...When I came to, I was in a place of shadows.
There was no glitter of stars, no light to see by. Not even a flickering flame to cast a glow.
It was a place where only a profound, heavy darkness stretched into infinity.
...I knew this place.
I had been here before—
"Well. It's been quite a long time, hasn't it?"
A voice called out to me. It was cold and detached, yet laced with a certain listlessness. It was a voice of a higher order, vibrating through the very fabric of the void.
"—You are..."
"You've become quite beautiful. It seems you've had a wonderful journey."
The voice carried a hint of faint surprise. I could not see a form. Perhaps... there was no form to see.
"...Your journey is nearing its end. The answer to all your diligence, all your striving, is about to bear fruit here."
The words continued to fall like steady rain.
"Do you have any regrets? Any lingering sorrows? Have you ever lamented your reincarnation... or the destiny you were handed?"
The words were chilling, yet... they sounded almost playful.
Was your journey a happy one? This was the final check from the one who had set the gears of my fate in motion.
"—Yes! It truly was!"
It had been fun. It had been joyous. I had been blessed.
I was granted a name and a form by a King I deeply revere; I rode alongside dependable comrades, and I found a friend who is irreplaceable to me.
I could stand tall and declare with every fiber of my being that this journey was my greatest treasure.
"I was truly, truly happy! And—thank you!"
Ea bowed her head deeply.
"Because you lent me your strength, because you kept your eyes on me, I was able to walk such a blessed path! You have my eternal gratitude!"
He had chosen her for this reincarnation.
He had saved her when she was nothing more than a soul meant to die and vanish.
He had answered her cry.
To that being, there were no words left but "thank you."
"Thank you... for sending me out into the world! Thank you so much!"
Thank you. The reason I existed... the reason I could be who I am... was all because of you.
Truly, thank you—
"—...Good grief. You really are something else."
The voice returned, now echoing with a laugh that suggested genuine intrigue.
"I am a mere stagehand. A device meant to be forgotten the moment the opening act is over... No, that's just a sophistry of mine. If that were truly the case, I wouldn't have come here at all."
"...?"
"In truth, I... I just wanted a single word from someone. That alone is the greatest reward I could ask for. —That smile, that gratitude. I shall accept them with thanks."
The voice grew bright, almost radiant.
"I am a scoundrel. A 'something' that toys with fate. Men call me Omnipotence. They call me the Root. They call me Causality. —Because I have trifled with the destinies of all things, yours included."
"..."
"Most of those stories ended in self-contained loops. Glory, prosperity, agony, demise... they all began and ended within themselves. —Though, I suppose a few did try to challenge me."
The voice spoke as if remembering a thousand different tales.
"Countless stories reached their conclusions. But... to me, they were just ripples in a stream. Nothing worth noting. I simply sent them on their way; I had no reason to involve myself further. But you... you gave me 'gratitude.'"
The voice spoke of a quiet joy.
"Through your own cultivation, through your own footsteps, you reached this form and this soul. You could have asked what business I had with you now, yet you chose to thank me instead. —Yes. I used to resent the 'Omnipotence' that accidentally birthed a self... but those words of yours are an irreplaceable recompense."
"...Who are you, truly...?"
"...I was once a human. I no longer remember what kind of person I was. My gender, my tastes—all gone. All I remember is that I was born with 'Omnipotence.'"
Slowly, the voice began to narrate its own history.
"I could do anything, and I could achieve anything. I did with ease what others found impossible, and I created with a thought what others could not build. I never questioned it. I exercised my power as naturally as I breathed. Because it was my 'normal.' ...Well, the end result of that was a death born of misunderstanding and rejection."
The voice spoke of a life that had everything from the start.
He was used as a matter of course and killed as a matter of course.
His omnipotence had contributed nothing to his own happiness.
"Well, it was my own fault. ...After I died, I touched the thing called the 'Root' and was absorbed by it. I gained the power to grasp and control everything. Apparently, even the universe needs a personality to organize and compile its data... and so, I became able to do almost anything you could imagine. ...However."
-------------------------------
I've already uploaded 70 chapters of this story on Patreon!
If you enjoy it, come check out the latest chapters in advance.
Here's the link:
[patreon.com/Greyhounds]
Thank you so much for your support!!
"And If you're enjoying it, drop a Power Stone for me!"