"I never really liked people."
"I don't hate them or anything grand like that, I just find them exhausting to be around."
"Every morning it's the same boring routine, forced smiles, useless small talk about the latest drama or whatever is going on that month."
"Everyone always has something to do."
"And that somehow makes them think they're more important than they really are."
"That probably makes me sound harsh."
"After all, we all do it."
"But just think, someone out there is getting married to the love of their life, and someone else is sitting at a funeral having the worst day of theirs. Whatever it is, at the end of the day, the world couldn't care less."
"And it just keeps on spinning. For some reason, we like to grasp onto the belief that we are in control."
"And for all our flaws, we convinced ourselves that we are the masters of our story. That's why I write stories, so I can have a world that only I can control."
Let me ask you a question. When was the last time you thanked God for something—not something big, but something small, like your heart beating without you having to think about it… Been a while, huh?"
In a two-room apartment, a man falls off his bed and hits his head on the floor, scratching his now throbbing head. He looked around, confused about where he was, and then he remembered.
"Shit, I overslept."
He was late for work. Lucky for him, on that particular day, it didn't matter much, for that was the day the world as we know it ended.
In a matter of moments, the words that changed the world were spoken: "How predictable you've all become," his voice whispered at the back of everyone's heads all at once. "So boring."
"I'm abandoning you. Suffer and write a new story in my absence… make it good this time."
Although no one knew what was going on, they all knew one thing—akin to a child knowing its mother's heartbeat—the voice they heard was the voice of God himself.
The collapse was instant.
Soldiers pulled their triggers, but their bullets turned to dust mid-air.
In fact, all modern weaponry was rendered useless.
Engines roared, then melted into useless heaps of metal.
Europlanes fell from the sky.
The laws of existence no longer bent to humanity's will. Instead, the world bent humanity until it snapped.
The sky ripped open. Other worlds bled through—realms of demons, dragons, and horrors born from forgotten myths. The strong devoured the weak. And with no divine shield to protect them, humanity crumbled.
Years passed. The once-proud race dwindled to nothing.
Until only one man remained.
He stood among the ruins of his people. The last human. He wasn't the strongest of his time, but he still remained.
His eyes burned with defiance. On his shoulders, he held the hopes of his entire race. As the ground shook beneath him. Before him stood a beast.And, without the power to even put up a fight, he died.
As darkness closed around him, he expected nothing.
Instead, a familiar voice chuckled.
"You were… amazing."
God's voice, akin to a child at play.
"Everything else bored me, but you… you might be worth watching a little longer.
I'll give you another chance, as many as you like… Oh yeah, you're dead. You can't hear me, can you? Whatever, I'll just etch what I said into your soul then."
A cruel smile etched in his mind.
As light engulfed him, he opened his eyes—And found himself in the past, staring at the ceiling of a place he once called home.
"This place looks just as bad as it did back then."
Was it a dream? It must have been a terrible nightmare.
No—the screaming, blood, being that thing that killed me, choking on my own blood. Nightmares don't leave a taste behind.
"What happened to me?"
Groaning, I pushed myself upright. My body feels young again. Too young. My joints don't hurt, no scars. No proof I ever lived that life at all. Just smooth flesh, a clean slate. But then a sentence that I felt in every atom of my being:
"Oh, that's what happened."
People would call this a gift, right? A second chance. Maybe I'm just ungrateful, but—
But I didn't know how to feel about this. This is so strange, but from what I understand.
God wants amusement, and I became his clown.
This is so stupid…
Muttering, "Fine, then."
Rubbing my face. "What day is it?" Fumbling around in my pockets for a phone I remember I had. "How much time do I even have left? Where's my phone? I know I always kept it in pockets back then… oh, there it is, I just need to—"
"Hello."
I jolted up, heart hammering against my ribs. The room is empty. Just shadows and old furniture. Where could it be coming from?
"You forgot my voice so soon? That almost hurts."
My stomach is churning. I feel like I'm about to puke. That voice—I know it.
"It's me," chuckling. "Your God. I thought about leaving you to your own devices, but that would be boring, don't you think? So let's make it interesting. So I decided to add some rules."
Snapping his fingers, the walls melted away. I couldn't see anything until I was standing in a void surrounded by five glowing blue screens.
Blinking. "You really dragged me out here just to show off? What, no tutorial fairy?"
Silence. Then laughter.
The screens lit up.
RULE ZERO: don't bore me
RULE ONE: ???
RULE TWO: ???
RULE THREE: ???
RULE FOUR: ???
RULE FIVE: ???
Brows furrowing. "Wait. That last one—say it again."
A wicked smile pressed into his mind.
"???"
"That's stupid. Pointless. There's no—"
The screens shattered one by one until only those glowing words remained.
What the hell, that is the dumbest rule I have ever heard??? Even just looking at it is pissing me off… I just have to be careful then. It's simple, I just can't—
"That last one is my favorite one, you know." He sounds so delighted with himself after making me panic.
"Out of all the divine punishments, you went with that?"
Silence. Then a chuckle that shook the void.
"You humans have a habit of breaking your word. I think it'll make things… entertaining."
"Glad my suffering makes for good TV."
The last screen shattered. God's voice turned cold.
"Make this fun. I don't like being disappointed."
The void is twisting on itself, looks like it's about to collapse. Wait, I'm still inside, how could he just leave me here—blinking—oh, I'm back in my apartment. That had me scared for a moment… The first thing I see is that stupid water stain again. I'm going to complain to the landlord about this.
This time, though, something was different.
Glancing over, I see three weapons leaned against the far wall: a longsword, a black pistol, and a staff etched with glowing runes.
"A starter kit ? Where's the NPC to hand me my first quest? "
I thought you wanted to watch an entertaining story, not write one."
The sword is tempting, but I'd look like some drunk lunatic swinging it around, but it does look cool.
The pistol? Practical until I ran out of bullets. And knowing God, it'd probably shoot confetti anyway.
The staff… yeah, that had "accidental suicide" written all over it.
Great. My options are Kirito cosplayer, a wild west gunslinger, or Hogwarts wizard.
Yeah. I'm screwed.
The three of them were waiting for me to pick a personality.
Sword. Pistol. Staff.
I scratched the back of my neck.
"So… am I supposed to grab one and yell class selection or something?"
Well, at least I can breathe now. Still, I can't make a decision on this fast. "Yeah, not today."
I should get up. No point in sitting in this stuffy-ass room. If this really was a second chance, I wanted to breathe before the world turned into a graveyard again.
Opening the door, I stepped outside of my three-story apartment complex, the smell of exhaust and fried food—the smell of home, ugly and comforting all at once. It was perfect, much better than the smell of blood anyway. People brushed past me without even a glance. A couple arguing over groceries. Kids chasing each other with ice cream dripping down their hands. It's exactly how I remember it.
Everything's so loud, so crowded, it's too… alive. Shoving my hands into my pockets, I kept walking, ignoring the tide of people walking past me.
No one even noticed me. Why would they? I'm just another face in the crowd after all.
I needed a place to think, somewhere away from this suffocating city center.
I turned off the main avenue, heading toward the older, quieter outskirts where the concrete began to give way to gravel walking paths and overgrown weeds.
huh I'm muttering to myself again i feel like im going insane. I had been alone for so long; I guess it just became a habit .
My feet knew the route by heart. I trudged past the shabby old corner shop and its faded neon sign , exactly as it used to be—and began climbing the steps to the winding sidewalk that led up the hill.
By the time my feet stopped, the noise of the traffic had faded into a distant hum. I was at the crest of the hill. Stepping into the mouth of the neighbourhood park. this is by far my favourite place in this whole city.
Its not much of a spot, honestly. Just a busted bench in the park where the trees opened up and you could see the whole city. It has a rusty railing and a weird design of a flying crow. Half the time it smelled like wet dirt and cigarettes. But it was mine.
Dropping onto the bench, I leaned back and let out a breath I didn't realize I'd been holding.
From up here, the city didn't look so bad. The glass towers caught the sunset perfectly, painted it in gold and pink. I felt like it was something worth saving.
Staring up at the sky from my vantage point. muttering, "I wonder if you're watching me now, or are you too busy playing with stars."
Closing my eyes, I listened to the wind blow past me. For just a second, I felt like I was human again, like I wasn't just a clown. No. I was just… me.
"Hey, Kanishk, is that you?"
That voice. It's not his voice… It's too real, too cheerful.
"You always come here. What do you see in this spot?"
No way, is it really—
Her.
The last face I saw before I died, the one I couldn't protect. Her screams still echo out in my dreams sometimes. She looks younger and more carefree than back then.
Of course she does. She hasn't seen hell… yet.
"Coth ca." The air caught in my throat, a million different things that I wanted to say to her. I rubbed my eyes as if they were playing tricks on me. The next time I opened my mouth, the only thing that i managed to get out was:
"I… I… I missed you, sis."
The confusion on her face is evident, raising her left eyebrow. "What are you talking about? Are you feeling good? You got a fever or something? I told you not to overwork yourself."
This must look weird for her. It's been so long for me, but for her it's been a day since we last saw each other. If I remember correctly, we had a fight last night. I can't remember what it was about… probably something stupid.
"You shouldn't sneak up on people like that."
A smile tugged on her lips. "I can't help it if you make it this easy."
Looking at her now, it feels like the world and its problems are falling away, like it's only me and her.
It kind of is in a way. I mean, she's all I have.
She sat down beside me. Together, we stared at nothing for a while till she broke the silence. "Kanishk," her voice wavered as if it was going to break. "Promise me you won't just walk away like that again… promise me, okay?"
This must be because of the fight we had. I must have brought up mum and dad for her to ask me that.
God's voice boomed in the back of my mind.
RULE FIVE
My sister's eyes were wide, pleading. She didn't know how much those words meant to me.
To her it was a desperate request, but—
She looks so defeated. "You know what, never mind bro, it was stupid. Forget I said anything."
I swallowed hard… "I promise."
The moment those words left my lips, I felt invisible chains wrap around my waist. The words themselves seemed to listen. Now I know the burden of carrying a promise, for better or for worse.
Her shoulders relaxed as she leaned against me, letting out a shaky breath.
Shit, this wasn't meant to happen so soon.
Shit … I can just tell you're laughing your ass off right now, aren't you, GOD.
RULE FIVE: you may not break a promise to anyone in any way. Violation of this rule will invoke RULE ONE.