The rain hadn’t let up for two days, but Ace barely noticed. Time slipped away in a blur, the hours passing like fleeting fragments of memory. Everything after he found Marcus on the floor felt like flashes—disjointed, unreal.

He remembered dialing for an ambulance, his fingers shaking on the screen.

After that, everything became a haze. Flashes of the ambulance ride, glimpses of sterile hospital walls, the steady hum of machines. And then... the words that changed everything.

Marcus was dead.

The news hit Ace like a tidal wave, leaving him numb and adrift. He didn’t know how to feel, what to do—he just stood there, frozen. The doctor’s voice echoed in the background, explaining something about a heart attack, but none of it made sense. His mind couldn’t process the words, couldn’t grasp the reality.

A sharp, buzzing tinnitus drowned out the doctor’s explanation, blending with the relentless sound of rain pounding against the windows. The only thing that kept replaying in his head, over and over, was the same haunting thought.

‘He’s gone… He’s dead… He’s…’

The next thing Ace could remember was standing at the funeral. Even there, everything felt distant, like a fog had settled over his mind. Nothing really made sense, just fragments—faces, murmured words, the scent of rain-soaked earth.

Ace remembered the faces—too many to count. He had never realized that Marcus knew so many people. The room felt heavy, not just with the scent of flowers and polished wood, but with the quiet sobs and murmurs of those mourning the man.

He felt the weight of their sadness, yet it didn’t quite reach him. The world outside was a blur of dark suits and umbrellas, the air thick with the smell of wet earth and rain, though Ace barely noticed.

The next scene was his burial.

He stood there, detached, as men with tear-streaked faces lowered the coffin into the earth, their grief palpable.

One by one, they shoveled dirt into the grave, their sobs mingling with the dull thuds of soil hitting wood. Each shovel full of earth felt like a final, irreversible weight pressing down, but Ace stood motionless, hollow, without knowing what to do, what to feel.

As the final clump of earth fell onto the coffin, it decreed the harsh reality Ace still struggled to accept—the old man was gone.

The steady noise of the rain and the muffled sobs of those around him filled the air, but Ace stood frozen, the weight of it all suffocating. He opened his mouth to speak, to say something, anything, but no words came. Only silence.

Silence stayed with him for the rest of the day. He vaguely recalled exchanging a few words with people, mostly with a woman who introduced herself as his aunt, but none of it mattered. The moment he could, Ace went straight home, headed for his room, and buried himself in his bed.

The next few days blurred together, marked by solitude in his room. Ace rarely left his bed, tending only to his basic needs. Most of the time, he lay there, staring blankly at the ceiling or forcing himself into sleep, seeking refuge from the suffocating weight of his emotions.

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

However, a few days later, something unexpectedly changed.

A knock on the door snapped Ace back to reality. The rain had stopped, and sunlight streamed through the window, casting a warm glow on the room. It was barely past noon. If it were part of his usual routine, he’d be at school right now, but he felt drained, as if he lacked the energy to even eat. His body felt heavy, weighed down by everything that had happened.

Despite feeling completely drained, Ace somehow found the strength to answer the door. It was as if an unnatural force, something beyond his control, stirred within him, giving him the desire, reason, and strength to move. With each step toward the door, he felt an odd urgency, as if something—or someone—was compelling him forward.

Ace’s sharp mind immediately pieced together the situation. He didn’t need to think twice—he knew exactly who was standing at his door.

Opening the door, Ace met with a figure of mundane features, dressed in an impeccable dark suit and a top hat. His smile was unsettling, creeping slowly across his face, while his eyes—deep and unsettling—carried the weight of knowledge that seemed to stretch far beyond the limits of the mortal realm.

God knocked on his door.

“I told you, didn’t I?” The figure’s voice dripped with a sense of victory, as his unsettling smile widened. “You would change your mind.”

Rage surged through Ace as he saw the God entering his home, his fists clenching at his sides as a single thought boiled to the surface. Containing himself, he shut the door being him.

“Is this part of your plan?” he demanded, his voice low and dangerous, eyes narrowing at the figure before him.

“Of course not,” he replied with a nonchalant shrug, his tone eerily calm. “I don’t meddle with your lives.” He paused, his smile widening slightly. “But I do know when tragedies are about to unfold.”

“You could have stopped it,” Ace said, his voice low but laced with anger. It wasn’t a question—he knew this so-called god had the power.

“Perhaps I could have,” the god replied smoothly, settling casually on the sofa’s headboard, “but so could you.”

Ace’s mind raced. “How could I have prevented it? I’m not a doctor, I don’t have—”

His words faltered as realization struck, his stomach sinking.

“You could have asked me,” the god continued with a hint of amusement, “and I would have protected him. Protected both of you, in fact. But you didn’t wish for it, did you?”

Ace’s face tightened, his hands balled into fists. He fought to contain the frustration coursing through him, forcing himself to breathe through the anger. Finally, with a steadied voice, he spoke.

“I have a wish.”

“Tell me.”

Ace met his gaze, unyielding. “I want you to bring him back.”

“I can’t do that.”

A hollow silence settled between them, as Ace’s fists trembled with barely restrained anger. He wanted nothing more than to punch the being in front of him. But he held back, swallowing his anger, and forced his voice into something close to calm.

“Why not?” he demanded, his tone sharp and edged.

“A series of reasons,” the god replied, his tone calm, almost indifferent. “But the most important would be—Marcus is not dead.”

Ace’s heart skipped a beat, confusion flashing across his face as he stepped forward, grabbing the god by the collar. His voice came out low, controlled, but simmering with intensity. “What do you mean?”

Unbothered by Ace’s actions, God asked, “Do you wish to know?”

“Of course”

The god’s smile stretched wider, an unsettling blend of amusement and mischief in his eyes. “Marcus is in another place,” he continued, “a place very, very far away. But fortunately for you, I can send you there.”

“Then do it,” Ace demanded, not a hint of hesitation in his voice.

The god tilted his head, as if savoring Ace’s resolve. “Ah, but of course,” he said, his tone as smooth as silk. “There’s always a price, Ace. If I am to help you reach him, you’ll have to do something for me as well.”

“What do you want?”

“Oh, nothing too serious,” the god replied with a smirk. “Just a small favor to be repaid in the future. One you’ll undertake without question… whenever I decide to call upon it.”

“I accept.”

“Marvelous,”

Suddenly, the God that Ace had gripped by the collar disintegrated into a swirl of magical yellow dust, which drifted through the air and rushed past him, vanishing behind him in an instant.

Following that, the encroaching darkness engulfed the light. All the lamps and sources of illumination were snuffed out, leaving the space cloaked in an unsettling shadow.

Ace’s heart raced as he frantically scanned the space, startled and frightened by the abrupt blackout.

But just five seconds later, the lights flickered back to life, and Ace finally regained his sight. However, one thing was amiss: the spot where the God had perched was now empty, with no trace of its presence left behind.

At that moment, reality hit him like a cold wave, forcing him to confront the unsettling thought: “Was I imagining things?”

“You were not.”

God’s voice emerged from behind him, offering an unexpected reassurance for his fraying mental state. However, when he turned to look, he found the God in a different appearance again.

All he could see were those amber eyes—glistening like precious jewels—amidst a swirl of mysterious and illusory, powerful words and symbols that floated around him in a vibrant yellow hue. They seemed to pulse with life, dancing and weaving through the air as if they were drawn to him, each one carrying an echo of untold knowledge and secrets that caused Ace to feel an extreme pain just from looking at it.

Before he could utter a word, the man lunged forward, his hand piercing Ace’s chest as if it were made of mere paper.

A metallic taste flooded Ace’s mouth as he coughed up blood, glancing up at the mysterious figure, whose features remained cloaked in darkness. The man wore a terrifying smile, a haunting farewell etched across his face.

“We’ll see each other soon, Ace”

Then everything faded into darkness.