210 Years 363.9 Days 23 Hours 53 Minutes 12 Seconds Remaining...

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I felt a little groggy, like I needed to wake up. It would be safe to say I didn't exactly wake up per se, but more became lucid whilst unconscious. Observing the slow countdown in front of me, I devolved into despair.

Well, I guess it was a good run. I have no doubt that I will be long discarded as "unresponsive goop" before I reawaken. I didn't even get to learn anything! No clues to a hopefully fun new world or even an owner of my person as goop fulfilling my role perfectly with my human-level intelligence. Now that I think about it, how common is sentient sludge in this world? Mr. or Mrs. Elevator Operator seemed like I was nothing out of the ordinary. Or perhaps I was a really rare find, and they were just humble about their newfound and highly valuable gelatinous mass. Either way, sitting here is really boring watching a timer slowly tick down a year every second... wait what?

A YEAR EVERY SECOND! Wow, I thought for sure I'd go insane long before the timer ended. Human brain and all that logic. If that even applied.

Perhaps the logic of a human mind is inappropriate for my circumstance... I mean, I do lack every known feature of a human, subtracting my form of sentience. Maybe my perception of time can be altered similar to how I'm wizzing by time in a blink of an eye. Everyone I knew and became acquainted with long met their ends before I even projected another thought into the minds of another soul with whatever contraption my would-have-been rescuer used. A few minutes later, the ticking of time has slowed considerably to about 4 days a second, now gradually decreasing in increment with each update of the clock.

"I'm glad I don't have to wait 211 years."

"Oh good, you can speak here."

"Of course I can speak; I'm only sentient goop." Looking at the person standing next to me in the void and also watching the timer tick down.

Before realizing I was quite in the presence of another, and as to how I was in their presence or they were in mine, he smacked me into a perpetual front-flip using the back of my head.

"YOU... You.. You imbecile! Tying the system to your mind has a massive toll on the individual!" Glaring at my now uncontrollably forward-rotating self as I flail about being unable to stabilize myself. He? She? They reply to my instability by unnaturally pulling me closer and positioning me just out of reach of both them and the timer.

"What was that for?" I am perplexed as to why nothing hurts after being hit with the equivalent of a small arm's detonation in the form of a hand on the back of my skull. "Also, why are you so strong!?"

"It was for being an idiot in a new world, that's what!" She yelled in a whisper. Both loud and quiet at the same time. "You can't just go doing weird things to your soul in a world of unfamiliar power and forces and just expect to come out unscathed." He spoke in a more relaxed but stern voice, bordering the edge of both masculine and feminine.

Still slightly stunned and a little discombobulated, I say, "Couldn't you've been a little lighter with the hitting at least? I got tossed into the situation with zero context anyway!"

"No. I won't be hitting you any lighter, and I hope the next time we meet I won't need to restrain myself with the hitting nearly as much. For that matter, I hope I don't need to hit you at all or ever again."

As much as I felt they were quite reasonable, I was still confused as to why they were even here other than to reprimand my apparently very poor decision. "Is there at least a benefit to this supposedly obvious risk that I just so happened to partake in the penalty for executing?" Probing for information from whoever this presence was was my new approach to the situation.

"Well, yes, actually, there is a massive benefit to what you did. It also wasn't obvious, but I'm quite sure you know just as well as I know you know that there were very clear consequences to your actions, and you'd still be sitting here watching a timer tick down in the region of a couple centuries if not for my stepping in to assist your foolish error." Huffing in disappointment, she continued, "I listened in on your thoughts to learn what your process was after this mistake. My largest disappointment was that your first form of action was giving up on your new found position, and I'm undoubtedly quite sure it'd have taken you a year or more to learn you can speed up the countdown by just thinking about it going faster."

This revelation I was given piqued my interest, focusing on the time now in the few hour range. My first few tries ended in reluctant disbelief as nothing changed. He took note of my souring face and slowed the timer down to its original speed, stating that his affect on the timer was interfering with my own and to try again. This time around, it leaped a few minutes ahead after a few seconds of thought. "Are you saying if I need to ever do this again I'll be jumping forward a few minutes at a time? Sounds exhausting."

"Yes, that is very true, but perhaps you underestimate the level of... er, difficulty... tying the system to your soul places on an individual. There are only 7 things with longer wait times. I won't be helping you with those if it comes to it; your only warning, which would have come with a visit to one of dozens of altars, just so happens to be the only time I usually help anyone who breaks common sense."

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As if! Common sense, my ass. You try getting thrown into an unfamiliar world prior to having knowledge of and, for that matter, even the ability to even see and find out if you'd fair any better! Continuing in my angered internal ramblings, she just waited patiently until his piercing stare finally gouged a scoop of my attention back in their direction.

"Are you going to stay angry or are you going to ask for a little more help?"

I sigh in resignation and nod. I have no reason to remain tilted over things outside my control. "Sure, what else can you help me with?"

"Anything."

"Anything? Like anything at all?"

"Yeah, whatever you want, need, desire, seek or choose. The only limiting factors being material possessions and the other already being the case for you. As in reincarnation."

This was the last straw to push my understanding that I was indeed factually in another world completely separate from my past. This also begged the question of who I was speaking to. They never did answer my initial question as to what or who they were implied by asking how they were so strong.

"Before we move onto the topic of what I need help with, could you answer my second question?" I thought if they were particularly omnipotent or of a higher power, perhaps they'd remember such a point in simple conversation. Maybe it'd have an opposite effect, such subjects being unimportant to the point they'd gloss over such a thing.

"I will tell you who I am when you are about to return to the realm of the materialistic. In the meantime, I'll keep speeding up the clock. You have until 60 seconds remain to speak your needs before I determine any further help outside of my range of strictly beginner assistance; further than that would require payment. Plus, from what I can tell, you are damn broke in the department of [Unknown Currency]."

With the deadline set, I take to rambling the most important of my immediate needs off. I have no time to spare, as only about 3 hours are left, being reduced by about one 120th each passing update. No time to ask questions as to why I couldn't comprehend this currency I have none of. Only necessities so I can live without further failure in my gift of a new life and exploration of a fresh world. The primary senses, asking for the ability to sense things I'm unfamiliar with. Vision, preferably better that most things I will be encountering. Far improved control of my new unfamiliar body. A general coverage of whatever I need to make it so what I've asked for doesn't require too much focus; I want it all to be second-nature or close relative. And at last, language: the ability to speak and understand at least the most common of the world's languages.

"Alright, time is up. You have enough time for a couple more questions."

"Is what I've asked for going to make my life too easy? I do want at least some challenge in my life; it'd get boring fast if I were, you know, overpowered."

"No, there is a lot left for you to learn before you can even use some of what you have asked for. I think this is perhaps the most well-balanced out of all those I have granted capability-based wishes."

"Then my last question will be: What is this place? Some kind of realm? Maybe insid-"

"This is your mental space. The system being fused to your mind forced you out of your awake self-consciousness and into this place as a form of protection to your "self," while it fundamentally changes who you are as a being. Best to change those two while they are apart."

These explanations I felt were somewhat lacking in detail, but I realized they were just saving me time to ask one real last question. "What am I?"

"You are a formless multicellular organism you'd be most familiar with only in fiction from your previous reality, referred to as a slime. This can change if you like but personally, I'd suggest against undergoing any permanent mutations. After all, this form is the most adverse in its capabilities and flexible in the realm of this worlds powers."

After all has been said and done, I glance over to the timer counting down in the tenths of seconds instead of full seconds now. Gesturing to it, she releases his affect on my mental realm and walks over to a doorway I never perceived until this moment.

"Well, I think I am done here. Visit the church if you would like to inform myself or any of my colleagues of anything. Not that we can't already tell everything that is already going on anyway. I am very strong due to my position. Oh, and next time just randomly assign me a gender; we can only take the form of whatever we are perceived as. Lastly, as for who I am?" now stepping through the doorway into a pure white space in contrast to my mental void and looking over their shoulder, "I am the 4th Sentre, Manager of Time." And the door slams shut.

2 Seconds Remaining...

Update Complete

Version 4.22.1111

| Name: N/A |

| Title: Sentre Acquaintance |

| Time: 08:11 Predicted 16 Minutes Have Passed |

| Location: Subterranean, Benchak Amrill Mine Entrance |

| Status: Stable, Low Control Confinement, Mild Mass Separation |