Chapter 3: Bad Touch (1/2)
Mike had the mental image of a vast celestial courtroom where a massive Zeus-like figure handed him a doll and told him to point to the place Fate had touched him. Suppressing a chuckle, he asked, ”So, what exactly does that mean?”
”To explain that, I'll have to start from the way the multiverse is shaped. There are an uncounted number of universes surrounded by a sea of chaotic possibility which in turn makes up the multiverse. Fate is the term used to describe the force that holds the multiverse together and prevents the sea of possibility from consuming the universes. It shapes the way universes form, move, and eventually end while simultaneously giving the multiverse structure. To put it simply, it's a bit like mass of strings that stitches everything together...Except that the strings are kind of alive...and kind of move from time to time...and change things sometimes...”
Mike stared at the goddess, who then looked away with a blush, a pink color tinging her aura. ”I'm not the best with analogies, alright?”
Smiling to himself, Mike responded. ”So, is Fate benevolent?”
”It's hard to label it that way, because while it serves as a stabilizing force for the multiverse, it will occasionally interfere with the contents of individual universes, and not always to the benefit of those universes.”
”It is sentient?”
”Not exactly. We believe that the force has some degree of awareness, but it's closer to the neurons that governs the reflex response your hand makes when it touches something hot. Occasionally, for reasons that no one save the Ancient Ones really understand, Fate will move, passing through an existing multiverse.”
Selenica crossed her arms and leaned back slightly before continuing. ”Normally, most major events are already laid out in advance by the gods who manage each universe. Small details, like what you had for breakfast or where leaves fall during autumn, are largely left to a combination of free will and chance. However, when a Fate string passes through a universe, it can have some unexpected consequences. Any individual soul touched during one of these movements becomes irrevocably marked, altering that individual's destiny.”
Mike decided to ignore the confusing idea of Fate hijacking his destiny. ”So, what does that mean for me?”
The goddess looked a bit sheepish, her golden aura turning a bit yellow. ”Well…basically, you weren't supposed to have died yet. In the original plan for your life, you should have passed through that intersection and been further away before the accident. You would have been hurt by the blast, but eventually would have made a full recovery. However…..”
”However, I was distracted by an unusual looking cat and got stuck when the light changed.”
Selenica nodded. ”That was likely the manifestation of Fate as it touched your soul. Since your soul is both too dense and Fate-marked, you are no longer able to reincarnate normally. Luckily for you, this Ancient One has taken an interest in your case and is willing to lend its assistance in bringing you back into the reincarnation cycle.” She said while gesturing vaguely towards the sky.
”That reminds me, you haven't really explained about this Ancient One. Why can't I see it, and why does it sound like a whale trying to talk through a blender?”
”Your weak mind is unable to fully comprehend the Ancient One's form or voice. It has graciously deigned to both reduce its presence and words to a far lower level in order to avoid popping your soul like a soap bubble. Be grateful that this Ancient One is both benevolent and kind to you lesser beings.”
”Wow,” Mike said while staring up at the sky, ”thanks for that, robot whale ghost.”
He was answered by a fog horn-like blast, mixed with the sound of someone dropping a drawer full of silverware into a metal trashcan. Mike felt it vaguely resembled laughter.
Selenica glared at him again before sighing. ”Unfortunately, we can't reincarnate you into your old world. Your soul has way too much substance and any body you inhabited would simply explode shortly after you got there.”
”That sounds bad.”
”With the Ancient One's assistance, I can send you to another world designed for stronger souls, but that presents its own problem. Since you are marked by Fate, you will exist outside of the usual pattern of events in that world. This means we can only bring into that world in one of two ways. We could place you inside the body of an otherwise stillborn baby, a being with no real destiny. Alternatively, we could create an entirely new body and introduce it into the world directly. There are positive and negative aspects to both options. Reincarnating as a baby means you'll have a family to protect you until can acclimate to the world, but you'll also have to go through childhood again. You'd also be vulnerable to outside forces until you were old enough to take care of yourself. Starting in a new body will allow you live as you please right away, but will leave you alone in an unfamiliar world.”
She paused as if considering her next words, ”I will let you decide which course you want to follow.”
Mike considered the two options. While the idea of being alone and ignorant in a strange new place was slightly terrifying, he couldn't imagine having to be a baby again. The sheer helplessness that state would bring scared him more than anything else. He decided to go with the option that offered fewer immediate problems at the expense of long-term benefits.