“Huff Huff” a man is pedaling to nowhere in a room too hot, and filled with people. He is tired and exhausted, not to mention covered in sweat.
“And now coast.”
The woman at the head of the spin class said. Nicki fell over the handlebars just trying to catch his breath. How am I supposed to meet people if I can’t even breathe? Drystia had recommended to Nicki that taking a class was a good way to meet people. So he had looked up a few classes in his area and thought this might be a good way in. Little did he realize how much the workout would kick his ass. He didn’t even have a chance to talk to anyone.
“Alright now just five more minutes. So let’s do a burnout.”
Oh, no.
“Everyone you can do it, and go.”
Nicki’s mind went blank as he started to pedal faster, along with the class. His legs were burning, and his side hurt. He did not make it the full five minutes barely even two. He crashed barely able to feel his legs.
“Great job everyone!”
The instructor said as the class finished. Everyone grabbed their things and headed out. Not once did Nicki even have the chance to try to talk. I think this place was a bust.
With that disappointing and rather intense class out of the way, Nicki made his way home. The entire ride he berated himself for not even trying to talk to anyone. Simply looping self-criticism, all the way home.
“I got to get out of my own head.” He made it all the way to his room before, opening his closet door. Instead of clothes or perhaps a shoe box filled with memories. Instead, there was an office with a little doll walking around.
She turned to Nicki as he step through. “You stink.”
#
Two men and a God sit inside an office. One sits behind the desk while the God and the other man sit. The man with the God looks lost and confused. He had just finished climbing the Tower of Aeternitas. He had been climbing for years, to reach the top. The climb was harrowing, Elias had once climbed together with a party of friends. Floor by floor they climbed. Searching for the wish that was promised at the top. Floor by floor, year after year they climbed.
Slowly, so slowly they grew to be immensely powerful yet the creature barring their way were just as strong if not stronger. They fought through hordes of monsters, saw many wondrous and terrible things, and lost so much. Then the first of them fell, and they nearly gave up, instead, they pushed on. Then another. Still, they pushed on. Again, and again till Elias was the last.
Elias had been numb pushed on by a stubbornness to finish his climb. He no longer tracked how long he climbed. He had forgotten the original reason they climbed. There was no humanity left to save. Just him. Climbing the tower. Now there was only the next floor until there wasn’t.
There at the top, he found a God. One tired, broken, and drained. He smiled when he saw Elias. “One last chance.” The God said as Elias flew at the Deity. His sword swung for its neck. Then he was here in this office, one just like back on old Earth. It was utterly surreal, and confusing. Especially since he felt weak like he once did long ago.
“You want to do what?” The man behind the desk asked confused. For some reason that snapped Elias back to consciousness.
“I want to regress him back to the beginning.” The Deity responded. His body was twice the size of either of the men as he radiated what Elias could only describe as divinity.
The man behind the desk became thoughtful whispering under his breath. “Can I even do that?” The man looked between the God and Elias his eyes looking distant. Elias suddenly felt hope bloom in his chest. It was strange a foreign something he thought he gave up a long time ago. Could I really go back and fix things?”
“Got it!” The man snapped his fingers, “Now what kind of regression do you need?”
“What do you mean what kind of regression?” Elias here said it was a standard trope that you would be intimately familiar with.” When did I say that? I don’t remember anything about that. I had swung at Erathma. Elias’s brain stopped just for a moment. Erathma how do I know that? Wait. Suddenly he remembered a conversation about old earth stories after Erathma couldn’t grant his wish. Then he pulled out a business card. Elias’s head hurt.
“Yes. I am. It’s just there are a bunch of different kinds. So you might have some options. Do you mind holding your hand out for me?” The man behind the desk reached over the desk, only for Erathma to pull back eyes narrowing.
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“Why?”
“I need to gauge what is available to you with the amount of power you have left.” He replied calmly.
“Give me a list and I'll just pick one. I'm sure we can do any of them.”
The man let out a tired sigh, “Sir. It would be better for you not to get your hopes up.”
“Are you saying I'm poor?” Erathma replied indignantly.
“No sir.” The man’s customer service voice was so sickly sweet that Elias had a flashback to when he had to deal with customers who just wouldn’t listen. I can feel the annoyance.
“I believe you are quite wealthy. It's just difficult for me to match you properly, with your best option. With this method, I can better tailor your regressor experience.
“Hmmm....” Erathma thought. Elias just wished he would just agree.
The man turned to Elias and winked.
“Of course, a custom contract would be perfect.” Erathma conceded happily. The deity reached out with his hand and took the man. The man’s eyes moved rapidly back and forth like he was searching for something.
“Thank you. Alright, I have three options for you.”
Three? Why aren’t there more?
“Three? Why not more?” Erathma seemed to agree with my unasked question.
The man went wide-eyed, “More? This is more than any other regressor has ever gotten.” Elias thought he was laying it on a bit thick.
“Oh well. It's because of my magnificence.” Erathma preened.
Elias stared at the God. Seriously.
The man began, “Option one. Standard regressor contract. Your champion is sent back, or merges with his counterpart, to the beginning of another world almost exactly like your old one, and you merge with yourself. Granting yourself extra divinity. No memories are transferred for you but he will remember everything.”
Elias nodded. That followed what he knew. He wished he would be able to keep his powers but he guessed that wasn’t possible.
The deity looked appalled. “I would die?”
“No. You would merge with an earlier version of yourself, or really it’s an alternate version.” Erathma stood. Before he could object the man cut him off. “Sorry, but all three options will include the merge.”
The God was stunned as the man continued. “Option two. Your champion merges with his counterpart. Holds onto all his power, and memories. This would almost guarantee a good outcome.
“But I wouldn't remember, or have any extra power.” Erathma finished.
“No.”
“And the last option?”
“Your champion regresses and has vague memories of this world no extra powers but you give all your remaining power to your counterpart. He’ll get much of your memories from this timeline. You could use that to guide him or other promising candidates.”
Elias felt his heart drop hearing the last option. He knew that was what he was going to choose. Completely ignoring Elias’s wish.
“I'll do that one.”
#
A man sits at a table with his parent’s head in hand poking at his food with the other.
“Honey, what’s wrong.” Nicki’s mother asked.
He really didn’t want to get into it. They already didn’t like his job all that much, and it always felt like he was complaining to them about it. Sure it was rough but it could be very rewarding too.
“Just a client today.” He replied simply.
“Oh? What did they do?”
How do I say this without sounding insane? “Get this. He brought in his junior employee with him who had been single-handedly keeping the business together for years.”
“Ah. I’ve had those jobs.” His father cut in.
His mother ignored him. “What was he there for? Hiring on more people?”
“More like a consultation.” It was oddly easy for Nicki to translate what happened into a business scenario. “They needed a complete restart. So I started walking them through their options and what we could do for them. One of them would have had the employee in a significantly better position and generally make everything for the boss better Increasing his budget too. Heck. Almost nothing would have changed for him.”
His mother looked confused, “So what went wrong?”
“The other options.”
“Let me guess.” His father cut in. “It gave him a tiny amount of extra power that may or may not help the company and will essentially screw over the guy holding it all together?”
Nicki blinked in surprise. “Uh. Essentially yeah Dad. How’d you know?”
His father snorted, “Had one or two bosses like that. They think they can fix everything if they just had a bit more power. They completely forget about the people that work for them. I bet he was even talking about not needing the employee.”
“That about sums it up.” It was shocking how close he had gotten to what happened.
“You can’t let them get to you. Sadly, the company will probably fail again.”
“I believe that might have been the case. I really feel for the employee.”
“Well, that other guy should leave to be some other company’s hero. One where he’d be appreciated.” His mother chimed.
“I couldn’t agree more. Though sometimes a new place is just like the old one. Well, I did give him a bit of a bonus.” Nicki thought with a smile.
#
The world ended, and the tower fell. Elias could only stare in complete disbelief. The dreams were right.
For the last few months, he had been dreaming about another world, another life. One where he fought hordes of monsters, and watched his friends and family die. Everything in his dreams always started the same. With an impossible tower appearing from nowhere then a message from a so-called God. Claiming there was a wish at the top, and that the tower was the last bastion of humanity and a test. Where one could learn magic, and fight.
Why would they need to fight? Because soon the monster would appear. They would overrun humanity, especially those who refused the tower’s call.
His nightmare was coming true, except now he was forewarned and knew what was to come. Or at least partially. The man looked down at the other thing that he had stumbled upon when the dream began. A simple leather-bound tome. One that was just there one day. He had skimmed through it out of curiosity multiple times. Every time seemingly finding something new. It was a completely outrageous thought experiment. But if the tower was real maybe.
Elias stared down at the book. If this was real then he could help not just himself but everyone. He couldn’t help but wonder. “Just who are you Rixar?”
* * *