Victor’s being flickered on. A gleaming light spread throughout his body, providing him warmth, solace. Yet he refused to open his eyes.

Am I dead?

“Nope. Let’s chat for a bit.”

Lance?

His eyes snapped open. He marveled at the landscape before him. A collection of warping and shifting vegetation of unknown origin, smoothly cycling through the color spectrum. The horizon was a kaleidoscope of geometric patterns and fractals spinning in an endless dance.

Lance presented a toothy grin while balancing a glass Coca-Cola bottle on his index finger. Inside the bottle was the dark backdrop of space, dotted with stars and various spiral and elliptical galaxies.

Towering to the right of Lance was his mother in her Ensolian form. Her flowing green cloak contrasting against the ever-changing horizon. Another Ensolian was to his left, donning a cloak of gold and white.

So this is Lucius.

“Oh,” Lance said. “You two haven’t met? Well, this is a cause for celebration.” He spun the bottle on his finger, rattling the galaxies within. “This is quite the family reunion.”

Victor squinted. Everything pulsed, as if this reality possessed a breath.

“You’ll get used to it.”

“Lance,” Victor said, using a hand to partially cover his view. “What’s going on?” His eyes shifted to the etched smile on his mother’s theater mask. “Did you guys repair the plane?”

“Yes,” Lucius said, annoyance lacing his voice. “My sister and I managed to avoid a tragedy.”

“I knew you guys could do it,” Lance said.

“You could have fixed it in an instant.”

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“No need. You two are capable enough.”

After all Victor had experienced, he thought he’d developed an immunity to being shocked by the nonsensical. In an attempt to ground himself in something tangible, he recalled his fight with La’el—his fist making contact with his uncle’s chin.

“La’el made his bed.” Lance brought the bottle to his face, eyeing its contents. “My foolish son is taking a little vacation.”

“Your son?”

“Yes,” his mother said, her voice acting as an anchor, stilling his mind. “Quite the family reunion indeed.”

Once again, Victor had to swallow the bitter pill of deceit. “I guess lying for years on end comes easy to ethereal beings.”

“I understand your anger,” Lance said. “I wanted to see you with my own eyes. Luna’s decision, though reckless, produced someone worthy of this position. You see, I’d like for you to become the new overseer of Hell.”

“Absolutely not.”

“But you haven’t even heard my pitch.”

“Not interested. You abandoned me after lying to my face for over a decade. Why would I want to work for you?”

Lucius, his voice low and booming, snapped, “I told you this was a terrible idea. Please father, quit these silly games for a—”

Lance raised a hand, silencing the being several times his size. “Not to boast, but humans have such a beautiful design. Within every human exists a perpetual moral tug of war. Each decision bolsters one side or the other. There are some who have only known darkness their whole lives, yet they cling to love like a babe to their mother’s teat. And there are some who have been bathed in light, yet they actively seek out evil. How fun! Wouldn’t you agree?”

“Fun? Our internal struggle amuses you?”

“Yes.”

“Then we’re nothing more than action figures, stumbling about in a sandbox of your own creation.”

“No. Action figures don’t possess free will.”

“Why me? What makes me worthy of judging others? My lineage is the only thing that makes me special. Outside of that, I’m nothing but a fuck up.”

“Mi Cielo,” his mother said. “Do you really believe that?”

“It’s true,” Lance said. “If you weren’t an Ensolian—”

“Half Ensolian,” Victor chimed.

“You’ve lived a blessed life,” Lance continued. “Surrounded by love, you’ve seen the heights of what your plane has to offer. But you’ve also experienced the lows. The debilitating pain of loss, and the subsequent void of loneliness. I made La’el to be kind and perceptive. But that was nothing more than laziness on my part. You can’t fast track genuine understanding. Depth is formed through experience. I also gave him free will, which allowed for him to draw his own conclusions about humanity. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a bad thing. But exposing anyone—even an Ensolian—to just the horrors of a race will eventually influence their perception of that race in its entirety. Balance is the key, and that’s what he lacked.” He shrugged. “Oh well, things happen. You wanna do it or not?”

“Was I not clear before?”

“Victor,” his mother snapped. Her tone transported him back to his childhood. His body tensed up.

“Why don’t you just create a new replacement with a better temperament?” Victor asked. “You’re God, right?”

“Are you being serious? Where’s the fun in that?”

“So, this really is all just a game to you?”

“It’s a game to everyone. Most don’t know it, though. Which makes it exceedingly more fun.”

Wow… God’s kind of a dick.

“I heard that.”

Shit.

“Heard that, too. Don’t worry, I’m not a petty god. Ok, that’s not true, but I’m in an excellent mood.”

Victor adjusted to his noisy surroundings, casting his gaze upon his family. A strange bunch, to say the least.

“Remember,” Lance said. “This is a choice. There’s no fun in stripping away one’s free will. You can return to the physical plane and live the rest of your life as Hoang. But that doesn’t sound very—”

“Fun. I get it.”

Victor took a deep breath with his eyes closed. A snapshot of Connor and Summer raced across his mind’s eye like a shooting star.

“Okay. I accept. But I have a few conditions.”

“Wonderful.” Lance beamed, then snapped his fingers.