"Must you always be so foul?" scoffed the feather winged spectre, not particularly amused with the antics of its decidedly foul counterpart.

"Bah, you holier than thou hypocrites are no fun...lighten up, a few good cycles to refresh their karma might lead to a better manifestation, no?" grumbled the horrid entity with enough eyes to compete with the jagged teeth in its maw.

The entity heaved something akin to the sound of a dying star and cackling frogs as the two watched over the flashing glimpses of the young mortal's life. Even for its kind, it was a brief few decades steeped in turmoil and emotional upsets that had broken plenty of souls.

A humble upbringing, emotional negligence and a few instances of rising above those struggles left a mixed cluster of karmic vortices that on their lonesome didn't particularly impress the cosmic beings and yet, there's always a chance that fate might deem it worth forging a diamond or two among the rubble of the inconsequential tales.

And then, as much as they wanted to bluff each other, they both saw it at the same time...certain fragments of the young mortal's karma fell into place to form the seeds of something glorious. There it was...the shimmering fragments, the raw makings of a fable, of a champion!

"Hmmm, raw dust and shards, nothing particularly of value but it might make for a tasty-" just as soon as the abomination extended its will towards the mortal soul, a conceptual wave rippled through their corner of the endless void. "Make another attempt to cheat me and I will smite you..." the voice of the feathered divinity rumbled with a malicious depth as it unfurled its own will.

"It's one measly human, most of them are pathetic anyway, don't get so riled up!" the abomination feigned outrage, even as it wound back, ready to tear a morsel or tow out of this arrogant, divine poultry...or so did greed whispered to it, unwilling to relinquish a potential incarnation to the self-proclaimed god.

The tension was palpable but reason won out...or rather, self preservation. Both were powerful within their elements, both held an edge over one another and yet neither was willing to risk fragmentation over a single mortal soul...no matter how tempting.

"We settle this through the trials then?" the abomination proposed reluctantly yet the divinity didn't flinch, the distrust evident in its golden irises.

----------------------------------------

[CALCULATING KARMIC DENSITY…]

[DESIGNATED ORIGIN: U-1.618]

Planet: Earth-Human

[Fable manifestation…]

Inert

With a choked out groan, Adam opens his blurry, unfocused eyes. Or at least, he thought they were. His memory was fuzzy with glimpses of what most people would consider their final moments as he tried to orient himself. Except, something was strange…where was his body? He could feel himself attempting to move his limbs, willing the muscles to obey yet all that came back was a strange feeling of absence, not just his arms but all physical sensation below the neck. He felt untethered yet paralysed, as if attempting to move during an instance of sleep paralysis. He wanted to see, to understand what was happening to him he wondered, anxiety creeping under his skin as his eyes moved. Yet terrifyingly enough, there was no sight to cling to either. Not a dark black, not an endless absence of light but the absence of sight itself. A powerful mix of panic and claustrophobia hit him full force, this can't be real, this makes no sense! His consciousness remained suspended for what felt like an eternity, drifting in an endless nothing, Oblivion…what came next, he wasn't sure if he was thankful for or dreaded more than the endless nothing.

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“Well, would you look at that, he's already awake” a voice spoke directly into his mind, an Indescribable presence shrouding his thoughts. The best Adam could think of to describe the sensation was the feeling of cockroaches crawling on the surface of his brain. It was uncomfortable, deeply and truly disturbing. And worst of all, decisively inescapable. A deep, instinctive part of his soul prayed, prayed to anything that would listen to take pity on him! Whatever it is that he did, whatever mistake or sin he committed to earn the presence of this…thing. Please, take it away from me!

In a moment of what felt like mercy, or possibly divine comedy, a second presence revealed itself to him. If the other one felt like an unpleasant, physical sensation that sent what he felt was left of his body into a panic, this one struck directly into his soul.

“I told you not to lay your will upon him recklessly, abomination…we have no use for a broken specter” the Voice echoed through his mind, deep and booming, as if he felt its presence pressing down on what could only be the very centre of his being.

The new entity spoke while the first whispered profanities in the background, “Listen close and listen well, Human by the name of Adam… the mortal life you once led has ended in a crossroad, you sought neither devotion and piety, nor overindulgence and destruction… you are neither remarkable nor reprehensible” the voice rang with bored disinterest yet it weighed on his soul like a phantom hand strangling his lungs. What is happening to me, is this a fever dream? He thought to himself, his mind racing between the unpleasant duo of presences and the existential panic of his lucidity. Are these my final moments of consciousness, is that why I feel nothing below the neck!?

His thoughts are interrupted by a cacophony unlike anything he's ever experienced or wanted to experience. “Stop cackling and focus, abomination… you laid claim on this soul, take this seriously!” the booming voice growled, the weight of it bearing down on Adam’s consciousness like an insistent finger squashing a bug.

“Oh come on, if only you could hear his thoughts, hah! ...I love it when they panic..” the creature buzzed with malicious glee in Adam’s mind. The bored presence sighed deeply and continued “We have little time before C&$%m@s completes your ensarcosis, pay close attention to my words, human” the entity paused and it's presence grew unbearable, as if the sun had just leaned in to whisper it's flames into his ear. Adam immediately snapped out of his panic, a sensation between a soothing warmth and scorching fire enveloping his entire being. “We…I mean to test and cultivate you, sprout a mighty tree from the ashes of a sapling… When you open your eyes next, you will find yourself in a place of terror and opportunity… There is little either of us can do directly to assist you but I shall certainly try” the entity said, a strangely soothing quality to its words despite the utter apathy in its tone.

“Are you done with your filthy tricks, you turkey winged rat?” the abomination interjected, strangely snapping Adam out of his stupor. What was that…it was almost as if I had fallen into a trance he thought to himself as he listened to the two entities bicker, their aggression seeming to escalate.

[Beginning the final stage of integration…]

Despite his ignorance, Adam felt the meaning behind the floating sentence that made him flinch as much as a disembodied head could as it materialised itself in his mind. Words as vivid as the last remnants of light his memory could visualise. He felt flesh and bones sprout from the stump of his neck, slowly knitting together like the growing roots of a sapling forming into a tree. Part of him feared pain yet was thankfully spared, his mind instead returning to the possibility of a fever dream. He tried to justify the experience to himself as a bad trip or a comatose dream he'll forget as soon as he opens his eyes in some hospital bed. Oh, how the delusion shattered as he felt the two entities refocus on him. What came next made everything before it feel like a slap on the wrist by comparison as he physically felt the two entities touch his newly reformed body. A mind numbing, searing pain coursing through and far beyond his new flesh. That's when he made a mistake...

[Error…Karmic threads reacting…]

…

[Sponsor branding interrupted…]

Not knowing any better, Adam opened the newly restored eyes he hadn't realized he'd squeezed shut, he saw it. The forbidden sight to all fledgling souls. He perceived two things for but a split second, the sight of irresistible perfection. Oh, it was almost…divine Adam though, a sight followed by the most egregious abomination of indescribable Horrors whose eyes felt like they corrupted his very soul merely by observing him. A primal terror gripped his chest as his vision flickered and suddenly, he slipped back into oblivion.