The arcane energies of the universe folded upon themselves. To a being that's very existence was unheard of, such a sight was just another swirling dance of chaos, no different than any other configuration. It was a pattern of no pattern, one that occurred every so often a period of unfathomable time passes. Yes, it was a confluence of perfect happenstance. Perfect impossibility. A real possibility of things lining up, no more likely than any passing day, yet perfect for a story. It was, plainly, improbable. And yet it was all the same. To a smaller being, one perhaps the size of a mere galaxy, it was the epitome of beauty.

It was in this fold of the universe, this tiny portion of something so vast its tiniest piece was considered infinite, that there was a certain... permeation. A passing between folds, between universes. One that was only ever allowed when the shape of the universe, the energies, and everything it constituted was just so. A form that matched the shape and fold of another such universe in the exact same happenstance.

Here, in this relatively infinitesimally small fragment of existence, life bloomed.

Or rather, rebloomed. As was the nature of the phenomenon known as rebirth.

He was a rather normal individual. There was truly nothing else to say. But that was in the case as seen from powers so high and mighty that those lower seem no different from the rest. If one were to shift their perspective, close in on the existence of the being, they'd find something passingly amusing. To zoom in upon the infinite and infinite number of times and one would only barely grasp the nature of his insignificance. And yet, it was true that there was something amusing. At least, to anyone or anything or any entity that bothered to dedicate any small portion of their vast mind to pay attention.

In his world, things were fought and won with blood and limb. War was natural, a way of living. In fact, the world was such a factory of souls that two from his world were sent to rebirth, escaping the stream of spirits that funneled them back into their universe's existence and launching into the fold of the universe in such a trajectory and velocity to enter another. The probability one such soul made it through was already so small that two was simply absurd, even given the general absurdity of chance that has already been observed. It was, simply, unimaginable, but, following the scheme of things, true yet again.

However, unsurprisingly... the other soul died. Pulled apart in the rush of energies the friction of two universes naturally produced. What was left but nothing but threads, dissipating wisps of energies as if sugar to water. And so we return to the topic of the first soul, an interesting person. In the grand scheme of things, truly he was normal. Insignificant. He did little to stand out from the many. And yet, what was so amusing of him was the fact that in his small realm of insignificance he did indeed achieve... significance.

He was something of a character. An explorer, one that might even have the audacity to claim the quintessence of the word. Through and through, he was one who looked to the unknown, stared at it, and decided time and time again that he would be the first to step forward. That was the soul present. It was written in his energies, his signature. It was him.

An adventurer through and through.

He was never more and never less. But, that was the thing about rebirth, there was always room for more.

Whatever form he held in life, rather, his previous existence, he did not hold now. Here he was incorporeal, nothing but the essence of the man holding the makeup of his being together. Nothing but that central identity distinguishing himself from the swirling maelstrom of color around him. Even now his incorporeal form seemed to glow with desire, staring at the unknown. It was doubtful that his eyes ever left the colors. But perhaps that was the beauty of him, the fact that his very thirst for adventure, his desire for the unknown, was what was keeping those very same energies from pulling him apart.

And he was being offered the chance to be reborn, in another universe no less.

"Do you seek the colors of chaos, mortal?" A voice boomed. It was a figure. One as shifting and malleable as the energies without. The calmness of its form was the only thing that kept it apart.

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The adventurer stared upwards, eyes open wide and unrelenting as if they dared to drink in the very powers they attempted to see. "I have always sought the unknown. I know it." His voice a whisper, of awe and surety.

The exact scale of the figure was unknown. When it moved it was as if a solar system shifted, conversely it could very well have been the size of a puff of gas. The multicolored incandescent form did just that, it moved, adjusted. It was not clear what emotion this conveyed, only that it seemed to regard the roiling energies of the universe. 

"You have been chosen for rebirth, mortal." It said, both quiet and loud. Both of which were oddities in the absence of a medium for which words could travel. "Do you remember who you are?"

"No." The answer came back fast, yet the eyes of the soul were less deceiving. "Though I know who I am. The unknown calls to me." The eyes of the adventurer glittered gold. 

"Powerful is a soul who remembers their past." The larger being responded. There was a sense that whatever constituted the being's attention had for the briefest moment alighted upon the adventurer. "Great is the one that knows who it is."

Whether the word powerful or great held any meaning beyond their general conceptions did not seem to matter to either entity. 

The adventurer took this compliment in stride. It was doubtful his mind ever paused at the notion that some being both unfathomable and greater than he had complimented his small existence. For the soul was fixated, fixated on the unknown whirling colors around him. And a word. Rebirth.

"You radiate with it, mortal." The being remarked with idle power. If it was not certain previously, it was undeniable now that the adventurer had garnered the being's attention.

"With what, friend?"

The being chortled, sending multicolored waves rebounding across its volume. "Friend? Odd you would claim me as so." The waves calmed but remained brighter, vivid. "You radiate with purpose. Desire. Not many can say such for themselves."

In the sea of chaos and color, of volatility and power, the bright calm vividness had caught the adventurer's eye. It was an eye that knew the peculiar, knew what was different, what was unknown. To the multicolored being's genuine surprise, one such feeling it had not experienced in eons, the mortal adventurer had managed to gaze directly into what passed for its eyes.

The adventurer did not remove his gaze as he responded. "It is what makes me happy." The being expected more, yet there was none. 

The being shifted itself but the soul's gaze never left whatever portion of the being's body had managed to attract its eye. The reasoning was pure. Again, not many could truthfully say something along the same lines. But perhaps most surprising was the fact that it was so simple. The multicolored entity couldn't fathom the last time it was ever motivated by such base desires.

"How?"

"How?" The soul asked, possibly affronted. "How does the mystery of the unknown not excite the heart? How does the unknown danger and gamble for life ever tire? The chance to witness or behold something not a single other person has ever laid eyes upon? To witness beauty unmatched and wonders untold? To hold secrets enough to fell entire kingdoms?" The mortal paused, finding the same spot in the multicolored cloud of incandescent gas for his eye to rest. "How could I ever live knowing beauty like this existed out there, only waiting for a witness daring enough?"

There was a hum of real power, but to the entity, it was nothing but a grumble of deep thought. Unbeknownst to the adventurer, the larger entity gazed into his golden irises. It was implausible that the adventurer could know he stared right at the being to which he spoke to.

A moment passed an eternity for both present. One lost in the stream of thoughts that came like a river, the type of thoughts that broke dams and flooded worlds, the kind that came with advanced age and wisdom. The other, simply admiring the sea of chaos for what it was, unpredictability. Both content.

"Amusing." The gas cloud entity remarked simply. As if every question it had was answered in just that. 

"It is, isn't it?" The adventurer agreed blissfully unaware of the subject. So entranced was he.

The gaseous being expanded as if taking a breath or perhaps just stretching. The process of rebirth was a taxing one, but those that oversaw such things usually reaped many benefits. The universe tended to reward those who helped lost souls. It was just simply the way of things. During a conflux of universes like this, many beings flocked towards the loose souls spilling between the folds. Some intended worse things than dissipating in the seas of chaos, others actively helped these souls for little benefit to them other than amusement. The being in question was of the largest majority, the ones who simply guided them to their intended place in the universe.

"Are you ready, mortal? To be reborn?" The gaseous entity spoke up. 

"A new experience is one always welcome, friend." The adventurer's golden eyes were glittering.

Again the being chortled in rare good humor. "Friend then." He said once calm. "Good luck, mortal. Perhaps one day we will meet on different terms."