Seamus suddenly felt a strange hollowness as he watched himself rise out of his body, leaving it to the hungry monsters below. He would have been sad to see himself go, except that Seamus didn't think he could feel anything right now. He was curious about the identity of the voice though, and what it had meant by ‘My champion’. Surely nobody would want him as their champion. What had he done in his life except survive?

Eventually, what he assumed to be his soul rose so high that he could not see his body. Only the surrounding forest was visible, and that was rapidly disappearing as well. He could see the forest grow smaller and smaller, shrinking to the size of a pea, until he could see the curvature of the Earth. He turned back around, facing... whatever he was floating towards.

After what he estimated to be thirty minutes, but was probably more like fifteen, he felt himself abruptly stop. He took a quick glance around, and could see naught but infinite, glimmering specks of light. Turning around in his spectral form, he could no longer even see Earth. While gazing at the myriad of stars, behind him he felt a pressure coalesce, drawing his attention back from the infinite abyss.

Taking a glance at the entity, he saw charcoal-like skin, covered in a toga befitting that of a Greek god. The fabric was pristine white with golden accents. The eyes of this (being? Man? God?) were nearly pure white as well, with small flecks of yellow, reminding Seamus of an hourglass, slowly counting the days until his demise. The existence also had a long, grey beard that almost seemed to flow in a non-existent breeze. Most notably, however, was the enormous scythe they were wielding. Boasting a void-like blackness as its blade, and a bone-white handle, the scythe was both an object of beauty and a weapon of extraordinary capabilities.

“You have done well, surviving that long with such meager power,” the entity rumbled, “Now, however, you and your whole race have perished. That is unfortunate, but ultimately not unexpected.”

Who are you? Seamus thought to himself, attempting to send his thoughts their way.

The being chuckled, “I have been known by a few names to your kind, but the most common one would be Chronos, or Father Time.”

Isn’t that the Titan who ate his children? He thought again, curious if Chronos was actually reading his thoughts or just guessing.

The being, Chronos, sighed in defeat, “No, that would be Cronus. Common misconception. I existed well before the Titans, but some idiot mixed up our names, and now I'm attributed to whatever deeds he has done.” Chronos straightened himself up again, “I have brought you here to offer you a chance. A chance to fix your past mistakes, and, if you are brave or foolish enough, to save mankind. They are a fun plaything for me, and I quite enjoy their presence. I have chosen you because you are the most likely to have learned from your mistakes, given you survived for so long.”

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I can understand that part, but why destroy us in the first place? Why send all those monsters to destroy us? He thought-spoke again, attempting to pry answers out of this god.

“You forget yourself, mortal.” He drew himself up taller than his already impressive height and pointed the top of the scythe towards Seamus.

“The System that brought those upon you was not my doing. I had no part in ending your time, but if you are the best humanity can offer, then I suppose I should just let it die.”

Seamus immediately felt panic as he could feel his opportunity slip away. No! I didn’t mean it like that! I apologize, I just was curious. What is this offer you have for me?

“I offer you a second chance. A one-way ticket back into the past, where you can try to save the world again. This do-over does not come without its consequences, as with any gift, but you would not notice them for some time yet and the alternative is your eternal damnation. Choose wisely.”

Of course, there was little else Seamus could choose. Death, or life. Living with the consequences of his actions, or a once in a lifetime chance.

Offer

Father Time, Chronos, offers you a gift.

Do you accept?

‘I accept’, Seamus confirmed.

And just like that, Seamus disappeared.

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“I hope he does better than the previous one.” Chronos declared, turning to glare off into what appeared to be more nothingness, but quickly morphed into another being that looked eerily similar to Chronos.

“Pfft. As if anyone could do worse!” the being said, before morphing into a cat

“Literally anybody could have been better than that nincompoop. Why’d you even pick him in the first place?” the cat intoned.

“He showed promise,” Chronos stated simply, “He also was among the first to react positively to the invasion. How was I supposed to know that he would make so many mistakes?”

“You’re the god of time, dummy. Just look forward or something,” the other being suggested.

“Time doesn’t work like that, and you know it.” Chronos deadpanned, before gazing off into the distance.

“I have high hopes for this one. He lasted longer than most even without figuring out any of The System’s secrets.”

The cat lazily meandered over to where Chronos was staring off to, before lowering its body onto seemingly nothing, “He doesn’t seem like much of a leader to me, more likely he will try to play hero like all the others. You would think that these mortals would learn that their true strength lies in communication, not this senseless ‘power’ they all strive for.”

“You would think, Hermes,” Chronos sighed, “You would think.”