In that dark night, Helena stood alone in front of the headquarters, leaving the apartment in the custody of Layla, who had taken possession of her brain. It was about 10AM... Her wait for her two friends, Satomi and Logico, had been long. She lay down on the grassy ground of that headquarters while Mark, inside her, reviewed the train of his life rushing forward against his will.
Mark's perception of time and space had not yet stabilized, despite the passage of six days since his reincarnation into Helena's body; six concentrated days of successive events. Mark knew that the duration of the day was 36 hours from the number of symbols on their watches, especially since the sun did not rise well in the sky; rather, its maximum height was still at an acute angle towards the south, or what he thought was the south, as if it were a winter solstice of some sort.
The shapes of their watches seemed strange and complex; their face looked like a slightly raised funnel, as if there was more extra time not visible. Furthermore, even the technologies of this era are illogical... This era seems as if it is in the continent of Europe during the Industrial Revolution, but there are also complex electrical technologies, such as the device he woke up and found in his lap. Likewise, their clothes are modern, and they know many things, knowledge that was not possible in this era on Planet Earth.
On the other hand, even the Tartarian Empire, which is the name of this group of continents, seems as if it is stolen from the legend of the Tartarian Empire on Planet Earth. Indeed, the name of this state, which is Taured, Mark remembered hearing from an urban legend on Planet Earth about a person caught by Japan named John Zegrus from a country with the same name.
The world seemed like broken pieces collected with adhesive tape, and his life now is literally out of his control. Here he is: reincarnated, suddenly discovered he has the title of a deity, suddenly the police found him, suddenly entered a strict bureaucratic system, suddenly entered an employment match, suddenly and magically like a Deus Ex Machina encountered a girl who gave him stimulants to succeed, suddenly discovered that this deity name is a lie and that she is of a demonic race. Violent life fluctuations that seemed to be leading him to his end while he watches.
People began to gather gradually, and Satomi finally came; literally, she is the right person. She is like Mark, a reincarnated person, but for a longer period. After a warm welcome, Helena's tone changed, and she said:
"I feel this world is illogical.. I mean there are many contradictions I thought about while reviewing the duration of my stay here."
"Haha, your situation resembles my situation during my first year here. I understand your feeling. Have you heard of the Rebellion of the Deities?"
"Yes, when I was reviewing Helena's lessons—who is me—before the exam, and honestly I didn't understand a thing from it. I was using photographic memory to repeat it like a parrot only for the time of the test.. Imaginolian, the anchor of reality, we are fictional beings. I mean look, I am real here, right?!"
"These people have strange beliefs.. I also don't understand much about this religion of theirs... By the way, don't care too much. All their talk is just religious myths. Don't occupy your mind; it is not scientific talk."
"I know, but these are not answers. What is the relationship of the Rebellion of the Deities to these loopholes of life?"
"From that event which annihilated 99.999...% I don't know how many nines after the decimal point—of humanity, some traces remain that still make reality cracked until today."
"What happened in this extinction specifically? Did a meteor hit this planet? Did a god of some sort come out and enslave humanity?"
"Neither this nor that. I myself don't understand what happened... Hey, wait, here Logico has come."
"Hello."
"Helena and I were wondering about the Rebellion of the Deities. What happened in it?"
"Why do you two ask?"
"We feel there are incomprehensible things in the world, contradictory things."
"Do not think about those contradictions for long, and live your lives."
"Why?"
"These are called Night Hooks. If you contemplate them for long, you might cause a new extinction. The Deities are trying to hunt you with them."
Helena said:
"But we are deities, the three of us are fertility deities?!"
Logico laughed and said:
"Pffft, did you believe yourself?! This is an honorary name only. In fact, this is an insulting name in Terravasta. We hate Deities and absolute entities. Were it not for the aura of affection around us, ordinary humans would have eliminated us. And originally, we are in danger if we happen upon any religious fanatic. Do you not realize that we destroy societies and they still allow us to live?"
"Why?!"
"Haha, don't think about it too much either.. No, no, listen. These are not plot holes. The truth is that for everything there is a reason, but as long as you two do not understand the Sixth Extinction, thinking about reasons will lead to abnormal compositions of explanations, and in the end, either you will be eliminated, or GAPI will eliminate you."
"Can you explain it please, Logico?"
"This is a national secret... You will understand that nonsense that happened soon. The problem is only that distorted understanding will lead to a problem. I know this won't silence your curiosity, but I am speaking seriously. You are only smelling the cork of the bottle and your heads have started to hurt."
The huge metal door opened slowly, and the groups advanced in the form of long lines of thousands of employees to the lecture hall for a welcoming lecture that included several general explanations about the organization[1]
Then they dispersed, each according to their specialty. The specialty of Helena, Logico, and Satomi was within the Realism Department, which is one of the most difficult departments in terms of missions and studies... Helena had no alternative, unlike Satomi, whose body's owner possessed several certificates and whose goals for joining GAPI were lustful in the first degree.
The Realism Department was composed of a large number of towering facilities that stab the heart of the sky, like a city within another city. The size of that group, composed of 54 candidates out of 3000, seemed like ants compared to it. But the most important feature is an incomprehensible temporal dissonance; for outside are Victorian era buildings, while here are skyscrapers and giant facilities as if they are from the late 20th century on Earth.
They entered a huge office building to sign contracts, a stage resembling a small final interview. The trainees entered successively upon hearing their names for durations that seemed like 15 minutes.
Everyone passed and the trio was still waiting. Finally, they called for Logico, and the duration of her stay was suspiciously long, for more than an hour, amidst the whispering of Helena and Satomi. The sixth sense is of no use here; the place is literally completely hidden from it. The door opened slightly and they called for Satomi. They breathed a sigh of relief. Satomi said:
"Hhh, how bad our intentions are."
Helena remained alone with the ringing of her ears in this place that literally swallows sounds and is full of the smell of papers and new books. The duration of Satomi's stay inside was normal. The door opened slightly and they called for Helena. Upon first entry, a strong person from the Special Forces slammed into her and pinned her to the wall. Helena said in surprise:
"What is happening?"
No one answered her; rather, her chatty mouth was closed, her hands were bound with handcuffs, and she was dropped on her face to the ground to search her. Then she was led by force to somewhere underground.
[1] Look at GAPI organizational structure