In a world of pervading void–an emptiness that felt paradoxical–an ethereal figure emerged. Another appeared beside it, just as silently.
"Who was that boy, Askriel?"
The question had no origin, yet it resonated across the boundless emptiness. "Why does he know so much? He appears ordinary, but his mortal shell does not deceive my eyes, Askriel!"
"Durtenell, do not ask questions of no consequence," came a second, disembodied voice, calm yet absolute. "He is a mere boy–special, yes, but irrelevant to the verdict of the Pantheon. Permanence shall take effect immediately. The choices have been made. Let the tapestry of fate weave itself around these new gods…"
Their presences faded, leaving the void to swallow itself once more.
*****
It was the usual boring night and the only thing Andrew could do to alleviate his depressive mood was scrolling through the Net in search of anything to take his mind off reality. He sought comfort there for who knew how long to the extent it had become his habit to scroll through the Net whenever he wasn't busy.
Today was no different. Laying on his small bed within his small apartment, the dim light of his phone was the only illumination within the entire room. Everywhere else was a dark gloomy pervading of melancholia.
His attention was suddenly caught by the next video. It wasn't anything special but it was something he enjoyed engaging in. It was a slide post about abilities.
As someone obsessed with fantasy and forgetting reality, this was one of the few things within reality that he enjoyed.
< Regeneration
Flight
Summoning
Nullification
Absorption
Copycat
Shape shifting
Adaption
Self-Casuality Manipulation
Enhancement
Pyrokinesis
Visionary
Rift
Clairvoyant
Negation
Remember… You can only choose two. Think carefully, O lucky chosen>>
Andrew was immediately intrigued by everything he saw. Normally, these kinds of videos wouldn't have attracted his attention this much but the undertone he felt… It really amused him.
Quickly, Andrew swiped to the next slide in anticipation. Here, the limitations of each ability was described in little details. They were more like a statement imposing the limitations.
< Regeneration–You have to consciously control it.
Flight–No Limitations.
Summoning–It has to fit into the framework of reality.
Nullification–Only effective against abilities.
Absorption–Only three times usage.
Copycat–The chances of success is only ten percent.
Shape shifting–Can only shapeshift into creatures that at least weigh a hundred kilograms heavier or weigh twenty kilograms lighter.
Adaption–Unpredictable! Caution!
Self-Casuality Manipulation–The strings of fate begin to weave around you! How audacious you were!
Enhancement–Remember your humanity!
Pyrokinesis–Your range is only within a radius of one kilometer.
Visionary–You have to choose Self-Casuality Manipulation.
Rift–Five percent chance that your rift will fail.
Clairvoyant–You can only see fragments of the future.
Negation–Shuts down your other power too. Won't "nullify" abilities.
Choose with caution. The next slide contains the passive traits. Only one can be chosen.>>
Andrew's interest continued to experience an intense growth. He was especially interested today due to several reasons. His boss had scolded him when he caught him daydreaming, the girl he was trying to talk to walked past his rental apartment this evening with a guy and from their interactions he could easily guess their relationship, his rent was due and he hadn't saved up enough, he also planned to visit his grandma–the only family member he had since he could remember– at the Retirement home but considering how he was feeling this week, he just decided to postpone it…
'I'm on my third heartbreak this month. To be honest, it's not like they intentionally broke my heart… just unfortunate to fall for the wrong people. *Sigh* It's getting tiring… at least, I'm not feeling suicidal… hahaha' Andrew completed his entire monologue without even the slightest shift in his expression. His bearing was that of a dead man, unperturbed.
Taking his thoughts once again from the matters of reality, he dove back into the world of fantasy.
< Fated–Good or Bad… it all depends on fate.
Random increment on all stats–It could be negligible or very evident.
Random increment of reflexes–It could be negligible or very evident.
Tailored Equipment–Forged to help with the usage of your abilities.
Sacrifice–At the end, you'll burn brighter than the sun.
Corruption–With God's powers comes the insanity of superiority. Wield it and become a God.
Rebirth–One use
Now, make your choices my dear chosen… The beautiful horizon stares back at you.>>
'Interesting, to say the least. A very interesting post… So, what are your choices, Andrew? Decisions decisions decisions…. All these abilities are given quite the limitations–though, I wouldn't personally consider it a limitation–and only with the best combination can the best effect be attained.' Andrew held his phone on one hand while the other massaged his temples.
Thinking about it for a couple of minutes, a realization hit Andrew.
'Why the fuck am I even stressing myself out about some random post? I came here to be entertained, not stressed out… Though, what abilities indeed would be the best for me? What trait could potentially maximize everything? Let's see the comments first.'
Giving up on making a decision now, Andrew clicked on the comment section and comments began to roll in. There were over a thousand comments. The moment Andrew entered there, he was immediately greeted with paragraphs upon paragraphs of 'unemployed' strangers–most likely, teens–trying to prove why their own combination of abilities and passive traits was the best and how other people's choice would be trash.
Andrew, once again, felt his interest immediately piqued. Things such as arguments on opinions was a favorite thing of his. The ways humans thought of a single thing in such a wide and varying range was intriguing, to say the least. He enjoyed activities like watching people debate their personal opinions and sometimes, even joining in.
'Sheesh, aren't I one boring person?' Andrew let out a soft chuckle. Then, he focused back on the comment section. The first comment he saw and the one with the highest likes was from someone called 'Fraggydrew'.
@Fraggydrew: Personally, I would say the Copycat and Enhancement are one of the best choices here, if not the best. Just think about it, despite the limitation of Copycat that makes the success rate only ten percent, there is no cool down time for every activation… so, that means you can technically spam it with a single moment. They might as well not have placed the limitations. As for Enhancement, obviously, this is meant to serve as an utility ability. No thorough limitations were given to Enhancement, my dear people, we aren't limited to enhancing the physical body nor other physical things… we can also enhance abstractions, my dear brethrens… What better combination could there possibly be? Enhancement is already overpowered on its own due to the lack of any limitations–a warning can't be considered a limitation, obviously–and you still have Copycat to copy anything… not just abilities, anything… Hahahahaha, before me, no abilities shall experience a lousy usage. I shall use you to the maximum potential. As for the passive traits, Sacrifice isn't an option for me, let's see…Hmmmmm, Tailored Equipment. All the other options are either filled with uncertainty or ain't even worth it. Thanks for reading. Hahahaha
Andrew took his hand away from his temple and placed it entirely on his forehead, partially obstructing his own vision.
'So much thought process into such a simple matter… But they are making a valid point, to be honest. What other combination out here can give Fraggydrew a run for his money? There are potentially a lot considering the amount of comments here… Let's see who else can make a solid point.' Andrew took his hand from his forehead and began scrolling through the comments section.
The most comments he saw were merely people choosing their own abilities and traits, no essay, just a choice.
@Dersght: Flight, Enhancement and Random increment on all stats. Hmm🤔, I chose randomly.
@Sgtyh3456245gg: Regeneration, Rift and Random increment to reflexes. I'd be a headache to fight😂
@Dragonbeater: Pyrikinesis, Summoning and Corruption. Don't ask questions. These are my choices😌
Andrew continued to read several more comments like these for a couple minutes straight and he was already beginning to feel bored. He was ready to make his choice when he came across a rather interesting comment.
@Venerable_Uranus: Understandable that y'all are making the choices you are making, in fact, no matter what manner you look at these combinations of abilities, it does always seem to make the user overpowered. In this thorough randomness, there seems to be a vague fairness. All powers seem to be balanced… Hmmmm, what should I choose? Visionary would have been an enticing choice but its limitation being Self-Casuality Manipulation is a true limitation. Y'all don't seem to notice the fact that Self-Casuality Manipulation has one of the worst limitations out of all the abilities. You quite literally become a thrall of fate, an apparition that knows nothing but the verdicts of fate. No free will. You become nothing. I feel like it's better to choose other abilities, at least, you'd still retain your individuality. Sincerely, Visionary is a broken ability, nigh-reality warping is what we are talking about here, guys… unfortunately, the trade-off is something terrible too. So, my choice would certainly be Enhancement, Adaption and Tailored Equipment. Yeah, I'm aware of the risks of Adaption but at least, I know that I might still remain myself unlike with Visionary and Self-Casuality Manipulation.
Andrew finished reading and fell into a short contemplation before clicking on the replies of the comment that @Venerable_Uranus made. There were over thirty under it.
@gigglefiller: Bro, chill! This is a random post. What's all these paragraphs? Bruh😭, just make your choice and move on.
@Demarcus16: Reasonable actually. I would have gone for Visionary, unfortunately, it's paired with terrible limitation. I chose Negation and Summoning… oh yeah, and Random increment on all stats.
So many similar comments was all there was in there. After some minutes Andrew decided that he wasn't that interested anymore. This was his problem. Nothing ever caught his interest for a long time, always so short.
'Hmmmm… let's make our choice then, Andrew. We've seen people's opinions on all the powers, what are your choices? Hmmmm' Andrew thought as his fingers already began to move as words appeared on his screen.
Seeing the words on his screen, Andrew nodded mental and pressed the send button. He saw his words appear within the comment section before closing the section.
'*Sigh* What next? I'm so bored. Everything's so boring.' The usual thoughts appeared again. Thoughts he knew too well.
What was the meaning of life even? Why does he even continue to fight the thoughts everyday? What was it that made him so afraid of dying?
He knew the answer. It was a very simple one. He was certain that if he didn't have his grandma, he'd probably be only bones under the ground now. He didn't value life in the slightest–his own life, to be specific. He chose to continue living simply because he dearly loved and cared for his sickly grandma who had done everything to raise him. He didn't want her to be saddened by his stupid decision of taking his own life. He cared too much to bring her such pain.
As such, in the meantime, he will continue to fight until one day, he won't need to… one day, he'll know the tranquility that could only be found in death. Death really wasn't that bad. In fact, it was a sweet release from the horrors of life.
'Shut the fuck up, Andrew! Genuinely, shut the fuck up! I'm tired of hearing this everyday. Please… let me just rest.'
'But, do I lie, my boy? That's the truth. You are tired of life. We are tired of it. There's nothing to live for except our dear grandma. Without her, wouldn't we just have fallen into the sweet embrace of death?'
'SHUT THE FU-'
Andrew's internal scream was interrupted by a ring. Turning his head to his phone that he'd placed by his side, he saw an unknown number on the screen.
He sat there and stared at it for a several second. His ringtone blasting by his ear. Eventually, he sat up and picked up his phone.
Staring at the unknown number with a pale face, Andrew's silvery grey pupils became very evident when the light from his phone struck his face.
He was a tall man, slim build fitted for his height, a head full of silvery grey hair reaching over his shoulder… paired with his pale complexion, he was no different from those abominations that hid in the dark corners…. Or so, he had been insulted a few years ago in high school.
He had turned nineteen several months ago. His age mates were mostly in Universities, furthering their education, increasing their chances of getting a better life… and him? Hahaha…
'Who could possibly be calling me so late in the night?' Andrew massaged his temples before finally deciding to receive the call.
The moment he just answered the call, a powerful voice rang out immediately. A voice that carried a level of authority. Andrew's mind was stun for a single moment. He didn't expect it to be this… powerful.
"EVENING, DEAR CHOSEN. YOUR DECISION HAS BEEN EXAMINED BY THE SUOREME PANTHEON AND A DECISION HAS BEEN MADE… ANDREW STAR FIELD, FROM NOW HENCEFORTH, YOU SHALL BEAR THE MANTLE OF A GOD! REJOICE, MERE MORTAL, FOR YOU ARE NO LONGER ONE!"
"Huh?" This was the only remark he could make.