I froze, my eyes taking in the spotlessly clean floors and the pinball machine before landing on the bartender, who waved at me with a stupid grin.

“Greg! Buddy! Long time no see! Drink?”

“Cosmo… We need to talk.” I said, feeling my frustrations simmer at the sight of the tuxedo-wearing white-haired deity. It was enough to blow away the surprise I felt from being dragged to his bar again.

“Or should I call you Order?” I said as I walked up to his bar and took a seat.

“Greg. Greg. I’m not Order anymore. Order’s so stiff and formal! I’ve turned over a new leaf! Besides, do you think the god of Order could ever match the magnificence of Cosmotops the Resplendent?”

For a moment, I wondered if he had a split personality, but Cosmo’s cheshire grin said it all.

“You’ve caused me a world of trouble by lying, you know that? Now, Aerion thinks I’m you, and I have no way of disproving her.”

“Sorry? What’s all this about?” Cosmo said, pausing in the middle of polishing a whisky glass.

I shot him a look. “Oh come on. Don’t act like you don’t know.”

“I genuinely don’t! Care to share?”

“Really? You’re not messing with me, here?”

“Greg, I’m flattered. I really am. Still, as much as it guts me to admit it, I'm not omniscient. In fact, I was busy tracking down my best Bourbon to toast your rank up!”

I slumped back on my stool. “Alright, fine. I’ll bite. She seemed fine when we got out of the Trial.”

“Mhm?”

“And then we got to Dominion’s temple, and it all went downhill from there.”

“Oh. Oh, dear,” Cosmo said with a frown.

“What, you know something about this?”

“Possibly. Please, go on.”

“Well, she touched the stone thing at the center of the temple, and then she got all mad at me. Wouldn’t even talk until I grabbed her arm and confronted her. Long story short, she thinks I’m you, and that she’s your Champion.”

Cosmo gave me a blank stare for a long moment.

Then he burst out laughing. He laughed so hard, he doubled over, and I lost sight of him for a moment behind the bar top. When I looked over, he was on the floor. Still laughing.

“I’m glad my life is so entertaining to you,” I said flatly.

“Sorry. Sorry!” Cosmo said, wiping a tear from his eye as he stood back up. It wasn’t just for show, either—he really was crying from laughter. “It’s just… It’s so hilarious.”

Cosmo set down two glasses and poured me a Bourbon, looking like he was desperately trying to keep from laughing.

My eyes twitched. I didn’t pick up the expensive-looking drink.

“It’s really not,” I snapped. “There’s joking, and there’s this. Is it really so ridiculous for her to believe that? I did give her a Blessing, after all.”

“Ridiculous is absolutely what it is,” Cosmo said. “I mean, you received a Blessing from Dominion! Didn’t take, but you received it nonetheless. It even got you to level up, didn’t it?”

“Okay… So?”

“Greg, I can’t bless Dominion any more than he can bless me. Just think about it! That’s absurd,” Cosmo said, as though that were self-evident.

“That’s… I suppose that makes sense,” I said. Gods blessing other gods did sound pretty weird.

“But why didn’t you tell me? Why didn’t you tell me I was your Champion? In fact, I recall you explicitly saying I wasn’t being summoned as a hero. And don’t tell me that heroes and champions aren’t the same thing. I don’t want to hear it.”

“I didn’t say that, Greg,” Cosmo said, holding up a finger. “I said, ‘I never said anything about heroes.’ You took that to mean you weren’t one.”

“That’s incredibly pedantic of you.”

“And important,” Cosmo said, all joviality gone from his voice. The transition was so sudden that I didn’t know how to reply for a moment.

“You’re saying there’s a reason you hid that information…”

“Greg, buddy! You’re doing that thing again.”

I frowned. “What thing?”

“That thing where you ask me questions, expecting an answer!” Cosmo said with a shrug. “Now, c’mon. Let’s toast! To your victory over the infernal obsidian dragon! May his obsidian bones be banished into the nether forever! Or at least, until he respawns. Or another of his kind takes his place. Or… Well, you get the idea.”

Cosmo raised his glass, but I didn’t join in.

“I need to know the truth, Cosmo,” I said. “What are the Champions, and why did you summon me?”

Cosmo sighed, setting his glass down. “You’re a smart kid, Greg. You’re more than capable of finding the answers without divine intervention,” he said with a wink.

“You mean, assuming you’re not doing this just to see me suffer? Aerion seems convinced you’re the type to do that, by the way. And I’m starting to wonder, as well.”

“Aerion would be happy to tell you all about the Champions, I’m sure,” Cosmo said, a playful grin on his face.

“She hates you, Cosmo. I wanted to get your side of the story.”

“And what makes you think I have a side to tell?” Cosmo replied with a small tilt of his head.

I stopped. “You’re not going to give me an answer, are you? Why are you avoiding this? The Champions are public knowledge. I’ll find out soon enough. As you said, I could just ask Aerion.”

Cosmo just smiled, though I felt like there was something there. Something deeper than just his ordinary cheekiness.

“There’s a reason you won’t say. You can’t say, can you?”

Were there things deities couldn’t say to mortals? Was it because I was his Champion?

“As I said,” Cosmo replied flatly. “You’re a smart kid. You’ll figure things out. Now, why don’t we talk about something else? What about your Blessing? Enjoying it?”

I stared at Cosmo for a moment, mulling over his words, but I let it go. When Cosmo got like this, no amount of wrangling would get an answer out of him. I knew that from experience.

“Don’t even get me started on that power you gave me,” I said, allowing him to change the topic. There was so much more I had to get off my chest. “The ability to kill Aerion by reclaiming her? What were you thinking?”

“Oh, that,” Cosmo said, grimacing. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he actually looked guilty there for an instant. “Well, this is my first time doing all of this. Well, kinda.”

“Kinda?”

“It wasn’t like I was the one who came up with that Blessing, anyway,” Cosmo continued, ignoring my question.

“You… didn’t?” I asked, narrowing my eyes. That came as a surprise. “Who did, then?”

Cosmo closed his eyes and shook his head, smiling. “Tsk tsk Greg, Greg, Greg…”

“Right.” I rolled my eyes. “Well, it doesn’t change the facts. How can I possibly fight alongside Aerion as an equal with this kind of power? And I refuse to hide it from her. I have to tell her. And then, she may feel forced to make a choice. Either leave… Or try to kill me, I suppose.”

“I see your plight,” Cosmo said. “Stuck between a rock and a hard place, eh?”

I looked Cosmo in the eyes. I knew fully well I was wasting my breath, but I said my piece anyway. I had to at least try.

“I want it gone. I don’t want this kind of power—not over another human.”

Cosmo’s grin grew lopsided.

“Or elf,” I corrected. “You know what I mean. It’s wrong, and I want nothing to do with it,” I said, slamming my fist on the counter in frustration.

Instead of a retort, Cosmo laid his elbows on the bar top, clasped his fingers together, and stared back.

“You sure?” He asked.

“Uh, sorry?” I replied, thrown completely off guard. “Are you saying this is possible?”

I braced myself for the usual ‘Nope!’

“I mean, if that’s what you really want…” Cosmo swirled the drink, staring at it like he was deep in thought.

“Seriously?” I asked. “This isn’t a joke. You really can remove it?“

“Greg, I’m hurt! Do I strike you as the sort of person who’d joke about this?”

“Uh, yes?”

“Jeez. Tough crowd indeed.” Cosmo said, pursing his lips. “This can be an asset, you know? If she ever turns on you…” Cosmo made a slicing motion across his neck.

“Sure,” I said. “And if this were a game, I’d agree. Except, it’s not. Aerion’s a living being, and I am not a psychopath. As long as I have this power, she’ll never trust me. Hell, I don’t even trust myself with that!” I threw my hands up in exasperation.

“No take backs, you know? You go through with this, you can never get it back. What if Aerion leaves you? You don’t even know if she’ll be there when you return. What will you do then?” Cosmo asked, frowning.

I nodded. “If she leaves… I’ll deal with it. I’ve made my peace with this, Cosmo. I understand the risks.”

Cosmo’s frown disappeared. “I understand.” He nodded and snapped his fingers.

A System Message popped up, but it wasn’t the quippy ones I was used to. It looked more like the one I’d seen at the end of the Trial.

The God of Order wishes to delete a portion of your Blessing’s power. Power to be deleted: Reclamation of sapient living organisms.

Do you accept?

I did, and the message updated.

Confirmation Accepted… Processing… Complete.

Cosmo gave me a wide grin. “Done!”

“Good,” I nodded, almost to reassure myself. “Good.”

It felt like a great weight had been lifted off my shoulders. “But we still gotta talk about why you kept all of this information from me. If you want to go by a different name, I suppose that’s your choice, and since you won’t tell me about Champions, I guess I’ll just speak my mind.”

Cosmo looked at me inquisitively, swirling the amber liquid in his glass. Neither of us had taken a single sip.

“Let’s start with Aerion,” I said. “You know? I kept thinking what an incredible coincidence it was that I met her when I did. I mean, a convenient local who needed help just as badly as I did? Appearing on the same floor, just hours after I entered the dungeon?”

“Aww, give yourself more credit, Greg,” Cosmo said, eyes twinkling. “Sure, she helped, but I’m confident you could’ve gotten out on your own, right?”

If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

I shook my head. “No way. Without an understanding of the dungeon’s layout, I could’ve run right into a Floor Guardian without knowing. I might not have discovered the Sanctuaries’ miracle water before it was too late. The carts, the subs… It was only together that we had any shot at making it out alive.”

“You two certainly do make a good team,” Cosmo said, nodding with his arms crossed.

“That’s not the point. The point is that you knew she was there. You had me start there for exactly that reason,” I said, making eye contact.

“Greg, I’m honored you think so highly of me. I truly am. But I’m afraid you give me too much credit.”

I knew that Cosmo would continue neither confirming nor denying anything, so I moved the conversation along.

“If you knew I’d meet Aerion, you knew she’d mention Order. And then I’d ask her about you, and she’d probably paint a pretty terrible picture. What little I heard from her wasn’t flattering, but I didn’t pry since I felt it didn’t concern me.”

“That poor child,” Cosmo said, looking glum. “She’s seen far more than she ever ought to.”

“That’s another thing I don’t understand. You’d asked me to take care of her. What is she to you? What’s your history together?”

“Even gods make their share of mistakes, Greg. The longer you exist, the more those mistakes mount, stacking like bricks,” Cosmo sighed, stacking empty paper cups he’d pulled from under the counter. “Eventually, the whole building comes apart.”

Cosmo flicked the cup at the bottom of the stack, causing them to come toppling down. They disappeared before they hit the ground. It might’ve just been me, but he looked a little sad as he watched them fall.

“Aerion and her family were a side effect of those mistakes,” he said. “And hers wasn’t the only one.”

I was going to fire back at him, but there was something about his tone that made me pause. “What do you mean?” I asked.

“I mean that being a god isn’t easy, Greg. Sometimes… Sometimes, it’s more of a curse than you’d ever believe.” His tone turned surprisingly grim, once again throwing me off balance.

“I… admit I don’t know what you mean.” Cosmo lived forever. I couldn’t even fathom what thoughts might go through the head of someone like that.

“So you regret your choice?” I asked after taking a sip. It certainly looked that way.

“No decision is without regret,” Order replied somberly. “I’m not omnipotent. I can’t solve everyone’s problems. Even if I had that kind of power, it’s impossible. Make one person happy, you might very well doom another, to say nothing of impinging on their free will. People suffer, no matter what. All I can do is try to minimize it with my limited means—grand though they may seem to you. And so I did what I thought was right at the time. Were I to do it again, I’d likely make the same choices. Mostly.”

We both fell silent for a moment, and I found my anger toward the god dissipating. Not entirely gone, but partially replaced with a bit of empathy. Besides, getting angry with a god wouldn’t accomplish anything.

“Do you feel like talking about it?” I asked. “It’d be nice to know what happened.”

Order shook his head. “I’m afraid not. Not now. One day, though.”

One day, huh? I could live with that.

We both fell silent again. I raised my glass.

“To avoiding regrets,” I said.

Cosmo grinned and clinked my glass. “I’ll drink to that!”

He took the glass full of bourbon—far more than just a shot—and downed it in one go.

I took a more modest sip. Smooth. Very smooth.

“Why don’t we talk about more exciting things?” Cosmo asked after smacking his lips. “Like those Emergence Rank-Up abilities of yours?”

Oh, that’s right…

With all the chaos that had happened, I’d almost forgotten about it. Almost.

The thought of my upgrades tantalized me. This was my bread and butter. My comfort zone. I supposed it was the way my brain escaped from the heavy reality around me, even if for only a moment.

I was about to pull up my Status Screen when Cosmo pulled down a roll of parchment from the bar’s rear wall. The same parchment that had once shown my class selection options, but now had only three choices.

Tool Initialization

Ever wished you could Initialize more things? Well, here’s your chance! You can now Initialize tools. Like forging hammers. And pens. Will they do anything useful? Initialize to find out!

Spatial Inventory

An inventory you can store stuff in and pull stuff out of. Might even keep perishables fresh! Good for storing weapons. Armor? Not so much. Not at its current size, anyway. 4 x 1 x 1. That's in feet, by the way. No idea why you weirdos insist on using such a broken unit of measure. I mean, 5,280? Seriously!? 10 lb Weight Capacity. For now.

Synchronicity

You ever heard the phrase ‘More than the sum of its parts?’ Well, it’s from your world, so you should have! Synchronicity lets you combine two similar pieces of armor into a set, boosting their stats. Armor must be of the same rarity and material to synergize.

It was now my turn to smack my lips. These upgrades made my mouth water.

I scanned over the descriptions, and immediately, a question came to mind. “These abilities. Will I get to see them again when I rank up? Or will it be an entirely different set?”

“Who can say?” Cosmo said, staring wistfully off into the distance.

“I like you better when you act like Order. You’re more helpful.”

“How rude!” Cosmo said with mock indignity, though I thought I sensed a hint of something else for just a moment.

Cosmo clutched his heart dramatically. “Would you really pick some boring old answers over my infectious personality?”

“Yes,” I replied without a moment’s hesitation.

Cosmo sat heavily on his bar stool and pouted. “That was a very mean thing to say, Greg. Very mean indeed. I think I’m going to be sad for a while.”

A man in a tuxedo suddenly materialized out of thin air beside me, playing a long, somber note on a violin. He vanished in a poof of air a moment later, leaving my mind struggling to comprehend what had just happened.

When I did, I rolled my eyes and returned to the list. In the Trial, I’d so often wished I could Initialize random things like that waterskin. I bet I’d have even more reason to, now that we were out. If my tools could help out in forging weapons and armor? If they could enhance the item’s stats or give me better powers? That would be invaluable.

Then again, so too was the Spatial Inventory. It was something I’d so desperately wished for. The reason we couldn’t loot more of the dragon’s hoard was because we’d been limited by what we could carry. And if it kept food from perishing? It’d give us a degree of independence from the safe rooms. Not to mention the possibility of taking exotic materials from the dungeon.

The only question was whether spatial rings and the like existed in the world. But considering Aerion had never once mentioned anything like this when talking about Axius, I figured they were either exceedingly rare or nonexistent. Even if they did exist, they could be stolen. I’d never have to worry about that with this.

Synchronicity genuinely sounded awesome—the ability to synergize gear allowed me to get more bang for my buck. The restrictions it came with dampened my mood about it, though. Being restricted to two pieces was really limiting, and the rarity and material requirement made it even harder to use.

It was like credit card benefits—enticing in theory, difficult to actually use.

“Well? Pretty sweet choices, aren’t they?” Cosmo said, refilling my half-empty glass. I didn’t want to get drunk this time, so I was taking it nice and slow, enjoying every sip.

“They really are,” I replied. “Which makes this such a tough decision.”

“Any stand out to you?”

“Well, more like there’s one that doesn’t,” I said. “Tool Initialization.”

“Oh?” Cosmo said, his brow raised. “I’d have thought you’d go gaga over experimenting with your Blessing, now that you’re out of the Trial.”

“I am,” I replied, thinking about how this deity was always more astute than he let on. “Which, of course, means I need stuff to Initialize. But I can’t just go around bestowing random stuff.”

“You’ll run out of Essence,” Cosmo completed.

“Right. And buying weapons and armor, only to Initialize them and destroy them later is an expensive proposition. I certainly don’t have that kind of money, and I’m willing to bet Aerion doesn’t either. Not that she’d let me waste her money like that even if she did,” I said, before realizing she might very well be gone by the time I got back. The thought made me sadder than I’d have expected, and it had nothing to do with my Blessing.

“So you need a way to break down weapons and remake them,” Cosmo said. “Sounds like you’re talking about a forge.”

“I am. Was thinking of working at a blacksmith. Seems like the best bet.”

“I don’t follow. Wouldn’t Tool Initialization be perfect for that, then?” Cosmo asked.

“Sure. The thing is, I already know the System has some leeway around what it considers armor and weapons. I was able to get that waterskin to count as armor by having Aerion attach a strap to it, wasn’t I? And it did what I wanted it to. I dunno if I got lucky, or if that’s how my Blessing works, but I feel like I can improve what I need even without Tool Initialization.”

“So Inventory or Synchronicity.”

“Yep. For Synchronicity, any chance those requirements become less restrictive the more I level?” I asked.

“Don’t ask me! Like I said, I didn’t have much to do with this one. This is basically my first time, remember?” he reminded me, waving a dismissive hand. “Anyways, as far as I’m aware, you’re the first to ever pick this class.”

“Uh, huh.” I hadn’t expected an answer from him, but the fact that I was the first was more than a little interesting. “Wait, you said you didn’t come up with it. Who did, then? One of the other gods?”

“Bet you’d love to know, wouldn’t you!” Cosmo said, beaming.

Of course. It’d never be that easy.

“The thing is, I really need that inventory,” I said, moving right along. “My whole Blessing practically revolves around my ability to have a bunch of different weapons and armor I can switch up, depending on the situation. The same goes for equipping people in my party.”

“Very true. I suppose you could carry a backpack around, though?” Cosmo offered.

I shook my head. “Even with a big one—which severely limits my mobility—there’s a limit. 4 feet by 1 foot by 1 foot doesn’t sound like much, and it’s too small to hold armor, but I bet I could fit plenty of weapons in there. Maybe not a greatsword or a polearm, but definitely swords, axes, and hammers, like the ones I found in the Trial. And that ‘current size’ makes me think it’ll expand in the future. If it gets big enough to carry around sets of armor, larger swords, and maybe even a forge… Yeah. Think I’ve made my decision.”

“You’re sure, then?” Cosmo asked, raising a brow.

I took one last look at Synchronicity. Without its restrictions, it’d be a serious contender. As it was, I didn’t have to think too hard on it.

“Positive.”

Selection Confirmed. Initializer has gained the ability: Spatial Inventory. Spatial Inventory is now available for use.

From Initializing different weapons and armor and coming up with a recipe book, to devising new tactics and strategies, the possibilities made me giddy. This inventory only added to that.

“Whew,” Cosmo said, rubbing non-existent sweat off his forehead. “Now that all the boring stuff is dealt with, let’s talk about the important things.”

I raised a brow. “Oh? What’s what?”

“You.”

“What about me?”

“How are you?” Cosmo asked, sounding genuinely worried. “You’ve just been through a harrowing experience. How are you holding up?”

I gave him a long, hard look. Did I really want to confide in him? After all he’d said and done?

I wasn’t sure if I was ready to forgive Cosmo just yet, but I couldn’t condemn him, either. Not until I learned more about what was at play here. About why Cosmo was hiding well-known information from me. About why he’d summoned me into this world. Also, I couldn’t judge him too harshly when he’d at least removed my power over Aerion as I’d asked.

At the very least, he didn’t seem to be the heartless god I’d feared he might be. And right now, I really could use someone to talk to.

“Honestly?” I said. “I don’t know. I need to spend a few days in this world to see what life is like. It’ll be an adjustment. To say nothing about Aerion.”

“Just know that she’s just as scared as you are, Greg,” Cosmo said. “She wants to believe you.”

“I know,” I said with a sigh. “The frustrating thing is she isn’t even angry with me. I know that. We went through a lot together, and that hasn’t changed. But until I can convince her I’m not you, I feel like she won’t be able to trust me, not completely anyway. Y’know, all you’d have to do is pop in and prove it.”

“Pop in, you say?” someone said. Except, it wasn’t the god in front of me. It was… me. Dressed in a white tuxedo, grinning like Leonardo DiCaprio, holding up his whisky glass.

“I just love popping in, especially at weddings I wasn’t invited to,” another Greg said. This one was in biker’s leathers and had tattoos all over. He reached over, picked up my drink, and chugged it in one go.

“Mmm. Oh, Greg. I think you need a massage,” a third Greg said, appearing behind me and rubbing my shoulders.

“Okaaay, that’s enough! You made your point!” I shouted, causing all three Gregs to disappear. “Anyone ever tell you you’re fucking weird?”

“All the time, Greg. All. The. Time,” Cosmo said, throwing me a wink that made my skin crawl.

I downed what few drops were left of my drink and stood up.

“Well, I suppose I’d better get going. And, as much of an ass as you are… Thanks for clearing some things up, at least.”

Cosmo retrieved a beer glass from under the counter and began polishing it. “It’s what friends are for, Greg,” Cosmo said with a smirk. “Your words. Not mine.”

I shook my head as I got up to leave. Would that god ever change?

“Oh, and Greg?” Cosmo said as I opened the door. “I know it may not mean much to you, coming from me…”

I glanced back, not entirely believing what I saw. The deity was hesitating. Cosmo, of all people.

“Yeah?” I asked, my voice full of suspicion.

“I’m proud of you. Keep it up.”

The words were so unexpected, so out of the blue, that I just stood there, staring blankly at the god.

“What’s the matter? Cat got your tongue?”

“...Uh, thanks?” I said, totally thrown off by his words.

Cosmo gave me the most genuine smile he ever had. “Anytime.”

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

Order watched Greg leave the bar, dematerializing and instantly rematerializing half a galaxy away. Not that he’d ever know. To Greg, it’d feel like he’d just opened the door and walked out onto a busy street.

The deity set his glass down and walked over to the pinball machine. It was an old thing, with a new face. Order was especially fond of the art. The triumphant hero with his sword raised high, standing over a slain monster with his partner pulling a sword from another… It was all just so pretty. “Well? You took an awful risk with that one,” the biker sitting on a stool nearby said.

Sighing, Order put a quarter into the machine and pulled the launcher. “He’s a good kid.” he said, as the pinball crashed into his flippers and rebounded. The machine made a victorious sound.

“Good enough?”

“Well, who can say,” Order replied, smashing his flippers again. The ball slammed into the walls and shot up onto an elevated rail, triggering flashing red lights along the way, until it came to rest in a hole labeled ‘Phoenix Nest.’

“Phoenix found! B-B-Bonus round!” the machine announced, spitting the ball back out.

The biker grunted. “Just pray he figures it out before it’s too late.”

“And who exactly do gods pray to, eh?” Order said, allowing the pinball to fall into the pit, ending the round.

The biker smirked. “Fuck if I know. You’re me.”

Order nodded. “And I’m you.”

The bar dematerialized around him. He took the brief moment to inhale deeply, closing his eyes.

When he opened them, a white space had materialized around him, replacing the inky blackness of deep space. The room shifted almost immediately, though, and Order found himself within a beautiful garden with chirping birds and a shining sun. The same one he’d visited countless times.

Exactly the same. Unchanging.

“Order! You’re late!” Passion slurred. She’d had far too much wine, even though the gathering had only begun.

“He’s always late,” Dominion grunted, regarding Order with undisguised annoyance. “Have you finally decided to participate, or did you choose another rock?”

Cosmo put on his most self-deprecating smile and give a small shrug. “Well, you know me…”