I walked until I could just barely see the waymark I had built. The only thing that changed through my entire traveling time was that the coal had become sparser, almost appearing to thin out the longer I walked from the original geyser I landed in. Between the slates of coal, I could now make out what looked like gold. Somehow it was shining, despite there being no star in sight to provide lighting. Magic, I guessed.

I was just about to turn back to my coal tower when I... heard a voice. I immediately perked up because so far in my survey I'd seen no sign of life let alone anything capable of speech.

The voice was barely audible, but it was no denying what it was telling me.

“Plane shifter... Come.”

The voice was emanating from inside my skull itself. There was no way I was going to discern where it came from.

I decided to hold off responding for now, instead focusing my memory on trying to discern the origin of the voice. Was it a psychic interference or was it magical in origin?

The memory of the voice almost seemed to be shifting... It was almost as if the memory itself was avoding detection.

If this is how it’s going to be, I guess I have no option but to respond.

“What are you?”

A simple question, perhaps, but one of undeniable importance.

There was a slight shift in the gold beneath my feet before I heard the voice once more inside my mind.

“They called me... Abomination.”

They?

“Where can I find you?”

It quickly became apparent that I wasn’t talking to some person on the planet.

I was communicating with the planet itself.

The gold of the... Creatures’ skin served as a sort of psionic amplifier, allowing the enormous intellect of the million-mile-wide creature to communicate with entities touching it directly.

The planet... well, I asked it for its name. Of course, the same answer I had gotten last time was offered, but I did not accept it. I asked it then what it would like to be called.

“I... I never had a name before the visitors came. There was never any reason for me to have one.”

“There must be something that feels natural to you?”

I had to stop using my psionic transmitter as it required me to keep my focus pristine, least the device overload and fry my mind. I was now simply transmitting my voice as vibrations into the golden planetoid itself.

The planet went silent on me following my question. I carefully stroked my hand across the golden ground beneath me, with a thought overtaking my attention while I awaited a response.

A creature so vast with a mind capable of so much... yet it has never had the chance to experience for itself. Forced to stay here, alone in the nothingness.

It was able to learn my language without me even speaking a word.

What other things might it be capable of?

“Serena. Please call me Serena.”

I smiled slightly. “Hello Serena. I’m Jack.”

The planet reverberated slightly, almost like a greeting.

Stolen story; please report.

“I have this affliction... All this blackness covering my skin, it’s not natural. The visitors put it there in an attempt to silence me, but I've been able to break chunks off as time passed with the help of my mother.”

“Your mother?”

The planet shook lightly. “She has been my light in even the darkest of times... but she can only do so much. Could you please help me?”

I pat the golden surface of the planet once more. “Sure thing. What do you need me to do?”

"I sense a fragment of mother in you. Tell me, plane shifter, has she blessed you with her touch?”

“What do you mean by that? Who is your mother...”

The puzzle pieces started to click in my mind even before Serena could answer my question. I looked straight up at the neutron star hanging so graciously above in the night sky, and the realization dawned on me. My cybernetics immediately started applying UV-resistant polycarbonate to my eyes to protect against the ultraviolet light that would otherwise damage the electronics.

“She is the one of cinders. Her inferno rages within all living beings, be they believers or not.”

I leant slightly off the golden floor and “You’re the daughter of Sol? Incredible...”

Finding civilizations who praised some deity wasn’t exactly uncommon in the multiverse. Sol might be the most prevalent though, as her light is quite literally undeniable – only the most resilient of organisms are capable of surviving without her warmth.

“So, you have heard of her?”

I clenched my robotic arm. “I have. And I know what you want me to do.”

While there was no doubt in my mind that our pantheon of gods were a reality, I cast away my ability to pray long ago. Even if I wanted to, I could not become a beliver. But what I can do is harness their powers through the cubes brought to me by Gary.

I pulled my ring finger back two times in quick succession, followed by my middle finger. A small yet powerful click sounded in my robotic arm, as my palm opened up to reveal the fire die behind the polycarbonate shielding. I experimentally extended my fingers quickly, causing a small ball of cinders to erupt out of my palm.

“You won’t be hurt by this... Right?”

Serena went suspiciously quiet but answered not long after.

“The visitors covered up my eye when they came. I suppose their intension was to prevent me from being able to reproduce with another of my species by taking away my ability to see.”

I cringed slightly as I imagined how much pain Serena must have been in. “I see... Do you still want me to get rid of the coal?”

“Yes. Please do.”

I gave a quick nod before I extended my hand toward the sea of black before me. I steadied my right hand with my left before I twisted my robotic forearm to the right. The dice responded immediately and before long there was a thick, solid stream of fire erupting from my palm. I swept my hand back and forth a few times, ensuring that the fire had truly begun before taking a step back and twisting my forearm back into its original position, shutting off the column of flame.

I still kept the die spinning inside my palm though as it offered protection from the immense heat the coal was generating by magically redirecting it away from me.

“I can feel my skin shifting in the heat... Oh, how I've longed for this.”

At first, I was a little concerned that the coal might melt the gold of Serena’s skin, but since this planet – Serena that is, had an atmosphere made out of helium, the heat would just disperse into the gas before the gold ever reached melting point.

I sat a fair way away from the inferno though. While I probably could have wandered through it like the human torch if I desired due to my die, there was something primal in my mind which told me to stay away.

After maybe an hour had passed, I sat up from my lie-down position to see how far the fire had gone along. At the edge of the horizon there were now just licking pillars of fire as opposed to the golden ground that was left closer to me. It would seem that the coal has been entirely incinerated. Serena was not saying anything, but I could hear a soft humming – almost like a melody of some sort.

“So, when this is all gone, what will happen then?”

Serena remained eerily quiet.

“Serena?”

The planet almost shook somewhat – I must have startled her.

“Oh, yes? I didn’t hear you speaking, I was so focused on the fire... Did you want something?”

I chuckled slightly. “I didn’t mean to startle you. I was just asking what your plans were after the coal has burnt up.”

Serena took a moment to think before she answered. “I suppose I'd find a mate... There are very few of us planetoids left in the universe. It’s my duty to keep our species alive.”

A small smile spread across my face. “That is very noble of you.”

I got off the ground and started walking towards the horizon where the fire met with the ground. The coal should be done burning pretty soon.

“Can I ask you a question, Jack?”

I was making good time walking toward the fire burning away on the surface of the planet when Serena’s familiar psychic voice made itself known in my mind.

“Sure, what’s on your mind?”

Serena took a quick pause before she continued. “I’m... I'm scared. I've been thinking a little bit about my situation and another’s opinion would be most appreciated.”

“Of course, what’s up?”

“What if I'm the last of my species? Have you ever seen... Someone like me on your travels?”

It broke my heart but I just couldn’t bring myself to lie to Serena. “I’m sorry to say it, but I haven’t. You’re the first living planet I've ever met.”

I could feel the surface of the vast planet-sized organism slightly shake at my answer. “I- I see. Thank you for being honest with me.”

“Of course.”