to you. Again, Taylor is fine. I can send you there to see her. But I have a task for you. Will you do it?”

Yes.

The black shines a bit at me in what I can only call hesitation.

“No questions asked?”

None.

“Very well. I will be in touch. Let me say this though. You will not be anywhere near her physical proximity when I am finished here. You will have to seek her out yourself. I am Great, but there are limits.”

Of course. I may seek her out immediately, then?

The blacks flash again in hesitation yet again.

“No. Apologies, but if you are to uphold your end of the bargain, you must stay in the general vicinity of where you are placed.”

The…general vicinity? That isn’t vague at all.

“Region? Country? Whatever you humans may call it. I believe it is called Johto. Stay there for a year, wait for my call, and do what I ask. Then you may seek her out. I will not stop you from researching in the interim, however.”

Cool, yes! I can definitely do that, as long as I know she’s okay.

“She is, and will be. You have my word as what you call God.”

I can do that! She’s okay, she’s alive, she’s well, and I’ll see her in a year. I just have to stay in..

Wait, did you say Joht…

“Good luck.”

I whited out.